A Whale of a Day (that's right there's more)

Well after nearly 12 hours of peaceful slumber on a very comfortable Murphy Bed, we woke up to banana macadamia nut pancakes. That’s right, you heard me, BANANA MACADAMIA NUT PANCAKES (with fresh cut pineapple). Could anything be more pleasant to eat? I never want to have anything else for breakfast ever again. The only thing that would have made it better was Jack Johnson playing in the background, which we had, and it was perfect.

After breakfast we hurried around the condo getting ready for our whale watching cruise we realized how sore we were from all the snorkeling the day before. Ouch.
We met up with my parents and drove to the Pacific Whale Foundation. It turned out to be a pretty cool morning and we didn’t bring any jackets. For real…after all the running around we did, it never occurred to me that it may be chilly out on the open water…HELLO?

So Alyssa decided she was freezing right away, and since we had nothing to keep her warm we bought her this super cute “Save the Whales” sweatshirt. It did the job too keeping her warm.

We boarded the Ocean Intrigue, a large catamaran capable of holding probably two hundred people, and set out of the harbor and on to the ocean.

We first sat on the top deck of the ship, but Alyssa was extremely nervous about being up so high and being out on the water, so we moved down to the main level of the boat for the rest of the time.
Alyssa was extremely anxious. We were hoping she would be a little more excited and fascinated, but anxiousness was what we got, especially the first hour. After that, she started to relax and enjoy the experience.
It didn’t take long before we were surrounded by whales on all sides. Lots of Mom and baby sets.
There were whale tales and fin slaps everywhere.
We saw a lot of whale breaths when they blow out of their holes which was really unique and awesome to see but what we really wanted to see was a big breech where the whale shoots out of the water and slams its body onto the surface creating a huge eruption of water into the air.
We kept seeing whales all around us, large bodies moving through the water in the distance. Every once in a while we’d see one right up close to the boat. The Captain tried to keep the boat 100 yards from the whales, but the whales did not always cooperate with that, and sometimes they would come within 20 feet of us, which was exhilarating.
I was very nervous about getting seasick, because I had such a bad experience going out to Catalina Island with Steve when we got engaged. I was sick for hours. It was one of the worst 2 hours of my life, but this didn’t seem to faze me, or anyone else in our group (although there were people yakking off the back of the boat).

They had a few marine biologists speaking over a microphone telling us everything they knew about whales and whale behavior and it was very interesting to hear, but the reality is, even the experts really don’t know all that much about whale behavior.

At one point they stopped the boat and cut the engines and dropped a hydrophone into the water so we could hear the whales communicate. They called it whale songs. It was crazy, you couldn’t hear a thing when they boat was on, but under the surface there was this whole melody of whale-speak.

It really made me pause and realize that as much as we know about our world, as aware as we think we are about the world around us…We really don’t have a clue what is actually happening around us. There was a whole other world right underneath us that we barely have a basic understanding of. The same goes for the world we live in everyday. I mean, how much stuff is happening in Herriman that we know nothing about. What lives in the field next to my neighborhood. The truth is, I probably don’t even want to know. I do know there are skunks, that’s for sure.


Anyway…for the money we spent, this was a very valuable experience. The kids were free and it cost Steve and I about $18 for two and a half hours of constant whale watching. It was fun to be there and experience it with my parents and Steve’s parents.



Sunny was a little hard to handle, but okay and once Alyssa got acclimated to the constant rocking of the boat, she had a good time. We were all over the boat, inside and out, on top and down below, at the front and at the back. It was really awesome.

Just before the boat headed back to the harbor, we started to see a fury of whale activity, and then it happened…One whale shot up into the air completely out of the water and slammed itself back down creating a massive spray. Then just as quickly, a second whale did the same maneuver.

It was one of the most exciting things I have ever seen. Two whale bodies out of the water! Unbelievable. Everyone on the boat screamed, and clapped thunderously. No one could believe what we had just seen. Even the experts were speechless to see two breeches in a row. Fascinating!

On that note, we headed back to the harbor. By this time Sunny was very tired as was Alyssa. By the time the boat reached the dock, Sunny was completely asleep and Alyssa said she was too tired to walk back from the marina to the car (which was not a short distance), so they both got carried.
I think both Steve and Grandpa Charlie thought their backs would break, but they sacrificed themselves for the babies.

