The LONG WAY home

I was WIDE AWAKE at 3:30 and waited patiently for my alarm to ring at 4:30, which it did, and then, well, I just had a good sleep, and now I'm behind! But that's OK. 

I didn't sleep well on the plane for some reason, but that's a story for another day. 

We had to be at the airport at 5 PM, so we had time for another adventure. We decided to drive on the west side of Maui. And we were of the mindset that we could drive entirely around that section, even though the map from the rental car said we were not supposed to. 

Before we left, I had to stop by the cinnamon bun place and pick one up! They were so good!!!

Yummy cinnamon buns

We drove past Lahaina, where the fires were last year. It was so sad, as many homes (3000) were destroyed by the fires. And there were these banners along the highway. I'm not sure why they were there—100 people were killed in the fires, and there were way more squares than that. The main part of the town is closed, and there was a bypass. Did they build that since the fire? 

The fire zone in Lahaina

Once we reached a certain point, the roads became similar to the Road to Hana. They were winding and full of narrow roads and bridges but still paved, so we continued. 

The road on the west side of Maui

We stopped to do a small (1.2 KM) hike that took us to the top of some of the cliffs—not the high ones we had spotted from the helicopter, but we had flown over this part of Maui. It's absolutely fascinating to see how many loose boulders there are in the water, and this was definitely NOT a place to swim—that is if you could even get down to the shore.

Beautiful west side of Maui

This was the closest we got to the edge of the water, and the hike was very doable! 

Hello from Hawaii

The road got more twisty, and then the State Highway ended. Hmmm -- should we go on? We decided to until we came to this hill. It was VERY NARROW, with no guardrail, and it was obvious that we were going no further - at least not in our rental car. We managed to find a spot to turn around. 

Yikes!!!

OK—so DH didn't say anything on the drive the previous day; I failed as the back seat driver. There were a couple of points where I couldn't help myself. I swear if we were any closer to the edge on this hill (not in this spot), we would have been over the edge, and at one point, I was practically eating the guardrail. But we survived, and so did the car. And I tried to keep quiet!

By this time, it was after lunch, and I was hungry. I was checking the map and saw this famous golf course restaurant. DH had stopped on the way past, but after looking at Google and seeing it as a $$, we decided to stop. I'm not sure what the US version of $$ is, but it was VERY EXPENSIVE for the lunch buffet, but we thought, what the heck—what's a few more $$, so we ate there. 

The Club House at The Plantation Estates Golf Course

With the high price of food, I guess it wasn't so much out of line, but I made sure that I got my money's worth! I had lots of shrimp, and other goodies to fill me up! 

Then, we started on the way back and made several stops along the way. I got two geocaches! One of which I had to hike a bit down a path to find this box hidden in the rocks. The previous person could not find it, but I did!!!

A geocache

To find the last of the series of one of the geocaches (Adventure Lab), we stopped at a boardwalk along a beach. Good grief—I had to hustle more than half a kilometer there and then the same distance back to get the answer, but I did it!!

The boardwalk in one park

After filling the car with gas, we got to the airport with 30 minutes to spare, so we timed everything just right!!! 

We got on an earlier plane to Honolulu to enjoy the lounge while waiting for our direct flight home. But the lounge was completely at one end of the airport from our gate. Literally, we were boarding at D2, and the lounge was at G3. Oh well, I needed steps, so I wasn't going to complain. 

And this was the sunset from the plane. 

Sunset on the plane

Let's just say that when we finally got home, there were TWO very excited girls (even Lexi was excited!) and one ESCTATIC BOY waiting. It was a bit chaotic as they all wanted attention, and I only had two arms!!! But we managed. 

I spent a bit in the gazebo, just enjoying the sunshine, and OK -- so I napped for a while. But I was tired. 

Grandma's HOME!!!!!

I'll share the other plane stories tomorrow, but our flights were on time, and we arrived 15 minutes early!

I have to run because the girls and the boy are anxiously waiting for their walk and I'm late!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

The Road to Hana

I lied—there is a post today. I have some time this morning before we have to vacate the condo, and well, I might as well write now!

