So Far on Maui

Once again, I’ve let nearly the whole vacation slip by without keeping up with blogging about it – but this time, it’s now much easier to get photos uploaded to Flickr, which act as an informal timeline of our activities.

Dinner at Five Palms was very, very nice – this time we sat outside. Missed the sunset, but enjoyed the ambiance anyway. Then on Saturday, we went to the Whale Day parade and took some photos, then met up with some Twitter acquaintances (although we got a late start and missed the beginning of the parade). It was pleasant to hang out with friendly folks (both local and vacationing) and trade tips about favorite activities and restaurants. We went through the crafts area without buying anything, then came back to the condo for more relaxing. Boring? No, we’re on vacation, dammit.

We were at Ahihi Bay to snorkel in the middle of the week, a place that we’ve had mixed results with in the past. This time, no problems getting in or out over the old boat ramp, and it was pretty clear if a little bumpy. Plenty to see, and we spent about half an hour in the water or more before deciding we could go back in and find some lunch.

Whalewatch on Sunday was fun, but still kind of frustrating – I had a bad moment at the beginning when I realized I had booked our “free” whalewatch for one, not realizing that I hadn’t made sure to book the second person (which wasn’t free, alas). Fortunately, the lady at Pacific Whale Foundation overbooked us by one so we were both able to go, whew. It was a pretty full boat, naturally, and we did see a lot of whales right out of the harbor, but not much activity.

The One That Got Away

And the one shot I had at an amazing, close-up fluke was ruined by my use of the autofocus feature on my camera; there was much swearing (under my breath, but probably perfectly audible to parents standing next to me). I did get a couple of good shots, but once again it seemed we weren’t in the right spot at the right time for breaches or tail-slapping, just lots of mother-calf pairs sloping around near the surface.

And… a few tail shots, but not the ones I really wanted with the underside of the flukes for ID purposes. Still, they’re very nice.

Maui Whale Tails
Maui Whale Tails
Maui Whale Tails
Maui Whale Tails

After the cruise was over, we went for breakfast to Beach Bums, which had a great location in the Maala’ea Harbor Shops building as we trudged back up from the boat toward the car. Too bad they were so bad at service; we waited a long time for coffee after the waitress dumped a single serving at our table and walked away for more than 15 minutes. They served in Venti-sized cups, either doubled or with a heat liner, but only filled a little past the halfway mark. So for the longest time we looked questioningly at our double-cupped, half-full single portion and wondered if we were expected to share, and tried unsuccessfully to catch the eye of a server or the owner-manager. While waiting, I saw one plate of eggs-and-something sent back, as the eggs were “a little too easy for over easy.” Not a good sign, and then we heard one waitress holler “the kitchen isn’t getting the order tickets.” Another not-good sign, but eventually we got both a second cup of coffee (after finally flagging down our waitress) and our breakfast orders, which were both cooked to the right degree.

After that, we had the snorkel gear in the car, so we went to Olowalu, an unimproved stretch of beach that is still very popular with snorkelers. We’ve been there before where David and Steve didn’t have a good time at all, due to the lack of clearance on some of the shallower reef, and although I like it, David prefers deeper waters. I stuck to the main channel, which is usually marked with a diver flag so you can see where to line up for your return trip, and didn’t bother to put on my wet suit or take my camera. I figured that since David wan’t snorkeling, I wanted a kind of self-limiting factor that kept me from dawdling too long, and it worked out fine. There were plenty of fish to see, although there was a lot of unhealthy looking coral close in. Didn’t see any turtles, octopi, or eels this time (David got a nice shot of a zebra moray when we were at Ahihi Bay). We stopped at the cliff overlook for quite a long time, watching for whales, too.

Maui Flowers and Bamboo

After that, I took a few photos of plumeria blooms around the condo – note to Second Life developers, this is what the ubiquitous landscaping plant is suppsed to look like…

Maui 2010

Yesterday, Monday, we loaded the hiking gear up and headed to Pa’ia, Hana, and Kipahulu/Haleakala National Park. Earlier in the trip, we’d driven over to Pa’ia and Ho’okipa for lunch – about the only photo I took then was of surf hitting the lava promontory off the Ho’okipa lookout. Back in Pa’ia on that day it took forever to find a parking spot for our lunch at Milagros (which was delish, as always), but yesterday on the way to Hana, it wasn’t so much of a problem.

