Maui March 9 to 17

March 9
It was a very overcast day.  We decided to head south to see if the weather was better, and descended on Po'olenalena Beach.  There was lots of sun, but it was extremely windy, making snorkeling out of the question.  In fact, while Joanie played in the surf, I found no need to get wet and have to sit on a windy, sand blown beach. I even saw a few turtles getting tumbled around in the surf.  When we returned, it was still very overcast, and word at the BBQ was that there were heavy rains in the Kahalui area.  After dinner and talking with our girls, we drove to Whaler's Village to do some shopping, but it began to rain and did not let up, so that before we even entered the parking lot, we decided to turn around and head back home.  It was a cool 65 degrees. 

March 10
The weather forecast was dismal for today.  We returned to the church in Kapalua, which is set in an open structure on a golf course, concerned that we could get cold and possibly wet.  However, not only did it stay dry, but the sun even came out during the service.  The nice part of Maui is that even when the weather is off, the temperature is still in the upper 70's Fahrenheit (mid 20's Celsius).  We really enjoy this church, and even though the pastor reminds me a little of a typical American TV evangelist, his messages are very fresh and thought provoking.  Our friends Ryan and Stephanie had a baby boy a few days ago, and the service began with photos of the new church addition. 

Since this was not a beach day, we drove back to Kapalua Bay after lunch to take a walk along the shore from Kapalua to DT Fleming Beach, a distance of just under two miles one way.  We crossed a rocky point where shearwaters, a sea bird, have their nesting area in late March and April.  I made a mental note to return here before we go home in April.  We enjoyed a beautiful coastline with big waves pounding the lava beds, whales, and surfers riding the waves at one of the beaches.  Despite very ominous black clouds overhead, a short shower, and increasingly high winds, we had a great time.  After dinner we went to Whaler's Village, where the women shopped and Robbin and I walked along the shore walk in front of the hotels. 

March 11
Another dismal day according to various weather forecasts.  Both south and north Maui was expecting clouds and showers all day long, and presumably also mugginess, because the 81 degrees was to feel like 91 degrees.  The Robbin and Cora treated us to breakfast at Cheeseburger in Paradise, where I enjoyed eggs benedict and Joanie had some strange concoction.  She claimed it was an omelet, but if it doesn't have cheese in it, it ain't an omelet as far as I know.  For their last full day here, they decided to chance it and go to Polo Beach in Wailea.  Chance of rain was 60%, but we hit the 40% all day.  In fact, we had clear blue skies and hot weather.  The waves were very high again and after one tumble, Joanie and Cora were done with boogy boarding.

Robbin was a little more reluctant to go in the water, but eventually did.  We had an incident last week at the Black Rock that can now be told.  He feels he is not a strong swimmer, so is a little cautious around water.  He and Cora went out snorkeling for the first time, and he told Cora he did not want to go as far as the point of the rock.  However, before he knew it, they found themselves drifting out there, and the waves were increasing in strength.  Joanie and I had been out earlier, and found it a lot of work to get back to shore.  It seemed we could kick out legs all we wanted, and we went nowhere.  Every now and then, a wave would surge and move us forward, until we were finally in far enough so that we were able to make good progress on our own.  Well, while Robbin was out there, the water seemed to start moving around in the little cove around the corner of the rock point, and Robbin began to panic.  He kept taking his mask off to clear water, and had trouble, feeling he would not stay afloat.  He called for help, and Cora came to him.  He got to a rock, but with the waves bashing him, he hit his knee on the rock and drew blood.  Cora too had a big rash on her legs from the rock.  They got help from a fellow on a board, who towed them to shore.  There were a few others who also needed help getting back.  Robbin was very shaken up by this.  He got medical attention.  Joanie and I were unaware of all this.  We thought they must be having a good time snorkeling because they were out there a long time.  They did go on a trip to Lanai a few days later that included snorkeling, and it was good that he did do it and have a good experience, because after the Black Rock incident, he was reluctant to snorkel again.

After a home cooked meal of nasi goreng, we went to Fleetwoods for a final drink before R & C returned home.  We hoped perhaps Mack Fleetwood (of Fleetwood Mac) would be there, but he was out touring.  The bar was very nice, with a rooftop patio and cushioned benches, and of course live music.  However, the special drinks were $14 each, so we nursed them for a long time.  We decided one was enough, and went home for some wine after that.

