Aloha!

I have arrived in Hawaii! 6 hour flight from Seattle was LONG, but it sure beats flying to Africa. I just got on the shuttle bus to go to the hotel and meet Katie, who has been here four days already for the ASHG conference. I hope to see Steve and Kristina before going to bed tonight for some much needed sleep. Tomorrow is a busy day, with Katie's talk in the morning and then our flight to Maui in the evening. Should be a great birthday vacation.

We are about to board our plane to Maui. Today was a busy day. We got up at 6:30am so that Katie could get to the conference and load her talk on to their computers. I went to check out the beach, then packed up our stuff and headed to the conference center. My fake badge worked flawlessly. I got to see Katie give her talk, which went VERY well. She was super prepared, and it was a great talk. But then I was bored as I sat through the remaining talks. There is a reason I don't do genetics.

After the session, we met up with Kristina and Steve for lunch. Kristina reallly wanted fish tacos, so we asked someone where we should go. She gave us directions to Wahoo Fish Tacos. It ended up being a 15-20 minute walk in the super hot sun. By the time we got there, we were starving, exhausted, and over-heated, but the fish tacos were really good, so I guess it was worth it. After lunch, we decided to take a cab back, which was a very good choice.

Back at the conference center, we said goodbye to Steve. He wanted to go to the last few talks. The rest of us headed to the beach to relax. The water was a nice temperature. Not too hot, not too cold. We enjoyed a beautiful sunset over the ocean. Then, it was time to say goodbye to Kristina. It was great to see her and Steve here. Catching up with good friends is always fun.

We had dinner with Heather and Santosh from Katie's lab, then headed to the airport. Now we are about to fly to Maui. We need to get to bed as soon as possible since we have to wake up at 6am for our snorkel tour tomorrow.

Maui, here we come!

For our first day on Maui, we woke up at 6am to go on a 7am snorkeling trip with Blue Water Rafting. Despite the early hour, we were feeling pretty good. Our 5+ hour snorkel trip was aboard a Zodiac raft with twin 225hp outboard motors. That thing can go fast. Our captain, Brad, made sure that we had an exciting ride, crashing over 10 foot swells in some places.

The trip started with a cruise to the 200 year old lava flow at the south end of the island. Very cool. We went right up along side the rock, and we could see all of the different types of hardened lava. We even went inside a giant lava cave. The waves at that part of the island are too rough for snorkeling, but it was cool to see the flow and learn all about it. Now we really want to go see the lava fields on the Big Island.

Oh, I almost forgot. On our way out, we saw a pod of spinner dolphins. Very awesome. Probably the highlight of the trip. There were probably about 100 dolphins. The young ones were having fun jumping out of the water, much to everyone's delight. When they jumped, they would spin around multiple times before landing back in the water. It was great being surrounded by them as they played. And they swam fast, too.

Anyway, after the lava field, we headed back north toward where we started. We made two stops for snorkeling. At the second stop, we could see a manta ray and turtles from the boat, but they were gone by the time we got into the water. We were about to get out of the water when the turtles came back. Katie, who had seen sea turtles before, was already out of the water and didn't want to get back in, but I was still in the water near the boat ladder, so I swam over and snorkeled with the turtles. Very cool! They are huge, but really cute. It was great to see them from in the water. Hopefully Katie will get another chance later on our trip.

We then headed back to the dock, where we dropped off some people only going for the first half and picked up a few more for the second half. We saw more turtles from the boat near the dock, but we didn't go into the water with them.

For the second half, we went out to Molokini Crater. We did a 45 minute drift snorkel, where we saw an eel and a reef shark, along with lots of fish. The water was crystal clear and very shallow, so visibility was excellent. Seeing the shark was cool, but it was too far away for a photo and we didn't want to bother it. Molokini was definitely the best snorkel spot, except that there were no turtles. They also took us to the backside of Molokini, a 300 foot straight drop. The surf was rough, and snorkeling made us a little sea sick, but it was cool to look down into the inky depths, and there were some fish near the surface.

By the end, we were exhausted, but we had a great time. Seeing dolphins, turtles, and a shark was amazing! A very cool snorkel trip, with great guides (Brad and Devon). And the ride on the Zodiac was great, too. An excellent start to our Maui adventure.

