Relaxing 'Locals on Maui' Style

Our two week vacation and 'see the family' trip is almost over.
We thoroughly enjoyed a combined families dinner at the Outlaws (Daughter-in-laws folks) last night at the 4,000ft level up Mt Haleakala. It was definitely chilly when we left for home at 8.30pm.

Our host arrives home tomorrow, and we leave Maui on Wednesday night for the mainland. We are ready to go 'home' to the boat, and get on with our daily lives.

We have done so little in the past two weeks and it has been VERY good for us.
A few of the highlights: Spending time with the 'kids' and 'kidlets' and observing our 13/14 month old Grandson as he explores his world. He is a very thoughtful and easy going little boy, always trying something new with whatever he has at hand. He is a pleasure to be around, and his verbal skills are amazing...he talks non-stop!
Serendipitous meetings with people from my past life, here on Maui, between 1985 and 2005, and some wonderful memories of those same people, and sharing time with them. We have all aged, of course, but it doesn't matter! We are still alive!

We have enormously enjoyed the garden of our host. Though the garden is filled with many 'static' plants, they are softened by the giant Australian Tree ferns, and the Towering, purple flower bearing Jacarandas, among others.  I'm going to share some photos with you.

The first ones are from our trip up Mt Haleakala (House of the Sun).
The Nene (nay nay) goose is a native Hawaiian goose, which is now endangered. People still feed them which is naughty, as they need to learn to forage for themselves and not eat people food, such as bread and cookies!

The lovely Mamane (ma marn aye) which is a first cousin to the Kowhai (Ko fye) in New Zealand.

The Native Hawaiian Sandlewood. It was so good to see so many of them.

Our hosts garden is delightful, and filled with all kinds of different Orchids, Bromeliads, Tilandsias (same family) and any number of other hardy plants.
Lady slipper orchids with the morning sun behind them.

The seeds of the Cycad, one of the most ancient of palms, are gorgeous!

The new fronds of the Australian Tree Fern, ready to hatch in their own little nest.

Bromeliad flowers are stunning in their variety. This one in particular!

I love the contrast of these silver Tilandsias against the black of the volcanic cinders they are planted in l

Another Bromeliad flower.

More Bromeliad flowers with seeds

And the whole garden smells like Lemon blossoms, right now.

We made a trip to Bill and Sally Worcester's Glass workshop in Kula, Maui, to see their latest stunning glass creations.
The glass on these orbs are sand blasted to give the glass a transparency, so the pale blue areas that you see here, are now see-through. Put a light inside, and they  are stunning!

 Sally forming a new bowl.

 Sally and Bill were responsible for bringing the process of Hot Glass to the Islands; first Oahu and then Maui, where they have a dedicated following. I am very fortunate to own two pieces...both gifts!

See what I mean about the light inside?

 One of Bills magnificent pieces with a distinct Hawaiian flavor.

Of course their son Michael grew up with glass in his veins, and this vase below is one of his creations.

 This one also...like a shell, and it even has little barnacles on the other side, see...below..

After taking a good amount of time out to view these, and have a chat with Bill, who loves to visit NZ, we took off for Makawao to visit the store they originally started, and then sold to two of their protégé.

We went on to the kids after all that gadding about and spent a couple of hours at their place. I played with the youngster, and his sister was doing her homework...or supposed to be!
Our lovely Granddaughter...soon to be 10. She is a Taurean the same as me:)

Our still blue-eyed grandson with the ball that he loves to play with. His ball handling skills, at 14 months, are amazing...and I'm not just saying that. He can throw AND receive!

My son has always been a gun nut, so it wasn't surprising to find that the kitty is called....wait for it...

Baretta! Aieee!!!...but she is a cute kitty and very loving. She and boy have lots of fun.

Waz has a definite way with both kids and animals....he is best buddy of both, here:)

On the previous Sunday, we all met at Thompson Road, for a walk/run/ride. Was didn't feel very well at all, on the return journey, and we left to come home for him to have a sleep. it is a three mile round trip, which we have done a few times this visit. It is cooler than down country and the scenery is stunning on a clear day.
Sometimes you just cant win...and this Jackson's Chameleon didn't make it across the road. I remember this being a common sight, when I lived here. They are rather gorgeous creatures!

