Carmody and Company

Maui here we are !!!

October 18th, 2005. We take the kids, and mom too, and fly to Maui, Hawaii.

I don't know what I was expecting ... well, I guess I was expecting lush jungle, grass skirt clad polynesian women, and big waves everywhere. This wasn't exact what was to be found, however. I thought it was actually quite a barren countryside.

We've been to Mexico a few times, both east and west coasts, which are pretty tropical jungle like, and I was half expecting more of that. Granted, we went on some explores and it can get green and overgrown, like Ioa Valley, but on the south side in Kehei where we stayed, the drive along the coastal area was similar to the likes of the Calgary foothills in Alberta.

No, we did not do the drive to Hana. Perhaps we missed all the good scenery by not going there. It was a choice we made, thinking two kids and mom, driving on twisty roads for about 4 hours. Feedback from other people suggested it wasn't a great trip, so we skipped it. Maybe we missed out on something good, I dunno.

The thing I liked the most was the water. It was beautiful, warm, fantastic to swim in, and great snorkeling just about anywhere.

Below, is Helen and her mom, on the hallway outside our resort room. We stayed at the Worldmark resort, Kehei.

We went to a plantation one day ...

... did I say it was not very green? Er, well, I didn't mean it was a dust bowl!

Here's a couple local beauties ...

After the plantation, we went to Ioa Valley. This is a place back off the road that was once the setting of many warrior battles. One spot is a high peaked hill called 'the needle', on which it is said that warrors would use as a lookout.

Here a view as we take the walk into Ioa Valley; oh, yeah, more green stuff here too. Jeesh, I'm a liar.

Here's a pic after we climbed, er ... walking climbing ... up to the top of the lookout area. You can see the 'needle' behind us. That's mom here too (Helen's mom); she should be congratulated for taking the hike it needed to get to the top!

After that we drove around some more sightseeing and ended up crashing at a beach. Below, Mitchell tries his hand a boggie boarding. I have a video, also, to bad I can't blog that.

Here, below, is Caitlin in the picturesque sunset ...

Next day was crater day! Of the things we planned on, this was one that I put on the list and wanted to do. This is a 1.5 hour drive up Haleakala Volcano on a narrow twisty, and I mean twisty, road to the crater rim. It was cloudly as hell, pissing rain, and couldn't see a *#$@^ thing! Here, look ...

You'd never know that they were standing on the edge of the crater rim with the expanse of the inside of the crater down behind them. Dang! This was my biggest dissappointment.

Here is a link to some images of what's behind us in above picture: http://www.haleakalaphotos.com/gall1.html

Coming down from the crater I stopped to pick up a bundle of flowers (there's Bird of Paradise in there) at a unattending roadside stand for $3. Caitlin sure looks like her cousin Sadie in this picture.

Later that evening we went to an obligatory laua ...

Some more beach pictures...

Helen and Caitlin splishing splashing in the waves. Caitlin squealed with delight everytime a wave came up.

I had wanted to try some real surfing, but instead settle for a lame attempt at a various form of boogie boarding. The waves this day were pretty much non existant.

The kids here doing some tidal pool exploring...

egads! shield your eyes! don't look ! the tan's not taken effect yet ...

Here's an example of the nice beaches to be had. Oh, more of that green stuff can be seen...

And finally, a few shots from the patio of our resort room. They call this a "limited ocean view"...

All in all it was great to get away. Taking the kids turned out to be a good thing and we're glad mom managed to make it. I think she enjoyed the experience. Helen and I went on our own one day while mom stayed with kids. We went on a snorkeling cruise. The water was fantastic and we saw tons of colourful sea fish, an octopus, and a swarm/pod/gaggle of green sea turtles - huge! No pictures on that outing, unfortunately.

Anyways, let me know if you've got anything to say, feel free to email or add a comment.

Well that's it for now. We're thinking "Cuba" next year. We'll see what plans we can make.

Aloha !!!

New York ... New York ?

From June 15 thru 20th, 2005 I had the opportunity to visit New York city on a business trip. It was actually a sort of reward trip guised as a business trip.

We stayed in Times Square and did some time in the local branch office there for a couple days, but had ample time off to go out'n about to check the local scenery and do some sightseeing.

Initially, what can I say? Three days was enough; five was too many!

When leaving the hotel and walking along Time Square, the sights are pretty impressive.

The activity is energizing and you can get swept along pretty easy in the hustle of it all. With hawkers on every corner, and were it not for the cement city surrounding, you might think you were in tourist place in Mexico.

I'm the one sans the coffee; I guess that still leaves 3 people to choose from.

As I said, 5 days was too many, for me anyways. I was tired of the place after a few days. I was looking forward to going home. I'm not adverse to traveling, either. Being Canadian and having travelled from coast to coast, now living in Oregon, travelling frequently around the state, having been to Mexico a few times as well as Hawaii. I found the busy atmosphere and attitude just tiring. It's like there is never any "down" time.

I also concluded that "being out" was what people did. The apartment availabilitye, cost and accomodations forced it to be that way. People went home to their closet sized apartment to change clothes, maybe, then went out to being in their "living room". There was nothing to stay home for. It also means money passes through you hands very quickly.

And the noise! A constant honking and horn blaring and I've never heard so many variations of sirens.

Now on the other hand, it is a great place to sightsee and explore around. I think I might consider going back with just my wife for the two of us to have little get away. I thought getting around was very easy. The subway, although complex, is still quite workable for some new to it's underground dwellings. We manages to walk up to Central Park and completely walk from one end to the other.

After we left Central Park, we walked towards downtown and cruised by Radio City, Trump Tower, the cathederal, the Guggenheim, and the Metropolitan.

I missed the Empire State building as well as getting to ground zero. Sadly that day's walking and our time ran out. We did do the Statton island ferry and drifted by the Statue of Liberty.

Next day we had box seats at the baseball game. So on the subway to the stadium, Tim, one of the work associates in our group, who has streaks of unabashed shamelessness and attention getting, faked a pass-out on the subway...

Gawd! After standing there looking whoosie and wiping his browe, he dropped like a sack of potatoes right there on the subway. I was surprised at the other people who offered their seat to him and symathized. Pardon me for sterotyping new yorkers and uncaring; the ones who were there were nice about it. Shame on Tim for taking advantage of their kindness! Ha; it was worth the days trip, however.

Still managed to get to the game though ...