Frogtails, Faces you remember
January, 2004January 31, 2004 — Keauhou, Hawaii. This is our last day in Hawaii and I am happy to report that our initial impressions were just that. The island is lovely in its own way. Each that we have been to have been distinctly different and each had their own particular charm. We went snorkeling just outside our hotel this morning and saw the best collection of fish I’ve ever seen. We also have huge green turtles that stop in every evening and are something to see. We have many more photos. If anyone has anything in particular you would like to see just let me know. The sunsets all look like postcards and you wouldn’t believe we took them. Hula girls, tropical fish, you name it… Around 1 p.m. we head for the airport at Kona, check our luggage all the way to Cincinnati, and leave without event for Honolulu. Rather than land for as far as the eyes can see, there is only water. The lay over in Honolulu was without event and we head for home…
January 29, 2004 — Keauhou, Hawaii. We leave early for the other side of the island today expecting to take a helicopter ride over the volcano. It is still dark but the sky is clear when we leave. We drive through the desert side and by the time we get to the Parker Ranch near Waimea it is pouring down rain. This is only a stretch of about 38 miles. Onwards towards Hilo and it slows to a drizzle and then stops at the airport. The pilot decides to cancel our 10:00 am flight and so we re-book for 3:00 pm. That gives us a little time so we head out for Volcano National Park and drive down the chain of craters road to the end of the road. It is a sight to behold. All throughout the park they have signs pointing out the various eruptions. It is so odd because I can recall seeing news reports about a few of them. Our helicopter guide later in the day said something like this about the park. “You simply must visit this place… otherwise, on your way home I suggest you stop by Niagra Falls, buy a cup of coffee, and then go on home without viewing the falls.” I have to agree with him. If you ever find yourself on the big island of Hawaii, go see it. We made it back to the airport and then took our helicopter tour. It was awesome! We flew right over where we had been standing a few hours earlier and was able to see that we were only on the tip of the lava flows. Better, he took us near the hotspots and we were able to see some of the magma still broiling and sputtering. It was a first for me and I was duly impressed with Nature once again. For me it was akin to seeing the ocean for the first time, or seeing a snow covered mountain for the first time. You know of such places before seeing them but actually being there is a different and mind opening experience. Will, our pilot from Blue Hawaiian Helicopters, was fabulous and clearly loves his job. Who wouldn’t? He said that the volcano is different on every flight of every day and he just has to go looking to see what is currently happening. Besides being knowledgeable about the volcano, he gave us all sorts of tips about what we should see and do while on the island. The ride itself was incredibly smooth. I had never been on a helicopter and will admit to a little un-ease even though I have flown hundreds, if not thousands, of times over the past forty years. At no point during the ride was I in the least bit uncomfortable. If you can fly in a plane, don’t hesitate to get in a helicopter. It is a much better ride.
January 28, 2004 — Kaanapali, Hawaii. We took our last stroll on this lovely beach this morning and then headed for airport. The flight to Kono was really quick. Our initial impression of Hawaii (the big island) is not at all favorable. Our stay in Maui was very pleasant. Kona is on the dry side of the island and it looks dreadful from the air. The airport itself looks like it was carved out of cinders. The ground is very dark, nearly black with little vegetation. The jet is parked and steps are rolled up to us. Everything is outdoors here. We rented a jeep and head for our hotel. It doesn't appear to have a beach from the front lobby and we are both thinking that it may be a long three days on this island. We head out and have dinner at an Outback Steakhouse. They serve portions that are far to big for my appetite. We walk a little of it off by strolling along a strip of Alii. Notice that whenever we check into a hotel, we immediately scout out the local area a little. That is very intentional. We aren't really wanting to see all the sights right away, just get a feel for our local surroundings. I guess that I prefer waking up the next morning with some sense of where I am. January 27, 2004 — Kaanapali, Hawaii. Whale watching in Maui is easy. They are everywhere. You can easily see them from the road but I would strongly recommend that you go out on a whale watching boat and see them a little closer. The boats are permitted within 100 yards and then have to stop moving. The whales are permitted to come closer if they want and sometimes do. If you have ever gone to a zoo and found it enjoyable, you will not regret seeing a whale in the wild.
