Scootin' around

We are trying to enjoy every last bit of Maui while we are here. So, we rented some mopeds in order to get the extra experience of smelling road kill as we drove down the road!

 

Kurt was the speedster, Trisha was slow as a snail

 

We went around west Maui with our bikes

 

Kahakuloa church

 

Julia's banana bread is "the best on the planet" according to Julia. We had to try out something with that reputation... and it was pretty good.

 

There wasn't a wave in Honolua Bay, a big surfing spot at times. 

We ate lunch on our own private beach.

We wanted to take advantage of the full 24 hours of our rental... (and mopeds are so much fun!) that we went riding with our coffee the next morning. We are starting to joy ride at a young age.

this and that...

We have been enjoying our last couple of weeks of weather and sunsets. 

 

The Grand Wailea is hosting a large company party this week. They had Cirque du soleil, Sheryl Crow, and Neil Diamond concerts for their employees. The best part was... we were able to crash the party for free!! Thank you Hawaii for public beaches.

A quick pic before we are off to work. What you can't see is the great sunset and whales breaching in the background. Despite the old, uncomfortable, and sometimes smelly furniture, we do love our condo!

Our First Year in Travel Nursing

Our Travels So Far

Check out the link!  This is just a sampling of some of our best pictures from the last year or so.  We've had a great time experiencing some new places.  If you are one of the lucky ones to have come and visited us over the last year, you might see yourself in the video.  The video is more fun if you have the volume up nice and high!

Haleakala Crater

We've purchased our flights back to the mainland for the end of this month.  So, in order to prepare ourselves for the temperatures of home, we decided to hike in the crater at the top of Haleakala.  For a couple of people who haven't experienced winter in a couple of years, a brutal wind chill at 10,000 feet is pretty cold.  

When you think of Hawaii, this alien landscape is probably not what comes to mind.

The barren reds and yellows are spectacular.  (our noses were dripping from the cold when we took this picture)

The panoramic view is difficult to portray using a camera.

The ancient Hawaiians referred to Haleakala as 'the land above the clouds.'  You really can get an understanding of this on your drive back through the clouds on your way down the mountain.

Oahu

Some of the best food on Oahu is served out of roadside trucks.  This one even had an address!

View of the mountains in Oahu.

Sunset on Waikiki Beach.

It was nice, but we'll stay on Maui.

2012 Volcom Pipe Pro

No visit to Oahu is complete without visiting America's surfing capitol, the north shore.  One of the most famous surf breaks in the world is there, it's called "pipeline."  It just so happened that as we were passing by, they were starting the semi-finals of a surfing competition.  Vickie was wondering as we were walking down to the beach "what kind of competition do you think they are having, surfing or something?"  I said, "not sure, maybe synchronized swimming or a dog show or something." (sarcasm)

It wasn't a dog show...sorry Vickie.

The eventual winner, John John Florence.  A surfer so nice, they named him twice.

 

 

There was one winner and many losers. This wasn't the winner.

Check out the video of the action!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwsSQiQ2_DQ

Pearl Harbor

This is a picture of Pearl Harbor.  To us (and it is hard to tell by this picture) we were surprised by how small the bay was.  Right now you can only see one battleship moored here, but in 1941, there would have been several dozen 600 foot battleships.

The memorial to the USS Arizona is still a powerful reminder of the scope of the Japanese's attack.  Over 900 men still lie inside the sunken battleship.

Pearl Harbor is relatively shallow, only about 45 feet deep.  When the USS Arizona sunk, it wasn't totally submerged.

These names are a portion of the 2400 men that died that day.

The USS Missouri is docked adjacent to the sunken USS Arizona.  The 'Mighty Mo' is the last American "battleship," and is also the place where the Japanese finally surrendered.