are things complicated yet?

Room Makeover: My Bedroom (And Kind Of The Bathroom, Too)

For years, I never made the bed. Like, EVER. (Do you make your bed every day?)

In my mind it totally DID NOT matter, because nobody was going to see it. I mean, why not use those precious moments in a hurried morning to load the dishwasher or do a chore that MATTERS? (You know, if I'm going to do a chore in the morning before work which HA HA NO, that never happened.) I figure I spent less than one hour, conscious, in my room per day. I woke up and went to work and didn't really go back in that room until it was time to sleep. It was not a hanging-out room. I wasn't even going to see the dumb bed until it was time to un-make it, so what's the point of actually MAKING it in the first place?

(Research like this validated my thoughts on the topic.)

(Warning: That link has a Very Scary, Intensely Magnified Bug Photo.)

Anyhoodle, my thoughts on the topic started to change when we moved to a house with the master bedroom downstairs and kid bedrooms upstairs, which forced us to naturally spend more time downstairs, nearby and in our room.

Then we had another baby and put the changing pad/station on our dresser, because who wants to go upstairs (after labor and delivery!) every time a diaper needs to be changed? No. I don't think so. We were in and out of the room a lot, as one might expect with a newborn. I started to (begrudgingly) make the bed every day, which actually means, "Throw the duvet up in the air and smooth it out as fast as I can." The lumpy sheets were making me insane and since I was dealing with a refluxy baby in that same room, it needed whatever (free, fast) feng shui I could manage. Making the bed was kind of a big deal to me for several months. It transformed the room! Good enough for now.

THEN I quit my job and I was staying at home for waaaaaay more hours than I used to. Some days I was staying at home for ALL THE HOURS. I was spending a crap ton of time in my bedroom changing diapers and nursing a baby (the glider was in there) and trying to get a baby down for a nap (she slept in a pack and play for MONTHS in our room). Sometimes, I even slept in my room! (Not a lot.) My desk was also in there, so if I wanted Quiet Internet Time, guess where I was spending it?

IN MY ROOM, YOU GUYS. I NEVER, EVER LEFT MY FRAKKING ROOM. IT WAS HORRIBLE. I spent a lot of time thinking,

"This room is actually very, very ugly. Ugh, I want to leave this room right now."

I was still making the bed (still new to me! still a big deal!), but LORDY I had not spent a dime decorating in here since about 2005, which was the middle of last decade, in another HOUSE.

Man, this is a really long lead up to a picture of my new duvet, which I am somehow calling a Whole Room Makeover. (I AM SORRY. I just feel like I have to EXPLAIN how I got to the picture I can't believe I'm about to post.)

OKAY, THE BEFORE PHOTO

This is such a sad, boring decor photo, but this is how my room looked for two years in this house and for six years at the old house. I mean, I know it's no van down by the river, but it's also not anything fun or interesting or PRETTY. 

UGLY ROOM ANALYSIS AND FURTHER EXPLANATIONS (I AM SORRY, BUT I HAVE TO EXPLAIN SOME MORE)

I hate this furniture. The wrought iron look is just...not for me. At all. But Chris came into our marriage with this furniture (woo! free!) and this room has never been a spending priority. So, we sort of try to ignore the ugly. This worked for a long time because we didn't spend much time in here, but lately that kind of brainwashing isn't working as well.

The duvet is a Marimekko print from Crate and Barrel (2005, I think, but they still sell it in different colors). I liked it for a long time, but in this room it felt so faded and washed out and also it was ooooold and I was tiiiiired of it. The whole setup is very sad and pathetic with only our two pillows (one is actually on the floor!). I never hung anything above the bed because I figured we'd get new furniture at some point and we all know where that budget conversation went so this Giant Expanse Of Blank Wall just kept existing, all Ugly and Boring and In My Face and killing my soul.

And then one day I decided to throw some money at the problem. Literally, I opened a Pottery Barn catalogue, saw what I wanted and bought it THAT INSTANT. This is the best impulse purchase of my life, people.

PRETTY AFTER EXPLANATION AND ANALYSIS

I bought a new duvet and a crap ton of pillows in a dreamy palm print and some of those fluffy pickstich shams. Part of my strategy with the pile of pillows was to try and cover up that ugly ass wrought iron scrolly-headboard. And, it kind of worked! I hardly ever think about it these days! I am thinking about maybe some kind of bench or chest for the foot of the bed, to perform similar visual-blocking miracles. There is a cedar chest in Claire's room that I am thinking of requisitioning for this purpose.

This beachy pillow cost too much but I LOVE IT.

I had some canvas wraps printed (at Costco!) for over the bed. They're 16 x 20's and I thought they might be too small for such a big space, but I actually really like them there. At this point, Claire BEGGED ME to "be in a picture with her picture." What a stinking HAM she is.

THEN I got really nutty at Target one day and decided I LOVED the brighter green color in the duvet and what the BATHROOM really needed was a makeover too. (I am really good at spending money.) I got some new hand towels.