After we got back to the car we decided to go get a good fish lunch at the Lahaina Fish Company in the charming and historic city of Lahaina. Lahaina was a whaling capital of Maui in the late 1800’s and has a lot of history and charming things to see and do, including a plethora of yummy restaurants.

We waited a few minutes for a table outside the restaurant and the kids took full advantage by playing with the statues of the fishermen.

Sunny was trying to convince us that this was Jesus. I get it…the beard, a fisherman…yep, really she was not all that far off. It totally could have been him if it weren’t for the bright yellow slicker.

The kids got fish and chips and loved it!

I think they both ate all they got (they shared a kids meal) but the real highlight was the pickle on their plate!
I got a very average chicken sandwich. I mean come on, who goes to Maui and can’t man up and eat some fish….answer, me. Fish are friends not food. However in my defense, I did sample my mom’s fish taco and it wasn’t bad until I tasted the fish in it.
Seriously people how can you be eating fish? It’s so…fishy and it used to swim and now you are eating it, doesn’t that gross you out? Steve and his mom got spicy Mahi-Mahi which they really enjoyed.

Next we headed to the Lahaina historic town square to see the Banyan tree which is a 100+ year old tree that has vines that hang down from it.
Over the last 100 or so years the vines have grown down into the ground and formed new trunks. The tree now covers a few acres. It’s very large.


While we were taking pictures in the tree, we met Willy the Weaver (that’s what he called himself). He and his posse were weaving for money, but since it was so drizzly they were packing up for the day. We noticed his group because they had a great big coconut branch on the ground.
I took Alyssa over to get a closer look at it and Willy noticed us and showed us his branch and then showed us what he could make out of it.

Alyssa was fascinated watching him weave. He then gave her the item he weaved, a rose. He also made one for Sunny. Grandpa Charlie tipped him which he tried to refuse, since Charlie wouldn’t take the money back he gave Alyssa a little basket he weaved. Steve then tipped him again which he tried to refuse, but then accepted, but gave her another basket.
So we ended up with several great pictures, two baskets and two roses weaved out of coconut leaves.
Fun.

Then we went to the into the old courthouse turned museum to learn a little about whales and get out of the drizzling rain. It was interesting, but the most interesting thing was that while we were in the building, it started swaying, but I was the only one who felt it.
I guess it was from being on the ocean earlier that day. My brain still felt the waves and the rocking. I was sitting in this picture, because I could not stand.

After the museum, we headed back toward the condo. On the drive we stopped at a scenic overlook along with about 50 other people to see some whales spouting and splashing in the water below.
The whales are seriously so amazing to watch. Seriously captivating, it so hard to believe that is just the reality here.

We were pretty worn out by the end of the day so we were excited to get back to the condo.
We ate a little dinner and had some nice chat.

We chatted with Charlie for quite a while. He told us about his dad and the property he and his army buddy’s bought in Maui after the war.
He told us about the summer and part of the fall he spent living on Maui. No wonder he is such a beach bum, he had very fond memories of time in Maui as a young school aged boy.

He also had some not so favorable memories about being the only white boy in school. Luckily he didn’t have to attend school there very long before they went back to their home in Iowa.

It was so interesting to hear Charlie describe himself as a young man and draw parallels to what I know about Steve as a boy. Let me just tell you, the apple does not fall far from the tree. They are so spookily similar in so many ways.
Anyway…good times. Then to bed….so tired, and another fun day ahead tomorrow.

Pounding it Out David Bowie Style, Under Pressure

Really this has nothing to do with David Bowie except that I love that song, you know…Under Pressure it reminds me of my days at Slow Knowledge (Snow College).

Anyway, so…pounding it out under pressure. Basically what I am saying is I only have one more pound to shed before I can get a new 5 pound star at Weight Watchers. This will make 55 pounds lost, which even to me seems like a lot. The shameful part is I have been hanging around 54 pounds lost now for about a year.

I need this new star. I need to put this star on my book mark. I need to happen this week. I have had all the other stars at least once before Sunny was born, this star however will be new territory.
This bookmark is a big deal, and it needs another star.

