Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year to anyone who is still checking this blog!!! 

We are sorry that we've totally slacked off with the posting and have turned to facebook for ease of uploading pics and videos! Blogging takes bloody ages, and time is fun (not money) on Maui :)

So if you've not already, please become our friends on facebook to follow the fun :) !! There is still plenty going on........

Lisa, Darien, Ulli and I spent New Years Day 2009 swimming with literally hundreds of dolphins in Lanai. So we're gonna make our final post about the New Year Lanai adventure.

We took our friends boat to the "Pineapple Isle" to camp and see in the New Year.

Ulli gets creative with the (waterproof) camera.

Snorkeling around this shipwreck was the first stop. Darien and Ulli decided to scale the 40 foot bugger to check out the concrete deck, kitchen, freezer room and other erie areas of the 1940's tanker. 

One should always take the time for a wee stop to admire the views.

This deserted beach was our surf spot.... looks like a picture from the 70's! What a sweet ride our rental truck was, until we tried to get it back up the hill.

With the lack of surf, we had to find an alternative source of amusement. I can confirm I have whiplash from the stunts pulled in this shorebreak.

And as if it couldn't get any better, we saw a whale breach not 200 yards from our boat on our way home to Maui. What a life! Enjoy yours.....

Wishing all of you the best year ever!! Happy 2009 !!!!!!!!!!

Farewell Marielle

Well it's been a long time since I've put anything on the blog. I've been doing the Facebook thing recently. The pictures just take too long to upload on this blog and I don't have the patience.   

  Unfortunately on a really sad note we lost a good friend last week, Marielle.  She died in her sleep last week.  We had a beautiful sunset ceremony for her on Baby Beach.  

                                                Aloha Marielle, we will miss you.

 

A week in SF

I just got back from a work week in SF ... my first visit to California that lasted more than an overnight in a grotty airport hotel. I was stoked to be visiting SF actually, as I'd heard it's a really nice city. So under the pretense of work, and a paid ticket, I packed my bag (plural on the way home!) and trotted off for a week in silicone valley! You choose your type of silicone......

One gorgeous, impecably kept home after another line the streets of Palo Alto, my base camp for the week, where I roughed it out o

n baked beans and Ambrosia Devonshire Custard (catered in just for me!). This is the historic house of Palo Alto, built in 1912 (or so), and typically American. Wonder where the flag is though?

I did actually work pretty hard (in comparison to the usual schedule anyway), but I took every opportunity to get out and explore the area. My daily morning run took me all over town, and usually after a few blocks I would inadvertantly end up back at the house - ground hog day. Anyway, I decided to check out Stanford Uni on one of those runs and couldn't believe it! First I thought I'd turned up at the University Church. 

All the buildings were impressive actually. Go to a Uni in the UK, and you won't be seeing anything like this. Mind you, you'll also save yourself about $30K.

Another run took me past the Tesla dealership. I just had to take a picture, and thought if I  made a tit of myself, I'll put on my best British accent and attempt to look like Royalty. This is a custom made car, and perhaps one of the dudes behind it is the customer??

Interestingly the only dealerships that had not shut down on this particular stretch of road were the Tesla and Fararri showrooms - do those cars run off chip fat now too??

What I have noticed when I visit different places, is a need to get out into open space. All the neighborhoods with their lovely tree lined streets make me somewhat claustrophobic and so a trip up to Portola Valley was just what I needed.

Ahh, space, nature and a view (I inherited the view obsession from my dad I think. Sadly the view picture of the valley will not upload!) ... almost as good as getting the gills wet in the ocean!

Next post will be of my adventures in San Fran, stay tuned........

D-Bauterous Weekend

In Oahu, with Darien T-Shirts. Lots of photos, apologies for any inappropriate pictures, but the whole weekend was entirely inappropriate! Here's most of the group, we were all booked on different flights, we were all late, missed our flights and ended up on the same bloody plane! And so it begins ......

Days ran into nights ran into days without any real distinguishment! (is that a word?). So where do I start? OK I know, lets start from the beginning. Darien fancied going to Oahu to get the friends together to celebrate his birthday (which we later find is not for a few weeks, so hopefully we don't have to do this again!??) The idea is to go to the water park and ride the "flow rider" standing wave. The idea sounds good, everyone is in. Then a friend does skydiving in Oahu, idea sounds great, everyone is in. Then another friend mentions strip club, idea sounds wonderful, everyone is in. And so now we have a full on adventure weekend. 

Off the plane and d-irectly to the waterpark for the flow rider.

My toes only technique had some faults.......

Steve found sticking his arse out as far as he could, helpful.

Darien suited up for some serious flume action, whilst co-pilot Lisa fills him in on the final strategy.

As night fell, the beers flowed - night number one.... easing into it at Dukes.

Day number 2, and everyone was having a number 2 (in their pants) before jumping out of the plane at 14,000 feet! Juan didn't sleep for 2 days and we told him bad weather was closing in and he was probably going to die.