March 12
Packing day.  After a leisurely morning, it took us over an hour to drive Robbin and Cora to the airport, due to traffic delays caused by road construction in south Lahaina, and just high volume around the Costco area.  After a visit to Walmart, we returned home and spent the day there, doing some cleaning and laundry, and some admin work, like catching up on missed afternoon naps (Joanie), and paying bills (Gerry).  After dinner, we walked to the Cannery Mall, and  the vitamin store across the street for some delicious flax seeds.  Due to lack of sidewalks on some streets, requiring some detours, the walk was longer than anticipated, but good nevertheless. 

Joanie's tooth aches have disappeared with the use of the anti-biotics, so she developed new problems.  Yesterday she took a beach plant while floating in on her boogey board, and seemed to jamb her shoulder.  It is not only still sore, but she has a bump as well.  Since she still has full mobility, we hope it is only bruised, but otherwise, we will abandon the dentist and find a doctor instead.  I read tonight that one of the things people should do when entering or exiting the ocean is never turn your back on it.  If Joanie had heeded this advice, she may have prepared for that rogue wave that smashed her and Cora with such lack of disrespect. 

March 13
Today was a great rain day.  Despite the forecast, we saw only blue skies.  We went to Kapalua Bay to try the snorkeling.  It was very good.  In the morning the water was calm, and there were fish within twenty feet of entering the water.  I did find the water cooler than in the south, and on the second snorkel I quit early because I was getting a chill.  The water also got rougher as the day wore on.  I also saw a whale do five full breaches not too far off shore.  It was quite a show.  Finally, as we were about to leave, there was a very large male turtle swimming at the corner of the beach, a few feet from shore.  For dinner, we tried the Lahaina Pizza Co.  There was a line up the stairs the entire time we were there.  They specialize in deep dish pizza and it was wonderful.  They also had good live music.  We may need to come back with our girls.  What a great day!

Lahaina has gotten noticeably busier the last few days, and the average age has also gone down, with way more families with school age children and young people.  The most surprising observation I have found is the extremely high number of people with tattoos.  We are not just talking about little, discrete butterflies, but full arms, legs, shoulders, etc., and covering most adult age groups except perhaps those over 70, although there may be the odd old hippie.  There should be an awful lot of ugly, silly looking seniors years from now.

March 14
A day of surprises and compromises.  After spending the morning getting a few things done around the house, like creating a spreadsheet to track this vacation cost, we left in the early afternoon to drive up Haleakala, the local volcano to, to hike near the volcanic cinder cones and see the sun set.  We packed some buns for dinner and set off in a hazy afternoon.  As we ascended, Joanie saw some plants she wanted to photograph, but they were in a little town and there was no where to pull over.  As we got higher up, the switchback road was narrow with pullouts here and there.  I saw a pheasant, and since I have never got a good photograph of one of these, I pulled over and chased the thing down a field, until I managed to get a quick photo of it flying away in the distance.  As we continued to ascend, we saw a number of other pheasants along the road, and because it was quiet on the road, I could stop in the middle of the lane and take pictures out of the window. We saw a few other large birds which I managed to photograph along the road.  I hoped to see the famous Hawaiian nene, a goose similar to a Canada Goose, but limited to the Hawaiian Islands.  Despite the signs of nene crossings and nesting areas, we did not see any.  Joanie wanted to take a photo of some yellow flowers along the road, but I couldn't stop because there was a car behind me and no place to pull over.  As we got nearer the top, we entered the clouds.  The wind was soon howling and by the time we got to the parking lot at the sunrise lookout, the clouds were whipping across the parking lot.  We left with a temperature of 80 degrees, but it was now 43 degrees outside.  At the visitor centre Joanie bought a nice hoodie to wear because she under dressed for the cold.  It was a little big on her but did the trick.  We went to the shelter where people stand to see the sunrise, but it was locked up tight.  It was bitter cold, and any thoughts of hiking quickly disappeared.  The clouds rolled in so thick that any thoughts of seeing a sunset also vanished.  We managed to see the cinder cones from a lookout through little breaks in the clouds.  We decided that there was no point in staying here, although we did enjoy the drive up and the sights we did see.  We did stop to take a picture of the sign for the Haleakala National Park, and I spotted a few nene nearby.  A few miles down the road, we saw several more nene.  I was able to pull over for a photo.  As we entered the town where Joanie saw the plants and flowers she wanted to photograph, we could not find the spot, and I missed a scene she wanted to shoot.  By the time we got down the mountain, she was a little annoyed that she missed opportunities for photographing flowers, but I managed to get the shots I wanted of wildlife.  What can I say?  Timing is everything.  For the record, we did stop at a pullout where she did get some pictures of the yellow flowers, as well as some other plants. 