I really only have less than 10 pounds to go until I reach my goal. So really, I just need to get there, but first things first. Who knows…maybe I’ll pull a Sam (Biggest Loser) and try to lose one pound and accidently lose 14. It could happen.

So my declaration to all my readers, (both of you) is that I will lose this pound this week. I really can do it. I really will do it. All I have to do is focus, and declare and create a little pressure for myself to get it done.

This means if you see me outside an In-and-Out, you’ll ask me if I can really afford to be there. If you see me lurking around a dish or bottle of ranch dressing, tell me it’s not worth my time.
If you see me outside The Sweet Tooth Fairy Bakery…just come in and join me, because those cupcakes are amazing, but only let me get one cupcake. No one needs to eat two of those things in one sitting.

Anyway….next Friday morning I will post my results. Tune in then.

On an unrelated note…look at these cute shoes I got for Sunny at Target yesterday.



Could anything be more perfect?

And check this out…Alyssa got her costume for her dance recital.
I mean really…Have you ever seen a prettier girl? We’re very excited about these costumes.

I must say...

That I am sorry to everyone who crossed my path today.

I was tittering on the edge of sanity today as a mother and as a person.

My youngest child spent most of the day in her bedroom for own safety.

Here's how it went down so quickly...

I went to a sales presentation...always a joy. Then I went to pick up my kids from my friends house, he was kind enough to watch them for me. As soon as I walked in the door, Sunny started yelling and screaming at me. She wouldn't stop. I tried to have a conversation with said friend, but I couldn't complete my thoughts before my blood started to boil at sunny's behavior.

Then my phone rang, and because there wasn't enough happening right at that moment, I answered it. It was Steve talking, I could hear him, but he couldn't hear me. Anyone who talks to me on the phone regularly knows that this is a regular occurrence and that it frustrates me to no end.

So with the between the harried conversation, the little screamer and the defunct phone call I was ready to explode.

I ended the conversation, put the kids in the car, drove home to find the home phone ringing. I knew it was Steve, I put the screamer in her room (for her safety) and missed the phone call, then my cell started ringing again.

I ever so briefly talked to Steve whom I think is afraid of me now, then hung up with him and called T-Mobile to tell them they were FIRED!

Anyway...enough airing of my personal grievances, you get the picture. Am I the only one who gets crazy in moments like this? Or are the rest of you nuts sometimes too?

Snowshoeing: Featuring the Flying Snowboarders

March 12, 2010

After the cross country skiing sample we gave ourselves last weekend, we decided to go back to snowshoeing.

We headed up Big Cottonwood for this adventure, Doughnut falls to be exact. I love this fun little hike in the summer, but I’ve never seen it in the winter.

We drove up the canyon and pulled into what we believed to be the parking area for our destination. We nearly ran over a body that way laying adjacent to 4-Runner that completely obstructed said body from our view.

It turned out to be a live body, a snow boarder, who happened to be asleep with ear-buds listening to an IPOD laying in a parking lot. Not the smartest place I can think of to sleep, but whatevs. Seriously almost killed a guy just then.

After we used the heated restroom (who knew they would have such nice restrooms in the mountains) and got all dressed in our snow clothes and strapped on our shoes (a 20 minute process), we headed up the trail.

We met a group of snowboard jumpers who were building a jump on the way up. One of the guys was the sleeping body we almost smooshed, so like any good mother would I warned him about the dangers of sleeping in parking stalls.

There were a ton of people and cars down at the bottom, but besides the snowboarders, we didn’t see anyone on the way up except for a few back country skiers. Where was everyone? I still don’t know.


It was really beautiful and totally serene.

It is a mile-and-a-half up to where the falls are. In the summer you see a waterfall falling through a rock. In the winter you see this.

We saw a skier up at the top so we knew it was possible to get up there, but despite our best efforts we could not climb up the steep incline. I think the skiier came up a different way, and wanted to see us struggle, because seriously...our efforts were totally useless.

The skier told us we could kick-in and get up, so I attempted to “kick-in” which resulted in pulling a hamstring muscle. We tried and tried to climb up, but I kept sliding back down and since there was a little river at the bottom and I didn’t want to get wet in it, we turned around and headed back.

