We are having a lovely spring. You say, "How can Hawaii have seasons? It's always warm." Well, that part is true but we do get a few changes throughout the year. There is a little more rain in winter and occasionally it is cold enough at night that I put on long sleeves and we put on an extra blanket. Plus we get more surf (poor conditions for diving) and the ocean cools off a few degrees (that might not sound like much but a degree in the ocean can feel like ten degrees in air temperature because the water conducts heat away from the body quicker than air). In the spring we often get stronger trade winds to keep us cool, but they can sand blast you walking the beach. And it's mango season! We had a small batch of early delicious mangos a month ago that left us hungry for more. Now our trees are full of small green mangos and in a few weeks we won't be able to eat 'em fast enough so we'll get some help from our friends. The water is warming slowly and I enjoy Sunday morning swims with my friend Annie. [Read that as casual swim that allows for lots of visiting.] I always enjoy sunset beach walks and we vary between walking the beach or sitting out in the yard with Jean and Morley at sunset. And what better way to celebrate spring than with the top down on a convertible! We just got a 2000 Volkswagen Cabrio to really enjoy the Maui weather!

I always feel like we haven't done much till I start to look back through our pictures to pick out some for a web page. I realized, as I started to write this page, I will actually be doing several pages about last year's adventures. We enjoyed wonderful visits with my sister Pamela and her husband Chris in October and also with my Mom and her husband Bill. They came to celebrate my 50th birthday and Quentin's 6th birthday. Of course there are a few new pages of Quentin and his sister Sophie looking adorable and playing hard. Quentin is in first grade and told me he won the spelling bee for his grade. He reads everything: signs, cereal boxes, and books.

The two cruises around the Hawaiian Islands in December were wonderful and my Hawaiian marine life presentations went very well. Mom and I had fun exploring the ship, eating too much of the great food, and walking some of the remote Fanning Island. Neil joined me for the second one (back to back) but unfortunately three days into the trip he received a call from his sister that his dad was moving to a hospice center after months of conventional cancer treatment. We were planning to visit him in January and weren't expecting the news. Neil got off the ship in Lahaina where we happened to be that day but I stayed because I was committed to giving the presentations and I planned to fly back a week later. We are thankful Neil flew to Iowa so quickly because he arrived about 10 hours before his father passed away and his dad was very happy to see him. The funeral took place before I even got off the ship and we decided there was no reason for me to fly to Iowa. Neil stayed through Christmas and visited with family and friends.

The end of December, Neil and I met in San Francisco and spent nearly two months visiting his daughters and friends. Mailea and Greg were wonderful putting us up (or putting up with us) and we spent a few weekends in Santa Cruz and took several short getaways, including some to Harbin Hot Springs close to Santa Rosa. The water is so wonderfully hot and the area surrounded by beautiful mountains. I couldn't believe we were visiting again in the winter but it wasn't nearly as cold as last year, and it was good traveling in "off season." We did spend two weeks driving up the Oregon and Washington coasts and visiting friends. Turns out we were in Oregon on the day of the big snow and ice storm in Portland when cars were sliding down the streets and ricocheting off other cars. Our friend Sara called and said ,"Stay where you are at the coast; don't come inland today." Even the next day, we had to take alternate routes to miss icy roads. Every turn in the road had gorgeous scenery and Neil got into taking sets of photos to create panoramas. Several web pages needed just for our West Coast trip!

We got home in time for Jean's birthday where they were holding down the fort and keeping an eye on our place. Settling back into our little cottage, Neil made his mom dinner and her requested "birthday cake" of cinnamon-baked apples. We continue to work from home on software projects and I do some teaching. I also continue working night functions at the Maui Ocean Center and enjoy seeing the latest additions to the aquarium. The aquarium is also one of Quentin's favorite spots -- well, next to McDonald's for the "toy" meal.

Mailea graduates this month (and Greg graduated in December) with a Bachelor of Arts in Biology and Environmental Science from Sonoma State University, California. They both have worked very hard. Mailea has decided to go on for her Master's degree. She accepted a fantastic offer of a 3-year-guaranteed grant program at the University of Rhode Island starting this September. In alternate semesters she will be a research assistant then a teaching assistant. She is very excited about it and we are very proud of her. Greg is thinking about going on for his teaching credential. Ari enjoyed her semester study in Costa Rica and came back with wonderful stories and pictures. She might graduate this fall from University of California, Santa Cruz, in Biology.

We went on some great whale watches in March. We wanted to get out on the water and see them since it is peak season. Never know if we will get to see much activity from the boat. It is happening all the time but not always where you are. We lucked out and had some of the best I have ever been on; the whales were breaching right out of the harbor, and we saw several mom and baby pods including baby breaching. One pair surfaced within 50 feet of the boat! And one mom gave us a show of 5 breaches in a row just a few hundred yards away. Magnificent! We have also had great shows right down our driveway. One morning, a whale breached 3 times and then did double pec slaps during our breakfast!

We have had many great visits from friends and family this year. Sadly our dear friends Bill and Peggy Stephens moved from Maui back to Asheville, North Carolina, in March.

Enjoy spring wherever you may be -- and come see us when you are in Maui!