Maui 2020 - 5

We started today with our rare tropical breakfast of toast and pineapple. I sense a theme here. This morning Our friend Lucile was back (the rare Hawaiian monk seal). Myrtle (the Hawaiian sea turtle) brought four more friends to feed and ride the surf. Since our wale watching trip, we also learned what to look for in the ocean for whales. We saw several blows (whales breathing).

Today's adventure was a road trip along the west part of the island south and a little east to Wailea. Most of the drive was along the coast. The surf sure changes intensity depending on the rock formations and whether or not there is a beach. The drive was breathtaking. We went to Wailea because we had seen an add for a chocolate shop in one of the tourist magazines. The chocolate was beautiful to include turtle shapes, Hawaiian flowers and many other tasty delights. After much debate, we decided to wait on buying any chocolate in fear that it would melt in the heat. The condo was not air conditioned and chocolate should not be refrigerated.

On our drive back to the condo we stopped at a roadside farmers market. We thought about buying some Hawaiian honey, some vegetables and a pineapple but the quality of the goods at this farmers market was questionable at best. 

We stopped at Times market  and bought marlin, another pineapple, some macadamia nuts and Hawaiian honey. The pineapple was a different variety than the one we just finished. It was quite tasty too. Juicy and sweet.

After dropping our groceries at the condo, we made a trip to the Farmers Market Store to buy vegetables for dinner. We also bought another local product, a package of Nancy's macadamia nut cookies. Oh my gosh are they ever good. Melt in your mouth shortbread cookies with macadamia nuts. What could be better?

We ended our day with a marlin dinner cooked by Scott that included sauteed veggies and baked potatoes. Yes, he did all the cooking on this trip. This was our first time eating marlin, but it won't be our last. I highly recommend it. We were eating our way through Maui. How re my descriptors? Is your mouth watering  yet?

Of course, the day couldn't end with out another trip to the hot tub followed by sipping adult beverages on the lanai watching the sunset. What kind of adult beverages you may be asking? Locally brewed beer for Scott and wine for myself. Of course, I had a beer now and then just to mix things up. Another beautiful sunset meant another day in Maui was in the books. What a beautiful island full of things to do. Some cost $$$ and others are free if you take the time to drive around and enjoy the sights. Till nest time, I hope you like hearing about our adventures.

Sunset from the Lanai:

Maui 2020 - 4

Day 4 in Maui was a day of rest. 

We had our typical tropical breakfast of Maui coffee (finished that off), Maui bread toast and pineapple.

It rained hard last night and some early this morning. Following the rain, there were always beautiful rainbows.

We cooked dinner in which meant a trip to a couple of stores. A trip to Times netted us with Kona Coffee, Starfruit, and ahi tuna. We bought our veggies at the Farmers Market.

A rest day in Maui included spending time on the Lanai watching for Myrtle, Lucille and whales. Once we learned what to look for, we saw several whale blows in the distance. It was a fabulous site.

It also meant spending time in the hot tub which provided much needed relief to my fibro and arthritis. Dinner in meant a trip to Island Cream Co. for more ice cream. It involved several samples before landing on a decision. We both had a cup of ice cream - again, one scoop but divided between two different flavors. They make their own hot fudge in house, so I had to have that.

We had another fabulous dinner cooked by Scott, followed by more time on the Lanai with some adult beverages. The sunsets were beautiful but quick. Blink and you missed it.

With day 4 in the books - we headed to bed early. I hope you are enjoying our adventures. If so, feel free to leave a comment.

Maui 2020 - 3

Day 3 - Maui 2020

"Admiral, there be whales here"

Day three may have been our greatest adventure. We started with our breakfast of Maui coffee, Maui bread and Hawaiian pineapple. It doesn't get any better. Our friend Myrtle the turtle was back feeding on the rock reef just off the beach.

An endangered Hawaiian monk seal was also feeding. We named it Lucille. "
The Hawaiian monk seal (Neomonachus schauinslandi, formerly Monachus schauinslandi), is an endangered species of earless seal in the family Phocidae that is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. There are only about 1300, so we felt privileged to see one.

Today was our whale watching trip - a Christmas present from our daughter Tammy, our son-in-law Tory and our granddaughter I'mani Childs. We headed to t he pier early to scout out parking and what might be needed for me to be able to board the boat. Yes, my legs can still be problematic if I have t o climb too many stairs or a ladder, and my hands and arms were burning in pain. Discovering that parking was close and access to the boat was easy, we headed to Whalers Village.

  We did some shopping and found a shave ice stand at Down the Hatch. 

The number of flavor combinations was endless. Adult shave ice (with alcohol of course) or generic flavors. Then we had to decide whether or not to have ice cream on the bottom. The flavors of ice cream was endless. Since we were headed on a small boat out into the ocean, we kept it general with coconut ice cream on bottom with passion fruit and dragon fruit flavors on the ice. Yummmmm. We highly recommend enjoying the shave ice while in Hawaii. We had a little time to kill before our boat trip, so we headed to the Lahaina Banyan Tree Court to get some much needed shade.

Time for a photo shoot. 

We headed to Makai Adventures at slip 16 to begin our great adventure. It was a beautiful, sunny day to be on the ocean. The ocean was a magnificent blue: 

 


The humpback whale, a mammal, migrates from their summer Alaskan feeding grounds to Hawaii during the winter to bear young and mate. There is no food source for them in Hawaii. The whales live off their body fat. Females are the larger of the species which makes sense considering that young humpback whales drink 100 gallons of milk a day.

