What I did on my summer vacation

Photos taken (with my camera-- more on Tod's, Katy's and Meg's): 324
Books read: 4.75
Books heard: .25
Knitting projects completed: 3
Mountaintops reached: 2
Pretty tropical cocktails with umbrellas drunk: 2
Shave ices eaten: 2
Fresh-off-the-tree pineapples eaten (not by myself): 2
Fresh-from-the-tree mangoes eaten (by myself, though not all at once): 3
Luaus attended: 1
Boats sailed on: 2
Boats (not sailboats) ridden on: 2
Gardens visited: 3
Shoes purchased: 2 pairs
Skirts purchased: 2
Dresses purchased: 1
Caps purchased: 2
Gifts purchased: that's a secret!

Sunset cruise of the Na Pali Cliffs

As I mentioned earlier yesterday, we did the sunset cruise last night. I promised some pictures, and I'll deliver. I don't think they need much text. Oh, yeah, photo credits go to my husband, Tod.


On the way out.


On the way back we picked up some stranded boaters.


The sunset.

Yesterday and today

This morning Tod and Meg went out for a hike up a mountain. Katy and I, having gimpy knees, decided to stay home and relax. I'm quite tired from yesterday, and am enjoying sitting with my feet up, updating my blog, and getting some reading done.

Yesterday, we drove over to Waimea Canyon, making a few stops on the way. We left a little later than intended, but that gave us a chance to have a very elegant lunch at the Kilohana Plantation. We tried to go on the carriage ride, but we were told that the horses were taking the day off.

We did make a few scenic detours on the way, including a stop in Poipu to see Spouting Horn


and the National Tropical Botanical Gardens.


The drive up Waimea Canyon road was a bit nerve-wracking for me; it felt like a roller coaster ride, with a 1,000+ foot drop on my side of the road. But the canyon itself was beautiful,


with some very unusual vegetation:

Yes, those are hydrangeas in the middle of the tropical jungle.

On the way home, we stopped for dinner at a restaurant in Kapa'a called The Bull Shed, which faced right onto the ocean. I tried to take pictures of the view, but unfortunately they didn't turn out. Oh, well, tonight we're going on a sunset cruise around the Na Pali coast, and hopefully, some more gorgeous pictures will result.

A delightful discovery!!

Before we left on this trip, I scoured the internet listings for yarn stores, but couldn't find any in Maui or Kaua'i. I forgot to check the Yellow Pages when we were in Lahaina, and although someone mentioned one in Lihu'e, but I couldn't find it listed.

Today, after a short hike around the Kilauaea Lighthouse, we went in to Hanalei for lunch and a browse. Katy spotted a cute little dog just inside the back entrance of what appeared to be a music store, so we went in. I was looking at CDs when Katy and Meg insisted that I follow them to the front of the store.

Lo and behold!! A yarn shop!! The whole front area of the shop was filled with baskets of the most wonderful yarns. Tod was quite happily playing a guitar in the back of the store, so I was able to browse to my heart's content. Luckily, it wasn't too busy, so Karen, the proprietor, was able to talk yarn with me, and show me some finished projects.

I'd accidentally brought my #13 needles with me instead of the #15s, so I picked up a pair of those. There were several yarns that I hadn't come across before: and some gorgeous handpainted merinos and cottons from Schaefer and a fabulous silk/merino blend from I-don't-remember-whom.

I'd like to say that my willpower was very strong, and I didn't buy any yarn, but that wouldn't be true. I only bought two kinds of yarn, though: some lavender-scented Skacel cotton-blend, and some of the Schaefer handpainted cotton. The colourways of the handpainted merino were vivid and stunning, but I just couldn't justify it, considering the climate where I live.

Oh, the store is called Hanalei Music's Strings & Things: Ukuleles, Yarn and More, and it's in the Ching Young Village on Kuhio Highway in Hanalei. They have a knitting group on Tuesday evenings from 7 pm to 9 pm, and if I have the energy, I'll go.

Deathly Hallows update

Well, this was the first time I didn't see the new Harry Potter movie on the day of release, and also the first time I didn't start reading the new Harry Potter book on it's day of release. I could have picked up a copy here, I know, but I really didn't want to carry a book the size of my coffee table around Hawaii or on an airplane.

Step-son Sean is home house-sitting, and informs me that my copy from Amazon did arrive today. I told him he's welcome to read it, as long as he's finished by the time I get home.

I'm really enjoying this vacation, and don't want it to end, but Harrry is waiting for me at home....

Sailing on a privateer

The day we arrived in Lahaina, a woman in one of the shops told us about a tall ship that was coming into harbour on Friday, and doing public cruises. Tod called right away, and he was able to book us on the 11 a.m. tour today.

