Trip Around the North End of Maui

Yesterday we drove the north loop, around the top, around the headland. I had done it only once before when I was really new to Maui. This time I understood a lot more of what I was seeing. There used to be much more volcano-formed land up there but it eroded & fell into the ocean leaving cliffs & steep hillsides.

   

 Ash fall layers!

Then there are some distinctly rural so-Maui things.... a close-up of the window...

Too bad, really, no banana bread for sale here.

This small church was in a community that had had many problems last week, during the Big Rain. Their creek rose 12 feet! We bought snacks from a man stopping cars going through this village. He was a great salesman. Too bad I didn't get a photo of him.

 How did THESE get formed? Shot from the volcano like splashy spewing forming rocks in the air? I'm trying to picture it. 

Sometimes you see these ash-rocks in layers of lava.

This ash: I took a chance of it home to test its disolvablity. The water became all milky! That was just like the water in the Toutle River with Mt. St. Helen's ash running  in it.

Here are some more examples of So Maui. We noticed the lack of feral chickens here compared to Kaua'i!

 Friday we leave for Vancouver. 

Wearing coats will be necessary. I anticipate a climate shock. Still, it'll be good to be in that home!

That's it for now.

.R.a.i.n.y.o.l.a.

Friday morning wee hours much heavy rain here west of the town of Hanelei.

36 inches of rain in 24 hours was suddenly comprehensible. It eased off last night after a couple of hours with thunderstorms & I eased off on my fretting & went back to sleep. The road out of here is closed because of a new landslide, so it's anyone's guess when we can drive out. Flash flood warnings in effect, and it is raining at 9:30, but for now not pouring.

It's a day for books, & indoor pleasures.

Yesterday we went to two nearby beaches.

Amazing foam....

& surf...

Then further west of here...

Many run-offs looking so amazingly spinal!

And fascinating ironwood tree roots.

The tsunami of last year didn't do much damage, but many of the houses are up on stilts! The trees are on stilts too.

That's it for now.

Kaua'i Chapter

 At the Koa store we found some hats for sale from the Hardwood Hat Company. Too expensive for a joke, but worth several goofy pictures!!

We left rainy Oahu not quite sure how things would be on Kaua'i. We'd heard that they had had a lot of rain and roads were washed out, & land slides, etc. All true. We couldn't reach out hotel on the north beach beyond the town of Honalei the first night. We later learned that the north coast had gotten 36 inches of rain in 24 hours! Well no wonder there were problems!

What was amazing was that we did get through the next afternoon. The work of the highway crews was impressive, really impressive. Trees had come down, electrical lines were down, mud puddles were all over the place, & there had been several slides.

Our first stop, on the way to the Waimea Valley, was to a famous cloth shop that has been in business for 40 years. I found some fabric that sends me. It matches all the puddles!

We went to the Waimea Valley to see Kaui's version of the Grand Canyon while the road workers did their magic. The roads we took were full of the big rain reminders.

Out off shore you could see where all the red dirt had gone!

So this is just a bit of this famous valley. 

 I love the layers! It signifies different substances in the eruptions.

                                                              That's it for now.
                                                                       Aloha!

*R*A*I*N*

Each of our 3 nights in Hoh-noh-lulu (please note correct proh-nounciation!) were filled with thunderstorms. Rain by day intermittent.  We had plans with some slippage, rain-related, & not-knowing-quite when/where-to-go problems.  But that's life, some plans don't pan out.
This is the palace of Hawaiian Ali'i (royalty). Very ornate and pretty.

Sidewalk hearts & a great unreadable wall mural.

   

Doorway in Chinatown  One of the many white pigeons in Honolulu. Where did they come from?

                                                                    Super surf colors.

Yesterday we left for Kaua'i, not really fully grasping the extent of rainfall here. That would be 36 inches! Wetness everywhere, along with the roosters, chicks, & hens & flooded taro patches.

                                         I love those pineapple patterns!  JUNGLE with monstera vines.

                                                            That's it for today.

SO Sew Daphne

In the process of getting the condo ready for viewing George & I retired 5 IKEA rag rugs made in India. They are hard to keep clean & we were starting to trip on them.
In my fitness class in Kihei we all made a long list of all the things that make us fall.
Scatter rugs is one of them. I decided really it was time to let them go. And the ones in Vancouver too. They were falling apart anyway from washing and too much dryer time.
They were loosing body with each washing making them even more "trippy"

The morning we were packing for Oahu George opined that it was time to chuck them out.
Ah yes, but I had another plan. It was a plan that I had been harboring for a long time.
Since I was mostly packed I started carrying it out.

Cotton string warp, but what about the weave?  Was it polyester, crappy fabric or what?


Dismemberment began!   HOW'S that for visuals?  The excitement of discovery!

I'm in heaven! Mostly the weaving cloth is pima cotton grade strips. There is also some very frayed bright colored rayon. Unusable.  I am making plans!

Mostly there are stripes and plaids-- men's shirting. This will be sooooo fun to work with.
I brought some of the strips with me so when it's raining in Kauai I can have a new project to keep me happy. I have to open up all these strips to reveal the fun of what's there!

I asked George if he was excited by this. Guess what? He wasn't. I wasn't surprised

I know this is so Daphne!
I have dismembered other things in my life before: Peruvian cloth dolls to really see the ancient cloths used, scrap sari-cloth pillows, and so on.

                                                    That's it for now.
                                            Aloha from chic Honolulu!

Preparation for selling Maui Condo

George's condo will go on the market this weekend. He signs the papers today. This is the 3rd property we have gotten ready for sale & strangely I can say I like the process though it's hard work. Confirmed though is how well we work together and we experience the pleasure of like-mindedness about what we do: what goes/what stays, how things should best be arranged, what we'll leave here.

When the realtor arrived yesterday to take photos for the sale he was really impressed. A nice confirmation. Of course at the level of photo-shoot-ready the apartment is total unlivable. Trash container in kitchen is out of sight, as are tooth brushes, dishpans & sponges, newspapers, pen & pencil holders, etc.

It's been a long process deciding to sell. The problem with having a 2nd home is that since it costs money to maintain it you feel have to go there. We could have put it back into the rental pool, & if it doesn't sell that'll be our fall-back position.

Other places in the world beckon. So here is what we are giving up!!

The apartment number I made which the new owners will get.

Morning sea latte walking beauty.... 

The apartment has been greatly simplified to sell.

Tomorrow we are off to Oahu for two nights & then to Maui where I have never been. I'm looking forward to feeling the differences between the islands I know a bit.

That's it for now.