Last Dives of this Trip

Yesterday, Goofy and I spent all day diving. Two in the morning, two in the afternoon...set out as the sun was rising, and didn't get home until the sun was setting.

A nearly perfect day in my reckoning :)

We went out to Molokini with Gwen and John and Mike and Captain Dan. I suppose that there were others there, but whatever. Two boats went out in the morning, so I guess I know that there were others around...but we were diving and taking photos, so it gets to be a small circle of relevance pretty quickly.

Out at the crater, we saw a lot of fish and even a bunch of small reef sharks huddled together under a ledge. There were four of them in there, and they didn't much care for being found, but they tolerated our gawking and photo taking.





At one point, all the small fish on the reef dove for cover suddenly. This is a sure sign that a bigger, hungry fish is coming. I looked around and saw a couple of Trevalies hunting together. These guys can get pretty big, and although it doesn't show in the photo, this one is about 2 feet long or so. His buddy was a bit bigger...



When we were coming up from the second dive at Molokini, John noticed something wrong with one of the prop shafts on one of the motors on the boat. We ran back to Lahaina on one motor, so had a very leisurely trip home - nearly two hours to enjoy the sun and watch the dolphins that would come up from time to time to see what we were up to. Turned out it needed a new bearing, so Steve and Elliot got to spend the afternoon underwater repairing that stuff. :)

Meanwhile...we hopped on the other boat and headed out for more diving.

This time, we went to a place called Cliff House, just southeast of Honolua Bay. There are lots of lava fingers that flow out into the water and give little critters a nice place to live.

My best shot by far (and my favorite) is this one of a pair (there are two there if you look closely, you can see the other's nose :) of Dragon Moray Eels. They are pretty rare - around these parts and around the world. I'd never seen them before - duh, they are RARE - and they were pretty darn cool, I must say.



I guess you can buy one here (only $1200) for your aquarium if you want...but they'll eat everything else in the tank that they are able to get in their mouth (which opens kinda big, lol)...and really, they need to be free...(cue sappy music, with Marlo Thomas singing "free to be...you and me..." LOL. Now THAT'S an aged and obscure reference...rotflol).

For Tina, and others too, here's a great shot Goofy got of a little turtle hanging out in the sand. It was content to sit and let us all admire and photograph it...still amazes me how tolerant of us these wonderful beings are...



Now, I'll rant a bit about some of the divers on the second charter.

What is it about some people, that the minute they hit the water and descend, they become stoopid? I've heard it's common, but damn, I have never been hit in the head from ABOVE (hello, heard of "look out below" or hey, even just "give me some space"? It's a big damn ocean, you don't have to be right on my fins).

I finally got ticked enough to ditch them and go off a bit on my own (within visual of the group leaders, tho). Every time I waited my turn to get in for a pic (this is apparently not so common courtesy), some flailing hands and feet would descend into the frame to see what I was looking at...argh. I mellowed out about it though, it's diving, and people are different.

Right up until I got conked in the head by a tank from someone above me...I lost my mellow, and decided to head back to the boat...hoping to reclaim the calm of the sea by the time I got back.

Amazing thing, the sea...it's calming...only takes a few hundred feet, and the mellow is back in force :)

We are tying up our loose ends this morning...heading in to pack up our dive gear, picking up the stuff from the boys...generally lazing around in a slow move toward the inevitable time when we head back to Seattle and our other version of reality.

It's beginning to blur more and more...maui is home too, now...how lucky is that?

Aloha for now...

M&G

Sunday Sunset

A very short (and not particularly hi rez) view from the deck this evening...just to give you a taste of the ambiance...



Most of you don't, but for those that do wonder what it is that draws us here...this is it.

We hear the call more and more these days...the water is the loudest...but the sun and the sand and the moon and stars are getting louder...maybe you can hear it too if you listen....

Aloha!

M&G

A Lazy Sunday

Aloha...

Today was one of those wonderful, unplanned days. Most of y'all know that in Seattle, Sundays are the one day Magic tends to stay on the farm. Anyone can come over and visit, we just don't cross the border until Monday.

Sundays in Maui are a bit different (well, sometimes :).

Today we decided to take a leisurely trip up the coast (toward the northwest, in general). We drove the shore road, checking out the beaches and homes along the way. Absolutely beautiful. We meandered through the Ritz Carlton resort area and stopped for a bit of shopping therapy at the Honolua store there. Got some cold drinks too.

Then we were back on the road heading toward Honolua Bay. Awesome little crescent of sand protected a bit on both sides by some reef.

