July Chop Suey

Aloha ~

It's the Fourth of July weekend and upcountry is rockin! It's been a great week with some fun guests. The week started with a wonderful family from Shanghai, a sweet Italian couple and a happy mainland couple. It was quite the International House at the breakfast table, with Italian, Chinese and English going back and forth across the delicious fruit salad. I even learned how to say good morning in Chinese! The international departures were followed by a couple of quiet days with a friendly East coast couple I thoroughly enjoyed.

Being the Fourth of July weekend, cowboys and cowgirls are now the name of the game. A Portuguese ranching family from the Big Island are staying at Hale Ho'okipa for the weekend's festivities. The rodeo bull riding was Friday night, this morning was our wonderful parade, followed by more rodeo tonight and Sunday, and live music from Upcountry Sundays and Mana'o Radio at Cassanova.

I always enjoy the beautiful horses and riders in the parade. From the little ponies, to the working horses, each one is decked out for their prance down Makawao Ave. The riders are always a crowd pleaser as well, a tiny tot on a BIG horse, a "Cowgirl Hall of Famer", some sassy outlaws, and even Avatar on a blue horse!

Today's parade had more politicians that I cared to see however. I think anybody who was running for anything showed up in Makawao today. I am not kidding, we must have had a half dozen mayoral candidates, as well as state office seekers. Each one tried to outdo each other...the candidate that went all out came with a large cheer leading squad who delighted the crowd with their wild arials. Makawao is the "it" place on the 4th, our parade must be the longest one around, especially in election years.

We are having some relief from the drought this week also . It's been a bit chilly at night for July, and, yahoo, a little rain to green everything up...that has really has not happened yet, but I sure hope we continue with the sprinkles for a few more days.

The plumerias are in full bloom, with many colors to choose from. I'm excited to see if the deep red plumeria has a few more blossoms this year. There is nothing like a good ol fashioned plumeria lei, especially a full one that is strung with flowers all the way around.

The peach tree is still sporting a few late bloomers, I ate a couple of ono peaches off the tree today. There are also lots of papayas, and bananas galore. Good sunshine and some water makes everything grow so well.

While I'm talking about the garden, I want to share this request, do something nice for the earth this week, our wonderful planet needs all the Tender Loving Care we can give! Help on a clean up, plant a tree, put your hands on the earth thinking healing thoughts. We cherish our beaches and the life giving ocean.........

Hawaii is a special place to experience the wonders of nature. Everyday I wake up grateul for my beautiful home, and the walks on the beach, or in the mountains. It's pretty grand, or to borrow a phrase from my UK guests, "Brilliant!!" (I love that)

Sooooooo.......plan your fall trips right now, it will be here before we know it. Every season has something unique and special here in the islands. Fall is crisp and wonderful with stellar sunsets!

Stay tuned for a fall special that I'll post soon.

Here's to hoping one and all are finding something to feel good about.

A hui hou and Aloha,

Cherie

National Trail Day

Aloha Trail Blazers!

The thrill and satisfaction from clearing an overgrown ancient fisherman's trail on National Trails Day is something I want to share today. Even though I have been off the beaten path most of my life, this was my favorite trail clearing experience.

On Saturday, four lucky Maui residents and one really lucky visitor, arrived at the trail head with our clippers, machetes and work gloves. Most of us are members of PATH, Public Access Trails Hawaii. The mission statement for PATH is to promote public access to historical, cultural and other trails in Hawaii through research, education and advocacy. Go to http://www.pathmaui.org/ to find out more.

Monica is really putting energy into this organization on Maui, and I am happy to lend a hand. I am all for restoring and recovering lost public trails.

Lucienne de Naie was leading the hike along the north shore and she had not been on that trail for a few years. From the looks of it, nobody had. After locating the overgrown trail, we hacked, clipped and cut our way down to the cliff's edge. We had a little break in the dry creek bed, at which point, CJ, the man with the machete, our hero throughout the day, scrambled up a steep hillside and found some trail remnants.

Hardworking Lin Robbins from the great Northwest told us that this experience was the highlight of her visit to Maui. (Good on ya, Lin. It was a blast to share the day with you.)

We have many volunteer opportunities on Maui, please check my voluntourism page for more information.

We made it down to the beach after some hand over hand rope gripping, sliding on the slippery lauhala leaves. What a relief to sit on the beach in the shade watching the waves, scratched up, sweaty and content.

Lucienne honored us with a story about a fishing ohana who had lived in the valley we had just passed through. They had a very special bond with a shark that inhabited the bay. When I listen and look with my heart, my experiences are so rich. The entire day had many rewards.

We boulder-hopped our way down the beach to a spot where the waves gently spilled into a very large pool. It was a primordial sort of experience to crawl and float along the sides of cliffs until we reached the deeper water. We all rested and talked story in the water. Refreshed, we were ready to tackle the cliff and work our way back up towards the trail head.

The picture of Lin smiling and sitting on the clean and cleared steps that we could not even find on the way down, sums it up.

Here's to volunteering while on vacation, or where you live.

Mahalo with Aloha,

Cherie

Holoholo o Wahine

Aloha Folks...

What a wonderful week of hiking and adventure!!! Tammy and I took some truly amazing hikes and visited some very special places. Even after 6 days, there are still places I want to go, and things on my list for the week. But, I've got to shelve my shoes for a few days, sit at the computer, and play in the garden.

We had a nice little spring rain today, perfect for the garden. What a time of promise! I love it!

Haleakala was truly stunning, with the varied weather, vistas and terrains. We met up with a young German couple and crossed paths throughout the day. I am posting a shot of Tammy taking a pic...gives a little perspective on the scope and size of the crater.

There are more shots on the testimonial page of the Maui Divine Walkabout, or Holoholo o Wahine. The Hawaiian translation is loosely women "going around."

The inner journey was rich as well. My mind stayed busy creating for many miles, and I enjoyed the silence as I reminded myself to just listen.

I am also posting a couple of fun pictures that I took this week. A crazy dog flipping over thrown sand on Baldwin beach, and something I have not seen before...a sand crab swimming like crazy to get across from the reef to the beach. His little arms were working up a frenzy trying to beat the current as I spied him from the beach. He froze, and probably lost a lot of ground, when I stepped in the water to take the picture.

Aloha, and may the promise of spring fill you with joy.

Cherie