Sorry, another sunset post!

I decided to watch the sunset tonight at a small, isolated beach called Little Beach. Little Beach is the unofficial nude beach of Maui but being naked is not required. I like Little Beach because it’s super mellow (except for Sunday nights) and being on the south side of the island, it’s more rugged and natural. Tonight there were only a handful of people gathered on the beach but we all got a great show.

The sky once again exploded into color after the sun fell below the horizon but even better than that were the breaching whales. It’s hard to tell from my cell phone pictures but these whales were very close to the shore. So close that when they would launch themselves out of the water you could see the details of their bodies and the stripes of blubber on their white bellies. However, the best part was being close enough to actually hear the loud thud and splash when they landed back in the water. I feel so lucky to experience these things.

Every once in a while the conditions are perfect for a sunset that seems impossible to be real. Here are the ingredients for an amazing sunset like this one…

1) Enough clouds in the air for the sunlight to reflect off of.
2) Enough blue sky poking through for a nice color contrast.
3) A little haze in the air.

Those factors will usually produce a beautiful sunset but if the sky directly where the sun dips below the water is clear enough the red/orange end of the spectrum can bend around the horizon after the sun has fully set and light those clouds up with the most vivid colors you have ever seen. You will see a lot of people on the beach pack their things and go a few seconds after the sun disappears behind the water but often times the next 15 or 20 minutes turn out to be the best part of the sunset. Every few minutes you are treated to a new combination of colors as the sunlight hits the clouds from different angles.

While grilling on the lanai tonight I saw the tell-tale signs of an amazing light show brewing so I ran and got my camera. After about 5 minutes the sky exploded into color.

Darlene had a rare day off today so we took it easy and just sort of hung out. We went for a nice long paddle this morning and saw a handful of whales but nothing too close. Later we went to the farmer’s market and grocery store to get some scallops and lobster tails for dinner. Other than that we were lazy.

Paddleboarding off Keawakapu

Darlene’s Hibiscus

We have a TON of Geckos around our new house.

Uh oh, gecko showdown!

Um, are they fighting or mating? It is Valentine’s day after all.

Tuesday was the big day and it went really well. We have emerged from the dark cave and into the light! We found this new home just in time too, turns out Bud sold our old house. The new owners paid cash and will not be renting the cottage anymore, so we would have had to scramble for a new place. The best part is that Bud was in such a good mood about the sale that he gave us our full security deposit back without the fight we were anticipating.

We got up before the sunrise to start the move and thanks to Cheya and Michael helping with the big stuff later in the day, it was a quick and easy process. The new place is amazing and I will have some new photos of the finished product posted in a couple days. Until then, here are a few from moving day.

YAY! We are moving!

I love packing!

Packed and ready to move before sunrise.

Miami Vice colors!

Darlene takes a break to look at the ocean (and figure out how to get rid of the vertical blinds).

Blank slate.

The first boxes arrive.

Taking a break to look at the ocean.

A kitchen from this decade!

All done.

Bye bye Mapu street.

What is that? A mouse? a crying human baby? A squeaky wheel? It’s Bella, my work cat. No, I don’t mean that she is my employee (although she is a great mouse-hunter) or that I have hired her to be my part-time cat because I can’t have a full time one. She’s my cat at work.  She’s this amazing, squeaky, lovable cat that adores a good petting. She loves it so much that she actually JUMPS into my hand as she sees it coming toward her head, so she can get to it faster. And if you pet her from head to rear, she not only jumps into your hand, she stands on the tips of her paws on her hind legs so as to make the pet last as long as possible.

I love working for Dario. The environment is amazing. The work is challenging and exciting. The icing on the cake is Bella! I get to spend time with an awesome kitty everyday I go to work.

So, I still have two jobs these days. I work a schedule that is inconsistent. I am not on the computer that much that has caused me to not write as much on the blog. Soon, I plan to cut down from two jobs to one…and I think I will choose the job with Bella. How could I not? And…I think you will see a lot more of her on here soon.

While kayaking about 1.5 miles off the coast of Maui we saw and heard many whales, anywhere from a mile away to around 100 yards away. Then suddenly a large male popped up for a breath about 30 feet away and swam a circle around us, getting as close as 15-20 feet. It’s not easy to put into words just how amazing this simple, short experience was and what it meant to all of us but we all agree it was something we could never forget.

My footage is not great because rather than experience this moment through the lens, I decided to watch and just sort of aim the camera with my hand. I didn’t want to miss a single second of this giant animal swimming so close to us.

Darlene and Rachel have been talking about going to Taco Bell for quite some time now. Their dreams finally came true.