Had to hike a bit to get down there - steps went part of the way, but they ended where some rocks and roots began...worth it though, in the end. Calm, calm water let us bob in the surf until we'd decided it was time for a nap. We hung out until the sand got too warm and the shade got too little...then we packed up and headed on down the road...

Here's a pic:






That's Moloka'i in the background...land of the Hammerheads (woohoo!).

We drove into Lahaina on a quest for some C3 photos for cousin's walls at home. Found the boys under the banyon tree, and spent a good while looking over the photos, chatting and browsing the other folks wares set up there too. Mostly just chillin' with the friends and people watching though...

Lunch was at a new place for us, the Swiss Cafe right off of front street (next to the Burger King for those that know their way around Lahaina). Awesome sandwiches, and a nice place to pass some quiet time.

Tomorrow, we think we'll head off to Kapalua Bay for some more lazy time on the beach...who knows...life goes by so much more slowly here...easy, and calm....

Imagine that...

M&G

It's Hammer time!

Yesterday, Goofy and I went on over to Moloka'i for a special-ops dive. It's a little more difficult than most of what's offered by most over here..so by invite only based on skill level, and frankly, if they think you'd be fun to dive with :P

We were looking for Hammerhead Sharks...and anything else that may come on by. Magic was looking for the hammers though...everything else was gravy.

Had to be up and at the boat by 630. Then headed out to cross the dreaded channel between Maui and Moloka'i. It's one of the 5 toughest channels in the world (as far as crossing goes)...OH YAY!

Most of y'all know how I usually turn green on a surge/high waves kinda sea. On the trip over to visit the sharks, we got air in the boat more than once...

OH, YAY!

I made it over though, and it was awesome to be there. Still very pitchy and green face inspiring, but, darn it, it was worth it. Much too rough for a camera, so the pic above is something Magic found on the internet. I'm really hoping that Mike got a good one on the dive, but those sharks are damn quick and hard to photograph.

On the way over, we got the dive briefing for the site.

In previous visits to the dive sites, they've seen as many as 60 hammerheads in a shoal (group of hammerhead sharks are called a shoal - isn't it good to be entertained and educated? lol). They tend to be curious about us divers...and are very good at sending three sharks out in front of the group while one or two sneak up behind. They also like to follow a group when they are doing their safety stops and stair stepping on the dive. Apparently they think they've got us in a "bait ball" and are curious about just what we are doing...LOL.

Once they are seen, however, they become quite shy and take off in the other direction. Generally, they don't get too close (only within about 20 feet or so) before think the better of it and "run away". The sharks like to hang out over near Moloka'i because of the way the currents run through. They can kinda just "hang" and get the rush of the water through their gills. It's also a happy place for them to mate - Hammerheads give birth to live pups. It's pretty rare to witness that, but it's happened.

Once we made it through the channel, the water calmed a bit. Because of the currents that split around the island, this is an advanced drift dive, so we had to get up and off the boat as a group while the captain maneuvered the boat to get us where we wanted to drop in.

We got in gear and stood at the stern (waves washing over our fins) and awaited the "dive, dive, DIVE!" from the captain. As a group of not really seals, we jumped in the water and dropped down to 60 feet. Then we started our tour...in search of Hammerhead sharks.

Once we got in the water, we were amazed at how clear the viz was (even for here in Maui). We could see the terrain (different than other dives we've done), and quite a way out into the blue. As I was diving along, I looked to my right, and saw my first Hammerhead coming at me along the same plane in the water. It just appeared out of the blue in the distance, swimming along toward me. That was a bit unusual, as generally I am either above or below the things I am looking for, but not usually on the same line :)

Anyway...

The shark came along toward us, in no particular hurry, and not particularly close either. It got within about 20 feet before it decided to turn tail and run. Nice while it lasted though.

The terrain out there is a bit different than most of the places we've dived before. Rocky looking, without much else, except...TONS OF FISH. We saw a Leaf Scorpion Fish (hadn't seen that before either), and, oh, some old ordnance from military target practice.

There are bombs imbeded in the walls of the island above the water line too...not so good.

The underwater ordnance is covered in coral now, so they can't explode it without breaking all kinds of laws. So they let it sit there, underwater, just waiting for someone to do something stupid and blow themselves up. It's pretty unlikely though, since it'd take a hell of a line to anchor anything over there.

But still...

we saw more hammerheads on the second dive too...Hammerheads!

How cool is that?!

More later...Aloha from the second home of the Magic and Goofy traveling show!

M&G

Master Scuba Diver Goofy, and the Big, Deep Blue!

