Prior to leaving for our trip, I researched several whale watching outfits on the internet and in the “Maui Revealed” guide book (see previous post).   The outfit that stood out was the Pacific Whale Foundation (www.pacificwhale.org).  Not only did they have reasonable prices and several daily trips to choose from, they sponsered extensive research on the whales and were active advocates for protecting the whales and their habitat.  Funds collected from the boat trips, events, memberships, and of course, their gift shops, not only support the staff, but also fund the research, education, and preservation.  So, with creditcard in hand, I signed us up for two trips – a Sunrise Whalewatch and the Whale Photo Safari.

The Sunrise Whalewatch trip left bright and early out of the Lahaina Harbor.  A 5:45 AM check in and 6:30 AM departure, meant leaving Kihei at around 5 AM (yikes, it was a little early to be getting up on vacation, but oh it was soooo worth it).  When we arrived in Lahaina, we parked a couple of blocks away and walked to the harbor, via Banyon Tree Park.  Banyon Tree Park, for thoses who have not been, is an amazing banyon tree that was planted in April 1873 and now, almost 130 years later, spans a full city block.  In the wee hours of the morning, the tree is alive with hundreds of birds that chatter away without a care in the world.  Such a treat. 

Once on board the boat, we headed out of the harbor as the sun rose over Haleakala. 

With calm seas, it was easy to spot the whales spouts in the distance.  At first there were a few sightings here and there, with mother whales and calves spouting, but then, as the sun got higher on the horizon, the fun began. 

Just off the bow of our boat, three young males gathered and started a competition of breaching and pec slapping to determine who was top whale-dude in the water.  Good times.

The second trip was the Whale Photo Safari.  The trip was 4 1/2 hours and had about 20 people.   The photo safari featured Annie Macie, the foundation’s lead photographer and researcher, and Doug Hoffman, a world-renowned wildlife photographer (www.douglasjhoffman.com).  As the boat left the harbor, Annie and Doug gave a brief talk on the proper settings for our cameras, how to capture the best images, and then typical whale behaviour and what we should anticipate.   Once again, we left at 6:30 AM from the Lahaina habor and spent the morning off of the island of Lana’i.  At first the whale were quiet with a few breaches here and there.  Around midway through the trip, however, they started waking up and putting on a show.  While we did not see the classic full-body breach, we did see pec slaps, peduncle slaps, spyhopping, and tale slapping.  Pretty amazing.  By the end of the trip, everyone was pretty excited about the images that they captured.  

In addition to the whales, we did encounter three types of dolphins that are common to Hawaii:  the  Hawaiian Spinner, the Pan Tropical Spotted, and the Pacific Bottlenose.  All three species were very active in and around our boat and provided great photo-ops.  Another plus for the day.

As we arrived back in Portland, I was so glad that we made the effort to get up early and enjoy the two whalewatching trips.  There is nothing in this world like watching the full body of a whale fly out of the water in a moments notice.  Simply amazing.

One of our longer adventures on the island was to drive to Hana and back in one day.  We knew it was a long-and-windy road and that it would take several hours to drive one way – actually it was about 8 hours (one way) to drive the 50 miles from Kihei and 1 1/2 hours to return.  So to beat the traffic on the Hana Highway, we woke up around 5:30 AM and got on the road by 6:30 AM.  After a stop for coffee, we arrived at Paia and made it to Mile Post 1 by 7:30 AM.  As we drove along, my “navigator” kept track of the mileposts and “The Blue Book” – which comes with a big warning:  Unless you are planning to stay in Hana over night – we suggest that you pick and choose which side trip you’ll want to do that day, and the rest will need to wait for another trip, another date.  Needless to say, if we had done them all, we would still be driving to Hana.  The road to Hana is paved and in great condition.  The majority of the road, however, is one lane with many bridges, so, there is a lot of slowing and yielding to oncoming traffic.  Plus, there are lots of little side trips along the way that make the long drive worth it….

Our first side trip was to Honomanu Bay on a small dirt road.  Road conditions were good and our small rental made it back to the highway with no problems.  When we arrived at the bay, there was only one other car, so the beach was virtually ours.  Our biggest surprise while standing and looking out into bay was seeing the large pod of Spinner Dolphins.  At first they were just swimming around and feeding, then all of the sudden, one would start flying out of the water, doing flips and acrobatics… Pretty amazing…

Our next side trip was in Ke’anae and to enjoy some hot, right-out-of-the-oven, Auntie Sandy’ s Banana Bread – best on the island….Yummmm…  When we arrived, there was one other couple finishing their warm banana bread at a small covered table.  Then, just as we were finishing our bread, a large van rolled up with about 20 tourists…needless to say, our timing was spot-on. 

Further down the road, we drove into the community of Nahiku…The bridge was out, so we parked and walked down to the ocean… half way across the bridge my friend broke through one of the timbers and landed square on the deck.  Luckily, she didn’t fall all the way through to the river below.  The walk and the mis-step was worth it…. the amazing azure blue water crashing against the black lava was spectacular. 

Our long road-trip was rewarded with a stop at Nahiku Market, just 6 miles from Hana.  The market is known for its Island Style Fish Taco and fresh coconut candy.  Ooohhhh, so good.  The coconut candy was fresh shaved coconut baked in an oven until golden brown.  Amazing…

Once in Hana, we headed to the Pier to take a small rest before the drive home.  There we found Tutu’s Snack Bar and got ourselves a well deserved Ice Cream…. Yummmm…. One mistake on our road trip was that our swimming suits were back at our place in Kihei. 

