Oh my gosh I love it here!  Every weekend is like being on vacation!  I am realizing that I have every weekend available now for seeing all I want to see in Maui.

Friday afternoon started out with drinks and appetizers at Tommy Bahamas in Wailea with my friend Christi.  After that we came back to Kiehi and hung out at The Tiki Lounge and met all kinds of interesting people.

Saturday I went snorkeling at Ulua Beach and then me and Peter drove to Lahaina to check out the west side of the island.  Here’s the view at an overloook on the Honoapi’ilani Highway, looking back at Kihei.

The Miata enjoyed the beautiful drive!

We went snorkeling in Naplili with some huge sea turtles.  They are so amazing!  You can swim right up to them and when they come to the surface to breathe you are basically eye to eye with them.  You can actually hear them take a breathe!  Here’s picture of me swimming with the turtles in Napili.  Its actually a picture from my vacation here winter before last but its at the same place (maybe the same turtles!).

After that we drove into the west mountains and saw some amazing views.  This one is once we were in the mountains, looking down into the ocean.

Look, I really am here!

The next stop was at the Nakalele Blow Hole.  The shoreline is all lava and there is a hole in the lava where, when the waves come, water shoots up into the air.  Its pretty impressive. Here it is from above.

This is a closer look, after we hiked down to it.

Back on the road….hitchikers really are a problem here in Maui.

This little baby wanted to come along for the ride!

More scenic views…

Driving back down, we met another little friend!

Next it was out of the mountains and on to Front St. in Lahaina!  We stopped in for a drink at Cheeseburgers in Paradise.  Look at the view from the bar!

Peter enjoys the view and his pina colada.

This picture is walking down Front St, looking at the harbor.

Front St, Lahaina

We had dinner at Lahaina Fish Co. on the water.  I had macadamia nut encrusted mahi mahi (yum!) and Peter had ahi tuna.  Here’s the sunset in Lahaina.

Then, back to Kihei!  What a fun Saturday.

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I miss my girls so much!  I can’t wait for them to get here!  In the meantime Grayson is being the best babysitter in the world.  They seem very happy to be living with their auntie.  Grayson sent me these pictures to show their favorite things at her house.

Here is Sydney hanging out in the sink…

…and Lucy joining Grayson for Pilates!

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Tonight I decided to treat myself to a little take out for dinner so I tried Alexander’s in my neighborhood.  I had the best fish-n-chips of my life!  It’s a little order-at-the-counter place and it’s cheap.  I had fried ono with fries.  They  also offer grilled fish instead of fried and rice instead of fries which is what I’ll do next time (hello, bathing suit season year round!) but I treated myself tonight and it was soooooo yummy. 

Next piece of news: there was an earthquake here today!  It was somewhere near the big island but people felt it in Maui (it was a 4.5).  I didn’t feel it but people who were in the office did.  I thought they were just trying to mess with the new girl but I saw it on the news tonight.  I guess since I didn’t actually feel it it’s not that impressive but still, an earthquake!  The hurricane that was heading here has pretty much died so that’s not going to be a problem like people were saying earlier in the week.  I thought I might actually see some rain but it looks like that’s not going to happen.  I’ve seen it rain on other parts of the island but after a little over three weeks still no rain here in Kihei. Waaah, sun everyday! How awful!!  (love it)

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I was commenting to someone at work last week about how strange it is to not see squirrels in the yard and they said that we have mongoose here.  Mongoose?  yeah right.  Then today, on the way home from the beach one ran across the road, right in front of me!  That was a first.  Here’s what they look like:

OK so I didn’t get a picture but it was kind of like a long, skinny squirrel with a long tail.  Then, tonight I saw a frog in my yard that I swear was the biggest frog I have ever seen.  I promise he was more impressive in real life.

So geckos, frogs and mongoose.  Maui wildlife…

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Back by popular demand…  Here you go!  A little of what Smoking Baby has been up to.  He’s mad cause I haven’t taken him on many adventures but I told him to be patient.  We have lots of time.

Smoking Baby was just as excited as I was to see the Miata here on Maui!  He even tried to drive.

Of course he couldn’t reach the pedals so I told him he could shift.

This is Smoking Baby jamming with Elvis angel.

Smoking Baby always takes time to stop and smell the flowers…

…and sit in a palm tree!

Smoking Baby is having fun, but he misses his NC friends so much; especially Janie and Aaron.

Yay!  Oprah magazine found us in Hawaii!!  Smoking Baby always learns so much from her.

Smoking Baby says that everything is better in Hawaii.  Even the beer says aloha!

Until next time, Smoking Baby sends everyone his best and says aloha!

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So here it is, Sunday night again!  I was just saying today that weekends here should be 3 days.  Its just doesn’t make sense to have to work in a place like Maui.

 I had a fun weekend.  Went out some new friends and discovered a little of the nightlife here in Kihei.  Not much to discover actually but we had fun.  I hung out with these guys, Peter and Brett:

Had some beach time on Saturday and went to a party in Wailea Saturday night.  A woman I work with invited me.  It was a group of people who are all in a canoe club.  They go out in outrigger canoes and it sounds like fun so I may join.  They were telling us stories about going out in the morning and seeing whales and sea turtles and dolphins.  They were all really nice and offered to show me and Peter how to get started.  A lot of people brought a pu (conch shell) to the party and they blew them at sunset.  This is a picture of Richard and Debrann blowing pu (hahaha, blowing pu, pronounced poo!).

Here’s what it looks like when you get to a party here.  no shoes inside!

The house had quite a view

Today I went to Big Beach in Wailea with a few people.  So it was a good weekend!

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Hoooooray!!!  My car arrived on Thursday!  I feel like I have been reunited with the love of my life.  I missed it so much!  A co worker drove me to the pier to pick it up and as we pulled into the parking lot I didn’t see it at first but it was hiding behind an SUV.  When I spotted it, dirty but in good shape, I couldn’t believe it!  We went for a drive along the water to celebrate.  Here are some pictures of the Miata in her new home!

by the water:

at home:

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Today I discovered a new roommate.  He’s a gecko!  He’s really fast and I can’t catch him.  He’s pretty cool but I want to get him back outside with his friends where he can find things to eat.  Easier said than done though.  He stays near the ceiling and is so fast I can’t get near him.  I’m afraid if I knock him off the fall will hurt him.  Let me know if anyone has suggestions for trapping a gecko…For now, meet Mo.

Well, I couldn’t rest knowing that Mo was trapped in here so after a major chase I got him and am happy to report that he is free now.  Here are the pictures of his capture and release:

Go Mo!  Be free!

Bye Mo!

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Since I had to work last week I tried to get a lot of fun and touristy stuff in over the weekend.  Saturday morning I drove to a beach down the road called Po’olenalena Beach.  I snorkeled there and saw some pretty cool fish, an eel, and a sea turtle, which I was really excited about!  After snorkeling I laid on the beach for a little while. This beach isn’t near any resorts so it wasn’t crowded at all. 

Saturday afternoon I met my new friend Peter (just moved here the week I did and is also interested in touristy stuff).  We bought boogie boards and went back to the beach to ride some waves.  Last night we ate dinner at Lulu’s here in Kihei.  We’re both really excited to be here.  We were going to rent surfboards today and try to learn to surf but it was so windy that we chickened out and decided to wait. 

So that’s it…a lot of beach time for me!  Guess it’s back to work tomorrow.  Hope everyone back home had a good weekend too!

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Went back there today and took some pictures.  I still can’t believe its only a few miles from my office!

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