Three shots from the car after dinner

So now I hula, yes?

Do not feed

Harhar, there were DREADLOADS of hippies in Pa'ia - we asked a bunch of people why? They didn't know... Maybe it's cuz they feed them there.

Such Sweet Sorrow

Aloha, Hawaii, see you next year when we already have a list of things we didn't get to this time:

1. See a mothereffing turtle!
2. Learn to stand up paddle (me)
3. Take surfing lessons (Jim)
4. Jam with the locals on my ukulele
5. See a volcano erupting

Last Meal in Hawaii

Gorgeous view, eh? Yes it is real and can be enjoyed whilst dining on fresh and delicious food at Mama's Fish House - everything it's a cracked up to be.

Pass it on, pass it on...

I am so enamored of flowers; at home we always have vases of them all over the house. So when I learned that one of the businesses in Hana was the tropical flower supply business I couldn't wait to visit a farm and buy armloads of ginger blooms, sexy pinks and parrot beaks, to enjoy even for just a few days in the vacation rental.

Except all the farms were...not everywhere as I'd imagined. We asked around in town and at banana bread stands until we got a location - Hana Tropicals.

We drove up a long, muddy drive and parked under a banyan tree in front of a warehouse and barn. There was no one around. We ventured up some stairs to the empty warehouse, evidence of packing and shipping flowers all around. Music played in the background and silver streamers hung high over rows of growing orchids to detract birds flipped in the breeze. A few chickens pecked at hollow papaya shells on the ground. It was eerie, uninhabited and we crept around, feeling like we might be trespassing, looking for someone but saw not a soul. So we left.

We got in the Jeep and started to drive out when a hippy chick with no bra, a hula hoop and a knitted wool ear warmer for a headband came out of some woods followed by a silent, older man. "Hey guys, what's up?" She asked easily, hopefully. We told we wanted to buy some flowers, not to ship anywhere, just to have in our vacation rental. "I can cut you some flowers," she said.

We parked again and followed her back to to warehouse and the flower fields beyond where it was now starting to pour. She grabbed a scythe and flopped in her too-long, sopping wet pants and barefeet out to the fields where we lost track of her until about 15 minutes later when she retuned with this bouquet you see above. She wrapped it up and just before handing it to me said hang on and went inside then came back out with a guava. "I picked some today, have one."

I took both flowers and fruit and asked, "What do I owe you?" as I pulled out my wallet. She looked embarrassed and balked, waving me away with her hand, "Oh nothing!"

"Really? No, we'll pay for the flowers."

"No, no - you guys just enjoy, yeah?"

"Thank you so much, we'll really enjoy these."

"No worries, guys. Pass it on, pass it on," she said meaning the good will, karma, kindness.

Today, we passed her and a friend hitchhiking on the highway, trying to get to a drumming festival. I flew past them, then realized who it was. Pass it on, pass it on. I turned around, picked them up and helped them a little closer to "vibing out" at their gathering.

Hana's "30 Year Storm"

Last night brought a storm of epic proportions. Roof shaking thunder, lightning like a cheap discotheque strobe light and relentless rain just pounding down. Believe it or not, it even hailed!

The power went out and the roads were closed, which meant no daytripper tourists came to Hana today making for a quiet, muddy day. Road crews were out all day clearing debris and thick mud. The wreckage below is near our home.

A Tale of Two Spas Called Luana

Visiting the spa is one of the very best parts of a holiday if you ask me. Spending half a day, or even an hour, receiving treatments is a wonderful way to pass the time, zone out and let your mind wander whilst your skin gets glowy and your muscles get pounded but good.

The atmosphere and the people are a huge part of the spa experience - is your therapist someone kind, professional with whom you can be okay being totally naked? Are you made to feel special and even, healed? Is the treatment worth the price?

And, is the overall experience corporate relaxation with a logo or quaint bliss with a personal touch? That brings me to tell about two of the spas I've visited in Hawaii - Spa Luana at the Turtle Bay Resort, Oahu and the Luana Spa Retreat in Hana, Maui - the former corporate and overpriced, the latter quaint, warm and personal.

I just returned from the Luana in Hana (luanaspa.com) where I had a great massage/facial package with the owner, Nancy. She was so down to earth, interesting to talk to and really good at her job. She took extra care on all the problem areas I identified - sore calves from hiking, super stressed and irritated skin around my mouth - and we casually chatted off and on about families, how Alaska and Hawaii are similar in certain ways, the real social structure of Hana, where to find local art, etc... She took good care of me and sent me off from the cozy little treatment yurt on a hill with a hug and a wish to see me back next year when we return with the baby.

