Maui 2010

I wanted to hurry and blog a few pictures of our trip to Hawaii before it was 2011. We went the week before Thanksgiving. We had such a fantastic time and we really enjoyed having Sherry and Bill join us. We rode bikes down a volcano. We took a charter to Molokini to snorkel. We survived the "Road to Hana" . We ate a lot of Hawaiian mixed plate dinners. And we spent a lot of time ...

...here!!!!

at
The Westin Resort

and at the beach

And at Whalers Village! Great shops and entertainment!

Snorkling at La Perouse Bay. Close to Oprah's house. Well, not real close - but

in the neighborhood.

Maui on my mind

We took a charter to Molokini to snorkel.

Eating pizza at the Lahaina Pizza Company

Our fave. We loved the Ono Kau Kau mixed plate - and ate there

quite a few times.

Cheeseburger in Paradise!

A great restaurant in Paia - on the Road to Hana

The Road to Hana has amazing scenery. Lots of waterfalls.

An old church made out of shells.

Another beautiful old church in Hana.

The bark on these trees looked like they were painted.

On the road to Hana

I have loved Rafael's painting ever since I saw one in a magazine. We met him and bought a small painting from him

We got up at 1:30am to catch a shuttle to the top of Haleakala - 10,023 feet to watch the sunrise and then bike down 27 miles. Sherry and I laughed the entire 27 miles. Ron thought it was a little like paying $120.00 to line dance at the rest home. What made us laugh so much was that we had to all follow the slowest rider. It happened to be a girl from New Jersey that was in Hawaii on her honeymoon. Don't think she had ever been on a bike and watching her was worth the entire experience. We only had to peddle a couple of times. The rest was downhill all the way. I was in trouble - from Jesse the guide - most of the trip because I didn't obey the "hands on the handlebars the entire time" rule. I was trying to snap pictures while riding and was all over the road.

The Silversword plant. The only place it grows in the world is here.

The sunrise. It was really beautiful.

Aloha Mixed Plate. Brandon told us about it and we loved it.

And of course...

...Ron snorkling.

HAPPY NEW YEAR - its time to step it up!

Capes are finished and delivered!
The treats from neighbors and friends are gone!
Christmas is over!
It is time to get going again!
The triathlon is just 3 short months away - and I am feeling like I have regressed since November with a trip to Hawaii and the holidays. The joints are aching - the vision is getting worse. I have a few more wrinkles but I am ready!

Actually, I WISH I were in this good of shape!
Anyway, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! And may you accomplish all those New Year Resolutions this year.

In St. George - When it rains - it pours!!!!

It amazes me how much damage a rainstorm causes here in the desert. Last tuesday - in the middle of the 8 straight days of rain - we went over to Southgate Golf Course to get some pictures of the damage. Entire fairways were under water and lost. A cart bridge crossing the river was actually washed downstream. It uprooted trees and bushes and they were carried away and deposited - wherever!

Look at the swells. It was just shocking.

The cart bridge ripped away from the cart path and washed away!

Turkey Triathlon

Several months ago, Sherry called and said she had signed up to do the Turkey Triathlon in St. George in November and wanted me to do it with her. I told her that I didn't know how to swim and she said it was still months away and I could learn. So I signed up with Angela and Maia. It was just a beginner triathlon so I really under-estimated how hard it was going to be and what kind of shape I was really in.

As November got closer - I was really getting nervous about the whole thing - esp. the swim. Remember the "Friends" episode when Phoebe was jogging in the park and her arms and legs were flailing all over the place ? That's how I felt in the water. I wasn't too nervous about the bike - except that I had just gotten my new road bike and I hadn't trained much on it. I walk - run quite a bit so I didn't think much about that at all. Well, put them all together and they all get a lot harder.

Anyway, we did it! It was really fun and we are all looking forward to the SHAC triathlon in April .

3 generation

Ben loading the bikes

The whole gang!

Angela, Maia, Me, Cassidy, Sherry, Bill, Kami, Ben.

Bill has done many triathlons and did the Sprint. The rest of us did the Beginner.

Maia and Cassidy in line for the swim.

The swim - done!



Maia and Cassidy coming in.