These plants are weeds, but they are pretty weeds.

Another 'weed' is the Australian Wattle....it is everywhere, and I remember clearing a whole field full of it when I was developing my Kula property, way back when.

 I have had several meals of these wild blackberries...They are so sweet.

The south shore view of Maui, from Thompson Road. Pasture on the down side and above the road as well. It is rather shocking to find that many of the pastures are covered in a nasty vine, which tells me that they aren't grazing cattle there any more. Sad!

Loquat blossoms. I used to have a large Loquat tree in my yard, at the 3,500ft elevation. It was often a dessert for the family....they were so sweet, and the juice would dribble down our chins...delightful memories!

Wild yellow Passionfruit, which is something of a pest now. the flowers are still lovely, but I wish there weren't so many of them!

Thompson Road, with its Hawaiian lava rock walls to contain the stock.

 Oprah Winfrey has a property just behind where I am standing, on this road. This is looking northward and upwards on the Mountain.

Another morning we took ourselves down to Kihei and Wailea. We bought a sushi lunch from Foodland in Kihei and made our way to one of my favorite beach parks, Kamaole 3. (karma oh lay). Was started on the sushi while I had to take a photo of it. It was a perfect day and the water was the most glorious color.

We always purchase paper towels and wipe/tissues, wherever we visit. They come in really handy everywhere.
I like alternative energy sources, but these really are a blot on the lovely West Maui Mountains.

Looking out into the wide Pacific Ocean from the beach park.

 The beach wasn't very busy, on such a warm day, which was quite good in some ways. Less tourist is good for us, but not for Maui.

 In Wailea, after a visit to the Shops at Wailea for a quick walkaround, we visited the Historic Keawala'i Church at Makena. It is built of the only building materials they had, in those days...Lava!

 The churchyard and graves are shadowed by a variety of Plumeria. The scent is heady!

 The view over the mangroves to the West Maui's

 A white Bouganvillea, which is a rarity in these parts. One usually sees the highly colored varieties

 What a peaceful place to rest one's soul.

Another day we went on an ART trail, visiting all my favorite places.

This lovely bright hibiscus is called Hula Girl. It was a favorite of my late ex-Father in law's. It is a favorite of mine too! I love the clarity of the yellow with the red throat.

Hui No'eau quickly became my second home, when I first went to Maui to live. It is an Arts Center, and I took classes in Traditional Hawaiian Lauhala weaving with master Susan Kilmer, Water color classes with the celebrated Pamela Hayes, and Fine woodworking with Hawaiian lumber, with Craftsman-to-the-stars, Bill Robertson. I did the latter for two years. My youngest son learned Fine jewelry making there with J.B Rea. Over 20 years there, I was a board member and actively involved in all aspects of the full arts calendar, during that time. The architect was Charles William Dickey, celebrated throughout Hawaii. It was a former Baldwin home, before being bequeathed. http://huinoeau.com/about/who-we-are/

In the grounds there, are  so many red Ti plants. Their berries are bright red to the blood red/green of the leaves

There is also a rock wall covered with this lovely Pot of Gold Vine. I have always loved these golden flowers with their maroon stripes. These are larger than two hands put together side by side.

 On the way out! but what color!

 I love these architectural details of old.

 The lovely view in the front of the building, across the now empty pineapple fields. Maui Pineapple co. is now defunct! HC&S, sugar is also on the way out, and we look down on the vast fields of sugar cane blowing in the trade winds, and wonder what it will look like in two years time....will they be a patchwork of red dust?

Another day, when it was threatening to rain again, we took the road less travelled to Ulupalakua (oo loo parla koo ah), around the south side of the Mountain. In this photo you can see the last cinder cone at the bottom of the last lava flow, just over 200 years ago. Mt Haleakala is a DORMANT volcano! To the right is the sunken volcano of Molokini. Behind it is the large Island of Kahoolawe (car ho o lar vay) , on which there is no natural water source, and so, despite some attempts to use it for ranching et al, it remains one of the drier places on this earth.

 Most of the Jacaranda  blossoms have fallen, for the season, but this one is still in full bloom.

 Bouganvillea is such a blousy girl.

