Faith, Folklore, and Friends

Last Monday, two weeks since the Gatlinburg wildfires, Hub and I drove through there looking at the damage. The worst damage was in the mountains above the bypass from Gatlinburg to Pigeon Forge. My friend who works at  Apple Annie's  was there when it all happened.  She had been warned that evacuation was possible, so she went to the store across from the police department to fill her gas tank.  Fire was all around them, and people congregated at the store because no shelters had been opened then.  Hurricane force winds caused power lines to break and people lost electrical power and cell service at the same time.  In addition, emergency sirens were everywhere, adding to the panic.  Thankfully, there were no fatalities in her neighborhood, and the arts and crafts community on Glades Road was not damaged.  For my quilting friends, we stopped at Susan's Quilts and they are all fine. It will be a long, hard winter for the folks who live here, but spring wi

My parents took us to cemeteries regularly during my young years.  They taught us about our people and our past by reading the headstones, each one with a story. They taught us to never, never, walk on a grave, because it showed great disrespect for the bones beneath our feet.  Sometimes, in the old cemeteries, it is hard to tell exactly where the graves are, but I still try my best not to walk on one. Today marks 78 years since that morning when Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, was attacked by the Japanese. Hundreds of men died, and our country entered World War II. The ship  Arizona was among those that sank that day .  In 1962, the Arizona memorial was built directly over where the skeleton of the great ship rests on the shallow seafloor. It covers what remains of 1177 souls lost in a few minutes on that Sunday morning. When we were there in October of 2016, it was a somber place. It felt like I was walking on graves. Seventy-eight years later, oil from the Arizo

When I called to reserve our table at Old Lahaina Luau months in advance, I was told it was already full for the night we would be there.  I was put on a waiting list, and before long, someone cancelled their reservation and we were able to get a table.  It is billed as the only authentic luau on the island, where a whole pig is cooked in the ground.  It was a beautiful place. There was entertainment before and after our meal. Pictured above are poi and sweet potato chips.  Pretty, but not very tasty to me. We served ourselves in a buffet line, and I wanted to try a little of everything.  There were several buffets set up, and we didn't have to wait. The meal and entertainment lasted about three hours, and I enjoyed every minute of it.  Don't miss this if you go to Maui.

Therefore He said unto them, The  harvest truly is great, but the laborers  are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He would send forth laborers into His harvest. ~Luke 10:2

I am a huge fan of food trucks.  They are just about everywhere you go in Hawaii, and unfortunately, I wasn't able to try them all.  We found this one near the entrance of Makena State Park, and it looked yummy. Fish tacos are apparently beach food, because they were selling them as fast as they could put them together.  Mine was very fresh and good. It was just under $10 for the taco and a large drink. I wish I had another one right now.

In loving memory William Douglas "Doug" Austin November 21, 2016 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. Revelation 21:4

Makena State Park on Maui has beautiful white sand beaches, backed by a dormant volcanic cinder cone. The water was clean but cold, very different from the Gulf water that we are used to. Makena Beach was once a popular nudist beach, but popularity has decreased dramatically since everyone owns a cell phone with video now.  All beach visitors were properly clothed the day we were there. Chickens run wild in the park; I'm guessing there are no coyotes or foxes on the island.

We had not see land for four days, so we were are excited about coming into Maui.  We had a perfect sunrise, then started seeing volcanic mountains come into view. People there really do say Aloha all the time. Maui is one of the most beautiful places on Earth.  I'm so thankful we got to see this!