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

The Feast at Lele

Aloha y'all.

Goofy and I did actually come ashore long enough to go to a luau on Friday night with a bunch of friends and family that are here with us...

We've done the luau thing before, and it was ok, but I have to say that this one was pretty nice. The food was way above average, and the view couldn't be beat.

My favorite was the fire dancer, (most of you know that Magic likes fire, lol), but the pics didn't turn out great of that...

I'll post a few of the others though...








We had a great time...the weather was perfect (a bit warm before the sun went down, but we were right on the beach), the company was awesome...and the bar was OPEN. Lol.

Goofy decided a good thing to do was sample all the drinks on the menu.

Banana Madness, Blue Hawaii, Lava Flow (wait, that was me ;). The effort was made, but the quest was lost as cocoanut drinks were not going to be had by the Goofster...

Luckily, the alcohol content of "free" drinks is minimal, but Goofy had a good time anyway :)

Hope y'all are having some fun there in Seattle and San Francisco too...

Aloha,

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

Diving the Backwall

Goofy and I headed out to the back wall at Molokini for a great day of diving. Saw a lot of cool things...including this spotted eagle ray





Goofy was hanging above us (at about 50 feet) for one of the dives...so this is the view we had. Musta been lots to see up there, and the air was breathing better too...

Hopefully, the private charter dive on Friday will be a go on Friday...keep your fingers crossed...Goof and I wanna see those Hammerheads off of Molokai.

More later...aloha!

M&G

Nikki Goes Diving

Nicole tried a discover scuba here in maui...very awesome!



Out at turtle reef...



Gotta run...

M&G

A Room With a View

Aloha Y'all!

Here's a quick look from our balcony...




Have a great day!

M&G

Maui at Last!

Finally home in Maui. :)

The skies are sunny...trades are blowing...

We will post pics as we get them, but for the moment, we're planning our day at the beach!

Aloha.

M&G

A Trippy PARIS

As some of you know - from previous blogs if nothing else - I am not a big Paris Hilton fan.

I have little tolerance for people that take their blessings for granted and spend most of their time squandering fortunes that they had absolutely no role in amassing.

That said, as you may know, Senator McCain decided last week to release a campaign ad that - whether you are pro McCain or not - generated a TON of publicity...mostly for using Paris Hilton, and other non-contributing members of society, as examples of Obaman idealism.

Today, Ms. Hilton, in a stroke of something that cannot be called anything but inspired genius (I KNOW! and YES, I am talking about that Paris Hilton, go figure), released a rebuttal to that little piece of unauthorized use of her image.

It's worth watching....maybe there is a brain in there after all...maybe (one day) she'll use it for good (instead of shopping)...

Take a look! It's HOT! LOL.

See more Paris Hilton videos at Funny or Die

I'm a little confused thinking of ParisH in an entirely positive light (at least through the viewing of this video)...I'm trying to be open to the possibilities of change...but I think I just threw up a little in my mouth...

:)

M&S