And then I got a new bathmat. What I really wanted to do was rip the room to the studs and start over again, but that actually costs more than a bathmat and hand towels (Crazy! I know!), so I quit while I was still under $40 for the room and actually, it makes me notice the 1997 brass-colored everything a lot less when I have nice hand towels to look at, so that's a win in my book.

This is kind of a boring picture, but I also finally hung some prints that I got for Christmas (about Maui, of course). (I LOVE THESE PRINTS and his whole Hawaii-themed shop of original artwork. LOOOOOVE!)

So, that's what I've been spending money and time on this past month. Wheeee! 

7 Quick Takes: I CREATED A TOMATO! Also, I hate chicken and cemeteries are creepy (WHO KNEW?)

1. Firstly, a housekeeping matter. Here are results of the Are You A Card Person survey from a week or two ago.

About 46% claim to NOT be Card People, 20% are, and 35% of you fall somewhere in the middle. So, rather evenly split actually, which surprised me. (And, if you took the survey, thank you for clicking three whole extra times. CLICKING IS HARD, I KNOW.)

2. I should probably save this for a Legit Garden Update, but this is kind of a big deal and I felt those of you who are emotionally invested in The Garden might be rather interested to know a tomato has appeared, which proves I can do anything with the help of the internet.

You hear that? I CREATED A TOMATO!

3. We are back from New Orleans and I have been mentally composing a big recap post, but let's be honest, who knows when that will actually happen, as I never got around to actually recapping my trip in January 2011. If you would like to sneak peek and browse the photos, they're over at Flickr.

We toured a cemetery and I still have the creepies about it, several days later.

4. I have recently decided I am going to stop buying chicken. I stopped eating chicken in restaurants ages ago, because it just felt like FILLER to me. I didn't enjoy eating it and it tastes pretty BLAH (hence the phrase, "tastes like chicken," I suppose). I even started calling it "Token Chicken." This phrase refers to mostly to Thai dishes with vegetables, noodles, sauce, and some kind of bits of chicken thrown in to satisfy meat-eaters that need meat to call something DINNER. I also find Token Chicken in pasta dishes, burritos, sandwiches (just gimme the vegetables), pizzas, etc. About the only chicken I get excited to eat these days is hot wings and that's like, a once-a-quarter thing for me.

I just...kind of find chicken to be really disgusting. I don't like touching it raw, I hate cooking with it (slimy, veiny, disgusting), I don't enjoy eating it all that much and.....meh. I talked about it so much in such a negative light that Chris kind of agrees with me at this point. I'd much rather have beef (good beef, that is) or just straight-up vegetables. So, yeah. Kind of out on chicken these days.

5. The Blathering is in six months! Oh, I can't wait to see everyone. 

6. I finally bought my Jack Rogers sandals in silver and THEY ARE FANTASTIC. I had to order a half size up, because the 9 was very, very narrow. My pinky toe was actually hanging off, which was not super attractive. The 9.5 though was perfect and I wore then all over New Orleans and I just love these shoes. I am so mad I waited so many years to try them.

7. The baby woke up. There will be no 7th take today.

The Garden, Week 13: Blossoms, Mushrooms, and A Very Goofy Kid

Today while watering the garden, which I have not done in several days (thank you very much soaking rain from last Friday), I was picking at random bits of grass that had come through the soil and pinching off suckers and I noticed some BLOSSOMS!

Is it hard to tell what you're looking at? Well, I don't have a fancy lens to take close-up pictures of my garden, so I'll make it super easy for you:

This is a website that prides itself on excellent and highly professional photo editing.

This means I will spend time tomorrow at the garden shop, buying fertilizer. I am not sure what to buy, but I am banking on the garden people being helpful and I also read an article from the Sacramento Bee (that Elizabeth sent me, of course) so it doesn't look too hard.

I was feeling like my tomatoes were rather shrimpy to be blossoming (they're about 18") but Elizabeth's are about the same height so I guess it's fine. (Elizabeth and I spend a great deal of our friendship discussing tomatoes, what of it?)  I was just expecting GIANT HUGE TOMATOES OF DOOOOOOM and unless I start giving them steroids I'm not sure how that's going to happen in the next month or two. Perhaps I will be wrong? The Brandywines are easily 18" each but I have a lone Black Krim that's only 8" at this point and he is growing SO SLOWLY.

(Pretty sure he is going to get cut from the team for 2013.)

Mushrooms in my garden, WTF DO I DO WITH THESE?

A week or three ago, a found a stray mushroom growing in the garden. A clump of them, actually, right at the bottom of a tomato stalk. (I might have sent a panicked email to Elizabeth that said something along the lines of "WHAT THE SHIT DO I DO?") I pulled it out of the garden, but more showed up! I yanked those out too. About Day 7 I finally remembered there's this thing called The Internet and maybe I should see what it says about mushrooms in my garden?

