Bubble Blowing

We probably should not have swum this morning - the water was that murky. In fact this turtle was completely invisible to everyone but me, and I only barely saw it as a shadow. My little camera has an amazing capability to see what the eye cannot.

Since we were not comfortable getting too far from shore with the poor visibility, we entertained ourselves with a bubble blowing contest. And the winner was . . . um, I'm not sure. The bubbles kind of got in the way.

Lightening Fast

 Lightening-fast reflexes are needed to grab a passing fish and, interestingly enough, I know just such a person. Fortunately for the fishies, she has a catch and release policy (just please do not tell Christine about the catch part [shhhh]).

Getting Smashed

 The Maui Pink Cap Swimmers were benched by big surf this morning.

That didn't stop Patti and me from at least getting in for a brief swim - and from getting good exercise while running for our lives to get out without getting smashed by the waves.

Perfectly Fitted

 I got to photograph this charming home on Thursday.

It was perfectly intimate and constructed with beautiful custom details both inside and out.

Perfectly fitted to tropical Maui, one gazebo (pictured here) serves as the dining room and the other as a yoga/meditation studio.

Feeling Shy

My buddy, Bruce, was feeling really shy this morning. Every time I got close, she would rush off in the other direction.

Only on Maui

 I thought it rather strange this morning to see this woman setting out her cosmetics on the sea shore.

That is, until I zoomed in on the photo and realized that they were not for her but for . . .

Only on Maui.

I Promise

 Sorry for this, but I'm going to subject you to a few more photos I took last week in the Grand Canyon. Don't worry, these will be the last ones you'll have to see. I promise.

I got up in the dark and had to crawl out of my sleeping bag into freezing weather to catch the sunrise photo on top. I don't know if it was worth it, but it wasn't as bad as I was afraid it was going to be.

The middle photo was taken a little later and the bottom two photos make me cringe from viewing people so near the edge of a precipice.

Breathless

 Wow, it has been two whole weeks since I've been in the ocean; which for me is an eternity. I was panting all out of breath, but I loved every second of it.

Click HERE for a couple more photos from this morning's ocean swim.

Never to be Seen

 I am feeling overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of photographs I took at the Grand Canyon earlier this week. Here are two from shortly after sunrise Wednesday. I have a presentiment that the remainder of the photographs will be going into my archives and will never be seen - even by me.

50 Years and No Different

I just got back from helping my parents celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary. I had a great time hanging with my family who I don't see very often.

We attempted to recreate a photograph taken 50 years ago - and succeeded - well, sort of.

On My Way

I'm feeling a little bit squirrelly, so I guess it's time for me to be heading home. Maui here I come.

Living on the Edge

People seem to love standing on the edge of steep cliffs here in the Grand Canyon - way too many people for my taste. If you look closely you can see two of them on top of the spire on the right. Two of these adventurous souls tumbled over the edge last week and are no longer with us. You will NEVER have to worry about such a thing happening to me.

In and Out

We did it. My brother, Ken, and I hiked down the Kaibab trail and it was so easy that we were seriously tempted to go all the way down to the Colorado river. Boy are we ever glad that we didn't! Even though our return climb was quicker than the descent, we emerged barely able to walk. It was another spectacular day.

Grand Canyon

Ouch, a six hour drive today, but the Grand Canyon is well worth it. This is my first visit here and it is great. My brother, Ken, and I will be hiking down into it tomorrow. Wish us luck.

Tucson Hiking

I love that my brother, Ken, and I were able to hike from the dry desert up into the mountains where it got cold and green. I would love to have the great variety of hiking options which are available here.

Oro Valley

My immediate family has gathered for a reunion - the first in ten years - and we are staying just outside Tucson with this view from the lanai. Nice.

Frightening Stripes

 Everyone was a little nervous about swimming in the ocean after the fatal shark attack this past week just down the shore. Somehow the belief got around that sharks are afraid of black stripes on a pink background, and it seemed to keep them (and everyone else) away from us today. So I guess it works.

While we all relaxed into the swim, Doug did scare the *bubbles* out of a SCUBA diver we passed.

Click HERE for a few more photos from this morning's swim.

Up and Down

It didn't matter whether I was up at some elevation or down at the beach, today was yet another perfect day here on Maui.