First, here are a couple of comments about where we stayed. I HATE hotel rooms. Wait -- I'm OK if I'm alone, but if I had to share one room with DH, that would be bad. I get up early, and it's hard to be quiet in one room or to do anything with the lights off. But you have multiple rooms in a condo, so I vote for condos for future vacations. Besides, the condo was way cheaper than a hotel would have been. 

We purchased supplies for breakfast, so all is good. It's better to save a bit of money on breakfast, as the meals are NOT cheap around here! But we're good! I so wanted a cinnamon bun from the place down the street, but they were closed when we returned from our adventure yesterday. Darn!!! But I had fried banana cheesecake for dessert at the restaurant, so that was a close second!!

I must admit that I didn't do much research before we came here. The goal was to get here and then figure it out. I HATE planning—I love spontaneity!! So, it took a bit for me to realize that the Virtual Challenge called Road to Hana was in Hawaii!! Since I will do that virtual challenge at some point, I NEEDED to drive the Road to Hana, and we did that yesterday!!

OH MY GOSH—has anyone else driven that road? It's insane—that's all I can say. Because I was driving, I don't have the best pictures, as DH is NOT a picture taker, but I stopped a couple of times to get some. 

We stopped for banana bread at Aunty Sandy's in Ke'anae. It was amazing!!!!! And then we went down to the beach. Wow -- the waves were spectacular!!! It's probably NOT a place where you want to go swimming. 

Crashing waves

If you're not familiar with the Road to Hana, it's a curvy (that's an understatement) road that goes from Kahului to Hana. The distance is nothing—about 52 miles—but it takes hours because of all the hairpin curves and one-lane bridges. 

The road has been cut into the side of the mountain (crater), and it's epic. WOW!!!! If you look closely, you can see the cut line of the road on that hillside. 

The Road to Hana cut into the side of the mountain

DH was checking out statistics, and there is a total elevation gain of almost 8,000 feet!!! Yes - we could have taken a tour bus, but it was way more fun to drive. I drove all the way there and all the way back, and it was a LONG drive. 

And I loved the YIELD signs—they said, "Yield to oncoming traffic." The problem was you could NOT see the oncoming traffic. So, with a wing and a prayer, I forged ahead! We did have the top down, but we had to stop and close it due to rain. 

Yielding to traffic

The climate on that side of the island is completely different from this side! We had rain on and off—mostly sprinkles, but enough to get wet. The temperature was also much cooler, and when we ate lunch on the open patio, which was a distance from the ocean, I was freezing!!! Technically, you're driving through a rainforest, and I wanted pictures of the massive bamboo growing, but I did not find a place to pull over. 

We didn't stop at all the places as parking was at a premium, and I hate to say this, but once you see one waterfall, it starts to look the same. The same thing happened with me and the cathedrals in Spain!! You see one cathedral? You've seen them all. 

One of the many waterfalls

Those bridges were crazy and looked like they had been there forever. They are moss-covered and old, single-lane affairs. 

One of the bridges

Here are some "fun" facts about the road. Let's say I drove that Camaro, which was NOT the appropriate car to drive on that road. It was big, low, and had tons of blind spots, which, with the blind spots on the road, made it a challenge. But no scraps, no fender benders—all was OK. My heart pounded only once! I think an average of 68 people die on that road each year, but it wasn't us!

If there were people on my back, the moment I could pull over, I did. I hate having someone on my bumper!!! There were lots of pickup trucks and jeeps, but lots of cars as well. 

I think this was a bathroom break, where the water was much calmer, but still not the shores for swimming. 

More Hawaiian coast

OH -- here's a wall of ukuleles at our lunch stop!!! 

Ukelele collection

While we were there and had some time to spare before we headed back, I decided we should do an Earthcache (part of geocaching). You find a specific geological spot, take a picture or two, and answer some questions. 

This was the RED SAND BEACH - the only one of its kind in Hawaii. Or at least Maui. The beach is on the left of the photo, and it was cool. The "sand" was more of a gravel texture, and there's no way we would have found it or even known about it except for geocaching!!! It's well hidden, and there was nudity on this beach, but that's OK. And as we arrived, a whole pile of people came behind us. We didn't climb down to the beach but got our information and the picture from here. 