Kimmidolls

We picked up picnic lunches from Anthony’s, a coffee place that seems to have added a lot of attractive merch since our last visit. I thought these Japanese-style dolls were cute, and they’re in the same style as a wooden one that I own. Apparently each one is unique and is supposed to exemplify some trait, like “joy” or “harmony.” Might end up adapting the idea for my Second Life shop.

After that, we enjoyed the drive along the Hana Highway.

Maui Flowers and Bamboo

We brake for waterfalls!

We imagined ourselves as competitors in the Olympic 2-person car luge, given the curvy road and numerous one-car bridges and places where cars must Yield to Oncoming Traffic. We wondered if the Hana Highway has the highest average number of warning and informational signs per mile of any in the US – sometimes there’s a Road Narrows, Yield Ahead, and Yield sign in a set within a few short yards.

Also – to the young woman in the white Suzuki who was in such a lather, life is too short to be you, apparently. You’re obviously Not From Around Here if you’re going to holler obscenities on the road to Hana, because everybody knows it’s not a road to be traveled at high speed – even the locals. They might zip around as fast as they can, but they also respect the yield signs and actually wave or honk “thank you” when you pull over to let them pass. Which we did, many times, and we did pull over for Miss Honking, Screaming, Frothing-at-the-Mouth Bitch once we figured out she was yelling at us. I hollered in kind and waved the hand gesture that was not the friendly, hang-loose “shaka” that you see in the islands – it was the “Hawaiian good luck” gesture as demonstrated by those nice Navy men that were captured by the North Koreans all those years ago.

It was not pleasant to hear her hollering “I’m not going to sit here and follow you all the way, you prick!” and “Fuck you, get out of the way” so of course we let her past, so she could go bother the guy in front of us, who was ALSO not going too slowly for conditions. It was quite amusing to watch how suddenly she went from screaming and honking to silent and slow as she met an oncoming car at one of those places where both vehicles have to creep past each other with inches to spare. She wouldn’t have had to do that if she’d actually… respected the yield signs, but they don’t apply to loud, rude persons such as herself.

After she sped off in a cloud of exhaust and vitriol, things were much more enjoyable. We got to Kipahulu (the section of Haleakala National Park that extends down to an ancient village site along the course of a stream) and set off on one of our favorite hikes, the one up to Waimoku Falls. My workouts the last five or six months have really paid off – although I do get pretty puffy on steeper uphill sections (especially if it’s warm) I eventually got my “second wind” after the steepest section (the part up until there’s a gated fence). We’ve been on that trail 3 or 4 times now, and every time is a little different.

The lower sections of trail are being worked on, and we passed several husky young men breaking up blue-colored stone to be used as stairsteps on the steeper parts. Otherwise, the lower third of the trail is very “rooty” and eroded (it’s VERY popular). Once past the fence and beyond the one banyan tree whose branch crosses the trail supported by thick aerial roots, you continue upwards until you start to hear water more and more loudly on the right hand. There wasn’t very much water coming down this year, by the way: we’ve been there when there were absolute torrents of the stuff coming down, with warning signs up everywhere. This time, just the normal “DEATH will result” signs on the cliff edges were there, happy happy joy joy.

Maui Flowers and Bamboo

Impatiens grows wild in this part of Maui, where there are cool damp hillsides and even cliffs.

Maui Flowers and Bamboo

Anyway, we made it to our favorite part, the mysterious deep green bamboo forest.

Maui Flowers and Bamboo

I’ve taken this shot before, but it never fails to fascinate, even though I know where it leads:

Maui Flowers and Bamboo

It just looks so mysterious, that stairway.

Maui Flowers and Bamboo

And this strange thing – looks like a fig or other fruit tree, being strangled out by the bamboo, but still it has some heart, no?

Once we got to Waimoku, where we’d heard from other hikers that some large rocks had fallen from far above, guess where David needed to go to get his shot?

