Maryland Flora and Fauna

Art and I lived in Illinois for a little over 35 years before moving back to Hawaii. However, we still see things to marvel at when we visit different parts of the country.

One thing we enjoyed seeing in Maryland was these holly trees. I used to decorate cards, bulletin boards, etc. in Illinois with holly leaves and berries during the winter but I don't think I ever actually saw a holly bush or tree in the area.

What a surprise to see these gorgeous holly trees in the neighborhood. I saw shorter holly bushes, but these were really tall bushes, more like trees. Admiring the glossy leaves and bright red berries made me see why they are often used as holiday decorations.

We couldn't get a closer shot with just our iPhones, but these turkey vultures were immense.

It was rather amazing to see these birds hunched over waiting for a meal to pop up.

It will be interesting to see what else we'll find the next time we travel to the East coast.

The "Perfect" Packable Down Coats

We have clothes for every season waiting for us in Illinois. Before we come, Tiffany will haul down boxes of the appropriate season so we don't have to pack clothing when we go for our visits. That gives us more room to pack goodies from Hawaii.

This winter, we were going to visit our son and his family in Maryland. Since they now have a home of their own, we asked if we could leave some clothes with him too.

On another trip to Maryland, I'd found an excellent hooded packable black (32 Degrees Heat) down coat at Costco for just $20. It was too good to pass up and has worked beautifully for our trips to Japan and Europe.

I love how you can squeeze the coat into a small pouch for packing and yet have it keep you nice and warm for cool days.

I'm wearing the coat here in front of the Rijksmuseum in the Netherlands.

On this trip to Maryland, there was another packable down coat at Costco!  The Eddie Bauer coat cost $29, but was just what I was looking for because we were planning to take mom to Japan this year and I was going to have her use my black 32 Degrees Heat coat.

Tiffany had told me that she would give me a brand new coat that she'd bought from UNIQLO that her husband said had her looking like she was wearing a sleeping bag.

I told her she could send it to Maryland if she could find a cheap way to send it. Even flat rate boxes aren't that cheap.

Would you believe my very smart son-in-law, Eddie discovered ZONE flat rate boxes? They're a little smaller than the regular small flat rate boxes and it cost them under $8 to mail it from Illinois to Maryland. Eddie  used a vacuum cleaner to suck the air out of the long down coat and had it stuffed in a zip lock bag. It was incredibly tiny. I could hardly believe it. They fit the coat and even some winter hats and socks for my grandsons in the small zone box.

OK... I know. I look like I'm wearing a sleeping bag too, but it was very comfortable for the cold Maryland weather.

Did I bring it back to Hawaii with me? Nope. I left it in Maryland for our next trip. It's not exactly easily packable. I'm still not sure how Eddie managed it.

The Super Blood Wolf Moon

Art was really excited about seeing the total eclipse of the moon which would give us the rare Blood Moon.

I attached my camera to the tripod and got ready for the big event which would happen at 7:12 PM. That's when the moon decided to go behind some heavy clouds. After waiting quite a while, I told Art I was giving up. The mosquitoes were starting to notice I was standing there like a juicy buffet.

I took my camera off the tripod and went upstairs.

About 10 minutes later, Art called out to me, "Bring your camera!"

Sigh...

So I trudged outside again.

Would you believe the moon had risen above the heavy cloud layer?

However, without the tripod it was extremely difficult to get a clear photo. Of the several shots I took, I got only one that was half way decent.

Next time, I won't give up so quickly.

Darn, now I'm feeling itchy.

Hit By a Semi

Mom enjoys shopping at Marukai which is a Japanese market. It required us finding time to drive into town. Marukai is a difficult place to park because it's so crowded and well... there's a lot of seniors who frequent the market. We've come out to find dings and scratches on our car from people who parked too close or opened their doors without caution.

We were on the H1 freeway in one of the middle lanes when a large semi on the right of us began drifting into our lane since the lane on his right was closed.

Art honked his horn frantically and looked to his left to see if he could move over the other way. He couldn't. There was a car right next to us and a car following close behind us.

Sitting on the passenger seat I could see the semi getting closer and closer and closer.

The semi was so long, it seemed to go on forever. I was holding my  breath hoping and hoping we could clear it.

And then BANG!

I was sure our right side mirror went flying and the car jolted.

Good grief!

Art called out, "Take a photo of the truck. See if there's information." 

