Aloha, two!!

Good morning again, from Maui! It's been as wonderful the past couple of days here as the first ones and other than the miserable morning at Haleakala, it's been great weather. This morning there are some clouds outside, but it's still warm and Rick is actually sitting on the lanai in his shorts on a telephone conference for work - it's about 7:30 a.m. here.

To update you, we did make it back to Haleakala for sunset on Tuesday and it was a WAY better experience! It did get cold there, especially after the sun went down, but was beautiful. We arrived and looked around...amazed at what we could see in the daylight as we had NO clue what was there the day before, so this was spectacular. To see the crater was incredible...it is something else. It would have been great to see it with the sunrise, but that's okay, we got the sunset at least! It's like you are on top of the world as the clouds are all below and you can't see much of the land. As the sunset, we could see more of the distant islands, the higher elevations, but we did eventually see some city lights from below as the clouds broke a bit more after sunset. If you know me, I was cold, freezing, by the time we left and it took quite a while for my hands to thaw out, but of course, while photographing, I would not give in to the cold - can't miss any photo opportunity just because I can't feel my fingers! :-)

Yesterday (Wednesday) we drove to Hana...and survived the drive! It was a bit hazy in the morning, so the "view" shots were not worth it and besides we would have been shooting directly into the sun and that just doesn't work. We traveled on to the many waterfalls and found some nice ones, but the water flow is lower, so nothing that was WOW! We thought that the Oregon waterfalls were just as good or better (and even heard others mention that). The road...they say it has 600 turns/curves and Rick says it must be 6000...each way! It's REALLY curvy and extremely narrow with many spots just one lane. Thankfully, everyone was courteous and took turns in those spots, so we didn't have any troubles. Our two favorite spots were the black sand beach at Wai'anapanapa - it truly is black sand, pretty amazing! After exploring that area, we ate lunch there before heading on to the next stop (well, a waterfall or two was in between!), Ohe'o Gulch (Seven Sacred Pools). That was a pretty amazing place and quite beautiful. TONS of people, many in the water and a few jumping off the rocks into it. A bit of dexterity was required in navigating the rocks to get to the other side and Rick slipped at one point...so his left foot was "blessed" in the pools!! Our trip back from the pools took 2 1/2 hours to our condo...and just 60 miles to Kahului and about 20 min. from there to our unit...so that gives you an idea how slow the driving is. On the way back, we saw one vehicle that had gone over the side and thankfully, the trees had stopped the fall...it appeared as though the couples in the vehicle were okay and police were there...but wow, that had to have been EXTREMELY scary!! It certainly makes you drive even safer after seeing something like that.

Two full days left...and really nothing planned other than relaxing and beach walks. We've talked about a whale watching boat, but we're not sure. We've seen tons of them from here and a nearby look out. The other day we actually saw one TOTALLY out of the water, but of course, neither of us had our cameras ready, although I did capture the splash, which was big. There appeared to be a mom and a couple calves...and the babies came out a lot , but mom just slightly surfaced most of the time.

We'll sign off and send this with some more photos. This will be the last post from here, future one will have to wait till we're on the "mainland!" Hope you are all doing well and not having too bad of weather...we're trying to send some sunshine your way, not sure if we'll be successful!!
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Aloha...

It truly is paradise over here...the beautiful beaches, the warm weather, sunshine, soothing sounds of the waves washing on shore and the relaxed lifestyle...this is truly something we could get used to!! :) We arrived on Thursday afternoon, a bit early, but of course, the luggage delay made up for the early arrival. Once we got our rental car, we headed to Costco to stock up on things for the week ahead. Then, we headed to the Kihei area, where our condo was...Sugar Beach Resort. We'd not stayed here before and are really happy with it...great beach and location and we've got a wonderful view of the ocean. We're on the sixth floor, so it's quite a walk, but that's okay...it's good for us, right?! So, between our walks on the beach and climbing the stairs a couple times a day, we're getting our exercise.


Our first full day, Friday, we drove along the coast, through, Wailea, Makena and on to La Perouse Bay. We found some wonderful areas to photograph and just enjoy the great weather and beaches here. It was a relaxing drive. Dinner that night was grilled chicken here at the condo and had a nice dinner on our lanai. Saturday found us heading to the other side of the island to find some surfers to photograph and ended up at Ho'okipa Lookout and found it to be a great beach to surf and to photograph surfers...of course, we were doing the later of the two! We also enjoyed lunch on the rocks (don't tell anyone, we had a Mai Tai in a bottle that we drank along with it!).


