Hey Y'all!

Our big summer trip this year included plans to visit Tennessee to see my husband's folks and then to celebrate our 2-year anniversary early by visiting a location he has loved vacationing in for years: Destin, Florida. If you know of my obsession with birds, it's a thrill for me to add a bird to my "life list." I now have that exuberance about adding states as "life states," since Justin came along and sparked a passion to travel in my heart. (He's the best traveling buddy...it's hard not to like travel with him!) So this trip not only added Florida to my state list, but also Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana! What a thrill it was for me, indeed! (Minus the indescribable humidity that made me feel like I was constantly melting...see this for reference).

I ticked 4 new states for my list and...drum roll, please...32 new life birds! Uncontainable joy! Onto my list flew: Black-throated Green Warbler, Black Vulture, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Blue Jay, Brown-headed Nuthatch, Brown Thrasher, Carolina Chickadee, Carolina Wren, Chimney Swift, Chipping Sparrow, Common Grackle, Common Nighthawk, Eastern Bluebird, Eastern Kingbird, Eastern Meadowlark, Eastern Phoebe, Eastern Screech Owl, Eastern Towhee, Field Sparrow, Great Crested Flycatcher, Indigo Bunting, Laughing Gull, Least Tern, Mississippi Kite, Orchard Oriole, Pileated Woodpecker, Red-headed Woodpecker, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Scarlet Tanager, Tufted Titmouse, White-eyed Vireo, and White Ibis! What a list for me to find joy in!

We birded with the Birding Master nearly every morning we were there. And I finally got to bird with my Grandmother-in-law at her kitchen window! She's the lady who started the generation of birders!

Justin and I value all of our time spent with family. Sabbath was especially meaningful with our Uncle, Grandma, and Granddad we hadn't seen for many moons. It also included a bird matching card game from their past they introduced me to! (My obsession with it goes without saying! Oops, I said it!)

This was our second trip to Tennessee together and we have a tradition now of always going to Gatlinburg, The Great Smoky Mountains, and stopping in Knoxville on the way home to eat at El Chico. (I recently have begun a rating system for my obsession with trying tacos at every Mexican restaurant. El Chico's has been the first 10/10!!! Also, the fresh guacamole is out of this world!)

We added a new stop on our trip this year that is so special and amazing that it deserved its own paragraph! The Christmas and Collectibles store in Pigeon Forge!!! Another one of my obsessions is Christmas, so... me + Christmas in July = Augggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!! Justin and I picked out many absolutely perfect bird ornaments that we cannot wait to add to our bird-themed Christmas tree this year!

Side note: I realized my official obsession with Christmas a few days ago (not sure why I didn' realize it before!). Then it dawned on me as I was searching Amazon for Old World Christmas bird ornaments in July, someone else in our family had an obsession with Christmas, especially Christmas decorations and ornaments--my Grandma Carol! It is an honor to pass down her tradition and it is a very high honor to display some of her most lovely Christmas ornaments she has collected and gifted throughout the years on our tree!


Our trip to the south then moved us to our anniversary "Destin-ation!" (We were pretty proud of coining that term this trip!) We drove through horrific thunder and lightning storms to get there, which made me unsure of what I was getting myself into with this whole Florida thing. Upon relaxation and a good night's sleep, I fell in love with Florida the next morning! How could I not? ...He took me to the Destin jetty!!!! The water was so clear I could have written all my postcards underwater! (But why would I want to do that? What I really should have done was snorkel with Justin! Next time! ...And I will definitely use your tip, Christy, to snorkel with a noodle! There's no way I'm going to snorkel for exercise! Snorkeling will be 100% relaxation and leisure if I choose to partake in it!)

Justin and I discovered the nearby outlet stores. Which was a mistake. But it was also a hilarious discovery to find out Justin's disbelief of how literally everything is always on sale at an outlet. I also found my new favorite store: GH Bass. I think we literally visited the outlets 3 times in 2 days!

We also miniature golfed, which was so fun! This was only the second time we played. Apparently, it's a vacation activity for us. Our first time playing was on Catalina Island. I remember we tied our first time, but he says I beat him by one point. This time, he beat me by one point! Perfect!