They're okay according to a few oddball gardening forums. (Watch out for that first link, it's kind of FREAKY how excited some people get about garden mushrooms.) It's something about how they help the root systems? And some people BUY mushrooms to put in their garden to improve the soil? I don't know, but the spores were probably part of the vegetable soil mix and I felt silly for taking them out if they were supposed to be there. They pop up and disappear over a couple of hours and don't seem to be hurting anything, so unless someone leaves me a panicky comment otherwise, I'm ignoring them.

Can you believe the audacity of this bunny to just HANG OUT by the garden fence??! 

He is totally asking for me to pop him with a BB gun. HE SO TOTALLY IS. And you guys? He does this several times a day. He just loiters over there, plotting ways to get in once the vegetables show up. He's much smarter than he looks, I'm sure of it.

And here I am, with no makeup on at twilight, watering the garden. 

This is what I look like when I water the garden. Most of the time, I actually DO maintain a slightly wry look on my face because I can't believe I haven't killed anything yet. Also, I am wearing an Old Navy maternity t-shirt from 2008 because it has aged BEAUTIFULLY and is SO VERY SOFT and I will never get rid of it, even though it is a maternity shirt. Please don't judge me and my awesome 2008 maternity shirt.

Aaaaand, here are some pictures of Claire and the garden.

I know, I know. She appears to be dancing to Thriller. I....don't really know why.

Cards: Flimsy Paper or Emotional Declarations?

Are you a Card Person?

That is, a person who sends a lot of cards, for a lot of holidays, to a lot of people? And, in return, enjoys receiving cards from a variety of people to celebrate/mark different days? Perhaps you have maybe felt hurt or emotionally put out over NOT receiving a card from a certain person?

Or, conversely, has a relationship ever improved because someone sent you a card? (In this case I am talking about a card without apologetic/forgiving/meaningful original words, which I would describe more as a letter. [Which could be IN the card, but would be different from simply A Card With Only A Signature, which is what we are talking about today.]) Any of these are the kind of behavior I'd define as belonging to a Card Person.

I'm not a Card Person. I enjoy finding them in the mailbox, but I RARELY send actual birthday cards or any other cards. I do not frequent the Card aisle. I do not have a Card Drawer or Box or Stockpile, contrary to Hallmark's urgings about Cards being absolutely necessary (and thus stockpilable!) for after the apocalypse.

I never have a panicky thought of, "OH NO I HAVE TO SEND A CARD!" To me, no rational person would judge me on such a trivial thing, because it's just A CARD. They fall in the category of compliments for me: I enjoy receiving them, and sincerely appreciate them, but I do not expect them or assign meaning to my relationships via Cards. 

I don't want to sound like I think, "Oh, a stupid Card," whenever I receive one, because I don't think that AT ALL. I LOVE getting fun mail and it makes me smile and feel warm and fuzzy and I put all of our cards on the mantle and look at them for several weeks and then I usually keep them in a box (especially cards the girls get). I think it's sweet and nice that someone took the time to send me one, particularly because I know what a string of errands it can be to get one in the mail. But I have never, ever, thought more or less of someone for the lack of or presence of A Card.

Moxie has a post today that kind of highlights this idea. The woman in question sent her MIL a Mother's Day card, but the MIL did not send HER a Mother's Day card (quelle horreur!) and, well, she is offended about the lack of card. Which must obviously mean Other (Bad?) Things about their relationship.

There are a lot of comments over there about the nature of mother/mother-in-law/daughter/daughter-in-law relationships and who "deserves" the card/mention and who "owns" the holiday and I'm all,

"Maybe the MIL isn't a Card person and this whole made-up situation is something she is entirely oblivious to? IT IS JUST A CARD."

Cards are just SO NOT on my radar of ongoing things I need to pay attention to. I don't send ANYONE a birthday card (or a whatever card) because cards are not a way I primarily express love/affection/friendship. When I feel stamp-and-mailbox inclined (RARELY), I am much more a fan of the random card or postcard, sent for no reason.

Perhaps this comes down to Love Languages? Mine is Words of Affirmation, which maybe explains why I'm ambivalent about cards? I don't know. I'm just not A Card Person! Don't hate me!

I tried to embed a simple survey, because I suspect I'm in the minority on this whole Card thing, but I can't make it work and the children are not pleased with me. So, here's a link instead. I KNOW, A WHOLE EXTRA CLICK.But, I have a feeling if you are A Card Person you will be wanting to let me know about it. In my experience, Card People feel very strongly about Cards.

Click here to take survey

Why do the worst photo shoots always return the best pictures?

We took some pictures last week, with our very awesome and fantastic photographer Angela Majerus. She's shot both girls since they were babies and I was fortunate to find her through the obsessive googling that only a first-time pregnant woman does in the middle of the night. Her work basically decorates every wall in my home.

