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| Roadtrip to Moab | |||
| Sunriver Meltdown | |||
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The following took place on the Hawaiian Island of Maui.
Two weeks of Tropical Bliss,
staying in the enormous McMaui Condo, courtesy of the producers of the
actual best Cheeseburgers in Paradise. Maui
did not disappoint. Maui was a vacation free from the
sociopathic disturbances of any marginal personalities, no dysfunctional
couples, no dysfunctional children... |
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The McMaui
Condo. Air conditioning is not needed in Maui. A constant breeze blows in off the ocean. The inset view is from the upper level bedroom deck, looking down on the crashing waves. A very soothing sound, like a natural tranquilizer. | ||
| A novice-surfer sandy beach was just a short walk from the McMaui Condo. Nephew Jeremy soon became quite the surfer, or boogie boarder. Durango remains unclear about the appropriate board terminology. |  | ||
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While waiting for good waves Jeremy liked making sand castles, or burying his brother, or his uncle. | ||
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| The Three Big Maui Adventures (not counting the Luau which turned slightly disturbing when Jeremy thought the Roast Pig looked too much like Babe) were driving the Hana Highway, Snorkeling at Molokini, and Durango's favorite, the World's Longest Downhill Mountain Bike Tour, a 38 mile ride from the summit of Haleakala Volcano to the sea!! More fun than anything Durango rode in Moab!! | |||
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Durango is in the lead, with Jeremy and CJ bringing up the rear... the ride down Haleakala Volcano begins at over 10000 feet in misty clouds. Raingear is provided. A support van provides a storage space for the unneeded extra clothes as the temperatures warmed with the lower elevation. | |||
| An early start is a requisite for the Hana Highway drive. A video in the McMaui Condo gave a good idea of what to expect. But not too good an idea. Waterfalls, curvy roads, cliffs and beautiful views were anticipated. Lunatic truck drivers, suicidal tourists and herds of wild cats were not anticipated. The slow, lush, exotic, hypnotic drive brought about a desire to linger at its end, a desire which caused part of the return to the McMaui Condo to be driven in darkness. A very exciting return adventure! Terrorizing, blood pounding excitement, screaming nephews, screaming uncles. It is no mystery, now, why the Hana Highway is considered, by many, to be the very best drive in the entire world!!!! | |||
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Jeremy's Hana Highway audio cassette told him when to stop, where to look, when to hike... like the short hike into this waterfall. It sounded good to Jeremy, so the trail was hiked. By almost everyone. In both cars. But, some people just don't like non-motorized modes of motion. | ||
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The Seven Sacred Pools is at
the end of the Hana Highway... well, it was the end of this Hana Highway
excursion, anyway. Can you pick out which of the worshipers at the
Sacred Pools is Durango?
Hint: Which one is wearing a
Moose McGillycuddy™ t-shirt?? And everyone knows Durango never waves in
photos. |
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| Biking down a volcano was good, the Hana Highway was good, but Snorkeling at Molokini was 'totally awesome' in Jeremy Speak, a pre-teen lingo. The Lahaina Princess sailed early--- once aboard, a breakfast of the usual assorted goodies, with typical Maui fruit and juice choices, was made available. Molokini is a Nature Preserve. No one is allowed on Molokini. It is a volcano remnant, forming a crescent shaped, protective cove--- popular with all manner of fish-types, including sharks and turtles. After a little instruction, you are given your snorkeling accoutrements, and it's everyone into the 200 foot deep fish-infested waters. After a few hours of this activity, it's all aboard for a barbeque buffet, and on the way back to Maui, something called an open bar appears, and many adults seemed to have their behavior altered by the time land was reached. | |||
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On the way out to Molokini Nephew CJ decided to do a little fishing. He was hoping to catch a few mahi-mahi, to cook at the lunch barbeque, but CJ only caught some carp, well, actually it was some carping and harping. Apparently fishing without a license is frowned upon. | ||
| CJ (in the purple shorts) is getting ready to dive in. That's CJ's dad, in the water, by the ladder. Might that be Uncle Durango snorkeling towards the camera? |  | ||
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Durango swimming up to his brother-in-law and sister?? That's definitely CJ and JR snorkeling in the upper left picture.
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| JR and CJ learned to keep their heads above water, quite well. The Molokini Atoll is behind them. |  | ||
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This concludes Durango in Paradise with the Durango Nephews. JR & CJ hope you had as good a time suffering through this short travelogue as they did while they were in Maui!! | |||
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