Daily Photoblog June Theme--A View From My Room

When I look outside my Master Bedroom window to the East, this is what I see: a plumeria tree! These Plumeria Trees began blooming a couple of months back, and the blossoms look and smell delicious! The blossoms make wonderful leis, and they're easy to string using a long lei needle and thread.

Please visit the other daily photobloggers and city bloggers to see what's outside their windows! Here's the list of those participating:

Seattle (WA), USA - Manila, Philippines - Albuquerque (NM), USA - Singapore, Singapore - Toruń, Poland - Baton Rouge (LA), USA - Seoul, Korea - Saint Paul (MN), USA - Vantaa, Finland - Madison (WI), USA - Saarbrücken, Germany - Cleveland (OH), USA - Chicago (IL), USA - Cottage Grove (MN), USA - Omaha (NE), USA - Bellefonte (PA), USA - Melbourne, Australia - Stockholm, Sweden - Grenoble, France - Lubbock (TX), USA - Boston (MA), USA - Arradon, France - Hyde, UK - Joplin (MO), USA - Kyoto, Japan - Tokyo, Japan - Kansas City (MO), USA - Naples (FL), USA - Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina - Manila, Philippines - Sydney, Australia - Stavanger, Norway - Bucaramanga (Santander), Colombia - London, UK - Chandler (AZ), USA - Nelson, New Zealand - Singapore, Singapore - Hamburg, Germany - Sydney, Australia - Tenerife, Spain - Moscow, Russia - Lyon, France - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Villigen, Switzerland - Anderson (SC), USA - Oslo, Norway - Evry, France - Hayle, UK - Mumbai, India - Kitakami, Japan - Wassenaar (ZH), Netherlands - Menton, France - Monte Carlo, Monaco - Los Angeles (CA), USA - Cypress (TX), USA - La Antigua, Guatemala - Paderborn, Germany - San Diego (CA), USA - Ampang (Selangor), Malaysia - Madrid, Spain - Lyon, France - Selma (AL), USA - Shanghai, China - Baziège, France - Cologne (NRW), Germany - North Bay (ON), Canada - Rotterdam, Netherlands - Stayton (OR), USA - Sharon (CT), USA - Austin (TX), USA - Hong Kong, China - Trier, Germany - Joensuu, Finland - Paris, France - Greenville (SC), USA - Wailea (HI), USA - Budapest, Hungary - Cork, Ireland - Bastia, France - Vancouver, Canada - Brookville (OH), USA - Jakarta, Indonesia - Mainz, Germany - Minneapolis (MN), USA - Zurich, Switzerland - Torino, Italy - Montréal (QC), Canada

Two Images of Maui Horses

Even though it's fun to ride on horseback down the Sliding Sands trail into the crater, the recently captured photos of the horses in their trailer compared to horses at Ulupalakua Ranch speaks volumes,right?

There's simply something more beautiful about a horse that's free. I loved the 2002 animated movie "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron" with catchy song titles such as "This is where I belong", and "You can't take me", and "Get off my back".

Marriott Banyan Trees

On Top Of The World On Maui

On top of Haleakala at over 10,000 feet sits the eighteen acre Science City with it's many observatories. Although the observatories aren't open to the public, they are a beautiful site to behold from a distance. Some Hawaiians feel it's deeply disrespectful to have these observatories situated at this sacred site. I'm inclined to agree with them.

Lava Rock Goddess

Today is Memorial Day in America. May everyone remember the sacrifice so many have made.

Haleakala Crater's Colors

The rich, deep colors of the interior of Haleakala Crater are breathtaking. The summit rises 10,023 feet above sea level. The crater is 3,000 feet deep, 7.5 miles long and 2.5 miles wide - a total of 22 miles in circumference. This is one of my many photos from yesterday's excursion to Haleakala, and I will do a series because I have so many beautiful photos to share.

Off The Grid with Great Produce

For many years we had delivered to our home in South Maui the most amazing produce from Laulima Farm in Hana--Kipahulu to be more exact. For $25 a large box we received delicious organic fruit and vegetables farmed by the Rudolf Steiner method.

However, the price of gas went up, and the farm could no longer make a profit driving their fruit all the way from Hana to South Maui, so the days of delicious organic produce being delivered to us were over.

However, Laulima Farm is still in business, and if you visit them, you can ride the bicycle as the girl in the photo is doing to produce the energy for your own sweet juice!

When we visited recently, I asked for a fresh coconut, and the girl behind the counter took out her machete, and opened up one for me and put a straw in it so I could drink the delicious, fresh coconut juice. Then she chopped it open, and sliced the interior of the coconut so we could eat the yummy chunks of fresh coconut.

The people in this section of Maui live "off the grid", and that's exactly the way they like it and why they live there. The energy is so much better when you're off the grid. You have to experience it to feel the difference.

Maui the Demi-God Raises The Islands

This modern sculpture sits on the grounds of the Renaissance Resort in Wailea and represents the story of Maui the Demi-God with his magic hook raising the Hawaiian Islands.

If you'd like to read the FULL story, click here.