Maui Flowers and Bamboo

Yes, that’s right. Beyond the DANGER! DANGER! sign.

Maui Flowers and Bamboo

But of course it was worth the effort.

After that, we made it back down, glad we’d worn heavy hiking boots rather than the flip flops and Tevas we saw other hikers wearing… ??? Yeah, it’s a very rooty-tooty rocky-rolly trail, so I don’t know if they all made it beyond, say, the easily negotiated recycled plastic walkways in the bamboo forest. On the way down, however, I was beaten, badly, in the trail luge by a couple of German women in, yes, flip-flops. Oh, the agony of de feet! As by the time I got to the parking lot, mine were in agony. It was kind of hot, I guess, for the socks I’d packed, but I’m still glad I had the extra protection.

We drove back via Makawao – more or less, as we missed some turns and had to use the map feature of my iPhone to get to Casanova’s for a nice Italian dinner. And we went to bed pretty early again, although the aches I felt on awakening this morning pretty much put a stop to our “early morning snorkel” plans. We did snorkel in the late morning, right in front of the condo, before running an errand to Long’s Drug to get smelly stuff for my hair, and then a quick trip to see what the reportedly big surf was doing at Ho’okipa. It was too surgy and choppy by the time we got there, though it was pretty to watch.

And now we’re getting ready to go to the Waterfront for dinner. Tomorrow: more snorkeling in the AM, and we’ve got dinner plans at Fish and Poi in Napili followed by a nice concert with the Slack Key Masters program.

UPDATE: And of course dinner at the Waterfront was wonderful; I spent a lot of time remembering the first time I ate there, on my sister Timmy’s fabulous “Hawaii 5-0” with my mom and “Aunt Veda” and other family members. We’ve lost Mom and Veda since then, but will never forget the notorious plastic ants that my sister Tudy pulled out of her purse to play with on the deck; they’re excellent prank props for frozen Daiquiris, for one thing. Also, I recall an epic game of SPOON. There are pictures somewhere at home, which I need to scan and upload for a planned project anyway.

Nothing like that would ever happen at the Waterfront now, of course, it has a reputation for relaxed elegance to maintain. But back then when it was a brand new place, with only a sandwich board out on Hauoli Road to indicate that a restaurant was tucked around to the makai side of the Milowai condo property. We had a lot of fun on that deck then, but David and I had decorous good fun last night, too.

Today has been overcast so we’ve mostly been indoors, although during a sun break we went out and played in the ocean a little. David got cold and went up to the condo, but I stayed out a little longer bouncing around on the silky sand on my toes in about chest-depth water. The temp was a little cool on entry, but comfortable enough for a while once in… but it felt REALLY good to get in the pool after, which is slightly heated. Got back in the ocean after I sighted a whale breach, so I could say I “swam with the whales” later. Uh huh.

After more R&R we’re now deciding the next big thing: Where To Have Lunch. Later on, we’ll drive up toward Napili for tonight’s Slack Key Masters concert. And we’ve already decided that our next trip to Maui will probably be in a couple of years, and we may go for a stay in the Napili area again.

Carnivorous Feeding Frenzy de Brazil

Oh well, another week or so goes by, how the hell did that happen? We’re working off a bit of a meat hangover here at Chez Geeque, because we met some good friends for dinner at the nearby Texas de Brazil in Schaumburg and ate a large quantity of delicious slow-roasted meat. We groaned contentedly when offered dessert, came home, watched Stargate: Universe and Numb3rs, and fell into bed.

This morning we both moved very, very slowly and tonight for dinner – vegetarian! But it was a wonderful meal, and the setting and serving style lent a great sense of occasion and even drama.

Our friend Jim from Utah was visiting with a friend nearby, and we thought this was a good excuse to get together with our local friends Jon and Amy, who are big fans of this Texas de Brazil and eat there pretty frequently. They recommended the place and we made our way there from several different directions.

