Okay, so what events have befallen us this week? Well, it all seems like so long ago, but I'll do my best to remember. This week we have made it a point to get out and do some new stuff. On Monday, we went for a picnic at one of my favourite spots on the island. Where the road turns to gravel and black lava flows from eons past meet aquamarine in a violent crash of foam (that was for you, Karilyn). Near La Perouse, the beaches stop and the ocean is right there. Stopped to watch the fishermen and eat our lunch and got some nice pictures of us, then took the kids into the tide pools to point out the small fishes and crabs.
Tuesday saw Neil hook up with Micha, a rather attractive girl (his surf instructor!), who taught him the basics of surfing at the Cove, a great spot to surf near our house. He did great! Was up most times and from what we could see, looked to be a natural. The Cove is a great spot for people to learn surfing, reefs aren't too sharp and the waves range from 1-4 feet and come in nice, even sets.
Wednesday, Michelle hit her on-the-beach yoga class. We are meeting some pretty cool people. Meg, the instructor is a pretty awesome wahine, she was just selected to do a leg of the Hokule'a - a traditional 12-person Hawaiian canoe that will circumnavigate the globe for 3 years using only the stars, wind and animals to navigate (the way that Polynesian cultures used to get around hundreds of years ago).Then Wednesday afternoon we were headed up to Kahului (the main town) to the farmers market and the van we rented overheated. We did make it back home, but that highway is pretty remote and we were a little nervous. So, we spent the rest of the day figuring out what to do since the van was a private rental from the guy who owns the house. We decided to go with a local company who rents out VERY Maui cars. So our new ride is a 2000 Toyota Corolla with what appears to be a shark bite in it. Man, it is one sweet ride, but we DEFINITELY look like locals now. We even get waved ahead when making turns. Hey, it has A/C and it gets us around and it's cheap, so what else can we ask for? Plus the company is really great and they'll come and get us if we do happen to break down.
On Thursday, I had my turn at surfing, and yes, I am officially addicted. I did aw-ite! It's not nearly as hard as I thought it would be, the pop (getting up), and the stance is pretty easy, but it's the catching that is the hardest. And man, you almost don't want to ride that wave too far, cuz then you know you have to paddle back out! And paddling is killer on the old shoulders. We were pretty sore, mostly from doing a bunch of push ups and a few little scratches from rocks here and there. My surf instructor was also quite hot - I ended up with a private lesson, even though I paid for a group one since no-one else had signed up (business all over Maui is pretty slow right now). Corey (doesn't that just sound like the cute guy from high school?), was a great instructor and a nice guy (who also knows Meg, the yoga instructor). So our next step is to go down to the local surf shop and set up a deal where we can either buy a used longboard (likely 10 feet), that we can keep there to surf the Cove.
Friday saw us itching for more surfing, so we headed up past Pa'ia to Ho'okipa to watch the locals surf. This is where the best surfers in the world come to surf Jaws (a 50-60 foot wave that hits the north shore in January). This time of year, surf is still high and the locals are all saying how happy they are that the winter swells are here. Funny to hear that, since in BC we all talk about how happy we are to see winter (but for the snow).This weekend, we've been taking it easy. As we drove by the Cove Saturday morning, we were shocked to see it packed with surfers. Reason being a storm in New Zealand whose energy is hitting the south shore now. Waves were bigger here than on the north shore - so it was neat to watch that right from our local beach. We were actually a little nervous with the kids in the water - waves were pretty massive, and we made sure we got out in between sets. Of course, they don't notice anything, cuz we're holding them up above the swell, (we were out past the break). But we'd look out and think - "Holy crap - that's big - wish I had my boogie board!"
And today, we hit the Ukulele Festival for some free entertainment. (We're all about free, since we have no income). And so begins another week. I'll actually be taking off on Wednesday night to Vancouver for the weekend for Lynn & Jonathan's wedding on Saturday. Then back home on Sunday. Then on the 28th, my dad comes to visit for 10 days. Don't worry, we'll be sure to take him surfing too...
Tuesday saw Neil hook up with Micha, a rather attractive girl (his surf instructor!), who taught him the basics of surfing at the Cove, a great spot to surf near our house. He did great! Was up most times and from what we could see, looked to be a natural. The Cove is a great spot for people to learn surfing, reefs aren't too sharp and the waves range from 1-4 feet and come in nice, even sets.
Wednesday, Michelle hit her on-the-beach yoga class. We are meeting some pretty cool people. Meg, the instructor is a pretty awesome wahine, she was just selected to do a leg of the Hokule'a - a traditional 12-person Hawaiian canoe that will circumnavigate the globe for 3 years using only the stars, wind and animals to navigate (the way that Polynesian cultures used to get around hundreds of years ago).Then Wednesday afternoon we were headed up to Kahului (the main town) to the farmers market and the van we rented overheated. We did make it back home, but that highway is pretty remote and we were a little nervous. So, we spent the rest of the day figuring out what to do since the van was a private rental from the guy who owns the house. We decided to go with a local company who rents out VERY Maui cars. So our new ride is a 2000 Toyota Corolla with what appears to be a shark bite in it. Man, it is one sweet ride, but we DEFINITELY look like locals now. We even get waved ahead when making turns. Hey, it has A/C and it gets us around and it's cheap, so what else can we ask for? Plus the company is really great and they'll come and get us if we do happen to break down.
On Thursday, I had my turn at surfing, and yes, I am officially addicted. I did aw-ite! It's not nearly as hard as I thought it would be, the pop (getting up), and the stance is pretty easy, but it's the catching that is the hardest. And man, you almost don't want to ride that wave too far, cuz then you know you have to paddle back out! And paddling is killer on the old shoulders. We were pretty sore, mostly from doing a bunch of push ups and a few little scratches from rocks here and there. My surf instructor was also quite hot - I ended up with a private lesson, even though I paid for a group one since no-one else had signed up (business all over Maui is pretty slow right now). Corey (doesn't that just sound like the cute guy from high school?), was a great instructor and a nice guy (who also knows Meg, the yoga instructor). So our next step is to go down to the local surf shop and set up a deal where we can either buy a used longboard (likely 10 feet), that we can keep there to surf the Cove.
Friday saw us itching for more surfing, so we headed up past Pa'ia to Ho'okipa to watch the locals surf. This is where the best surfers in the world come to surf Jaws (a 50-60 foot wave that hits the north shore in January). This time of year, surf is still high and the locals are all saying how happy they are that the winter swells are here. Funny to hear that, since in BC we all talk about how happy we are to see winter (but for the snow).This weekend, we've been taking it easy. As we drove by the Cove Saturday morning, we were shocked to see it packed with surfers. Reason being a storm in New Zealand whose energy is hitting the south shore now. Waves were bigger here than on the north shore - so it was neat to watch that right from our local beach. We were actually a little nervous with the kids in the water - waves were pretty massive, and we made sure we got out in between sets. Of course, they don't notice anything, cuz we're holding them up above the swell, (we were out past the break). But we'd look out and think - "Holy crap - that's big - wish I had my boogie board!"
And today, we hit the Ukulele Festival for some free entertainment. (We're all about free, since we have no income). And so begins another week. I'll actually be taking off on Wednesday night to Vancouver for the weekend for Lynn & Jonathan's wedding on Saturday. Then back home on Sunday. Then on the 28th, my dad comes to visit for 10 days. Don't worry, we'll be sure to take him surfing too...