Lava Rock Cross Overlooks Hana

Once you reach Hana, you will see the famous Hana landmark on a green hill (Lyons Hill)--a 30-foot-high lava rock cross. Citizens erected the cross in memory of Paul Fagan, owner of the San Francisco Seals baseball team, who bought an old inn in 1946 and who founded the Hana Ranch. The inn is now the glamorous and expensive Hotel Hana-Maui.

Black Sand Beach in Hana

We just returned from several days in Hana--the most eastern part of Maui. We have house guests, and we wanted to give them the experience of the infamous "Road To Hana" made famous by the t-shirt which says, "I survived the road to Hana!" as well as the many extraordinary places in Hana.

With three digital cameras and four sets of hands, we took many photos, and so I will showcase the incredible beauty of Hana in a series.

The photo above is of the ONLY black sand beach on Maui.

The Famous Lahaina Banyan Tree

This immense Lahaina Banyan tree was planted in 1873 as a baby tree. It's birth home was India. Now it's grown with 12 major trunks besides the huge original core trunk to a height of about 50 feet. It stretches over a 200 foot acre, and it fills one city block.

I photographed this tree in the early hours before the artists and craftsmen set up their tables with their colorful creations for the Lahaina Art Society weekend event. Around 9 am, the people and buzzing commerce will change this peaceful scene.

There are lots of stories about what has happened under this Banyan Tree through the passing years. I've read the sailors were greeted by local prostitutes under this tree as they left their whaling boats in the nearby harbor, and the hanging vines were used by kids to swing through the branches like Tarzan.

Whatever Makes You Smile

These colorful, carved wood statues in front of the reception desk for a fish restaurant in Lahaina make me smile! Have a great, fun weekend!

Mochi Munching

So what is mochi? It's a popular local rice cracker snack in Hawaii and comes in a variety of flavors, textures, colors, and sweetness/saltiness. Here is a link to see some of the varieties.

On another note, a blog buddy of mine, Mauro from Portugal, has started a new blog in which he is requesting a picture of your city which he will post on his blog and give you a link back to the blog of your choice. The name is My City Picture.

Earthly Protection

The Hawaiian Ti plant is supposed to bring good luck if planted around the perimeter of your property, and so we have both red and green varieties planted on our property. The ti plant is used for ceremonies, for hula skirts, for food preparation (wrapped around food for steaming), and for woven leis.

The High Price of Gas On Maui

Maui has the distinction and not-so-great honor of having the highest gas prices in America. The price of gas on Maui is also higher than the other Hawaiian Islands--so I hear. Why this is I don't know! And how does our gasoline price compare with YOURS?

Close-up of a Mango from Our "Giving Tree"

We have an extremely happy and generous mango tree on our property, and every year it gifts us with delicious, sweet mangoes. Now our tree has many mangoes hanging down from it just like this one in the photo, and soon this color will ripen into a lovely peach color.

Do you know the book titled "The Giving Tree"? It's a wonderful book beloved by both children and adults. Here's a link to more information about it.

Babies of Hawaii

I love babies! Who doesn't?! This adorable baby was with her mother ahead of me in line the other day, and I couldn't resist taking a photo of her or him. Many of the babies in Hawaii are mixed with Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Hawaiian, Irish, Vietnamese, Spanish and many other bloodlines, and the mixture creates gorgeous children which later grow into such attractive adults.

Mother's Day Dinner at Chez Paul on Maui

I'm getting an early start today for it's Mother's Day in the United Sates, and as a Mother, this is MY day which translates to "I will be busy!" Attempting to coordinate and arrange the day with my various beloveds became a huge undertaking because of our conflicting schedules, and the final decision was my partner and I would celebrate Mother's Day early (last night), and today my daughter and I would have OUR day.

My partner's intention was to take me out, and even though he had lots of physical activity, he mustered the energy to do so! He arose early yesterday at 5 AM, played two rounds of golf (36 holes!) at the Wailea Emerald Course and then the Maui Prince course, rushed home at 6:30 PM, showered, threw on his favorite Tommy Bahama 'pineapple' aloha shirt, and off we raced to the fine dining restaurant Chez Paul half-way across the island to celebrate with a fabulous dinner.

We both love French cuisine, and the gourmet food at Chez Paul is nothing short than divine! Because the restaurant is expensive-- even by Maui standards-- with most entrees around $44, most of the clientele appeared to be tourists with many Europeans. The good news is we received a generous Kama'aina (long-time resident) discount!

We read the long established restaurant had been sold and acquired by Chef Patrick Callarec who was most recently with the Ritz Carlton Kapalua, and we were eager to check out the menu and food. Changes have been made--a new bar has been added--and the restaurant is open for lunch on some days. The ambience is lovely, the service top notch, and the restaurant now rates as one of our top three favorites.

Here are some photos from last evening beginning with the final course and moving forward.

Heineken Delivery Truck on Maui

The graphic of this Heineken delivery truck is styling, don't you think? I've noticed 'packaging' design on everything from trucks to household cleaning products is becoming more stylish...a necessary feature to compete against other products I suppose.

Photo Quiz--What is It?

Can anyone guess what this object is? It's really pretty obvious, not tricky and challenging like 'you-know-who's'!