The children were...uncooperative. (To put it very nicely.) There was not a lot of smiling, a whole bunch of whining, a pair of lost shoes, crying, and scowly faces. I was sure the shoot was a disaster. We were already planning the re-shoot.

And then Angela sent me these photos and I died. 

Oh, these girls. My heart. 

All photos by Angela Majerus Photography.

The Garden, Weeks 10, 11, and 12: Minty, Smelly, Watery, Rabbity

I know it's been awhile since we talked about the garden, but it turns out once you get plants in the ground there's not a lot of day-to-day ACTION. (Perhaps this is a reason, "The Garden!" is not one of this summer's action-packed blockbusters.) Time to just throw out a big updatey-update.

***

This is an Apple Mint plant. I bought it at Home Depot and I thought it would be nice to have fresh mint for iced tea, mojitos, and whatever else I came up with. Mint is really hard to kill, it smells nice, and thrives in wet spots. Our hose bib leaks a considerable bit when turned on so I figured it was a GREAT spot for some mint.

Then, some bugs promptly chewed it up. There were hardly any leaves left and while I know mint is a very difficult thing to kill, I was sure the bugs had done it.

There used to be a lot more leaves on this plant. As in, you could tell it was actually a plant.

But! Lo! THE MINT CAME BACK! I was very pleased with myself for continuing to water a dead-looking plant. Surely only a very smart gardener continues to water a dead-looking plant, yes? (Don't answer that.) It was looking very leafy and healthy and I thought, "I should take a picture of it! To show how mint can come back!" 

And then, on Monday, Chris was making a loop of the yard with his trimmer and he mistook the mint for a weed. He said, "it suddenly smelled minty and I just KNEW." He knows how important my plants are. He felt pretty badly.

You can't even tell where a mint plant is supposed to be, it's just a jumble of sad plant body parts.

I told him it's okay. Mint is really hard to kill. It'll come back. Mint is the Pheonix of the herb world. (POOR MINTY-MINT.)

IN OTHER NEWS!

I (or other members of my household) have not actually killed anything, which is mighty impressive. I planted cucumber, okra, and scallion seeds and they came out of the ground a few days later with leaves and everything, just like they're supposed to. I don't know, man. There's something downright MAGIC BEANS unbelievable about this whole garden thing.

"You mean I just put these tiny things in the ground and FOOD COMES OUT?"

Yep. Allegedly, that's how this is going to turn out.

Spiders in my garden! I like to envision them eating bad bugs.

I fixed my ugly fence. Chris bought some actual stakes and I ripped out my sad version and re-did it one Saturday morning. I took before and after pictures and....you really can't tell a difference. This is disappointing only because I spent about an hour cutting wire and crawling around it for almost no reward in aesthetic. (On the plus side, it does appear to be keeping the rabbits out, so there's that.)

Before, with tables holding down the edges:

And, after with stout green stakes and excess wire cut off:

I know, it looks pretty much the same. How very disappointing. Perhaps I should have bedazzled it for true results. Because I know you enjoy seeing pictures of my mood after sweaty garden work, here's how I felt after I re-did the fence. 

PRETTY DAMN PLEASED WITH MYSELF.

I had a bunch of extra seedlings I was saving for delivery to locals, but one day the wind blew them off the table and because I was just tired of dealing with them and I didn't feel like performing seedling CPR, I threw them away. Next year I am for sure planting fewer seeds or starting a seedling co-op of some kind with local friends.

Sad tomatoes.

VEGETABLE STATUS 

California Wonder Bell Peppers

These are doing okay. They were planted all on the same day but they are VASTLY different sizes. I have one that is about 2" tall and another that is close to 8". Four of these, in all.

Cucumbers

One of the things I like to do is to smell my plants. I know, this sounds weird, but just go with me. The leaves of the cucumber plants SMELL LIKE CUCUMBERS! This sounds very "no shit" but it kind of blew me away when I figured it out. No actual cucumbers yet, but it SMELLS like them! How delightful!

Scallions

I have a bunch of thin, needle-like, green things that smell like onions. (Oh, come on, you knew I was going to smell these too.)

Tomatoes 

They're doing well! Getting taller and leafier. I have been pinching off suckers (leaves that grow at the apex of stalk and stems) as I find them, since they won't produce fruit and their leaves will just suck energy away from fruit-producing parts of the plant.

The Whiskey Barrel

Okay, I lied. I think I killed the thyme. BUT. I am still watering it, so maybe it will come back. There is a lone green stem, so I'm hopeful. The basil is getting bigger, so that's good because a key component of caprese salad is basil and the hell if I am going to have to buy any after all this freaking work. (Look how tiny it used to be!) I bought a rosemary plant because I planted rosemary seeds THREE times and they never germinated, so I think I got crap seeds. (Incidentally, these were the only seeds that came from Lowe's. NO JUDGEMENT, LOWE'S.)

