GIMME SHELTER

We had a pre-thanksgiving treat this week in the form of a visit from my good friend Jenny! She called out of the blue a few weeks ago to ask if she could come and the timing was perfect, we needed a few days off from working through two weekends in a row! She spent the previous week on Oahu and then stretched out her trip three days with a hop over to the Valley Isle where she ooh'd and ahhh'd at all the sights we managed to squeeze in.

I first met Jenny the summer of 1988 while attending a weekend orientation at SUNY Purchase. She and I both graduated with BFA's in Graphic Design in 1992 and have remained friends ever since. We even took a cross-country road trip together in June of 1995 where we encountered all forms of weather including a tornado while camping in Kansas. We and other weary campers, spent part the night in a "shelter" otherwise known as the mens' room since that was the only stable structure in the immediate area. That infamous vacation was really the last time Jenny and I spent any good amount of time together. The three days we just had went so quickly that it all seems like a dream now. Thankfully, we got the pics to prove it really happened. Here are some highlights:


From the lowest of lows: Jenny and I weathering a tornado in a mens' room stall somewhere in Kansas, June 1995.

To the highest of highs: 10,023 feet in the air atop Haleakala, Maui, November 2008.


On a clear day...: It was so wonderfully clear the day we went up to the summit that we were treated to this view of the many peaks on the Big Island of Hawai'i

Jenny is a friend of mine: Conn and Jenny had never met but became fast friends. Here, taking in a different vista of the Haleakala crater. Very cold and windy.

Down on the farm: Further on down from the summit is the beautiful Ali'i Lavender Farm. We had never seen these succulents bloom before. The little clusters of bell-shaped flowers where an other-worldly red--even more so than this pic shows. Definitely worth the trip.

Where the tall grass grows: One of our favorite places to go for a hike in the north west Maui Mountains. A spectacular view of Kahului harbor and Haleakala.

Through the bamboo: This is a fun little hike through thick bamboo that had Jenny thinking we had shrunk and jumped into a rabbit hole.

Waterfall's end: The hike through the bamboo ended at this meandering little waterfall. Conn investigated the rest of the trail but we didn't have enough time to scale the rock wall.