Maui, day 5
Another fabulous day with Jackson, while Cristin and Joe went diving. These days are really pure joy, focusing on the little things that Jackson does, little exhibits of his development, his personality, his humor. He’s now sitting for long stretches (45-60’) and playing with anything within his reach.
Maui, day 4
Molokini Crater, inside and backwall side
An early morning for us, as we needed to be in Lahaina by 6:45 to check in for our dive. The drive was a bit quicker than we thought, and the shop opens promptly at 6:45, so we were about 10 minutes earlier than necessary. (we’ll know better for Friday and Sunday dives with this company.)
The first impressions are important ones with these dive shops/charters, as you spend a day with the crew and the other divers, and you depend on them for safety. First impressions were very good, indeed; fellow divers quiet, easy, mellow, yet upbeat. Crew very professional, and not at all overly rah-rah.
The ride out to the site was really quite beautiful...
Read MoreMaui, day 3
A fun day of being with one of the world’s happiest babies. Joe and Cristin dove today, so Pattie and I enjoyed a day or playing with Jackson.
not sure if i already posted this, but a few photos taken at dinner/Luau on Sunday evening…
Maui, day 2
Up early to get out for an early dive. But the weather wasn’t cooperating; the captain and dive crew could not find a safe place to dive. 8’ swells, zero visibility under water…so back to the port by 9am. Took the opportunity to drive a bit further, into Lahaina, to grab some breakfast. Then went to a local dive shop to get some extra layers, as we’d been cold on the boat.
Joe, Cristin, and Jackson joined us in Lahaina for a lunch, then Pattie and I headed back to our room. I slept for a few hours…just really tired day (early a.m., and the previous night’s luau went later than we’d hoped, so needed the catch-up rest. Nothing particularly exciting to report, other than our looking forward to diving Wednesday, and we’re just loving the time with Jackson...
Read MoreMaui, day 1
Joe and Cristin went diving at 6am, we sat Jackson until 1 or so. Jackson’s a really easy little guy, full of smiles. The only crankiness emerges when he’s hungry or when he’s feeling the effects of teething. Two teeth coming in now, one top, one bottom. We really enjoyed him a lot today.
When Joe/Cristin returned we went to one of the dive shops we’re using here, and we picked up jackets which are worn under wet suits, providing extra warmth, but no buoyancy. We had to then drive up to a shop in Lahaina that had Pattie’s size. We’ll be heading to Lahaina for many of our dives, so this was a good trial run to see how long the drip is (30+’).
We’d arranged to attend a luau this evening, and it was quite a spectacle...
Read MoreHilo to Maui
Easy travels today. The sights from the plane’s window showed Mauna Kea snow-covered peaks, and the lava flow trails.
Arrival at our place in Maui by 10, sure was great to see Jackson with his ma & pa.
Joe, and Cristin did a dive while we babysat for about 2’ hours. Their shore dive was in Wailea, which is home to a ton of elite class resorts, it seems. So Pattie and I went to a shopping area to stroll Jackson around a bit after we dropped Joe/Cristin off.
In the evening we went out for shaved ice, right at a popular gathering spot–especially so at sunset.
Back to our di...
Read MoreHilo, final day
The day began with the good news that Joe, Cristin, and Jackson arrived safely in Maui late last night—and that Jackson is clearly ready for some sun-time!
Shortly after that Joe sent over a picture of a humpback playing a few hundred yards away from their balcony. Looking forward to joining them in Maui tomorrow morning, and spending lots of good time together over the coming two weeks.
The day was another rainy one, and we started it with personal pampering—massages. Great massages. Offset a bit by dealing with a few issues back home in NC, i.e., a car needing towing/repair, and an enormous branch fallen in our yard over a fence. No crisis in either case, no one hurt, just stuff to take care of.
After a quick bite to eat...
Read MoreHilo, day 12
Another rainy day, and another day good for writing, relaxing, and readying for future travel. The morning we got out jfor an appt for Pattie, then a quick trip to the local falls—Rainbow falls.
The waterfall was beautiful, unsurprisingly, but the trees in the area were even more breathtaking to me. The canopy they created, but also the exposed root system, and just the sheer size of these Banyans. One reminded me of the girth of the giant sequoias in Northern California, as you’ll see…
Hilo, day 11
A rainy, rainy day, and that made for lots of writing through the day.
Still feeling good about the ending section written over the past few days, though not sure I’m eager to hear that it’s too difficult. I like it, and have tried to limit the pitch material so that it’s basically a single chord being arpeggiated by each voice, creating the overlapping ‘licking flames’…
I’ll try to make it very clean and send off this ending to James at some point tomorrow, and we’ll see how tepid his reaction is….
Excited that Joe, Cristin, and Jackson are flying this way tomorrow! Can’t wait to hang with this little guy for a few weeks in Maui when we meet them there on Saturday!
Hilo, day 9
Pattie and I both slept late but, as our dive was at a more reasonable hour (9:30am) than usual, it was still an easily-paced morning. We got to the boat slip by 9:15, happy to find that it was just us on this trip (plus divemaster Phillip and captain Kimo). Nice folks, we found, and they proved easy-going, and a pleasant pair to be with for the morning.
We left Hilo’s harbor for a 30’ ride to our dive spot, which was basically the same spots we were last week with Bill—but further out from shore. There were healthy swells of about 6’, but not anything unpleasant, thanks to my pre-boat sea-sickness medication regimen these days. On the way out of the harbor, we caught this clear view of Mauna Kea, snow-capped peak easily visible. “Most of the volcan...
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