Snorkeling Molokini

As I eluded to earlier, we planned to go snorkeling at Molokini, a sunken crater a few miles off the coast of Maui. Because the inside portion of the crater is protected, the ocean water does not get as stirred up and the visibility there has been measured at over 100 feet. The day we went it was cloudy, but still absolutely incredible. Definitely a must do when you are on Maui.

Unfortunately, the underwater camera should have had a flash on it, but you will get the idea of the incredible sights we had there.

This is how our captain steered the boat.

Molokini!

This is the backside of the crater. Can you tell our military used it as target practice?

This side was left untouched and supposedly offers some great cliff jumping and scuba diving. It is also rumored there are quite a few sharks in the area as well.

After snorkeling for an hour in Molokini, then we were off to "Turtle Town" to swim with the sea turtles.

Sea turtle on the anchor.

These are a few picture my brother got of the turtle he swam with on the beach across the street from our condo.

The captain of our boat jumped in and found and octopus. We brought it on board briefly, then let it back into the wild.

The gray house on the left side of this picture is owned by a famous golfer. Hint: Grrrrr.

Here is David Bowie's old home.

After spending the morning snorkeling, my brother and I were still looking for some adventure, so we went up north of Lahina to Kanapali to cliff jump. It was only a 15-20 foot cliff, but still VERY fun!

My brother jumping.

Me taking the plunge.

Big Beach / Little Beach

On December 26th, we got up early (though not as early as the 25th) and headed south from Kehei to Big Beach and Little Beach. Big Beach is well known for good snorkeling and we wanted to practice snorkeling before heading out to Molokini. The surf was up that day, and maybe that lead to crummy snorkeling conditions? After boogie boarding in some of the surf, we headed back to our apartment to do some snorkeling at the beach there. My brother ended up seeing and swimming with a sea turtle, while I saw an eel. After spending much of the morning in the water, Doug and Ashley went to the airport to pick up Kelly while my mom and I walked down to Wailea (the $$$$ part of the island). Because all beaches in Hawaii are public, we were able to walk in front of some amazing homes and resorts. After a few mile walk, we went went through the small yet very upscale mall including Tiffany's and Rolex (glad we did not purchase anything there).

Over the knoll at the end of this picture is Little Beach, the nude beach on Maui.

This is a picture of the Four Seasons where many of the celebrities stay on the island.

Here is a wedding that was ongoing at the chapel on one of the resorts.

Fore the golfers: here is a picture of one of the courses in Wailea.

Sunset....Sunrise

Sunset at the beach.

Sunset behind a Traveller Palm.

After spending some time in the Iao Valley, we went back to the condo and had more beach time (see a theme here?). We stayed at the beach till sunset, then went to bed because the next day was going to begin quite early.

Alarms on Christmas Day awoke us at 3:30 am local time. Unfortunately, we were planning to get up this early to make sure we could leave at 4 am to begin the trek up to the summit of Haleakala to see the sunrise. The sunrises/sunsets in Hawaii are legendary, and having the opportunity to view one at 10,000+ feet above the clouds is just incredible. At that altitude, the temperature was around 40 degrees with a stiff 15 knot wind. Did I mention the periods of mist too!? My pictures don't do this experience justice, but this was one of the most memorable experiences of the trip.







We watched the sunrise above the crater, which is where the astronauts trained prior to the first mission to the moon.



After watching the full sunrise, we headed back down the side of the mountain (with the heater on at full blast). Though it may sound crazy (though not as crazy as getting up at 330 AM and watching a sunrise at 40 degrees F in Hawaii) we drove down the side of the mountain with the windows open taking in all the sounds and smells. At one point, we drove through a forest of pines that just smelled incredible (Glade tries to reproduce this smell, but it is just not quite the same).

We ended up following rainbows all the way down the mountainside to the beach traveling through Makawao (say that five times fast) and Paia. Paia is known for being a hippie town, but since it was Christmas (and early too), the town was quite empty. We ended up at a beach on the north side of the island in Kahului Bay and the surf was incredible.

See the double rainbow?

My brother trying to outrun the surf.

Hawaii (post #2)

After settling into the condo, it was time for the beach. Some of the beach access was closed because of the storm that devastated the state three weeks prior. Of course, there was nothing that could have stopped us from finding a beach. Below is a picture of our condo and of the beach across the street. This beach became one of our favorite hang out spots that we frequented throughout the week.

