We decided to spend our Christmas in Maui, Hawaii this year. It'll probably be the last time for a few years to come. Next year we're going to Viet Nam for Xmas and New Year's. That should be interesting
We had to catch a very early flight out of Palm Springs. Our friend Bob V from Edmonton took us to the airport and saved us cab fare. Thanks Bob! We got into Los Angeles by about 8:00 AM. Here's a shot over LA on the way to the airport.
And here's a treat they gave us before we were even off the ground on the way to Hawaii.
As much as I like Bloody Marys pretty much the only time I ever drink one is when we're travelling. Good thing too - they go down way to easy.
Here's some shots of arriving in Maui.
We're staying in The Palms At Wailea which is a condo development between Kihei and Wailea. It's ok - no restaurant or bar but you can walk to the beach and to restaurants.
Here's a link to some Google images.
And a shot from our balcony looking toward some other units.
This trip is pretty much a beach holiday - no culture - no museums - no ancient cities to wander around.
Here's some of the beaches we're visiting:
This is Kamaole Beach 1
This is Kamaole Beach 2
And this is Kamaole Beach 3
The three beaches as, as you might suspect, are positioned one after the other. They are all great beaches.
The shot below is from Keawakapu Beach and it's the one we visit the most. Close to our condo, easy parking, not too crowded, etc.
One day we drove up to the top of Haleakala. We come up here each time we visit Maui and this time was the coldest we've experienced. The wind was really cold. Apparently it snows up here from time to time.
Some Google images of Haleakala.
One day we booked a helicopter trip but it got cancelled at the last minute. We decided to drive to the very bottom of the island - where we'd never been before.
We made it as far as Kaupo shown below. Next time we'll get an earlier start and we'll go right around.
The scenery here is quite different from the rest of the island. Some of it is very dry as shown below. The roads are narrow and very rough in some parts.
This is a very interesting church. It's been here since 1850 something and they only have a service on the 5th Sunday of the month. So that means maybe two services a year. Sounds just about right to me.
The white streaks in the picture below are waterfalls.
We also went on a snorkeling cruise. Much fun.
This is the boat arriving.
He we are ...waiting to get on the ship. I have my purse with me today.
Not much more to report. More beach days and a trip over to Hana one day. A scenic but horrible drive because there's always some idiot who insists upon driving 20 MPH and he won't pull over even when he's got 10 cars following.
A shot of the ocean from that side of the island.
And the little shit-can car we rented. God what a horrible piece of crap car it was.
One day we watched some whales playing wayyyy out in the ocean. Look at the middle of the picture and see them flapping their flippers (arms? fins?)
The same day we walked down the beach and saw some different kinds of whales.
Some shots on the way back to California...
We had to connect through San Francisco and that can be tricky with the weather they get there but this time it was OK.
That's San Francisco just above the tip of the airplane. Zoom in.
Here's a couple shots of the mountains north of Palm Springs and that white stuff is snow. Yikes - they never told us that it snows in California. Buggers!
That's all.