The final part of our trip consisted of driving from Florida to Louisiana in order to fly home with a shorter flight. It is so easy to trust Justin with taking care of all the planning, reservations, and details of our trips, that sometimes I forget to ask things and, instead, I get surprised! He booked us a stay at "the belle of New Orleans." It was the prettiest hotel I've ever seen! He wanted us to have a treat for our last day of vacation and also for me to feel relaxed before the flight home. The Lord knew I needed to marry this guy for sure!!!

On our one night in New Orleans, it was our goal to experience some jazz music! Our first attempt was proven unsuccessful, but I wouldn't necessarily call it that. The Little Gem Saloon provided us with Fried Green Tomatoes (a first for both of us--and delicious!), hilarious live music from a band that must have averaged out at 80 years old, and a key link to our unforgettable jazz adventure! Our waitress was kind enough to send us on our way to the best jazz in town! Preservation Hall, although down Bourbon Street, which neither of us enjoyed one bit, instantly was exactly what we wanted to get from New Orleans. A trumpet, clarinet, trombone, upright bass, drums, and a piano combined together to create an unforgettable jazz experience! Jam-packed into a tiny living room-like hole in the wall, this place was ablaze with jazz! The solos were my favorite! Justin and I even donned what we call our "sick faces!" Where something is so good, your face becomes contorted to look like you actually hate it....

Cheers!

All in all, our summer vacation was 100% a success! Great memories to last a lifetime plus! And I learned a valuable lesson this trip: no trip to the south is now complete without sweet tea, boiled peanuts, and grits!

For more of our trip pictures: Click here!

Happy Happy Bird Day (Weekend)!

How do I sum up the best birthday I have ever had?! I had no clue 27 would feel this superb! The

past few birthday have felt pretty mediocre or blah-ze. I think that goes to say just how powerful positive thinking truly is. I was absolutely determined to have nothing less than a fabulous birthday this time around! Or should I say, "BIRD DAY?!"

My overly-organized self created a list of 27 amazing things to do on Friday. Here is just a quick snippet of a few of my favorites:

Carolyn's coffee cake!

Hot chocolate, heavy on
the whipped cream!

Walking to the mailbox in my
Christmas socks and owl
slippers with Kobe dearest

Dancing around the house
to Owl City!

Birthday cards from family
and 3-juice mixed drink!

Super Sushi 

"10 Minutes Ago I saw you..."

I love braids

Best smell ever!

Thankful journal entry

27 feels good!

Maltby Cake

It was a day to remember, but, not only that, it was a weekend to remember!

The following day, we ventured to our first-ever renaissance faire! First, but not our last! Well, only if there is a birds of prey show each time.... Talk about something far exceeding my expectations! Sky Kings put on a bird show I will never forget! The show was complete with a Laughing Kookaburra, 2 Harris's Hawks, a Black Vulture, an Eurasian Eagle Owl, a White-backed Vulture, and, Lenore, some type of collared Raven.

A few highlights of each:
The Laughing Kookaburra actually laughed for us! The Harris's Hawks flew so close over our heads, we had to duck down, and we still felt the breeze over us! What a rush of adrenaline! The Black Vulture had an absolutely huge wing span! The White-back Vulture devoured a chicken leg in 5 seconds! But the best part was when the owl came out, flew to a perch, flew to another perch, then decided to fly, fly, fly, fly right over the on-stage perch and straight out of the tent into who knows where, but not in the show! He did not come back for our show, unfortunately, but what a funny turn of events! The star of the show flies away! Another amazing part was how they trained Lenore to take dollar bills from a person's hand and stuff it in a collection box. If she messed up, she could be reprimanded, and she would fix her mistake and take the next bill. What skill! (And brilliant way to get easy tips!)

Cute little thing

Harris Hawk

Harris Hawk taking off

Harris Hawk

Stunning!

Beautiful!

