Haleakala Crater "House of the Sun"

One of the days we were in Maui, Tinna, Eric, and I drove up to Haleakala Crater.  It was a 10,000 ft elevation change.   For every 1,000 ft the temperature drops about 3 F.  So we went from 80 degrees to less then 50 F.  Luckily I convinced Tinna out of wearing a sun dress.

It was a very beautiful and winding drive.  Luckily I do not get car sick and neither did anyone else.

It was so clear you could see Mauna loa and Mauna kea on the Big island.

These are endangered silverswords.  These were  very pretty in the light.

Maui, Hawaii

In February Eric and I went to Maui!  We had so much fun!

This map comes from Access maps.com

What sucked was I got sick right before we left.  Then I gave it to Eric.  We ended up leaving Bellingham at 3 am so we could drive to Seattle and catch our flight at 7:30 am.  With the driving and flights Eric and traveled for over 12 hours (Well worth it).

View from condo

Our condo was in Kihei on the dry west side of the island.  I rented it off VRBO from a private person and I was a little nervous about it.  But, once we got there...boy were we surprised.  The place was awesome.  If you are ever looking to go to Maui I would recommend Gayle's Condo as a place to stay.  The whole condo complex (Luana Kai) was pretty awesome.  It had a pool, a hot tub, and a great outdoor kitchen.  Plus it was pretty much right on the Beach.

Tinna and I had to put our feet in the ocean and I had a margarita in my glass!

One of the things we did was take a snorkeling trip to Molokini with the Pacific Whale Foundation.   Now if you ever go snorkling at Molokini you need to go in the morning (7 am departure).  In the afternoon the trade winds pick up and it can make the ride choppy and limit visibility.  While the fish may like it if you get sea sick...you wont.

Sunrise over Haleakala Crater

Eric and his white legs!

First we stopped at Molokini.  I bought an underwater bag for my camera.  It took ok Pictures...I had some technical difficulties but I did get some ok pictures. At this stop I pushed all the air out of the camera.  But, then sometimes the zoom would get pushed and that just caused issues.  

It was Erics first time snorkeling in the Ocean.  It was a little intimidating for him but he did have fun.  I think he would of been better off without all the floating devices! 

 After we left Molokini we went to a place called Turtle Arches.  This time I left air in the bag for the camera and had difficulty focusing...so if anyone buys the bag get all the air out of the bag and figure out a way to disengage the zoom.
Eric did better here.  He was a little more comfortable.  What was funny there was it was like a game of marco polo.  People would yell turtle turtle and then you would swim as fast as you could in the direction they are pointing.  Now Hawaiian Sea Turtles are endangered and it is a $10,000 fine if you touch one.  When I finally got to see one...it was so close I had to try and swim away so it didn't touch me!!!!

She made a turtle friend!

After our snorkeling adventure we slowly made our way back to the harbor and ran into some Humpback whales.
Humpbacks come to Maui every winter to have their calves...or at least the mother come to have calves while the males are looking for love.

I think the baby is saying this is the best day ever!

Dogs

 It has been a roller coaster since I last posted.  About a month after we moved into the house my sweet puppy Deneka passed away.   She was my companion for over 10 years and it hit me pretty hard, I still miss her a lot and it can be hard to talk about it.   She was my angel.  I just wish that I gave her as much love as she always gave me.

About a month later we adopted a dog from the humane society named Remy.  A good friend of mine was fostering him and I would come over and get puppy love from him and Eric and I kind of just fell in love with him.   I know he will never replace Deneka but he has worked his own place in my heart and I love him for different reasons than I loved Deneka.  For one..while Deneka was an Angel...Remy is a Demon...a sweet demon...but a demon.  But he is just so adorable...who wouldn't love this face.