Happiest of Birthdays

On November 4, 1961, I took Miss Betty Wade to the movies to see “Devil at Four O'clock.”  Afterwards we went to a Shoney’s drive in for a hamburger and shake.  That was our first date.

We dated for six years and were married July 1, 1967.  So for almost 48 1/2 years I have been privileged to share my life with this very special person who was born on this day, May 4, in 1945.

If you’ve followed our blog at all, you know we’re celebrating her birthday on the island of Maui in Hawaii.

This morning we decided to have breakfast at the Honolua Store, an old store that has been around for decades.

While eating our breakfast out on the lanai (porch), we had an unexpected guest – a Red Crested Cardinal – who came to wish Betty a happy birthday.
Seeing what we were eating, he began to make his approach.
As he got a little braver he climbed up onto the table next to us.
With Betty encouraging him by putting out a piece of her pancake next to her plate, he got really bold.

He was a fun addition to our morning.

We were both tired from our day long drive to Hana yesterday so we are just taking it easy.  Tonight, we continue Betty’s birthday celebration at the Old Lahaina Luau.  Since it will be so late when we get home, I won’t have any pictures from there until tomorrow.

Betty, I love you dearly and you have made my life so much more than I could ever have hoped for.

Happy Birthday!

Road to Hana

Hana is a small town on the East coast of Maui.  It was a popular place with Mark Twain and Charles Lindbergh.  The Road to Hana or the Hana Highway is a 52 mile trip from Paia to Hana.  The trip normally takes about 3 hours to cover that 52 miles because there are about 620 curves, some extremely sharp, and 59 bridges, 46 of which are one-lane bridges.  There are also numerous places where the highway narrows down to one lane where only one car can pass at a time.

At the end of the Hana Highway (actually past Hana) is the famous Ohe’o Gulch, also known as the "Seven Sacred Pools". This series of waterfalls and pools is located inside the Haleakala National Park.

What makes this road so popular is the numerous beautiful sights along the road.  Everything from rain forests to water falls to beautiful flowers and blooming trees to beautiful coastal scenes make the nerve-wracking drive worth while.

Betty and I left early, 5:30 AM, so we could beat the tourist traffic and it worked great.  All we experienced was local drivers who were going the other way to jobs in the larger cities and towns on Maui.

The best way to share our drive to Hana is with our pictures and videos.  So, enjoy.

  

 

This is the sight (the large rock below) where the opening scene to Jurassic Park was filmed.




This is the trunk of a Painted Eucalyptus.


On the way back to our place, we passed a brush fire just outside of Lahaina.




Finally a video from our travels.

Kapalua Sunday

We had planned a quiet Sunday, but it turned out a little different – but in a good way.

We were enjoying our view of the ocean…
…when we saw a…
… humpback whale in the water.  So we decided to walk over to a point where we might be able to see him/her or them a little better.
And there they were.
If you look closely, the whale spouting on the left is a calf and his/her mother is the larger whale to the right.  That explains why they’re still here.  Most of the humpbacks have already left Hawaii to make their long trip to Alaskan waters where they will spend the summer feeding.  They’ll make the return trip next Fall to Hawaiian waters where they breed and make new, little humpbacks.  Mothers and calves are often the last to leave to give the calves a chance to grow a little more before making the long trip North.  In the picture below the whale on the right is diving so you can see the tail up as he/she dives.
In this final picture the calf is on his/her side with a white fluke in the air and half of the tail in the air.  The mother is just lazing along as her baby plays.
 
The only other time we went to Hawaii was in February about seven years ago specifically to see the whales and we saw lots of whales.  This time we did not expect to see any whales at all so this was an unexpected pleasure.

As we walked back we encountered an older Japanese gentleman, Isao Nakagawa.  We talked with him for about 15 minutes or so and found out that he is the caretaker of the animal and bird resources in the area.

He told us a lot about the birds in the area such as this Hawaiian Red Crested Cardinal.

He even told us where to see a Wedge Tailed Shearwater was nesting in a hole.
He was a joy to meet and he seemed to like talking with us.  As we walked back to our place Isao continued to walk around his precious bird sanctuary.
We even found out that he is immortalized on one of the landmark plaques.
We went to a craft fair and bought some gifts for family then had lunch at a local restaurant.  Finally, we took a walk along the lava cliffs to a close swimming beach.

All in all a good day.  Tomorrow, we make the twisty drive to Hana along the East coast of Maui.

PS: As we were fixing some supper, we saw our mother/child pair again.

A really good day.

Saturday on Maui

We went snorkeling in Honolua Bay which is a marine preserve just North of where we’re staying.  We’ve snorkeled there before on our other trip to Hawaii about seven years ago.   We had a grand time.

While we were on our deck just after breakfast Betty noticed that we had a visitor.

Unfortunately, you’ll have to wait until we get home to see our pictures as we used a disposable underwater camera that takes film pictures.

This afternoon we went down to Lahaina for lunch and to do some shopping.

Here’s a picture of me at our lunch restaurant – you’ll notice I’m promoting Galloping Grace Youth Ranch even in Hawaii.

While we were eating we noticed a different vessel just out beyond the anchored sail boats.  It’s a US Navy ballistic missile submarine, unofficially called a “boomer.”  We found out from the waitress that they come down from Oahu every couple of months. Here’s Betty under a large Banyan Tree in the middle of Lahaina.
Finally, here’s a couple of pictures of Betty in our rental car – I affectionately called her “Mustang Betty.”

We’re planning to make Sunday a day of rest.

To close, here’s a short video showing the view from our place and then another short video showing where we had lunch in Old Lahaina, the Aloha Mixed Plate.