Black Vulture landing

The White-backed Vulture was rather aggressive, despite its clipped wings

Santa Fe Dam Recreation Area -- Renaissance Pleasure Faire 2015

The rest of the Renaissance Pleasure Faire was fun and we came back with some amazing souvenirs (a medieval-looking ceramic mug, homemade soap, a special garlic seasoning, and a metal hummingbird decoration). We also got to scout out a great new location to go birding at, although, I don't recommend lugging around a pair of binoculars in your purse for hours. The price birders have to pay.... It was worth it, though. Those "nocks," as I like to call them, gave us a great opportunity to see Cliff and Barn Swallows flying around slower than their usual speed, and we also saw 2 beautiful Forster's Terns!

Love Birds

Our next adventure led us to The Master's College for a quick drive-thru tour with a few snapshots, dedicated to Christy Swagerty.

Surprise visit!

And this adventure led us to our next: meeting the parents at Stonefire! It was a lovely time for celebrating one day late for my birthday and one day early for Mother's Day, but, as my mother and I know, every Mother's Day should be my birthday since that is how it all started 27 years ago.

This is what is known as the best
meal in the whole entire world

You would think the bird day weekend adventure would stop here, but, alas! No! We need more birds!

To make a long story short, we got a hold of an established and well-known birder's email around town through a birding website. One thing led to the next and, before we knew it, we had a scheduled birding outing to Montecito Memorial Park for Sunday morning at 7:30! This was a big deal. We were going to be birding with the big timer!

And then, guess what?! The big timer turns out to be a student at Loma Linda University as well, knows my husband's brother, his dad may know my husband's grandpa, and his sister is graduating from the same occupational therapy program as me! Small world!

We meet up to bird and are instantly amazed by his ability to identify birds by their call. That is my long-term birding goal that I am no where close to as of now! We started making an extensive list of sightings as we slowly strolled through the park while sharing bird stories back and forth. Shortly into our outing, his dad pulls up to join us! The four of us have such a grand time birding!

Check out our ebird list here: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S23358538.

Justin is doing another Big Year this year, but I am only working on building up my Life Bird list. This outing helped boost both of our lists!

What a perfect birthday (bird day!) present to get 13 new life birds in just a few hours! (It's going to get harder and harder to gain life birds as my list grows, but with a current list at 183 North American species and 218 world species, I still can have amazing birding trips that boost up my numbers quickly!).

1. Wrentit
2. California Quail (!!!!!!)
3. Western Tanager
4. Pacific-slope Flycatcher
5. Olive-sided Flycatcher
6. Swainson's Thrush
7. Great Horned Owl (!!!!!!)
8. Willow Flycatcher
9. Western Wood Pewee
10. Black-headed Grosbeak
11. Costa's Hummingbird
12. Black-chinned Hummingbird
13. Calliope Hummingbird

I went into this birding adventure hoping I can just see a California Quail and a Great Horned Owl. My expectations were more than exceeded!

The best part about our trip is, we not only had a great birding outing, but we made a great connection with this wonderful family in town and have made new friends! The last 3 new life birds for me were seen in their backyard because they invited us over to look at their feeders while drinking coffee! (How they make the most amazing coffee we have ever tasted will have to wait for another blog!)

In love

It was at their house where I met 3 lovely and beautiful and friendly and silly racing pigeons that are going to be used for therapy! Saturn, Mercury, and Jupiter are going to be great! Now if I can only remember which was which!

Justin assured me we can get me some pigeon pets whenever we are able to buy a house. I await that day with eagerness!

2 new friends!

Combination of overwhelming excitement
and terror it would peck my eyes out!

God is good! He reminded me of his continual goodness with all of the multitudes of blessings he showered upon me over this weekend. And, speaking of showers! This was the first birthday I can ever remember where it was stormy, rainy, overcast, cloudy, and crisp at different times throughout the weekend. What joy! My love for rain continues to grow!

Xoxo,

One very happy girl who is in love with God, her husband, family, pets, birds, rain, and all things joyful!

Birding can be "Ruff"

Birding is a blessing, but, with nearly everything in life, it can have its brighter times and it can have its duller times. Last weekend was a combination of both.

The best husband in the world and I were on the search for a Ruff. The Ruff had been spotted in Chino by a well-known Loma Linda, California birder. This bird is a rare bird for this area and we felt the calling to go search for it.

