Thursday, November 19, 2009
Aloha Maui!
Hi all!
It’s been quite a while, our apologies on the wait. We made it to Hawaii safe and sound and moved into our apartment right away. Our other roommate, Monica, is great! We both met her the first year we worked for Allen Marine and Ben actually lived with her then. She’s the one who found the place we’re living in and signed the lease before we got to Maui.
Lahaina (the town we’re in) is rather touristy, but beautiful none-the-less. We live on the third floor of a big complex. One has only to walk across the street and through the resort on the other side to get to the beach. There are several shops downstairs and the Maui Brewing Company is about a block away. The food is to die for! My favorite so far is beer battered brie…mmmm!
It has been warm and sunny most days with a little bit of rain in the afternoon or evening. Yesterday, the two of us took a bus into town and bought bikes from Poali, the owner of a “recycled” bike and board shop. Most places like that on Maui are chop shops, probably including this one, but it’s hard to pass up $50-$100 bikes. So, now we have three lovely modes of transport: bus, bike and scooter! That’s right, we bought a moped. It’s a zippy little white thing that gets up to 45mph pretty easily. It seems to be a tried and true method of transport, as lots and lots of people own them and ride them all over town. However, it’s necessary to be acutely aware of your surroundings when riding it. Cars, trucks and busses seem to have trouble noticing scoot riders on the shoulder, but so long as you keep a sharp eye out at intersections and don’t ride in the rain, it seems to be just fine!
We’ve been on several adventures since arriving in Maui. Last week, our roommate took us up north to see shooters and the amazing lava cliffs. It was a muggy, cloudy day, but beautiful even so. It has been rather stormy since our arrival, and in keeping with bigger wind, the waves have been huge! The sheer size and force of the ocean was readily apparent as we watched the water heave, boil and crash into the rock face below us. Though we were perhaps one or two hundred feet up, the force of the water hitting the cliff wall was sometimes great enough to send spray up and over the edge and blowing into our faces. It was awesome and sobering. It refreshed our memory as to why the ocean is so fascinating, terrifying and beautiful!
Last weekend, we went to the upcountry (the mountains) to visit Monica’s friend Leaf and her daughter Lotus, who live near Makawow. We arrived late in the evening and had a big bonfire with all the clippings from yard work and renovation. Leaf’s home includes avacado, star fruit, lemon, mock orange, and banana trees (which are actually a grass! Go figure!), in addition to Lilloquoi (passion fruit) and numerous gaudy, jealously competing flowers. Leaf is an artist. Her studio is an old WWII building at the back of the garden. She and her mom hand dye and screen-print beautiful bags, potholders, sarongs and t-shirts to sell in the community. Her home, studio, and the upcountry were gorgeous, and the weather was considerably cooler and wetter.
As we settle into this new life more and more, the need for jobs is becoming apparent. Both of us are on the hunt, waiting rather impatiently to find something. Sifting through mounds of applications and advertisements, resumes and interviews is becoming rather tiresome, but hopefully it’ll all amount to work sooner rather than later. The economic situation becomes more perceptible with each phone call turned down with a “we’re not hiring, actually we’re laying people off,” or “check back in a few months. Maybe we’ll have something then.” But not to worry, there are some promising prospects, and in the words of Jimmy Buffet, really, “only time will tell!”
Here’s hoping everyone is happy, healthy and well loved.
Xoxoxo,
Molly and Ben
It’s been quite a while, our apologies on the wait. We made it to Hawaii safe and sound and moved into our apartment right away. Our other roommate, Monica, is great! We both met her the first year we worked for Allen Marine and Ben actually lived with her then. She’s the one who found the place we’re living in and signed the lease before we got to Maui.
Lahaina (the town we’re in) is rather touristy, but beautiful none-the-less. We live on the third floor of a big complex. One has only to walk across the street and through the resort on the other side to get to the beach. There are several shops downstairs and the Maui Brewing Company is about a block away. The food is to die for! My favorite so far is beer battered brie…mmmm!
It has been warm and sunny most days with a little bit of rain in the afternoon or evening. Yesterday, the two of us took a bus into town and bought bikes from Poali, the owner of a “recycled” bike and board shop. Most places like that on Maui are chop shops, probably including this one, but it’s hard to pass up $50-$100 bikes. So, now we have three lovely modes of transport: bus, bike and scooter! That’s right, we bought a moped. It’s a zippy little white thing that gets up to 45mph pretty easily. It seems to be a tried and true method of transport, as lots and lots of people own them and ride them all over town. However, it’s necessary to be acutely aware of your surroundings when riding it. Cars, trucks and busses seem to have trouble noticing scoot riders on the shoulder, but so long as you keep a sharp eye out at intersections and don’t ride in the rain, it seems to be just fine!
We’ve been on several adventures since arriving in Maui. Last week, our roommate took us up north to see shooters and the amazing lava cliffs. It was a muggy, cloudy day, but beautiful even so. It has been rather stormy since our arrival, and in keeping with bigger wind, the waves have been huge! The sheer size and force of the ocean was readily apparent as we watched the water heave, boil and crash into the rock face below us. Though we were perhaps one or two hundred feet up, the force of the water hitting the cliff wall was sometimes great enough to send spray up and over the edge and blowing into our faces. It was awesome and sobering. It refreshed our memory as to why the ocean is so fascinating, terrifying and beautiful!
