Menopause the Musical

Mother, Lanell, Hollie andI left early Saturday morning for San Antonio to enjoy lunch on the river walk, some shopping and taking in the musical production "Menopause the Musical" at the Empire Theater. We parked the car, and shopped in River City Mall,and walked along the river walk until it was time for lunch. A great lunch at Boudro's was enjoyed by all. We started with Prickly Pear Margaritas, Boudro's famous guacamole and chips, plus some delicious entrees, followed by two desserts.....bread pudding with rum sauce, and a double dark chocolate brownie with caramel ice cream. We left stuffed and decided to walk to the Empire Theater for the show.
The production was as funny as the last time Mom and I saw it, Lanell and Hollie enjoyed it and found out what they have to look forward to in life. Quarry Market was our next stop with some more shopping before heading home.

To Maui, and Back!

Our Maui trip is over, we are back home on the mainland, looking at all the great pictures we have.
Our flights went well and we had no major problems, the eight hour flight wasn't sooooo bad.
The trip was great, our cottage in Lahaina very cozy, with two lanais, and awesome views.
Lahaina was a good choice and we were glad we had rented a cottage on that part of the island.
Whale watching was interesting and these huge creatures of the deep put on a good show for us.
Our rental car took us all over the island, I think we covered almost every road on Maui, 720 miles in a week on a island that is only 48 miles long and 26 miles wide. The drive to Hana was long and the CD narration almost sent Dale over the edge, but it was beautiful. Our drive up Haleakala was easy and the views from the summit were great, another demonstration of the powers of Mother Nature. Diving wasn't all that good, water was cold and visibility not great, but I did get in some diving in Hawaii.

You go your way, I'll go Maui!

Well our trip to Maui has come to an end, we've packed luggage in our car and have a flight out of Honolulu tonight. We stopped on our way into town to take a photo of an interesting warning sign at the beach near our cottage, "Shark Warning". Our flight in the small plane had to be canceled, long story, maybe next time. We drove down to the beach outside of Paia and watched the surfers, then we stopped for our final lunch on Maui at Paia Fish Market. Dale had fish tacos and I enjoyed a Mahi Mahi burger, very good. Dale dropped me off at the airport and returned the rent car. Boarding our short flight to Honolulu late in the afternoon we said goodbye to Maui. Our flight to Houston departed Honolulu at little after 9 pm, with us landing in Houston shortly after 9 am the following morning. Dale drove us home while I slept, we pulled up to the house just before noon.
Maui is a beautiful island, lush and green, with lots to see and do.........................but extremely expensive!
Maui is where people are sent went heaven is overbooked.

Eat, Drink, and be Maui!

Our trip is almost over and we are trying to squeeze in a few more adventures. I got up this morning and decided to do one more whale watching trip in hopes of getting some better photos. Dale decided to stick around the cottage and relax, so off I went to Lahaina. I got on an early trip, but didn't see much action, a few moms and babies swimming around. Shopping was my next goal, so I hit the stores on Front Street and got a few things to take home.
We fixed lunch and enjoyed it on the lanai of our cottage before heading out to drive to the summit of Haleakala at almost 10,000 ft., a dormant volcano. The drive was easy, at least the road had two marked lanes all the way up, no hanging off the edge of a cliff. We drove past the clouds and found the summit to be clear with some great views. The wind was blowing and it was a brisk 55 degrees, but clear. I tried to take some photos to show the beauty of the spot, while Dale walked around checking things out.

Dale decided that I should drive down, so he could nap.....so I grabbed the keys and off we went.
Our little car was easy to drive and handled well, so I zipped down the road while Dale got his beauty rest. I'm sure he had one eye on the road at all times.....but I think my driving skills surprised him. We made it back to our cottage and began to think about packing up and heading home. Dinner was at C. J.'s Deli and Diner, pretty good food with huge portions. Our last stop of the day was on Front Street in Lahaina where we checked out a few shops. It was then time to head back and start the packing process.
Tomorrow we have a plane booked for a flight around the whole island with Maui Air, hope for clear skies and clam winds. After our flight we will grab some lunch, turn in our rental car and head to the airport at Maui for our flight to Honolulu, then Houston.

Hana or Bust!

Up and off early this morning, with our picnic lunch in the cooler we were going to "Hana or Bust"!
The previous day a mud slide had closed the road for most of the day, so we didn't know what today would be like as far as traffic. We put in our "Road to Hana" CD and began the drive, stopping lots, taking pictures and hiking to see beautiful waterfalls. Stopping at beaches, waterfalls, small communities, and some old churches along the way. At a fruit stand I got a Pineapple, Mango, Papaya smoothie and bought some coconut candy for the road. Traffic wasn't bad but the driving was slow, with hairpin turns, switchbacks, and one lane bridges....not a road for anyone that gets car sick. We saw black sand beaches and surf pounding against the lava formations all along the way. We even climbed into a lava tube that led down to the ocean. Hungry, we stopped and enjoyed our picnic lunch at a small park at another waterfall. Back in the car we finally arrived at Hana.......we made it! We looked around, grabbed an ice cream at the local store and headed back to civilization....Lahaina. The ride back was much faster, Dale was practicing for his racetrack debut. I think we made it back in record time.....with my finger nails dug into the door! We filled the car with gas, got some groceries and went home to fix supper, shower and fall into bed. We had conquered the "Road to Hana" ....I think!

