I know I have been a little quiet around here.  I have been a bit busy.

So, what is this about a vacation?  Yes, Handsome and I went for a 5 day trip to Maui.  He won the trip through work, so we couldn't pass it up.  This is the first time he and I have had a chance to be alone together in 2 years.  It was a refreshing break for both of us.

Did I mention I lived on Maui for 6 months when I was a kid?  Yep, my parents were hippies and sold everything they owned for a chance to move there when I was 4.  My uncle, Cliff Arquette, had been living there for a while and was a local radio personality there, so my parents decided they wanted to try their luck there too.  We were all living in a little area called Spreckelsville which, at one time, had been a sugarcane plantation.  Handsome and I went to visit the old homestead and took a lot of pictures.  Of course, after 32 years, it isn't quite the same.  It is now an exclusive area with posted "No Trespassing" signs all over the place.  The locals say that Willie Nelson and Tom Selleck both have homes over there now.  The plantation house (we lived in the old infirmary house next door) has been allowed to be taken over by the elements.  All that is left is the cement slab, in pieces on the beach.  It was pretty sad to see after all these years.  It is amazing how much I recognized since I was only 5 when we left.

We enjoyed a bicycle ride down Haleakala (10,000 ft above sea level).  That was fun, until we went through a cloud.  Then, we were just drenched.  The highpoint of the trip was talking to our guide, Everett.  He is a local with a lot of personality.  He passed along some of the silly questions he gets sometimes, like:

• Is the island completely surrounded by water?
• Which side is the Atlantic and which is the Pacific?
• What is the distance between those mile marker?

The day we left for home, we drove up the Haleakala to watch the sunrise.  Words cannot describe how beautiful the sight was (and how COLD it was!!).  It was the best ending to a wonderful trip.  I told Handsome that I could stand to have church up there every Sunday morning.  It was a great example of God's beauty.

I sure hope I don't have to wait another 30+ years to go back.

P.S.  I have uploaded some pictures to Flickr and will be adding more as I can.  Please feel free to peruse them.