After getting lost on dairy farm roads and making u-turns in almost every direction, we finally found the correct dairy farm pond the bird had been spotted at the day prior. Eventually, another birding couple joined us, who, as always, was older than our under-30 ages, which always surprises people we are so into this "retirement hobby."

Birding has allowed us to strike up conversations with strangers and meet very interesting and kind people throughout these last two years.

While the other birding wife and I were more interested in looking for baby Black-necked Stilts, both of our husbands took turns climbing a large pile of manure in order to get a "better look" at the Ruff no one was able to spot.

The smells, the wind, the bright sun, the hot sun, and the sounds of a nearby truck show did not make it the most luxurious birding outing, but we all laughed about the places birding takes us!

There are many reasons I love birding and two of them happen to be the people you meet and the places it takes you.

After about an hour later of staring at large masses of sleeping Short-billed Dowitchers in the glaring sun, we finally were able to spot the one and only Ruff! Although it can look similar to Short-billed Dowitchers sitting down, it definitely has distinctions. A few of them being its legs, its belly, and its beak, amongst other less noticeable differences.

Closer view

A view of the back of the Ruff on the bank!

The Ruff's bright orange legs!

The Ruff taught me a lesson that good things come to those who wait. Have I mentioned yet how much patience it takes to bird? :)

Honeymoon 2.0

Many prefer the "firsts" of everything, but I'm more of a fan of "the second time around." Blessed indeed, the husband and I got a second chance at Maui this year! We visited some old spots, tried some new, and instilled a new mid-day downtime habit so we wouldn't adventure ourselves out. Our trip definitely falls under a "mission accomplished" trip, and we're already eager to go back, of course.

Our main purpose for our Maui vacation this September was for it to be our late summer ocean trip. With our new-found, for me, and rekindled, for Justin, love for birding, we decided to make this a birding trip as well!

Birding at Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge in Kihei, HI

Kitesurfers and windsurfers in Kihei, HI

One night we had dinner with my cousins who live there and they asked us if Maui is a mecca for birds, like it is for windsurfing, kitesurfing, and snorkeling. No, no.... Although Maui contains many species unique for me and Justin to see, by no means do people just come here to bird. As of five years ago, there were only 108 bird species on Maui, which is very few, considering.... And 38 of those 108 are said to be "rare/accidental" sightings, which means they aren't common visitors or inhabitants of Maui. We were able to spot 41 of those birds, which is great news! Which means, out of all the likely birds we could have seen in Maui, we saw 59% of them! Go team!

Craft fair in Kihei, HI

Okay, where to begin! Trip in recap, random facts at the end...ready, go!

Our first pit stop in Maui was, of course, Taco Bell. Why wouldn't it be? After that, we already started our souvenir shopping at local tourist stores and the craft fair in Kihei.

Then to our hotel...Sugar Beach Resort. #1, of course I wanted to stay there because of it's name, but #2, we chose this place because it was a condo resort, which proved to be such a lovely type of place to stay! We had our own spacious condo with a large bedroom (my advice to every engaged couple: get a king bed, you will not regret it, says the woman who insisted we have a double bed, but compromised with a queen bed, and not regrets not getting a king bed!), a kitchen with fabulous green cabinets (really, though, they were really awesome looking!), a comfy living room, and a rather large fifth-story lanai. Our "garden view" room definitely needs to include in the description that it has a smokin' view of the ocean too! Every morning we enjoyed sitting out on the porch (I can't use "lanai" and act like I actually talk like that anymore) and the room was also convenient to spy on how in-use the pool and hot tub were for the best times to go down. Although, every time was the best time, because, on average, there was probably no more than 10 people down there at any given time. I basked in joy one day when I was person #2 down at the pool. It was only 1:00 pm and people may think I'm crazy for spending the middle of the day doing nothing but relaxing, but this was part of our downtime plan we instilled on this trip. I must say, we both rather enjoyed that part of each day! Rejuvenation.

That's our hotel and I can see our room from this angle!

