2/21/10
On February 10th we had a small fire in the “little house on the ranch” we are renting. The chimney of the wood burning stove in the basement caught on fire and within minutes the wall behind the stove and the ceiling were on fire and smoke was pouring through an open heat register into the upstairs living area. Luckily Clancy (RD’s youngest) was with me and thought quickly. By the time he got down there black smoke was rolling out and flames were roaring across the ceiling. Being 23 and invincible he crawled in under the smoke, rolled onto his back and sprayed the ceiling with a fire extinguisher to get the fire out. When the firemen did arrive they all said that another minute and the house would have been totally engulfed. As it was all the PVC pipes were melted, the solders on the copper pipes had melted and there was “5th degree char” (fireman lingo) on the ceiling. The building itself sustained about $15,000 worth of damage but the biggest hassle has been the clean-up afterwards. Smoke damage is a major nuisance! Silver lining…the dishwasher was directly above the fire and all the fittings melted so we get a new one!
Everything in the house had to be cleaned…ceilings, walls, floor, artwork, dishes, clothes, even the air! They put these big ozone machines in for 8 hours at a time “to encapsulate the molecules of smoke”. Everything made of cloth (clothing, linens, down comforters, towels, etc.) had to be packed up and sent out for cleaning which will take 2-3 weeks! We were fortunate that RD’s parents have gone south for two months so we just moved into their house. Homeless again! At this point the house is ready for us to move back into but we have no bedding or towels.
Having no wish to go out and buy new (I like what I have), and being that it is 10° and snowing, RD and I decided yesterday to “get the heck out of Dodge” and find some warm weather and sunshine. We looked at the 10 day weather forecast in Key West, Palm Springs and Wailea on Maui…Maui won. RD had tickets booked in 15 minutes! After that he called some friends who have a condo there to see if it was available. Sherri answered the phone and it turns out they are in Maui and invited us to stay with them until they leave on Wednesday! We jumped in the car to run into town to try and find some “basic” clothes (since all of ours are still at the laundry). We didn’t get far. The road to Bob and Barb’s is winding and slick with snow and ice. At the last curve we didn’t curve, we just slid straight off the bank and down a 30 foot embankment (luckily missing the large boulder by several feet). It was too steep to get back up, even with chains, so we walked back to the house and grabbed my car because we had to hit a store or two before they all closed as our flight was at 6:10am this morning. Helena rolls up the sidewalks at 6:00 on a Saturday night (the lights actually change to blinking yellow…I thought that only happened after midnight!)
After some mad dashing around RD found some shorts and I found some capri’s. It’s not easy to find summer clothes in Montana when it’s 10° outside! We went to our storage trailer and rummaged around in some boxes until we found a few sarongs and some tank tops (and a suitcase since the two we had at the house were burned in the fire). Then down to the house to gather up our scuba gear which luckily survived despite being only 5 feet from the stove (and my new rolling scuba bag that RD got me for my birthday), and to give Cody (RD’s nephew who lives across the street from us) the car keys so he can pull our 4Runner out of the creek bed tomorrow when it gets light. We finally made it back to Bob and Barb’s by about 8:00 and spent an hour or two putting it all together. I ended up with a black and white collection of odds and ends that luckily will all mix and match. We were in bed by 11:00…unfortunately we had to be up by 3:45 to get ready and to the airport on time. We land on Maui at 3:30 PM and will be meeting up with Bill and Sherri on the beach, hopefully by 5:30. Its 84°, the sun is shining, and it’s supposed to stay like that all week. Ahhhh, just what the doctor ordered! I think I was going into “vacation withdrawal”.
Upon arriving I stayed in the airport to gather the luggage and RD went for the rental car. We had reserved a sub-compact but they were out so upgraded us to a Lincoln Town Car! A bit pretentious but it sure rides nice…
Once we left the airport we hit Costco for beach towels and a beach umbrella, Safeway for some basic food and drink necessities and then headed to the beach to meet up with our friends Bill and Sherri. We got there with enough to chat for awhile before watching the sun set over the Pacific.
After leaving the beach we followed Bill and Sherri back to their condo (they were kind enough to invite us to stay with them until they leave on Tuesday). Dinner was delivery pizza because we were to beat to get all gussied up to go out plus it gave us more time to just talk (always hard for RD in a noisy restaurant). It was so nice to reconnect.
2/22/10
In the middle of the night I decided I wanted to spend my birthday underwater so at 7:15 I called to see if we could get on a dive boat today. Turns out they leave the marina at 7:00 for the morning dives so we had to wait for an afternoon dive. After running around picking up more necessities (like fins for RD since his melted in the fire, and a new dress for me), and making dinner reservations at Tommy Bahamas, we hit the marina for our afternoon dive.
