Aloha

At the end of many days we work in the laundry, folding towels. As you see from some smiling faces, even that can be fun. Hiking at La Perouse Bay with friends on Wednesday afternoon.

More of the La Perouse hike. La Perouse Bay is located at the south end of the island. The trail is on lava. La Perouse Bay was formed when lava erupted from a vent just up the mountain at around 1790. The shoreline is starkly beautiful--stunning views at each new turn. At times dolphins have been seen to be dancing in the bay. We hope to check it out one more time.
A blowhole that has developed from water erosion.

Happy Thanksgiving

The taro plant--reminded us a little of the rice fields in Thailand and Vietnam. This picture was taken at Kahakuloa Village. A photo opportunity with Kahakuloa Head in the background.
The Olivine Pools.
Sunset at Ka'anapali Beach. Earlier in the day we snorkeled at the beach. We saw and swam with many colourful fish and three large sea turtles. That was fun!

This weekend we celebrated Thanksgiving by touring with our Canadian friends, Lyle and Lorna. We saw countless amazing and beautiful sights.

And we are thankful. Thankful for good health, for our family and friends, for freedom to travel, for the privilege of voting (we have cast our ballot in the election happening in Canada on Tuesday), for God who is the giver of all good gifts.

Weekend ramblings

This past weekend we rented a car and toured around Maui. After two months of being here we have seen many things, but it was good to drive around on our own and come to more of a understanding about the culture and history and how to navigate around this beautiful island. Friday evening we drove to a nearby beach--Ma'alaea Beach. We thought that we might be able to capture a beautiful sunset. However, it was cloudy. Still beautiful. The pictures above were at Ma'alaea.

Saturday we drove together with our friends, Lyle and Lorna McClelland, to Haleakala National Park. The altitude here is 10,000 feet. There are many outstanding views of West Maui and the valley between the mountains. The last series of eruptions at Haleakala occured around 1790. It was at this summit where we did some walking.Lou strikes a familiar pose--he is like an eagle, don't you think?

Saturday evening we attended a show in Lahaina, called 'Ulalena. It is a show written by Canadians depicting Hawaiian life. We were particularly impressed by the music, the percussion in particular was very effective. There were some beautiful dancers who very creatively evoked strong emotions in all of us in the audience. It was fun and entertaining.

Sunday was another beautiful day in Maui. We have been attending a little Hawaiian church in Keolohou whenever we can. That's where we were on Sunday morning. We love it. The worship band includes ukeleles, guitar, keyboard and at times during the service, hula dancers (keikis, or the young girls). Singing is enthusiastic, heartfelt. Always the liturgies are meaningful. People are very friendly.

After church we drove to the upcountry. Tedeschi Winery was one destination. Some interesting historical facts were made known to us there, and the drive was spectacular, but the wine was rather unremarkable. On our way back we visited Ali'i Kula Lavender Garden. A real treat, especially for Marilyn.

Stopped at Kula Lodge for lunch--enjoyed pizza from an outside brick oven.

Our day ended happily at Big Beach, about a fifteen minute drive from where we stay.
How's that for a great wave!Do you think we might be cool?
Sunset at Big Beach!

Work and Play

The tables were set for the opening luncheon on Tuesday for the women's sessions. Marilyn was involved with folding the napkins and preparing the beautiful plumeria flowers.On Saturday we drove about 15 minutes to Makena Beach where we snorkeled.
These were some of the those who snorkeled. What a beautiful day in the sun. And we did see some colourful fish.

Polo Beach. This was up the coast just a few minutes' drive. The snorkeling experience was improved here for Marilyn. She was using improved equipment.

That's it for this week. We've had an extremely busy week with all the regular work plus more than 100 participant arrivals and on-call shifts that proved to be quite busy. New week, new opportunities to develop sore muscles, meet interesting new people and expand our views on many topics that come up in conversations with this international crowd.

See you next week, or whenever this is something to post.

A Day at the Beach

Some of you have asked for beach pictures. On Wednesday afternoon we travelled up the coast past Lahaina and hung out at Fleming Beach for the afternoon. This is it. The waves were powerful and the current was strong. We didn't spend alot of time in the water, but the walk along the beach was great.

Lou's Birthday Week!

It was a fun weekend of celebrating Lou's birthday. On Saturday we travelled with friends to Napili Beach. Our Maui guide book describes Napili in the following way:" it generates more fun per square foot than any other beach in the area." We walked along it before moving on.

We travelled in a northerly direction to the Dragon's Teeth--(the picture of Lou and Marilyn). This is a unique lava formation. Salt spray on the upwind side has etched the lava into thrusting shapes.

The Nakalele blowhole is the final picture. Here the ocean has undercut the shoreline, pounding underneath the lava shelf, where it spits through a man-sized hole in the lava. The blowhole varies tremendously with the tide and size of the surf. (quotes from Maui Revealed)

Of course we have found many ways in which to celebrate Lou and life with him. Yesterday we spent time at the beach, relaxing. At dinner time one of the participants pulled out his guitar, accompanied a chorus of volunteers and in the happy birthday song. In the evening some friends and we walked by the light of the moon at Wailea. The day was complete by enjoying mud pie and coffee.

Travel Highlights--part two

Friday evening Lyle and Lorna McClelland and Ben and Dorothy Bergen and we rented a minivan. We drove to Lahaina--the sunset picture in top left hand corner.

Saturday morning we drove the fifty mile trip (three hours) to Hana. It is an amazing trip. Very beautiful. The road is narrow and has many hairpin turns. Views are breathtaking. The second picture is the Kenae peninsula.

We all loved an amazing hike that began five miles after Hana. It is always a great adventure to begin a hike. Anticipation of what one might encounter or discover is what makes it so interesting. The fragrance of guava provided wonderful ambiance.

After hiking for one mile we entered the bamboo forest. What fun! When the wind was blowing it was like listening to percussion instruments in an orchestra beating out some new song. There was a well built wood walkway through much of the bamboo part of the forest. At the end of the trail was a beautiful waterfall. (top right) Mikahiku falls.

Happy trails!