Sunday, we headed to the Iao Needle/Valley fairly early and beat the crowds for that, so we had some time to walk through and photograph without too many people around. It was starting to cloud up as we left and we headed back to Kihei where we had lunch at Fred's Mexican Cafe...I know, it sounds kind of odd for a Mexican place, but we had a good lunch and a GREAT margarita...best we've ever had! Highly recommended! It was quite windy and cooler, and we ended up back at the condo and read books on the lanai...very relaxing.


We've seen many whales out in the bay around us and on Saturday went to a light beacon and scenic lookout where we could see them as well...lots of blowholes and occasional tails and more...but nothing really close, although we've talked with many who have said they've seen them much closer before. We are continually keeping our eyes peeled for them.


This morning...it was our big day, we got up at 3 am...so that we could get up to Haleakala to see the sunrise. It had rained a bit overnight although was dry for the drive across the island....as we started up, there were dry and wet areas, but nothing bad. Since we were climbing to 10,000 feet, we figured that it would break and we'd be fine....NOT!!!!! We arrived there about 1 1/2 hours before sunrise...to find the parking lot half full and it was raining sideways and that wind was cutting when it hit you on the face. We sat in the car for quite a while and then ventured to the visitor center once it opened. So, our early rising was for not...we saw nothing other than a lot of fog and a few rocks...it never broke. After a while, we gave up and headed down, most had already left. We found more rain and wind on the way down than we had on the way up. At one point, just after you enter the national park, there was a break and it was really nice...we were below the "yuck" from above and above the clouds below...that was really pretty and the best view we'd had all morning! The ranger up there said it's actually much better at sunset, so we may head out there tomorrow. After that, we went to Costco to pick up a few things, then headed back and went back to the lookout by Kihei to see if we could see any whales. There were a few, but they were far out...so we headed back to the condo for lunch and then a long walk on the beach! Walking on the beach has been a daily event and it's wonderful...I'm trying to figure out how I can "recreate" this when we get home...any ideas?!!

Tonight we went to Mama's Fish House in Paia and it was WONDERFUL...very pricey, but well worth it for the whole experience! It'll probably be our only dinner out while here and we did it right! While waiting for our table, we hear a family talking about their day at Haleakala...and how wonderful it was! They obviously were up there later and they said the sun was out, above all the clouds below...so we missed it all! We are thinking that tomorrow we'll head up there for sunset...and see if we can experience something totally different from what we had this morning!

It's Monday night and we have through Saturday mid-day before we have to head back to reality...so for now, we'll take advantage of all that we can here in "paradise!" We're planning on the road to Hana on Wednesday and maybe Tuesday...depending on how long we take....and of course that would entail MANY more photos!! So stay tuned! This has been a wonderful time so far, and I'm sure that the rest of our time will be the same...we've enjoyed hearing from all of you and will reply, if we haven't yet...in time! We're busy "relaxing" and soaking up the laid back life of Maui!! :-) We love you all!

It's now Tuesday morning...and needless to say, we didn't get this finished last night...didn't get the photos uploaded, so figured we'd wait until today. And...boy, did we pick the wrong day to head to Haleakala...it's perfectly clear out this morning, everywhere, so today would have been a MUCH better day! Figures! We'll probably give sunset a try up there tonight and get something from there! Terri slept in this morning, making up for the couple of hours sleep from the night before...it felt good. Rick was up a bit earlier, make a conference call for work and answered a few emails, but mostly just enjoyed the great view outside...and saw some whales playing in the bay! So, now, the photos are loaded and we'll get this posted! Maybe more later this week, or after we get home...stay tuned!!

WAYYYY Behind!

Somehow the past six months have vanished and we're trying to catch our breath after lots of activities! The highlights were our cruise to Alaska for our 25th wedding anniversary; Jessalyn's wedding to Sean Perry...now "Mr. and Mrs. Sean Perry"; Josh, Miranda and Jayden moving into their new home; and of course, the holidays. We'll briefly update on those topics, but before we do that, we have some very sad news to share with you.

Terri's dad, Clark, passed away last month, unexpectely, while on vacation in California. Her parents winter in the Oceanside/Carlsbad area each year...to escape the cold and snow of Spokane. Shortly after they arrived there, he passed away, leaving their family shocked and saddened. We flew down to San Diego to be with Terri's mom for support. Rick flew back home a couple of days later, but Terri stayed for another week before she flew home. Terri's mom, Sis, has decided to stay down there until their rental unit is up (April) and then will return to Spokane. There will be a service and wake this spring for Clark. He would have wanted a celebration and we look forward to hearing memories from our friends and family as he was loved by many. There will definitely be a large hole in our lives with his passing and he is going to be sorely missed.

