Florida Getaway Recap

We love our Durango but we also love The Blues and a warm weather getaway in the wintertime, so we signed up for Joe Bonamassa's Keeping the Blues Alive at Sea cruise number 2, sailing out of Miami to Cozumel and back; only five nights, but nights crammed with blasting music.  Sometimes requiring ear plugs.

In Port at Cozumel

Then we hung around Florida for another while, hanging out with my nephew Dan and his family in Boynton Beach.

Strawberries were in season at the pick-yer-own farm

Then we straggled on down to Key West for a bit, filling up on seafood and the like.

And Mojitos

The Blue Marlin Motel, a retro-look, bare bones kind of hangout with a great location

Sunset beyond the Naval Air Station at the southernmost point in the USA

Inside the historic Fort Zachary Taylor

We worked our way back up the keys, staying on Marathon Key and Key Largo before flying home.

Crane Point Nature Preserve on Marathon

Dove Creek Lodge on Key Largo

Key West

Mojitos at Conch Republic

Cozumel

At Señor Frog. Couple turistas aqui. 

Hawaii Part Three -- Turkeys and Saints

Wild turkeys roam around Moloka'i

The day after the Lippens's wedding in Hana, Shannon and I headed over from Maui to Moloka'i aboard one of the nine-passenger single engine planes of Mokulele Airlines.  Nice views.  Next day this view greeted us first thing in the morning:

We stayed in the Ke Nani Kai condos at Kepuhi Beach (Kepuhi -- Gesundheit!), on the west end of the 30 mile long island, along with Reid and Tina Schook, Tina's sister Renee, and Shannon's and Reid's father Bo.  Moloka'i is a very laid-back place, the Friendly Isle with a population of less than eight thousand.  After the hubbub of the Hana wedding I'm sure Reid and Tina especially welcomed a few days of relaxation at the pool and on the beaches.

Surfing is not without risks

Shannon and I had visited Hawaii before but we became particularly fascinated by Moloka'i after reading Alan Brennert's excellent novel of the same name.  We knew we'd have to visit the historic leper colony if ever we were fortunate enough to get to Moloka'i -- and we were!  So we did.  We hiked 3.5 miles down this muddy trail.  In 1980 the old colony -- the entire peninsula you see on the far left -- became Kalaupapa National Historic Park.

This is the top of the 3.5 mile trail down

It rained on us the morning we hiked down, but we got an early start, descended 1800 feet and arrived, after an hour and a half, at the bottom before the mule train came along and tore up the trail worse yet.

Perhaps 20 tourists rode the mules down (one lady dismounted on that table setup above and said, "Can't feel my legs.").  About a dozen of us hiked in, and when the dilapidated tour bus showed up (almost an hour late) it held a few people who had paid $500 to be flown to Kalaupapa's tiny airstrip for the tour.  $500!  But they did also get a box lunch.  And a bottle of water.

We had an excellent guide, Norman, who showed us around the village and answered our innumerable questions with the ease of a seasoned pro.  It seemed so very appropriate that the Damien Tours company is owned by a former patient.  Inside St Francis Church was this humorous but seemingly un-Christian sentiment taped to the top of a pew:

Try the decaf?

Many of the buildings seemed frozen in time, like this early style gas station, still functioning today.

Every June the annual barge docks at the Kalaupapa landing below to deliver all the fuel, building materials, vehicles and miscellaneous bulky items the colony needs for the next entire year.

Aged 70 to 90 and some disfigured, fourteen of the original patients with a history of Hansen's Disease remain today as residents at Kalaupapa.  Tourists are prohibited from entering the General Store or the Post Office, so as to respect their privacy.  We were not allowed to roam.

In total Kalaupapa village houses about a hundred people.  It's situated on the western edge of the peninsula where the weather is milder and the seas calmer; the original settlement, Kalawao, was on the eastern edge.  St Philomena Church is the only remaining structure at Kalawao.

 Bust of Father Damien in St Philomena Church

Fr Damien's original grave site, at St Philomena Church, Kalawao

Between 1866 to 1932 more than eight thousand victims of Hansen's Disease were banished to Kalaupapa, most of them never to see their families again; seven thousand are buried on the peninsula.  It's a somber sort of paradise.  Father Damien and Mother Marianne Cope were major figures in the improvement of conditions at the colony.  From 1866 when the policy of Separate and Isolate was instituted until 1873 when Fr Damien arrived to take charge, conditions were grim.  Mother Marianne arrived in 1888 and succeeded Fr Damien after his death from leprosy the next year.  Both were canonized as saints by the Catholic Church.

The tour of Kalaupapa was everything we expected.  Recommend it highly.

Hiking back up

By three o'clock we were hiking up the trail again under clear skies, charging back up the slippery slope to stay ahead of the mules.  It was a messy slog.  And we almost beat them.  Not quite.  They caught up to us about ten minutes from the top.