This is a shot from the boat as we were heading around the back of Molokini. It was smooth as glass on top. Wow!

Today, Goofy and I went into the Deep Blue.

We dove the back wall of Molokini...it's a drift dive.

Which basically means that the boat drops you at one end of the outer rim of the crater, and you drift along at 80 feet or so, to the other end in the current.

The boat follows along, watching your bubbles as you go, and is there to pick you up when you surface. Hopefully, you don't get caught in the current and head out for Tahiti. :) LOL

The dives themselves were amazing.

One side is a vertical wall that goes up above the surface, and down as far as we could see.

To the other side...nothing but ocean. The deep, blue, open ocean. It gets to about 300' depth right there, and out a bit 20,000'.

You do not want to drop your camera. :)

Along with the usual suspects, we saw some big fish between us and the deep blue sea. A big Trevally (aka Ulua), and a decent sized White Tipped Reef Shark (I'd say about 8' or so), along with a really big lobster were all on the back wall for us to see.

IT WAS AWESOME!

And the whales....OMG!

You could hear the whale song so clearly...too cool!

On the second dive, they sounded so close, I swear, they were just outside the viz...taunting us with their nearness. Telling us secrets that we had to listen hard to hear.

On the way back to Lahaina Town, we saw so many whales. There was even a newborn (a few hours old), accompanied by it's Mom, an escort whale (as is the usual configuration) and a bunch of dolphins, as it tried out it's "wings".

It did some tail slaps on Mom, and then discovered it's flippers. Then it tried some diving and surfacing. We were so lucky to be there to watch as it started it's time on the planet.

I didn't know that dolphins will often accompany newborns to help protect them from predators as they figure out how to move about. Very cool how they cooperate. I'm sure that there is a lesson to be learned there :)

Goofy and I finished up our specialty certifications with this dive.

So...drum roll here...Goofy has achieved Master Scuba Diver.

The highest non-professional certification. Goofy rocks!

Magic has a couple of more dives to complete, and then will follow Goofy to the Master certification too. We are shooting for completing this before we leave for home, but we need the weather to cooperate. It's been really surge-y and high surf, but Magic is determined.

Tomorrow night...a night dive on the Carthaginian, and somewhere else. WooHoo! Hopefully, we'll be able to take some photos to share with y'all on those.

Hope your days are as awesome as ours have been!

Aloha!

M&G

A Little Warmth and Sunshine For a Rainy Day...

Happy Friday Bloggers!

So...by now, many of you have figured out that Goofy and I made a quick trip to Maui the beginning of December. I had a short job there that didn't interfere too much with diving, so Goofy came along too. You only live once, right? :)

By popular demand, here are some pics of the trip. I'm trying out a slideshow format, so let me know what you think. The pics are unedited, and I'll post more with additional commentary a little later in the week (or so :). I'll turn on comments for this new little slideshow format - take a minute to give some feedback so I know y'all are out there...

These pics are Lahaina, Lana'i and Molokini in Maui County Hawaii...77 degree bottom temps at (85 feet even), and 82 degrees on the surface...not bad for a few days in December 2007. I especially like the fish faces this trip. They seemed to look right at me as I was taking the photo...haha! And, more turtles, and clouds of amazing fish out at Lana'i...lots of the fish clouds are pics that Goofy took...right out there in the middle of it all - there's a photo of her taking some of those pics if you look closely.

I'll later post the series of photos of Goofy checking to see if the strobe on her camera was firing (G was all for deleting the series, but I saved it...bwahahaha). I may make some prints of the series...perhaps in 16"X20" format...hrmmm...lol.

Enjoy!

M&G

Under The Sea

Aloha!

Sadly, Goofy and I have pretty much finished up our diving for this trip...gotta get the gear dry enough to pack!

It's going to be hard to go from lovely 85 degree days, with 80 degree water temps, to cold and rainy Seattle, but it's home, and hey, we miss it (really...ok, not the cold, but we like the rain :)

We have gotten a ton of diving in this trip, and really feel like our dive skills have improved greatly too! It's been just a great trip all around...can't say it enough!

It's also going to be harder leaving this time, as we'll be saying adios (for now) to our Maui friends too. We've gotten to know a bunch of folks here well, and will miss them when we are home like we miss everyone in Seattle (and Santa Cruz, and Austin, and Beaufort....and...well, you get the idea!! :) when we are here in Maui.

On our last dives, we had some amazing time with turtles (my favorite!)...one turtle in particular was very content to just sit on the sand and watch me, while I sat on the sand and watched him. We musta stayed like that for about 20 minutes...looking at each other, not saying anything, just chillin' in the sand.

