Maui 2

Saturday was our scheduled snorkel tour to Molokini and Turtle Town! We got up bright and early to jump in the Jeep and head over to Ma'alea Harbor (about 20 minutes from Lahaina) to catch our Trilogy boat.

Such a happy license plate design.

Heading out of the harbor. We were served fresh cinnamon rolls and coffee for breakfast on the boat.

The boat had two big props that motored us around most of the day, along with sails that they let loose later on. We had about 40 people on the boat with us.

On the Trilogy boat in the a.m.

November through March/April is whale-watching season in Hawaii! The whales give birth in the warm waters of the islands and then move on to Alaska in the summer to feed on the abundant seafood. Kinda neat to think that the whales we saw around Maui may be the same ones we see in Prince William Sound or Kachemak Bay this summer.

I thought we would have to look hard to see the whales but they were EVERYWHERE. Even just driving along the coast we'd look out the window and see them breaching, spouting or flapping a fin.

The coolest thing about the whales is that we could hear them calling to each other while we snorkeled! You had to stop breathing and block out any noise but their whale songs were audible. Really, really neat experience.

This is below deck on the boat. We stored most of our stuff down here and sat upstairs on the deck in the sun.

Looking out the window, from inside the boat.

The first stop of the snorkel tour was Molokini, a volcanic crater shaped like a crescent. The boat connected to its mooring buoy and we all jumped in the water. Some of people on the boat opted to scuba dive and a few tried snuba.

Molokini from the air (not my photo!)

One edge of Molokini island.

 

The water was SO blue and clear here. We could see very far underwater.

This area is extremely poplular with tour boats.

Along the outside edge of Molokini.

Bye Molokini!

The second stop of the day was a place just off the southwestern shore of Maui called "Turtle Town." Supposedly there are tons of turtles living in the coral and rocky caves on the sea floor. We saw a grand total of 2 turtles and like 100 other snorkelers. At one point D swam up to me and said it looked more like Snorkel Town than Turtle Town. So very true. But one of our turtle experiences was very cool - the huge turtle slowly circled as he approached the surface and we both were able to watch as he got closer and closer.

Leaving Turtle Town.

Time to unleash the sails and head back to Ma'alea Harbor.

After Turtle Town the crew fed us a very yummy lunch, with seconds even. I was feeling a little woozy coming out of the water - too much sun and not enough food I think. It was a nice breezy ride back to the harbor with some whale-watching along the way.

Maui 1

Anchorage was COLD the day we left so the warm weather was something D and I were both looking forward to. We ended up sitting 14 rows apart due to the timing of our airline reservations - I could kind of see the back of his head if I sat up in my seat. Kind of a bummer to not sit together but it turns out Alaska Air serves free mai-tais on flights into Hawaii - so that helped a bit. It was the first of many tropical drinks for us on this trip!

The city of Anchorage is at top in this photo, with Fire Island on the bottom. 

It was fairly clear and very chilly on Thursday as we flew out of town. You can kind of see the Chugach Mountain Range here. Our house is towards the top middle of the photo. 

Ice floes galore. This photo is looking down Turnagain Arm - the Seward Highway runs along the edge of the shore at left. 

Goodbye Anchorage!

As we debarked the plane in Maui, a little girl ran up to me in the terminal and I remember thinking, "wow, this looks just like my boss' daughter." Turns out it was - they were waiting for a flight back to Anchorage. We grabbed our luggage, hopped on the shuttle and were on our way to pick up the rental car. I really have to recommend Kihei Rent-A-Car. They drove us to their off-airport location (about 20 minutes away) and set us up with a Jeep that would have cost two or three times as much at a regular rental car company. Of course, our Jeep did not come with sidewalls so the back portion was open to rain and we couldn't lock anything up, but it was a fun ride regardless.

Hello Maui!

After picking up the car and grabbing a quick dinner, we headed down the coast to Lahaina to check out our home for the next 7 days. The Makai Inn was not fancy (by any means!) but it was right on the water and the sound of waves crashing on the shore was heavenly.