This is the view from the lookout point atop the cliffs.  The sea cliffs of Moloka'i are reputed to be the highest in all the Pacific, rising 2000 feet on the east end of the island.

The Kalaupapa village is there in the foreground

We rounded out the rest of our stay on Moloka'i with beach time:

Turtle Beach

Aloha

 Here are some links for more info on Kalaupapa National Historic Park.

http://www.nps.gov/kala/learn/historyculture/index.htm
http://www.nps.gov/kala/planyourvisit/index.htm

Part Two of Hawaii -- A Barefoot Hana Wedding

Mrs and Mr Lippens

After New Years, with Gus and the Ritchhart crew gone home, Shannon and I went on to part two of our trip: Hana, and Taylor Schook's wedding to Dalen Lippens at the 150 year old Huialoha Church on the eastern side of Maui.  We drove the famous Hana Highway and spent a raucous night in Hana partying before the wedding, then next day drove out another hour and more along the rough unpaved Pilani Road to the church.

It is a wild setting.

Background there Dalen is polishing the text of his vows...

...While inside Taylor and her mother Tina check the leis.

Reid Schook proudly walking his daughter up the 'aisle'

The Barefoot Ceremony

Such a lovely ceremony it was, too, complete with children and dogs, friends and family, performed by this native Hawaiian officiant.  On the right there is Austin Pier, Dalen's best bud, who had flown in from Alaska.

Shannon with her dad, Bo, and sister Nicole

Before leaving Hana next day we stopped by Waianapanapa State Park and checked out the blowholes and musical black sand beach.

Yes, musical: as waves wash back out, the black lava gravel makes a tinkle-tinkle-tinkle sound

Hawaii for the Holidays

Sunup over Haleakala, first morning at Ma'alaea

We didn't get to Hawaii as scheduled on Christmas Day, due to snowstorms closing our DRO airport that morning.  Next day our dear friend John Orr shuttled Shannon and myself out at Oh-Dark Thirty for our flight to PHX and on to OGG (Kahalui, Maui).

My daughter Amelia and her Ritchhart clan met us there.  Gus had his own cancelled flight and flew in from LA later on the 26th.  Together we all proceeded to have a week of fun times in the warm sun.

Ryan Ritchhart and Gus

Lots of beach time, of course

And pool time

Catie and Sophie under the giant Banyan tree in Lahaina

Whale Watching

The Crew

Top of Haleakala volcano, 10,023 feet above the sea

The obligatory shave ice -- one of many

Gus at Iao Valley

Final New Zealand Post -- Mt Cook

The REI Group at Sealey Tarns, Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park

Leaving Queenstown early on November 20th we ventured toward Aoraki/Mt Cook Village, stopping along the way for, of course, a hike, led this time by our fearless co-leader Nicole Mulcahy, toting our mascot Shrek.

Nicole with Shrek

You may remember a news story from 2004 about a merino sheep named Shrek in New Zealand that hid out for years in a cave and avoided shearing until it looked cartoonish with  60 pounds of fleece.  It is a popular stuffed animal toy.

The Rest of the Group -- except Nadia, who had fallen off her horse in Queenstown

Rain and clouds for the most part prevented good views of Mt Cook as we hiked various tracks in the park.  Mt Cook is the highest peak in New Zealand, at 3753 meters.

Statue of Sir Edmund Hillary at Mt Cook Village

This statue honors the New Zealand hero who, in 1953 along with the Nepalese Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, became the first to summit Mt Everest.  Hillary spent much time climbing Mt Cook and environs in training for Everest.  Looking at photos from that time you see his leather boots, his canvas pack and woolen shirt and can't help but marvel at the accomplishment, ascending to 29,028 feet elevation.  Because it's there.

Mt Cook itself has a nasty reputation for killing intrepid climbers, as its base is so accessible -- you can drive right to the bottom and start climbing with shorts and tennis shoes if you so choose -- unlike Everest, where the approach to base camp is long and arduous.  Several times during our two days at Mt Cook we heard the thundering grumble of avalanches in the surrounding mountains.

Clear skies came and went while we were there

The hike up Hooker River to the Hooker Glacier was the second of three hikes on our last full day.  The lake there had icebergs floating in it.

Tasman Glacier was the third hike of the day.

Finally before we left, Mt Cook did show itself.  

Aoraki (Cloud Piercer) the native Maori people named it.

Lupine (or is it fireweed?) -- 22 November 2015

That day we traveled back to Christchurch airport and began what would be for most of us a looooong long day of trans-Pacific travel back to the USA.   Starting back on October 2nd, the entire seven week long sojourn of ours was an incredible experience for Shannon and myself -- seven weeks, six nations, and over 20,000 miles total distance covered.  We will treasure memories of those adventures the rest of our lives.  Thanks to all who contributed.