It was Awesome!

At the time I was communing with the turtle, almost everyone else was turned the other way looking at the sharks (about 20 feet away under some fallen pier)...not me, though, I've seen sharks....it's turtles all the way!

Here are a few pics...




Just hangin...at the Wharf...




Still chillin'...in the sand...




I'm good...you? Feels a bit nappish, though! :)

We have lots of pics to go through...and several that are worth printing, so should be seen on a wall around the house soon!

We'll be flying home on Thursday...hope you all have a fantastic Thanksgiving, and take a little time this year to remember the things that are most important to you.

Love y'all!

M&G

Here fishy, fishy, fishy...and turtles, and...woohoo, look at that!

Aloha from Maui!

I thought that I'd post a few pics of the cool fish and other creatures we've seen in our various dives. Remember, you can click on any of the pictures to see a bigger version if you'd like.


Here's a green sea turtle flying by out at Jodo Reef



This is the elusive (and crazy fast swimming) Juvenile Peacock Razorfish.



Goofy got this shot of John and a Green Sea Turtle out at Jodo Reef



Goofy also got a pic of this Lizard fish out at Jodo



This little octopus was totally into checking out an old bottle we found nearby



A Peacock Flounder scurrying along the sand



An Undulated Moray trying to get back in a his hiding spot




Here is a very small hermit crab hanging out in a shell...John is holding the shell, so you can see how small it really is. Click on the image to see it a bit bigger...he's in there.



I like the look on the face of this Bluefin Trevally (aka Bluefin Jack)...you lookin' at me? LOL



And last, but not least...a Frogfish. It mostly looks like a lump of stuff, but it's a fish. These fish are masters of camouflage. Their fins are more like "hands" and the move around more by walking than by swimming. They mostly hang out and lure their prey to them...check it out! Way cool!



So there you go...just a small sampling of some of the stuff we've seen (and managed to get a picture of) under water this trip.

We have a ton more too...maybe we'll get some prints made this time :)

Hope you all are happy and well! Aloha!

M&G

PS: I turned on comments for this post...let us know what you think!

Magic Discovers Not All Things Are Possible At All Times...

(Just now? you say? LOL)

Today, I went to my trusty Mac, Buddie, and was going to update the blog with exciting and new content for you faithful blogreaders (well...it's new anyway ;)

I found that options that are available in other browsers (like Firefox, for example) aren't available in Safari. Obviously, I've gotten around it, 'cause right here, and right now, I've posted a little slideshow I made the other day (aka a "movie").

...but that's not the point.

I can see these options easily in Firefox, and on my iPhone, so maybe I'm just missing something with Safari...perhaps I'm experiencing "USER ERROR". I'll figure it out, though, as it'll drive me crazy if I don't.

In the meantime, enjoy the slideshow and let me know what you think, k? It's my first movie, so be kind..if you watch closely, you'll see the sun setting...clever, huh? ;)

I've turned on comments again...don't disappoint me, Goofaholics...let me know what y'all are thinkin'...if I don't like it, I'll delete it anyway...LOL Not all posts are "comment-able", but if y'all like it, I'll start posting more with that ability...

A Collection of Photos from the Deep

For those loyal readers that demanded more pictures, here's a collection of photos from the last couple of dive trips. All are in the Maui County area. Please let us know what you think by posting comments.

This is a Fourspot Butterflyfish. We saw this off of our favorite beach in south Maui: Ulua. Snorkeling here is great, & diving is awesome!


The famous Wedgetail or Reef Triggerfish. You say you don't recognize it? Well, you probably know it better as the world famous (drumroll, please) HUMUHUMU NUKUNUKU A PUA A. There ya go, Seiko!

Here is a Stripebelly Puffer - unpuffed :) Not much in the way of bottom scenery...but the fish looks good!

A group of Whitebar Surgeonfish...not a very imaginative name, but it fits the situation. These tend to swim around in little schools and are really interested in checking for food in the coral of the reef.


This is a Paletail Unicornfish...notice the "horn" on its head? These are actually pretty colorful in person. They have a "day glo" blue stripe along the top and bottom, and the glowing dots on the tail.

We've seen many of these brightly colored Yellow Trumpetfish around the islands..this one was about 18 inches long. They are pretty mellow and glide along unconcerned with us.


