Surfer Joe...














Happy day before New Year's Eve! Here's a photo of Joe catching the first wave on his new board. Woo-hoo! Check out his blog to find out what he thinks of that: www.joedgravesview.blogspot.com. And welcome to 2006! 

Pacific Northwest Homesick Kit



















Jeff's brother Mike and his family put their considerable creativity into our Christmas gift, "carefully designed to alleviate any and all Pacific Northwest homesickness; no matter how sunny and beautiful your location." It included a fir/salal boquet; pine needle shaker to sprinkle on the carpet; a bottle of acid rain; an umbrella; turf and garden mud, along with boots to stomp in the muck; a Seattle Seahawks t-shirt ("wear it and hope the team doesn't collapse in the last moment"); smoked salmon; and the Seattle weather forcast to post on our fridge. IT IS HILARIOUS! WE LOVE IT! (And it worked--chased our homesick blues away as fast as the distinct odor of rotting mud and old boots reached our nostrils!) THANKS, GUYS!

First Stop on the Road to Hana...














"There's no point in driving directly to Hana, because there's nothing there." So began the CD tour we listened to on our 12/22-24 trip over to this easternmost town on the island. (The CD was right, by the way.) The point is to stop along the way to see waterfalls and other sights. Of course, we had to stop at Ho'okipa and watch the surfers in the North Shore waves (even though we've done that a few times). The drive is long and windy on a narrow road with lots of tourists; it rained most of the time and when we did stop we got soaked. It hadn't rained in a while, though, so the waterfalls were mere trickles and sort of disappointing. On top of that I had walking pneumonia and had the worst day in my three weeks of being sick. Sound like fun?! It actually was; we saw lots of interesting things (several photos follow) and now we can check it off our list of things to do while we're on Maui. 

Pretty Little Chapel...














There are many churches along the way and in Hana that were built in this era. There is a rich missionary history on the entire island. Another church, similar to this one, was all that was left of the town of Ke'anae after a tidal wave in 1946. (They built 'em to last, yeah?) 

Bamboo Forest...














This is taken across a ravine, looking at the tops of bamboo trees. The hills were covered with them--took us awhile to figure out what it was. Cool, huh?! 

Nahiku (I think)...














Here's a little community along the road to Hana. If you look closely you can see Taro fields (Taro is a crop plant around here--don't ask me why--have you ever tasted it?!). 

Wai'anapanapa State Park...














This park is near Hana; here's a view of the rugged coastline. Awesome to see/hear in person! 

Black Sand Beach at Wai'anapanapa...














There is black sand here, but not a lot. So, we made a castle out of rocks. 

Blow Hole at Wai'anapanapa...














Here's one of our favorite sights. There's a hole in the rock leading down to a cave that goes out to sea; you can hear the water sloshing around down there and when there's a really big wave water sprays out of the hole. Cool! 

Caves at Wai'anapanapa...














Joe and I are looking into a pool at the entrance to a cave (yes, it's a lovely photo of moi, I know). See how jungly it is? We have the mosquito bites to prove it! 

Hamoa Beach...














Love this beach--it looks straight out of a tourist magazine, with deep white sand and turquoise water. The boys hoped to surf here, but you can see the waves were flat. They had to settle for tossing a football by the shore. (That's always fun.) 

Hana Bay...














This is the beach in front of the place we stayed. When the waves go out, they move the rocks on the beach and it sounds like a rainstick--very cool! The boys worked diligently to throw these rocks back in the surf, but alas, didnt even make a dent (but they did whoop and holler when they hit the targets they floated into the water)! 

Venus Pool...














This was one of our favorite sights of the whole trip--it's not marked with a sign, and you have to make your way down a little trail on private property (with Danger! signs) to get here, but it was so worth it. This is the ocean view; the mountain side is a mass of rock. Apparently the pool is spring-fed; the water is a beautiful aquamarine. Wish we brought our swimsuits! 

Dipping in the Venus Pool...














The rocks around the pool are difficult to navigate, but here you can see Joe making his way down to the water and some folks in the background who went for a swim. Amazing place! 

Oheo Gulch...













Here are the famous "seven sacred pools" (turns out that is a shameless marketing ploy) in the Haleakala National Park's Kipahulu Valley. Falls, pool, falls, pool---it goes like that on down to the ocean. It's an amazing geological formation that happens when there are layers of hard volcanic rock mixed with layers of softer rock--the softer rock erodes away, but not the volcanic rock. Very neat to see in person! 

Jump!



















If you look closely, you can see three guys jumping into this pool. Rumor has it that the locals jump from the cliffs higher up - some you can see in this picture. This pool is about 40 ft. deep - in some spots. Yikes! 

One of Haleakala's Canyons...














The contrast from the east side of the island, where its a jungle, is incredible. You'd think you were on a different continent! 

Haleakala's Dry Side...














Here we are headed back toward Kihei ... and "home!" (Note the road looks like a lumpy, bunched up asphalt quilt - that's what we drove on for about 1 1/2 hours. We all cheered when we hit smooth sailing again!) 

Mele Kalikimaka!













We enjoyed a wonderful Christmas day in Kihei. (It was sunny and 85 degrees - but I'll spare you the recap of our time at the beach!) We went to the Renaissance Wailea Resort for a lavish Christmas buffet - it was spectacular and we had a really nice time. We miss all of our family (but not the chaos!) and friends - and enjoyed talking with many of you on the phone. We hope you all had a similarly merry Christmas - and may the peace of the Lord be with you!

BTW, we spent Thur-Sat in Hana, a tiny little speck of a town on the island's east side. Had a nice trip, even though I had walking pneumonia ("atypical viral infection" is how the doc put it) and was only starting to feel the antibiotic kicking in. So it was "interesting"...I'll post the pics from that adventure in the next day or so. Stay tuned! 

Choir of Angels...














The children sang three carols at the Christmas Eve service; Joe worked very hard to learn all the words (Joy to the World, Away in a Manger and Happy Birthday, Jesus). We got this great (!!!not!!!) shot of Joe, he's in the Santa hat behind the African-American girl. They were all SO cute! 

Santa's Coming to Hana...













Here's a front-yard display in Hana (Santa's sleigh is loaded with coconuts)! 

Tie a Red Bow on the Old Palm Tree...













...along the road near Hana... 

Poinsettia Hedgerow...














...one of many Poinsettia hedges near Hana... 

The Sandman Family...














Here are the sand people we made. Can you guess which one is who? Or who is what? Or whatever?! I found a terrific recipe that made this terrific sand dough, then we glopped on ModPodge and shells and rocks and things. Aren't they terrific?! Let it snow! 

Our Pad...



















Check out our holiday decos...garland with handmade ornaments around the ceiling; a Christmas tree made out of Christmas cards (keep 'em coming, folks!); the wreath I made at the lavendar farm; our stockings just waiting to be filled; and some VERY exciting presents. Only FIVE days to go!