Maui Swap Meet

We went to the Maui Swap Meet this morning, lots of people and stuff...............fruits, veggies, tropical flowers, jewelry, arts and crafts, and some junk. I bought some mango bread, fresh tomatoes, Hawaiian shaved ice, and hand crafted soaps. The tropical flowers were beautiful, and so cheap. The fruits and veggies were really great and we tasted lots of samples.

We then drove to Paia for lunch at Paia Fish House, fresh Mahi Mahi fish and chips. We sat with a young couple from the mainland and had lots of laughs. After lunch we started driving towards Hana from the back way, it was a long road with lots of curves. We got to the part where rental cars are suppose to stop, but hey it was a rental car, so we continued. What a wild ride, one lane, hanging on the edge of the cliff in one section, I understand why the rental company frowns on this path. We made it to the Pools of Oheo and then proceeded on to find the spot where Charles Lindbergh is buried in the cemetary of an old church. He loved Maui and wanted to be buried there when he died.
We made it back to civilization at sunset,
tired after a long cliff hanging drive.
We ate supper, grabbed a shower and
went to bed.

Happily Mauied

Well, we were up before sunrise and off to catch the dive boat this morning. I got fitted for a heavier wet suit, signed papers and walked down to the harbor to catch the Lahaina Divers Boat.
It was almost an hour ride over to the shores of Lanai for our first dive site. Geared up I took a giant stride into the water...............Burrrrrrrr! Take me back to the Caribbean, this stuff is to cold!
My dive computer was reading 73 degrees, the visibility was about 40 feet with some current....not my idea of a great dive. Didn't see much, not impressed. Got back on the boat to hear others proclaim how great the visibility was.....they need a trip to Cozumel. The second dive was a little better, still cold but the visibility was better.....maybe 60 feet. Saw a huge eel, fish, flounder, etc.
I didn't even take my camera on the second dive. Then after boarding the boat we had a rough 50 minute ride across the water to Lahahina. We did see whales on the way back, really impressive.
Dale picked me up at the dive shop and we headed back to our cottage, ate lunch and then headed out to see more of Maui. Drove to Kihei, Wailea and down to an area were the island experienced the last lava flow in 1790, a pretty desolate landscape. Saw lots of beaches and surfers.
In the morning we are going to the Maui Swap Meet in Kahului, suppose to be the place to go on Saturday mornings. We then have a drive up Haleakala in the afternoon and maybe the Maui Aquarium later in the day.

The Sun'll come out to Maui

Well our road trip to Hana was put on hold, woke up to cloudy, rainy skies and decided to put the trip off for better weather. So after a late breakfast we loaded up our car and headed North with our Maui Revealed Book. We checked out some interesting sites along the way, beaches great for surfing, a big blow hole, a few whales frolicking, and a winding, twisty one lane road. The drive was interesting to say the least, especially on the one lane part with lots of switchbacks...............kinda a big game of chicken. We came down in a little valley and I found a quaint little church in an old Hawaiian village and a lady selling fresh banana bread, taro chips, coconut candy, and macadamia nuts. We stopped, had some samples and got a big bag of the coconut candy....delish! It was raining hard by the time we back to Lahaina and decided that after lunch we needed a nap....touring is hard work!

The weather is suppose to be better tomorrow, I've got a dive trip booked and have to be at the dive shop at 7 am. Hope I don't freeze, renting a heavier wet suit for the 72 degree water.
As you can see from the pic the clouds are still hanging over Lanai and it is cool outside. We are grilling for supper and turning in early.

Wowie in Maui!

Got up this morning and were able to see whales breaching offshore from our lanai....pretty amazing. Later we went grocery shopping......sticker shock from the grocery prices! Picked up some goodies at a farmers market.....sweet corn, Maui gold pineapple, strawberries, carrtos, etc... We stopped at Lahaina Harbor to check on a whale watching trip and a dive trip for this week. After lunch we headed back to Lahaina for our trip out to watch the humpback whales.
We got to see lots of whales, up close and personal. Several swam right under our boat for a real up close look. They dropped a hydrophone in the water and we got to listen to their song, they all sing the same song. We returned to our cottage and grilled some steaks for supper.
Tomorrow we are up early and off to drive the road to Hana. Hana or Bust!

Here Today, Gone to Maui

Here Today, Gone to Maui

We are packed and off tomorrow for our Maui vacation on a Continental flight out of Houston.
Looking forward to a great week at our cottage in Lahaina and some great sightseeing. Hope the eight hour flight isn't to bad.

Grounded

Well our flight to Bryan/College Station tomorrow for a light sport aircraft fly-in is canceled due to high winds........Darn! The winds have been blowing like crazy and Dale thinks the best thing is to stay home tomorrow. He called up there today, talked with some folks that said the winds were crazy, they were glad to just get their planes on the ground in one piece.
Seems like we haven't been flying in so long, the winds just keep blowing....first out of the South and then out of the North. Good Ole Texas Weather!!!