So many birds on Maui! Anyone know what this is - a finch of some sort?

The birds really enjoyed bathing in the Makai Inn's water fountain out front.



View from our front door.



Plumeria trees everywhere.



A few days into our stay D came out onto the patio area where I was lounging and said he saw Woody Harrelson hanging out next door! Our bedroom window overlooked an absolutely breathtaking beach house, right on the water with a lush backyard. I am in love with the style of this home - clean lines, neutral colors and lots of wood furniture. AND the big windows downstairs all slide back to open up the living room to the huge wraparound porch. It's like doubling the space of your living room. Pretty amazing. I think this was our only celebrity sighting during the trip - I heard Oprah has a ranch in Hana but we didn't catch sight of her on our foray down there.



I had to take this photo through the bedroom window screen.

Our first full day in town was Friday and we suited up (bathing suits, that is) in search of a snorkel beach. My handy dandy iPhone was instrumental in not getting us lost on quite a few occasions - love Google Maps.

Soooo white.

On the way north we stopped at the Nakalele Blowhole. See all the people standing around in the photo below? They are waiting for the eruption.

Yahoo - there it is!

After a little more driving plus some hiking and exploring, we came upon Honolua Bay. It was very rocky and required a little hike through the jungle. I don't have any photos of this area since we locked the cameras in our Jeep's glove box, but this is where were snorkeled (below). There was no sandy beach so getting in and out of the surf was tricky - quite a few people got banged up on the slippery rocks.

Honolua Bay. Lots of neat coral and brightly-colored fish. We had to swm out a ways to get to this point.

Further out in the bay surfers were catching waves.

Honeymoon funding

In our kitchen lives a little glass jar that holds all of the loose change we collect. I'm not quite sure how long this collection has been growing but we decided to finally use it towards our honeymoon trip to Hawaii.

I took the overflowing jar and dumped the contents into a sturdy tote bag. Right before we left town I stopped by the bank and used the coinstar machine - the bank takes 5% of your total after the machine processed all the change.

How much do you think we got?

Ends up that little jar was worth $86.67! Not too shabby.

Aloha

D and I are home from our busy yet relaxing honeymoon trip to Maui. We're both trying to catch up on home chores and tasks at work but I'll try to start posting some photos and recaps soon!

Can it, deer

D was home visiting his family last month and a friend sent him back with some wonderful deer meat. He also made sure to bring me deer bacon, which is one of my new favorites! Since we were so successful canning caribou meat last year, D wanted to try the process with deer.

First step is to cut the deer meat away from the bone and sinew, and into chunks. D did this part.

We added beef bouillon paste to boiling water and cooked the meat until just barely browned. The meat inside was still pink since the canning process will cook it the rest of the way.

Make sure your puppy is thoroughly and completely ensconsed in the kitchen. That way he can trip you up and almost knock you out when moving about the area.

Next step was to prep and clean the glass pint jars for canning. We added the meat, a big scoop of canned tomatoes, canning/pickling salt and juice from the cooking process. After all were filled the rims are wiped down, lids are placed on and bands are lightly screwed on.



All that was left to do was place the jars in the canner and pressure cook for 75 minutes. We had so many jars that it took two separate cooking sessions, so that was an all-day process. I am thinking about buying another canner - maybe at the end of the fishing season this year, which is when most of these go on sale.

Juneau Trip 3

Our work event concluded around 2:30 p.m. on Saturday and after a quick lunch my team headed to Mendenhall Glacier, locateed just outside Juneau. This whole area is part of the Tongass National Forest and the glacier flows into Mendenhall Lake. One of the other girls had been here before and pointed out a trail that starts at the base of the Visitor Center and winds around to the waterfall (barely visible at right in the photo below).

Mendenhall Glacier, from the visitor pavillion.



So huge!



At this point in the trip, I was EXHAUSTED. Actually, we all were - but couldn't pass up the chance to do some sightseeing.