I must add, also, that the beach was only 8 steps away from our hotel pool's patio concrete (that's a mouthful). The hot tub was probably less than 20 steps away, which actually may be kind of frightening in case of a storm, but that was of no worry to us.

The wind was a little much this trip. We didn't remember it being as bad last time, but we realized we got the bulk of it with where our hotel was located. But Maui can do no wrong in my eyes, so it was easy to overlook, once I tied back my hair that is....

The first day we knocked off some common birds on our list, not even by birding, but just by them being around: House Sparrow, Common Myna, Japanese White Eye, Red Junglefowl, Cattle Egret, and Black-necked Stilt.

Red Junglefowl

Cattle Egret right outside our pool area

Red Junglefowl

Black-necked Stilt

Black-necked Stilts

There was a 3-hour time change, in our favor, we weren't prepared for. It was so exciting to wake up at what was 9:30 am to us, but 6:30 am to Hawaiians. We were early birds this trip! Our morning routine was to immediately go to the porch (tempted to use "lanai" again, but I can't...but I did?), open the curtains and sliding doors, and soak in the peacefulness Maui poured into our hearts.

"the crashing waves outside our condo"

The first morning we were there, Justin woke up first and came back to the bedroom with a sad look on his face, stating it was overcast. I had to remind him it was actually only 6:30 am, even though, to our bodies, it was 9:30 am. :) I made an equally silly mistake when I would wake up every morning and forget we were in Maui. I thought we were home and I was hearing cars drive by in puddles of rain...aka the crashing waves outside our condo. :)

Justin with the 'Iao Needle at the viewpoint
right before we jumped the fence!

One of our favorite parts of the trip was hiking the secret trail in 'Iao Valley. 'Iao Valley is always one of our highlights, but finding a secret trail (thank you, Google) always makes things more magical. You hop over the rails after the highest viewpoint of the 'Iao Needle (a tall, lush pinnacle), right where it says "do not trespass" :) ! The trail takes you so high up that you become eye-level with the 'Iao Needle and you can barely distinguish it from other hills and rocks up there! Justin is a great hiking buddy and this is the prettiest and best hike I have ever been on! (To-do list for next trip: research how far the trail actually goes and take it even farther next time!) It is too overgrown to bird effectively on this trail, but we somehow managed to see the Red-billed Leiothrix there, which is still one of the prettiest birds we have ever seen!

On the hike.... The 'Iao Needle is now to my right.

Oh, how could I skip the most important birding fact of our trip?! Exactly right when we were pulling into our parking spot at 'Iao Valley, Justin spotted a white bird flying high in the hills and clouds. THE WHITE-TAILED TROPICBIRD! No biggie...ONLY THE MOST EXCITING BIRD WE CAME TO MAUI TO LOOK FOR!!! Although we were not able to snap a decent photograph ever because it flies too far away and, also, too fast, we were enamored by our sights of it through our binoculars! We either saw two or three of these guys flying in 'Iao Valley right by the entrance. The best part is we were able to spot them three different times within an hour!

Tagged Nene

We knocked off more birds later in Kihei on our first full day there: Spotted Dove, Nene (aka Hawaiian Goose, which is the Hawaii state bird!), Red-crested Cardinal, Cackling Goose, Zebra Dove, Pacific Golden Plover, Muscovy Duck, Great Frigatebird, Black-crowned Night Heron, Java Sparrow, Gray Francolin, African Silverbill, House Finch, and Scaly-breasted Munia (aka Nutmeg Mannikin)! We did great work the first day for birding!

Nene

Red-crested Cardinal

Cackling Goose

Great Frigatebird

Pacific Golden Plover

Pacific Golden Plover

Great Frigatebird

Java Sparrow

Gray Francolin

Gray Francolin

African Silverbill

Scaly-breasted Munia

African Silverbill

Scaly-breasted Munia

The Java Sparrow was one of my favorites because it looks like a miniature puffin, and I love anything mini-sized! The Scaly-breasted Munia felt rewarding, because we had looked for it last year unsuccessfully. The Nene was my favorite of the day, though, because it is the state bird and actually somewhat hard to see, if you don't live in Maui. We only saw it once out of this trip and last! It's somewhat-striped design on its neck is breathtakingly beautiful!