Unfortunately, this doesn't do the Yellowheaded Moray Eel we saw on our night dive any justice at all. I didn't have my camera, so this is a photo I found on the net to give you an idea. These eels are pretty agressive (they'll eat the other fish if they get close enough - even if they are bigger than the eel's mouth), and generally are nocturnal. The one we saw had a vibrant yellow head, was about 3 feet long, - and was none too pleased to see us either time we went by. Let us know that we'd be eel food if we got too close...lol.

So...there are some of the creatures we've seen on our first dive trips. Hope you enjoy seeing them as much as we've enjoyed the diving and exploring!

Aloha!

Home Again, Home Again...Jiggety Jig!

A lovely sunset taken from the balcony of our room at the Ka'anapali Beach Club. It's a nice way to remember how restful and beautiful this place was. Lucky for us to have spent our days and evenings basking here.

After a rather long flight, we are all home safe and sound again!

Yesterday, after some frenzied last minute shopping - involving a fast backtrack to Kihei - in which all participants (all of us, crazy people) actually purchased MORE luggage (unbelieveably) we managed to get to the airport, and through security. We put lots of suitcases inside of others to meet the maximum checked/carried on limits...but we did it!

Click on the picture to get a bigger view...

It's interesting to note that our somewhat late arrival to the airport actually seemed to make getting through to the gate quite a bit faster and easier. In the second to last store, as I was waiting by the door to get out of there, I mentioned to another customer that we were on our way to the airport. When I told him our flight was leaving in less than two and a half hours, he seemed very concerned.

"You are going to be late" says he.

"Aw, we have plenty of time" says me, "the airport is only about 10 minutes from here."

"It's already almost two hours until your flight leaves" he continues "and you are still shopping."

"I know"..."it'll work out ok, though...no worries."

- This before I knew that Goofy was having the store manager call the Kihei store for a stock check (which they had, do not fret). So...off to Kihei we go, on "our way" to the airport (as long as you drive to the airport by going backwards :)

Click on the picture to get a bigger view...there's something wrong with this route, dontcha think? LOL

Still...no worries...we are on island time, after all. (Problem, now is...having a hard time getting back to mainland time :P)

Still, he was quite concerned...I guess that the airscouts handbook is read by some people :P

"AirScouts": my label for those lovely folks that know (and follow) "all the rules" at the airport, and are more than happy (fervent, even) to help you understand how you've gone wrong and are in violations most foul. :)

Seems like all of the "right thinking" people that arrived at the airport two plus hours prior to departure - for a domestic flight, as per the AirScouts' handbook - just got the hell out of our way so that we could breeze through without all the fuss and muss of waiting in long lines.

I suppose it's not a good idea to rely on that as a strategy for avoiding long lines..but it's tempting ;)

Goofy is already busy planning the next foray into the lovely azure waters off of the coast of the Hawaiian islands. I cannot figure out where the energy comes from...I am still beat from the flight...

...speaking of which...

By most accounts it was a lovely trip. We'd thought about upgrading, but when they wouldn't take our lowball offer, we passed :P

Goofy and I ended up with a three seat row to ourselves.

A very nice arrangement other than the fact that the person across the aisle from me had a great need for some personal hygiene. I felt bad for said person, but frankly, I ended up flying with my blanket over my head so I could breathe.

When sis moved back to her own two seat row, Goofy says to me "...hey move over I need more room."

I say quietly back "but...there's an odor issue across the aisle"

to which Goofy says..."so what, move!".

(for the record) Goofy claims to have misunderstood my quietly whispered plea...a realization that was come to after about 5.25 hours of flight.

I'm a bit dubious, but like I said, once I had the blanket over my head, I was a-ok :) so no worries.

My EYES!

OK...I have resisted relating this story, as it was just too horrific to retell...let alone recall...but I've been having nightmares and I suspect my therapist (if I had one) would say that getting it out of my head will help set me free....I'm not usually one to tell this kind of story. I like all kinds of people, and really applaud those that go out in public in some strange forms of dress. Especially when it's entertaining...but I just have to get this out of my mind, so here goes...

We were at Ulua Beach on Maui. It's a great little beach...nice facilities nearby, and lovely sand...and the reef is shallow enough that even snorkelers can see a lot of cool stuff - even turtles most of the time are visible sitting on the sand or the reef. It's only about 30 feet deep there, and with the visibility...well...it's great.

I'm digressing (or is it stalling?) from my original point :)

So...here we are, our last full day on Maui, out to enjoy the beach and the surf and the sights. It was great. 85 degrees, a bit breezy, but nice...and we managed to "obtain" some lovely beach chairs from the resort down the beach (they shouldn't leave them on their own).

Minding our own business...swimming, snorkeling, chillin'...when all of the sudden...

