Maui: Humpbacks & "Honu"s

Almost all the coastal cities in USA have "Whale Watching" rides where you get on a boat and go deep in to the ocean to watch the whales during their north-south-north migration every year. In Maui,  we were watching the whales everyday, right from the shores. It is an awesome sight to watch these 45 feet long mammals, weighing 45 tons, breach the water and fall back in to the ocean, making massive splashes.

Humpback Whales:

The North Pacific Humpback whales, start from Alaska around September, travel around 3000 miles in 2 months and call Hawaii as their home from December to May. A group of these whales visit California and Baja California (Mexico). The Humpbacks visit south mainly for breeding and birthing. It is interesting to know that they don't eat in the warm tropical waters and eat only the Krill fish in the icy cold waters of Alaska. Each year, thousands of whales make this 6000 miles round-trip! 

Breaching:  The whale leaps up from the water,
does a 180 degree turn andlands on its back
with a huge splash.

The Humpback doing a "Fluke up Dive"

The huge splash after a whale's breaching.

Honu:

The Hawaiian Sea Turtle is called as Honu by the natives. These turtles are 4 to 5 feet in length and stay close to the shores. Two of these turtles were always hovering near our condo and we were hoping they would get out of the waters - but they never did!

The Turtle picture you often see in a Hawaiian Shirt

Maui, India :))

Hawaii is closer to the "Tropic of Cancer" and I definitely expected Maui to be very tropical. But, in many, many ways Maui exceeded that expectation and took me closer to home! As we pulled out  of the airport with the rental car, the first thing that caught my attention was a chicken running across the road!  :))

Sugarcane fields

Sugarcane fields:
The flight from San Diego started its descent slowly with a beautiful view of long stretches and squares and squares of Sugarcane fields. Maui has a long history of Sugarcane farming and it is still a major activity.


Sugar Cane  Juice:
Everyday, we were drove by this juice stand/van at the side of the road. One day, I pulled over and ordered the Sugarcane juice.When the lady asked me if I would  like to have a dash of Ginger and Lime with it, I was instantly transported to our village, Kattalaicherry!!! Decades ago, one summer, Sekar, Shankar, Visu,Mani, Govinda, Selvi anni, Jamuna akka and Latha got in to bullock carts and made a trip to Kattalicherry village.

Waiting for Sugar Cane juice!

The workers in Chinna Thatha's farm were making அச்சு  வெல்லம், squeezing the Sugarcanes using a hand cranked machine, boiling the juice and pouring it over small rectangle wholes made in huge wooden planks. Chinna Thatha asked the workers to add lime juice and ginger juice to the freshly squeezed Sugarcane juice and we all drank it up. The Maui Sugarcane juice was good but in no way came closer to Kattalaicherry Sugarcane juice!!!

Shoe flowers:
The red, pink and yellow "shoe flowers" ( செம்பருத்தி ) in Maui reminded me of the செம்பருத்தி tree we had in the backyard of our old home in Koranad. As a kid, I used to pluck these flowers and bring them in and Thatha would use them for his daily pooja.

Banyan Tree:

Right in the center of the busy shopping area of the town of Lahaina, there is a huge Banyan tree. This Banyan tree is a gift from India to the "Lahaina Protestant Mission" and was planted by the local sheriff on April 24th, 1873. This tree, tagged as the biggest Banyan tree in USA,  has spread out with multiple roots and is a huge attraction to Maui visitors. It was really interesting to know that during Christmas holidays, the whole tree is decorated with colorful lights!

Mangoes:
 Mango tress were all over Maui.  Just like back home, we saw Mango trees in parking lots, in home gardens, while driving by and in the fields of the Buddhist,  Jodo mission in Lahaina.

Road side stalls selling Mangoes, Papayas and Sugarcane.

Banana Flower:
Who doesn't like the yummy Banana flower curry!!! Sheila was about to steal this...but she realized that Hawaii airport folks check for smuggled agricultural products before boarding the plane and dropped the idea :))

Coconut:
On our day on "The road to Hana", we passed through many small villages with road side stalls selling food, flowers, papayas, mangoes and coconuts. At one of the shops, we enjoyed sweet coconut water from fresh and huge tender coconuts. The guy selling the coconut said he never gives drinking straws and we drank it straight up!!!

