OLD LAHAINA LUAU

While mom and grandma were here, they talked John and I into going to our first ever luau at the Old Lahaina Luau. We have been told that if you go to one, this is the one to go to. It was a beautiful setting and a nice production. The food was really good, especially the pelehu steak...although the kalua pork from the imu pit had a bit of a propane taste to it. It was really the only thing none of us finished on our plates. The waiters were shirtless and quite the distraction, drinks were plentiful and dessert was perfect. It was actually a fun night.

The MINUTE you enter the luau they put a Mai Tai in your hand then whisk you off to your seat.
Grandma was of course in her glory at this custom.

Once you have been escorted to your table, you can stroll the grounds...

... while listening to the live band play songs of old Hawai'i. I had my eye on this red shirt all night. The placement and amount of the pattern is just right. 

With an open bar... who could say no? The designated driver... that's who! I started of with a few Mai Tai's then went in for the Green Passion.

Our designated driver... Trying to keep his eyes on the "road" and not get too distracted by the sights along the journey.

Mom and grandma after a few...

Pre-dinner and show.

A few of the scenes from the show.

The opening performance.

REAL SWELL

The day finally arrived. Monday, November 7th. The day that has been hyped for the last week. Monster surf and giant swells were being predicted as high as 30+ feet here on Maui's North Shore and up to 50+ on Oahu. I guess the last time they were this big was around 1969.

We were eager to see what the hub bub was all about. Calls and e-mails were being exchanged with friends... who was going, at what time, and where to get the best viewing.

We set out just after 9:00Am and were in for a wild ride. You could feel the buzz and energy in the air as we hoofed it a mile down through pineapple fields that were being harvested and dotted with school buses used to the transport the workers. We had a front row seat on the cliffs at JAWS here on Maui's North Shore to some of the best names in surfing. Then we left and headed to town and encountered bumper to bumper traffic heading into Paia. Baldwin, Paia and Ho'okipa Beaches were all closed and rubber neckers were out in full force. WHAT? It was like a snow day or as John said, trying to get a good spot to watch the fireworks on the East River in NY.

I have seen some big waves in my day, but nothing like this... as witnessed by some of my exclamations on a video clip or two.

It's really hard to explain the size of the waves, without having actually been there in person. Just imagine if the surfer you see was 5 or 6 people high... that would make most of these waves 25-35 feet... about as big as a 2 story home.

Some of these shots and vids are so zoomed in because I took our little Canon and put the camera lens right up on the lens of the binoculars (the ones with the dark ring around them).

Anyway, here are a few shots and vids from today. We are pretty sure some of these had 30-40 foot faces on them and even bigger are scheduled for later tonight and tomorrow. I believe it, because we can hear waves crashing in the bay behind us... loud crashing... not the gentle sound of surf we normally hear. I hope I can make it back out to witness some more of natures SWELL and entertaining beauty Tuesday.

(please make sure to click on each photo to see the full size version. They are cray-yay-zee.)

Our first look at JAWS.
Helicopters, boats, jet-ski's and surfers.

This helicopter flew by filming the crowd and really pumped everyone up.

These next 5 images are of two surfers catching and ripping two different sides of a wave.

I love the spray coming off the top, and the way the surfer on the right side carved a trail trough the tube.

this vid will have to do for now. the others were taking forever to upload. Maybe tomorrow.

OUR ALARM CLOCK

This is not really a video for viewing, but rather for listening.
OH YEAH... and to make up for the spider post yesterday.

THIS IS WHAT WE WAKE UP TO EVERY MORNING!

I captured this video early this morning right after I fed the birds. I decided to sit out on the lanai having coffee, checking e-mail and waking up this morning since it was so nice. It's been too cold to do that the past few months and now that spring is finally here we can enjoy a quiet moment in the morning before the work begins.

These are the sounds of the Northern Cardinal, Brazilian Red-Crested Cardinal, Japanese White-Eye, Gray Francolin, Ring-Neck Pheasant (in the distant background at 29secs in), Spotted Doves, Zebra Doves, Java Sparrows, Myna Birds, Assorted Finches and the loudest of them all... the Melodious Laughing Thrush.

Throw in the occasional rooster, green parrot, cow, horse and donkey and this is what makes living in the country so great. To us it's not noise. It's music. It's quiet and calming. We very much cherish these peaceful and quiet moments.

Here is a detail of the Melodious Laughing Thrush. They hang out on the Ti in front of the shed window and sing to them selves from time to time. Dig her make-up.

I don't have any really great close-up shots because the birds are gone before I can get close enough. I need a great zoom or telephoto lens, so if anyone has a suggestion for a lens that will fit my Canon Rebel XTi that would be great.

OH JUST ONE MORE

This is a post based solely on a status comment made on my facebook page. A good friend who knows me too well found a cartoon that parallels my doings in the garden and unbeknownst to him, also mine and Conn's daily dessert dilemma. I am Toad in the first episode (The Garden) muttering to my newly planted seeds. Who know seeds are afraid to grow. If so, my beets are real scaredy-cats! And I'm Frog in the second episode (The Cookie) complaining about too much of a good thing. I have considered sacrificing leftovers because of weak willpower. So if you find yourself home on this President's Day holiday and feel like revisiting your childhood for a few minutes, have a look at this endearing stop-motion animated short.

CUCKOO REVUE 2008

As 2008 exits and 2009 comes rushing in, we thought we would take a look back at the past year here at CFC. Mahalo to everyone who stopped by to read of our adventures in Haiku, Maui.