Our most successful birding spot last year was at the Hosmer Grove Campground, right inside the Haleakala National Park, but not all the way up to the crater. We spotted 5 Chukar, 2 'I'iwi, lots of 'Apapane, 3 Ring-necked Pheasants (2 female and 1 dark male variant, we believe), Northern Mockingbird, and the Maui 'Amakahi! Hosmer Grove is an excellent place to spot native birds! The 'I'iwi is my favorite and this time they were seen in different plumage than the bright red we saw them in last time! The Chukar look like they belong in a circus, though, so they may be my favorite from that day!

Chukar

'I'iwi

Chukar

'Apapane

Female Ring-necked Pheasant flying away

'Apapane

We always kiss in bamboo forests...
it's one of our things

We visited another of "our spots" on this trip: the Garden of Eden on the Road to Hana. Although there is a $10 per-person charge (we got the second-timer rate, ohhhh yeahhhh!), it is totally worth it! Especially for the close encounters with Common Peafowl! The two babies were all the rave in the arboretum! But my favorite bird of the day there was the Chinese Hwamei! Their faces are beautiful and it looks like they are dressed for a masquerade! We also spotted Chestnut Munia, which are richly colored!

Chinese Hwamei

Common Peafowl, aka Peacocks

Common Peafowl

Chinese Hwamei

The itty-bitty islet where we spotted
the Red-footed Booby, Brown Booby,
and Great Frigatebird (again)

The winding Road to Hana took us to our next birding location: Ke'anae Peninsula. We had seen on eBird that the Brown Booby, Red-footed Booby, and more Great Frigatebird species were being seen on the islet (one of my new favorite words to say, besides "isthmus")! The birding was somewhat frustrating, due to how far away the islet was, but we got out our scope we drug all the way to Maui, along with the extremely heavy tripod, and we were able to distinguish all 3 of those birds! Hallelujah, what beautiful species! The pièce de résistance was another White-tailed Tropicbird sighting! This time we were able to see the top of the bird from far away, and could depict the dark colors on its back! What a beauty of a bird! (I recommend Googling it!) The Birding Master was very excited about our tropicbird sightings! Apparently, too, the Red-footed Boobies are nesting on top of the islet! We could identify about 7 Red-footed Boobies, 2 Brown Boobies, and a multitude of Great Frigatebirds! It was funny...the Great Frigatebirds looked similar to Bald Eagles way out there on the islet!

Three Bears Falls

The Road to Hana, for us, also included Three Bears Falls (my favorite waterfall on the road), our stop at the small town of Nahiku, and the glorious Waianapanapa State Park (say that 10 times fast...heck! I can't even say it once correctly!), which is the black sand beach! I still want to argue it is more like the black rock beach, but I guess it's just a different kind of sand.... We went as far as this park on the Road to Hana and then came back the way we went (the Road to Hana takes a very long time to travel because of all the winds, so it's an all-day adventure, unfortunately with no down time...but I accidentally fell asleep on the way back! WHO falls asleep on the Road to Hana?! Oops.) We saw reported sightings of the Brown Noddy and Black (Hawaiian) Noddy at this park, and, boy, did we see them! So close! The Black Noddy had amazing orange feet too! This park contains a cave the husband loves too!

Honokalani black sand beach

Is it really black sand?

Brown and Black Noddies

Brown and Black Noddies

Our trip settled down after checking off 'Iao Valley, Hosmer Grove, and the Road to Hana off our list. Those are the three main attractions for us on Maui. "Our spots." 

On Friday, we ventured over to Lahaina for a relaxing breakfast at Longhi's, which Justin remembered had the best breakfast potatoes (which makes this another of "our spots," thanks to the Tulsa family for the recommendation last year!). Not only does Longhi's have the best breakfast potatoes, but I got THE BEST muffin I have ever had! Lemon poppy seed with fresh raspberries cooked into it, topped with chopped macadamia nuts. The "cherry on top" was that it was steaming hot inside and out and the fact that it had more of a muffin top than a muffin bottom (which Gilmore Girls taught me, the top is always the best part!). And my Maui tradition is to have fresh pineapple at some point, so this was the perfect place to check that off my list!