It took us about an hour to get up and only like five seconds to get down. We ran into the same group of snowboarders on the way down and learned what they were up to when one of them went off the jump we saw them building and went flying across the road and over a couple of cars. Too awesome!



Knowing fully now what they were up to we stayed to watch the show. Now that’s not something you see everyday.

For the next trick they invited us to join them. We (along with several other bystanders) stood underneath the jump and waited for the guy to jump over us.

…And then he did, and it was awesome!



I took this shot while he was flying over the top of us.

Then the girl that was with him, made her jump. She seemed very nervous. The guys said she had never hit it before. So we watched and waited.

She finally headed down…and came across the road like this.

She landed on her neck. Not good. She laid there and all the guys ran over to her. She moved a little so we knew it wasn’t the worst case scenario. Turned out she cracked her sternum or a rib or something. She was crying, but she got up and walked away. Lucky girl.

I was totally going to try it. I thought I might be good at it after my super positive experience skiing last week, but since she took a fall, I decided against it.

After that we picked up our kids who were playing at New Grandma’s. Grandma reported that the both girls were fun and really good, but the evidence I saw wouldn’t support that. Sunny started screaming at me as soon as we got there, screamed all the way home (except during her brief nap), and screamed through dinner and basically for the rest of the night until she went to bed.

While Steve was carrying the child off to bed for the night she waived at me and said…”sorry mamma.” Then I forgave her, and all is well.

Cross country falling…I mean, skiing

I know we are all hating on the snow right now, but we got these snowshoes and snow pants for Christmas and we waited and waited for the snow to fall around here, but it never came, so we have had to make up for lost time.

After enjoying snowshoeing immensely two weeks ago, last weekend we tried our hand at cross country skiing. Now, you should know that I have never skied in any fashion. We went back to Millcreek Canyon and skied two miles up the canyon with my brother and sister-in-law Randy and Leslie, and my friend and former clients Amy and Luke.

I mean, just look at us. Don’t we look darling doing this? Yes.

We loved it. I only fell one time on the way up.
My brother Randy fell many times.

The key word here was on the way up. On the way down….we all fell. We fell so many times we lost track. Perhaps I can’t remember how many times I fell because my brains got bashed around so much.

I wasn’t the only one who fell. Everyone fell.

So here’s the thing you should know about cross country skiing if you’ve never been. You can not stop on those things, unless you are willing to throw yourself into the snow bank as it whizzes past at 100 miles per hour.

So here is the key to cross country skiing. Don’t go in Millcreek Canyon. Go somewhere else that doesn’t have a deceptively steep incline.


We ended up taking off our skis and walking once I realized that if I fell one more time chances where pretty good it would be the last time I would use my ACL the way God made it.

So there we go, that’s cross country skiing in a nut shell. Well…one more thing…I was as sore as I have been in years.

It might be a while before I ski again. It was fun though, as long as we were going up.

Just Another Manic Monday...not

Feb 1, 2010

So I started out today with a run. I figured I would run about a half mile down to where my parents were staying and check in on them to see how they were doing and make sure they were up for the day’s activities.

Let me just tell you running in Hawaii is way better than running here. There was so much to see and look at that I ended up running right past the resort they were at. I just ran and ran. I bet I ran two miles before I realized I was way past their place.

But I mean look at this place.
Running too far was just not a drag at all.

Steve went down to Snorkel Bob’s and rented an additional snorkel set to bring our total group’s snorkel sets to four.

We ate breakfast, the usual for us, but Sunny took full advantage of being in Hawaii and in addition to her standard oatmeal polished off a banana, some strawberries and a load of pineapple.

Then we were off to Chang’s beach, which in the past we have had really good luck snorkeling at.
We have always seen lots of sea turtles hanging out around there. Sea Turtles are the crown jewel of snorkeling. It is just so amazing to see and swim so close to such a large and friendly creature.

Another great thing about Chang’s is that all the lava rock creates awesome tide pools. When we were here before with Alyssa as a 15-month-old, she really enjoyed playing in the tide pools.

It’s a very private beach…and when I say private I mean it is a lesser known, hard-to-find, beach. Charlie our tour guide read about it in a travel book and found it several years ago on a previous trip. It’s south of where we stayed about 2 miles in Makena. It has its own hidden parking lot with 6 spaces. Then you walk through this little garden walkway where there are a zillion flowering trees.
Alyssa was so distracted by the flowers all around her that I am surprised we even made it to the beach. Just walking down to the sand was an experience to write home about. Beautiful.