Cinder cones behind me act as a breakwater

  

It was very cool. This rock formation is called a cinder cone, a common formation created by an erupting volcano!!! The remains of the cinder cone made for a very protected beach, but the waves crashing onto the cinder cones were wicked! 

Looking out to the ocean

The Road to Hana is dubbed "the road to divorce," assuming the non-driving spouse is a backseat driver. Thankfully, DH said nothing. It's not that driving was stressful, but it required all your attention, and I didn't need comments from someone. Thank you, DH!!!!

We got back to the condo and headed out for dinner. Alas, the cinnamon bun place was closed, so I had a salad and cheesecake instead. Then we went to the park and watched the sunset!!!

Our last sunset 

We've got one last adventure today before we head to the airport at 5 PM for our two flights home. DH is trying to get us checked in and is unhappy that he cannot do so. I'll let him deal with that. 

Have a super day!

Ciao!!!

Did you see the sign?

 It's time for another adventure. How could I not enjoy my vacation to the max without attempting a hike! 

I researched and found a decent hike—Lahaina Pali Trail on the west side. It's hard to get a good count on the distance, but the section I was going to do was about 4 KM. 

So, I violated the first rule of hiking and went alone. I was cautious! And DH knew where I was. 

OK—so this trail is not very well marked. I got to the top of the initial climb and spotted this old road. So I continued on the road, and within a half hour, I knew I had missed something. But it took me a half hour to realize that. When I checked back on the map, I saw that I was near the trail but not on it. 

However, I did get to see how they secured these giant nets on the cliffs to prevent rocks from falling. There are massive cables attached to the rocks, which were holding the nets in place. 

Cables to secure the nets

The view was spectacular from up there. 

The view from above

OK—I spotted these markers when I finally got back on the correct trail. Which was good, except when I spotted 4, number 5 was nearby. I checked it out, and the trail seemed to disappear. So, I went back to that intersection and tried what looked like a more passable trail. I didn't get far, so I thought I should call it a day!!

A trail marker

I have always wanted to just stop by the side of the road and walk up those big hills! Well, this was my chance. The terrain was challenging because it was very rocky (lava rock) and somewhat steep in places, but it was very doable. I had my hat, water, food, and cell phone with service. 

It was very windy up there in spots, and here's a tip when hiking: If you need to make a pit stop, try to find a place that isn't so windy. That's all I'll say about that! But I had a good laugh about it!!

There were a few trees on this crater, but they were rare. Lots of grasses and a few flowers. 

Flowers on the trail

That view was so worth the climb!! As far as the total distance goes, I didn't get very far, but it was far enough to make me happy, and that's all that counts!! 

Happy trails to me

The descent was better than I thought, and my new trail shoes (non-Hokas) worked amazingly. They have a smaller footprint than the Hokas, are sturdy but flexible, and are perfect for clambering over rocks. 

As I was getting nearer the trailhead, I spotted this. Are you KIDDING ME?? The first time, I walked right past that yellow arrow and past the dead branch. I was so focused on the road that I missed this. I spotted the trailer marker on the side of the hill the second time, but again, I completely missed the yellow arrow. I only spotted it as I descended!!!

This way!!!!

Yet, I did not get lost on the Camino, where it was "easy" to spot small arrows on the sidewalk's edge or a signpost. I was definitely not in hiking mode yesterday! But everything worked out, and I was good and happy with my efforts. 

It just means that I have to come back another time to hike the entire distance. That would be amazing!!! 

Once I was back in the car, I headed off to the quilt store. I managed to find the license plates from the Row by Row experience from the previous years. I don't think I had one from Hawaii, so I got one. How could I leave that behind? 

Then we went down to Charley Beach for a bit. I'm not a huge fan of the beach, so I could take it or leave it, but I went down for a bit. I walked to the end of the beach and back and then hung out with DH for a bit. The beaches are relatively quiet, so it was perfect. It was so windy that my hat blew off!! I had to run to catch it - I didn't want to lose that! 

On the beach

I LOVE that all the armchairs have backpack straps, which make them super easy to take to and from the beach. It leaves your hands free to carry other stuff. Who invented those? 