We stopped by Walmart to return a wrong coffee pot we bought to replace one that broke, and by now it was nearly dark.  Our sunset dinner was consumed in the Walmart parking lot.  When we got home, I tried on Joanie's hoodie, and it fit me well.  OK, so we missed the hike, the sunset, the nice sunset dinner, we froze to death and missed a few photos of plants, but I got great pictures of pheasants, skylarks, some chugars, nene, francolins, and cinder cones, and got myself an unexpected hoodie to boot.  Seems like a good day to me.   

March 15
Today is the Ides of March, but it was relatively uneventful.  We drove down to Poolenalena Beach and I found a nice spot under the trees.  Joanie and I did go out in the water together, and were bouncing in the waves, when all of a sudden she looked up and said "Oh no".  There was a look of terror on her face, and I turned around to see a huge wave descending down on us, and about to break right where we were standing.  I grabbed onto Joanie, but when the wave hit, we went flying and got smacked down on the sand.  Joanie of course was covered in sand and got bruised.  She is a sand magnet.  I was not, although later on the beach I scratched my skin and had sand under my fingernails.  It freaked her out though and she did not want to go in again.  I watched a man with a little baby playing in the water later, and when a large wave came, he just walked with it and held the little girl on to of it like she was body surfing.  I don't know when he never got knocked over. 

On our way home, we hit a traffic jam right at Ma'alaea Harbour.  We crawled at less than five miles per hour, with frequent stand stills.  This continued all the way to Lahaina.  It took almost two hours to get from the beach back to Lahaina, a trip that should take thirty minutes.  They were paving.  In the evening we dropped by Kimos for a drink and to listen to the local band.  I tried a Mango Colada, a creamy drink that went down well.  Joanie had some lemonade concoction that she really liked. 

March 16
Definitely not a beach day today.  It was very overcast and cooler, if 75 degrees is considered cool.  We decided to try conquering Heleakala again, since our park pass was good for three days, and we missed some nice views because of cloud cover the previous time.  We got only a few miles up before we were in the clouds and it did not appear that it would clear up, so we stopped.  Instead, we visited a nearby botanical garden, Kulu, and Joanie got her fill of photographing flowers, while I managed to find some birds to pursue, including a red cardinal that insisted on posing for me.  We had a nice time, and then drove to Makawao, and old Hawaiian town. There was not that much to it except some old shops, but we did manage to get in some shopping, which I of course was happy about.  Finally, we drove to Sugar Beach, just on the north end of Kehei, and walked along the beach.  The beach here stretches for miles, from this point all the way to Maalaea Harbour.  We dropped into a local bar for a beer to kill some time before the sunset, and then drove home for a late meal of BBQ pork chops.  A very good day again!

March 17
It was a not so hot day.  We went to church in Kapalua and during the service, the wind picked up for a while and it actually felt cold.  Last night I did some research on where some of the exotic birds on Maui live, and discovered a bird watching book which described a trail at the start of the Haleakala park where certain exotic red birds are frequently spotted.  I suddenly decided a third trip there would be good, but since our girls were scheduled to arrive at 8:15PM tonight, it would be too long to wait after a walk for them to arrive, and I did not want to drive back and forth from Lahaina twice in a day. Filed this away for some future day when the women want to go shopping. 

After church, I discovered that the girls' flight was delayed and they would not arrive until 10:30PM.  We decided to hang around the condo for the day.  As the day wore on, so did the flight delays.  Finally, the flight was scheduled to leave Bellingham at 1:10AM Monday, 8.25 hours late.  The poor girls were stuck in the Bellingham airport all afternoon and evening, and would now arrive here at 4:27AM.  A check of the internet indicated many complaints about similar delays on Allegiant flights to Hawaii a few days earlier.  Looks like a very short night sleep, but at least there should be no traffic jams.  We walked in town and watched the sunset from the harbour area of Lahaina, but I discovered that my underwater camera did not work, as it appeared to have water in it, judging by the memory stick which was a little damp when I took it out.  I hope a thorough drying will fix the problem, but I am worried, with some good snorkeling planned in the next few weeks.