Heading Out

Tomorrow, we fly out of Regina, and make our way to Quito, Ecuador.  The temperature is suppose to be extremely cold tomorrow morning, so hopefully that won't affect our flight.  We are eager to escape the cold, harsh Saskatchewan winter and get to warmer climates.  Quito is in the highlands of Ecuador so we can expect temperatures of about 18 degrees Celsius.  Temperatures will warm up though as we make our way to the beaches of Ecuador.

We will miss family and friends back home, and some of them we will see during our travels to South America and Mexico. 

From our family to yours, Merry Christmas to all, and best wishes to a happy and healthy 2014.

Great Adventures Begins Again!

Time To Say Goodbye!

Our trip has come to an end!  In one way I am glad to be going home to a place I know and love, to
be surrounded with family and friends once again.  But, I hear winter is lingering longer than it should, and I'm not thrilled to experience the last thralls of its wrath!

We were pleasantly surprised by one last unexpected night in Hawaii due to a delayed flight that had us missing our next two connections.  The airline put us up in a hotel, and we had an extra evening,
and all the next day because we weren't flying out until that night!

We are now at home, and the washing machine is getting a workout, a grocery trip has filled the fridge, the vacuum is making its roar!  Oh joy, it's almost like we never left!!

Soon we will be planning for another adventure, until then adios!!

Road Trip

When in Maui be like a local...that is... you need a car.  There are many things to see and do, and to be able to get to all these places you need to have wheels.

We drove up the north coast to get a look at something that is called a Blowhole.  It is a tube formation in the rock that lies up against the ocean.  When the waves crash  against the lava rocks, the water runs through the tube and then up and out of the rock creating a geyser type effect!  Quite fantastic.  I guess some guy last year got too close and was swept into the blowhole and died!!  Yikes!!

                                          The blowhole.  It is much more spectacle than this.
                                          My camera and me are just too slow to get the
                                          awesome shot!!

   
                                         Randy and Marie!

                                          Northern coastline of Maui

                                          Olivine pools (one of Maui's little gems that is gradually
                                           being discovered by tourists).

                                          The pools are great to sit in.  The waters are warm
                                           filled with small fish.

                                          The interior of Maui is breathtaking.  My camera
                                          does not do it justice!!

Good Friends!!

The last few days in Maui were spent with dear friends that we seldom get to see.  We had an absolutely wonderful visit!!

                                          Having a nice meal with our good friends
                                          Marie and Randy.

                                          Marie and Me at the beach.  One of our most favourite
                                          things to do!!

Maui Dogs

                                               I howled with laughter when I saw these two!!!

Craters and Lava Flows

We took a drive up to Maui's crater, which can be found in Haleakala National Park.  The drive was beautiful, windy, and an experience in itself.  You travel from beach to cowboy country, through proteas and jacarandas, onward to silverswords and space stations. Unfortunately, the day was rainy and the clouds were socked in, so we weren't able to see as much as we would have liked to.  The crater sits at 9,745 feet above sea level so it was fairly cool, and we were dressed in beach attire, and we felt quite frozen.  We took and quick peek around, went inside the Visitor center, read some of the blurps about the the crater and took off back down the road for warmer climates!

                                          The road up to the crater.

                                        
                                         Not easy to see but this is the view of the crater from
                                          the inside of the info building.

                                       
                                          The nene... a Hawaiian goose.

Ahihi-Kina'u National Park Reserve is an area that experienced Maui's last lava flow around 120 years ago.  We parked the car and took a short hike along a path that takes you through the flow.  The black rock makes the landscapes look as if you have entered another world!

Beaching It Maui Style

One of the first beaches we hit, other than the one in front of our place, had us watching whales that were having some fun.  They flipped and flapped and splashed and spouted, creating an audience on shore!!  My camera isn't specialized enough to get those kind of awesome pictures.

                                          This is the park in front of the beach we were at.

Maui

Our time in Oahu is over, and our next flight took us to Maui.  Our hotel is in Kehei, right on the beach.  The weather started off cloudy, but warm.  After a couple of days it smartened up, and the sun came out, heating things up considerably.  Kehei is very quiet, and we like it very much.  There are people on the beaches, in restaurants and bars, but nothing is overcrowded.  At night you don't hear the constant noise of busy traffic, or loud parties.  It's very much like what we are used to back home, but of course with better temperatures!!

                                         This is the beach in front of our hotel.

                        

                                          look closely, you can see Hoss sitting on a lounger!

                                         
                                          An egret entertains us each time we go to the beach,
                                           in front of our hotel.

                                          The road behind our hotel.

The North Shore of Oahu

The North Shore of Oahu is where the monster waves happen.  Extreme surfing happens here and only the best dare this activity!!  The day we were there the waves were big, the biggest I have ever seen, but not the biggest the locals have ever seen!!  We laid down our sarongs and enjoyed the beach, sun, waves and surfing.  The sand has these little, flat, seashells that stick to your body, clinging steadfast even after a shower.  Pre-adolescence children walk confidently into the spray of the ocean carrying their smaller sized boards, eager to become accomplished surfers.  I, on the other hand, am leery to enter the water of the shoreline, fearing the sweep of the rip-tide!!  I have always loved watching surfing, and any surfing movie that happens to be on TV you'll find me watching it!!!  So, I was blissfully in heaven, this fine afternoon, watching a sport that seems so me so distant and exotic, from any of the sports I have experienced!!!

                                          An example of homes that line the beach.

                                         This is the lane that is behind the beach homes were
                                           you can park.  The highway is to the left of this picture.