Jim and his friend Michelle were coming from Madison and had the longest distance to travel, so we greeted them with a glad “Hurray! Let’s eat!” and got settled. Our servier was Fabiola, a favorite of Jon and Amy’s – she’s the greatest – and she told us how it works. There are little cards at each place, along with sets of tongs in addition to the usual table setting (including steak knives). Keep the red-bordered side of the card up, get salad and soup from one of the most impressive buffet bars I’ve ever seen, and when read for the meat, turn the card over.

Immediately, servers bearing charred flesh converge on the table. You can get something cooked to order, but everything is normally medium rare. They come over, offer some generous but not overwhelmingly large portion of tasty meat, and either they push it directly onto your plate from a sword-sized skewer, or they slice off a nice piece, which you grab with your tongs as they slice and place on your plate.

Oh. My. God.

This was some serious meat action. I was of course reminded of the infamous “Meatblock” task on Amazing Race years ago, which consisted of four pounds of meat, handed to you on a tray, that you had to eat. All of it. Or you took a penalty, which was light enough that most people calculated that they’d still get to the pitstop and check in early enough to beat people who decided to stick it out chewing on 4 pounds of meat and meatlike gristle.

However, our meat was all delicious and varied. I think my favorite was the garlic top sirloin, which had incredible flavor. However, the bacon-wrapped filet mignon was also very good, as was the leg of lamb, the flank steak, the parmesan chicken, the Brazilian sausage, and whatever that rolled-roast house special was. I’m sure the pork ribs and lamb chops were good too…

Thing was, I forgot to flip my card over, so these handsome fellows bearing swordsfull of roast meat kept coming over, and David would take an occasional slice because it was right next to him.

Fortunately, I managed not to disgrace myself by eating EVERYTHING offered to me. Just most of it.

We laughed and talked, and Jim and Michelle seemed to be enjoying themselves in spite of the decor, which looks pretty Satanic what with the blood red walls, flames, and skewered flesh now that I think of it. Fabiola was delightful and charming, and so I’m sure we’ll go back again and ask for her. Just not as often as Jon and Amy, because it’s more of an “occasion” type restaurant for us rather than a weekly or twice-monthly snap decision.

But oh yeah; handsome Brazilian men bringing me hot meat on sharp sticks: bring ’em on!

Mom’s Macaroni Salad Recipe | Simply Recipes

Made this just now, tastes incredible even though I forgot the fresh parsley. Roasted the red pepper on the gas flame for pyro fun!

Mom’s Macaroni Salad Recipe | Simply Recipes

Think macaroni and deviled egg make love child and you’ll be in the vicinity. There is a hard boiled egg, some roasted red bell pepper, chopped spring onions, a generous amount of mayo, and seasoning with sweet paprika. Perfect for a summer BBQ or picnic salad.

Stonyfield Yogurt – Beef Stroganoff

I just made Beef Stroganoff using a Stoneyfield Yogurt recipe that I’ve had for years (David avoids dairy food but can tolerate yogurt). The funny thing is I’ve never actually used Stoneyfield, just whatever plain nonfat yogurt I found at the store. This time I used a Greek yogurt called Chobani that I found at Meijier, and notice a marked improvement in taste and texture. Result: very creamy and smooth, nice and thick, and VERY tangy. Stoneyfield is fine, too, but this Chobani stuff is strained Greek-style, and thus isn’t watery or “loose” when combined at the end. The Dijon mustard is a squeezable “Honey Dijon” type, not exactly according to Crocker, but also bringing a little something to the party.

I’ll be trying some of Chobani’s recipes this summer, for sure.

Stonyfield Yogurt – Beef Stroganoff
Ingredients:
1 lb beef loin, sliced into 1 inch strips
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 yellow onion, thin sliced
1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced
1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon
1/2 teaspoon paprika
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup beef broth
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
1 cup plain lowfat yogurt
(I always throw in 2 or 3 tablespoons of Worcesterchire sauce with the mustard and yogurt)

Directions:
Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add sliced beef loin, onion and mushrooms, sauté until meat begins to brown. Add flour to the mixture, and continue to cook for two minutes, stirring constantly. Add tarragon, paprika, wine and beef broth, reduce the heat to medium, and allow to simmer 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in dijon mustard and yogurt. Serve over egg noodles.