With Sugarcane, Shoe flowers, Banyan tree, Mangoes, small Bananas, Banana flowers, Coconuts, Palm tress, Papayas, Pineapples and huge Croton plants we all felt at home at Maui!!!

@Night: Maui: Magical Night Time Rainbow !!!

On the last night before leaving Maui (March 28th), I was on the balcony of the condo on the 9th floor, taking photos of the the constellations over the Pacific. After I took my first shot,  as usual, I zoomed in to the photo to check if the focus is OK. To my utter shock, I noticed a small arc of a rainbow in the photo. I looked up at the western horizon and was able to see a very faint rainbow. To the naked eye, it was visible as a white arc. Of course, a digital camera's powerful sensor can "see" and record more colors.

The previous day was full moon day and the moon was shining brilliantly! It was drizzling very lightly on and off and has created the perfect conditions for the nighttime rainbow (aka, Moonbow or Lunar Rainbow). From 9:20 pm to 11 pm, the rainbow was very active, disappearing briefly and appearing again shortly. As the Moonbow got stronger and stronger, we were clearly able to see the colors and even the secondary rainbow. All of us stayed on our balcony screaming and yelling with joy to watch this "first-in-our-lifetime" phenomenon!!!

Swetha did some on the spot google research and we learned that the following 3 conditions must be met for a Moonbow to form:
1) The moon has to be close to full moon ( + or - 2 days).
2) The moon must not be at greater than 42 degrees from the horizon.
3) It must be raining or drizzling (of course).

On top of this,  for the secondary rainbow to occur, it requires a double reflection of the light in the water droplets.  Looks like, this is a very rare phenomenon. In all of the photos, the lights you see close to the horizon are from the island of Molokai which is next to the Maui island.

This is before the Moonbow started. The bright object is Jupiter which is in the constellation Taurus.
The bright star to the left of Jupiter is Aldebaran (Taurus).
The small cluster of stars below and right of Jupiter is Pleiades.
The pentagon shaped constellation at the center top is Auriga.
Below Auriga, constellation Perseus is partially visible.

The V shaped stars to the left of Jupiter are part of the constellation Taurus.

The secondary Moonbow is very lightly visible above the bright primary Moonbow.

The clouds blocked the stars. Palm trees in the foreground.

The universe is an intelligent and brilliant entertainer. Every day/night something mystical and magical is going on up in the sky. All it takes is a little passion and interest to enjoy these free shows :)) There are more chances of you seeing a Moonbow if you are in Hawaii or in UK (where it rains almost everyday and there is a high probability of raining around the full moon day).

No wonder that the car registration plates in Hawaii  have a rainbow :))

In addition to all the other well known natural wonders of Hawaii, enjoying the Moonbow is yet another reason to visit Hawaii again and again and again :))

@Night: PanSTARRS on March 13th.

This is the first time Comet PanSTARRS is visiting the Solar System and it is not going to come back for another 100,000 years!  Since I don't know where I will be 100,000 years from now, I am enjoying it as much as I can! Today, Sheila, Swetha and Shreya joined me in watching PanSTARRS from Poway Road.  For Swetha and Shreya, this is the first Comet they are seeing :))

Previous posts:

               Comet PanSTARRS on March 12th.

@Night: Comet PanSTARRS - வால் நட்சத்திரம்!

For the last 3 days, I have been chasing the Comet, PanSTARRS! The challenge with this comet is that it stays pretty close to the western horizon, doesn't rise too high in the sky and sets quickly.

3 frustrating days:
Saturday:  @Torrey Pines beach (since I have a clear view of the western horizon). Couldn't spot the comet.
Sunday: @Torrey Pines beach:  Marine layer rolled in right after sunset.
Monday: After work, stopped at Torrey Pines beach only to watch a thick band of dark clouds :(

Today evening,  headed to a mountain top in the neighboring town, Poway and got lucky. The beautiful, young, 2 days old crescent moon (இளைய நிலா), finally showed me the way to the comet :))

Black Mountain and the city of Poway. Taken from Poway Road, closer to Iron Mountain.

