The Spring in Spring Lake includes 20 degree weather. Not the plan. So that provided time to collect a whole bunch of photos from the recent trip to Maui, where it was considerably warmer. They are displayed below. You can go to the light box display and roll a slide show by clicking on one of the photos below. The slide show will start automatically with the slides changing every 5 seconds. The slideshow can be frozen, stopped and restarted by using the navigation icons over the light box.
Joe
We are back in Spring Lake after a 21 hour trip–but not before stopping at the Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge in Maui on the way to the airport. It actually bears a slight resemblance to the Edwin Forsythe Wildlife Refuge in South Jersey–except that it lacks the swarms of mosquitos that the Forsythe Refuge has.
Some photos from the Kealia Pond Refuge.
Joe
Aloha
It’s getting close to the end of our trip so we decided to book into one of the resort hotels on the West side of the island for a couple of days. Needless to say, the views were spectacular. Among other things, we were able to sit on our deck and watch the whales go by and an occasional porpoise. The sunsets (and moonsets) were stunning as well. Not only that, we could watch the boats and Kayakers float by. Finally, we got to watch the divers leap off Black Rock into the waters below. Not something I would try.
We’ll be back soon to enjoy the springtime snow in New Jersey. Photos below (of Hawaii).
Mahalo
Joe
Aloha
A trip to Hawaii necessarily means an outing to a Luau. We went to one in Lahaina complete with a pig roasted on a fire, native deserts and a Mai Tai or two. The highlight is a show with native dancers performing traditional rituals and dances, including the hula. Here are a couple of photos from the show.
Mahalo
Joe
We all decided to go on a sunset cruise sponsored by the Pacific Whale Foundation, of which Mary Anne and I are now members. The PWF has guides on the boat who act as spotters and teach everyone about how the whales live and behave. Not to mention that they serve cocktails and appetizers during the cruise. Nature never looked so good.
And—while we were on the sunset cruise, we bumped into some friends from the 2016 Crystal Serenity world cruise. Hello Beth! Great so see you. Who knows where we will meet again. Anyway, the pictures below are from the Maui sunset cruise.
Joe
Maui is an explosion of primary colors. At first, it looks like one of those planets that Kirk, Spock and McCoy get beamed onto where the plant life constantly and rapidly regenerates—except that there are not any devious Kling-on traps waiting for us.
There are gardens pretty much everywhere. It turns out that plants that are annuals elsewhere don’t grow in Maui because there really aren’t any seasons. Everything just grows all the time. So perennials aren’t suited for Maui.
Bob and Barbara and Mary Anne and I visited the Lavender Gardens Saturday after visiting a farmers market in Makawao. On Sunday, Mary Anne and I headed off for Kula on the side on the mountain overlooking the central valley. Some photos from those explorations are below.
JFB
After taking a day trip to Oahu to see Pearl Harbor, we spent the next few days sightseeing around Maui. From wide expanses of green farmland, to meadows and beaches, mountains and volcanoes there is no lack of stuff to see. Including Makawao, a town about 5 miles away that it is, believe it not, a bit of a cowboy town. And if you want to live in a place that never quite left the 1970s behind, you might want to visit a small town on Maui called Paia.
A final piece of very important news: we are close to a Whole Foods store that has excellent wines at very good prices.
Anyway, here are a bunch of photos from our sightseeing adventures.
Joe