Watering

Texas has been in a big drought for what seems like forever. The ground here is already cracked from a lack of moisture, and although this looks bad, I have cousins in west Texas with cracks in their yards big enough for cats to sleep in. The DFW area is faring better than the rest of the state, but it still isn't raining very much.

My yard is thirsty.

I have been SUPER paranoid about not watering enough, so every day I hook up the soaker hoses and let them run until I can see water coming out the bottom of the raised bed. I have no idea if this is the right way to do things, but it's what I do. Sometimes, if I feel like it's extra hot? I run out there with a cup or two of water and pour it on the basil and my favorite tomato plants. 

This sounds like a giant pain in the ass, right? Hauling the hose to that side of the yard and babysitting it for 20 or 30 minutes? It sort of is. Going to check the tomatoes has actually become one of my favorite parts of the day. It's oddly soothing to go through these small motions over weeks and weeks and hope they add up to creating productive plants. Plus, it's something that I usually do by myself (sometimes, Claire will "help") and I like alone time, even if it's only a half hour in the yard.

I'm pretty curious how this will impact the water bill. Last year when we started watering the lawn, the water bill went THROUGH THE ROOF. So much so, we cut waaaay back on watering the lawn. I'm trying to be thrifty with moisture, but I haven't figured out the sweet spot quite yet.

UP NEXT

I need to get some mulch and put it on top of the beds, now that the plants are a little taller. (Manual labor, UGH. I thought I was done with that for the season.) I also need to fertilize the tomatoes as soon as they start to flower and I don't know a lot about that so I'll have to make some garden shop visits. 

For anyone that made it this far (I should really go back to weekly updates because this is WAY TOO LONG), here's a picture of our resident bunny. He's one of at least two and these rabbits have NO FEAR. They don't even run off when we go outside. 

The Many Faces Of Claire

What is it about the age of three that makes children such HAMS?

"Claire, smile!"

"No, SMILE. SMIIIIIILE!"

"Aghhhh. Claire. Claire. CLAIRE. Just smile, okay? A nice smile!"

"THANK. YOU."

One. Charlotte is ONE!

She wasn't born until sometime after lunch, but the entire day is her day. Oh, SIGH. Her first birthday, you guys! How did we get here? How did I get here? I'll save the outer-realm philosophical musings about my wittle baby turning one for another day, but just trust me when I tell you they're swirling in my brain. (SWIRLING!)

And now, a year in The Charlotte.

Newborn (The Smooshy Baby)

Two Weeks

Three Months

Five Months

Six Months

Ten Months

12 months

WHOA, CHARLOTTE! You're only ONE year old, not TWENTY-ONE!

(Let's pretend we didn't see this.) (Also, it appears our resident Fisher-Price sheep has a drinking problem.)

(I TRIED to find a cutesy-smiley photo of her at about now but she's just TOO FAST and always ON THE RUN. It was this or the Dos Equis photo so I just included both. It's fair to say these are a good representation of Charlotte these days: getting into things she should not, climbing onto things she should not.)

Happy First Birthday, Charlie Bear.

We're getting a Baskin-Robbins Ice Cream Cake for YOU today. (Two-cake birthday!) Not for Mommy. FOR YOU. 

Oh! One More Thing About Maui! We Rented A Plane!

I can't believe I forgot to tell you guys about the time we rented a plane in Maui.

A very big THING in Hawaii are helicopter tours of the islands. We did one of those in Kauai, on our honeymoon, and it was very ohhhh-ahhhh. HOWEVER. There are a few things about helicopters that make me somewhat uncomfortable about doing that again.

Thing The First

A helicopter tour is pretty spendy. Helicopters cost a FORTUNE to insure (waaaaay more than a single engine aircraft) and they're not cheap to purchase in the first place. Training is also very expensive. (On the good side, they do drink the same fuel.) A complete tour of Maui runs almost $400/person. That's...a lot for an hour and a half flight.

Thing The Second

Helicopters crash with more frequency in Hawaii than in most other tourist destinations. There are probably a couple of factors that play into this: frequency (both in number of total flights per day and flights per day per helicopter versus other general aviation in the area), dramatic terrain changes what with the VOLCANOES RISING FROM THE OCEAN FLOOR, and frequent, severe, weather changes due to that terrain and the ocean (fog,rain, and a helluva big crosswind, all probably changing minute-to-minute and mile-to-mile). 

In the past 30 years there have been 60 helicopter crashes in Hawaii. 17 were fatal. That's...a lot.

Per a local blog,

There is a proposal in front of the FAA that would establish a minimum altitude of 1500 feet in order to avoid obscured mountain peaks that are frequently found in Hawaii. Hawaii operators believe that the increased altitude could result in additional crashes from reduced visibility in clouds often present at higher altitudes.

So, yeah. It's a tricky thing to fly in Hawaii, helicopter OR airplane. 

We started asking about renting a plane and circling the island ourselves. Mostly, it sounded a HELLUVA lot cheaper. Turns out, you can do that!