Now we will take a dip in the pool, then head off to a Lu'au in Lahaina.

For dinner, we went to the Old Lahaina Lu'au. We were greeted with leis and mai tais, then shown to our seats. Katie reserved traditional "grass" seating (it was really astroturf), which put us right next to the stage. We were as close to the action as you could get. Before the show, we walked around and watched the sunset over the ocean. Then we enjoyed a fun evening of great food and dancing. The buffet feast was impressive, and the dancers were amazing. After the lu'au, we drove home and went straight to bed. We have a long day tomorrow, and it starts in just a few hours...

Our day started at 3:30AM. We got up early to drive the two hours to the top of Haleakalā Crater, which is just shy of 10,000ft. We got there in time to get a parking spot and a nice place to set up my tripod and camera. It was freezing and windy up there! Daybreak occurred around 6AM, and the sun broke the horizon around 6:25AM. Sunrise was amazing and beautiful. It took many photos, and at least a few of them are really nice (in my opinion). The sun cast a nice deep orange into the crater. The sky was mostly clear with a few clouds over the ocean. A great way to start the day.

After sunrise, we went to the visitor center to warm up a bit, dropped some extra stuff off at the car, and then started our hike. We took a 2.6 mile trail 1400ft down into the crater to the upper most cinder cone, where lava once flowed out of the volcano. Hiking into the crater felt like being on the Moon. The ground was almost like sand, with lava rocks sprinkled all around. There was almost no vegetation. The views were amazing.

At the cinder cone, we walked along the rim, took a rest on a nice large rock, and then started back up the trail. It took us a little over an hour to get down the trail, and a little over two hours to get back up. Going back up was hard and slow! The trail was full of switchbacks and went up at a steady incline. The air was very thin, and got worse as we went up. Taking frequent breaks was a necessity. Once we got to the top, we were exhausted, but it was a great hike. I had never experienced that terrain before, and the lava rocks and smooth channels provided great views. Our timing was good, too, because by the time we got back to the top, thick clouds had come in from the ocean, blocking the view of the water.

On our way back to the hotel, we stopped in Makawao for lunch. We also picked up some amazing sweets at the Komoda Bakery. Then we headed back to the hotel. Exhausted, we took a nap. We woke up in time to go down to the beach to splash in the waves and enjoy a beautiful sunset. It's not every day that you get to enjoy both sunrise and sunset with such amazing views.

For dinner, we went to a nice spot in Wailea, then we came back here to the hotel to call it a night. It was a fun-filled, long, and exciting day. Definitely one to remember.

Yesterday was our day of rest and relaxation on the beach. After a yummy breakfast at Stella Blues, we went back to our hotel and went to the beach, known as Turtle Beach. We relaxed in the sun and did some snorkeling. True to its name, we saw a turtle feeding in the rocks a few feet from shore. It was a huge turtle, and very hungry. It let us get very close. At one point, the waves pushed us all very close together, and almost onto the rocks, but the turtle didn't seem to mind.

After lunch, we went to Big Beach in Makena State Park. This beach has larger waves than our hotel beach, and people were body surfing, boogie boarding, and wake boarding. The waves were too small and shallow for surfing, though. Katie and I had fun bobbing in the waves and doing some body surfing ourselves. Then, we went to the Jawz Taco Truck for some shave ice, a local specialty. It was the perfect treat for a hot day at the beach.

After Big Beach, we came back to the hotel to watch the sunset over the ocean. It was not as good as the night before, a little cloudy on the horizon, but I got some good photos, especially this nice one of us on the beach.

For dinner, we drove to Mama's Fish House in Pa'ai. The fish (and all of the food) was excellent. A great dinner to celebrate our last night on Maui.

Before flying back home today, we went to sit on the beach for our last day. Our flight home is not until the afternoon, so we can enjoy the sun and water a little longer. We did some more snorkeling and saw another (or maybe the same) turtle. For lunch, we went to Da Kitchen, and Katie got the local specialty, Moco Loco (two hamburger patties covered with two fried eggs, sautéed onions, and gravy, all served over rice). Mmmm, it was good!

Now, it is on to our plane, and back to Seattle.

Aloha!