I whipped around and grabbed my phone and started taking photos. The truck went to the off ramp and we had to continue on into town.

When we got to Marukai we looked at the damage. It was the back of the side mirror that had snapped off. The side of the car looked pretty awful too.

Art called the number on the truck from the photos I'd taken. They said the driver of the truck had actually already called in the accident and reported how he'd hit a silver car.

Hawaii is a No Fault state. Our insurance company said they would have to negotiate with the trucking company's insurance and we would have to just pay a $500 deductible. Just? Sheesh!

Soon after that, Island Insurance, the trucking company's insurance agent called to say they were taking full responsibility and would pay for everything. They also said that if we let them handle it, we wouldn't have to pay a deductible to our own insurance company.

Sounded like a no-brainer.

Luckily we also have a 21 year old mini-van that still works so we didn't need a loaner which probably made Island Insurance happy.

Our car came back good as new... at least on the passenger side.

It was a scary thing to happen and believe it or not, I did have a bit of a whiplash for a couple of hours, not from the crash itself, but from twisting so fast to grab my phone to take a photo of the semi.

I'm sure Island Insurance was also happy it wasn't more serious.

Maui: Day 3

We were up bright and early for our last day on Maui.

We went to the Tasty Crust for breakfast. The pancakes and fruit reminded us of Art's parents' restaurant many, many years ago.

Art really enjoyed having Nancy drive during the entire trip.

Nancy drove us to Pa'ia to Ho'okipa Beach.

It was so beautiful that we stood there watching the waves for quite a while.

We suddenly noticed a stream of brown discharge gushing out below us and going into the ocean.

It turned the ocean brown. It wasn't very pretty anymore. We left.

We noticed this beautiful zen temple in Pa'ia and had to stop to take some photos.

Lunch was at Sam Sato's. They are famous for their wet or dry saimin noodles and there's always a line forming at midday.

Our next stop was the Maui Ocean Center.

Mom really enjoys aquariums.

That flatfish really had an amazing camouflage.

Art is always encouraging mom to try a new experience like sticking her hand into the pool to see what an urchin or sea cucumber feels like.

The ocean tunnel was fun to experience. It's rather amazing to see shark swimming within a few feet of you.

It was a truly fun adventure and we'd all had a marvelous family time.

Maui: Day 2

After a comfortable night's rest at Wailuku's Airbnb, we drove down to McDonalds for a quick breakfast.

As we stepped out of the building, we all remarked how much more beautiful it seemed on Maui. Nancy commented that even the feral chickens seemed better fed and groomed than those on Oahu.

Our first stop of the day was the Iao Needle.


The Iao Needle State Monument is an important historical site since it is where the battle of Kepaniwai was fought.

That is where Kamehamaha I defeated the Maui army in 1790 in his effort to unite the islands.

There had been massive flooding in September 2016 which eroded parts of the riverbank. We were interested to see how they had restored the area.

You can see how the left side of the river has been reinforced with concrete. This was important since it is the foundation of the parking area.

A short nature loop at the bottom contained some Hawaiian flora that mom enjoyed viewing.

This is from the Iao Valley State Park guide book:

"The main attraction here is the ‘Iao needle (Kuka’emoku) – a 1200′ (2250′ from sea level) high peak created by erosion of the softer rock around it over many millennia. In Hawai’ian culture, it is known as the phallic stone of the god of the ocean (Kanaloa.)"

The valley was once considered sacred and kapu where only royalty was allowed.

Our next stop would be Lahaina. On the way there we were able to see Molokini, Kahoolawe and Lanai.

I found this in Wikipedia:

"Molokini is a crescent-shaped, partially submerged volcanic crater which forms a small, uninhabited islet located in ʻAlalākeiki Channel between the islands of Maui and Kahoʻolawe, within Maui County in Hawaiʻi."

And yes, of course we had to stop at the famous Banyan Tree in Lahaina that covers 2/3 of an acre. It is the largest banyan tree in the U.S. and the oldest banyan tree in Hawaii.

We stopped at the Old Lahaina Courthouse and saw displays about Maui's history.

Anh, our Airbnb host recommended the Noodle Bar in Lahaina and since he's Vietnamese, we figured he'd know if a Vietnamese restaurant was good or mediocre. It was a little bit of a walk on the outskirts of Lahaina.

But it was great! Art and I enjoyed this meal the most during our stay on Maui. We had awesome pho and pad thai.

We then stopped at Whalers Village for some Haagen Dazs ice cream.

