Saturday, May 8, 2021

From the Fertile Farmlands of Ventura County to the Rugged Coasts of Maui


Sunday-Friday, May 2-7, 2021

We had quite the week. It all started with our granddaughter Mary's Daisy Scouts field trip to the Underwood Farm in Moorpark, California in order to get closer to the Earth.

We joined Jacob and Vanessa
on Sunday for Mary's field trip

The Daisy Scouts were READY!

Mary about to drive . . .

. . . this sporty wagon

Laurie just had to
COWGIRL UP!

Jacob on the hunt for the perfect
strawberry to pick

Mary and her friend found
lots of perfect strawberries

Jacob about to venture
into the "Fava Bean Forest"

At Mary's height, she could
easily get lost in the intriguing
"Fava Bean Forest"

Pulling carrots was a hit

The Underwoods also keep
interesting animals for the
children to ponder

Jacob was amazed by the cattle

Crazy kids riding mini-tractors

Of course you can pan
for precious stones

For a nominal, additional fee of course . . .

The kids joy in panning
was worth the coast

After our great field trip, we spent the next few days packing and going through a series of Covid-19 related hoops in order to satisfy the state of Hawaii's Health Department that we had a clean bill of health, had been fully vaccinated and should be allowed on to one of their gorgeous islands.

Finally, on Tuesday, we were off to . . .

. . . MAUI!

Of course, I still needed to break 
down some practice video from
Barcelona on the deck of the condo

The condo belongs to our hosts, Mark and Susie Johnson, who invited us to join them in Paradise.

Their daughter Mallory and her friend Sarah are with us too as they attend their final classes at the University of Washington on-line before graduating at the end of the month.

As is the norm, eating is a big part of any Johnson-Contreras expedition into the hinterlands.

Incredible banana pancakes that
were indeed world class

Malasadas were the call here

Creme filled Hawaiian health food we were led to believe.

Wilt Chamberlain's Kimono

"Rich Dead People Things For Sale"?

Hawaii has lots of interesting flora as it turns out. 

Liked the red/yellow combination

Suddenly we were in a church cemetery
in the middle of this mini-forest

An old tree stump

More yellow goodness

Arbor vines that are
still waiting to bloom

Delicate

Perhaps even more delicate

The lava fields at the base of
the Mount Haleakala volcano

It's dormant, right?

Mysterious pathway into . . .

. . . Makena Beach

I just liked it

Overcast, beautiful Makena Beach

Yes, we were HAPPY!

With the Johnsons as Sarah
took the photo

With Sarah as Mark took the photo

Dinner with my newest
UW Huskies face mask

Lots of strangers had positive comments about it. 

Mark and I are doing LOTS
of walking in the early mornings

And we all continue
to enjoy the local cuisine

Friday was Laurie's
29th birthday

Again.

Here she flashes her birthday present bling for you during lunch at Lahaina's Cheeseburger in Paradise.

Food. It always comes back to food.

The waters in Lahaina

Lahaina rock sculptures

The famed Lahaina
Banyan tree

Nature's intricate lacework

Our first view of Kapalua's
Dragon's Teeth Beach

Amazing, simply AMAZING!

DO NOT GO SWIMMING
in this part of the Dragon's Teeth

Nature is really something

Note the size of the couple on
the left of that crashing wave

Rugged but still serene

It's been a good week!

On to "News from the Net" . . .

The Milano Rhinos and the
Lazio Ducks were in a defensive
struggle last weekend in
Italian DI American football action

Our beloved Guadalajara Stings
wrapped up a perfect regular season

The 6-0 Stings will host the 6-1 Barcelona Uroloki on May 22nd for the Spanish Serie C National Championship.

The Stings have come a LONG way since I helped them in the Fall of 2016.

Go Stings GO!

What the heck is a Uroloki?
 
And at 73, it is even WORSE!

If this is true,
WE WANT TO GO BACK!

I know that BBQ smile quite well

Classic

We will continue to update you on our Maui adventures in the next few days.

ALOHA!

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