By 3 PM, we started heading back to Kihei and luckily, the traffic was light so we made very good time on our return.  While driving the last stretch of the highway just east of Paia, I noticed that the waves were really big and the sun was starting to set.  So, we pulled off the highway and into a parking lot above Ho’okipa Beach.  Turned out there was a 30-foot break and that only a couple of surfers were brave enough to catch the waves.  So amazing to watch…

Arriving back into Kihei, we collaspsed in our little cottage, had a mai-tai and left-overs, then headed off for bed.  It was a long day of driving, but OH SO WORTH IT….

In 1997, as my travel horizons began to expand, I started looking into travel groups; all-women groups to be exact.   My first all-women group travel, besides Girl Scout, was to Cozumel, Mexico with six women and two guides.  We were straight, gay, single, married, divorced, widowed;  the full mix.  Our ages ranged from late 20′s to late 60′s.  We snorkeled, bicycled, zipped around on scooters, swam, drank beer and margaritas, slept on hammocks at the beach, ate fantastic food, and laughed until we could not laugh anymore.  The best part of the trip, besides not having to spend time planning our day, was the friendships that quickly grew between us as we traveled around together.  There was little to no competition between us, we helped each other out, we genuinely cared for each other and it showed.

In 2006, when I decided to go to Nepal, I googled “Nepal Women Trip” .  To my surprise, several companies offered all-women trips.  The itinerary that stood out was Adventure Women (www.adventurewomen.com) in Bozeman, Montana.  So, I called them up and made my reservation.  Six months later, I joined fourteen women at LA International on a flight to Bangkok and then to Kathmandu, Nepal.  Once again, our group was the full mix: straight, gay, single, married, divorced and widowed.  Our ages ranged from mid 30′s to early 60′s.  For the next sixteen days we hiked in the Annapurnas; ate wonderful food; drank beer, gin and tonics, and gimlets; shopped all over the place; slept in comfortable lodges; saw the moonrise over Annapurna South; rafted the Seti River; rode elephants through Chitwan National Park; experienced the warmth and friendliness of our porters and our guides; and took a whirlwind tour of Bangkok, Thailand on our way home.  Once again, our group quickly became friends as we trekked across portions of the Himalayans.  There was really no competition, we enjoyed each others company, and we genuinely cared for each other. 

Since our first trip to Nepal, at least two or more from our group have traveled together to Africa, Baja, Copper Canyon, Egypt, Guatemala, Jordan, Mongolia, Myanmar, and Nepal (again).  As long as we had enough women, we could book our trips as women only.  On our trip to Guatemala, the owner of Active Journeys ( www.activejourneys.com) was so interested in how a women-only trip would work, she filled it with other women besides our core group and come along herself.  She had such a great time she started offering “Girl Friend Getaways” trips as a regular trip option.  On our trips to Myanmar and Baja, the number in our group was not high enough, so we joined other groups with both men and women.  While these trips were fantastic and the people fun to be with, there was definitely a different dynamics that occurred within the two groups.  Especially the Baja trip, there was a real sense of competition as we kayaked around the islands that was not present in the other trips I have taken with our group.  Very interesting to feel and observe. 

As I have started planning my next adventure, once again I am drawn back to women-only trips.  Once again, Adventure Women’s itinerary fits the bill.  At least one person from my original Nepal trip will be there, maybe more, if they are so adventuresome.  I am looking forward to new adventures and friendships that lie ahead.

Recently, while researching my family genealogy, I discovered that travel has played an essential role for both sides of my family. In 1874, my mother’s her great-grandparents immigrated to the US from Sweden along with their 14 children. They settled in Nebraska and never returned to Sweden. In 1905, her grandparents and their five kids moved from the Blackhills of South Dakota to Los Angeles, CA. In 1920, her grandmother and mother left LA and traveled to Mexico to join her uncle on the farm, which he started in 1909. They stayed for 16 years. Her grandmother died there; her mother returned to LA with her when she was 4 years old. For many years, they traveled back and forth to the farm in Mexico to see her uncle, until he sold it and returned to LA to live. In 1955, her uncle started traveling to Europe; soon after, he took off to travel around the world.  He was in Egypt in 1957 when my sister was born. He died a few years later back in LA.

In 1925, my father’s parents and 2-year-old brother immigrated to Washington State from Norway to find work and raise their family.  In 1928, my grandfather died of pnuemonia after hunting for rabbits; my father was 9 months old. About a year later, my grandmother returned to Norway with her two boys to start their lives over again. To support her family, my grandmother travelled throughout Norway selling vaccum cleaners to large fancy hotels. In 1950, my father returned to the US to claim his US citizenship; his brother and mother followed within 5 years. Until my grandmother and uncle passed away, they travelled back and forth to Norway to connect with family, friends, and the land to which they were born. My father, at 83, continues to plan future trips to Norway to see his family and friends.

As I reflect upon the what travel has meant for my family, I have come to understand that the travel bug affliction goes deep into my being. It is deeper than road trips crammed in the family stationwagon, or the first airplane ride to Oregon; it is as deep as the roots that feed the family tree.