 Later in the day and right before we headed to the airport for our 90 minute flight back to Anchorage, some of us took the opportunity to shop downtown. Most of the stores were closed because it was the off-season for tourists but a few were still open. This place had 75% authentic Native Alaskan items and 25% fake stuff from China - a better percentange than most gift stores!

"Oosik" is the Alaska Native word for...well, you can read it yourself.



Walrus skulls with scrimshaw art on the tusks.



Love the vivid colors of Alaska Native art and crafts.

That's it for my Juneau photos. I hope to take D back for a visit sometime next year - maybe in April of 2012. Alaska Airlines offers a constituent fare (30% off posted rates) to Juneau when the State Legislature is in session, which is a pretty good deal.

Happy Love Day

Life Update

Honeymoon - we leave Thursday morning and I couldn't be happier! My suitcase has been half packed for, oh, A MONTH. D pulled out our snorkel gear - isn't it funny that two Alaskans have their own snorkel gear? - and we plan on using them almost every day if we can swing it. D very sweetly checked out some great travel books from the Library last month and I made copies and marked those suckers up with notes. I'll also have my iPhone 4 (did I tell you peeps I finally got one?) for on-the-go info. Oh and we rented a Jeep! Fun fun fun.

Work - I'm at that burned-out stage again. Last week we were in Juneau and yesterday we had another health fair. Long days and one day off a week are taking their toll. I have been preparing people at the office for my 10-day honeymoon absence and by the way they are acting you would think I'm leaving for a month or more. I fully expect Monday through Wednesday of next week to be long days as I get everyone's last minute requests carried out. We're not pregnant yet, but I think people's heads are going to explode when they contemplate my 3 month maternity leave!

Dad & recovery - he is at home and getting stronger everyday. The Mayo Clinic will have him back for a visit 100 days post transplant, which is sometime in March.  Thank you for your prayers and support! Mom is taking amazing care of him. If you peeps are ever sick you will want my mother as your caregiver because she has singlehandedly brought my Dad back to health AND kept him healthy throughout this process. Although I suppose his excellent attitude and great physical shape (cancer notwithstanding) had something to do with it too. :-) Dad's risk of infection is still high since the pre-transplant chemo wiped out all of his immunities. We had a different scare right after he came home - a blood clot (DVT) that was thankfully treated in the Knoxville hospital. Mom is trying to fatten him back up again and it looks like Dad may even try to play in a disc golf tournament again soon!

Weather - cold and clear again. Yesterday morning on my drive into work at 6 a.m. it was -4 degrees. Time to fire up the woodstove. D went snowmaching with some buddies from work but he left me plenty of wood for fire-making. He is very considerate like that.

Entertainment - D and I had date night - in the middle of the week even! I had a free movie ticket set to expire this past Wednesday so we hurried on over to the brand new movie theater on the east side (near my high school) and saw "True Grit." D is a big time western fan (I'm enjoying them more and more) and this was a very good film - we recommend it.

Marriage- In Hawaii D and I will mark 8 happy months since our wedding! We're not taking this for granted and know that every day, week, month and year that we are together is a milestone to be celebrated and thankful for. No baby news yet but we'll let you all know when we have some! And hallelujah, I finally sold the rest of our wedding stuff. I had a big tote filled with the last bit of wedding decor plus the burlap tablecloths. This woman is planning her daughter's wedding and grilled me on all of our details. She even wanted to see our wedding photos! I drew the line at that one. But I got a good price for everything and we both parted happy. D says I should start my own wedding planning business, but then I would say goodbye to all of my weekends in the summer. I live for summer!

Juneau Trip 2

More photos from beautiful downtown Juneau!

Looking north from the 8th floor of the State Office Building in Juneau.

Downtown Juneau is constricted by mountains on one side and water on the other. That left the mountainside as the only other option for building homes - and build they did! There is an amazing system of walkways, stairways, ramps and winding roads that take you to the houses in this area. Most of the homes date from the early 1900's, with some older than that - late 1800's! Believe me, that is ancient for Alaska.

