Rainbows

Sigh.

This will be my last post until we get back to Chicago. Funny, I'm not really lamenting the return to Chicago, except that it means leaving Maui. Yesterday, as John and I made our second trip down the road to Hana, we saw a FedEx truck making it's rounds. John decided that if he could be the FedEx or UPS delivery driver on the Hana Highway, he'd be be happy to stay in Maui. It's also clear that Maui needs a yarn store. Ah, to dream...

We have many many pictures from the road to Hana. Interestingly, as I went back over them, I realized we didn't get any pictures of Hana itself. Funny how we get the small things and miss the big ones. It's going to take me a little while to organize and categorize the pictures. So while John and I will be coming home soon, the vacation tour will continue on the blog.

However, no trip to Hawaii would be complete without some rainbows. I love the license plates on the cars with rainbows, but John and I have been lucky enough to see some real rainbows. Yesterday, we drove all the way past Hana to the ocean edge of Haleakala National Park to Oheo Gulch. It was a stunningly beautiful place and we had a gorgeous afternoon. I got to work a little bit on the toe of my Rodeo sock while enjoying the scenery. And while we were there, nature provided us with the most stunning display -- a full arc rainbow.

Oheo Gulch Rainbow -- and A Happy Sock Knitter

This is only the one end of the rainbow. I'm hoping I can use photoshop to stitch together the several pictures we got with all the rainbow pieces so that I can show you the whole thing. It was nothing short of stunning. John and I just sat there and watched it as it grew and ebbed. It really felt like Hawaii was putting on a magic show just for us.

In the interest of full disclosure, however, I should let you know that the north side of Maui is not sunny full time, and those rainbows don't show up without a little help. This morning, as we prepare to pack up and leave for our last location in upcountry Maui, it's raining. Actually, it's been raining off and on (sometimes quite aggressively) since 8 PM last night. You don't get all the beautiful green here without a little water from the sky. But on this last morning in Paia, we were rewarded with another colorful treat.

Rainbow through the Rain at Paia Bay

Now I've got to go shower and pack and get some dishes cleaned up so that we can get moving. We'll have one more breakfast in Paia and stop to get some of the best Chocolate Chip Banana bread that I have ever had courtesy of Cake Walk (Paia Bakery) on Baldwin St.

Aloha to everyone who's shared my vacation with me. I'll see you all again when I get back to Chicago.