Monday, May 3, 2010

Earth Wind Fire and Water

Bizarro is brought to you today by Maui Dude.

This is my last day in Maui, CHNW and I are taking an overnight plane to Austin, Texas where we will visit my daughters and attend the wedding of the elder one on Saturday. This is my first shot at being father of the bride, I hope I don't mess it up. I haven't used a shotgun in years.

So much for my plans to blog every day while I was here. There was just too much to do to get motivated to make time for it. The snorkeling is best early in the morning when the water is most calm, then the rest of the day we puttered around the island doing various things. A couple of mornings ago we swam with giant sea turtles and a couple of octopuses in the morning, then drove up to the summit of Haleakala, the dead volcano that makes up the larger part of the island, in the afternoon. The summit is 10,023 feet above sea level, which made my head 10,028 feet 8 inches above the ocean. This is several thousand feet above the clouds, so it is identical to the view out of a commercial airliner, but you're outdoors. The landscape is lunar, of course, all volcanic rock with a few small, dry plants poking out here and there. It was around 80º on the beach when we started the drive but at sunset on the crater's rim it was about 38º with a 40mph wind. I don't know the mathematical formula for figuring wind chill, but it was about as cold as we've ever been, even though we were wearing jackets, pants and hats. Very surreal.

Downloading and resizing the photos is something I've not gotten to yet, but I'll post some later.

11 comments:

Jonathan said...

Just my luck that I discovered your blog during your vacation...resulting in compulsive blog-checking for the past week. Looking forward to following you!

rob said...

blogger automatically resizes photos, btw.

Jan Dreier said...

Dan,

10,000ft (FL10) is about 1/3 of the service ceiling of commercial aircraft, which streak about on FL30 to FL33, where - w/o canned air - you would lose consciousness in less then a minute and be very dead soon after... not that those facts take anything away from the beauty of being up a mountain.
http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Lighter_than_air/race_to_strato/LTA11.htm

DARG said...

Lol @ shotgun

morgan criger said...

Oh man, where's that Reubenesque one? I had to explain that one to two people at work today. Damn, it's good.

ojeano said...

Next time I'm going on vacation when you do. I miss the cartoons fresh daily! Oh, I don't take a paper... too much wood... uh... I guess that means I'm not paying you... uh oh... well, my mom takes the LA Times; does that count?

AA said...

Dude, Where do you dissapear to?! Can you please post more often, I check your blog at various times during the day, hoping you post, coz i absolutely LOVE your blog! Your comics are possibly, no, are the coolest ones EVER, and I cant wait to read more. Where have you been Piraro?

I miss you!
A very sad, sad follower.

said...

Unrelated to this, thanks Dan for supporting Sasha Farms! I was pleasantly surprised to see your name in their e-newsletter recognizing their supporters. This is a fabulous local treasure for those of us in Michigan!

Anonymous said...

from ye olde nitpicker.
It's octopi for plural.
Hey, you Mother's Day comic, the werepuppy is hysterical. I just cracked up laughing.
Gordon

Anonymous said...

Today we went out to eat.

After ordering her burger with lettuce, mayonnaise, and onions only (not a menu offering), and a vanilla coke (not a menu offering), my wife proceeded to request that her drink be filled to the brim with ice first - only then should the soda be added.

I immediately said "But first, this series of probing questions."

She got the joke and whacked me.

Thank you, Dan, for understanding. And thank you for adding to my repertoire of amusing ways to tweak my wife :-)

- Anonymous, lest something horrible happen to me

Anonymous said...

I feel like this tombstone is for Dan... because he must have died if he hasn't posted in so long!