THE muffin

Our view from our table at Longhi's

Unfortunately, an unappetizing picture
of the cheese ravioli's

We had a delicious dinner at Fabiani's with my cousins, who asked us if this was "one of our spots" and we brushed it off saying "no," not realizing that it totally is one of our spots! We verified that by going there again the next night and ordering the same entree to split! Who can resist THE BEST HOMEMADE CHEESE RAVIOLI'S IN THE WORLD?! But seriously. You won't believe it until you try them, and then you'll insist "perfection" is part of the ingredients!



Duplicating our dessert the previous night as well, we went out again to the Snow Factory, which the
cousins introduced us to. Described by my cousin as "it's just like eating snow in Shingletown" (where we used to visit our grandparents), snow is pretty much the best dessert in the world. Justin said I apparently went all "Elf" on him by ordering strawberry and cookies 'n cream snow with white chocolate chips and mini m&m's, topped with caramel sauce, so we got separate cups the next night and were supremely happy with our experience of snow (definitely one of "our things" now!). 

Hers

His

                       

Sunset at Makena Beach

You can't visit Maui without noticing the spectacular sunsets. Catching the sunset at different beaches is one of my favorite Maui hobbies. We got excellent ones at Makena Beach (we did this last year, so it is now one of "our spots"), and we tried two new beaches for sunsets throughout the week. We caught one at Ulua and Maakapo Beaches (they run right next to each other, or so I think?). This was my favorite beach we went to this trip! And it's also where we spotted our first Wandering Tattler of the trip! Maui has few shorebirds and practically zero gulls (we have never even seen one there, but apparently they show a few of their faces at some point), so it was rewarding to finally see a bird near the water!

Sunset at Makena Beach

Enjoying walking around Ulua/Maakapo
Beaches before the sunset

We kiss at sunsets

Wandering Tattler (picture not taken
at Ulua/Maakapo Beaches)

Sunset at Ulua/Maakapo Beaches

Our own "secret cove"

Our last sunset at the beach we caught was supposed to be at the "Secret Cove" (Paako Beach), but we couldn't find it in time, so we stopped at who knows where, but what a great spot it turned out to be! The sunset was amazing and the waves picked up while we were there, which made for great pictures!

Sunset at our own "secret cove"

The last few birds of the trip were the Hawaiian Coot, Rock Pigeon, Ruddy Turnstone, and Sanderling, which brought us to a total of 41 birds this trip!

Ruddy Turnstone

Sanderling

Sipping on a cappuccino,
watching the sunrise,
...on our lanai

I hoped on our last night there that I would be able to wake up the next, and last, morning for the sunrise to take pictures, but I didn't set an alarm (it's vacation!). What a treat...God woke me up in time! Waking up at 6 am is something I could definitely get used to, but I have to remind myself that I was "pseudo" waking up at 6 am, which was really 9 am for my body, unfortunately.

The sunrise was so peaceful that I even had to sneak-make (totally not a phrase, but I'm claiming it) a cup of cappuccino (I'm trying to eliminate caffeine from my diet, hence the sneaking) to top the morning off with perfection.






We ended our trip the best way possible. We opened both of the sliding glass doors all the way, pulled two chairs in front of the lanai (okay, last time, I promise!), and sat in silence as we watched the waves. Sigh. What a great trip!




Random facts of The Great Maui Trip of 2014:

• Our trip had two theme songs. The first, Fire Blazin', was stuck in my head on the way there, and I succeeded in getting it stuck in Justin's as well. I always thought "underbeats" was a musical term, but apparently I coined that one in regards to this song. But you gotta listen to it...great underbeats!!! You can't deny it! And the second song was our theme song (more about this down below).
• Our pool had 4 magical mosaic dolphins in it. Need I say more?

