February Theme Day--What Your City Is Known For

Wailea (Maui) Hawaii is best known for its luxury resorts. Photographed above is the impressive entrance to the Grand Wailea Resort Hotel and Spa. You also have a choice of the luxury resorts: the Kea Lani, the Four Seasons, and the Wailea Marriott.

Take some time and visit the links below to see what each of these cities is best known for.


Portland (OR), USA - Menton, France - Monte Carlo, Monaco - Memphis (Tennessee), USA - Manila, Philippines - San Diego (CA), USA - Anderson (SC), USA - New York City (NY), USA - San Diego (CA), USA - Mexico City, Mexico - San Francisco (CA), USA - Mumbai (Maharashtra), India - Mainz, Germany - Weston (FL), USA - Minneapolis (MN), USA - Turin, Italy - Las Vegas (NV), USA - Hobart (Tasmania), Australia - Bicheno, Australia - Durban, South Africa - Joplin (MO), USA - Nashville (TN), USA - Stockholm, Sweden - Kyoto, Japan - Tokyo, Japan - Brussels, Belgium - Chicago (IL), USA - Montpellier, France - Seattle (WA), USA - Mazatlan, Mexico - Saint Paul (MN), USA - Sharon (CT), USA - Sesimbra, Portugal - Toulouse, France - Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina - Susanville (CA), USA - Maple Ridge (BC), Canada - Saint Louis (MO), USA - Prague, Czech Republic - Helsinki, Finland - Pilisvörösvár, Hungary - Lisbon, Portugal - Mexico (DF), Mexico - Trujillo, Peru - Dunedin (FL), USA - Albuquerque (NM), USA - Port Angeles (WA), USA - Cottage Grove (MN), USA - Saint-Petersburg, Russian Federation - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - London, UK - Baziège, France - Jefferson City (MO), USA - Greenville (SC), USA - Selma (AL), USA - Mumbai, India - Naples (FL), USA - Norwich (Norfolk), UK - Silver Spring (MD), USA - Setúbal, Portugal - Stayton (OR), USA - Bellefonte (PA), USA - Sofia, Bulgaria - Arradon, France - Montego Bay, Jamaica - Athens, Greece - Austin (TX), USA - Singapore, Singapore - West Sacramento (CA), USA - Jackson (MS), USA - Wassenaar (ZH), Netherlands - Budapest, Hungary - Rotterdam, Netherlands - St Malo, France - Chandler (AZ), USA - Melbourne, Australia - Port Vila, Vanuatu - Cleveland (OH), USA - Nottingham, UK - Kansas City (MO), USA - The Hague, Netherlands - Crystal Lake (IL), USA - Wrocław, Poland - Chateaubriant, France - Cheltenham, UK - Moscow, Russia - Monrovia (CA), USA - Saigon, Vietnam - Toruń, Poland - Grenoble, France - Lisbon, Portugal - New Orleans (LA), USA - Sydney, Australia - Boston (MA), USA - American Fork (UT), USA - Boston (MA), USA - Montréal (QC), Canada - Wichita (KS), USA - Radonvilliers, France - Buenos Aires, Argentina - Christchurch, New Zealand - Rabaul, Papua New Guinea - Wailea (HI), USA - Aliso Viejo (CA), USA - St Francis, South Africa - Port Elizabeth, South Africa - Seattle (WA), USA - Pasadena (CA), USA - Vienna, Austria - Orlando (FL), USA - Torun, Poland - Delta (CO), USA - Santa Fe (NM), USA - Minneapolis (MN), USA - Haninge, Sweden - Paris, France - Stavanger, Norway - Niamey, Niger - Le Guilvinec, France - Bogor, Indonesia - Saarbrücken, Germany - Auckland, New Zealand - Wellington, New Zealand - Budapest, Hungary - Juneau (AK), USA - Bucaramanga (Santander), Colombia - Glasgow, Scotland - Chicago (IL), USA - Jakarta, Indonesia - Adelaide (SA), Australia - Sydney, Australia - Riga, Latvia - Subang Jaya (Selangor), Malaysia - Terrell (TX), USA - Terrell (TX), USA

The Clouds Parted...

....to reveal the snow-capped peaks of Haleakala! Snow is very RARE on Maui, and so snow is a big deal over here! I've seen better photos of the snow than this one which have been emailed to us, but since they weren't mine and no one knew who had taken them, I couldn't use them.

