Sunday Photo: Cool Drinks in Lahaina

Cool Drinks in Lahaina
Originally uploaded by webnelly

Boy, to say that I've been busy these last few weeks would be a big understatement. I thought posting this little photo would help take the edge off.

This was taken at BJ's Chicago Pizzeria in Lahaina. One of our favorite activities when going out to eat on vacation in Maui is trying different tropical drinks. Not only do they help you enjoy your time on the island, they usually look pretty neat, too.

With this photo, I decided to play around with Photoshop a little bit and bring out the colors of the drinks themselves by graying out everything else. It's a technique I was playing around with last year and something I featured in a previous post for Black Rock.

Now, back to the busy part. I've been working tirelessly on getting photos uploaded to my new photo store. There are still a lot of photos to process and upload, but I should be ready for a formal announcement sometime this week. However, since I feel it's ready enough for a sneak peak, I thought I'd give a first notice here for my readers at Ka'anapali Dreamin'.

So, if you like what you see here in the Sunday Photos series and are looking for some beautiful images of Maui to decorate your home, workspace or to give the gift of Maui to a loved one, be the first to check out Maui Wall Candy. Be sure to look for a formal announcement this week as well and checking back regularly as I process and upload a long list of photos I'm looking to share with all of you.

Mahalo.

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If you'd like to see more photos, you can check out our Sunday Photos category here at the blog, featuring a new photo every week. Our website also features daily photos on the Today's Photos page, and if you're Flickr fans like us, you can check out our Ka'anapali Dreamin' collection.

Also, subscribe to our blog to get the latest updates throughout the week.

Halloween in Lahaina Crackdown?

Read this in the Maui News today from a story they reported yesterday about annual festivities on Front Street for the upcoming Halloween holiday this year.

LahainaTown denied a Halloween permit

We have seen and read about past years where the parties and parades down Front Street for Halloween have had almost a Mardi Gras type atmosphere, with plenty of people and fun all dressed up in their costumes marching down Front Street in Lahaina. It was (and still is) something we're planning on checking out in the upcoming years.

Even though LahainaTown was not given the permit they have had in past years (starting back in the 1980s), it looks like there still will be plenty of people showing up for this annual event.

Let us know if you have any Halloween in Lahaina stories that you'd like to share.

Sunday Photo: A Stroll Down Front Street

A Stroll Down Front Street
Originally uploaded by webnelly

On an island with so much to do, sometimes you just want to take it easy and just enjoy the beautiful weather outside. This week's photo was taken in Lahaina doing just, that. A nice stroll down Front Street near the harbor after a late lunch with a gorgeous blue sky overhead and just a gentle breeze off the water.

There are quite a few spots along Front Street in Lahaina that you can stop and just look out into the water, this being only one of them. The photo was taken just southwest of Cheeseburger in Paradise to give those familiar with the area a point of reference. We're not ones to say any particular spot is better to watch the boats than another, but we do end up here now and again after lunch or just walking downtown throughout the day.

And, if you happen to see the ship below just outside the harbor, fear not that someone might be in trouble. The sailboat has actually been there for many years now, and only silly people like us, who after seeing it for the first time from our oceanside table at Cheeseburger in Paradise asked our waiter if that boat was in danger of sinking. :)



Mahalo.

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If you'd like to see more photos, you can check out our Sunday Photos category here at the blog, featuring a new photo every week. Our website also features daily photos on the Today's Photos page, and if you're Flickr fans like us, you can check out our Ka'anapali Dreamin' collection.

Also, subscribe to our blog to get the latest updates throughout the week.

Monday in Paradise

Aloha,

Well, we've had a long day on Tuesday and I'll post more details about that in the morning.

Monday was our traditional first day activities. Breakfast at the buffet was how things started, which like last year was included with our room package. Afterwards, we stopped off a the room and something caught our eye. Moments later, after staring through our binoculars, we had spotted our first whale from the lanai at our room. It wasn't a major up close and in your face sighting, but it will still a thrill. Unfortunately, he was too far our to get a good shot with my telephoto lens.

We swung over to Safeway to grab some groceries (which we normally do the first night, but eh). After we returned, Cindy and mom went down to the beach and rented a few of those umbrellas and chairs while I finished my homework for a digital photography class I'm taking back home. While out on the lanai procrastinating with that, I spotted more activity out on the water, and this time, it was even more exciting. Looking through the binos, I was able to see full whale tail above the water as it came crashing down into the water. Amazing.

This time, I grabbed my video camera and was able to get some fairly decent views of the other whale (at least I think there were two) slapping it's tail in the water for almost an entire minute. I haven't had time to transfer it to my laptop yet nor upload it, but it will go up eventually. Upload speeds haven't been that great here with my Sprint mobile card, so I'll have to find a wi-fi spot nearby.

The day continued with our first stop in Lahaina Town, with a little shopping and dinner at Cheeseburger in Paradise. On the shopping end, Cindy and I found very nice matching Aloha Wear to add to our collection, and we'll likely be wearing it to the dinner cruise on Sunday. Mom also started her souvenir shopping, which was actually easier that she had thought.

The night ended with taking in the Cliff Dive Ceremony at Black Rock and then calling it a night. We're still adjusting to the time difference and jet lag a little, and having to get up at 5am to get ready for the Road to Hana tour on Tuesday didn't help the matter.

More updates on Tuesday's trip to Hana and our plans for Wednesday (my birthday) in the morning.

Aloha and Mahalo.

Sunday Photo: Lahaina Banyan Tree

Lahaina Banyan Tree
Originally uploaded by webnelly

This very well known tree among Maui visitor and residents was planted by missionaries way back on April 24th, 1873 (Wikipedia). It is a part of Lahaina history and even their social calendar, having it's own birthday party every year hosted by the Lahaina Town Action Committee. What do you buy a tree this big for its birthday anyway?

Perhaps the most amazing thing about this tree, aside from its age, has to be its sheer size. The Wikipedia article listed above says that this banyan tree covers almost 2/3 of an acre. Wow. That makes this giant tree very, very hard to photograph. Perhaps the best way to capture the magnitude of this tree is to view it from space, as in this Google Map. That slightly orange roof building just southeast of the banyan tree is the Old Lahaina Courthouse, which is now run as the Lahaina Visitors Center. It's a fairly decent sized two-story building, but is still obviously dwarfed by the size of this tree.

It's a neat thing to see if you're in Lahaina, and very hard to miss. Hopefully for anyone shopping down Front Street it's not too far out of your way, and definitely worth seeing.