We set up our little camp of bamboo mats with towels, chairs and umbrellas.
As we were doing so, no one noticed that Sunny had already made her way down to the water. Steve caught her in the nick of time before some big surf came and toppled her. You’d think six adults on two children could keep things under control, but no.

We played for a while and enjoyed the sand and water then I remembered the tide pools.

Me and my mom took the kids over to see them. It was so cool to see all the little baby fish swimming around. There were sea urchins, sea cucumbers and hermit crabs. Alyssa was especially delighted with the hermit crabs. She didn’t mind picking them right up and holding them. At one point she had three at once crawling all over her.
Crazy girl.
Sunny referred to being in the tide pools as a “baff” that’s sunny speak Bathtub.

Sidebar: speaking of sunny speak…While we were at the condo, Sunny would regularly shout the phrase “Boppy Beef!” I didn’t know what she was saying, but she most defiantly was telling me something. I figured it out on day three. She was saying…”Boppy Beef!” or “Brush My Teeth!” How cute is that. We forgot her toothbrush so, we bought her a new one and she was super excited about it and wanted to have her teeth brushed three times a day. Too cute.

After the tide pools Steve and I left the kids with grandpa and grandma and set off for our first shore-line snorkel adventure.

The fish hang out about 50 feet from shore in a nearby lava rock coral structure. There is a big cavern there where the turtles like to be. Not surprisingly, there were turtles there. We saw several, including one that had all kinds of tumors around his neck, arms and legs. Which was really sad. The night before I had heard a story on the news about there being a lot of turtles with tumors on them and experts weren’t sure why or what was causing them. My guess…the Obama Administration, those idiots ruin everything, right Dad?

We saw all kinds of fish. Snorkeling in Hawaii is really like having your face down in a tank of exotic fish. We also saw our first Hawaiii State fish the Humuhumunukunuku Apuaa (seriously, that’s what it is called). And a big puffer fish which look like a Kleenex box with fins and eyes. It was really cool. I just can’t tell you. It is just so awesome. Next time I do this I am going to get an underwater camera and take some pics of what you see under there. It’s just incredible. In all we saw about 4 turtles, so it was a real snorkel success.

After laying on the beach for 15 minutes to re-acclimate to land (I get very sea sick when I snorkel, but it’s worth it), I decided that my parents just HAD to see what I just saw. So, I told them it was go time. They were both very reluctant, especially my dad, but since I had told them that they HAD to, they both agreed and gave it a go.

It did not go well. No it did not. I should have known when they had such a hard time just getting the mask and flippers on, but the fish were so close to where we were, I figured that even if it was hard I could make it happen, I could make them do it.

My mom lost one of her flippers in the surf. We spent several minutes looking for it, but we finally did come up with it. What a relief.

We just couldn’t get them out past where the surf breaks. They both kept getting bashed around in the waves and were very uncomfortable. I tried to help them stay relaxed, but I only saw panic in their eyes. My Dad finally did get his face in the water and was technically snorkeling, but he was still in the surf break and water kept overwhelming his snorkel and he’d suck in a bunch of water. Have you ever seen panic in your parent’s eyes? Not fun.

Then my mom got knocked over in a big wave while she was wearing her mask and to be brief…that was the end. She knew she was going to die. We were only in about 3 and a half feet of water but, once you know your death is imminent…it’s over. She flipped over on her back and I towed her back to shore, like a lifeguard.

I have to hand it to both my parents. They gave it a good college try. No one can say they didn’t. The water was just a little too overwhelming and they both have a little fear of being washed out to sea never to be seen or heard from again. We’ll try again sometime in a calm little bay when there are no waves to intimidate.

Steve missed my lifeguard action because he had to go back to the car to retrieve Sunny’s blankie. She started missing it. Good thing we have two…this one got very dirty!

All in all we had a great time at Chang’s beach. It is a must do for anyone visiting South Maui.

Since we were with Charlie the beach bum, we beach hopped from there. He wanted to find this particular beach which was only a mile or so away from where we were. It was supposed to be some kind of a black sand beach.