MY EYES!

There is this woman, of about sixty eight, I'd say (I'm trying to be nice here)...and she's standing on the edge of the sea. In her two piece suit, with leopard print. This isn't bad (in and of itself), it's the WAY she was wearing it (and wore it later on - that's the real bleeding/put out my eyes part, but more on that later).

The lovely top of this ensemble was more or less a t-back style. But she wasn't wearing it that way. Nope, not at all. She had actually pulled the straps down along her middle, kind of in a bandeau style - except it was like, two stripes. Not a good look, nope...not good at all.

This is especially true when you take into consideration that she was tanned - like really, really tanned - you know, like the way they tan leather? Like that. And very wrinkly. Very.

very

Oh, and bleached blond...

And...standing with one hand on her hip and one hand to her brow, looking out to sea...I just hoped the top stayed up, and turned and headed back out to sea myself.

I'd been able to forget this first encounter by the time I returned to shore. I'd been distracted quite nicely by the shiny fish on the reef..and watching Sandy try to free dive to get better pics of same (it's hard to laugh under water without sucking in salt water).

Back to shore we went, laughing and talking about the fish, and how Sandy really wanted to free dive for pictures, and how funny it was (and harder than she thought it would be). She actually did get a few really good pics, even with the trouble breathing and staying under long enough to get a shot. Got as far as my lounge chair, when...

MY EYES!

Same woman - except, and you really have to picture this...I'm trying not to, but it's burned into my retinas I think - she's lying face down on a towel in the sand. Sounds innocent enough, doesn't it? But, wait! It gets better...

She's now got on no top at all...this isn't the scary part...wait for it....wait for it...wait....

(Did I mention the leopard print bikini bottoms? It's important to remember this part...so...)

Not only is she topless (face down, thankfully), but she's decided she wants a nearly "all over" tan, so shes...here it comes are you ready?...she's...made a thong out of her bikini bottoms. Pulled those puppies right on up as far as she could. I know it had to hurt, or maybe, the leather like skin didn't have any nerve endings left...hmmmm...

It was hideous...kinda like a wreck on the side of the freeway...I couldn't believe that an ass could be that wrinkled AND, I couldn't look away. It was, it was...horrible.

"MY EYES!" I literally shouted before I knew what I was doing (although her hearing aid musta been turned off, 'cause she didn't so much as flinch). Goofy and sis nearly both fell off their chairs, and I think they peed their pants too...they looked and then they both closed their eyes...

We all had to look away...it was really that traumatic. We had to leave the beach...really...leave.

I should have taken a picture, dammit!

Magic in the Second Cathedral

So...here's a pic Goofy took of me in the water off of Lana'i.

Apparently, it was one of the few times I turned around to see where Goofy was, so there were limited photo ops on that dive. LOL

You can see (kinda) that I'm in a cave, with the opening behind and above me - the color change from dark to the amazing blue reflected on the reef to the lighter tone of the open water is the cue there.

Also, I gotta say my hair looks fantastic (haha). I wonder how I got it to mimic the shape of the reef?

Goofy insisted on breathing while taking this pic (first rule of diving - don't hold your breath...EVER), so there are some exhaust bubbles that obscure things a bit. I like the pic A LOT though...I'm underwater...woohoo!

Loved this dive, and hope to be going out there again the next time we have a trip over to Maui.

By the way...love the wetsuit. It's only a 3mm (from Harvey's) but the darn thing is sooooo comfortable :)

Lahaina Divers

Here are a few pics from Lahaina Harbor, the Dive group we went with, etc.

Lahaina Divers (http://www.lahainadivers.com/index.html) are an excellent group - professional, knowledgeable and FUN! We spent all our dive trips aboard the "Dauntless" with Captain Dan, Diver Dan (also a captain), Mike, John, Tim (also an EMT), and a couple of other folks in the crew. We liked them so much, we drove to Lahaina to take a diving trip to Molokini (which is actually much closer to Kihei - by about 45 mins).

We would highly recommend them to any of y'all for diving (or learning to dive).

The pics are Captain Dan (also an Anthropolgy Prof in the UC system), Dan our favorite Dive Master, the guys at the dock, and a few pics of the Harbor.

Lana'i

Friday (7/6/07)

Today, we went diving at Lana'i. A totally different experience than either of the four dives we'd had before. First off...the swell is pretty big off the boat (which makes getting back on the boat a lot more difficult, and also provides quite a bit of help in turning many a diver from a healthy pink to somewhat green. It's amazing how many fish come around to the boat after a few seasick divers are back on board ;)

Our first stop was the Second Cathedral. It's called that because, well, it's second down the coast.

