Leis, Trick Candles and Craters

Here is what SHOULD have been posted on Tuesday, July 13th (if we'd had internet in Maui).

To Ashley, my Maid O' Honour and BFF.

Ashley: 26 years old.

Today you turn 26. When we met all those years ago in... Well, you know where we met... No need for everyone else to find out! Anyway, when we met all those years ago, I had no idea that we'd end up being life-long friends. I guess since we haven't lived a lifetime yet, we have no way of knowing if we'll actually be life-long friends. But really, I'll hunt you down. There's nowhere you can hide from me. So just give in. You're stuck with me. It's inevitable. Heh heh heh...

Times are a-changing, but you've continued to be a reliable rock in my life-- whether it's laughing with me, at me, or telling me I'm being utterly ridiculous. Thanks for putting up with the lunchtime crankies. Thanks for not minding when I'm totally anti-social. Thanks for laughing when I alphabetized your DVD collection, and when I ate too much candy and got a tummy ache. I know you're thinking, "Which TIME that I laughed at you for your getting candy tummy ache?" My reply is: ALL the times you laughed at me for my candy tummy ache. Thanks for not yelling, "WILL YOU NEVER LEARN!!!???"

Here are some things I wish for you the coming year:

1) More opportunities to travel.

2) More shoes for your closet!

3) Fewer balloon encounters.

4) Less kitten mischief.

5) Real amnesia, regarding the interpretive dance incident.

6) Another Sugar Ray "comeback" CD.

7) More good times!

Hope you have a fantastic day!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Tuesday, July 13, 2010.

Here's how we spent Ashley's birthday...

Before we booked our flights, everyone agreed: You can't go to Hawaii without going to a Luau. So a Luau is what we did. And what better day to go than on Ashley's birthday!?

We opted for the Old Lahaina Luau, because it focused more on traditional Hawaiian hula, culture and food, and less on "audience" interaction. I'm not sure about everyone else, but this was a key selling point for me. I loath "audience participation." It's awkward, it's unpleasant... It's my worst nightmare. There was no "audience participation" at the Old Lahaina Luau, and I couldn't have been happier.

Anyway, I digress.

After a day of oggling bright coloured fish at the aquarium, gorging on cheeseburgers and poking through stores on the Lahaina boardwalk, we made our way to the Luau.

Aquarium fish.

We were greeted at the entrance by enthusiastic locals, colourful leis of purple orchids, and a selection of boozy tropical drinks. A manager had to oust some people from our table (the hosts seated them in the wrong spot), but we settled in quickly. First, we took a bunch of photos!

Tom and I in our Luau glory.

Then we watched the pig being removed from the smoking pit!

Unearthing the pig!

Then we took creepy stalker picture of Patrick Marleau of the San Jose Sharks.

Patrick Marleau.

Then we ate!

Me consuming coconut Jello/pudding.

Then we watched the sun set.

Sunset in Lahaina.

Then, with the aid of our awesome server, Kyle, and his trick candle, we wished Ashley a happy birthday.

Kyle and his "trick candle," aka lighter.

Finally, we watched the show! Hula dancers are pretty interesting to watch. Sadly, there wasn't any fire juggling... I guess that's not actually traditional in Hawaii.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010.

Bright and early on Wednesday morning, Shauna, Billy, Jeff, Tom and I piled into the Rubicon, and drove to the summit of Haleakala (Hal-ee-ack-ah-la), the dormant volcanic crater on Maui. The drive up the volcano is the greatest increase in elevation (10000 ft) over the shortest distance (37 miles) in the world. The best part was that the road wound back and forth, eventually breaking through the cloud line. At the summit of the volcano (10023 ft) we were above the clouds.

Shauna and I at 10023 ft.

Looking into the crater.

This bizarre looking plant is called a Silversword plant. Apparently at one time they used to be an endangered species. The roots of the plant are only about 1-2cm below the surface, so tourists would stand beside the plants and kill them by crushing their roots. There were a lot of educational signs around these plants warning tourists to stay away from them. We saw a lot of them on the volcano, so they seem to be flourishing with the extra protection.

Silversword plant.

We took a short hike (about 4 miles, or 6.4km) into the crater, going down to one of the cinder cones. Going down into the crater was not bad at all (aside from being in the direct sun the entire time). Coming out was a new challenge entirely! The altitude really got to me! Sometimes my heart was pounding so hard in my chest, I could feel it in my ears! Not the most pleasant sensation.

Loose scree streaming into the crater.

At the end of a long day, we headed back to Kihei. Here we enjoyed one of the greatest meals of the trips-- RIBS! Lots and lots of ribs. Ashley went all out and made five flavours of pork ribs. We had this with spicy green beans and potato salad.

Later that night, we dropped Tom off at the airport.

Phewf! Six days down, only one more to go!

Jeff has all the good snorkeling photos, so I'll post them as soon as I get my hands on them.

Over and out!