Yields: 4 servings

Nutrition Facts Per Serving:
Calories 340; Calories from Fat 150; Total Fat 17g; Cholesterol 70mg; Total Carbohydrates 13g; Protein 29g, Fiber 2g

End of the Oregon Trail

Flickr

Overnighting in Seaside, walking the Prom

UPDATE: Seaside, Oregon is definitely a place I’d visit again, perhaps as a base for exploring and photographing the Oregon Coast. We picked it at random as it was about as far as we felt driving the first day, after going through Astoria and Tillamook (did stop for some squeaky-cheese curds, which I worked on all day).

Seaside is one of those places that’s got some authentic charm and history, although there are a lot of big new high-rises along the prime beachfront spots of its classic “Prom” or promenade. You can see the Wyndham timeshare on the right hand behind the Lewis and Clark statue. We had stayed in a Comfort Suites (that was very comfy and a sweet deal) and I left David in the room to explore on my own for a bit. I walked up the “North Prom” and enjoyed the sea breeze and looking at the cute beach cottages. One in particular caught my eye with its carved picket fence (many feature front lawns and fences, no doubt for family play space). The pickets were carved in the shapes of birds, maybe pelicans or seagulls, and it had the birds carved on an old-fashioned garden gate, too.

The main drag of Seaside is an old-fashioned street of small shops and attractions buildings painted in pastel colors, very pleasing to the eye. The “tacky tourist” look of some beach or resort areas was not as much in evidence, so clearly the local zoning people wanted to keep Seaside looking a little like it did in its glory days of the Twenties (aside from the highrise condos and some of the hotels). When I walked back, I was struck by the sight of an old-fashioned candy shop proudly displaying a fresh log of fudge on a marble worktable in the front window – and I do mean a LOG of fudge. It was about the size of a railroad tie, elaborately worked and swirled so that the top took on a braided appearance.

I ended up getting some fresh warm caramel corn and a bag of salt water taffy. The taffy has made it all the way to San Francisco, as a gift for my teammates. The caramel corn lasted until the next day on the road.

We ate dinner that night in a nice little Italian place called Guido and Joe’s, where David had some very good but spicy cioppino. He later noted that he maybe shouldn’t have enjoyed so much of it, but sometimes one must suffer a little after enjoying good food. Fortunately, I brought plenty of antacid stuff.

Ginny
I can has iPhone?

Via: Flickr
Title: End of the Oregon Trail
By: GinnyRED57
Originally uploaded: 26 May ’09, 6.42pm CDT PST

BLTT&C at Hump’s Cafe in Clatskanie

Flickr

Ginny

I can has iPhone?

Via: Flickr
Title: BLTT&C at Hump’s Cafe in Clatskanie
By: GinnyRED57
Originally uploaded: 26 May ’09, 3.30pm CDT PST

UPDATE: We drove towards the Oregon Coast and down towards San Francisco in kind of a random fashion, and next time we’ll do it a little differently to minimize long driving days and maximize hanging out in interesting places days.

We stopped at this funky local place after crossing a bridge from a very industrial area of southern Washington into Oregon. It was a pleasant surprise once inside, full of quirky decor and homey touches. The food was quite good, and I really liked this “Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato, Turkey, and Cucumber” sandwich.

Buy Pepsi, Piss Off The Fundies

As seen at Pam’s House Blend:: The American Family Association has nothing better to do than harrass Pepsico:

Here’s four good reasons I’m going to buy more Pepsi products… no, make that five good reasons.

  1. Pepsi gave a total of $1,000,000 to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) to promote the homosexual lifestyle in the workplace.
  2. Both HRC and PFLAG supported efforts in California to defeat Proposition 8 which defined marriage as being between a man and a woman. HRC, which received $500,000 from Pepsi, gave $2.3 million to defeat Proposition 8.
  3. Pepsi requires employees to attend sexual orientation and gender diversity training where the employees are taught to accept homosexuality.
  4. Pepsi is a member of the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce.

5. Buying PepsiCo brands will not only show support for their inclusive and enlightened policies, it will really piss off Donald Wildmon’s American Family Association if their boycott backfires.

