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Tonja's Gatherings - A Christian Blogger from Dothan, AL
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Family, General, Travel

ALOHA 3-12-10 FRIDAY (a day later)

March 13, 2010 by tonja 1 Comment

It is Saturday. But, I am blogging Friday, because I could not last night. It was a wonderful day, but oh, so long…and hard. If you have ever been whale hunting…you understand!

We left the motel in our fun convertible…heading for the Lahaina Harbor.

While we waited at the dock to board our boat, another boat came in from an early morning fishing catch. I know that some of these are Mahimahi, the rest are just fish.

We chose to sail with the Pacific Whale Foundation. This group is dedicated to the preservation of all marine life in the Pacific.

After we boarded we listened to the safety speech, and then the captain shared quite a bit of information with us about the whales. Very interesting!

And, I was very happy to be on this boat, with the wind in my hair, and the cool breeze upon my face, and the sun on my shoulders…yes, all was right with the world. UNTIL…I saw this sign plastered on the boat…

This is what we are hunting- Mama humpback whale and her baby humpback whale.

Here is our first sighting. Can you tell that there are 3 whales here? In the middle is Mama….and in front is Baby. Behind them both is an escort whale. HE is not there to escort the Mama and Baby and keep them safe or anything like that. Nooooo–he is there for one reason and one reason only. Procreation is his game. Shame on him for coming between a Mama and her newborn, who doesn’t even know how to breathe properly yet!

Here is our second sighting…

The only thing that got shot on this hunt…other than the whales…was this shot Joy managed to take. I was telling those whales to “hang loose”. I explained to them that I had only allotted these few hours to go whale hunting. I explained to them that as much as I loved being out in their element…I had places to go, things to see, and shops to conquer! This time was just for them.

And, before long…this…THIS happened! Look at this marvelous animal! Look at how she shot toward the heavens! Absolutely unbelievable! Before we could blink an eye..she was gone. Back to her home beneath the boat. Perhaps she was playing…perhaps she was showing her baby how to breach like her. Or, perhaps she heard me when I said that if she did not show herself I would have to put up with Joy crying all the way back to Alabama! I tried with all my might to get her picture…but, all I managed to capture was the spray that was left when she went back to her mothering duties. So, this is not a picture I made. But, it looked exactly like this. EXACTLY!

We saw the Mama and Baby several more times. But, not another breach like above. We did manage to see her roll through the water…and leave us with a quick flick of her fluke! Fantastic!

At one point, the captain stopped dead in the water, and cut the motors. All was quiet. Then she dropped the microphones down into the waters. And, we heard the songs of the whales. We heard them talking to one another. It was amazing! Each family group has its own song. They can always find their families. How God cares for all His creatures!

And, our adventure in the deep blue sea ended. What fun! And, awe inspiring! Such creatures, of such strength and intelligence! I love these words from Psalms. I have used them with the kids at school in the past.

“Oh, Lord, how many are your works! In wisdom you have made them all. The Earth is full of Your possessions. There is the great and wide sea, which is teeming with creatures-too many to count; living things both great and small. There the ships sail about; there is the Leviathan which You made to play there.” Psalm 104:24-26

The Leviathan is, of course, the whale!

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Reading time: 3 min
Family, General, Travel

ALOHA FRIDAY A SONG

March 12, 2010 by tonja No Comments

A WHALING SONG

(sing to tune of G*ll*gan’s Island Theme)

Now sit right back and you’ll hear a tale,
A tale of a whaling trip.
That started from a tropic port,
Aboard a Pacific Whale Foundation Ship.

The sisters were mighty sailing mates
The skipper was female, too.
Sixty passengers set sail today,
Into the ocean blue.

We sailed first left and then sailed right
We sailed in circles, too.
They promised whales…Where were the whales?
Oh, my, what will we do?

Look there! No, here! Off to the right!
Is that a whale I see?
It IS a whale, and another whale…
And the baby makes it 3.

They played, they breached, they spouted spray,
They moved so very fast…
A flipper here, another there
And the fluke showed up at last.

The weather never did get rough,
We never did get tossed.
No one was scared…quite fearless all
Not a single person lost.

Now back to port and off the boat
And back now on dry land.
Such fun was had…the sisters say,
“LET’S DO IT ALL AGAIN!”