We rented an ocean kayak this afternoon and headed out. Jeanie set the limits pretty quickly I thought so we didn't go that far from shore. Then I started looking and wondered if I could swim to shore if necessary? We were pretty far out actually. Then I started thinking about the critters that may be under us. Even if I could swim that far, I'm not certain that they would be willing to let me. :) That started to spook me a little so we just enjoyed our time going back and forth and sometimes just sitting on the kayak and looking back at the beach. A few boats went by and the waves were enough to keep it interesting. January 26, 2004 — Kaanapali, Hawaii. Nine miles out of the harbor is a little island named Molikini. It is the very top of a crater and so it forms a relatively shallow pool of water that is great for snorkeling. We were fortunate enough to see a dozen or so spinner dolphins very close to our boat when we started to leave. Mary Ellen had recommended that we eat a Mama’s Fish House sometime so we did. Fortunately we looked it up and found that reservations were suggested for dinner. The food and ambience of the place was very pleasant. I couldn’t afford to eat their regularly but it was a real nice experience and would probably try it again if I every find myself in Maui again. January 25, 2004 — Kaanapali, Hawaii. Today we set out early and drove to Hana. It is only about 30 miles or so from Kahului, but… it has over 600 turns and 50 bridges (many of them one lane). We have a convertible and their isn’t a cloud in the sky. A nice fellow we met at the magic show gave us a CD that describes everything you see along the way with some beautiful music. It was terrific. Towards the end, we found a black sand beach and it started to rain a little. We ate at the Ranch restaurant out on the patio until the wind started picking up. We had a real thunderstorm. It rained so hard that you could no longer see the ocean. Heading back, we found several trees in the road and rocks had fallen from the hills. I was worried about all of the bridges we had gone over. If one of them washed out, we were pretty well stuck. The gentle beautiful waterfalls we had seen on the way to Hana were now raging torrents. In all, it was really quite exciting and arriving back at Paia was a beautiful sight.
January 24, 2004 — Kaanapali, Hawaii. I think we spent the morning just laying on the beach. In the afternoon we took a drive to the South side of the island and found our first lava flows. We drove through a fair amount of it before realizing what it was. It was just one of those relaxing days where we didn’t have anything in particular that we had to do and I enjoyed it immensely. These kinds of days have been rare for us since our children were first born. Though I have few specific memories of this particular day beyond the drive out to the lava flows, I do recall having time on the trip to just read, relax, lay out in the sun, and this must have been one of those days.
January 22, 2004 — Kaanapali, Hawaii. After breakfast we head for our room and realize that we have nothing whatsoever that we have to do. What a lovely feeling. We took a nice long hike along the beach and probably layed out in the sun for a while. In the evening we went to a magic show and dinner. We saw the same illusions you see on TV only this was live. It really didn’t do that much for me for some reason. The dinner was good so all in all, it was a nice day. I’ve noticed a rash on my ankle. It turns out that thousands of people on Maui have developed a rash on their hands and feet since the EPA required them to add something to their water supply. The water has lead in it from solder and such and the EPA thinks that this untested chemical will help. A newspaper article tipped me off or I would have just thought that it was too much sun or something I got into while swimming. January 21, 2004 — Kaanapali, Hawaii. 2:15 a.m. we are picked up at our hotel and head for Mt. Haleakala. It is cold very windy at over 10,000 feet. The sun comes up but the clouds don't permit us to see it. It was still nice. Now we jump on our bikes and head down the mountain. 38 miles later we are on a beach.
January 20, 2004 — Waikiki, Hawaii. Today we fly to Kahului, Maui. I anticipated a small propeller plane but board a regular jet. It takes longer to board than to fly. We rented a convertible and head for the Kaanapali Beach Hotel. I expected a lush tropical jungle but instead find a mostly barren mountain. A mountain in Hawaii is not like any I’ve seen before. The Rocky Mountains and Alps are shapped somewhat like an upside down "V". They are pretty steep. In Hawaii they are formed by a shield volcano and so the slope is very gradual (maybe 30°). To attain 10,000 feet above sea level Mt. Haleakala is massive. The room is much larger than we had in Waikiki. The pace is obviously much slower here and that is just why we came. It is beautiful at our resort with flowing palm trees and a soft sandy beach.
