Aloha 'oe!

Well, back when Bonnie visited in May, she said she'd been comped a ticket to fly to Hawaii in September and that she didn't really know what she'd do there since she'd be going to Maui alone. I (mostly jokingly) said that we'd come join her if I was still unemployed. Obviously, I thought and hoped I would be employed by then. No dice. So, off we went to Hawaii in the middle of September!

Bonnie rented a condo that had a fabulous view (Kuleani condos, if anyone's interested). Here's dawn, midday, and dusk from our balcony (lanai) the first day I was there (Thursday, the 13th). On the left is the island of Lana'i and on the right is the island of Moloka'i. Moloka'i has a leper colony, but, apparently, no lepers anymore.

 

 

Since it was rented by owner and not through the condo complex, it came fairly well stocked. We were able to eat and cook in it quite easily since it had a fully functioning kitchen.

Maui is known for its rainbows and we saw some almost every day. Here's a double one we saw when we hit up the market for some groceries.

We wandered old-town Lahaina and saw the famous banyan tree. This tree drops roots down from the branches as it grows, expanding outward. So this huge mass of tree is generally referred to as "one" tree.

 

Not that you can probably see from the picture, but some dolphins swam past our condo one day.

 

On Friday, the 14th, we went to a very small but fun lion dance ceremony in Lahaina for the harvest festival. This made me miss Kerong's moon cakes. The kid who started out as the little lion's head was hilarious. You've never seen a more enthusiastic lion dancer. Then he switched to the tail end, and, man! That tail wagged and those sides heaved like you wouldn't believe.

 

 

 

 

I fed it some money for good luck and prosperity in the coming year. Here's hoping!

On Saturday, my Auntie Jackie and her husband Brian flew in from O'ahu to visit. We went and hiked the 'Iao needle, which turned out to be not much of a hike, but was pretty nonetheless.

 

 

 

There also was a cultivated area with interesting plants, like taro and ginger and banana trees.

 

 

So, not very hikey, but very pretty. There's also a mountain stream that runs down and is picturesque.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So that's what we were up to from Thurs-Sat. I kind of petered out with the picture taking after Sat. Saturday night Brian made us teriyaki chicken on the condo grills. Teri chicken, rice, and salad. It was delicious. On Sunday we went to a big buffet brunch and ate too much. And then Auntie Jackie and Brian headed back home.

On Monday, Jer, Bonnie, and I took a catamaran over to Lana'i (another island) and snorkeled there. It was a fun day. We saw pilot whales and spinner dolphins on the way over. Most of the rest of the time we just snorkeled out in front of the condos or in nearby coves. Kuleani is a turtle spot and I saw many turtles and had to do some fancy swimming to keep from colliding with them a few times. Some of these guys are freaking HUGE.

Tuesday we just hung out and chilled. Jer read as he'd gotten too much sun the previous day on the boat and Bonnie and I snorkeled some more.
We headed back on Wednesday and Jer and I hung out until we left on Sunday. We visited with the non-family family and just kind of relaxed. We were definitely ready to come home by the time we did.

I also read a lot while on vacation:
Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
Precious (the novel Push plus a "reader's guide" at the end) by Sapphire
Dark of the Moon by John Sanford
Don't Blink by James Patterson
Pines by Blake Crouch
The first two and last one were on the kindle. Three and four were from the condo (they had a take-one leave-one thing going on in the lobby). And five was Bonnie's book but she found it too gory.

I took yarn and needles with me but didn't manage to knit a single stitch while I was away. Which is just fine.

Overall, a thoroughly lovely time.