Long and winding road...

Today I learned how to create a slideshow! We took the morning to drive around to the north side of the island. At times we were on a one lane, barely paved road, meant to fit two vehicles traveling either way! I took so many pictures, I figures this was the best way to enjoy them all! I don't think they need an explanation. The beauty of this place will speak for itself...

Just click below on "View All Images"...

Lahaina

Beautiful sunsets from the Lahaina waterfront.


A steak dinner at Ruths Chris is the best!


The block-long park with the banyan tree. That is only one central tree whose branches have dropped and started new plantings. Amazing!


We had to visit the Harley store, and no, we didn't buy a thing!


Walking along Front Street full of eclectic shops and restaurants.


The nearest town to us here on Maui is Lahaina, right on the water and where the cruise ships tender when they have a port stop here. We are about 10 minutes away, and with all its shops and restaurants, it is the place to go. It's got a certain charm and character about it; hard to describe. Not like any place I can compare it to. Here's a link to read more about it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lahaina,_Hawaii

We have made several trips there over the week we have been here. To "Moose's" for dinner one night for their burgers; to walk along the waterfront and visit the many shops, to stroll under the famous Banyan tree planted in 1873 which takes up an entire city block; to dine at Ruths Chris Steakhouse as our special treat; and to take in the sunset as it bids another day farewell behind the island of Lanai.

Full moon

The moon rising from the east last night over the Maui mountains.


When we awoke early this morning it was suspended over the water in the west.


By sunrise, it was slipping lower onto the horizon.


Going, going...almost gone. The clouds hovering over Molokai made for a picturesque moment.

I guess one benefit of being 5 hours behind the time at home (and with the marvels of Facebook where you can know anything about anything at any given time) we were alerted to the fact that last night would be a full moon, and that it was spectacular. Well, it was. We were able to witness its rising in the east last night, and then its setting, so to speak, in the west this morning. The scripture says, "From the rising of the sun, to its setting, the Lord's name be praised." Guess that goes for the moon too...

Morning

Just a quick post... I wanted to capture this morning... So many people who come to Hawaii make it a daily part of their routine to watch the beautiful sunsets here; and they are well worth planning your schedule around, believe me. If you are sitting by a beach anywhere on any given evening, you will actually see folks not only gaze, set up chairs, take pictures, but often applaud when the sun finally sets over the horizon. Like saying , Well done, Lord... let's do it again tomorrow."

Being here on the west side of Maui we do get to witness those sunsets but because the island of Lanai is to the southwest of us, the full effect is obscured. And we really don't even get to witness the sunrise; or so I thought. God's wonder in creation was on full display this morning and I wanted to capture it as best I could.

These three pictures show what the sky displayed this morning as I stood on our balcony looking northwest, west and southwest... Magnificent!

Whale watching

Taken from our balcony; love it when you can see their tails like this or when they do a side fin slap on the water.


Often the only evidence you see of the whale is the plume of water coming up as they "breathe."


Next two photos taken last year by our friend; perfect shot of the tail.


Whale tail slap; their way of saying "Gimme five!"

Our second full day in Maui and not much news to report. Guess that's what a vacation is for; don't do much and enjoying it. Reading, napping, sunning, looking at the beauty around you and, well if you're Craig, working. We both were up at 4 am this morning so guess we are still on east coast time. Of course, we went to bed at 8 pm last night so that might explain things...

The whales have been very active today, putting on a show. That's why we love coming this time of the year and the location here in Maui (and being on the 11th floor sure helps) so we can watch them to our heart's content.

I only have a few pictures from today and it might be hard to make out so I've cheated and also included some photos taken by our friend, Matt Slack with his REALLY nice camera last year when we were in Hawaii.

Hawaii 2011

Finally here! Sunrise on 1/17 and view from our balcony.


Driving to Kahana on the west side of the island at sunset.


Flying into Maui - that little winding road down there is the one we'll be on shortly...


Maui at last! We love those white windmills going up the mountain.


Honolulu and Waikiki Beach. Diamondhead is to the right.


Pearl Harbor. The Arizona Memorial is in the center of the picture below the bridge.


An overhead view of Diamondhead.


Flying over the east coast of Oahu. Nothing like seeing land after you have been flying over the ocean for hours!



Craig & I enjoy delivery pizza at our hotel in Phoenix, and unexpected layover!


Flying over Arizona and the Rocky Mountains.

Greetings! For those who follow our travel blog when we do land-based vacations, I hope we can provide you with some enjoyment about our comings and goings over the next two weeks. Mainly, we use this blog as a way to communicate with my 93 year old mom back home, who loves the pictures especially.

To describe the past 48 hours it took to get here to Maui would take a book! When our originating flight in DC was delayed several hours due to mechanical issues (that never leaves one feeling too comfortable) we knew we were in trouble. Like a stack of dominoes toppling over, the delay had ramifications about the rest of our travel that day and the next. The delay arriving in Phoenix on Saturday meant we missed our connection to Honolulu, which means we missed our hotel reservation for that night, which means we missed out inter-island flight to Maui on Sunday morning. While there were also minor financial losses we would have to deal with as well (we assumed), the biggest loss to us was a day delayed getting to where we both so wanted to be.