This comet brought back memories of Comet Hale-Bopp which showed up when Swetha was born ('97) and another Comet (with multiple tails) in 1970's, I have watched  from home as a little kido :))

Expect to see more of Comet  PanSTARRS photos in this blog as well as the Comet ISON coming up in November :))  Looks like, 2013 is the year of Asteroids and Comets!!!

@Night: Oceanside Pier

Oceanside is a beautiful California coastal town 40 minutes drive from home. It has a long pier with a restaurant at the end of the pier. We love to go there often to watch sunsets. The Sun had just set to the right of the pier; Swetha and Shreya were plying with their cousins Siona and Rishi on New Years Day, 2012!

@Night: Cayucos, California

These @Night:  photos were taken during the Thanksgiving Holidays trip to Cayucos,California (previous post on Cayucos: link).

Here is the reference picture of the constellation Grus which is in the photos below.

Constellation Grus

Constellation Grus is right above the water in the middle of the photo.
The star Fomalhaut is the white star almost at the top edge of the photo between the tree leaves.
It is just 25 light years away :))

This photo was taken from the condo balcony we were staying. There was a Pier on the left side with bright
lights. Almost full moon was shining above on the right side. Cayucos city lights were behind me. With all these lights, the stars were clearly visible. This photo has many firsts for me:
      1) First constellation photo taken over the sea (Pacific).
      2) First time I am seeing the constellation Grus
      3) The southern most constellation I have photographed (since I had a clear view of the southern horizon)

Reference figure for constellations Piscus Austrinus and Sculptor which are in the next photo.

Constellation Piscus Austrinus

Constellation Sculptor

Constellation Grus is on the right side just above the water. 
Right on top of Grus is the constellation Piscus Austrinus with Fomalhaut as the bright star.
To the left of Fomalhaut is the constellation Sculptor.

Saptha Swarangal!

Couple of weeks ago, watched one of my favorite movies - "Apoorva Raagangal". K. Balachander has always directed movies with very unique and controversial story lines but in my opinion, this one tops all of them. One song from the movie is constantly playing back in my mind and I find myself singing the song again and again and again :)

ஏழு ஸ்வரங்களுக்குள் எத்தனை பாடல்
இதய சுரங்கத்துள் எத்தனை கேள்வி
காணும் மனிதருக்குள் எத்தனை சலனம் - வெறும்
கற்பனை சந்தோஷத்தில் அவனது  கவனம்

காலை எழுந்தவுடன் நாளைய கேள்வி
அது கையில் கிடைத்த பின்னும் துடிக்குது ஆவி
ஏனென்ற கேள்வி ஒன்றே என்றைக்கும் தங்கும் - மனித
இன்ப துன்பம் எதிலும் கேள்விதான் மிஞ்சும்

எனக்காக நீ அழுதால் இயற்கையில் நடக்கும்
நீ எனக்காக உணவு உண்ண எப்படி நடக்கும்
நமக்கென்று  பூமியிலே கடமைகள் உண்டு - அதை
நமக்காக நம் கையால் செய்வது நன்று 

ஆரம்பத்தில் பிறப்பும் உன் கையில் இல்லை
இதில் அடுத்தடுத்து நடப்பும்  உன் கையில் இல்லை
பாதை வகுத்த பின்பு பயந்தென்ன லாபம் - அதில்
பயணம் நடத்திவிடு மறைந்திடும் பாவம்

நாளைப் பொழுது என்றும் நமக்கென வாழ்க
அதை நடத்த ஒருவனுண்டு கோயிலில் காண்க
வேலை பிறக்கும் என்று நம்பிக்கை கொள்க
எந்த வேதனயும் மாறும் மேகத்தை போல

Kannadasan excels in this philosophical gem of a song and M.S. Viswanathan has set the perfect carnatic, classical music. Sri Vidhya's beautiful eyes and Vani Jayaram's magical, melodious and melting voice adds additional dimensions to Kannadasan's words and MSV's music.

And those of you, Thalaivar fans, Apoorva Raagnagal is Thalai's first movie :))

Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) !!!

