We've had so many wonderful friends and family peoples visit us on Maui - we've had a blast hosting!

This photo of a painting of Neil's regular walk up a nearby road named East Kuiaha, was painted just around New Year when Bruce & Deborah Edwards stayed with us. Bruce's work is found here.

Buzzzz-click, snap, whirrrrrrrrrrrrere back!

I could write 20 pages full of excuses for "failure to post." But we'll spare you. We've had guests for 3 of the last 5 weeks, THANKFULLY! When guests come we basically jump in on their vacation and have lot's of fun and get distracted from house hunting, plus good food and fabulous fellowship. Next guests in about 2 weeks. So, in the process of moving through this, the Blog has been pushed down the priority ladder a few rungs.


Speaking of guests, we went on  a whale watch with Tracy's parents: Ruth & Eric. Some folks have mentioned that they are anticipating some good photo's. Welllllllll - let me tell you what I found out. When you go on a whale watch you should either go as a sightseer or (in my case) a photographer, but not both.
I had my 400mm (equivalent) lens on the camera so I could get some really good closeups. What that means is that you spend the whole trip looking through the view finder at a very small patch of water (because the lens is so zoomed in you don't get much field of view). The result is shots like this:

Don't forget you can click on the photo's to enlarge them!

And this:

And that was about it for me.........always missing the good part, when they breach. The sightseers had the best day so far according the boat crew. 7 breaches, 3 whales, perfect weather, calm seas and winds - da best!


I did catch one breach, but way out there and very out of focus:

                                                                      

So, it goes. I got some tips from another photographer at a camera shop the other day which I am anxious to try next time - next time I go and choose to be the photographer, that is.


So, among the sightseers on the boat were these happy folks:

That's Tracy's Mom and Dad, Ruth and Eric and Tracy herself! It was 8 in the morning as we headed out of Maalaea Town into Maalaea Bay where the whales were rumored to be.

'Twas a happy day...................................for the sightseers!

Many thanks to the Pacific Whale Foundation for a really good day. We have joined the Foundation as a way to support their efforts in studying and protecting these magnificant creatures. Also, we get beeg discounts on future whale watch trips for all our friends, family and, of course, for us!

Paul and Laurie were our first friends to stay with us and we learned a lot about Maui because of them. We'd been spending all of our time settling in to our first home so we hadn't done much exploring until they arrived!

This was the afternoon of the second day.

On the trip, we stopped about a million times, to view rainbows, waterfalls, beaches, bays......

Humpback Whales

A news headline in the current Maui Weekly read: 

The Return of the Whales - They're back!

It turns out that Maui is thee place for these whales during their winters in the South Pacific
They spend summers in Alaska eating tons of krill a day getting fat and then in October/November they start heading south (between 2,500 and 3,500 of them) and the majority of them like it right here off the south coast of Maui. 
Why Maui you might ask? Read a brief page about it here.
They have their babies, hang out and then head back, sometime around May. One interesting note is that they don't eat here - not anything, they live off their thick layer of blubber acquired from feeding up in the cold waters during the winter.
This is new and unexpected news to us and we will be exploring it further with Tracy's parents starting next week when they arrive for a seven day visit. We're booking the whale watch boat today!
Other interesting Maui/whale links:
Pacific Whale Foundation
Whale Trust
I'm hoping to get pictures from the boat.........stay tuned. They guarantee whales to watch, if none are found they give you a free pass to try again. Also, the laws here seem strong and well enforced - "It is unlawful for anyone, without special permission, to come within 300 yards of the humpbacks in the known calving areas and 100 yards in all other areas."
Aloha!

Dusk Walk in the Neighborhood

Walked out the gate and up the street as evening began it's slip into night.

The road, up which we are about to walk.

Sights to behold

Thinking there is a profound message here.

Looking back down our road.

Further on we encountered this grand tree person seemingly a well positioned sentry watching over the affairs of the area.

Death With Dignity

Being a forager and an opportunist, I was more than delighted to discover my very first avocado tree with fruit nearly ripe for the picking.  I will watch it and descend upon these luscious orbs with my 10' fruit picker when they are ready for harvest.

Fantastic flora!

Upon return we were greeted with this.  Further words unnecessary.

New Plates

The old '73 Ford van draws lot's of attention around Maui - probably because it's old, looks so clean and shows no rust!

One problem since we arrived is driving around with the Washington plates, one (of many I suppose) major tip offs that it's Haole's at the wheel.
No more, got re-registered and got the new plates and the safety stickers (far right hand side on the bumper) on Friday.
Now were locals!  Hah!

Some of you asked for more van pics:  click here, here and here for more.

Purple Home Fries

This is the second time (we bought two) cooking this strange potato-beast.  As I cut the unit into sections, I noticed a white "sap" coming from around the edges and wondered, again, if it was really taro, not a potato.

It looks like a sweet potato on the outside; sort of tan and with some of the usual sweet potato features.

Turns out, it's Hawaiian Sweet Potato and makes a nice homefry.

I love the color and we'll purchase again so an even wilder appearing dish might be made.
Should we try to grow these?  Now we need to learn about growing potatoes and if it's feasible in our Haiku, wet. 600' altitude.
TM

Living in the greenhouse

Just took a short walk through the garden this morning and took a few shots of things growing in our yard:  First up is Noni, a very bitter fruit that is very good for you. It's made into juice and you'll see it in healthfood stores. Read about it here.