I am always fascinated by old buildings and homes. "Old' being a relative term in Alaska because of our young history as a state.

Interesting juxtaposition of old and new around Juneau - concrete city buildings mixed in with historic homes and businesses.

Our team from work had a short time off to walk around on Friday evening. Since the city is located in Southeast Alaska (and a rainforest to boot!) we saw almost no snow on the ground. The mountains had a light dusting but nothing like in Anchorage.

This was a war memorial for Alaska Natives serving in the military. 

I talked with a gal who works for the State and says she lives in Juneau when the Legislature is in session. She rents an apartment downtown and doesn't need a car because this area is so walker-friendly. Although the downside is that if she needs to go grocery shopping (Juneau has a Fred Meyer, Wal-Mart AND Costco!) she has to borrow a vehicle for that.



The Governor's Mansion, completed in 1912. Anyone can walk right by it!

The balance on this photo is totally blown out, but it gives you a better idea of the surrounding buildings.

Juneau Trip 1

The Juneau trip went really well and all parties involved were happy overall. I was just there for two days, but they were two VERY LONG days. Up by 5 a.m. and lots of work and then to bed by 11 p.m. But I am so lucky to have finally experienced our capital city!

View from the airplane window. I forgot my regular camera so all of these photos were taken with my iPhone. It was a gorgeous day when we left Anchorage and then the clouds rolled in as we neared Juneau. Only a 90 minute flight! Landings in Juneau are wonky - planes have to follow the course of a mountain range and then bank sharply to make the airport landing strip.

The location we worked in is called the State Office Building. Gorgeous views from the Atrium level!

A little while after sunrise. Temps in Juneau are considerably warmer than Anchorage. It was in the 30's and very wet - typical for this rainforest area.



Not a lot of snow around but it was still icy from an overnight freeze.



The body of water is Gastineau Channel and beyond in Douglas Island. I decided that D and I should live down here on Douglas or Auke Bay or somewhere else in SE Alaska like Sitka for a while. So amazing.

More photos to come!

Best wife ever

Like I tell my husband, I'm really not so bad. Case in point - I looked at my budget and figured out a splurge on some really nice art would be acceptable. So a couple weeks ago I purchased the Charles Gause print and it is hanging in our dining room RIGHT NOW! D and I are both are in love with the print and it really looks amazing in the house. So happy. And now I'm pretty much off the hook for every gift-buying holiday this year. Maybe even into 2012 too.

I'm definitely flying to Juneau next weekend for a work trip, so that is some nice overtime to pad my paycheck.We're all leaving next Friday and will be back by Saturday night. I decided to skip this year's Ski for Women (click here and here for those stories) since I'll have worked an 18 hour shift the day prior.

Honeymoon countdown - exactly 3 weeks!

Welcome to Antarctica

It may not be the South Pole over here but it sure feels just as cold. -10 degrees at the house yesterday! D is currently spending quality time with his family in the Midwest and it sounds like they are experiencing frigid temps as well. I haven't been taking Drift for many walks lately and he's been wearing his mopey face. That dog does not understand my aversion to frostbite! I'm going to have to suck it up, bundle up and head outside. The good news is that we're supposed to see snow and temps in the 20's. Yay!

Ice crystals on my car windshield...



The shortest & busiest month

Next month is gearing up to be a busy one. I'm 99% sure that I'll be flying to Juneau to help coordinate a health fair for state employees down there in early February. Never been to southeast Alaska so even though it's a quick trip I'm excited! Only way to get there is by plane or boat and the weather is notorious for ruining travel plans. I'll be sure to take lots of photos when not working and share them here.

Back at my workplace, we have quite a few seminars on the calendar for Heart Month, plus a heart-specific health fair on the 12th. And then D and I will leave for our 10-day Maui honeymoon! My schedule is super tight for February but I'm very much looking forward to relaxing on a Hawaiian beach with my wonderful husband after the work craziness has subsided.