 The Ulupalakua Ranch store has some good quality products in it...and these fellas have been sitting outside for the pat 30 years or more.
We visited the Winery, but didn't take to the Pineapple wine at all.
Back home! it is raining!

Pardee Erdman, owner of the ranch and his other investors, have now started Maui Gold Pineapple company, to keep Maui supplied with the prickly fruits.

 In the grounds of the ranch house is this Queensland, Australia Kauri Tree. The straight trunk is very similar to that of the NZ Kauri tree.

Though the Jade Vine is native to the Phillipines, it is well known in the Islands as a favorite Lei flower.

I will leave you here, and continue later tonight. Plenty more to go!

Here, There and Everywhere...

Or so it seems!
We were back living on the boat for just four days before packing our bags again and heading west to visit friends just north of Tampa. One of the reasons for this westward gallop was that our flight to Maui left from Tampa. As we had cancelled our last booked trip to Maui out of Tampa, when we were living on that coast, we had to go the same route, or pay money. Being cheap kiwis, we didn't want to pay money, so made the trek across the peninsula which is always interesting, given that we have to  go through the lovely horse country that is Ocala. Green fields with white and black rail fences with grazing lovelies. No babies, that we saw, but we will hopefully see them on our return trip.

Staying with our special Aussie friends for a couple of nights was a great pleasure. Diane boards horses on their estate, so I got to go and have a nuzzle or two with a couple of them....one of which was very mouthy, trying to eat anything and everything. A very pretty grey!
We also renewed our acquaintances with their old Walker Hound and got to enjoy their new kitty. We always love having animals around.

Waz and I went into Tarpon Springs, to the Historic Greek town to look for some gifts...which we didn't find...mainly because we got side-tracked at Hallas Greek Bakery and Café. You cant pass that place by, and it was chock full of people making purchases of their amazing cakes. We had enjoyed a Giro prior to this, at one of the Old Town Greek restaurants, and that is now on our list for a revisit! Excellent, it was.

We ordered a Latte and a small cake each...small being the American variety of small, if you follow me:) So much for our efforts to NOT eat sugar! lol

Having fortified ourselves with cake...and it was raining by now...we went up one side of the street and down the other for a little exercise, all the while getting a weeny bit wet! ha!

Back at the farm...well, it is a few acres....we dried off and as Waz and I had visited the supermarket on the way home, finding there a large leg of Aussie Lamb, on sale, I proceeded to make a roast for us all. We were supposed to go out for dinner...but with the rain coming down, we decided to dine in. The lamb cooked to perfection and roast veges...yummy! It has been years since we have enjoyed a leg of lamb from anywhere, mostly because they are too large for the two of us, and it wont fit in our little micro-convection oven. This was indeed a pleasure to share it with downunda friends:) There was enough left over for two more meals...and in the freezer they went!

With that meal, Richard was bribed to wake around 4.15am, to take us to the Tampa Airport the next morning. I have promised some steak dinners on our return, for good measure, as he is to pick us up also.

Our flight to Maui went via Denver, which we always enjoy, and more so this time as we had one time passes to the United Club Lounge. Breakfast was still underway, and we enjoyed some cereal as our second breakfast for the day. I had made ham and cheese croissants for the journey, the night before, and those were most welcome, accompanied by a hot coffee at the airport. With a couple of time changes, our systems were a little messed up, and meals were when we felt hungry. The flight to Maui was 7 and a bit hours...pleasant enough, but I was getting a bit jumpy towards the end. We bought an onboard snack pack, which was expensive for what it was, but whose counting?
The approach to Maui is always a bit windy, and I HATE it with a passion....and for good reason. There was a decided drop, on approach, which had a few white knuckles appearing...not the least mine! but we bounced on the ground a couple of times before the brakes were jammed on as we neared the end of the short runway.

The makings of a lovely fine day in Denver.

We took a little time, after retrieving our luggage, to order a latte at the Starbucks at the airport...BIG mistake! $10+ !! WHAT?? accompanied by vows never to do so again! We were a little desperate for a good coffee (not airline) and some fresh air.

We had purchased and gone through TSA Pre-Check, end of last year, and it is fabulous...we go through pre-check line without waiting, at any US airport. Well worth going through the security checks first. We also signed up for express Car rental, which certainly made a difference when picking up our car at the airport.

