Lazy Day Off

It's been a while since I've posted a T-Bone sighting.  He still snoozes on our lanai when it's still shady during the day, but he's been spending most of his time hiding down in the pit that runs alongside the back of the yard (where those wayward kittens from many months back were hunkered down in).  In fact, that's where he spent most of the Flossie storm.  Will said that T-Bone was not at all interested in staying inside during the storm.  What a weirdo.

I got an early start and made it to Choice Health Bar for a freshly squeezed juice (carrots, beet, ginger, cucumber!) before heading up north for a swim sesh with a friend.

I was aiming for my old favorite, Kapalua Bay--but the parking was overflowing.  We continued forward to Cliffhouse--a swimming spot I still haven't explored, but the wind was too crazy to consider jumping in safely.  So we backtracked to Napili Bay--and it was absolutely perfect.

Gorgeous turquoise waters with maximum visibility and lots of fishy friends under the water.

{rocking my new Ola Feroz bikini bottoms}

{everyone's out at the bay today!}

On our way home from the beach, I stopped at the Honokowai Farmer's Market and picked up a mock chicken salad wrap for lunch and brussels sprouts and pasta sauce for dinner tonight.

Now, I'm about to get offline and wait out this heat wave reading a new book.

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Tropical Storm Flossie on Front Street

Tropical Storm Flossie hit Front Street late yesterday afternoon.  

I came into work at the restaurant to gloomy, overcast skies but there was no rain and very little wind.  The managers were discussing opening up the deck and setting up tables for guests when the storm rolled in from the east and dumped rain on top of us.

Everyone scurried to secure the restaurant and take care of guests that were already seated downstairs enjoying happy hour.

Upstairs, we rolled down our storm drapes and closed off the deck and planned on only seating the back reaches of the restaurant that are covered.

Right around the time we open the upstairs dining room for dinner, the rain slowed down to a trickle.  We began to seat guests and do our thing.

As the evening ticked along, the rain kicked up again.

Here are a few photos from the restaurant balcony overlooking Front Street at the beginning of the rain:

It's hard to tell how hard it's raining in these photos, but you can see that the streets are already starting to flood.

In the photo above, you can see the streets are flooded, the sky is dark and ominous.  The storm is really about to touch down.

Here's a short video of the happenings on Front Street:

Then, along the oceanfront, the sky above the water had turned a sickly green.  It almost looked like the kind of skies shown in tornado footage.  The wind began to pick up.  The gusts shook our storm drapes, knocking the thick rubber sheets against the tables.  Lightning danced over the water, lighting up the sky.

At around 6:30 at night, the managers decided that we were closing the restaurant.  We continued to serve the guests that were already seated, and by 7 pm, the last of our dinner orders were ordered and cooking in the kitchen.

By 7:30, the rain had died down again, but all of Front Street was closed.  Bryan had dropped me off at work earlier in the afternoon, and he came to get me after I had closed the kitchen.  We made a quick stop at Foodland, the grocery store and picked up a bottle of wine before heading home to have a Tropical Storm game night with our neighbors.

Bryan told me that while I was at work, the power had gone out for about 45 minutes, so he, Will and Jess had to play Sorry by the light of two tiny tea lights.  Note to self, buy more candles.

Thankfully, the rest of the evening was fairly uneventful.  The rain and wind picked up again a little bit closer to midnight, but it was fairly gentle compared to the weather we had experienced earlier in the evening.

This morning, the humidity is back with a vengeance, but the skies are clear.  Flossie has come and gone, and none of us are worse for wear.

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Hana on Maui: The Last Day

I took Hana to the airport this morning, and both Bryan and I were sad to see her go.  We have really enjoyed having her here, and I have had a blast showing her around Maui and introducing her to my favorite places as well as to all of my friends.

Since yesterday was Hana's last day, we let her decide what she wanted to do.  She told me she wanted to have one last Lava Flow and go back to Kobe's for more sushi.  Done and done!

But first, we headed into Lahaina to finish shopping for gifts that Hana planned on taking back home for her friends and our family.

{a pua to put behind Hana's ear}

{a Mango Colada with lunch at Kimo's}

{stopping to check out the huge Banyan Tree on Front Street}

This banyan tree was planted in 1873 by Christian missionaries to commemorate their 50th anniversary of their work in Lahaina.  The tree has now grown to be 60 feet tall and stretches across an entire city block--about 2/3 of an acre.

Over the weekend, local artists set up their wares under the shadow of the banyan tree branches.

{Tree Posing It!}

{the island of Lanai in the background}

After our hot afternoon of shopping, Hana and I came back up to the house and relaxed until dinner.

{Hana in her new Roxy dress}

{Hana rocking her seashell bangles that I got for her}

The three of us drove down to Kobe's and got a spot at the sushi bar.

