Hau'oli Makahiki Hou! (or, "Happy New Year!")

Hello Ladies!

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday season!  Hubby and I returned from Maui in the wee hours yesterday.  We had a wonderful trip, but it always feels oh so good to be home!  Thought I'd share with you some more photos of beautiful Maui (hope you're not sick of seeing them!).

 The first few shots are of protea flowers, which were at the Ali'i Kula Lavender Farm.  Aren't they beautiful?

 You might not think of lavender when thinking of the Hawaiian Islands, but the farm, which is in "Upcountry", (up the mountain) provides ideal growing conditions with dry soil, sunny days, and mild temps.

 The view at the lavender farm is just stunning!  You can see for miles, with West Maui and the ocean in the distance.

 Also in Upcountry is Surfing Goat Dairy. I know, you normally don't think of goats and Hawaii together!!!

 This sweet little goat was just 7 days old!  There were several week old babies, and it was so cute to watch them try out their wobbly legs.  The farm makes award winning goat cheese, and hubby and I shared a slice of their yummy lilikoi cheesecake.

 Ok, did you know that there are cowboys on Maui, too?  Upcountry is also home to many cattle ranches, as well as "paniolo's" (cowboys).  The western style town of Makawao makes for a fun day trip.  Bet you've never seen a cow wearing cowboy boots before!

The western style buildings, dating from the late 1800's I believe, now host interesting galleries and shops.

Below is a Hawaiian cardinal.  Isn't he pretty?  He was enjoying a bit of our leftover popcorn (even though the condo we stayed at posted a "do not feed the birds" sign, we just couldn't resist!).

This is the second time we've stayed in the same condo, and we love it!  It was so hard to leave and come back to reality!  If it weren't for our little fur baby (which we dearly missed!), and hubby's job (minor detail!), it would have been so easy to stay the rest of the winter!

I would never get tired of this view!  The sunsets in Hawaii are spectacular! 

Since we fly standby, it was quite an ordeal trying to make it home!  The airport was beyond a zoo, all of the flights to the mainland were totally full, and we ended up spending Sunday night at a hotel near the airport.  That's after spending all day trying to get out!  Our suitcases made it on the plane to Seattle without us, meaning I didn't even have so much as a change of clothes with me, or my toiletries, either!  Needless to say, I was pretty stressed, and so happy when we finally made it on a flight the next afternoon to Portland.  Since we couldn't catch a flight to Seattle, we ended up renting a car and driving back.  But at least we made it! 
Here's wishing you a wonderful 2012!