The movies and photos from the day (many from the Japanese who attacked that day) were also fascinating. The Arizona sunk in only nine minutes and to this day contains the remains of those who went down with her that day. In addition, there are several of the couple of hundred survivors of that day who are now buried with the ship. The last one was only six weeks before we arrived. The remainder of the day we spent on the beach and shopping for souvenirs. January 18, 2004 — Waikiki, Hawaii. 3:00 a.m. We are already tossing and turning and ready to get up. We fight it until about five or six and then head out for breakfast. It was included as part of our tour and they spend some time explaining the local customs and what to expect and what we can do. Normally, I would shy away from such events but found this one to be very worthwhile. We book a couple of activities. In the morning we headed out for a ride in a submarine. It dived to 115 feet. It was fun and interesting. One note to the photo buffs. Read up on underwater photography before you go this deep. All of our photos came back extremely blue. I know that you lose colors the deeper you go but don’t yet understand the mechanics of it. Back on top while leaving the sub for our tender, we were fortunate to see a couple of whales off in the distance. What a treat. I felt very fortunate to see this display of nature. Later, we took a dinner cruise on a catamaran and see our first hula dancers. Later still, we see the Society of Seven at a night club. It was great entertainment and an altogether wonderful day. January 17, 2004 — Alfred, Ohio. Up early and drive to the Cincinnati Airport. We enjoy a very smooth nine and a half hour flight to Honolulu. That is as long as I've ever spent in a plane. I started reading the complete unabridged edition of Les Misérables by Victor Hugo. We arrive to a lei greeting and of course it is beautiful, warm, and fun. The lei is made of plumeria flowers and is ever so fragrant and pleasing. I didn't know the fragrance before arriving in Hawaii and will forever associate it with Hawaii. The traffic to our hotel is like any large city—difficult at best. Our room at the Aston Waikiki Beach hotel is nice, just across the street from the beach, and we have a lovely view of the ocean from our balcony. It is late (five hour time zone difference) so we just head our for something quick to eat and get a feel for where we are. All of the crazy street performers are out and so it is kind of a carnival atmosphere. January 10, 2004 — Alfred, Ohio. Last night our children treated Jeanie and I to a very nice dinner and a game of cards afterwards to celebrate our 25th anniversary. Of course our anniversary isn't for another couple of weeks but we are going to be in Hawaii then and they wanted to do something for us before we left. It was a wonderful and thoughtful treat. Thanks. Given the state of the world and the age of our children we had “the talk” afterwards. You know… the morbid one. It went something like “…under the mattress here is where all the gold and silver is we have stashed away over the years and how we expect you to divy it up and what we would like to see you do with it…” A question came up about what to do with our remains. It doesn't matter a whit to me. There were several other items discussed and questioned so I figure that I might as well put it all in writing so that there can be no mis-understanding. The Money: Our will says to split it evenly after expenses. My real preference is that you set aside ample funds for Nick to go to college and then split whatever is left. In addition, I would strongly encourage each you to set up an account and draw as little as you can until about age 25 or so. Then, take whatever you have and put it towards a house. The Remains: Ashes for me. In the summer (August 30 would be nice), I'd like each of you to head for Alaska. There is a place south of Juneau that has a beautiful body of water that is full of artists and tourists. Rent a boat and go out whale watching. I'll see if I can send a gentle breeze to let you know where and when. Once the breeze stops, take a look around and then toss me overboard. My Advice: There will be times when you might have wanted to talk things over with me. I would encourage each of you to keep in touch with your aunts and uncles on both sides. They would have your best interests at heart and would be in the best position to know what I might have said. I’d also learn to pray regardless of whether you think it worthwhile or not. I am satisfied that Jeanie and I have raised three wonderful people and do not hesitate to say that each of you will do well in life. January 5, 2004 — Cincinnati, Ohio. My 94 year old grandmother smiled and said “do you want to beat me?” I said sure, and got the cards out. I guess everyone has been beating her at cards this year. She whipped me! We played a second game and she misplayed a card towards the end of the game. I ended up winning that one. I think she must have