This is Big Beach, in Wailea. I took this picture and I am very proud of myself.

We rented a 2003 Cessna 172 SP from Maui Aviators. It's going for $164/hour these days and we probably paid close to that or the same when we did this in 2009. We had the engine on for about two hours and we circled Maui, Molokai, and Lanai. I think the total bill was about $400. If you'll notice, the above price for a helicopter tour does not include Molokai or Lanai. And? Our plane also seated FOUR people for that price. We only took two plus the instructor, but there was plenty of room for a fourth.

For the price of ONE seat on a SHORTER helicopter tour, we got THREE passenger seats and a LONGER tour. Much better value.

Oh, yes, the instructor. It's very common that a shop will require you to take an instructor until you get "checked out" in their aircraft. Only after you've been checked out can you rent solo. This is very typical with any rental operation, no matter the location. It's not exactly like renting a car: there's more cash at stake and it's easier to kill yourself. They have to be confident a pilot knows how to handle the aircraft and is familiar with the local airspace and regulations.

For example, in Hawaii you do not file a traditional flight plan, you file an Island Flight Plan. You check in over the radio at each waypoint (a physical landmark or set of coordinates) and say how long it will be until you get to the next one. If you don't make it to the next waypoint and check in on time, Flight Service will immediately begin overdue aircraft procedures. This way, they have a very good idea of where you are and where to send search and rescue, which is important because there are mountains to fly into and a big, big ocean below and it's super easy to die fast out there.

Oh, this is fun to talk about right? IT'S FUN! COME ON!

Anyway, we had to take one of their instructors with us, but that was a SUPER GREAT thing and we would have wanted him anyway. He knew all the waypoints (and how to PRONOUNCE them) and he was a great tour guide. Chris did the flying and our instructor handled the radio and provided some live narration.

The views were amazing - the high wings on a Cessna give passengers an unobstructed view and there are lots of windows. Another great thing about taking a plane up ourselves was if we want to go back and look at something? Or get a little closer? We can do that! We're not on a schedule or trying to make a razor thin margin off this flight. We're just payin' by the hour.

So, we DID do that. We were trying to see some whales off of Kapalua, and we thought we saw one, so we edged over that way and circled for a bit. We ended up seeing a few, which was really exciting to see from above.

This one is actually the Pipiwai Trail, that I mentioned in the last post. That waterfall up top is the 400-footer and you hike basically from the beach up there and back. It's AWESOME.

I also really enjoyed flying along the far side of Molokai, with the sea cliffs. These are the highest sea cliffs in the world. I had thought the cliffs on Kauai, along the Kalaulau Trail were spectacular, but these were just jaw-dropping. I wanted to double back and see them again, but the wind and weather were not in our favor. The Kalaupapa Peninsula was also interesting to me, as I'd gotten really wrapped up in Father Damien's story a few years ago and had spent an odd amount of time reading historical fiction and actual biographies about/from that era. I could see the church and the cemetery and it was just...kind of somber and unexpectedly meaningful to see from above.

So, yeah! We rented a plane in Maui and it was totally kick butt. Owning an aircraft isn't for everyone - Hell, if you don't have a far-off place to go on the regular, it doesn't make any fiscal sense. To make it worthwhile you have to actually fly the damn thing pretty often.  

There are a lot of recurrent costs to ownership that you can escape with a rental. The best scenario is to get your license and get checked out with a local group. That way, if you want to go to New Orleans for the weekend twice a year, and you enjoy flying yourself ANYWAY, you can do that for a DRAMATICALLY lower annual cost in terms of access to a quality aircraft. (And trust me, this is a WAY more quality aircraft than the one we own, it's almost 40-years newer.) And, since you're already checked out, you would be well past needing to take an instructor with you.

Then, obviously, you can also do things like this with a pilot's license - see other places from above, as you dictate the route and schedule.

***

I've been thinking A LOT about taking my first flying lessons in the next few weeks and I have to admit, I AM SO NERVOUS. I don't know why! I have spent more than a hundred hours in a tiny-ass airplane and I am pretty familiar with how it works. But, there you go, I AM NERVOUS. I'm thinking about it a lot more often than I used to though, and the idea appeals to me more every day.  I'd like to start soon, but I think it'll be more like this fall before my first flight with our instructor. I'll start working on some ground school items this summer and take my first lesson this fall, once the heat breaks. 

I hope I don't barf. That would be really embarrassing.

Maui: Where To Stay, What To Eat (ALL THE TUNA), What To Do

We are going to Maui in September for a 10-day, no-kids, fruity-drink, tuna feast. (There will also be many hours on the beach.) I've been to Hawaii about 15 times and, as evidenced by 15 trips in the ten or so years I've had disposable income, I love The Great State of Hawaii.

I have been to Maui most often (I've also been to Kauai and Oahu) and I get asked pretty frequently what to do on Maui, what restaurants are the best on Maui, where's the best place to stay on Maui, etc etc. So, instead of looking for this email every time someone asks, I figured I'd just POST this damn thing so Google will lead people where they need to go.