Inside The Secret Garden

Here is another photo taken inside the permaculture property. I featured it with the pink rose photo several days ago. As I mentioned then, the beauty of this place is it's untamed profusion. Our family receives the most delicious organic lemons which are grown on this property.

The Magic of Waterfalls

The photo above depicts a 'designed' waterfall, and you'll see it on your right when you pull into the driveway of the Grand Wailea Resort.

Maui has many natural waterfalls and pools, and you can swim in many of these pools. My all-time favorite waterfall and pool is now closed off to the public, but in the "old days", my friends, family and myself enjoyed the icy cold waters of this natural swimming pool and the delight of swimming under the falls. Magical!

One Perfect Pink Rose

I love gardens, and this garden is on the property of a home which had been designed using the concept of permaculture. Thus, there is a 'wildness' to the garden which one doesn't find in manicured gardens. By the way, the rose smelled simply divine!

Maui Margaritaville

You can find great margaritas at Polli's Mexican Restaurant in Makawao if that's your kind of drink. This restaurant has been around a long time, and is one of the famous landmarks of Makawao sitting on the corner of Makawao Avenue and Baldwin.

Hot 'N Spicy

If you look up while dining at Polli's Mexican Restaurant in Makawao, you will see these red peppers. They don't look real to me, but they convey the theme of hot 'n spicy Tex-Mex cuisine.

Sparkling Bathrooms

Notice the sparkling design on the building? This is a (fairly) new adornment for the bathrooms at Kalama Park in Kihei. The net on the front of the photo is to keep the volleyballs from going into South Kihei Road. The ocean is in the near distance behind the bathrooms. There are usually lots of volleyball games happening here on the weekend as well as at other Kihei beach parks.

One Lama And A Rainbow

One of the many beautiful things you'll often see when you visit Maui (or this blog) are RAINBOWS! Maui has rainbows galore. I rather like this rainbow from yesterday with the balance of the white fence. The photo was taken Upcountry Maui as we drove to Makawao.

We had just dropped off Lama Kunga Rimpoche at a home in Haiku. He had been visiting Maui again, and my partner and he are golfing buddies when he comes to Maui. My partner, my daughter, and I were feeling extremely blessed by having shared time with him, and then we spotted this magnificent rainbow. Unfortunately I couldn't get the whole rainbow in the frame.

Outside a Maui Window Three

Is this an optical illusion? The photo makes it look as if there are two suns setting. Does this ever happen to your sunset photos?

Ocean Lure

From Youth


To Old Age
We are called to the beautiful, mysterious ocean.

Outside A Maui Window Number Two

There is so much beauty everywhere I look. I don't know the name of this flower, but like the ginger, it grows in profusion here on Maui. Its petals remind me of an orchid.

Outside The Window

The Tahitian Red Ginger plant grows in profusion here in Hawaii. It needs a tropical climate, high humidity, and warm temperatures. You can also find the ginger plant growing in colors from light pink to mauve to white.

Flowing Waters

Like everywhere, water is a very precious resource on Maui. Maui's Iao Aquifer is the principal source of drinking water for Central and South Maui and Paia. Some people feel that the continuing construction in South Maui is stressing the available water.

Inside a Lava Tube

Lava tubes/caves exist all over Maui. Some of them are big enough to walk through and explore, and many of them run to the ocean. This photo was taken inside one with the camera pointing towards the beach and ocean.

Tattoos On Maui

Would ya believe that one of the many things people want to do when they first arrive on Maui is to get a tattoo? Yes, tis true! And there are tattoo parlors all over Maui to service this desire.

Tattoo artists make good money, an estimated $100 per hour with tips. Thus, it's a field many would like to get into.

The tattoo photo above shows a tattoo business in Kihei.

And how 'bout you? Want to come to Maui to get a tattoo?

Vintage Grand Wailea

Here's another vintage photo from my files-- looking out at the MAIN Hibiscus pool area of the luxury resort, the Grand Wailea Resort Hotel and Spa.

This is one of the MORE expensive resorts on Maui, but it's price for a room may now be eclipsed by the newly renovated Ritz Carlton Resort which is catering to the EXTREMELY rich visitor.

I'll have to return for a visit soon and take an updated photo. This photo really does look vintage! :Smile: If you want to check-out more views of this fabulous resort, click on the link above.

