Hana to Haleakala

We walked on Hamoa Beach, just south of Hana, and enjoyed the morning.  We left our cottage by 9:30 a.m. and drove around the south side of Maui.  We stopped at Palapala Ho'omau Church in Kipahulu to see the grave of Charles Lindbergh.  On we drove around hundreds more twists and turns, through grassland and lava rock.  We drove up through a band of clouds, to the summit of Haleakala Crater, at 10,023'.  Astronauts trained for their moon landing in Haleakala. 

Road to Hana

We drove from Paia to Hana, on the famous "road to Hana."  There are 620 twists and turns, and over 50 one way bridges.  The drive is not for the faint of heart.  It is spectacular!  We stopped at every waterfall along the way.  We saw a black sand beach and cows grazing by the sea.

Drive Around North Coast of Maui

We hiked to the Iao Needle this morning after breakfast.  Then we drove from Wailea, around the north coast of Maui, stopping to watch surfers, to see water spouting from a blowhole, a whale jumping and blowing, beautiful flowers, and to take photos of the coastline.  We explored the historic village of Lahaina, the first capitol of Hawaii.  We had a good day!

Trip to Maui

About six weeks ago, I offered Papa a choice between visiting the Grand Canyon, Big Sur, or Maui, after Thanksgiving.  He chose Maui without hesitation.  We flew to Maui this morning, arriving just after noon.  We hit the ground running, driving to Paia for a leisurely lunch at Mamas Fish House.  Then we drove to Wailea, where we are staying at Hotel Wailea for two nights.  We had drinks in the round open air bar, overlooking the sea.  We walked on the beach at sunset.  The flowers are beautiful, temperature in the high 70's.  Papa made a good choice!

Favorite Lulu & Papa Photo

Mary was kind to take several photos of us over Thanksgiving weekend.  This was her favorite.  We like it too, not just of us, but of the Winchester Mountains behind us.

Deer Stare Down

I see deer almost every time I drive on or off the ranch.  I had a stare down with these deer a couple of days ago.  I took the photo out the car window.  The deer were within 10-12' of my Hummer.  Each of us held our ground.  These deer weren't anxious to move.

Christmas Tree Hunt

Papa and I hiked up to Hunter's Camp yesterday afternoon, on a mission to find our Christmas tree.  We looked all around and most were too fat, too tall, too skinny, too bare... until we found just the right one!