{Hana's last Lava Flow}

{sushi chef preparing our dinner}

{Hana rocking her rookie chopsticks}

{Success!}

{salmon nigiri}

{rainbow roll}

After an epic dinner of sushi at Kobe's, we came back up to the house to play some games.  We played a few rounds of Sorry, a full game of Uno and a couple rounds of BS.

{the sweet game of REVENGE!}

I had to capture Bryan's terrible pour.  My glass is on the left, his is on the right.  Someone was trying to bogart the Waterstone Cabernet!  He was wrong to do so, but I can understand.  Our 2009 Waterstone was amazing!  What a wonderful purchase from the Kimo's wine sale.  Yum!

We stayed up and played games until 1 in the morning.  We had so much fun.  All of us got amped up playing game after game, and our neighbors could hear us cat calling, jeering and generally causing a raucous.  Will heard us playing games and came upstairs to hang out.  We ended up pulling the Sorry boardgame back out to play another round with Will sitting in.

It was a great last night with Hana, and we look forward to her coming back out again!

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Hana on Maui: A Day Spent Upcountry

Oh rejoice, one and all, the Green Monster (aka my putt-putt of a '95 Toyota Corolla) has been resurrected and has been running like a dream.  Thank goodness, because Hana and I took a chance and caught a lucky break when we decided to throw caution to the wind and spend the day driving all over the other side of the island and taking the Green Monster upcountry!

We began our morning with a stop at Leoda's (now serving breakfast!).

{Hana in line to order at the counter}

{the glowing display case filled with sweet treats and freshly baked bread}

{a veggie benedict on homemade veggie patties with poached eggs and breakfast potatoes}

{Hana's humungous egg and bacon sandwich}

After our breakfast of epic proportions, we waddled back into the car and took off down the highway towards Wailuku for our first tourist attraction: Iao Valley.

Driving towards the valley, Hana immediately noticed the knot of clouds we were headed towards.  It's best to visit Iao Valley early on during the day before the clouds overhead open up and unleash a storm.      However, it's the regular rain that keeps the valley emerald green and lush.

Iao Needle (pictured below) is one of the most recognizable Maui landmarks.  The rock outcropping is 1,200 feet and was once used as a lookout by Hawaiian warriors during the war with King Kamehameha.

{Hana at Iao Needle}

The park's paved path leads you up towards a lookout to the Iao Needle or you can follow the path down through a manicured loop of Hawaiian plants and down towards the river.

{heading up}

{sister selfie at the top}

{photo op along the rainforest trail along the water}

After seeing the sights and pointing some tourists toward the trailhead (there's a great hike past the lookout), Hana and I got back into the car and headed toward the slopes of Haleakala crater for our next stop: the Ali'i Kula Lavender Farm.

{protea}

The drive up to the farm was a celebration: the Green Monster made it uphill without overheating!  Cool mountain air spilled in through the open windows, along with the scent of eucalyptus.  We drove further up the base of Haleakala, where it seemed as if we were driving up into the clouds.

When we rolled up to the entrance of the farm, we got our kama'aina discount (my beat up car plastered with stickers from local restaurants looks very, very local) along with a map and three sprigs of fresh lavender.

We parked our car on the upper slope of the farm, then headed downhill into the gardens.

{Hana resting at the Secret Garden}

This was a first visit to the Lavender Farm for me as well, and I loved the peace, quiet and coolness of this tranquil place.  The whole farm hummed with the business of bees and there were flowers and plants of every kind--not just lavender.

Well kept trails meandered through patches of lavender and landscaped pocket gardens.

{more protea plants}

{Hana with sunflowers in the vegetable garden}

Throughout the farm, there are lookout points punctuated with sculptures and gorgeous views of the Maui valley.

{praying with Buddha}

We began our walk of the farm by heading downhill, passing through the vegetable garden, then climbing up along the Peaceful Path above the farm office and crafting area towards the upper fields of the farm.

{the photo doesn't do it justice, but this is the view of the Maui valley from the Ali'i's Landing}

{panorama from Ali'i's Landing}

{yoga with Buddha}

{walking back down the farm}

{looking up towards the top of the lavender farm}

After our walk through the farm grounds, we went into the gift shop where we may or may not have bought some amazing gifts for some amazing people back in California (shh!).

We may have also gotten something for ourselves...Lavender Lemonade!

{refreshing!}

We left the farms just as a soft drizzle descended from further up the mountain.

We drove back down through Kula and headed for Makawao, the quaint cowboy town.  Hana and I walked up and down main street and took a rest at the Aloha Cowboy store.

We met up with Bryan and our friends (just finished playing the disc golf course up at Poli Poli) at Polli's Mexican Restaurant for chips, guac, tacos and burritos before heading back to Lahaina.

On our way home, we made a second stop to Leoda's so Hana could pick up a sweet treat for later (chocolate macadamia nut pie).  I can't wait to try it!

Now, offline for movie night!

Goodnight!

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