We made a few U-turns but we did eventually find the Oneuli beach.
It was definitely a darker sand beach than where we were, but I wouldn’t go right to black. It was very serene.

Charlie found a sea cucumber, but if you ask me it looks like…something else.


Since we were all cleaned up, I wasn’t about to let Alyssa get all wet again. But she asked me so cute if she could just dip her toe in…How could I resist.

You give a kid an inch, they’ll take a mile.

We had to take turns on the sand, because Sunny fell asleep in the car and I wasn’t about to wake her up.
Isn’t she cute?

While I was waiting by the car, these natives showed up and proceeded to get all geared up for something. I asked them what they were up to and they said “Spear fishing!”

What an interesting past time. I guess it is against the law to spear fish unless you are native.

While Sunny was resting peacefully in the shade covered car, I laid the beach towel down in the sand next to the car and really relaxed. I may have even dozed off a little. It was one of the most relaxing moments I have had in the last 5 years.

The combination of exhaustion and sunstroke along with a soft sea breeze, palm trees and views of other islands in the distance just overcomes the senses and puts you at perfect ease. Then Steve came and joined me while Alyssa stayed and played on the beach with both sets of grandparents. It was a lovely experience.

After that beach Charlie was still ready for more. My parents thought he was joking, but he was most definitely not joking. We’d been at the beach since 10 a.m. and it was only around 4 p.m. We’d only just begun.

In an effort to show my willingness to participate I agreed to keep the good times rolling. We sent my parents who were completely done with the beach for the day with the kids, who were also done. They went back and relaxed at the condo while Karen and Charlie and Steve and I went to find another beach Charlie wanted to try snorkeling at.

Since we were in Makena, we got lost. All the streets in Makena are named the same thing…Makena. We eventually found Palaua Beach which we had been to in 2007, but it was worth going to again because it was so beautiful. The sand here was whiter than the first and lots whiter than the second beach. It’s so crazy how these beaches are all within probably a half mile of each other, yet they are all totally different in color. A hypothesis anyone? Anyway..this beach had a lot of trees which you have to walk through to get to the beach. Very unique. I felt like we were on Castaway.

We came here because the travel book we were using, Maui Revealed, said the snorkeling was great. Unfortunately it was really late in the day and the water was kind of rough. The water ended up being really cloudy and it was really hard to see where we were even going let alone seeing fish or any other creatures. We did see some stuff a Moorish Idol, some Tangs and even one turtle but I was very sick in the water from all the rough waves. We didn’t last as long as we would have liked in the water due to the poor conditions. I just had to get out of the water before I threw-up in my snorkel. We had a little bit of a hard time swimming back because it was so hard to swim in the rough water especially when it was so murky with sand.

Charlie and Karen stayed out longer than us and saw a sting-ray. That is the first time any of us had spotted one of those. Super exciting! Unfortunately when they came in a wave washed Karen’s mask off her head, and she lost her snorkel to the ocean and never found it. Bummer. Sadly, as she was walking back over to our towels, she stepped on a bee and got stung. Yikes. She was such a good sport and didn’t let it get her down or ruin her afternoon.

After that, we were all done. Even Charlie if you can believe that. I think he even called Uncle before me. I was actually enjoying my child-less time laying on the beach and would have stayed longer.


We packed up and headed back to the condo feeling as free as bird without the kids with us. Oh what a feeling! It was like dancing on the ceiling.


And this is what you look like after a three-beach 8 hour beach day.

We picked up the kids at my parents condo. The kids were bathed and Sunny was wearing clean clothes. Alyssa didn’t have any clean clothes to change into so she was wearing one of Sunny’s diapers due to the lack of clothing.

After we got showered up we rushed out to see the sunset only to be disappointed because of a cloud bank that blocked the horizon.
But still, a sunset like this...That ain't bad! We went back to Da Kitchen to split another meal. Yummy.

Then back home to put the kids in bed. After they went to bed I passed out from total exhaustion and was out by 8:45 p.m. Steve stayed up a little longer until Karen and Charlie got home where they planned out next day’s adventures which included a Whale Watching cruise. Steve also recorded today’s events so thank him for what you’ve just read. I couldn’t have remembered half this stuff without him writing it all down in our little trip journal.