The boys practice their technique.

Lisa enjoys being "strapped in"

Things get adventurous, and we make further plans for our jump.

Everyone does it, everyone freaks out because it was so awesome! Leaping out of a plane that high, hurling to the earth at 120mph and blasting through clouds was just insane :-) Here we come.....!

Sunset beers at the beach were called for to celebrate another brilliant day.

As night fell, the pranks began and the ABC store crawl was well underway. We ended up not only closing down several of these ABC (renamed) "bars", the strip club and some very local club somewhere in Waikiki. By 3:30am I bailed, but half the group soldiered on to close down a few more places and get run over by a passing car.

Wes looks like he just got hit by a car, but actually that came several hours later at dawn. Juan is grabbing imaginary boobs - thoughts of good times to come, Lisa & D concentrate on drinking and Steve is quietly counting his $1's......

So day 3 was a beach, and hair of the dog at the bar day. Darien get's baptized .....

And is then miraculously able to fly over water...

Only to decide over a few more beers, that we should extend our stay for one more night to drink more beer! Horahh! Rodrigo and buddies joined us and we celebrated his bachelor party by doing the same thing again. No pictures ... fortunately, camera broke again (#9 for those who are counting).

Thankfully we stayed in a pretty seedy hotel, and we blended into the ambience perfectly. We would have been ejected from anywhere decent. 

Well, it's Wednesday and Ulli is still hungover! I still have laughter hangover, my stomach muscles are sore. So till next weekend for the re-union! Viva La Vagine!

All photo credits go to Mr Walger which is why he is rarely seen in this post!

3rd Annual Naish Paddleboard Race

Was yesterday and thank god the wind showed up for one day, coz we'd all still be out there if it didn't! The race is from Maliko Gulch to Kahului harbor - 9.54 miles total for Paddleboards and Stand up boards.

http://www.mauinews.com/pdf/news/505934_1.pdf

Dave Kalama kicked some serious ass and came in first in 1 hour 6 mins - insane. He probably went back and did it again before we all arrived (actually he probably just kicked back and had a few cold ones). Andrea kicked some more ass in the ladies division - a hardcore time of 1 hour 23 mins, beating most men.

For full results http://www.mauipaddleboard.com/race.php?title=results_2008

We dispensed of the waterproof camera due to "extra weight concerns", so I attach photos shot by Julia from the Helicopter above. Which was another blessing as it provided more wind from the blades and helped to push me along to the harbor.



Feeling a bit rough from the stomach bug the night before, I decided to go for it anyway as at least there was wind, and there were 200 people signed up and ready to go ... hard to say no to that.



Anyway, we had a blast and everyone had their own personal competition going on. Wes was racing against Dave Kalama for at least the first 2 feet of the race, Ulli was up against John Smalley, Danny was going for the kill with me and I was watching and racing John Chiu the whole way.



The ceremony after was a good excuse to rehydrate with a few sports drinks (beers). I think we swept up gold, silver and bronze in that division! Great day as expected!

D-Tours does Makawao

(Last weekend part 2). D = Darien, knows Maui better than I know my own arse. This guy finds the most killer hikes, bikes and adventures on the island, and then invites the core group (of which we are proud members, there was quite an inaugaration, but we can't give details) to share in his D-light. D-Tours is aptly named because we are usually detouring the long and wrong way around Maui from dawn till dusk. In fact, as as his wife Lisa will attest to, sometimes the day has unexpectedly turned into night, and then day again! OOOpps, not happened to us...... yet!

The man himself, "D"



And his thoughts about trespassing signs. I think this is actually how he finds his hikes, by following Keep Out signs.



And so we begin. Lisa with more than a mild hangover on D-Day, not a good way to start.



First we bike through some mud.



Along to a metal gate, more keep out signs and some barbed fencing .......



And then onto some narrow water shed pipe covering with a few 4ft plus drops off the side.



Stop and enjoy the view on a particularly beautiful and clear day.



Carry on over some rickety bridges



Tie off some rope and climb down a steep mud hill and into a cave.





Once in said cave, slide over rocks with torches, and down to a waterfall. Launch your friend off the waterfall to discover how deep the water below is. He pops up, no broken bones, so we all follow, with dogs. Water in kin freezing. Skin is now burning and numb (this is still Maui!), follow the faint light at the end of the lava tube, through the cold water and out into .... Jurassic Park!



And pose for a group shot



Admire the view, hang out, turn around and go back through freezing cold water in cave, climb up steep hill and throw some mud at people.



At this point, just when you thought D could not be anymore prepared, he whips out his camping stove, coffee and water purifier and proceeds to make everyone Kona coffee mocchas. D-licious!



After a feast on everything from trail mix to hard boiled eggs....



We return to the cars and sit on the most comfortable asphalt I have ever had the pleasure of westing my weary arse on.



Grrreat day, D-Tours D-lights again! (Apologies for the poor photo quality, it just takes too long to upload the decent pixel pics. It would be next weekend before I got them up for the post)