US Airways, to their credit was very helpful throughout the process and an agent was able to rebook us and keep our first class seats which we had "paid" for with Craig's precious mileage miles. They also put us up for the night in Phoenix at a Courtyard (Marriott - our favorite) and supplied us with some meal vouchers. And, upon arriving in Honolulu, Hawaiian Air even waived the re-ticketing charge when we told then why we had missed our flight with them that morning. So, we literally were in Honolulu for an hour which is amazing when you think we de-planed, retrieved our luggage, commuted over to another terminal, checked in again, went through security and as stand-by status travelers, we actually made it onto the 4:08 pm plane to Maui. I would love to have a video of Craig running like a sprinter through the airport with two duffel bags of luggage. See, I went on ahead of him to negotiate with Hawaiian Air so I missed all the action. We landed in time to go to Costco to load up on provisions for the week and even had a traditional hot dog and soda for dinner.

By the time we got to our unit here at Kahana Beach Resort (which has the best location and view of any place we have ever stayed), we were exhausted. I slept wonderful; Craig was up at 2:45 am (our time) since his internal clock has not yet adjusted. He is connected with work this week so I have time to blog and such. We each have our work "stations" positioned where we have the balcony doors opened to hear the sound of the crashing waves, and where we can watch surfers and whales as we type. Not a bad set up at all.

Enjoy some pictures from our first two days of vacation. Now the real vacation begins!

Caribbean Princess June 2010

Normally I do not update our travel blog when we cruise, mainly because I don’t have much ability to get to the internet for extended periods of time but Craig helped me figure a way around that. I can write my entry ahead of time and then only use the internet time to post it – brilliant!

So here I am, sitting in the piazza/centrum area at 7:30 a.m. on the first full day of our cruise ready to recount our adventures thus far. Not many are up yet so I have this area to myself. There are windows all around me and various lounging areas; a wine bar (empty of course at this time of day!), a café area where they serve coffee and pastries, and an internet and library. And lovely music is playing over the speakers; sounds very Spanish and lively. They must want everyone to wake up and get going!

Our drive up from Maryland to NYC/Brooklyn was quick and uneventful, just the way we like it. We can make the trip and be parked at the port in less than 4 hours and the only traffic congestion we encounter is the last few miles in Brooklyn itself; gotta love New York! Embarkation was also quick and easy and so we were settled in our cabin right away. And the cabin, well that was our one glitch of the day. We are down here on the plaza deck which means we are as low as you can go. This room was assigned to us, we did not choose it. It is oceanview which is a nice perk; just to be able to see your surroundings and see the light of day each morning. But it also means we are very close to the waves so let’s hope the seas stay nice and calm. And our cabin was about 8” narrower than normal which means the only way (they thought) to make a queen bed (two twins pushed together) was to put the bed against a wall, which makes it nearly impossible for one of the parties to get in and out of bed. In addition, the one large nightstand and lamp are not accessible to that person either. So after several conversations with the purser’s desk, housekeeping and maybe even an engineering person, we suggested a way to turn the bed a different direction and find two smaller nightstands, locate an extension cord for the lamp and viola, problem solved. Now you can’t see the tv from bed, but it’s a small inconvenience. Just another example that if you cruise and something is not to your liking, be persistent and they will do their best to make it right!

There is a family we know, the Kerr’s from Toronto, Canada on this cruise so we have enjoyed running into to them several times so far. Our first day on board the ship was spent with many of the normal activities; life boat muster drill (think we know how to put on a life jacket after 33 practices), checking out the dinner menu (nothing too spectacular), walking around the ship (our 3^rd time on this one), etc. Now don’t get me wrong; we are far from bored or taking this wonderful opportunity for granted. But when you have done this as much as we have, you kind of get into a routine!

We enjoyed our sail-away from the back of the ship sipping on a strawberry daiquiri taking in all the views of the New York harbor; Manhattan skyline, Statue of liberty and Ellis Island and then going under the Verrazano Bridge. For dinner, we just went to different venues and sampled the hors d’oeurves. Shrimp in one place; olives, cheese and crackers in another, greek salad at another. Kind of like a progressive appetizer party! We attended the opening night show in the theatre and find the cruise director very witty and energetic. Afterwards we found the final piece to our dining puzzle; pizza and not just any pizza in my book. Only my mom will truly appreciate this – anchovy pizza. Yummo! Now I know 99.9% of this reading this think I am crazy (including Craig), but it was a perfect end to a very full day.

We both slept well and are ready to begin our first of four sea days on the Caribbean Princess.

I am now writing this 15 hours later as our first full day of sailing is coming to an end; we have thoroughly enjoyed ourselves today, setting our own pace and just planning our next activity moment by moment. We’ve spend much of the day relaxing by the nearest pool, each immersed in a book and even though most of the day was overcast, the sun did come out in the afternoon and we hear tomorrow should be a blue sky, sun shiny kind of day. We took in a movie, a nap or two and just have a snack whenever we are hungry rather than taking time out for an actual meal. We continue to love our piazza area and find that it has all that we need in both light food and drinks and ambiance. And we found our best deal there. The coffee there is fresh brewed (unlike the rest of the ship where it is free but watery – or so Craig tells me; I’m not the coffee connoisseur of the family) and you pay a nominal fee for. However, if you buy a $24 card you get 15 specialty drinks (lattes, espresso – you get the idea – the really good stuff) and then you get your regular coffee for free. We have already enjoyed the first of our fifteen drinks – a white chocolate frozen latte which was sooooo delicious! Being on our own schedule means we were still enjoying the pool and sunset while the rest of the ship was primping for formal night in their gowns and tuxedos. We went to the dance production show in casual clothes and then, at 9:15 at night had our first full meal of the cruise in the dining room. We did what we call “speed eating” where we order, eat and finish 5 courses in 45 minutes – quite a feat when you are cruising and dining is more of an event.

Back in the cabin now, unwinding and ready to call it a day.