I must say we are spoiled by all of our diving in South East Asia. The water here is colder (75° instead of 86°) so we had to wear wetsuits, and the coral is dying. We did see several eels and a fabulous Leaf Scorpion Fish but the best part by far was listening to the Humpback Whales singing. It is like a symphony underwater! Plus on board we watched them breaching and tail slapping all around us…really quite wonderful.
Back at the condo Sherri got on line and found a one bedroom condo in their same development that is available for the next few days. We called the owner and he came over and showed us the place. Turns out he is originally from Idaho and has lived in Montana. (Didn’t get us any deals however). Sherri and I let the boys finish up the deal and went to get ready for dinner.
We were seated at a table out on the open deck of the restaurant. Temperature was perfect but the lighting was atrocious and with my old eyes I was really struggling to read the menu. Bill pulled out his iPhone and we used it like a flashlight. They even gave me a free dessert of my choice and it came with candles glowing, luckily only 3 (2 together and then a single to represent 21…how diplomatic of them) and not 51!
It was a wonderful 51st birthday!
2/23/10
We spent the morning dragging our stuff down the sidewalk from unit 34 to unit 58 and saying goodbye to Bill and Sherri then headed for the beach. I spent most of the day under the umbrella because I burned the back of my neck and shoulders yesterday while out on the boat so figured that area didn’t need any more sun for a while. Plus, I have ended up with an infection from my dental work last week so I am on antibiotics which of course make you much more susceptible to burning. Luckily I am married to a doctor/boy scout who is always prepared. However, it is so nice to lie in the sun and be comfortable (86° is so much nicer than 125° like it was in Doha!)
We actually ran into a friend from Missoula on the beach! After chit chatting for a while we decided to get together for dinner and ended up at a raucous Mexican restaurant for “Tacolicious Tuesday” (cheap taco’s and $1 off the premium Margarita). All in all a relaxing day in paradise.
2/24/10
RD spent the morning doing some chart reviews. The online program he needs to use to do them wasn’t working correctly before we left so he couldn’t get them completed, luckily he is an early riser so he got them done before we would’ve headed for the beach anyway.
Warm sun, sand on my towel, waves crashing, whales breaching, blah, blah, blah…just another day in paradise J.
As soon as I got home from the beach I called and set up a dive for the morning, unfortunately I have to be at the dive shop at 6:15 because the boat leaves at 7AM!
RD went for a massage and will probably get another one tomorrow morning while I am diving. He just doesn’t like diving as much as I do (I could live under water)
2/25/10
Up at the crack of dawn and on the dive boat by 7AM. Our first dive was at Molokini and the second was closer to shore at a place called “Turtle Town”. The dive guide was great, he stayed down with me for a full hour and let the other divers go up as they ran low on air. I still had 1000 psi of air left when I came up from the first dive and 1100 psi from the second dive (1/3 tank)…I was the first in the water of group 1 and came up after all the divers in group 2. Several people asked me if I breath when I am down there!
We were late getting back to the marina because if you get within 100 yards of a whale you have to stop your boat. At one point we were surrounded and the captain just turned off the engines and we watched them for about a half hour. There were people who had been out on whale watches who said they didn’t see as many whales on those trips as we did today.
We were supposed to be back at 11:30 but didn’t hit the marina until 12:30 so we opted to eat lunch at a restaurant called “Beach Bums” right there at the marina. After that we went back to the condo and RD laid out in the sun at the pool since it was too late to go to the beach. I decided to give my skin a rest.
2/26/10
After checking the news we headed out to the beach stopping along the way to pick up some burritos to eat on the beach. Another lazy day of reading and watching whales. I overheard some people talking about a 7.0 earthquake in Tokyo…is that too far away for a Tsunami?
2/27/10
Tsunami warning sirens went off at 6AM this morning and have been going off every hour. Apparently there was an 8.8 earthquake in Chile last night that spawned a Tsunami and they are expecting it to hit Maui at 11:26 this morning. The earthquake in Tokyo didn’t cause one but I can’t believe I was just wondering about it yesterday and now one is coming!
Our check-out time was 10:00 this morning but I called the owner and they said to go ahead and sit tight until the maid shows up to clean the place. It is now 12:30 and the surge is still hitting Hilo. On the other side of Maui (Kahalui, near the airport) the bay is empty and they are waiting for the surge to come back in. From our vantage point here in Wailea there is not much to see however the roads are still closed and of course the beaches are closed. Good thing our flight is not until 10:00 tonight since the road to the airport is closed. Overall it was pretty much a “non-event” but it was reassuring to know that the Tsunami warning system does work and it was fascinating to watch (on TV) how the water reacts during an event.
After leaving the condo at 1:00 we were confronted with closed beaches, closed parks, closed stores, closed restaurants…it was like a snow day on the mainland! RD found a shaved ice stand that was open and I found a Coldstone Creamery…what a nutritious lunch! By early evening the island was starting to come back to life so we were able to get a real meal before flying home.
Way too short of time here on Maui but so nice to catch up with friends, enjoy a little warm weather and sunshine and do a little diving.
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