I was worried that I might be seasick, but I was fine. Meg was a little ...unwell, and was happy to be back on dry land. There were 10 crewmembers, and on our sail were 11 passengers. 'Twas very cool, especially when we got fairly far out and hit some waves. We got a little spray, which was fine, because it was so hot.

Passengers were encouraged to help with letting out sails and stuff. I decided I could help best by staying out of the way and being official photographer. Towards the end of the 3 hour tour (insert Gilligan's Island joke here), the ship's gunner (who just happened to be female) shot two of the cannons. She waited till we were coming in, so that we could get the echo off the land.

We talked to one of the other crewmembers, also female, who told us that she used to be a teacher, but after crewing on a tall ship during her summer vacation one year, she decided to do it full-time. She says she's happier than she's ever been.

Didn't get a chance to chance have a personal chat with others in the crew, though one of them telling us the history of the original Lynx.

Sailing along with us was a local family with a 14-year-old son, who said, as we left the ship, "I could do that again."

Me, too.


The Lynx

I broke my Tevas!!!

I believe it was in the summer of '97 that my friend Marcus came to visit me in Prince Albert, SK, and we went to Lake Waskesiu for a few days. The weather was warmer than we expected, so we both bought new Tevas (which, incidentally, matched).

These Tevas came with me on this trip, and I've been wearing them when we go hiking. Yesterday, we drove the road to Hana, stopping to hike a few trails. (We stopped at the Garden of Eden, but that's another story.)

On the way back to Lahaina, we stopped at the mall in Kahului to see if they had the koa wood earrings I've been looking for. As we were walking through the mall, my shoe started flapping oddly. I looked down. Everything seemed okay. Kept walking. Still felt funny. Finally lifted up my foot to see the bottom part of the sole hanging off. I decided I didn't really need koa wood earrings, and dragged Tod to the Walking Store which was conveniently located in the mall. Bought a fancy new, improved pair of Tevas -- blue, not green. With padding under the straps and everything.

Tod can't believe that I actually broke a pair of Tevas. I'm glad I did, cuz now I have the fancy new ones. And they're not green!

My one regret is that I didn't take a photo of them for evidence before letting the shoe store clerk trash 'em. Oh, well. I think I'll get over it.

Mount Haleakala crater

A photo I took from the top of the mountain yesterday.
Today we went down to Wailea to sail a Hobie cat.
I still love it!

Lahaina

We arrived in Lahaina late Sunday afternoon. We are staying in a condo (both here and Kauai). I agreed to this on the condition that I wouldn't be expected to be chief cook and bottle-washer. So far, it's working pretty well.

Sunday and Monday were fairly quiet, get-acclimated days. We were waking up and going to sleep pretty early. It's getting better now. Tuesday, we went jet-skiing in Wailea. I'm pretty proud of myself. Five years ago I would have been too afraid to do something like that. Yesterday, not only did I go jet-skiing, I drove for a while. It wasn't bad, though I couldn't get as excited about it as the girls did. Going around in circles got a little old after about 20 minutes or so.

Today, we went to the top of Mount Haleakala. We climbed from sea level to 10,000 feet in the course of an hour. I was a little breathless at the top, but I managed to remain vertical. Gorgeous views from the top!

I'm having a great time! The week is going waaaay too fast, though!


The beach near our condo

Just finished reading...

Organize Your Corpses by Mary Jane Maffini.

Charlotte Adams has recently moved back to her hometown in the Hudson River Valley, and started a business as a professional organizer. When retired teacher from her old high school asks her to do a project for her, Charlotte is excited, despite the fact that the woman was disliked by everyone, not just her students.

Her friends try to dissuade her, but Charlotte is determined. And then she finds a body in the house she's supposed to organize, and becomes the main suspect. Since she's innocent, she sets out to prove it.

I must say that the killer's identity was a complete surprise to me. Yet, thinking back, it really shouldn't have been.

Enjoyable read; I look forward to more in this series.

Currently reading: Witch Hunt by Shirley Damsgaard, and anxiously awaiting Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

There's something about Harry...

Although I usually see the Harry Potter films on the day of release, it didn't work out that way this time, as it came out on Wednesday and I was scheduled to work. As a result I didn't see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix until today. (Now that I think about it, Friday the 13th is an appropriate date for it.) Great film. I loved almost everything about it. I'll try to review it without giving away too much (although we've all already read the book, right?)

Susan and I decided to go to a morning show, expecting that it would be easier to get into than later ones. Susan bought tickets on Fandango, and we arranged to meet an hour before the movie's start time. There was hardly anyone there, and the theatre wasn't barely half full of what seemed to be mostly adults. But it's showing 33 times a day (Susan counted) at one complex, so I expect only evening and weekend shows will be crowded. Anyway....