felt sorry for me and let me win. My dad later said no way would she let you win. I’m still thinking she did. January 2, 2004 — Alfred, Ohio. It is still a struggle for me to have two separate sites. This one I craft by hand and have total control over. It is more tedious to keep current and find that I don’t always keep the newsfeed up to date. However, I am able to make certain that the code conforms to industry standards and is otherwise pleasing to me. My other site “Thoughts and Observations” is done with a program called Radio. The newsfeed is kept up to date automatically by the program. I love that feature. I've not figured all of the nuances of the program and suspect that I could ultimately have total control over the output as I do when coding by hand but it will take a while to master it. The code it generates appears pretty sloppy to me. It works mind you, and for the average person who is not concerned with perfection, it more than does the job. However, this is what I do for a living and I know that it is just not up to current industry standards… and that bugs me. I do think it a bargain at the current price of $39.95. Perhaps more the issue is what to place on each site. It seems redundant to simply mirror each site on the other so that implies that they should each contain separate content. Then the problem becomes for family and friends, which to read? It would be a stretch for me to expect you to read both. If everyone had a newsreader and I kept the newsfeed current on this site then you would have easy access to both but that is likely a ways down the road for most people. For now, I'll just post whatever comes to mind wherever I please and see where the wind blows. January 1, 2004 — Alfred, Ohio. Happy Birthday Joe! Happy New Year to all. It is a new year so I have decided to change the look and feel of my site. You will of course notice the colors have changed. Last year, I used cool colors. This year, I’m going with warmer tones. The old stuff is still readily available under the archives tab above. The tabs are the real reason I changed the site. They use a technique that was featured in an article titled Sliding Doors of CSS in A List Apart recently that I just had to work into my site. For the viewer, it doesn't appear much different than any other tab you may have seen. For me, it is an elegant solution that I just had to use. |
January 30, 2004 — Keauhou, Hawaii. We drove across the island again today towards Hilo for some horseback riding in the Waipio Valley. Our guide was a local chap and we were his only customers today. It was a good time and the valley is lush with fruit. There are few permanent residents due to flooding and tsunami. He drove his Ford through streams that I wouldn’t have thought of (rushing water up to the doors over a rocky river beds). Once on our horses he took us on a nice little tour crossing several of the same streams we took to get to the stables. The water would be rushing and two or three feet deep. He knew all of the local residents and would chat briefly with everyone we met. He found a guava tree and picked a couple of fruit and quickly cut them up with his pocket knife and offered them to Jeanie and I. Not bad but full of seeds that I couldn’t chew so I just swallowed them whole. He also pointed out a couple of berries that tasted similar to raspberry. There was sufficient fruit growing wild that I think one could survive here without growing crops or raising livestock.
January 23, 2004 — Kaanapali, Hawaii. This is our day, our 25th wedding anniversary. I don’t recall anything in particular during the day so we probably spent it on the beach. The sun and waves has a way with your memory. We decided a month or so back to spend this evening at the Old Lahaina Luau. We sat in traditional seating (on the ground with small cushions) in the front row, enjoying good food, good music, and hula dancing. The setting and landscaping was beautiful. The ocean and palm trees were a great background just beyond the outdoor stage, in near perfect weather, at sunset, in Lahaina, Hawaii. There may be better ways of celebrating a 25th anniversary, but we couldn’t think of any.
January 19, 2004 — Waikiki, Hawaii. This morning we hop on a tour of Pearl Harbor. We see the U.S.S. Arizona memorial and Punch bowl cemetery. You can clearly see it in the photo at right. Drops of oil still bubble to the surface now and then making a colorful slick. I was very thankful to the gentleman who gave us the briefing before we took the tender boat out to the memorial. He lived in the Waikiki area the day of the attack and gave us his personal recollections of that day and those which followed. He was a most gentle and pleasant person to hear and made the whole experience much more real than anything I’ve ever read or seen. Given that it occurred over 60 years ago, he would be beyond retirement age by now and is doing this for the benefit of people like me. Again, my sincere thanks to that gentleman for telling his story to us.