A quick drop in on #1 son at work, as he requested, and then made our way to their house to meet the family. Somewhere there had been a miscommunication, and we missed them. No matter, we had somewhere else to be.
We had arranged another house-sit in Lower Kula, on the slopes of Mt Haleakala, and wanted to be there before dark.

We were so happy to find the house with it's beautiful garden, lovely down country views and cool temperatures. There is a good reason to be up country on Maui! COOL!

We are to look after a cat that lives outside, but seems to have made it's home here. Formerly feral...can one be formerly feral??? It is shy, but waits patiently for it's food, each day three times a day!

We have this lovely view to eat breakfast and dinner with. There was a lot of VOG (Volcanic Fog) when we arrived, and we couldn't see down country very well at all for the first few days.

Water lilies in the pond.

I have the wonderful task of watering the garden parts that are not irrigated. One of my all time favorite jobs. Gardens and gardening is soul food, and I have so enjoyed being out there taking photos, discovering all that our host has planted with much care for the style and shape and color of all the plants. Australian Tree ferns play host to orchids, Tilandsias, and Anthurium. Each time I walk around the garden I discover something new:)

We have spent the last week doing some gentle sight seeing to favorite places....mostly new to Waz, and surveying the wonder that is the Crater at 10, 023 ft, of Mt Haleakala.

On reaching the summit, we were delighted to see so many Silversword (Ahinahina) plants dotting the cinders. This is the only place on earth that they grow, so it is very important that they continue to thrive. This was the only one we saw in bloom.

We have been quiet people, mostly due to our need to rest....this is, after all, a vacation for us. Seeing Grandkids is fun and their parents as well.
Waz is feeling better some days, and others not. He has a lot of afternoon naps.

Family meals, and more to come this weekend, to look forward to. It is currently raining hard, which the county badly needs. We don't mind being holed up here with it raining:)

So, that's it for now. Our remaining days are limited, but it is nice to be back and with loved ones.

We Are Back in the Water and Home on the Boat.

Our two weeks on the 'hard' were up on Monday the 21st, as planned. paint arrived on time, we decided to paint the WHOLE of the boat bottom instead of part of it, and so more paint was ordered, and this time there were no issues with it's arrival. Phew!

We spent four days preparing the bottom for painting, and then we did the whole of the bottom painting in ONE day, and nearly killed ourselves. It doesn't look like much (all that lighter blue area) but believe me, a 55ft boat is a lot of painting to do! Waz did most of the far underside and running gear, while I did the detail and upper sides. What a team!
You know how you start all gung ho, and slowly but surely the energy wears out until you hit the wall and you still have half a job to do???Yep! It happened! We had to keep going, because the rain had started...and to make matters just a little bit worse, the no-see-ems were out in force. Sheesh, they are annoying!! We liberally sprayed bug spray all over us....which didn't stop them trying to get up my nose!!!!

The contractor did a reasonably nice job of some painting...the stripe! and a few other small jobs which needed a coat to make her look gorgeous again.

We finished up with a general sweep and made her ready for hitting the water again on Monday morning.

We cant say enough good things about Bronson Lamb and his team at St John's Boatyard, Mayport. They were totally onto everything, and we appreciated being able to work on the boat ourselves.

The boat was picked up by the travel lift just before noon on Monday. We found out that we weigh 70,000lbs fully loaded with water and fuel. Nice to know that!
The preparations for putting her in the sling were many, and expertly done by Bronson and his helper. It is a huge responsibility for them doing a job like this...one error and it is a lawsuit! We have seen numerous YOUTUBE videos of boats being dropped out of slings and from cranes, so we didn't want anything like that happening to our home!


The Travel Lift moves into place over the boat, to pick her up in the slings.

 Positioning

 Slings in the right place

 Hard stands will be removed when the boat is finally in the slings.

 Bronson (The Boatyard Owner) is joining the strops underneath the boat to make the sling.

Now that the sling has been joined underneath, they are laying paper over the strops to protect our paint job:)

Everything is in place, and they are almost ready to lift her.

They can now remove the hard stands because the boat is being supported by the sling.

 

...and we have LIFT-OFF!

It is a little like watching the Space Shuttle slowly make its way to the launch pad...so it is with the travel lift.