Backpack chairs

Then, we were off to a family dinner with both families. We had to walk down this tree-lined drive to get there, which was an excellent and quiet way to end the day. We watched the sunset at dinner. 

I'm finally getting my hours shifted, and it's time to leave!!! There likely will not be a blog tomorrow as we have to check out at 10 AM. Then we're off to do some more exploring and need to be at the airport around 5 PM. 

That means you'll have to wait until the next day to hear about today's adventure, which was harrowing at times!! But we survived!

As sad as it is that the vacation is almost over, I'm looking forward to going home. I miss the girls and the boy. I don't have much on my calendar for the next few weeks, and I'm looking forward to getting some work done!! 

On that note, I'm out of here!!

Have a super day11!

Ciao!!!!

Do something every day that scares you!

 Have you ever heard that quote in the title? Yep --- I've seen it many times. While I don't do something scary every day, I do attempt to learn things, and sometimes that can be scary. I also take on tasks that might scare me, but I embrace those things. 

So when we arrived in Hawaii and decided to book some excursions, we booked easy ones. The bus trip up a crater to see the sunrise wasn't scary. The whale watching trip on the catamaran, that wasn't scary, although I'm not a fan of water stuff as I'm not a swimmer. So, it was "somewhat" scary for me. 

However, when we seriously considered a helicopter tour, that was scary. And then we threw all caution to the wind and decided to go on a DOORS OPEN helicopter tour!! My gosh—what were we thinking? OK—I suggested it!!

We made our way to the airport, or should I say the heliport, which was close to the airport. We had arrived a bit early, which was OK with me. And then we saw the safety video, which wasn't much—how to buckle that seat belt, and so on. 

Then, it was time to get on the helicopter. 

Our ride

Yes—it was little, and yes --- all the doors were off the helicopter!!! There were five of us tourists on the helicopter and the pilot. We paid a bit extra so we could sit in front. Hey, if you're going to do it, do it right! And I got to sit on the outside! OH MY GOSH—what have I got myself into! I'm not happy when there's turbulence on the plane! As you can imagine, weight is an issue; the combined weight of the two front passengers must be less than 400 pounds to sit in the front. We passed with flying colors. 

We were off once we got our seat belts fastened and donned our goggles and headsets. 

And yes, there was the OPEN side of the helicopter on my left. ACK!!!!! It was a little unsettling at first, and it took a LOT of "skill" to let the feeling of not being in control go. 

OH --- there's nothing to hold onto!!!

And then we were up and flying over the water as we followed the coastline of Maui's western side. 

It was the most exciting thing I've done in a long time and worth every penny! The views were spectacular, and it wasn't that scary after all. 

Spectacular open-air views

There was literally nothing to hang onto, so I went with it and enjoyed it 1000%. We did have a "few" moments when I felt out of control. There was a lot of wind, and there were times when you could feel it buffeting the helicopter, but the pilot (Drew) was amazing and very skillful, or at least he appeared to be. 

Then, we scooted over the channel to the sparsely populated island (7,345) of Molokai. This island is stunning and has some of the tallest sea cliffs in the world (between 3,600 and 3,900 feet). Yes -- we flew from the backside of those cliffs over the water!! Yikes! That always freaked me out when I saw it in the movies, and here I was, experiencing it with no doors on my helicopter!! I even looked down!!!! 

The coast of Molokai

Thankfully, I sat on the outside because I took a ton of pictures and videos. Yes, it was spectacular, but those pictures do NOT do justice to what we saw or how it felt. There were a few other "moments" when Drew banked the helicopter to turn around to show the passengers the same thing that we were seeing. Yikes! And we hovered for a long time at one of the spectacular waterfalls. This is the Oloupena Falls (2,953 feet).

Oloupena Falls

Yes --- you could see those waterfalls from a boat, but you could NOT look down into the bottom like we were able to. Yep -- I got over that fear pretty quickly! Who knows - I might decide to ride a roller coaster!! 

This was my view from the front of the helicopter. It was just stunning!!!! 

Looking through the window of the helicopter

And there's me!!! Yep --- why not take a selfie while I take all these pictures? We were not allowed to take anything in our pockets, and our cameras were in lanyards that kept them securely attached to us. I want one of those lanyards—they were awesome. 

