Because We're Weird Like That

This might seem odd, but in going through all of our photos from Maui, I realized that we took more pictures of industrial stuff than the typical things you might expect. One reason is that we like these shots for artistic inspiration and reference. And another is that we both love these kind of images. And I don't care if you are thinking,"Why go all the way to Maui for that? You have tons of that in LA." I get that when I go to Monhegan and paint trucks. What makes the trucks so amazing is that they are in Monhegan, just like the docks are even more beautiful to me because they are in Maui.



I really do feel so lucky that my sweet hubby loves this kind of stuff as much as I do. We talked about when we started to appreciate the mystery of these images. I remember feeling a very strong feeling when I was in desolate or broken down areas as a child. It wasn't a scared feeling, but one of wonder and another feeling that I still can't name.



As artists we love these images for the colors, textures, history, juxtapositions, and symbolism. And also for that ineffable feeling we get when in that atmosphere.

Maui Waterfall Hike

Mark and I went on a guided hike with one other couple into the West Maui mountains. Randy, our guide, and Romi and Raoul, the couple, were great folks. We took so many photographs, but I will give you some highlights.
First we drove back to the scary road we abandoned the first day, parked the car in a lookout point, and walked down to a the edge of the road. I never would have found this trail on my own. We followed this stream along a trail of wild ginger plants, bamboo, and some amazingly beautiful trees. Saw no animals, except a millipede, which I had no desire to see closer, and some cardinals.




There were three waterfalls, each with it's own little swimming hole. The water was frigid, though, and Mark was the only one of us brave enough to take the dive.


Randy taught us so much about the local history, plants, and myths of the area. Where we were was all sugarcane farming, with the occasional bloody battle. We asked him all kinds of questions about the native culture and their modern day situations, stray cats, and ooh, what tree is that?



One interesting fact: Since the Hawaiian islands are all volcanic and fairly new geologically, most plants and animals were brought over by the settlers. Not many indigenous species. And there are no snakes or poisonous plants. A hiker's dream. Just watch out for those pesky daily flash floods.

We took a break here and munched on dried papaya, pineapple, and chips. I could have stayed here all day.


I realized that I much prefer wooded places with streams and little hideaway ponds over beaches and mountaintops. They say you are either a forest, ocean, or air person. Which one are you?

Maui Day One

Our first full day in Maui was an adventure. I meant to document what we did every day because I knew I wouldn't remember exactly what happened on what day. Not that you will know any different, but I am trying my best. We did, however, manage to take 800 photos. That's 100 a day.
I started the day with Hawaian sweet bread coconut french toast, and Mark had a Spam omelette. No, not really. Then we went to these botanical gardens near the hotel, but this place looked in need of some funding. But I did manage to get this shot of the roots of a beautiful tree.




Then we hit the road to go see the wild coastline. On the way, we passed this old Buddhist cemetery. It looked ancient, but folks were still putting fresh flowers by the stones.

I am so lucky that I have a husband who loves this stuff as much as I do. We took a million photos and continued on our way.


Hmmm... Shouldn't those mountains be on our left?



Oops. Well finally found the right road and found the ocean cliffs.


When it turned into a one lane road with no guardrails, the grand fetus protective fear made us turn back and seek a safe dinner closer to sea level. Decided to try this Korean/Japanese place that wasn't quite Japanese enough. Couldn't eat my rubbery transparent noodles, so had ice cream for dinner instead.

It was the perfect day.

First Days on Maui

Maui was beyond words amazing. There is so much to tell. Looking back through all the pics we took we realized that we did A LOT. No wonder I am tired. It is going to take a little while to sift through all the pics and show you the best.
The first night we went out to dinner to a place called Manana Garage. Awesome crabcakes and fish burritos. Halfway through dinner we realized that we had a dinner guest at the next table: Jack, an adorable orange and white kitty taken care of by the restaurant and neighbors. We went to visit Jack a few more times. Turns out Maui has a large population of strays.
The next day we hopped in our rental car and drove around, took a wrong turn and found an old amazing Buddhist graveyard. Then went back to the right road and found some amazing views on the North coast of West Maui. The road was pretty frightening, so we turned round to find some more food.

Here is a pic of a gorgeous wild beach we found and had all to ourselves. Mark picked up some coral that had washed ashore, but he returned it so Pele would not be mad.



And here are a few pics from the most incredible waterfall hike we took. It was us, the guide and one other couple. We saw three waterfalls, bamboo, wild ginger, ate wild berries, and climbed down the roots of an ancient fig tree.




There are so many more fun pics to show. More soon!

Maui Forecast

Looks like we won't need too much sunscreen in Maui, our honeymoon, our only vacation ever. We are trying not to be too pissed.

Maui

This will be Mark and I in two weeks!



Despite the extortion of the despicable IRS that we are suffering right now, we are going to take a vacation. This is something neither of us have ever done - going away for the sole purpose of spoiling ourselves as a nelywed couple, just the two of us. This is a momentous thing to say the least. Pretty soon we will be three, which is even more wonderful, but right now we want to celebrate being two.


We are going to walk around in all the tropical green lushness and breathe in non-smoggy air. We are going to eat ice cream and look into the mouths of volcanoes. We are going to stand underneath misty waterfalls and watch sunsets with sand on our feet.


We are so excited. I can't stop thinking about it!