Basically, these caves and tubes were formed when lava went into the sea. In some cases, huge amounts of air were trapped, and over time, the cathedrals were formed. There is even an albino black coral that hangs like a chandelier from the roof - white as snow 'cause it's never been exposed to the sunlight.

Anyway...lots to see there...as well as some fun diving through caves. I was surprised at how easily I was able to get through these dives...not any problems at all following the DM into the black caves. They open up pretty quickly, though, so I'm sure that helped a lot. And the views when you could look up through the lava and see the surface were spectacular (we were about 60' down, but the deep turquoise blue of the ocean was clear as could be that day).

Goofy got a small diving injury in one of the caves when coral scraped ungloved hand. You should ask Goofy what she was doing to get said injury :)

The pic is from inside the cathedral looking up and out.

The second dive was to an site known as Shark Fin - presumably because the lava formation there looked like a shark fin :D

Lots of stuff to see there as well, but not as dramatic as the cathedral. Beautiful reef, coral, eels (a big one looked like it was going to chase Goofy - so the pic taken was a bit blurred from fast motion in the opposite direction), star fish (boo, these eat the coral), and lots of fish again. The pic is of a Banded Urchin - it's about 8" in diameter.

The viz was amazing...at least 125' here too...and the sea was a bit more calm in the little bay we moored in, no 10' swells, so no seasick divers this time :)

On the ride back to Lahaina, we saw a huge pod of Spinner Dolphins - the Captain figured there were at least 1000 of them around and beneath us. They gave a really jubilant show of jumping, spinning and flipping before they tired of us and moved on.

All in all, a GREAT day of Diving!

Lava Flow

For Carol R...just because you said so! LOL!

CHEERS AND ALOHA from Wailea!

Stalking Paris

OK...why does anyone really care where the heck Paris Hilton is at any given moment?

We were down at Wailea, shopping and looking to get a nice Lava Flow over at Tommy's when the call went out!

OMG!!!

Paris Hilton is at Guess! PARIS HILTON!

Goofy and sis were beside themselves with excitement. I was waiting outside yet another shop doing some serious people watching, when all of the sudden...

"Come here! Quick!" they said in unison "Paris Hilton is at Guess!!!"

I'm like "OK...who cares?"

"Who cares? Who cares? It's Paris Hilton! We gotta go quick so we can try to see her". They say this as if I'm not of sound mind for even asking...

So up the mall we go. It is not hard to see where she is, because, of the several hundred people that are shopping at this mall this fine evening, only about 4 aren't gawking at the Guess store. They must not speak English or something.

Both from below and at store level (Guess, my friends is on the second floor).

Paparazzi, security guards...the gawkers. All there...all excited by the prospect of "her".

They've closed the store to mere mortals so that Princess P does not have to deal with the riff raff of everyday life. So they jostle and move to get better views from the store windows.

"I saw her" I hear someone shout excitedly "that was soooo cool."

I am wondering why...

At this point I say (apparently in a tone misunderstood by my favorite stalkers) that I'm going to go get a drink at the other end of the mall as far from this circus as I can get. I was just going to go wait while they stalked happily for glimpses, but they thought I was mad (which I wasn't at all), so they stalked me to the bar instead. I turned around, and they were there, quietly following. They are very good stalkers. LOL.

We had our requisite Lava Flow (there you go Carol R :), and then left (me hoping that the princess had departed, but my companions secretly (I think) hoping for another chance).

As it happened, they got their wish...said PP (Princess P, is now and forevermore PP for me, lol) was at that odd shop on the LOWER LEVEL now. If you've been to Wailea, you know which one I mean...if not, it's too hard to describe...kinda goth, meets cupie dolls. Of course they closed it as well, and even put paper up over the windows to protect PP's privacy (like that was why she was out to begin with).

My little stalkers got a lovely pick through the window of a t-shirt (which I've posted, think it's prophetic? lol), which made them somewhat happy. Then we heard she'd left by a back door.

Since it was time to leave, and I wanted to make up for them leaving the first stalking opportunity, we drove around to the other side of the mall and found (hushed tones here) more security lurking about. We parked and were "looked at sternly" by some guy pretending to blend in to the riff and/or raff. My stalkers believe they saw the window darkened SUV that took PP back to her new palace by the sea (Hilton purchased the Grand Wailea just for PP...isn't that Sweeeeet?).

And that was that...or maybe not. Perhaps we'll "see" her again.