JANUARY
John made new doors for the tractor shed after the alteration to the structure.
(visit often to see this structure undergo further transformations in 2009)

We removed the door leading into the garage... as we did not ever use it... besides, it leaked.
After we altered the size of our tractor shed to conform with county permitting, we planted and created a natural stone pathway between the back and front yard. Notice how much the plants have grown in less than 1 year.


FEBRUARY
In preparation for our big Readymade photo shoot, we renovated the bathroom and laid new flooring in the bedroom, painted stripes on the lanai and updated the outdoor shower.

John launched his online portfolio.

MARCH
Our great friends Lauren and Derek arrived for our big photo shoot and interview for Readymade Magazine. And then we rested.

APRIL
For John's Birthday we went on an amazing whale watching cruise.

This month was when Kekoa came into our lives.
John and shoebox to the rescue, are you my mommy?, first night of all night feedings, day two...exploring his new home.

Kekoa knew when he saw the pink and red bandana's that it was nap time. He preferred sleeping on anything that was reddish, orangey or brown in color. Lucky for him... our home was the perfect place to runaway to.

MAY
Our big 6 page feature came out in the May/June issue of Readymade magazine. MANY, MANY MAHALO'S Derek! Check it out here

Conn launched his online portfolio.

Kekoa turns 2 months old, learns to eat bugs from a plate, and practices the fine art of camouflage. John builds him a coop. We start the weening process by keeping him out side during the day .

JUNE

This month our home was featured by Grace Bonney on the wonderful design*sponge. We are honored. Click here to see the entire post.

Conn's mom, sister, grandma, nephew and Nick came to visit.

Kekoa still in weening mode. He loves to spend mornings in the house while we have coffee.

Starting to show his colors, a water bath in the house with a blow dry and his first dirt bath in the coop....THE NEXT DAY!

He likes sleeping on things that he blends into, showing more and more colors in the coop.

The last shot is the day he was terrorized by a dog while in his coop. We were not sure he was going to make this day after bleeding for 3 hours from a broken beak. A quick trip to the vet for a little super glue and back home for some R&R. He was a week away from being released and we had to go through a whole new training process after this. His beak healed in a few weeks time.

JULY

Conn's family had a nice long vacation and were here through much of July.
Fried chicken picnic on July 4th in Lahaina, a hike in Kipahulu and dinner at Mama's Fish House.When ever clothes were lying about, Kekoa would roll around in them. Spoiled rotten after the attack...sleeping on the bed and a last hand fed breakfast of slugs and bugs before his release.

Keoka was released back into the wild world of Maui.

AUGUSTA few days of not seeing Kekoa after his release, he decided to show up and claim the lanai as his daytime hangout. Showing his teenage temper by puffing up.

Gabi and Larry made their way to the Valley Isle for a few weeks this month and managed to get a rare viewing of the endangered Hawai'ian Monk Seal.

SEPTEMBER

Kekoa turns 5 months old this month and is turning into quite the well dressed man. He actually went missing a week before we left for our mainland trip.

We made our way back to the mainland in September and October with stops in Manhattan for a few days then upstate NY and Indiana. We enjoyed our visits with all our friend ... 4 legged and otherwise!

We are 1 of 3 featured designers in the Design and Home Issue of Modern Luxury Hawai'i this month. WOW! Check it out here.

OCTOBER

A few weeks after returning home from the mainland, Kekoa finally returned home. Above left is what he looked like September 14th and right is when he returned from his "foster parents" on October 18th.

NOVEMBER

Barack Obama elected the 44th President of the United States!!!

Jenny "Honey" Joyce paid us a visit for 3 wonderful (but too short) days this month.

DECEMBER

We went on an amazing Christmas day hike on the Lahaina Pali Trail.

Christmas came and went and before we knew it...

Hau'oli Makahiki HouHAPPY NEW YEAR!

And as if all that was not enough....just like last year...

We did a lot of planting and making of things...These before and after images were taken 1 year apart. Stick it in the ground and it will grow!
1/08 - 12/08

A few of the things we made this year. A small table, refinished a medicine cabinet,made a ton of new pillows and a holiday wreath. The medicine cabinet were both featured on design*sponge here and here.

We saw a lot of these...

And if we could grow it, we ate it... and we ate like kings!

Carrots, scallions, peppers, cherry tomatoes, cilantro, star fruit, beets,okra, green beans.

Tangelos, swiss chard, beefsteak tomatoes, papaya.

White pineapple, bananas, navel oranges.

Hot Hawai'ian chili pepper water, salsa, mango jam, orange marmalade, guava jam and star fruit jam.Bacon in all it's glory.

Bacon cheeseburger, arugula salad with roasted prosciutto, pineapple and shaved parmesan, brussels sprouts with bacon, bacon wrapped turkey.

Mince pear pie, papaya cranberry muffins, mango upside down cake & pineapple upside down cake.

Banana semifreddo, lavender scented snowball cookies, pear crumble & orange zest cookies.

Lime cheesecake with cream cheese frosting and toasted coconut, lime cheesecake, banana cheesecake & lilikoi cheesecake with lilikoi pineapple salsa.

Please visit us often in 2009 for the more Adventures of Conn, John + Kekoa In Haiku, Maui. We will have some new renovations and projects coming up that will be very exciting. To those of you who visited... we loved seeing you and hope you enjoyed your visits. We hope to see you again soon. We have a big project this year so stay tuned.
Aloha Nui Loa
c, j + k