I always say that I will make a Mana Foods' cookie last, but never succeed. They are so good.
I returned home yesterday to rental cars parked up in the fields around the airport here on Maui. I hadn’t seen that since height of COVID. Then, with no visitors on the island, there was nowhere (apart from the fields around the airport) to park up the huge excess of unwanted rental cars.
This time, with so many visitors leaving in the wake of the devastating wild fires, there is again no room in the garages for the unwanted rental cars.
🏝️ I’m starting the journey back to Maui. I’m both wanting to be back home and anxious as to what I am returning to (though very gratefully, my home is safe).
I’m missing Sea Ranch already, but I’m also missing home given what has happened in Maui. I’m heading back there tomorrow.
🐳 More whales swimming past Sea Ranch this afternoon. We can see their spouts way out in the ocean.
As the day ends here, I find myself still thinking over what has happened in Maui in the last 24 hours. Disbelief at the level of destruction, especially in Lahaina as it looks as though it has been raised to the ground, but also to those who have lost homes in Upcountry Maui. Sadness accompanying that disbelief with the realization that fellow islanders have lost all of their possessions.
I have picked up various stories from family and friends throughout the day. Fires continue to burn, though weakening winds have allowed helicopters to move in and drop water, assisting the fire fighters below (that was not possible yesterday due to the high winds).
This will be a long game. Buildings and towns need to be rebuilt, jobs and businesses put back together, communities rebuilt. The efforts are starting.
While this story has been forefront in my mind through today, I don’t think that the full reality will hit me until I am back on island this coming weekend.
Sunset this evening from Sea Ranch. We also saw some whale spouts and splashes, maybe from their flukes, way off shore, and were wondering if they were making their way to Hawaii? What a beautiful evening.
Walking through the fields, by the coast, at Sea Ranch.
As I spend some time with family in California, the news that is coming out of Maui of the terrible fires there is heartbreaking. It sounds as though Front Street, and the historic area of Lahaina, including around the Bayan tree has been devastated (though to what degree is unclear right now, depending on one’s news source), with winds from the Hurricane Dora fanning the flames and making fire fighting impossible.
In addition to Lahaina, there are fires in Kula and heading down to Kihei. We have heard from friends who have been evacuated. Here’s hoping for the that the winds die down, allowing the fire fighters to do their job.
Thankfully our part of the island has not been touched by the fires. Though I imagine that it will take a while for Maui to recover from this.
These misty, Northern Californian mornings, fit my being perfectly.
Hike to the bluff and there are three chairs waiting for you to take a rest, and take in the ocean views.
😶🌫️ Waking up to a foggy and damp morning. Perfect for moving slowly.
🥱 Tired after a day of driving.
The Northern Californian coast at Sea Ranch.
🐲 I just paid a visit to The Dragon’s Den, a herbal medicine shop here on Maui. I was looking for a something to help open my lungs as I manage the tail end of pneumonia. I’ve come away with a couple of options, and hoping that I see some results.
☕ I’m drinking my first coffee for around two months. Being unwell just put me off the beverage, and then as I improved my acupuncturist suggested that I stayed away from coffee. This morning I felt as though I wanted to try some again. Right now it is feeling good.
I get up after a good eight hours sleep (not always guaranteed) feeling fresh and well rested. Half an hour later I am ready to go back to bed. 😩
Finished reading: A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers 📚
Sounds of the night:
- crickets whistling
- geckos calling their territory with a sound like smacking lips
- a cow grazing
- voices
- cars on the nearby road
- dogs barking
- the wind through shrubs
All this as I sit outside in the refreshing air, reading.
My grandson roasting a marshmallow at dusk, in PoliPoli Springs Recreation Area, Maui. (Photo credit, my son-in-law).
