Maui (part 1)

Because of the three hours that we gained flying to Hawaii, I was wide awake at 5am.  Unfortunately, Ron didn't have the same problem, so I ended up reading in the bathroom for over an hour.  But at some point I woke the lazybones up.

After all, we were heading into Kahului, Maui, and we had this nice view from our balcony.

Since we would be docked in Kahului for two days, after breakfast we took off in a rental car.  Maui is shaped like a bottom heavy 8 and we were docked at the north side of the narrow section.  The plan for the day was to drive around the smaller loop of the 8, the west side.

About 20 miles of the road were narrow with sharp curves, but Phil was up for the challenge.  Yikes!

I had always pictured Maui as being very commercial with large resorts, but that was only in one small area.  There was plenty of rural scenery.

Phil and Ron were both interested in this bus that was converted into a snack bar.  My interest was more disappointment that it wasn't open.

Double Yikes!

But eventually the road improved and soon we reached Lahaina where those big hotels and resorts are located.

Lahaina is home to a famous banyan tree that covers nearly an acre of ground.  (A banyan tree sends down aerial roots from its branches which grow into new trunks when they hit the ground.)  This tree was planted in 1873 and is supported by at least 16 trunks in addition to the original.

This is just part of the tree.

On weekends, an entire arts and crafts festival is held under this massive tree.

I intended to write a post on each day of our trip, but I'm going to break this day in two since I just have too many pictures (mostly of whales.)

Aloha

For the past two weeks, Ron and I, along with my sister Diana and Phil, have been in Hawaii.  The first week we took a cruise around the islands and the second we stayed in Kona on the Big Island.  During those two weeks, I took 914 pictures and 16 videos.  Wow!

After leaving early on a direct flight from Phoenix, and thanks to the three hour time difference, we arrived in Honolulu at 11:35 am.

Even the restroom signs told us we weren't in Kansas (or Phoenix) anymore.

We were warmly greeted before we boarded the ship.

I checked out the cool paint job and the lifeboats while crossing the gangplank.  (More about those lifeboats later.)

We immediately hit one of the dining rooms and the land of gorgeous desserts.

After lunch we checked out the view of Diamond Head from our cabin.

And after looking down at the dock, wondered if we'd ever see our luggage.

Here is a map of the ship's route and stops.  Even with all the recent problems on cruise ships, I wasn't worried.  After all, we'll never be too far from land.

And here's our schedule of stops.  At the two overnight stops, we would be renting a car to tour around.

Then we attended the mandatory lifeboat drill.  Our assembly station was in the theater.  What's up with that?  I wanted to see my lifeboat.  Well, they did have one open for inspection.

Interesting.  And tiny.  Each lifeboat is supposed to hold 125 people, but when was the last time they loaded 125 of today's Americans?  Let's see, 18 lifeboats with 125 people equals 2250.  There are 2100 passengers and who knows how many crew.  Oh, I see, the remainder get to use one of these.

Who knows how they work, but I did find this picture.

But I'm not going to think about that and just remember we won't be too far from land.

We joined DJ Orlando for a tour of the ship.  In summary, if you want to eat, go to the back of the ship, or aft.  If you want entertainment, head to the front or forward.  He said it a lot more entertainingly.

 

Because of the time change and having gotten up at 4:30 am, Ron and I didn't make it to the entertainment that night.  

Promptly at 7 pm, we were off.  (Since it was dark at 7, this picture is from later in the trip, but I'm invoking creative license and using it now to set the stage .)

Ron's RV Improvement

It's been awhile since I've posted any of Ron's RV tweaking, but he's as busy as ever.  Here's something he actually did a year ago, but I finally got pictures.

Ron was always concerned about the emergency escape window.  Once opened, he didn't like the top-hinged window resting on your back as you try to exit and also wondered about the feasibility of the exit itself.  I was of the opinion that if there was a fire, we would somehow just throw ourselves out, but that wasn't good enough for Ron.

Basically he added two things which make the process much easier.  He installed an air shock to hold up the window and a folding step to assist in the exiting.  You can see both in this picture.

Step 1 - Release window which flips up automatically with the air shock.

Here's a closeup of the step which he ordered online from a truck accessories site.

Since the RV did not have a support member where he needed to place the folding step, he installed a support plate both inside and outside the coach.  Then the mounting bolts could go all the way through the wall and plates.

Step 2 - Swing out right leg and kick down step.

Step 3 - Swing out other leg.

Step 4 - Drop to the ground.

Cool, huh?  He just submitted this idea to the Escapees magazine, so you might see it there.   Now, I guess I'll have to try it, but you won't be seeing any pictures of that!

Around Home

What's going on with all the kayaks in front of our house.  Did we put in a lake?

No they belong to our WIN friends who we had over for a happy hour event.

What fun!

Also we took a hike with blogger friends John and Carol.  We began our adventure at the Peralta trailhead (east of Gold Canyon, turn north off of US60 between MM 204 and 205, following Peralta signs.)  The Peralta trail is one of the most popular trails in the area and the views begin in the parking lot.

But today we decided to take the Dutchman's Trail, which also begins at this location, and leave the crowds behind.

There are a couple of stream crossings which are always a surprise in the desert.

And plenty of nice scenery along the way.

We went about 2 1/2 miles before turning around.  It was a gorgeous day made even better with good friends.

Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum

We took Jim with us to the Desert Museum.  It's a great place, but I still don't know why they call it a museum.  It's more of a zoo/botanical garden highlighting the flora and fauna of the Sonoran Desert.  I hear they're adding an aquarium.  I'm kind of confused about an aquarium in the desert.

We went to the snake/lizard show and learned all about this gorgeous rattlesnake.

We admired this majestic Desert Bighorn.

The Javelina were easy to spot.

And the Bobcats were just toooo cute.

I loved the Mexican gray wolf.

And the mountain lion came out to say hello.

We spotted this rare creature perched in a tree.

But the highlight of the day was the raptor show where the hawks buzzed the crowd.  This Harris hawk was one of the stars of the show.

It was a great day.

Oh, and remember that tree that we're removing.  Well, it's turning into a bigger project than I expected.

Uh-oh . . .

No worries.  Ron says with a little rest, he'll be good as new (or at least good as before fighting with the tree.)

Finally, a Hike

Ron's son Jim took the time to pay us a visit which inspired us to get out and go on a hike.  We really need to get back in the hiking habit now that the weather is so wonderful.

We took Jim out to the base of the Superstition Mountains where he noticed this group of saguaros.

It looks like they're having a meeting.

Recently we had some heavy rains and the desert has turned green.

I can't wait until the poppies are blooming.

We stayed far away from the 'jumping' cholla cactus.  Just look at all the pieces that jumped off the plant and missed their targets.  Scary.

I decided that I need to come back in the afternoon next time for a good shot of the mountains.

You can see why I don't take many people pictures.  Here Jim and Ron look like they're in a police line up.

BTW, we had a wicked winter this year - I think the worst four days since we've been here.  It got down to the 20's for four straight nights.  Wreaked havoc on all the less-than hardy plants like these trees.

For several days, it looked like a ghost town around here with all the sheets covering the tender plants.

We've been working on taking down one of the orange trees.  With fruit from a grapefruit, a lemon, and two orange trees, the logistics of getting rid of the fruit is difficult.  This year I was proactive and packed up a couple of boxes a week before the food banks became too deluged and turned down citrus donations.

It took four loads of our giant trash can to take out the tree, but now I'm planning a garden to replace it.

Harper Walks!

Yeah, I know it's been awhile since I posted anything and once again it's about little Harper.  But this is a milestone.