My Momilani Maui Reflections







 


by Ron Kubota
Bumpy, bump, bump, bump!  Riding on a bumpy road in the sky in the darkness of an early Valentine’s Day morning and seated on the tail end of an Aloha Airlines plane was like riding a horse being securely strapped to its tail end.  But things got better as the plane got higher and the bumps only returned for a brief moment prior to landing at our destination on the Island of Maui.  And so began our windy and bumpy trip to Maui. 

Wind, wind, and lots of strong wind changed our plans.  Not only was the first two days bad hair days for some but bad days for whale watching for everyone.  The surface of the sea displayed caps of white that were not splashes made by whales but by winds blowing surface water into the air.  It would have been difficult to distinguish between those white caps of water and those created by whales.  Going out on a boat under those bumpy conditions would more than likely resulted in most of us giving the lunch we ate to the sea. 

The bumpy train ride was also fun!  The bumps were telegraphed through the hard wooden seats. 
 

Visiting Iao Valley State Park was a good substitution on Thursday.  Iao Needle was a very beautiful pointed bump of land.
 

The winds also subsided on Friday and made for excellent weather for the visit to the Haleakala National Park, the biggest and highest bump on Maui.  The wet and cold weather the days before resulted in water freezing the night before.  Ice was on the ground and icicles hung in the shady areas of the cliffs.   It was a very nice sunny picture perfect day to visit the park. 

Even with the changes in itinerary, the trip was a great one. Students for the most part did their part in being responsible, respectful, and resourceful.  Some forgot at times but no more than expected. 

Congratulations and thank you to those who did their best to make this travel experience a great one for everyone.   It is hoped that we all have learned from these experiences - both from the good and bad.   After all, bumps are all a part of learning, growing and living. 
 

Special thanks to Zachary Ho for helping to
load the luggage on and off the bus.

 
 


 A rock to remember...
Click on it to see some
interesting variations of it.
Now single file, please...
Oops, wrong animal.
People and lobsters only.


Lobsters are known to march in a single file.