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1/18 -- What a crazy day at Kite Beach. It was all over the place. When we first checked the site at 12 p.m. and 12:30 p.m. it was 26mph and 27 mph respectively. We eagerly packed up the jeep and hit the road. We walk on to the beach to see a bunch of disappointed kiters. Sherry said the website suckered a bunch of them there. John decided to be the wind dummy and luck was on his side. He pumped up the 12 meter. The wind was very northern making for an easy launch. As I watched him tear up the water I kept thinking I should fire up the 9 meter. After 30 minutes of standing there I jumped into action. At that moment Sherry stopped me, pointed toward the water and said, "You might want to hold on for a second." Within 2 minutes I am sprinting downwind to catch John's kite as he struggled to reach shore. Walking back up the beach the wind appeared to have returned and a few kiters started launching again. East of us was a dark cloud. Jim, Sherry's wife, said lightening was in today's weather report. We decided to see what the cloud would do. V (short for Victoria) decided to test her luck. It wasn't on her side. The wind completely died with 60 seconds of her launch and 30 minutes later she was still swimming her kite back to shore. |
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| Here is the wind chart from kitebeachcam.com on 1/18/08. |
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| You can see the dark cloud hovering nearby. Also, you can see the youngest kiter I have ever seen. I think he is 10 or younger. It seems when he isn't working on his kiting skills, photography is his thing. |
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| Someone is returning to shore via a self rescue. |
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| If you can kite, you might as well climb some a tree. |
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| The only kites to be seen are on the beach. Sadness! |
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| On a side note, it seems the indigenous population on Maui is returning to Kite Beach. I hope the Super Ferry doesn't increase the indigenous population here. There were at least 12 new "residents" in the parking lot today. This vehicle's back door is being held open by a crutch. Innovative. |
| 1/15 -- Time to check the Banana Tree. Last week I thought the time was drawing near. One of the bunches was starting to look plump. |
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| This is the first of several banana trees in a circle. When I worked my way around it, the bunch I had been monitoring appeared very green still. |
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| There are some yellow ones at the bottom of this batch, John said. What? They were so small I thought they had a lot more time before they would ripen. I had completely over looked them. |
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| Lickety split, John devoured one. |
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| Look how cute they are. Tasty little nuggets. |
| 1/14 - -Quote of the Day -- A Canadian tourist
at Kite Beach asked John
if I was allergic to the sun. I can't imagine why she would ask.
:) Here is a photo of me hiking on Saturday.
I consider it a cost saving measure. It will reduce the quantity of plastic surgery I will need in the future. |
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| 1/12 -- Quote of the Day --
"Where else can you watch whales breach while
hiking?" It came from our friend and neighbor Rick
as we climbed the Lahaina Pali Trail.
Standing on the trail, our eyes first noticed the whale watching boat. As they crept toward shore, we gathered they spotted one. Sure enough, a giant whale jumped completely out of the water, sinking downward with a giant splash. 6 seconds later, the smacking sound would reach our ears. We stood there mesmerized. Truly, where else could you see such a thing. It was the highlight in a spectacular day of climbing. The day started with a knock from Rick at 6 a.m. We wanted to get an early start. John and I had climbed a small portion of it in 2006 during the middle of the day and the sun pounded us. The five mile trail climbs over 1,600 feet above sea level and winds along a very rocky path. The trail isn't a loop. It runs between Mile Marker 5 on Route 30 and Manawaipueo Gulch .25 miles west of the Pali Tunnel. Obviously, if we had climbed part of the trail, we were somewhat familiar with it. In 2006 we started at Manawaipueo Gulch and that is where we planned to start again. We realized in the end, where Route 30 has it's five mile marker sign, is the exact spot where the dirt road can be found to take you to the trails dirt parking lot.
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| The yellow flowers along the way were beautiful. |
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| We had been climbing steadily at this point. |
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| A flatter section of the trail. |
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| 1/12 -- Wind on Maui?? Never!! I saw this tattered windsock and I had to laugh. It has definitely been put through the windringer. |
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| 1/11 -- Update to yesterday's blog -- At 7 a.m.
today the Maui Sunset parking lot was full. A very unusual
sight for so early in the morning. As we jogged closer to Cove
Point, I saw someone trying to ride a 6 foot wave. When I got
home, I checked out the mauinews.com and read this:
Surf keeps
lifeguards busy in South Maui KIHEI – Maui County lifeguards pulled 38 people out of high surf at the three Kamaole beach parks on Thursday, but no injuries were reported, said Archie Kalepa, ocean safety supervisor for the Department of Parks and Recreation. Full Story
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| 1/10 -- Without any wind to be seen on this island, we decided to put our kayaks in the nice, calm Maalaea Bay Harbor. What is this I see? Waves and fairly substantial ones. I haven't seen them this large on the south side of the island since the Kona Storm this past December. Luckily my camera was in a Tupper Ware container as we tipped over within 5 minutes of getting on the water Expecting flat water and an easy paddle, I decided to wear my only pair of glasses. Gulp! We decided to stop and survey the situation. |
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| Are they getting smaller? |
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| Nope! Dang! We gave it five minutes before heading back to land. |
| 1/9 -- After a couple of years of threatening
to do so, John did it. He made a kite cart. Besides keeping us
organized, it has turned out to be a great conversation piece
at Kite Beach. Sasha laughingly yelled to us that it was more
trouble than it was worth. Others wonder where we purchased it
and show delight in learning John made it.
If you want to see it go from inception to completion click here. |
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| 1/8 -- This shot is from the other day when the wind dropped for about 30 minutes. There were over 10 kiters on the water when this happened and the majority had to swim their kite back to shore. |
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| Quote
of the Day – Destination: Fish–N- Chips… to acquire the
best thing they serve; Fish-N-Chips. It was busier than normal
and we sat through six songs waiting for our order. .
The number of times a song played was easy to remember as it
was the same song and John pointed out when it started over. I
think it was a Latino Country Love song and not a good one.
All it was missing were dogs howling at the moon in the
background. Upon grabbing our food from the girl at the
register, John mentioned the repetitious nature of their
music. She pointed to the cook and said, “He is sad.” |
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