• The keynote address for Apple occurred on our trip. That was a must-see for the husband. I love him.
• We were the youngest vacationers at our resort. It was funny sunbathing by retirees...what a life they must live!
• The drive to 'Iao Valley is one of our favorites. Many parts of the road are covered with arches of trees, and the street contains a beautiful historic church and some building that may also be a church, but it looks like a castle. In front of the church contains a tree that Justin claims as "his favorite tree ever," because it is a "very handsome" tree.

Driving back to Kihei from 'Iao Valley 

• Eating Safeway deli sandwiches is apparently our go-to meal in Maui, besides Taco Bell (which goes without saying).

• If you do something twice and you intend to do it again, it starts becoming "your thing." Great news! We now have a spot where we eat lunch always at 'Iao Valley. Our very own spot! Well, a bench, but still! Who would've thunk we'd have a spot in 'Iao Valley! Oh life...
• I conjured up nicknames for us on this trip. Hello, I am Nature Babe, and you can call my husband, Mountain Dude. We are working on our theme song, which was stuck in our heads nearly the whole trip, and we are even thinking about expanding into the business of children books (I say this with jest, but I so wish this was true!). Get this.... "Nature Babe and Mountain Dude's Fun with Trees" and "...Fun with Moss" and "...Fun with Sailboats" and "...Fun with Trails" and "...Fun with Kites" and...are you ready for this... "...Fun with Birds!"
• Best equation ever: relaxing at the pool + toes in sand + no cares in mind + ocean breeze + no schedule to keep = happiness
• We found a consignment store in Maui called Rainbow Attic. Perfect name, right?! It gets

  

  Northern Cardinal

  better.... We walk into the store, not knowing what to expect, and the first thing we see on the right is a section devoted to bird stuff! Um, perfect?! Bird stuff is my favorite! :) I walked out of there with a picture of bird eggs in a nest and a glass pitcher with a Blue Jay and Northern Cardinal on it. Um, perfect again?! Wait...it gets better, indeed! Later that night, walking back to our car from Makena Beach's sunset, we spotted a Northern Cardinal! Not only is that the first Northern Cardinal I ever remember seeing, so I can finally count it, but I've been reading a book (The Song of the Cardinal I found at Justin's thrift store), where the main "character" is a Northern Cardinal! Now, how perfect is that! My main character came alive to me in front of my eyes! Then we heard rats. It was dark. And I clinched Justin's arm and couldn't scurry away fast enough.

Northern Cardinal and a Hawaiian man

• We had a first together this trip. I grew up eating Round Table Pizza and becoming obsessed with their Garlic Parmesan Twists. Justin had never heard, let alone eaten, these majestic twists of glory. We got a box, oh boy, did we get a box! Bliss. Enough said.
• Don't go to Maui craving corn. $4.25 at Safeway for one measly ear of corn. 
• We found a sea cave at the Kihei Boat Landing. My husband is really into caves.

• I insist on finding a rainbow before leaving Maui (it's one of "my things"). Check! Saw a rainbow over a beautiful golf course in Wailea.



Cattle Egret "home tree"

• Apparently there is a little bit of Avatar on Maui. We found a Cattle Egret "home tree" and also a Myna "home tree!" And there are hiking trails after the cliff beach on West Maui (was on our to-do list for this trip) that Justin says looked like a movie set. There was an "Avatar tree" there that had wisps hanging down that I swear looked like they would start glowing any second, like in Avatar!

 

Myna "home tree" (they were all on top, so you couldn't 

see them, but, boy, could you hear them!)

Movie-like tree

Avatar-like tree

• We saw over 20 deer climbing the hill behind Makena. Who knew!
• There is apparently a rat problem in Maui (gross). They brought in mongoose to solve the problem years ago. But now there is a mongoose problem, because mongoose and rats are on different sleeping schedules. There's a knee slapper for ya!

• I found my new favorite apple! They are called "Envy" and are from New Zealand. Has anyone ever seen them on the main land?
• Last trip we frequented Bounty Music three times. This time, our "3-timer" was Sports Authority. :)
• We got our yearly "cat time" at the Maui Humane Society again (one of "our things"). Those cats there have a pretty good life living in all of the cat rooms there!

Every blog should always end with kittens...

Ahhhh, Maui...until next time, aloha!