Julia's Mexico City

Labels: cone sushi, lunch, maui, shoyu

(Taken at Baby Beach.)

Labels: beach, maui

My first morning home we went for our walk (me and mom) and the weather was so still and perfect. This is the north shore and is not normally this calm. Gorgeous.

Labels: beach, maui

When I was learning how to fly in high school, one of the key things while landing at Kahului (runway 2) was that you needed to be at 800 feet by the time you were over Pu'unene sugar mill. This allowed the perfect glide path for landing.

On my flight home on Mother's Day, I took this photo:

Click for bigger.

I always liked looking down onto the mill and into the smokestacks while landing.

Labels: flying, kahului, maui, puunene, sugar

After two weeks of work with the Macedonians in Los Angeles (you may be asking "where the hell is Macedonia?"), I scurried off to Maui to visit my mom for mother's day. I had not been to Maui alone in at least six years and it was a little odd at first, feeling like I was 22 again, sliding right into some good old patterns. Things like waking up at 6am and walking on the beach with my mom. Writing in my journal at the breakfast table while watching the morning parade of neighbors and their dogs on their way to the beach. Nice. Soothing.

I flew in Sunday (mother's day) and took some shots as we were preparing to land. (Click all to make them bigger.)

Here is north shore Maui and a pineapple field. Pineapples do not grow on trees.


Haleakala Highway and the surrounding sugar cane fields:


Maui has a windfarm now (click for bigger picture):


West Maui Mountains:


Kahului Town:


What salt air does to most vehicles:

Labels: beach, macedonia, maui, mom

Where I grew up (also click photo), we didn't have much in the way of seasons. We didn't even have daylight savings time. It got a little cooler and rainier in winter and a little hotter in summer, but basically, the weather reports remain the same all year round:


Highs in the 80s
Lows in the 60s
Mauka showers
Tradewinds 10-15 mph

The only way to know when spring (and soon thereafter SUMMER VACATION!) was coming around was the school calendar -- easter break, prom, school elections. It was all on paper, nothing actually looked different.

But then, one day, out of nowhere it would seem, I would catch a glimpse of something like this:

And my teenage soul would sing out -- Summer is coming! Then a moment later my old soul would catch its breath because the trees are so beautiful. Not long after that first sighting, the roads would be alive:

And my school campus would look like this:
(Though this was actually taken at UCLA.)
I didn't know when I moved to LA for college that there were Jacarandas here. I got here in the fall and imagine my utter joy and delight to see them exploding all over town as the school year came to its close. Even in the darkest days of my loathing LA, the Jacarandas would make me smile.

Now, with no school calendar running my life anymore (we don't have kids yet), and even though I live in a place that has only a marginally bigger seasonal change than Maui, I have come to recognize the steps that lead to spring (and then to summer).

First of all, the calla lilies always surprise me by coming out in January and February. Then, the mockingbirds would start piping up.

Soon, what were just a bunch of sticks wrapped around your trellis becomes this:


The Jacarandas will not be far behind and I will be so glad that I get to be home this summer to make up for all the BBQs and parties we didn't have last summer (see the beginnings of this blog-June, July and August 2006 to see why). I can't wait to sit outside on warm nights -- warm but still cool enough to light the fire in our funky outdoor fireplace. I missed it so much last year.

With the wisteria blooming, that also means time to start getting our veggie garden in order -- basil, tomatoes, flat leaf parsley.

Spring!

Labels: calla lily, flowers, jacaranda, los angeles, maui, seaons, spring, summer