We saw 7-9 whales (we may have seen the same ones repeatedly) doing various whale activities. A blow is the mist that occurs when they breathe. We saw a lot of this activity. Once we learned what to look for, we saw several off the lanai off our condo. No whale pictures were obtained from the boat. The activities happened too quickly. It was fun to just enjoy the whales in the moment. They are forever imprinted on my brain, but that I can't share with you.

Fluking is when the tail is visible. This is the iconic figure we are all familiar with. Yes, we saw fluking. We also saw some backs and some heads.

Our captain put a microphone in the water so we could hear the sounds of the whales. Oh my goodness. A sound to remember a lifetime. We have heard them on TV, but to hear them in person is unforgettable. It is amazing that they all sing the same song. When there is a mutation to the song, all whales adopt the new song. How is that even possible? We have so much to learn!!! I wish I could put a sound clip in for you.

The highlight of our trip was seeing four whales blow and move toward the boat. Two went under the boat, one off the bow and one off the stern. They were so close that it almost seemed like we could reach out the boat and touch them - a highly illegal move. Law requires the boats to approach no more than about a football distance from the whales. The boats need not move if a whale approaches it. The whale was truly magnificent. The white shone like fluorescent blue. Very hard to describe, but a sight that will never be forgotten. Imagine seeing those white spots shimmer like blue lightening:

There are quite a few whale watching companies, but we highly recommend Makai Adventures. The staff was friendly and knowledgeable. They truly seemed to care about the whales and the ocean. We went all over the ocean looking for whales. They did not just stay in one spot. They said the whales going under the boat was a rare sighting.

We were famished after our great adventure, so we headed back to Down the Hatch to split an enhanced appetizer of coconut shrimp with mango sauce, rice and vegetables.

  

 If you get a chance, you must go there! The food is plentiful and delicious! And if possible, you must book a whale watching trip. A bucket list item f or me for sure.

We must thank our daughter Tara Biles Robinson and our son-in-law Ricky Robinson f or the gift card for Christmas. We used it today for our food. There will be more good eating to come. So thank you to our daughters and their families for a lovely day!!!

In case you are wondering, the quote in the title is from Star Trek 4 - The Voyage Home where Gracie and George, the last two humpback whales on earth, are rescued and brought to the future. And, It is streaming on the TV right now. A highly recommended movie!

Maui 2020-2

I should start today's post by recognizing the many people that made this trip possible. Scott's boss, co-workers, and dealers gifted Scott much of this trip for his retirement. They are a fabulous group of people. Also, we would not be able to travel almost guilt free without the help of Tarra and Jessica Sutphin - our cat sitters. My sister Nancy helped us find them. They take great care of our kitties, giving them lots of love in addition to feeding them - so thank you all!

Now on day 2 of our great adventure. I said yesterday that we found a dangerous place a block away from the condo - a strip mall housing the Farmers Market Store and farmers market three times a week. We bought vegetables to saute the nights we cooked, a pineapple and star fruit. They didn't have any fresh, local fish - so on to check out other stores in the area.

Of course a trip to the farmers market included a stop at Bad Ass Coffee. They sold coffees from Maui and Kauai. The condo only provided coffee for one day, so we bought a small, one pot package of Maui coffee to try and a mocha. 

Still wanting fresh, local fish for dinner and a veggie tray for evening snacks, we explored a store called Times. We found the local fish we were looking for and bought fresh Au. We had never had the fish, but learned later that we were in for a treat. The store carried a variety of Hawaiian novelties such as Macadamia Nuts and Macadamia nut chocolates, clothing, souvenirs like journals, etc. The store carried a lot of great fruit and veggies, but no prepared veggie trays - so on to Safeway where we found our veggie tray for snacking. We found during our stay that we would use all three stores, depending on our needs. 

One of the greatest joys for us today was standing on the lanai and watching the Hawaiian green turtles. Scott was up early and spotted it for me.

                                       

"The green sea turtle, also known as the green turtle, black turtle or Pacific green turtle, is a species of large sea turtle of the family Cheloniidae. It is the only species in the genus Chelonia. Its range extends throughout tropical and subtropical seas around the world, with two distinct populations in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, but it is also found in the Indian Ocean. The common name refers to the usually green fat found beneath its carapace, not to the color of its carapace, which is olive to black. The largest populations of green sea turtles within the United States coastline are in the Hawaiian Islands and Florida. " Wikipedia 

The Hawaiian green sea turtle, also known as the honu, symbolizes good luck, endurance and long life. Green sea turtles are seen as navigators who can always find their way home. Because of the sacred status of turtles in ancient Hawaii, only members of the royal family were allowed to eat them. https://www.reference.com/world-view/turtle-symbolize-hawaiian-culture-6323cb6758581033

It was fun learning about the sea life we saw. We tried to whale watch from the lanai without success. 

We planned to eat dinner in, so lunch was found at the Island Cream Company. The ice cream is a special blend of ingredients that produces a product that is not ice cream, not gelato, but perhaps the best, creamy treat one has ever had. The cream is made daily on site with a huge variety of flavors, many reminiscent of the islands. They also make waffle cones on site - regular and chocolate. You can sample as many flavors as you wish until just the right flavor appears. A one scoop cone can be split into two different flavors which we both did. The scoops of each flavor were huge. After much sampling, we both had a chocolate cone with two different creams each. I had a chocolate turtle and a macadamia nut. Much sharing occurred. I don't think anyone could leave hungry.

While we rested we found a new to us TV station - Cooking Hawaiian Style. You can find them at cookinghawaiianstyle.com.

Scott cooked a most fabulous dinner of baked Au with pepper, garlic powder and dill, roasted potatoes and sauteed vegetables. 

We both enjoyed an evening on the lanai with adult beverages. The weather was warm, windy and misty.