Out of the Fog

We have had some foggy days in Corvallis so it was great to take a trip to the coast. Marilyn has many activities at this time of year with the regular tennis matches and then lunches or dinners with her friends. This meant that we didn’t leave Corvallis until after 10:30 in the morning but were glad to see the fog lifting before we were 20 miles out of town.
We got to Newport just before noon so we stopped by Mo’s for the usual clam chowder and garlic bread before we headed to the aquarium. The sun was out and we left our jackets in the car for our three-hour visit to the aquarium. It was not crowded so I was able to get many pictures without being in other people’s way. A visit to the aquarium is always a great was to relax and is a sure way for me to raise my spirits.
The early sunset meant that we drove home in the dark after having our dinner. So the drive home was not as relaxing and enjoyable but well wroth the time out of the house and valley fog.
Some of my pictures from the day are on my flickr page.

Halloween in Lahaina

Halloween in Lahaina is always an interesting time. We have been going dressed as Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy and it seems to be well received by many people. This year was much different than the last two years in that they did not close down Front Street for the whole evening. They closed it for the Kiddie parade but then opened it up again. It made for a very crowded sidewalk and not as nice for taking pictures. I guess there had been too many problems in the past but I can’t think that this would prevent any of the drinking or carrying on. It just created a very crowed Front street with cars and people instead of just people.

As the evening went on some of the costumes become more R (X) rated and there are more people that have been drinking but for the most part a good time is had by all. I took my 100+ pictures again this year and posted a few of them.

Usually we have left by 8:30 but this year we stayed later so we were stopped by the sobriety check as we left Lahaina. It is usually a short stop unless they think you have been drinking then it becomes a longer time to prove you are sober.

Just hanging out

Relaxing in Maui means hanging around the condo reading or processing pictures, talking with people we know that come every year, or going to some of the same places we always go like Halloween and Keiki Hula show. This year was about the same. Marilyn finished a couple of books and I read a little of Tom Brokaw’s book “Boom!”. The nice thing about his that is that it is a collection of stories about people he first met as a young reporter in the 60’s and what they have done and how they have changed over the 40 years. Of course my pictures are much the same with fish, flowers, and the people. Some are out on flickr.
There are always some of the same people staying at KBC each year but then we also meet a few new people. They had the first of the Thursday gatherings the last Thursday we were there which is always good for meeting people. The young couple staying next to us were there with his Father, Dr. Edward Jones, and step Mother, in a different unit. It was nice to meet them as he also attended the University of Washington and his Father was retired from UW. They gave us a copy of his book Tutankhamon. At 86 he follows my feelings that many college professors can never retire they just keep researching and writing books. Since we will be taking the Red Sea, Egypt trip next spring the book will be a great reference.
We met friends for dinner one night, at a place that had a great jazz trio playing and also when out for our usual dinner at Kimo’s with the Hula Pie. We also usually go to the Tropical Plantation were Marilyn’s get to feed the ducks and I get to take pictures of the flowers. It is a beautiful place but I’m afraid we don’t do much to help it survive since we spend very little money there. The last Saturday we have been checking out and then going to the Seawatch restaurant for a great breakfast with a view of the ocean. It is a great way to end the two weeks.
The Halloween in Lahaina is another story.

Snorkeling Maui

Snorkeling is my favorite thing to do in Maui unless it is going out to eat. I spend many hours in the water looking for the fish that is willing to have its picture taken. Photographing the underwater animals has a number of problems. First they never stop to pose. I met one person that shoots video and then takes his pictures from that. Of course he also had a new camera that gave me a case of camera envy. It was not one of the $1000 plus but still a nice camera.
Of course it did get some nice shots from the over 800 I took I have about 50 I would show you but then that is photography. There are also a number of very small fish that dart about and never really show on the picture even though they are often in shallow water and I can get close to them. This year I also saw a number of octopus but they only look like a rock in the pictures.
We had great luck with turtles this year and even got to swim with two of them one day as they were feeding on the moss. There I was almost too close to get a good shot and be in focus. One of the turtles was missing its right front flipper. I am not sure if it was shark or boat that did the damage. I also saw a number of eels this year and even got a few good pictures.
We did not venture out to many sites this year going only to Ulua beach and the beach by the condo. We tried the beach by the Maui Prince which is close to turtle town but it was not that great and you can see turtles other places. Ulua is our favorite but I like to look for the turtle that lives in the coral by the condo. Even though I didn’t think we would try to go to Fish Bowl this year I was sorry to hear they had closed it. It is a 30-minute walk across the lava field but the water and fish were great. The problem was that people were trashing the small-protected area. It was a great place to take pictures. Maybe next year we will try some new places.

Other fish pictures from Maui.