The movie followed the book pretty closely, but of course couldn't be exact due to time issues.
The character of Luna Lovegood was (I think) expanded quite a bit, and I really liked Evanna Lynch's portrayal. Imelda Staunton was perfect as Umbridge, as was Helena Bonham-Carter as Bellatrix Lestrange. I would have liked to see much more of Sybil Trelawney and Nymphadora Tonks, but compressing an 896 page novel into less than 2.5 hours means some things have to go.

It was a most satisfying experience. The director's personality didn't break my concentration, as had happened with Prisoner of Azkaban, so I felt completely a part of the story.

"There's a little bit of green in everyone"

I can't remember who said that, but it was quoted last night by Matthew Stocke, one of the cast from Wicked. He and another cast member, Laura Dysarczyk, were our (Katy, Tod and me) hosts for Behind the Emerald Curtain, which, unfortunately doesn't actually take the audience backstage (liability issues) but pretty darned close.

The lobby was turned into a museum, with actual costumes from previous productions. Idina Menzel's costume from the 2nd act, which I think is the most beautiful dress in the whole show, was there, as well as some of Madame Morrible's gowns and one of Glinda's. They also had masks on display, a monkey, Dr. Dillamond, AND a model of the original Broadway set. The actors told us a bit about the pieces on display, and then took us into the theatre where we saw a film about the making of the show. All pretty cool.

A not-so-good pic of Elphaba's 2nd act dress

Katy was enthralled, and Tod and I were enjoying ourselves quite a bit, too.

Afterwards, we went to dinner at the Larchmont Grill, on Melrose. Fabulous new discovery, which I found on opentable.com, who haven't steered me wrong yet.

AAAARRRRGGGHHHHH!!!!!

So, yesterday I pull out the lace shawl that I'd been taking a break from cuz I was working on the chenille Chanel. Happily knitting along, whilst watching A Prairie Home Companion on cable. Every few rows I hold up my work to look at it.... looks good.

All of a sudden, I hold it up, and there's a BIG hole about 5 inches down. See:


I don't know why I hadn't noticed it earlier. So now I'm going to have to frog it (too hard to tink with yarnovers) and start again. But, I'm more experienced now, so I'll be able to avoid mistakes like that. Yup. Sure.

Just finished reading...

The Last Summer (of You and Me) by Ann Brashares.

This is Ann Brashares' first novel aimed at adults. (Although I read the Travelling Pants books and enjoyed them very much, they were classified as YA).
It's about Alice and her older sister Riley, and Riley's best friend Paul. They spent summers together on Fire Island, New York while they were growing up. When the book begins, Alice, bnow in her twenties, is waiting at the ferry depot for Paul, who hasn't been to the island for a few years. She is a lot younger than Riley and Paul, and adores both of them.

Although Riley and Paul fall into their old friendship, Alice is not quite sure where she fits in Paul's world anymore. Although written in the third-person, much of the story is from Alice's point of view, as she tries to figure out who she is, especially in relation to her sister and Paul.

Like the Pants series, this book is very much about relationships, personal growth, and life changes. The story is absorbing, and the characters very easy to empathize with.

So much going on...

Wow. In the past few days, I've gone to a Dodgers (vs. Padres) game, the Getty Museum, had my hair done, and done lots of shopping. Not to mention work.

Tod's Dad is visiting, and so we went to the Dodgers game and the Getty. Tomorrow, we have two different family parties to attend. This weekend, we're going to the Hollywood Bowl.

And it's incredibly hot here. It's supposed to hit 90 F in Long Beach today. This is one of those times when I wish we had central a/c. This heat is sure not conducive to knitting. I have 3 projects going right now: the chenille Chanel sweater, the lace bamboo shawl, and the sari silk shawl. My friend Melissa also talked me into signing up for a KAL group that's knitting a "mystery" stole -- pieces of the pattern are revealed every Friday for 7 (I think) weeks,until the project is finished. I'm collecting the parts of the pattern, but am not planning to actually knit it until I get at least one of my current projects finished. Haven't decided yet what I'm going to take with me to Hawaii, either.

My reading list is increasing, too. I'm almost finished Ann Brashares' The Last Summer (of You and Me) and a few chapters into The Kitchen Witch by Annette Blair. Still need to read the latest Helma Zukas book by Jo Dereske, the latest Evanovich, and The Sonnet Lover by Carol Goodman before we leave for vacation on the 15th....

Thanks to all the posts from the mystery stole KAL, I've been checking out quite a few blogs, and have found some fun timewasters, like Blogthings. I especially enjoyed the "What happened the year you were born" quiz.