Last weekend, we went to the upcountry (the mountains) to visit Monica’s friend Leaf and her daughter Lotus, who live near Makawow. We arrived late in the evening and had a big bonfire with all the clippings from yard work and renovation. Leaf’s home includes avacado, star fruit, lemon, mock orange, and banana trees (which are actually a grass! Go figure!), in addition to Lilloquoi (passion fruit) and numerous gaudy, jealously competing flowers. Leaf is an artist. Her studio is an old WWII building at the back of the garden. She and her mom hand dye and screen-print beautiful bags, potholders, sarongs and t-shirts to sell in the community. Her home, studio, and the upcountry were gorgeous, and the weather was considerably cooler and wetter.
As we settle into this new life more and more, the need for jobs is becoming apparent. Both of us are on the hunt, waiting rather impatiently to find something. Sifting through mounds of applications and advertisements, resumes and interviews is becoming rather tiresome, but hopefully it’ll all amount to work sooner rather than later. The economic situation becomes more perceptible with each phone call turned down with a “we’re not hiring, actually we’re laying people off,” or “check back in a few months. Maybe we’ll have something then.” But not to worry, there are some promising prospects, and in the words of Jimmy Buffet, really, “only time will tell!”
Here’s hoping everyone is happy, healthy and well loved.
Xoxoxo,
Molly and Ben
Friday, November 6, 2009
Just a quick picture-less update (Molly's camera is on the fritz. Yikes, we need an address soon!):
Since the last post, we've covered a lot of ground! We spent the night before arriving in Arcata camping about forty miles south in a big river-cut sandstone canyon. It was beautiful and DRY. The stars and moon shined all night and the sun rose early and bright. Other than Molly's unfounded, yet profound fear of mountain lions, we had a thoroughly wonderful camping trip.
Arcata was lots of fun! Miraculously, the weather cleared up for the majority of our visit to northern California and it was warm and sunny for several days. We spent most of them basking in the sun and soaking up a little vitamin D before we head back north to Portland. Cate, Kevin and Amanda (Molly's friends), took us to several very pretty beaches just north and south of the city and the two of us spent a few afternoons disc golfing and wandering around town. Every evening, we cooked something for the housemates in lieu of rent and hung around watching movies and wasting time.
Yesterday, we packed up the car and headed out and back up north towards Portland. Instead of going back on 101 or making a straight shot up I-5, we decided to maximize our time and sight-seeing in Oregon and take a detour up route 97. Our initial plan was to visit Crater Lake National Park, but the north entrance was closed, and to get to the south entrance would have taken thirty extra miles south and some snow. That's right, as we drove up into the Cascades, it started snowing on us at around 3500 feet! As a next-best, this afternoon, we stopped at The High Desert Museum and got a chance to stretch our legs and look at some cool history of the area. The exhibits included some wildlife in captivity and lots of information about the Native Americans and early American settlers of the area. Molly's grandmother was actually born in the high desert of Oregon in a homestead much like one we saw at the museum!
In other news, we made it to Bend this evening and plan on taking it easy and getting a hotel on the river for a really good night's sleep. Molly is sick, but Ben is holding strong and still healthy as ever. We leave for Hawaii on the 10th and are both getting excited! More news soon.
Molly and Ben
Since the last post, we've covered a lot of ground! We spent the night before arriving in Arcata camping about forty miles south in a big river-cut sandstone canyon. It was beautiful and DRY. The stars and moon shined all night and the sun rose early and bright. Other than Molly's unfounded, yet profound fear of mountain lions, we had a thoroughly wonderful camping trip.
Arcata was lots of fun! Miraculously, the weather cleared up for the majority of our visit to northern California and it was warm and sunny for several days. We spent most of them basking in the sun and soaking up a little vitamin D before we head back north to Portland. Cate, Kevin and Amanda (Molly's friends), took us to several very pretty beaches just north and south of the city and the two of us spent a few afternoons disc golfing and wandering around town. Every evening, we cooked something for the housemates in lieu of rent and hung around watching movies and wasting time.
Yesterday, we packed up the car and headed out and back up north towards Portland. Instead of going back on 101 or making a straight shot up I-5, we decided to maximize our time and sight-seeing in Oregon and take a detour up route 97. Our initial plan was to visit Crater Lake National Park, but the north entrance was closed, and to get to the south entrance would have taken thirty extra miles south and some snow. That's right, as we drove up into the Cascades, it started snowing on us at around 3500 feet! As a next-best, this afternoon, we stopped at The High Desert Museum and got a chance to stretch our legs and look at some cool history of the area. The exhibits included some wildlife in captivity and lots of information about the Native Americans and early American settlers of the area. Molly's grandmother was actually born in the high desert of Oregon in a homestead much like one we saw at the museum!
In other news, we made it to Bend this evening and plan on taking it easy and getting a hotel on the river for a really good night's sleep. Molly is sick, but Ben is holding strong and still healthy as ever. We leave for Hawaii on the 10th and are both getting excited! More news soon.
Molly and Ben
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