Where to Stay

We stay in Wailea, at Pineapple Inn, in the Cottage. It's $215/night for a two-bedroom cottage with a full kitchen and this is a SCREAMING deal. We have stayed at Pineapple five or six times and I LOVE IT. I like it more than a resort. In fact, I do not even want to stay at a resort in Wailea. I will only stay at Pineapple.

It's small: just the cottage (a guest house type building) and 4 other double-occupancy rooms. They have snorkel gear, umbrellas, beach mats, coolers, etc for the beach and the owners could not possibly be more awesome, cool, hospitable, and fantastic. There is a laundry, plenty of parking, no daily resort fees, nobody to tip, no $19 drinks. They have a saltwater pool and hot tub and since the property is so small, I can only remember ONE TIME I had to share the pool space with someone I was not related to. It feels like MY house and MY pool (in Maui!). It's so awesome and private and such a great value.

I could probably write 500 additional words about Pineapple Inn, but I will restrain myself. LOVE LOVE LOVE.

There is a Costco right by the airport and we usually fly in around lunch, hit Costco for supplies (beer, sandwichy stuff, snacks, bottled water for the beach) then go to Pineapple to check in. (A beer upon arrival is pretty much an absolute necessity after an 8-hour flight from Texas. DON'T FORGET TO BUY BEER.) They also have leis, for a good price, if you are feeling like you need one immediately upon arrival.

(AHEM.)

Restaurants

There are a LOT of fancy restaurants in Wailea, but we tend to prefer places NOT in a hotel. So, this list skews that direction.

Gannon's

This is where we got married and the food was pretty okay last time we were there (not THE BEST, but still yummy) but what I really like is the view. The view is very awesome. The ownership has changed since we got married, but it's pretty similar food. Plus, since this IS where we got married it feels like a must-visit to us for that reason alone. If you were not into doing dinner here, cocktails and appetizers would absolutely be lovely and you'd get the same view. This is a Bev Gannon restaurant.

Sarento's on the Beach

Literally ON THE BEACH and for this place you DEFINITELY want a sunset reservation. I'd call before you arrive on the island, several weeks in advance if you can. Sometimes, we can see whales from our table. Every time we leave I am so HAPPY and PLEASED with my evening. As I recall their wine list is a little pricey (goes with the territory, perhaps) but they have some nice wines by the glass. Really good food, really nice view, spectacular service. 

Sansei, Kihei location

This isn't a fine dining place, but you'd be very impressed with the bill I can rack up at a sushi joint that serves nice sake.

It's in a strip mall, so sunset reservations do not apply. BEST SUSHI EVER.  When we go to Maui I try to eat here twice.  Three times if I can talk Chris into it. I'd make a reservation for early in your stay and then if you want to go again you'll have time.  Get the panko crusted tuna special for sure (maybe TWO orders of it). Oh, wait, I found a picture!

Panko crusted ahi with arugula and spinach in a soy butter sauce! DELICIOUS!

The tea duck eggs rolls are also to die for. I could make a whole meal out of those. 

They have a very extensive cooked/hot menu for those in your party not into raw fish, plus lots of (DELICIOUS) sushi and tons of sake and Japanese beer.  It is awesome and it's always packed and you aboslutely need a reservation so you don't have to wait two hours for a table. I could eat here every single damn night and still be asking Chris if he wanted to go again at lunch.

Tommy Bahama's, Shops at Wailea

This is in a shopping center and there's no view. The food is pricey for what it is (Welcome to Maui!). I'll be super honest, this is not my favorite place because the atmosphere is pretty formulaic and the service is just kind of casual for how expensive it is. BUT. They have great cocktails. If you need a place for a big, froofy, wild cocktail with a wedge of pineapple? And you are staying at the above B&B and thusly have no hotel or pool bar? This is a pleasant place to consume such a beverage and have a snack and then go buy postcards at the ABC downstairs.

Somtimes, they have live music. If you don't have a reservation for dinner the girls up front are all snotty like they work at some AMAZING restaurant and I always want to kick them because HI YOU WORK AT A LICENSED CLOTHING RESTAURANT. Just get a reservation so you don't end up kicking a seventeen-year-old girl.

Stella Blues

This is a simple place but they make a great breakfast and the service is always so friendly. Banana Macadamia Nut Pancakes are my favorite and the coffee is good too. Here, look at this mocha. It is probably a 1,000-calorie mocha, but vacations are made for 1,000-calorie mochas, yes?

Things To Do

Pipiwai Trail

It's the on back side of the volcano in Haleakala National Park, past Hana. Very cool hike that we REALLY enjoyed to a couple of waterfalls. It's not too strenuous and it's gorgeous. There is even a bamboo forest, which is kind of fun to walk through.

