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The only reason these posts are being displayed on Facebook is because Facebook automatically copies the RSS feed from my blog.  I don’t post anything at Facebook – in fact, I don’t even know how to add things to the “wall” (or want to know) unless it’s to make a comment when the comment link shows up.

And that’s why this post is here. Because I don’t do Facebook.

If anyone is interested in the real posts from my blog, or feels the urge to make a comment, go to “Thinking Out Loud” – Facebook doesn’t show the complete post (thankfully) There are lots more photos and my daily ramblings available for you to read or ignore. Images are linked directly to my web site, not copied or owned by Facebook.

…not meant to harangue or berate Facebookers, it’s just not my cup of tea.

With this many fishing rods (6 in total) we have to catch something!“Did you guys see that Flying Fish?”“Maybe they are just out a little farther”Waiting…Maybe once the sun gets up they will start biting…Well, it IS a nice boat ride

After the meal there was a a show of dance and song portraying the history of the Hawaiian people.

… more luau

]]> http://www.web-bandit.com/lee/2010/05/05/lahaina-luau/feed/ 2 http://www.web-bandit.com/lee/2010/05/05/haleakala-crater/ http://www.web-bandit.com/lee/2010/05/05/haleakala-crater/#comments Wed, 05 May 2010 21:45:40 +0000 Lee http://www.web-bandit.com/lee/?p=911 More than anything, I wanted to see a volcano while I was in Hawaii.  Unfortunately, there are no live volcanoes on Maui.  I knew that before I left.  The next best thing would be to see an extinct volcano crater.

The Haleakala Highway takes you to Haleakala National Park.  It’s a narrow winding road that takes you from about a 1000 feet above sea level to a little over 10,000.  And at the top you can see the collapsed crater of a volcano.  Perfect.

Sherry was driving, and all was good until we passed a sign that said, “Turn headlights on while driving through clouds.”  Haleakala means “the land above the clouds.”  That’s when Herb began to clutch the arm rest.  White knuckled, he mentioned about every fifty feet of the climb, “We are very, very, very, friggin high.”  The rest of his conversation usually contained something like, “Do you have to drive so close to the side of the road?”

Sherry was driving perfectly.  I don’t know what would have happened if she was a little nervous about the road.  I think Herb would have simply passed out.  We finally broke through the clouds, and soon a roadside turnout appeared.  There was parking for about 20 cars along beside a steep cliff, and across the highway was another steep drop off where you could view the clouds and Park buildings way below.

Herb cautiously crawled out of the car and huddled up against the cliff on the “safe” side and with trembling hands, lit a cigarette. Sherry and I ran across the road for the view and some photos.

… onto the crater

Uh oh.  Time to move into alternate plan persuasion mode.

I convinced them to take a drive towards the western end of the island, and maybe head up to Haleakala National Park.  We bought a road map and turned around with just a little griping from Sherry.

Our first stop was the Kula Botanical Gardens.

… more of the gardens

So how come I pissed here off?  I had an impossible run of bad luck while I was in Hawaii, and I swear I never even picked up so much as a grain of sand with the intention of taking it with me.

Here’s the major bouts of bad luck thrown at me…

My cell phone quit working the second day in Maui.  Initially, I thought that it had got wet, and that was the problem.  It would ring, it would show new text messages, it would power off and on, and it would tell me the time when I flipped it open.  But nothing else.  None of the keys worked.  Couldn’t call anyone, take photos, or answer a phone call.

I was told if you put it in a bag of rice, it would absorb any moisture and all would be good.  My cell phone travelled in a bag of rice for two days.  And was dried several times with a hair blower.  And sat in the sun.  Nothing.

The hotel shower quit working. That was fixed within the day, but annoying first thing in the morning.  I had a bath instead, but there was no hot water. That was repaired when the worked on the shower.

The batteries on my waterproof camera failed. Not entirely.  But only on the day I really wanted it to work when we went snorkeling.  It took about 40 photos and quit.  Just when the dolphins appeared.  I recharged it, and it’s still working now.  Go figure.

My digital SLR camera bag fell off the truck. For some crazy reason (Pele’s curse no doubt) the back door to Audie’s rented SUV popped open while we were driving and it fell out.  The only article of all the things packed in the back.

I checked it later, and the camera and original lens were okay.  Whew!  I grabbed the telephoto lens and it looked alright, but as soon as I took off the lens cover a rainbow of broken glass and circuit board tinkled onto the floor.  The day before the wedding.  Crap!

Don’t get me wrong.  I did enjoy my vacation in Maui.  But I sure wish Pele would have picked on someone else.

A beautiful location for exchanging wedding vows.  I think it was called “Secret Cove.”  And indeed it was secret.  Somehow, the car leading the parade to Secret Cove got lost, and we ended up at a golf course.

Secret Cove has a tiny little beach, and at one point in time there was three wedding ceremonies happening at the same time.  I didn’t get too many photos, because I didn’t want to get in the way of the professional photographer, or distract from the ceremony.  But you can see some photos on the next page.