Pooks Canyon

Today was work from 5:30 am until 2 pm and then very windy. Stayed close to the condo, loafed by the pool (with everything tied down securely), read a paperback, and nursed the surfer rash I have on my legs and hands. I did check out a restaurant: That’a a Wrap Cafe (just below the condo) and discovered they were more than wraps. As a matter of fact they had my favorite breakfast special, biscuits and gravy. The owner, Josh, said they serve it once a week so maybe sometime at breakfast I will get some. Tonight I ordered salad and pesto chicken gnocchi because I felt like having dinner food. Delicious sauce and perfect texture on the gnocchi. Such a large portion so it will also be lunch tomorrow. With the price of groceries around here, restaurant food that lasts for two meals is a great deal. Tomorrow I am getting a surf lesson from a person I found on the interwebs. Now that I can catch my own waves and stand up it feels like I am ready for tons of new advice. So much to learn. Maybe

This morning I was able to leave work for 3 hours because of the long day yesterday. So what did I do? You guessed it. Went surfing. This time I went by myself, no lesson, just rented a board and hit the waves. There were so many turtles everywhere, I even rode a wave with a turtle. After I got back I could not stop grinning for about 2 hours.  Later I went for a long beach walk. You can actually walk from North Kihei to Maalaea, 8km round trip, on the beach, unobstructed. I only did a little over 2km because I wasn’t wearing enough sunscreen. After that I went for a sunset swim at Po’olenalena beach and regretted not bringing a towel. I thought to myself, no matter where I go I should always bring a towel just in case. Then I burst out laughing because that is rule number one in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Later I walked down to the grocery store, see below: What $45 worth of groceries looks like in Maui (stuff in background not included).  

Today was quiet and peaceful. I started working at 5:30 am and took a break to go play in the ocean at 9:30, aka lunchtime. Then I had a violin lesson at noon. Here is where I practice violin Here is where I work Work kept me late with a production deploy so I did not end up doing the massive beach walk I’d been contemplating. Maybe tomorrow. Speaking of tomorrow I think maybe blogging every day makes it feel like a chore. Especially on work days that accidentally lasted 12 hours. If you don’t hear from me by Saturday, send chocolate covered macadamia nuts.

The skies were overcast and the weather was perfect for a bike ride, so I rented a bike for the day. Jon suggested I cruise down to the lava flow. Back in the late 1700's (or 1400's depending on who you believe) the side of Haleakala erupted. In 2021 the evidence is still quite visible on the surface and you can see the band of black lava rock running all the way out into a point in the ocean. In the distance you can see the tip of the lava flow.  After I reached the lava flow I saw a flash of movement- lo and behold, wild lava goats.  Tonight I called Jon and told him all about the bike ride and the goats. He said that loose goats can cause trouble on the island and sometimes wildlife authorities have to get rid of them. He hypothesized that fast-track evolution was afoot (ahoof?) and that maybe these goats survived eradication efforts because they blend in so well with the lava. They were certainly very well camouflaged. Early this morning, before the bike ride, I had a spect

Today I went from non-surfer with no local friends to surfer with lots of local friends. It all started at 7:15am when I walked down to the Maui Beach Boys surf instructors at Kihei Cove. The cove is an incubator, turning people into surfers by the dozen. Gently rolling surf giving newbies and veterans alike long rides into shore. My instructor, Shane (orange hat in the background of the first three photos) had me up and carving around in no time flat. It was so much fun. I seriously rode waves for so long I was able to chat with other people riding the same wave. Then when I got too close to the rocky shore I sat back down on the board and turned around and went out for more.  Maui Beach Boys is owned by a John "JB" Browne, a very friendly guy who I spoke to on the phone setting up the lesson. During the lesson Shane mentioned what a great musician JB is, so afterward I went up to JB and asked where I might hear him play. It turned out he and the rest of the Maui Beach Boys

  Prince Kūhiō March 26, today, is the birthday of Prince Kūhiō. In Hawaii this is a holiday when schools and many businesses are closed. Parades, canoe races, and luaus commemorate the Prince, at least according to what I read online. I am in tourist land here in Kihei and since I just found out about the holiday this afternoon I was not able to track down a party. They were probably all tamped down for COVID anyway. I played Aloha ‘Oe (not very well most likely) on the violin at sunset. That song was composed by Queen Lili’uokalani, the last Hawaiian sovereign as well as Kūhiō’s cousin and the person who made him a prince. In other news, Jon and Axel will be pleased to know I met a cat who hangs out in the parking lot by the condo. Maybe he would like some leftover poke. He looks fierce, but I swear he was going to let me pet him until a red convertible came ripping into the lot and scared him off. Instead of more leftover poke - I just can’t - I made myself a Hawaiian breakfast: Loc

It was really easy to wake up at 5am and get to work. The sun rose as I was in my second meeting for the day. I treated myself with 100% Kona coffee, so that probably helped. Back home Jon has been buying his coffee from You Bet Bicycles (of all places) and it is incredibly good. If you are in Nevada City, trust me, head on down to You Bet Bikes and buy some coffee. Anyway, I am presently spoiled in the coffee department. Speaking of spoiled, for lunch I had the Hawaiian staple, poke. Foodland, the supermarket down the street, sells five different kinds and people line up for it. I said, “wow this is a lot of poke,” and the guy dishing it out was like, “meh, this is pretty average to be honest.” Note to self: explore poke places. Also note to self: don’t buy a pound of poke when you are the only one eating. You will be eating a lot of poke. The great thing about getting to work at 5am is leaving work in the early afternoon. Playtime! Today I took in a measured dose of sun poolside, ten

I’m tired. It’s 9pm but really midnight. And I should avoid getting used to local time anyway, since I need to work mountain time hours tomorrow.  But today was the day and I am beyond excited with possibilities and aloha and relaxing island vibes. As soon as I got into Kihei I stopped off for some local produce. Chonker avocados, apple bananas, and, of course, purple sweet potato. The full time farmer’s market. In North Kihei A bit racy to post a swimsuit photo but get used it.  My friend Kristin gave me SEVEN suits she wasn’t wearing anymore. This in addition to my two swimsuits means a fashion show is in order. This suit was very sturdy and great for boogie boarding. I got in a half hour session of surprisingly large waves. Very fun. I feel like playing in the ocean is something I was just meant to do.  The scene post-boogie boarding and Kamaole 1 Beach. I did see the briefest of green flash at the moment the sun dove beneath the horizon.

In the year since I last posted, a lot has happened. Then again there has been a lot of nothing happening, too. If future people wonder what 3/2020 to 3/2021 was like, they will probably be able to read whole books about it- so I needn’t catch people up here. But on a personal note, yesterday I received a vaccine (dose #1, Moderna). I have a card in my purse attesting to this fact. Maybe this card opens the world up. World open or not, I am leaving for Maui on Wednesday. I will be there by myself for a month, working (remotely- starting at 5:30am), taking surf lessons, hiking around and eating purple sweet potatoes. Whenever I feel the urge to explain why a mom would abandon the family for a month, I try to suppress it. Let’s just say, at the intersection of “I really want to do this” and “I can easily do this” I find the question: “Why would I not do this?” So, surf’s up. I hope to write about each day. My memory is not as sharp as it was when I began this blog fifteen years ago. It i