The sex-obsessed, reality-rejecting fundamentalists led by Wildmon are issuing a clarion call for a ginormous boycott of all things Pepsi, because the soft-drink conglomerate refused to be blackmailed bullied into cancelling their financial support of P-FLAG, a well known national support group for families and friends of gay people, and for failing to be bigots and asshats and get all discriminatory towards employees and their loved ones who happen to be gay.

Whew.

Check out this extremely bland, factual and polite “FOAD” letter that a PepsiCo spokesman wrote to the Wildmon people after they complained about Pepsi’s social activisim and financial support for gay civil rights initiatives, in addition to their enlightened workplace policies. Note that the quote sticks to the company employee diversity initiative – way to stay on message AND tell your whirly-eyed cherry-picking God-botherer where to go!

Response from Paul Boykas, director, public policy to Donald E. Wildmon (November 18, 2008):
I’m responding to your letter to our Chairman. In 2008, the PepsiCo Foundation awarded a grant to Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays to support a national program specifically designed for workplace environments.

The initiative seeks to promote further understanding and equality in the places where people spend much of their time at work.

Among the values promoted by the PepsiCo Foundation is ensuring a work environment that is respectful and where associates are valued for their contributions. I hope this helps clarify this grant by the PepsiCo Foundation.

Typically, we have Sprite around the house, but Pepsi’s only lemon-lime drink is (gag) Sierra Mist: sorry, but the Sprite stays. We both prefer Pepsi to Coke but haven’t had stocked the fridge with it lately. Maybe I’ll try some of the no-caffeine stuff.

I can get on board with the rest of my personal anti-boycott, fortunately. Although David will enjoy the occasional Mountain Dew, I’ll have to settle for a frosty Mug root beer or a full-on Pepsi, or maybe a Frappuccino when the weather warms up. I do like the SoBe ready-to-drink “teas” and “juices” (especially that Wisdom one that supposedly chills you out: let’s hear it for the placebo effect). Also in the Pepsico portfolio: various Quaker Oats products and Frito-Lay snacks (such as the Tostitos we have to have on hand, and the Sun Chips I occasionally have at lunch during the week).

Yeah, not a lot of healthy stuff aside from maybe the Quaker Oats and the Sun Chips. Oh, well. It’s for a good and joyful cause!

Singapore Style Noodle: Seven Luck NOM NOM NOM

We order from this Chinese restaurant that’s about the only one in the area that will deliver. It’s a little hole-in-the-wall kind of place that doesn’t really have seating beyond maybe a couple of small tables. It’s a takeout/delivery place, but we were delighted to find that what they don’t expend on ambiance, they put into the food.

The poor guy that delivers for them knows our address by heart, and tonight being so cold I made him come inside to finalize payment – usually he stands outside the door and we watch to make sure Rileycat doesn’t get too curious about the open entryway. He was absurdly grateful to come in for a couple of minutes, so he’s probably been delivering all evening.

We tend to stick to the same few favorites; David likes shrimp with lobster sauce, and I’m generally having Happy Family Chow Fun because I like the tender noodles and the savory gravory. But tonight I’m having Singapore Style Noodle, which is just spicy enough to be what I call “authoritative” without being overpowering or even imperialistic. I felt the need to pack a little interior heat, if you get my drift.

See their website at Seven Luck Restaurant. It’s a little wacky, with animated graphics on the splash page, but kind of endearingly so. They’re in a strip mall on Roselle Road in Schaumburg, right behind some outlier chain restaurant – Taco Bell? They’re well worth a try if you’re in their delivery area.

A cook’s favorite, sturdy tool | csmonitor.com

A cook’s favorite, sturdy tool | csmonitor.com
Years later, my brother came to the rescue. He hollered at me for washing my skillet with soap, and sternly informed me that it should only be cleaned with water, coarse salt, and hot oil – never soap. He seized my trusty-but-iffy skillet, scrubbed it with handfuls of coarse salt, and snatched the canola oil, pouring in a very small amount onto the skillet. Next, he proceeded to quickly heat the skillet to a high temperature, spreading the oil with a paper towel. When he was finished, it was smooth and clean.