Me in the helicopter!

We wore an athletic jacket, but I was wearing shorts, and it wasn't cold. We could feel the wind, but probably less than we would feel on the beach. But the second I accidentally put my finger out of the "door," the force of the wind was incredible. Hence, it is frowned upon to put any part of your body outside the "door."  

It gives you a great appreciation for any helicopter scene in a movie!!! 

Before we knew it, we were flying back to the heliport over the water, which was spectacular. 

The ocean

The waves were long at one beach and broke far from the shore. 

Breaking waves

And then it was time to land. WOW --- it was an amazing experience, and I'd opt for a helicopter ride again anywhere!! It was amazing, and if the doors could be off, I'd go for that option!!! 

The other stuff we've done here has been amazing. Of course, the proposal was fantastic, and we're so glad we could be here for that. The helicopter ride was spectacular!! It's been a great trip, and we're not done yet!

I had another adventure today, which I'll tell you about tomorrow, and another adventure planned for tomorrow. 

On that note, I'm out of here!!!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

The WHOLE TRUTH

What can I say? This whole trip has been filled with lies and deception! But for an excellent reason! 

And yes, I confess there have been more lies and deception since I attempted to clear things up the other day. But today? I get to reveal everything!!

Some of what I told you before is true. DH and I have not taken a vacation together in many years, and we rarely do anything spontaneous. I might from time to time, but he never would. OK—so that's the background there. 

To keep the record straight and I know someone who will appreciate the information, on February 19, we received a call. And let me say that I had lost faith that people like this still exist. Dillon (M's boyfriend) called for our blessing because he wanted to propose to her. Even though I had only met him once when they first started dating, I have come to know him quite well through texts and IG. 

I think he's the best thing that has ever happened to her. We have seen so many positive changes since they met that we jumped up and down during the call. Bear was also on the call, and he was happy!

Dillon planned to propose when they were on vacation in Maui. His family was all coming here and had it planned since Christmas. 

The following day, we looked at each other and said, "Let's go!" For both of us to say that is HUGE. 

So, the lies and deception started. But first, we asked permission to make sure it would be OK. 

We planned to arrive but to stay out of the way and meet them on the beach during the proposal. 

We didn't really have to deal with misdirection until we arrived here because she lives on the West Coast, and we live in Toronto, so we don't see each other much. Poor Dillon has been dealing with it the entire time they've been here. I bet his story is way more exciting than mine. 

Dillon is a planner and had all the details worked out. A few extended family members knew some of the details as they helped with the planning - getting the ring here, having champagne at the event, etc.- but not his immediate family—sisters, and parents. 

It threw me for a loop when his stepdad proposed to his mom a couple of days ago because I thought that would steal some of the thunder, but all was good. His parents got married on Wednesday on the beach. 

Things went awry on the first day when we accidentally ran into M in the market. That was NOT supposed to happen. I panicked and said, "We had an appointment," and left her standing there. We had no story, and I had to tell Dillon I had blown his plan. 

He was upset, and I was sick! I felt so bad that we had blown it. So, while he's on the golf course, we're making up a story about why we are in Hawaii!! He wanted the proposal to be a total surprise - that's why he was upset and he figured that if M saw us here, that would give it away. 

Our story was good, and it was partially true! She already had a promise ring, so it wasn't a total surprise that they would get engaged. The story was that due to her begging us to meet Dillon, we decided that since his entire family was here, and we had not had a vacation together in a while, we would surprise BOTH Dillon and M. DH was on the West coast for business (a lie), and I was totally free that week as I was supposed to be on a quilt retreat (the truth). 

The timing was perfect. The proposal was set for Thursday, and we wanted to come in a couple of days before. Because of the flights, we could get a direct flight to Honolulu on Sunday, so we came in a day earlier than planned. We then island-hopped to Maui. 

We lied about knowing where they were staying by looking at his IG account. We knew where they were staying because Dillon told us! I just didn't realize how close we were. Our condos are less than 2 KM apart. 

I think it was in the cards that we were to meet up before, and we've had some good bonding time with M. I think she would have freaked out if we had met on the beach, and she wouldn't have been able to enjoy her evening with her finance! 