Our cruise, to Alaska...it was incredible and we definitely plan to return to again to see more. Alaska is beautiful and there is SO much to see! The cruise was a great way to start out with the state and our ports...Juneau, Skagway, Tracy Arm Fjord (our favorite!!) and Prince Rupert, BC...were wonderful! We traveled with some great friends, Allen and Brenda Swift, of Tennessee, who also celebrated their 25th anniversary this year...and it was our second cruise with them as we all went on a Carribean cruise 5 years ago when we celebrated our 20th anniversaries. Of course, we took TONS of photos during that week!! Now, to start thinking about our 30th anniversary cruise!

THE WEDDING...what can we say, it was perfect, the bride was gorgeous and it was great fun! Not that we're biased or anything, but it really was a very nice wedding. We definitely had someone watching over us as the weather was perfect that day (it was not the case a good part of August around here...so we were lucky!). Jessalyn was a beautiful bride and she and Sean make a very handsome couple. It was so much fun to have our family and friends there to share in such a special day. They have now been married for six months...wow, the time just flys by! They live in Tacoma, about 20 minutes away from us. Jess is in school, her junior year with a graduation date of June 2009 and an education degree in sight. She's also work part time at Washington Mutual as a teller, where she's work for 5 years. Sean works in a warehouse for Potelco, and keeps busy with that, side jobs (electrical) and working on his cars!



A new home...Josh and Miranda bought a house this fall and moved in October...to their first home! It's located in Spanaway, about 20 minutes away from us (hmm, sounds familiar!). They have enjoyed getting settled and finally having their own place and a bit more space...than our extra room above the garage, where they lived for nearly six months! Josh is working, driving a diesel truck and fueling vehicles in lots (usually nights and weekends) so that the trucks are ready for those drivers when they start work the next day. Miranda works for a development company that has condos in the Tacoma and Gig Harbor area which are being built. She works in the office, handling calls, reports, showing models and assisting the agents when needed. Both of them work full time, but their "weekend" is Tuesday and Wednesday." Josh just recently switched to 4-10's, so he also has Monday's off. Terri (Meme) watches Jayden on Thursdays and Fridays and we have her every other weekend...her other grandma (Nana) watches her the other weekends.

Jayden...Well, she's grown and changed SOOO much since they arrived here last May and is a joy and delight to be around! She turned two in September and is now nearly 29 months old. She's quite the cutie, talks up a storm and is very observant and thoughtful. She loves being read to, playing with Play-Dough, watching anything with animals and is becoming quite a good "mommy" to her babies! We really enjoy our time with her and always are chuckling at something she says or does...she's quite the character! She does NOT like the doctor, so whenever she thinks she's going there...she says NO doctor! A couple weeks ago she and I went with our neighbor, Leah, and her son to our Leah's first ultrasound for their second child and Jayden was quite concerned about just who was seeing the "doctor!" During the ultrasound, she watched in amazement and when it was over, she told Leah, "good job with doctor!" It was so cute and funny and needless to say Jayden was happy she didn't have to see a doctor! We are loving our time with her and are thoroughly enjoying being grandparents!!

The holidays were very nice and we enjoyed having all the kids around to celebrate with. Christmas eve was especially wonderful as we had Terri's cousin, Tara, her boyfriend and her dog, Alpine, join us that evening. It was great fun to have a house full and we all enjoyed just being together. Of course, we enjoyed seeing Jayden's excitement as she opened her gifts! Besides having everyone together, we were blessed to be able to share in Alpine's last Christmas. She passed away in early January and was a WONDERFUL dog who lived 15 great years...we will miss her and always smile when we think of her, especially remembering Alpine romping on the beaches of Maui!

Over New Year's we flew to Spokane to spend a few days with Terri's parents. We enjoyed a relaxing visit with them...just hanging out and catching up with them. It was cold, so we didn't venture out much, although we did have New Year's Eve dinner at the Hayden Lake Country Club and enjoyed the evening and even snuck in a few photos after dinner of the lake. We are SO thankful we made that trip...it was a special time that now has even more meaning to it.

So, we're somewhat current as of now, and we'll just "tease" you with our upcoming vacation! We are headed to Maui for 10 days, leaving this coming Thursday...in just two days! We CAN'T wait and are really looking forward to some time for just the two of us...to relax, walk, reflect, heal, sleep, and of course, PHOTOGRAPH!! We planned this six months ago, not realizing what life had in store for us between then and now...and although we are sad these days, we'll take the time to appreciate our time together and be thankful for what we have. Terri's parents actually vacationed on Maui in November and had a wonderful time and we're so happy they had that time that time together.

We "may" or "may not" update this while we are in Maui...so check back if you'd like. We hope this finds you all well, happy and enjoying life! Remember that you don't know what is ahead, so just appreciate what you have today and enjoy those around you. We'll leave you with some more photos...from the past from the past few months.