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.

Maui 2020 - 1

Five years ago Scott and I went to Kauai to celebrate my retirement, his 60th birthday, and our 40th anniversary. Maui 2020 was a celebration of Scott's 65th birthday, his retirement, and our 45th anniversary. Day 1 was mainly a travel day. 

We set out at o dark 30 to SeaTac airport, an airport that is usually a nightmare to navigate. Boarding passes were printed at home, but we were not seated together. After a quick, and I mean quick, stop at the ticket counter, we were placed on a list for seat changes. Now would come the nightmare, the SeaTac airport security line. But it wasn't. We were the first people in line and walked right through. We both got checked for various reasons, but the process was relatively painless. We prepared for the long, time consuming lines, and there were none. Now what to do? Coffee of course! 

The plane ride was pleasant. Hawaiian airlines actually provides meals at no cost, even in coach. Then came landing, getting the car, stopping for a few groceries, and finding the condo. We stayed on the 4th floor, highest floor in the building, of Paki Maui on Lower Honoapiilani Road. The address is in Lahaina, but it is on the far outskirts and not in the city proper, just like South Hill has a Puyallup address, but is not in the city of Puyallup.

We would spend a lot of time on the lanai resting, sea life watching and enjoying the warmth of the Hawaiian weather.

Dinner was from the fish market across the street. 

He had a fish burger made of ground fish. I had a fish sandwich. Both were complete with cole slaw and freshly homemade chips. It is dangerous to be right across the street from the market. We soon found an even more dangerous little strip mall just a block from the condo, but that story is for tomorrow. 

We soon learned that this would be a fun, restful, rejuvenating trip. More adventures to come, but after a long travel day, we were both exhausted. We enjoyed the view from the lanai for a long time before retiring to bed.