After she knew we were here, we had to keep up the deception. We were busy on Thursday, so we had to repeat our travel story several times and not let a single word slip. Poor Dillon had to pretend that he had NO IDEA we were coming. 

We ran around yesterday and did some errands for Dillon, and all was good. We got to the beach but waited in the car to avoid being visible. Then we went down to the beach just shortly after he proposed. It's all been recorded, so no worries—we got to see it. 

Earlier in the day, we rented a red convertible as our car of choice for the rest of the week, so we drove them back to their condo to get packed and then to a hotel for the night. It was very romantic and all organized by Dillon. The poor guy was so stressed. I think we were all excited that the deception was over last night. I was exhausted from the effort!!!

Of course, she said YES!!! And so very romantic - on the beach, at sunset.

Here are a couple of pictures that I snapped. Of course, they had a photographer for the family pictures, so he also got official pictures. 

Romance

LOOK -- we're engaged

Love is in the air

The ring

All I can say is that being with everyone last night was so worth it. I have zero regrets about missing my quilt retreat (OK—I would have loved to be with everyone!!). But as I always say, family comes first, and this was a big moment, and we were lucky to be there with them. She was so excited, and I truly think she was surprised!!!!

OH -- one other deception. There is a family dinner tonight, and she wanted us to come. I said, "No, we don't want to intrude." But she insisted. We were already on the reservation list, but only Dillon knew about that! She wanted to know the entire story and all the lies and deceptions told to her by her parents and her future husband, so I've documented my part here. I probably missed a couple of things. It was stressful, especially the day we ran into her, but it was all worth it!!!!!

As we dropped them off at their hotel, we glanced up and noticed the sky was filled with stars. So, I managed to snap this from my camera phone. YEP -- those camera phones are pretty good!!!

The night sky

Other super exciting stuff happened yesterday that had nothing to do with romance, and I'll share that tomorrow. We can now enjoy the remainder of our time here and have ZERO lies and deception to worry about!!!

And I will continue my story about the YOUNG history of quilting, but probably when I get back home. That was another thing—we could NOT post a single picture of where we were going or what we were doing. The blog could not reflect where we were, either. And even after we met up with her, I felt I needed to keep the deception going as if I had prepared the blog posts ahead of leaving. Which I didn't—I wrote them here. 

Oh, the things that parents do to their children. Lies and deception, but in a really good way!!! We have yet to go to the beach -- we've seen the beach many times but have yet to dip a toe in the ocean. 

On that note, I'm out of here. It's time for my walk!

Have a super day!!

Ciao!!!

Misdirection

I have thoroughly enjoyed writing the posts about the YOUNG quilt history, and I have more to share. However, I must tell you what's been happening in my life. I'm not home! In fact, while I'm in the US, I'm technically not on the continent!!

So where am I? I was "forced" to get out of the country and not tell a soul, not wanting to trust myself or anyone else. 

What happened was totally spontaneous, and I mean spontaneous. To clarify that a bit further, DH and I haven't been on a vacation together for YEARS—possibly 15 - 20 years. It's an experience! And we NEVER do anything spontaneous - at least not of this caliber. 

M has been bugging us for months that we fly to Vancouver to meet her new guy. I've met him once before and got to know him by following his IG. While we've had opportunities, it's a challenge to coordinate our schedules with their work schedules, and it just didn't happen. 

When they said they would be in Hawaii (I KNOW!!!) for vacation with his family, we thought -- why not!!! We've known for a while they would be here, but very recently one morning, we looked at each other and said WHY NOT? 

And so the lies and deception started. To make it even worse, we are babysitting Bear!! So after finding someone (she's a gem, to be sure) to look at the dogs and the house, we booked tickets and a condo and were off. 

We didn't tell her, and no one knew. The timing was perfect for me, as I was supposed to be at a quilt retreat this week, so my schedule was completely clear. DH was doing business on the West Coast, so it all came together. Although I'm sorry to miss the quilt retreat, this has been a blast!

From their posts, we knew where they were—be careful what you post!!!! So we knew we were close to them, but we were not 100% sure. 