 We had to move a couple of cars to get the lift through this passage, including ours...that's the back end of us to the bottom left.

Bronson walked in front, guiding his helper and the driver through the narrow passage, and along the fence-line.

 It was a weeny bit tight at times:)

Finally, she is turned around, heading backwards to the slip for re-entry to the water.

Waz just hopped on the boat, with strict instructions from Bronson, on how to reverse out and when to do it...

 Just a wee bit of weight on those travel lift tires!

She is in the water and the engines are running. Time to let the slings down and for Waz to reverse out of there...gently at first, then once clear of the slip, out into the fast flowing St John's river.

 Reversed and waiting to put her into forward and away up the river. He was going against the tide, so she was a little slower going than anticipated, but we hadn't wanted to wait another 4 hours for the tide to turn. We were ready to go! Glad we did, because it was a long day anyway.

 And off she goes.

I took the time to go back and check that we hadn't left anything behind that shouldn't be there....It looked a little sad, to tell the truth:(

 I started the car at this time...12.27pm, Monday 21st, and on the way. it had taken just under an hour from start to finish, to re-launch. Well done team!

I decided to go back to the house sit and have lunch and check on our old lady cat. I had three hours to kill, and that sounded like the best option for me. I caught the car ferry across the river, and took this photo of the travel lift exactly where it had dropped (well, not literally!!!) us into the slip. You can see it behind the yellow Tug.

The old lady cat in our charge. She was just fine, when I got home, so I made sure she had a drink, and after eating my lunch, I left for the 50 minute car trip back to the Marina.

My timing was perfect...purrrfect??  :)

I arrived about ten minutes before Warren turned into the channel and we docked our baby without any drama. Well done Waz.

As it was yet another long day, our best bet, if we wanted any food for dinner, was to return to the Sushi restaurant in Atlantic Beach. I like their sushi, and Waz likes their Hibachi Steak.
It is a long way from the Marina, and I find the city traffic stressful. This is a large city and the traffic is like any large city, especially at rush hour. Patience mon amour!

Today is the 24th March. The year is progressing...is about all I can say for it. Someone mentioned Christmas, the other day...aiee!!!!

We have cleaned and laundered the house sit over the past few days, and we vacated the house around 9.30 this morning, having checked and double checked that everything was perfect for the owners...who sent us a text message at 5am....They were returning from Sth America, so we can only surmise that their time was different to ours. So, unable to really go back to sleep....following a series of burps and rings on Waz's phone, we got up!  it does rather turn the day upside down, having a super early start...or is that my old age talking???

We loved being a block from the long beach, and yesterday afternoon, took a long walk along it....long walk along...ok...you get the picture! Lots of people out and about and kids enjoying the sand...well, a few kids...but mostly Spring Break Teens.

We have enjoyed the peaceful environment of the contemporary subdivision. The houses are 'our kind' of house, with soaring ceilings and large inter-connected rooms...open-plan, basically. Nice!

This property is about 1 acre, all of which is tropical garden. there is a path you can walk through the undergrowth if you choose. With the Azeleas in bloom, it is very pretty.

 There are plenty of naughty squirrels that try to access the bird house, but fail. It is fun to watch them try:) The Cardinals are very noisy right now and are the primary feeders of the bird seed. Delightful to watch and listen to.

We didn't actually spend any time on the back deck...bugs on humid days didn't make it inviting, but also it got cold, about the time we were ready to sit back and relax.

The owners are now home and enjoying being home, they said. Their old cat is in fine shape and the house is clean and inviting. We look forward to getting together with them to hear about their travels, in the near future.

It is warm in the boat...about 79F today, we are told, and I have the fan on high to circulate the air. Windows on the cool side have been open all day, and has allowed the boat to acquire some fresh air. She was a bit stale when we arrived this morning.
We went out for Dinner with our friend David, across on dock 1, to the Longhorn Steak house, tonight. We were all tired, and the meat is excellent there. They didn't have any rare prime rib left, so I settled for Aussie Lamb Chops which were very fatty, but otherwise tasty.
Good Friday tomorrow.  I have an appointment with the Hand Doc...the final for this go-around, and three months post-op. I don't really think about what I can and cant do with that hand anymore, until it hurts.  Good thing?
Time to call it a night.
Ciao for now.