Maui, Computers, and Diving

So, here we are in Maui (ok, here we are AGAIN), and it's a fantastic day (as usual), and the girls are out shopping (which is fun for them, but less so for me). Frankly, I hate shopping for the most part - unless it's for toys (definition of toys to me may be different than for you, but my friends know what I mean).

I am here at the condo, trying to gain enlightenment into the secret workings of my dive computer. Here's the thing about this particular computer...it's a pain in the butt. It tells you everything you need to know about your dive, and about the weather, the state of the tea market in china and the worldwide occurances of nuclear proliferation (I swear! It's all in there somewhere, I just can't dig it out).

Those of you familiar with the ScubaPro Smart Com will know that there is never enough spit in your mouth to actually bridge the contacts on the surface when you are trying to check your dive logs. Those of you not familiar, well, you need a lot of spit.

If you see some poor diver constantly going between their mouth and their dive computer with their spit laden fingers (or not, as the case may be), you know that they are using a Smart Com. And about that name, how smart can it be if I need to look at the manual to use it? I mean, honestly, I'm not the stupidest person in the world, and I've had to actually read the damn manual (which - if you know me - I never do unless I'm forced to :)

But, I digress...

I believe that I have finally become somewhat enlightened as to the workings of my way too over the top dive computer. It looked neat at the store, and sounded good, but dammit, it's a pain in the water. I believe that Goofy (aka Sandy) is likely to chuck hers overboard the next time we dive (but that's another story :)

I have finally figured out what all the beeps, blips, and dings are for (which frankly, I could do without). I figured out how to turn off the friendly "warning" beeps (needed to get a irda cable and a PC to do that though - a PC for crying out loud). And now, I am looking forward to the next days dives beep, blip and ding free.

As for the diving here...AMAZING! So far, Goofy and I have done 4 boat dives. We did two dives at "turtle reef" (which is basically anything along the shoreline around here, so many sites to choose from, and two dives at the Molokini crater.

For the turtle reef dives, we went up past Ka'anapali to a site near Kapalua called "Cliff House". Interestingly enough, the site gets this name due to the fact that there is a house on the cliff in the cove there. Who'da thunk? ;) Haha. The viz was only about 30 feet or so - and a bit murky - mostly because there are some awesome sets of waves breaking around here. Dude...great for surfers, not so much for diving near the shore, which is why we went so far up the island.

We did - indeed - see turtles. (That is Goofy there hanging loose with the turtle - I'm in the background looking the other way...why won't that camera work? LOL) We also saw a good deal of fishies, and eels, and, a good sized octopus that the dive master coaxed out of his hiding space long enough to be thoroughly inked and glommed onto. That was cool to see...lots of ink, and the DM covered in Octopus. It was amazing though, when the octopus decided to run again. He found an impossibly small hole in the reef, and within seconds had changed color/texture to blend right in. Very cool.
Depth here was around 40', but the murkiness made seeing the boat a bit more difficult even at that depth.

Molokini was something else entirely! We also did two dives here - one to the "Aquarium" and one to "Reef's End". Viz was AMAZING! 100 feet plus...clear as could be...it was just, well, amazing. In the aquarium dive, we saw tons (literally) of fish. Yellow fish, blue fish, black fish, white fish...striped fish, solid fish...fish. Eels as well, coral...so cool. If you've ever snorkeled at Molokini, it's so much better to dive there. You can see so much. At reef's end (which is along one edge of the crater), we saw much of the same, plus (tada) a white tipped reef shark. Wasn't as scarey as I thought it'd be, and he was busy doing his thing, so didn't really care too much about us. We were hoping for rays, but they didn't run in while we were there (maybe next time :) Also, at reef's end, we experienced more current that I've done before. It was interesting in how different it felt. You could just drift along a bit and enjoy the scenery, but it made it harder to catch up to the DM if you got distracted :) On both dives we got down below 75'...which is still a shock to me as it looked about 30' deep in the clear water. Could see the boat the whole time...and the water was the most amazing shade of cobalt blue.

If you are ever of a mind to boat dive in Maui, I highly recommend Lahaina Divers. It's a bit longer boat ride down to Molokini from Lahaina (than it would be from, say, Kihei), but those folks do a great trip and are awesome to work with. I don't think I'd go boat diving with any other group around here.

On Friday, we are going over to Lanai to visit the Cathedrals and stuff. Goofy has been there (on the last trip), but I haven't and so off we go. I'll post more on that after it happens.

Until then...Happy 4th of July All! Let's hope that next year at this time we are living in Peace (I know, but I have to hope).

Aloha!