The National Park Service says,

"Visitors can hike the 4-mile (round trip) Pipiwai trail following the stream which courses through the `Ohe`o Gulch and ends at the 400-ft Waimoku Falls."

Charles Lindbergh's grave is out that way too, which is neat if you are an aviation nerd like I am.

It's a big, all day drive out there, though. When we go to Hana (and we've only been once but are going back on our upcoming trip) we spend the night because really, IT IS FAR AWAY and for us it's just too much to go out there, do things and then go all the way back to Wailea in one day. It's gorgeous though. Beyond comparison to any place I've ever been.

Iao Valley

This is nice, but there are usually several tour busses. Easy enough to get to, but honestly not my favorite stop. Kind of MEH. Not a lot to see and it's fogged in pretty frequently.

The Pineapple Winery

There is a pineapple winery on the far side of the volcano and it's terrible and far away and crowded with stupid tourists that wax poetically about PINEAPPLE WINE FTLOG and....I would not go there if I were you. It's a day-killer for not much payoff.

If you ignore me and decide that you simply must experience pineapple wine before you die (?!), pack a picnic lunch. There's not a lot to eat out that way and they have some lovely grounds and picnic tables that you could spend some time at (while drinking pineapple wine baaaaaaarf).

Catamaran Sails (Sunset, Whale-Watching, Snorkeling)

I like the cats with Sailing Maui.

We have used them three times and their ships are AMAZING.  We've done both the sunset sail and day-trip snorkel sail to Kapalua. Catered lunch, big enough boat for everyone, goes fast, see turtles, sunbathe, have cocktails, etc etc. I love this activity.

The cat picks up at the beach in Kaanapali, across from Duke's. What you do is you book the sunset sail a day or so in advance (check the weather to make sure it's decent), go to Duke's and have a lava flow at the bar, watch the catamaran come in, people watch, enjoy the atmosphere, and then walk out to the beach and onto the boat. Afterwards, you can have dinner at any place in Kaanapali (I like Leilani's, Duke's and Roy's [which is a little up the highway, but good, although you CAN find them on the mainland].)

This way, if you're staying in Wailea you can make a sort of afternoon/evening out of the trip up to Kaanapali.

Lava Floooooow!

Shopping

I like to stroll the Shops at Wailea and the shops in Kaanapali at Whaler's Village. (I do not like shopping in Lahaina on Front Street. It's very trinkety-junky and I actually dislike Lahaina a lot.) Shopping is basically what I do when it's too rainy to go to the beach. It usually only rains for a morning or afternoon, then clears up and shopping for aloha dresses or postcards is an easy way to fritter some time.

Molokini

I am super MEH on Molokini. It's a sunken crater and that's all sexy sounding and everything but it's SO CROWDED out there. Easily 15 or 30 boats at a time, 10 snorkelers per. The boats are smallish, it's not fun to ride on them like a catamaran is. You have to cross a channel with a strong current (BUMPY) to get there and....MEH. There ARE a lot of fish at Molokini, but there are a lot of fish where the Sailing Maui people took us and it was just a waaaaaay nicer experience.

Haleakala National Park

This is the volcano and I LOVE the drive up there. It takes a while, but not nearly as long as the drive to Hana. It's a pretty drive, with lots of places to stop. Maybe pack a picnic lunch. There's a lavender farm half-way up and I'd like to visit it this time. Once you get to the top, it's COLD and WINDY and so alien and so very cool.

You can see all the way to the Big Island - that's Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa behind Chris. 

This is the crater - so cool right? Can you believe this is on a tropical island??

We've never done a hike on Haleakala, but there are lots of trails and we might try one this time. I have never done sunrise on the volcano but I am told it is also MEH because you drive up in the dark! And you can't see anything! And you have to leave at like 3 am! And, well, that sounds not very fun on a lot of different metrics.

The draw to this crazy idea is sometimes, as the sun comes over the horizon there is a green flash. Something about the curvature of the earth and the altitude, I think? But, only SOMETIMES. How mad would you be to go through all that effort and NO GREEN FLASH?

You can do a bike ride down the volcano, where they take you up in a van with the bikes and let you loose at the top to coast down, which sounds SO fun to me, but Chris thinks it's dangerous (I CANNOT IMAGINE WHY) so I can never talk him into it. 

Makena Beach

This is the beach we go to. In my experience, it is usually about this crowded. I have no desire to try other beaches because we have done that a few times and they just aren't as good.

There's a tiny public parking lot and you walk a little bit to the beach. It's smallish. There are a lot of turtles in the bay (I think they call it Turtle Town) and there are sometimes boats from Molokini that stop by.  I'm told that the snorkeling is good, but I've never tried it here. I love this beach. It's super close to Pineapple, super accessible, and hardly ever jammed with people.

***

So, there you go. Two thousand words of opinion about what to see and do on Maui. (I am not known for brevity on this topic.) If anyone else has favorites, pipe up in the comment box. I'm always looking for new stuff to try!