Dinner was at Miko's, a Japanese restaurant.

Dennis had bi bim bop. Art had a green papaya salad. Nancy and I had a oriental chicken salad and mom had some ramen because she said she wasn't very hungry.

Mom, Art and I were just OK with the food we'd had so far, except for the Noodle Bar which we loved. Dennis and Nancy, however must not be as picky as the rest of us since they loved all the food.

The main thing is that mom was really enjoying the trip.

Maui: Day 1

Since mom said she didn't want to travel anymore, Art thought a short trip to Maui would be something she could handle and enjoy.

We invited my brother, Dennis and sister-in-law, Nancy to join us.

In order to maximize our trip, we left the house at 5:30 for our 7:00 Hawaiian Airlines flight to Kahului Airport.

I'm not an early riser like Art and mom so this took some doing for me.

However, the short 35 minute fight and drive to Haleakala in our Hertz minivan was painless.

We made a stop at Makawao for a decadent pastry breakfast at Komoda Bakery.

And then we were on our way to Haleakala crater.

Mom thought it was fascinating to go from lush vegetation to forest to grassland as we climbed higher and higher up the volcano. From the high vantage point, we could see the West Maui Mountains (Mauna Kahalewai). We could also see the island of Lanai on the left of the West Maui Mountains.

We stopped at the Visitor Center where we could see a few silverswords glistening in the sunlight. I was surprised to see so few of them. When the kids were younger, we took them to Haleakala and I remember seeing quite a few plants. No more. According to the park service website, climate change and visitors taking them home as souvenirs have decimated the silversword numbers.

We were very fortunate to have such a beautiful, warm day.

Climbing higher, there was very few vegetation of any kind.

And then we got to the top and could look down into Haleakala's enormous crater.

There was a very friendly tour guide resting along the barrier who chatted with us and noted some highlights we should enjoy.

He pointed out the Big Island volcanoes, Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. I was amazed that we could see both Lanai and the Big Island from Haleakala.

The Alii Kula Lavender farm had been recommended to us so we decided to check it out.

It was OK.

There were beautiful angel's trumpets, bromeliads, proteus, etc. but the farm was located on a hill which made it very difficult for mom to climb.

When we came to Maui in 2012 we went to a place called Da Kitchen in Kihei. We thought the food was fabulous. It wasn't fancy and very local.

Since Kahului had a Da Kitchen, we decided to try it out.

We were surprised to see that it was crowded, fancier and more expensive.

Art and I weren't impressed, but Dennis and Nancy enjoyed it.

When I checked into hotels on Maui, we were rather worried about how expensive the stay would be for five people.

I looked into Airbnb and found Anh's place in Wailuku. There were three bedrooms and a shared bath on the bottom floor. Perfect. It was $165.00 a night + service and cleaning fee which totaled $400.00 for our two night stay.

It was also conveniently located and we were able to walk down to a shopping area that had everything we needed.

Day 1 of our Maui trip was very happy indeed. 

I'm Back... I think

Hello again...

I've been trying to get back to writing my blog posts, but something kept getting in the way.

So much to do.

And then it just got hard to organize my thoughts, organize the order of the posts, etc. So much has been happening as they usually do at this time of the year.

Eventually, I had to make a list. Having the list organized my stress. It also felt good to be able to just cross off items as I completed them.

Even better, I started writing a few things that I needed Art to finish. This was good because I didn't have to nag him about it.

Did he get it get done? Ummm... sort of. But at least I can take off nagging him from the list.

So here I am. I shall begin with our trip to Maui.

Tomorrow.

Happy New Year 2019!

Happy New Year, everybody!

I just wanted to stop by briefly to wish you all a year full of adventure, happiness and especially good health.

New Year's Eve was truly another noisy welcoming of the new year filled with illegal fireworks. Aerial fireworks are definitely banned in Hawaii and my nephew tells me they are extremely expensive. And yet, so many of our neighbors were setting them off between 8:00 PM until 3:00 AM. Amazing! It made me a little nervous when winds started to blow the sparks over our roof.

These fireworks were set off just a few doors away from us.

I was trying to go to sleep after midnight and could still see the fireworks right outside our window.

The politicians have grappled with this issue every year, but enforcement is too difficult for our police force.

All I can say is, Hawaii started off the year with a big BANG! Were there fireworks in your neighborhood also?

I'll be looking forward to getting back to blogging in another week or two. Until then, stay well!