Here are TWO links for those that might have photos they want to market. I signed up for their newsletters and organizations a long time ago, but so far I've not had any photos which match their calls. Lately I've received two emails with calls for Historic Sites of Europe and for sports backgrounds from fotoLibra. Perhaps some of you Daily Photo and City Bloggers do?

Here's the first link: fotoLibra

The second link is for Scoopt.

Scoopt has recently become a part of Getty Images, and Scoopt markets to the worldwide media. The photos don't need to be as high quality here...even a cell phone camera will do! The idea is to sell photos of events such as the car crash they illustrate on their website.

Have a Great Weekend!

Art Night at Shops of Wailea

Last evening we dined with a friend at Tommy Bahamas Restaurant in the Shops of Wailea, a luxury open-air shopping complex in Wailea. Every Wednesday is Art Night at the shops with entertainment, galleries offering pupus and wine, and lots of people strolling around. Here's one of the items we ordered last night, a delicious salad. The food is scrumptious at Tommy Bahamas.



After dinner, we walked around the shopping plaza and watched a hula performance by lovely young Hawaiian girls in shiny costumes. How do you like this photo? It's weird,eh? That's because it was dark, and I used the Fix-It thingamajig on my computer because I didn't adjust my camera light for the dark. The last photo will explain why, but I rather like this photo anyway because it looks vintage.



We watched other people watching the hula show.

We watched this young girl dancing along to the music with her doll.

We observed this artist paint his canvas.


And this is how my evening began....with a really yummy coconut martini. VERY strong! Naples Florida also has a Tommy Bahamas Restaurant--have you tried one of these coconut martinis, Isabella?

Deserted Beaches?

Many of the beaches in South Maui were closed to swimmers yesterday and today because of a shark attack on a vacationing snorkeler yesterday. The victim survived to tell the tale, and I watched her on television tonight in a wheelchair with bandaged foot giving her version of the story. I also blogged about this today on another blog, Who's Yo Mama? if you'd like to read more details.

What rather amused me was is what she related on television--and I paraphrase--that when she came stumbling out of the water yelling, 'Shark, shark!', people just kinda gave her a blank look, and the thought crossed her mind that they might be thinking she was making up a shark story or that they were perceiving her as a crazy woman. Once they saw her blood, then they were convinced!

Sacred Burial Ground--Honokahua

When the Ritz Carlton was being built back in 1989, it was discovered upon digging that over 900 individuals had been buried on this land. After many protests by the Hawaiians, the decision was reached to preserve this area so that the Hawaiian Ancestors could rest in peace and watch over the land.

And indeed you really feel the presence of the Ancestors when you walk in this area. Ritz Carlton has erected a long hedge to keep the public out, and this area is now only used for religious ceremonies as it is revered as one of the holiest locations on Maui. You can view the area, but you're not supposed to enter the actual burial grounds.

Last Float At The Pool

When the evening arrives, everyone leaves the swimming pools at the resorts. I took this photo last night of the last float, a happy reminder of an relaxed day at the Ritz Carlton Pool in Kapalua. The tiki torches have been turned on, and the night festivities began.

Wiggles Rocks Us on Cinco De Mayo On Maui

While the Cinco De Mayo party raged on next door at Fred's, we dined at one of our favorite restaurants on Maui, the Greek Bistro.

Wiggles the Cat was the star at the Greek Bistro, a photo op no diner could pass up!This woman in the photo isn't me in case anyone is curious--a stranger who obviously loved to take photos! :-)

If you want to read more about Cinco De Mayo on Maui, I posted about it on another one of my blogs, Who's Yo Mama.

Maui Road From Above

The Answer is NO, NO and NO!

When you read the message in the photo below, don't worry. It's not your eyesight going bad on you...it's simply not one of my better photos! :-) However, my partner insisted I drive to this location and photograph this sign posted in the window with the rules and dress code for an upcoming Kihei nightclub. He found these rules hilarious, and since he's a long time savvy Maui businessman, he can't imagine what the new owners must be thinking posting this on their window! Like who doesn't wear flip flops, boots or tennis shoes here on Maui?! How many Maui people dress up at night?!

The last rule is the most outrageous one of them all: "No bad attitudes". Excuse me, but now there are attitude rules? ROFL! What is Maui coming to?

In any event, I earned brownie points with my partner for posting this photo, and I hope you'll forgive me!

I will make it up to you by posting a second photo today--one which is beautiful!

Pohaku with Lei

The Hawaiian name of Pohaku translates to stones, and stones were of great importance in old Hawaii. There were all kinds of revered stones with different purposes, and usually their location was considered top secret information. Some pohaku stones were the destination for women in labor who would give birth around or on them. Some pohaku were prophetic, and some were for good for luck in fishing. I have one of the rare books on pohaku in my library.

This pohaku isn't hidden, and it sits across from 505 Front Street near a parking lot in Lahaina. I often wonder about it. The reason: I have traveled the world photographing stones of all shapes and sizes and pondering the significance and information latent in stones.

The Unveiling

Those of you who guessed 'fumigation' were absolutely right! Here is the home underneath the colorful wrapper!