Geo: 44.6462, -63.5739 Written in late April (because I am a fantastic procrastinator):Spring is finally springing, slowly day by day I watch the ice melting in the cove outside our house. Since returning home, Jim and I have felt overwhelmed with family deaths and moves, we've had an endless flu, all the while Jim has been working really hard and now I am recovering from foot surgery. Ohhhh, vacation where are you? It's time to complete my writing about our trip to Maui in February before summer is here! What is it like travelling for 28 days with another couple? It's not a question Jim and I could have answered prior to this trip as we rarely travel with others. And when we do, it's typically someone we meet on our travels or a friend with ... read more

Geo: 20.7538, -155.987Aha....the infamous road to Hana, twisting and snaking through the stunning scenery of the northeast shore of Maui, was a memorable drive. The single lane bridges that appeared out of nowhere with barely a peek at the oncoming traffic and the reportedly 500 turns, required focused attention and agility on the part of the driver (that was Jim). Along with the front seat passenger whose invaluable assistance goes unappreciated (that was me and I am justifying my behaviour) over the six hours it took us to drive the 60 miles - that includes the hikes and stops. I got a few 'looks' from Jim when, periodically, I squealed, "Oh my God!" with a gasp of air as I sucked in dramatically and held it. But mostly both of us were on our best behaviour ... read more

Geo: 20.8775, -156.677Times are not as they used to be. We are a crew of middle-aged traveller/tourists who like to believe we are as we were in our twenties. The Internet described our proposed hike as needing 'legs of steel' but, alas, our knees were made of pretzels or something equally unstable. We are a colony of hurtin' knees and feet. We set out on the Lahaina Pali Trail following the gradual incline along a desert-like landscape. The hot sun bore down on us as we walked along with a spring in our step until....we looked above with trepidation at the steepness ahead. In no time our pleasant gradient turned into a 400 meter vertical climb. Given that my theme for 2015 is 'graceful pacing', instead of trying to keep up with the group, I listened ... read more

Geo: 20.8775, -156.677This Hawaiian mana (meaning spiritual or divine power) surrounds us - breezes, water, people, landscape and seascape. On Tuesday, we went to a tiny local store to rent snorkel gear. Dave, a slightly weathered Hawaiian hippie, looked after us...for upwards of 2 hours. When we made the mistake of distracting him by asking a question or, well, saying almost anything, off he'd go on another tangent. But somehow we were patient for most of the time enjoying the experience of just hanging with the local, although I'm not sure my travel partners would agree with this assessment of our time spent. We came out of that shop with recommendations of local attractions, a time share presentation appointment (yes, we did it again), and a 6-hour snorkelling cruise booked.We have snorkel equipment for a week ... read more

Geo: 20.8848, -156.464... read more