Maui--Day 7

You should be able to double click to enlarge the pictures to enjoy the pictures. Our beautiful morning view. We are looking west from the condo, so the sun is coming up behind us. Lots of surfers out today.
More surfers waiting for that perfect wave. They come in slow sets and these are small to medium waves, not the monster ones you see in movies or on television.

The Gemini catamaran. It always stayed anchored to the north during the night, so here it is off with her first group for the day. I'd love to try this next time. Since it is Friday and we only have one more day, Patti and I decided to take a walk and do some local sightseeing during the morning. We headed south on the beach walk and took in some inspiring eye-candy.

This is the African Crowned Crane. He and his sweetheart live down the way. They are beautiful birds with an ivory featherless face, bright red wattle, and a spectacular crown of slender golden feathers. They are omnivorus.

Here is the female. I tried so hard to get a shot of their faces, but they move rather quickly! They are extremely graceful.

A magnificent Macaw. The colors were unbelieveable! And he was huge.

Coi pools. Just look at the colors!

This picture totally doesn't do them any justice at all. Okay--I need a new camera and some photography lessons! But it was like having a brilliant rainbow in the water.

Next stop: the Hawaiian Quilt shop. Let me introduce you to Germaine. She is the manager of the store and a hawaiian quilter for the last 20 plus years. Germaine is originally from Pittsburgh, never married or had children of her own. After her parents passed away and she was looking her golden years alone, she decided the snowy winters weren't for her anymore. So she packed up her life and moved to Hawaii to live out the rest of it. She met a local native who introduced her to the art of hawaiian quilting. It was love at first stitch. Here is a project she is working on now for the store. She gives lessons for free, both at the store and after hours. Her love for the craft doesn't care about the money--she just wants it to live on!

Germaine took us on a tour of the store. I think she attached herself to us because we told her we were doing a square of hawaiian quilting during our vacation. Then she found out Patti was a dyed-in-the-wool quilter and that sealed the deal! The quilt above is not a true hawaiian quilt pattern, but all the applique is done in the native way. This hanging quilt is not for sale, but if it was, I would have snapped it up! It tells the history of how hawaiian quilting came to be.

Tapa cloth was the only cloth available to the Hawaiians. They made this cloth from tree bark and it took many days to make and design tapa. It was worn for clothing and used for bedding. The missionaries who came to Hawaii introduced hawaiian roylaty to quilting. The first recorded introduction was in 1820 aboard the Thaddeus. (depicted above) A group of Hawaiian ladies sat on the flooring of the top deck of the ship, dressed only in a traditional wrap skirt of tapa, while the missionary ladies gently showed them the art of quilting. The little boy shown in the back is fanning the royal women.

The very creative, innovative Hawaiians soon developed a unique quilting style that reflected their own culture and traditions.

A sample on one of the walls. You can see how the cream center is all one piece! Unfolded very carefully from the 'snowflake' way of cutting out the pattern. Then all hand appliqued on and then echo quilted around.

Here is another one with what they call a lei border. The hawaiians never use black. There tradition teaches that black is the color of death, and to them death is a spiritual, uplifting event that one wears white to mourn in. White is pure and the color of happiness. And I didn't see anything black anywhere!

A rack of blues and lavenders.

A rack of reds with creams and then mochas. These were amazing. I even noticed that the 3rd one down is breadfruit! Good eye with my novice abilities! The reason that quilters always do the breadfruit pattern first according to legend is to invite and ensure an abundance, that they will always have enough. Breadfruit was one of the staple foods of the Polynesians as they crossed the Pacific. The fruit, the sap and the wood were all used in daily life. Legend traces the origin of Ulu to the god KU, who turns himself into an Ulu tree during a period of starvation so that his wife and children could live on. Pretty interesting, huh?

This is a king sized quilt. Yes! This is all done from one folded pattern. Just try to imagine how that must have looked. Again, it is all hand stitched. The price was $3200.00 That only makes it about 10 cents a square inch! Not very much when you look at it in those terms.

Who knew Hawaii was home to penquins!? Not me, so imagine my surprise when we saw these little buddies! They are in a molting season right now, but just as cute as can be. They just totter along and then dive lightening fast into the water.

Look how cute!

This man is a wood carver. He was making a sea turtle for a little boy standing nearby. See how he holds the wood with his feet and then uses his carving tool and another piece of wood to chisel out the shape. This was very fun to watch. What a talent! He also did the piece to the right.

This blossom fell off a bush and was just laying on a little stone fence. The colors were so beautiful I had to get the picture.

Look at this fun bridge! It is nestled amongst a tropical forest of trees and bushes and spans one of the largest pools. The 'young' girls in us begged for a trip across and the 'older' women in us happily obliged! It was REALLY fun!!!

Yellow Hibiscus. The Hawaii state flower. They are everywhere and you never get tired of them.

Another yellow hibiscus, but with a fuschia/reddish center. Not the state flower because of the center, but I would have voted for this one!

Back to the condo, made some sandwiches and fruit for lunch, and visited. Then down to the water for the afternoon.

After a couple of hours at the pool and some more smoothies and of course macadamia nut cookies (yum-o-licious), we headed for a walk on the beach. It was about 5 pm and couldn't have been more spectacular.

The ocean is warm, soft, firm yet gentle all at the same time.

The clouds were ushering in the evening insuring a divine sunset.

We followed this little sandpiper all the way down the beach. He plays a game of chase with the waves. As they recede he chases them to pick at whatever comes up from the sand they wash over. And when the new wave comes it chases him back up the shore. It was delightful to watch him. They are so light on their feel and sooooo quick.

I was standing in the water mid-thigh and took this picture of a wave just getting ready to break. I will miss the sound of the constancey of the waves breaking on the shore. We always slept with the slider open to our lanai and fell asleep and woke up to that lullaby.

Some little kids made this sandcastle. If you look closely you will see little rocks and pieces of coral that dot the top of it. So creative and precious.

Tiki torches are lit every night. They mark the paths and lend ambience. They are not like the ones we get here from the hardware store or Target with that fuel that is unmistakeable. I wonder what they use.

We decided to go to Whalers Village for our last dinner at Leilani's. I remembered to take a picture of the menu. Everywhere you go, this is how the fresh fish is listed on the menus. The waiter comes to your table and lets you know all the different kinds available that evening. Of course, they have all just been caught at sometime during that very day. Then each restaurant has their own signature way of preparing it, and so you order your fish, and then you order how you want it prepared.

Try it, you'll like it! (remember that phrase...) If you don't think you like fish before you go, you will be converted by the time your trip is done! There are other entrees to order--chicken, beef, pork, but the fish is extraordinary.

And of course, our last serving of Hula Pie!