Pacific Coast Highway

Pacific Coast Highway (aka PCH), runs along the entire west coast of the USA. Starting at San Diego, almost at the Mexican border,  it traverses the coastal towns of California, Oregon and Washington states and ends closer to the Canadian border. Featured in the National Geographic book, "Drives of  a Lifetime: 500 of the World's Most Spectacular Trips", PCH truly lived up to the expectation!

We spent a day driving on the PCH from  Cayucos to the north. This segment of the PCH offers an exhilarating drive through the narrow, 2-lane highway hugging the steep cliffs of the Santa Lucia mountains.

In many places, the PCH seems to slide in to the Pacific

Big Creek Bridge - built in 1934.

Big Creek Bridge

At one of the many scenic view points with a Professional photographer :))

Looks like this bird likes to be photographed!

Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park

In San Diego, one of the Torrey Pines hiking trails descends from a cliff to the beach. I used to think that is a very unique place. In the Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, the McWay waterfalls plunges right to the beach, mixing with the Pacific in a scenic cove! From the park parking lot, we did a short hike to view the McWay waterfalls.

McWay Falls

As we continued further down the hiking trail away from the McWay falls, we ran in to a breathtaking and colorful view of the Pacific. There are 100s of view points like this all along the PCH.

 

Nepenthe Restaurant

In Greek, Nepenthe means "something that induces forgetfulness of sorrow or eases pain"  This is an apt name for the restaurant located right on PCH, just a couple of miles south of the town of Big Sur.  Built in 1924 on a cliff overlooking the Pacific, this restaurant is a "must-stop" for anyone driving on the PCH.  While there is a small indoor dining area, everyone waits for getting seated on the outside terrace, where the views are fantastic.

Dining from Nepenthe's open terrace, viewing the Pacific

@Nepenthe

Bixby Bridge

One of the most photographed features of the West Coast, the Bixby Bridge, opened in 1932, spans the The Bixby Creek. It was our last stop on the PCH. 

PCH  captures the true spirit of California - wide open landscape, tall mountain cliffs, blue sky, turquoise blue Pacific, crashing waves on the rocks - the stunning diversity of nature.

Cayucos

The first time I heard about Cayucos was in 2009 and have been wanting to visit since then. Cayucos is a charming, little coastal town located in the central coast of California, nicely sandwiched between the Pacific Ocean and the rolling hills of the Santa Lucia mountain range. It hasn't been spoiled by over commercialization and is fondly referred to as "The Last of the California Beach Towns."

Cayucos is half way between Los Angeles and San Francisco; 5 hr drive from San Diego

When we decided do a 'California Road Trip' for the Thanksgiving holidays, we made Cayucos our base camp. From Cayucos we did short driving trips to Moro Bay, San Luis Obispo, Pismo Beach, Avila Beach, Cambria and the famous Hearst Castle - all approximately within 30 to 45 minutes. We also drove to BigSur and the Bixby Bridge through the Pacific Coast Highway.

Sheila had booked an outstanding apartment right on the beach at Cayucos. The owners had tastefully  remodelled the apartment recently. It offered amazing views of the blue Pacific, the Cayucos Pier and the Cayucos town.

The apartment we stayed.

View of Cayucos town and the Pier  from the apartment balcony.

The weather was perfect, the beach was not crowded at all and we felt we own the beach :))

Sheila and I enjoyed the long morning walks at the beach.

What a place to have a bench on the beach. Would love to sit there all day, sip a tea/beer, read a book and watch the surf!

During the morning walks on the beach, we encountered so many marine organisms (don't ask me what these are)
living and growing on the rocks.

More colorful marine "thingies" on the beach rocks!

All we had to do was to step out of the apartment to watch the golden, yellow Sunsets.
பொன்மாலை நேரங்களே  என் இன்ப ராகங்களே
பூவான கோலங்களே !!!

The Brown Butter cookies made with Sea Salt, the Spice cookies and the Honey Cookies from the "Brown Butter Cookie Company" were super delicious and were melting in our months.On the last day, we stopped by the shop and picked up a batch of cookies to enjoy back at home. What is "Brown Butter"? - you may ask. Explore their website: http://brownbuttercookies.com/

Brown Butter Cookie Company

Shops and Restaurants at the North Ocean Ave., Cayucos

On the last day of the vacation, when we left Cayucos, I felt that we are going to come back to Cayucos many, many times :))