I'm back from 2 weeks in Maui, didn't see one hula dancer the whole time I was there. While Ottawa was in a complete deep freeze, my husband and I were in the Maui version of a deep freeze. 2 days in a row, records were broken on this Hawaiian island: over-night temperatures dipped to a nasty 54 degrees Fahrenheit. (about 13 degrees Celcius!)
Native Mauians were shivering in their houses! And one day, school was cancelled because it was windy. Vacationing Canadians didn't notice a thing.
Maui is known for many things, including this spectacular volcano called Haleakala, which reaches well above the clouds at 10,500 feet. We took the advice of the 'locals' and went to the top of the volcano to catch the sunrise. At 5:30 am, Rob and I stood at the summit , waiting for this incredible experience to unfold. The winds were about 30 miles an hour and it was well below zero Celcius (we didn't have a thermometer). The sky was clear, I had my camera, tripod, and then.......the clouds appeared. We didn't get great shots of a sunrise on the top of Haleakala, but I do have bragging rights about getting frost-bitten in Hawaii.
Days were fantastic, sunny with non-stop adventure. Definite highlight for me was seeing all the hump-back whales. On day 1 we spotted a whale 'blow' w-a-ay off in the Pacific as were driving along the shoreline. It was amazing, I couldn't believe our luck. Little did I know that over the next 2 weeks, we would see whales everywhere. We saw them while we were driving, dining, shopping, getting groceries, reading maps on the side of the road, getting caught on people's private property while searching for hidden spots, chasing waterfalls, being advised not to go down certain dangerous roads with the rental car, it didn't matter what we were doing. There were always whales somewhere in the distance. I miss the whales. I wish we had whales in Ottawa.
People warned us that Hawaii was really expensive. Groceries, gas, drinks, everything is w-a-y more $$$ than we pay here. But we didn't find that to be the case. As a matter of fact, our vacation was fairly reasonable because I love to do things that just happen to be free of charge. Like walking through the forest, bird watching, taking pictures. I can sit on a rock all day. Maui is so wonderfully natural, with mountains and volcanoes to hike, forests filled with hidden waterfalls and crystal clear mountain pools, not to mention the incredible beaches that are everywhere. Sure, there are hotels on beaches too - but in Maui there are so many beaches that are natural, no buildings in sight, with just a back-drop of trees. Its just like Gilligan's Island.
Sorry, probably boring you by now. I won't go on any longer about my vacation to Maui. I never wanted to be one of those people.....you know, the ones who drag out their vacation photos and give you the names of everyone in the picture that they met at the restaurant resort, never mind that YOU don't have a clue who these people are, THEY will never see them again either.
Sorry. I think I was starting to be like one of those people.
I'll move on to something else: tomorrow is the day Bruce Springsteen's new CD comes out!
Yay!!! 'Workin' on a Dream' is the title, can't wait! I can just imagine the entries in Bruce's daytimer lately......let's see, play for Barack Obama's inauguration, put out new CD, play half-time show at Superbowl.......
Boss fans are rejoicing!