The other Luana at the resort was still very nice - but expensive and while the treatment staff were good, the reception were young and completely clueless when it came to welcoming a guest. I felt like I was intruding when I walked in for my scheduled appointments and they'd ask my room number before my name. (In general, that's my complaint for ALL of Turtle Bay, the professionals in the spa, the servers in the restaurants, the bartenders, the yoga and surf instructors, the housekeeping staff - they were all great; it was the front desk staff, the spa reception and the restaurant hosts that clearly had little to no hospitality training, were sloppily dressed (Ugg boots and leggings to seat us for an expensive meal - really?!) and they were even rude at times. I get that these are low-level, high turnover jobs but it is a shame (and a liability to return business) that these folks are the first faces you meet before you get to the really great, dedicated employees who make you feel welcome.) The spa includes a mandatory 18% gratuity on the final bill and then in fine print explains that "portion goes to the staff and a portion for an administrative fee" then suggests you leave an additional tip if you like. I almost always tip 20% or more for spa services, so I was annoyed to see this on there already - what am I, a group of 8 or more diners in a restaurant? I guess that's how it goes in a giant resort, though... It all kinda turned me off.

I probably wouldn't have even considered writing about the contrast of these experiences had the spas had different names from one another. Luana means basically "leisure" or "pleasure" in Hawaiian, and I suppose however you define those two ideas would decide which luana spa is more your style.

Kitty in paradise

Mamacita, she comes with the house.

Wherever my feet take me

Pipiwai Trail, Part 3: the Falls

You hear them before you see Waimoku Falls. Breathtaking is what they are, forty stories of crashing water, yelling to make your appreciation heard by a hiking parter. Do you see that?! Look at that!! Oh my god, look at those falls.

Pipiwai Trail, Part 2

Entering the bamboo forest portion of the trail was cool and still warm at the same time; the hollow bamboo stalks bumped into each other and swayed in the wind causing a sort of echoing song. Ironwood trees with twisty branches looked for the sun amidst the young, thick bamboo grown up all around their older, sturdy trunks.

Pipiwai Trail, Part 1

We hiked the Pipiwai trail this morning starting at about 9:30, beating most of the daytripper traffic into Hana. It started out steep and muddy, but .5 mile in it was GORGEOUSNESS at every turn - waterfalls, pools, a bamboo forest, fallen African Tulip blooms on flat, shiny rocks.

And the air...the air was sweet and thick with oxygen, it felt like breathing in life essence and warmth with every inhale - that may sound flowery, but anyone who has hiked in dry or cold climates knows how agonizing it can be to breathe in harsh, unkind air while physically exerting oneself.

The 2 miles in, 2 miles out hike ended with an absolutely awesome 400 foot Waimoku waterfall. And here I mean "awesome" in the truest definition of the word. (The waterfall in this post is the "small" 300 foot Makahiku falls).

Indoor/Outdoor

Why I adore temperate, even climates - the outside and inside are virtually interchangeable. And the fruits and flowers are plenty, cheap.

The backyard

We tramped around the backyard this evening, tried to open a coconut, collected fallen plumeria blooms to bring inside and marveled at all the lava rock under the grass, a constant reminder that this is an island.

Bathroom without walls

I used the restroom at the farmer's house; came out and asked Jim for his camera (mine was dead) and the tour guide smiled like I was right on cue. "Everyone does that," he said.

Ono Means Delicious

We were the only two visitors on the Ono organic farm tour this afternoon. The farm is located near O'heo, about 30 minutes past Hana.

I'd been looking forward to "eating fruit right off the trees" as advertised, but with the heavy rains making much mud there was no strolling through the orchards. Instead we sampled a dozen fruits on the farmer-owner's lanai, many of which I've never heard like soursop, chocolate guava, sapote (two kinds!), brown sugar fruit, vi fruit and star apple. We even tried the banned-on-public-transport, Limburger-cheese-of-fruits durian!

After the fruit came fresh cacao, roasted cacao nibs, "chocolate" made of coconut oil, cacao and cane sugar and dried whole apple bananas the size of a finger. Plus, coffee grown on site to wash it all down. All in all, a delicious lunch even if we didn't get to pluck it off the trees.

Two Birds, a Horse and a Lying Goat

Way Out

Maui Underworld

Into a lava tube we went. Formed 960 years ago it runs for 27 miles, but visitors can only access the first .5 mile. There's a lava vent halfway through. All in all it was dark and wet, a bit claustrophobic for the likes of me.

Showering al fresco