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Family, General, Travel

ALOHA 3-12-10 FRIDAY…part1

March 12, 2010 by tonja No Comments

Whale hunting is very hard work. I’m just saying…..

Good Night.

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Family, General, Travel

ALOHA 3-11-10 THURSDAY

March 11, 2010 by tonja No Comments

Today has been such a fun day! First, we hit the beach. I practiced a few cartwheels…..

Joy’s not too good at flips, so she just ran….

We built sand castles…

Got our feet wet in the water…they actually called our room this morning to tell us it was not safe to be in the water today!

And, we looked for whales! Can you imagine?

Tonight, we went to a Feast. The “Feast at Lele” is similar to a luau. There are tables next to the beach, and food is served from each of the islands that came together to form the group of people known as Polynesians. The celebration continues as each of the island groups share the dances that originated in their islands.

Oh! My! These fruity drinks are so delicious!

We enjoyed watching the sun set during the feast!

Tomorrow…taking a boat early to find those whales! Don’t have any idea what to do is we find them…just make a picture, I suppose.
——————————–

FYI: I have the best daughter-in-love in the world! She is tops! She has fixed casseroles for those poor men we left behind, and tonight, she cooked supper for all of them at my house! She’s checking on Pop since we are out of town and making sure he has what he needs! Suzanne, thank you, my dear! You’re a gift from above. I love you!

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Family, General, Travel

ALOHA 3-10-10 WEDNESDAY

March 10, 2010 by tonja No Comments
Joy and I got up early this morning and were ready to be picked up at 7:30. We took a day long trip around the island to the town of Hana. This is way up in the mountains…the rain forest area. Such a beautiful area. However…600 hairpin turns and 51 one lane road in a drive of 36 miles is a little stressful! Can you say ‘weary’? We are exhausted. So I am going to share some of our pics, and sign off.

We saw such lush greenery on our trip. It was so beautiful! What these places must have looked like when the first explorers came here! I can’t imagine!

This is a eucalyptus tree. The trunks are so colorful!

Beautiful fern growing out of a rock! This is such an unusual place for plant life. There is almost nothing that can not be grown somewhere in Maui. And, many things that would bloom only once on the mainland bloom several times a year here. Things that will not bloom any where else,do great in this soil!

A beautiful black sand beach!

The surf here is quite rough due to all the lava rock in the water. It is actually churning all the time. Dangerous to go out on these rocks! Have you ever seen Pappilion? This is the cliff Dustin Hoffman jumped off of to make his escape! Think he survived these waters?

Here is a very beautiful church close to this rough water. In the last tsunami…not the one last week! Every thing on this peninsula was wiped away and washed out to sea for several miles inland. But, the church stood…and stands still. It is made of lava rock…and dates back many years when building practices were not what they are today. Very windy!

This is the door step into the church…moss covered except for where feet have scraped it clean.

A painted rock holding another door open.

Can you see how hard the wind is blowing?

Even the birds are not flying…when it is this windy, it blows them off course…so they sit it out! Smart birds!

It was cool and rainy and windy on us all day. Of course, part of the time we were in the rain forest, so it should have been rainy! The weather these past few days has been really strange. Unusual for it to be this cool. And, the workers here at the hotel say they can not remember a time when it has been this windy. We really did not bring clothes for this kind of coolness. Ya know what that means, don’t you? We have got to do a little shopping! Darn! I hate that!

Recently they have gone for 9 weeks without rain…even in the rain forest. The water falls had all dried up and the creeks were not full. So, I will not complain about the weather. When it rains…the pools and creeks fill up…and the beauty is breath taking! It is so amazing seeing how the world God created is self sustaining. It really needs no help from us…in an untouched and undefiled area.

We travelled about about 160 miles today on our bus. We went to Hana, the rain forest, 2 state parks, a winery, and a black sand beach!
We had a wonderful lunch in Hana at a cattle ranch! What a day!

We’re thinking of doing this tomorrow!!! Just kidding, Pop!

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I am a Christian woman who has survived many years on the planet. God has blessed me with a wonderful family: husband, 3 sons, a dear DIL, and a precious grandson. I also have dear friends to keep me inspired. I am an artist of sorts and am finding my way through the great blessing of retirement. I recently retired after 20 years as a music teacher. Life is good!

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