We planned to lay low for the first day and then call and surprise them. 

We went to lunch and found this "Canada" place among the foot trucks. 

Canadian food truck

 The sign says it used to be Tim Horton's. We thought it was pretty funny and had a great lunch. Then we wandered through the market on our way to find something I can't remember now. 

Imagine our shock when we ran into M!!!! No flipping way!!!! I didn't see her, but she spoke to DH—"Dad?" I said. We had an appointment and had to leave, and left the poor child standing there shell-shocked! What could I do? SHE ruined our surprise!!!! 

We wanted them to be together! So DH and I regrouped and then called her later in the afternoon. The poor kid was so confused!!! No kidding—her parents would never vacation together, and what the heck would we be doing in Hawaii? And more importantly, who was looking after Bear? 

We also did NOT want to interfere with their plans, but we hoped to meet up with them several times over the next couple of days. But on OUR terms!!! 

We've since had dinner and got everything straightened away. OH MY GOSH—what are the flipping chances? 

But we're also here to have some vacation time. We're right on the beach (well across the street from the beach), and it's glorious. 

One of the Maui beaches

I haven't been in the water yet. We had booked a couple of excursions, and between those and some walking, I'm exhausted!! I need naps and lots of them. 

Yesterday we went whale-watching in a catamaran, which was a blast. The first hour was great, and I was surprised at how calm the ocean was in the catamaran. Then the wind came up in big gusts, and while there were much larger waves, the catamaran was still a smooth ride. 

Whale watching!

And yes -- we saw whales! Not a ton, but enough to keep us happy. I was just glad to be away from quilting!!!! I didn't even care if I saw a whale. I'm so excited to be on a break!!! The month of March nearly killed me!

There are loads of feral chickens around here. I'm a bit surprised, to say the least. Who knew there were feral chickens in Hawaii? 

Feral fowl prowl everywhere - even the restaurants

This morning, we were up super early (2 AM) to catch a bus that would take us to the top of the Haleakala Crater (at 10,003 feet). We were at 9,763 feet. It was cold and dark. The road was long and twisty, but the bus driver knew where he was going, and everything was good. 

I brought my down sweater and a jacket, and they supplied us with big fleece-lined ponchos. Again, the weather cooperated. The wind from the previous day was gone, and the temperature was decent. It was still cold as we waited for at least 30 minutes before anything started to happen. I look much colder than I was in this picture. 

Waiting for the sunrise in my fleece poncho

This was a photo I took when we first got to the top. My phone did pretty well in night mode when snapping this picture. 

The inside of Haleakala

About one hour before the sun came up, the sky started to change color, and it became pink; then we saw purple clouds, pink clouds, golden colors in the sky, and then yellow. Before we knew it, the sun was "burning" the edge of the clouds like a lit piece of paper. It was a spectacular sunrise. Someone said a Hawaiian chant to honor the sun. Then we were totally blinded by the sun as it was bright. I had brought my sunglasses, but still!!!

Sunrise on Haleakala Crater

There were many clouds below where we were standing, and it was very cool to watch the sky change over the course of that hour. It was well worth the trip. 

Then, we were bused to a restaurant, which used to be a sugar cane plantation, for a wonderful breakfast. The meals are so good and huge that we seem to eat once daily!! 

And it wouldn't be a vacation in a new state unless I get a souvenir from Geocaching! I found two geocaches close to the condo. 

My geocaching virtual souvenir

We have some crazy excursions planned for the next few days, and we hope to see M and Dillon again! They are busy, and so are we! But that's OK- seeing the look on her face was fun, and I felt so bad about leaving her there, but she messed up the plans! Poor M!!!! 

In hindsight, I have to say that that meeting was meant to happen because both of us had no plans to walk that way - it just happened. There is a reason for that - I don't know what, but there was a reason!!! 

So yes, we'll get to spend a bit more time with them before we all leave. But right now? I feel like I need a nap—yet again!! Good grief!!! It's not good to get up at 2 AM, even if that feels right by my time at home (there is a 6-hour time difference). That means I should be going to bed very early here! 

On that note, I'm out of here. I promise no more misdirection!!! 

Have a great day!!!

Ciao!!!!