Looking Through The Old

This is another one of my vintage photos I recently rescued from oblivion. I took this photo on an out-of-the-way trail which followed the coastline. Not a soul was on this trail except for the four of us. You can still find places on Maui to hike and get away from people if you like that kind of thing...which I do. Hiking in Nature away from the crowd clears my head and rejuvenates me.

Swimming at Red Sand Beach

This photo is from my vintage photo album, and it shows two swimmers at a remote beach in Hana called Red Sand Beach. To arrive at this remote (clothing optional) beach, one has to hike along a narrow and sometimes perilous trail, and that's the only way in and out.

Three of us got caught in a riptide once while swimming here, and we had to swim like hell--horizontal to the beach--to make it back to the beach. We were all exhausted and happy to be alive.

Retiring on Maui

Kalama Heights Retirement Home is one way to move to Maui and retire if you don't have big bucks. I've toured it when it first opened many years ago, and it looked very nice. They're now building an additional building to the South.

You can rent a studio, one, or two bedroom and decorate it to your taste. Three meals a day are served, and they offer lots of activities and services.

Mai Tai's On Maui

If you're looking for a cheap Mai Tai, Life's A Beach is the bar to go to--it's located on South Kihei Road. Most of the upscale restaurants on Maui charge anywhere from 8 to 15 dollars for a Mai Tai. I've never had a $1 Mai Tai, so I don't know how good it is. My (former) favorite Mai Tai's are at Mama's Fish House on the North Shore, and these are the most expensive according to my partner. Since I no longer drink or intake any sugar, I don't need to consider the price of a Mai Tai anymore.

DJ at the Candle Light Cafe

Every Wednesday night there is a dinner and a no-host bar served between shows in the Maui Arts and Cultural Center Founder's Court--an extension of the Maui Film Festival's Candle Light Cafe and Cinema. There is usually a DJ spinning or sometimes live music.

The DJ last night was superb. We enjoyed the music while dining with friends after seeing the film, "Silk", the story of a young man sent to Japan to revitalize France's silk trade.

Hiking Maui's Bamboo Forests

When I first moved to Maui many long years ago, a friend took me on my first bamboo forest hike, and I was totally enchanted. Hiking in a bamboo forest is an amazing experience, and one that is easily available in many parts of East Maui. There are no snakes on Maui, so there's nothing to fear.

One of the most famous bamboo forest hikes is just above the Seven Sacred Pools area. This hike leads to a magnificent waterfall at the very end. My advice: start early, because once it gets late in the day, the forest gets very, very dark! This photo above is vintage....taken late in the day on that very hike. You can see how dark it is with very little light filtering through the dense bamboo forest.

Things You Discover

The Old and The New

If you peer through the clouds and look at the very top of the mountain, Haleakala, you will see a small white object. This is one of the Haleakala Observatories.

And if you look at the front of the photo, you will observe a bit of the large Maui sugar cane fields which have played a major factor in Maui's development before tourism.

A January Day Ends in Glory

Having spent some of last evening and most of the day counseling a grieving and depressed friend who has now 'turned around' thanks to my care, I can let out a sigh of relief. I enjoyed this beautiful sunset from my window and counted my blessings.

Molokini Crater

See that object in the distance? It may look small from the distance, but actually, it's fairly large. It's called the Molokini Crater. Located 2 1/2 miles off of Maui's South Coast, it is a daily destination for many snorkel and dive tours. These boat tours leave for Molokini from Ma'alaea Harbor or the Kihei boat ramp at different times of the day.

Because of it's crescent shape (which you can't see in this photo), the walls of this extinct volcano provides protection from waves and powerful currents. Some people say this is one of the top ten dive sites in the world.

There used to be a friendly reef shark that hung out there. I haven't been there in awhile, so I don't know if it's still there. However, once I was snorkeling with friends, and one friend who didn't know that reef sharks are harmless saw this shark and went into a near panic trying to alert everyone about this shark. We all had a good laugh at the size of her eyes in her snorkel mask.

Playtime

It's so much fun to watch children play at the beach. The simplest things bring them joy. Give them a rock, some sand, and water, and they're in heaven.

Who Is Watching Whom?

It's the whale-watching season again as the Humpback Whales have migrated down to the warm waters of Maui from their Arctic home. They come here to winter, mate, and calve. Of course, everyone loves to go out on the water to see them up close and personal. Sometimes the whales come in very close to the boats, and sometimes they keep their distance. I've experienced many years of interacting with these amazing beings, and I still get a rush out of watching them, and even more so out of watching the people watching the whales.