Here are a few of the flowers around our condo.

Here are a few palm branches that were downed at the beach in the recent storm.

That evening, we headed north to Lahina to see the Banyan tree that is a block wide and to eat some fresh fish. Thereafter, we were still jet lagged and went home and went to bed.

The next morning we went to the Iao Vally to seen the Iao needle (mountain that looks like...well, you know ;-)). With the Iao Vally receiving over 400 inches of annual rainfall a year, we opted to go as early as possible to beat the influence of the trade winds. The Iao Valley is lush and tropical, and the trip to and from offers some spectacular views of the island. Thereafter, we stopped at the plantation, had a GREAT lunch at Buzz's and headed back to the beach for the afternoon.

Hawaii

Where do you begin to describe spending over a week in paradise?!? I had an awesome time there (especially on Maui) and am longing for the day that I have the opportunity to return. Of course everything in paradise is expensive, gas 3.87 /gallon, egg 3.99/dozen and milk 7.99/gallon, but if you can stomach the cost it is well worth it. We flew into Maui on the 21st. I arrived about an hour before the rest of my family did. Once they got there, they told me about something I had overlooked, our condo was not available till the following night. So after getting our rental car (a dodge magnum with LOTS of giddy up), we set out looking for a place to stay.




We all were quite hungry after spending 10+ hours on the plane, so we stopped at the first place we saw for dinner, which was Outback. Yeah, I can hear all the groans now, nothing like traveling nearly 4000 miles to go to Outback! After eating a VERY fulfilling meal, we went in search of a hotel. My brother had done a quick internet search online before he left, and couldn't find anything under 200.00/night. After talking to a friend on the phone who did a quick internet search, it sounded like the best we were going to find was ~170.00/night (hey they don't call Maui the expensive island for nothing). After finding a Best Western for that rate, we all retired for the night in a small room with a single queen sized bed (thank goodness we were not staying that way for the full 10 days).

The next morning my mom and sister (who got the bed) got up to watch the sunrise at the beach, while my brother and myself sat in a daze and watched a NCAA game. Since Hawaii is 4 hours behind Central Time, football and basketball games are on as soon as you wake up, it is great!!!

After a while, we too strolled down to the beach to check out the sights and this is what we saw...



Afterwards, we set out to find our condo. After a confusing check in process, we found out we were staying at a condo in Kehei right across the street from one of the better beaches on the island. Actually, the condo was in a great location within walking distance of some great restaurants and beaches.

More on the adventures to follow...

This entry was brought to you by the letter F

(These are not black and whites)

Where does all the time go? I wanted to get one more blog entry in before the end of the year sneaks up on me. Several weeks ago, I purchased new furniture for the downstairs family room and ditched the college hand me down stuff. I have already had a couple of movie nights breaking in the new additions and I have to say they definitely get the seal approval. If the furniture looks familiar to some of you, that is because it is the same set as what both Jazzy and Jen and Jeff have.

Recently, we have had a lot of fog and frost. The end result was a festive scene that would have made a nice Christmas card (better than the generic cards I sent out this year). I have been on night shifts the last several nights, but rumor has it that some pilots flew in town over the frost covered surfaces once the fog lifted. I am sure the view was spectacular!

This will be my last blog entry of the year as I am flying to Hawaii for several days of R & R. Be sure to check back in early 2008, I will try to post some pictures shortly after I get back. Hope you all have a wonderful holiday season, and I look forward to seeing everyone in 2008!

SNOW!!!

Yesterday the first winter storm of the season hit the Upper Midwest. We received just under 5 inches of snow here in the city, but it amounted to an inch of QPF because of all the freezing rain and sleet mixed in. Getting around the city was slow, but still manageable.

In other news, helped with a flight on Thursday afternoon and got in around 1/2 hour of burner time in Rock Rapids Iowa. Went to around 1500 feet agl as a bald eagle flew at tree top height below us. Also, made my first splash and dash in the Rock River. Overall, a very fun flight and afternoon.

Finally, have been asked back to speak at the Wisconsin Balloon Group and the Iowa Balloonist Association Safety Seminars in spring of 2008. Have some really cool ideas for talks, now just gotta find the time to write them!