Walking by our pond I caught a glimps of Billy. He's one of two resident bull frogs. They are both named Billy. Ask Tracy about that.

Ok, so.....that's one of those, then. It's probably 3 feet taller than I.

Liliko'i - grows on a vine and tastes so fine. I watch these like a hawk and pick them when they begin to turn yellow. Read more at the post called "Favorite Eats."

Mailbox adornment. The delightfully odiferous Brugmansia. The smell is tropical, sweet and wonderful, but don't eat them.

Breadfruit. These little one's have a way to go before ready to eat. They get as big as a football and a lot heavier. Messy to work with and not much of a flavor, but done right they can be OK.

Polmelo. Like a mild grapefruit. There are 4 or 5 trees of them here.

The banana. Stalks of these are everywhere on the property. This one just happens to be hangin' out right next to the house. We can reach it from our porch.

Limes. Gotta have'm. We gott'm. Just one tree but it seems to be adequately prolific.

Finally, just a pretty picture of another stalk of bananas.  There are a few more things out there to show off. I'll get to them soon. Check back!

Beautiful Sunday

Awoke to the the hardest rain that we have experienced, so far. Sitting on our screened lanai (porch) with morning coffee, rain pouring down all around, but WARM - T-shirt and shorts warm, all we could do is smile and feel thankful.
Within an hour the clouds blew away and the tradewinds picked up to a nice 10-15 miles an hour, sun came out and the rest of the day has been perfect. Bright blue sky, clear air and temps. here in our shady haven probably not more than 78.
A friend from the island showed up with a dozen chicken eggs from her backyard coop, a large bag of bananas, some liliko'i and lemon grass for Tracy to plant. Plenty aloha all around!
Now we're heading toward dusk and the rain clouds are coming in and piling up against the mountain and waves of sprinkles to rain and back around again and again. Rain feels really good here.

What's in the garden?

Plants just outside the front door.

Days going by

Long time, no posting. I was afraid this would happen. A whole lot going on every minute makes it hard to get to this. Add the fact that I don't have a desk and have the computer and keyboard/mouse and monitor all sitting on a single bed wooden frame about 16" off the floor makes the task even more daunting.

We've cleaned up, settled in and are finally getting into what's important - daily ocean swimming and walking on the beach. Our goal is swimming at least five days a week (we'll pass on Sat and Sun due to crowds of tourists and locals).

Eating is pretty fun too! Still dropping into restaurants a little more often than we will when we have the kitchen set up and stocked. We are discovering all sorts of interesting fish, fruits and other "f's" (flora and fauna). Today we were munching on Longan aka Dragon's Eye and had Ono and Mahi-mahi burgers for dinner.

So, first photo's are next........more about food, of course.

Stay tuned....................................................

Favorite Eats

This is one of my favorite Hawaii treats. On the left is a ripe papaya. The two things on the right are liliko'i. Liliko'i is also known as Passion Fruit and Hawaiian locals sometimes refer to them as pokas and the most common Hawaiian type is light yellow on the outside instead of the more common dark purple found in New Zealand and Australia. The yellow variety is sometimes referred to as haole poka. Do recognize "haole?" It's what Hawaiians also call white people. Now you got the connection, ya?

So, to eat'm you gotta whack'm open. Then remove the seeds from the papaya and toss'm. Scrape all that yellow pulp and seeds in the liliko'i into where the seeds were in the papaya.

Now you just grab a spoon and eat'm up! You can either crunch the seeds or just swallow them. They're good for you too! The tart, unique, citrusy flavor of the liliko'i goes jus right with the papaya. Great way to start the day!

In Maui

Jus got Internet up at the house.......we are baaack, on line that is. Arrived just right, on Maui Tues. Got the van from the dock, got 20 box's from overwhelmed local post office, got to the house where we find some issues but.........workable, after monster unload of luggage and boxes (beeg sweaty kind work) took showers and went to local restaurant for dinner, driving home in dark after, on steep hill ran out of gas, had fun backing down pitch dark narrow road right above busy Hana Hwy. and meeting very helpful friends and neighbors. To sleep at 3:00am PDT......recovering now, beautiful days, lot's of work cleaning up this house, meetings with nurses for T - getting lists of supply together for shopping soon in Kahului - Costco, Savers (Value Village), Target.......ya know, "stuff" stores. I keep finding Tracy wandering the grounds staring at flora and fauna with huge grins, she is totally thriving in this climate already even though we have yet to hit the beach and the ocean. Today should be the day!
Aloha for now! New phone number (land line) 808-214-6136
N&T

Just about off to Hawaii

It's a very rainy October Friday afternoon, hanging out in our hotel in Seattle, settling final affairs. Yesterday we drove away from our beloved West Seattle house for the last time. Months and months of planning, work, challenge and fun culminating in a single instant. Mission accomplished! The house is empty and clean and the new owners are moving in today. The Volvo wagon is sold and it's replacement, our "new" '73 Ford window van awaits our arrival, on the dock in Kahalui, Maui.

We fly on Tues. next, grab the van, head to the Haiku Post Office to pick up boxes, maybe jump in the water, grab some groceries and head for the new digs.
80 Waipuhia Place
Haiku, HI 96708

Then, let the decompression begin. We are feeling that learning to relax, slow down, merge into Hawaii time, might be somewhat challenging after such a habit of go, go go..........but, what a fun challenge - no complaints from us and no worries!