Our window of opportunity for a family vacations this year was narrow but we managed to calender this past week a vacation to Maui. Accompanying us on the trip was Alex Shearer (Mia’s friend from CAL) and we booked the first part of the trip at the Kanapalli Alii. Also, we had a chance to meet up with the Carl’s at the Grand Wailea towards the end of the trip and Mark got to spend time with Melissa, his friend from Leland. If you asked the kids how great the Vacation was, they would both say “the best trip ever!” I have a feeling that family vacations will never be the same now that they are older.
Mark and I had a chance to play the Kanapali golf courses and had a great time. Gina and I spent a day on Molokai and drove around in a jeep checking out the rugged shoreline, the Meyer’s Sugar Mill built in 1849, the Leper Colony and Phallic Rock. The Ferry rides to and back from the island were brutal however–12 foot seas. The week ended with the Dougie Tihada Regatta at the end of the beach in Kanapali hosted by Nāpili Canoe Club.
I did a little fishing on Molekai and discovered that it probably is the best place to catch a Bonefish or Trevalley on a fly of all the islands. You can even hire a guide! We passed tons of flats and alot of high tide prime Alua water. I casted plugs and squid for Alua for about half an hour with one pull down. If I had a day to fish it, Im sure I would be able to catch fish there and it’s way less crowded than Maui. The ferry is pretty cheap too and there is a rental car facility on the island. I think it would be key that you stay overnight on the island since with the ferry schedule you would be on the island at 9AM and back to catch the ferry out at 4PM.
On this trip I used a Lumix GH2 micro 4/3rd camera exclusively. It was difficult to leave my Nikons at home but I am pretty satisfied with the quality of pics it took and the ease of use. It was definitely smaller than the D7000. The Bracketing was pretty easy and the delayed shutter feature allows three shots to be taken. I picked up a nifty new tripod that packs small–the Tamarack Zipshot. Its perfect for fishing actually. It is real small, fast and stable. The only complaint about the GH2 I would have is that the battery life is short. I went through three batteries a day. The Stock batteries last longer than the clones but in general, I knew that already. PS The D7000 is not that much bigger than the GH2 with the 14-140, Barry, so you need a small fast prime on that wimpy camera of yours to brag that it so much smaller and convenient.
