the tourist season is upon us ...

Hello, it's been awhile ... not much, how 'bout you

Well, the summer tourist season is upon us and we're almost all booked up.  Hope your reservations are in. 

     We just finished our first round and man did they have a good time. The first was our Nanna who came for an extended stay of 2 weeks, eat your hearts out. She spent a good deal of time with L as her tour guide and really had a good time. They did the usuals ... the circle island bus tour, Dole plantation, a Luau, Matsumoto's Shave Ice, walking on the North Shore beaches, (saw some turtles which is always cool for everyone) ... 

This one was out a bit and we got the shot with the digital zoom, thus the fuzzyness. Anyway, she got to go to some of the girls activities one of which was the Special Keiki (that kids) Rodeo at the horse stables where H volunteers. A good time was had by all, especially G who got to go out and enjoy some extra-curricular activities with the Rodeo clown. I caught her in an act she might not be too happy showing off ... but we are.

This was just too fun to watch. H got her turn in the spotlight when she got to go through an obstacle course as part of the rodeo demonstration riders. She really enjoys the outdoors and the horses. It's a good thing ...

Nanna really got a kick out of the different kinds of trees. This is a unique tree here, think it is a Banyan tree, but not sure. Anyway, the roots grown down from the branches until they reach the ground. It is really interesting.

This tree is the rainbow tree. Appropriately named, the wood under the bark is multi-colored and very cool to look at. 

During the trip, Nanna took the walk along the Wainae coast, we've shown some pics of this already, and H and I went on to take the walk around the northwestern-most corner of the island and then back along the North Shore. All tolled, about 6 miles we think. No actual roads but good dirt road trail. On the way, you pass an Albatross breeding gound at the NW corner ... 

These guys are huge, again this is with digital zoom from about 30-40 yards away. I was expecting an all white bird. 

     We went on from there to the coastline and had a great time checking out the tide pools and a couple of monk seals frolicking in the shallows. We were looking at one tide pool that had a bunch of tropical fish in it when H turned around and yelled at me to take a look, so I turned around and saw this ...

These guys were right in front of us, this was taken with no zoom. I took it and high-tailed it out of there. Way cool.

     We went on to finish the hike, however H didn't fair so well. The walk really took its toll toward the end and she just had to stop and collapse on this rock for a while. We were doing the backpack thing as a way of getting her used to carrying a pack ... we're planning a trip to Yosemite next spring. Hers only had her 4lb sleeping bag in it. 

What a great day.

     We also had some good friends out from Montana for this past week and a good time was had by all. We really miss our Cleveland family and it was great to have them here.

     Well, we have reservations for friends for beginning and end of June, early July, and mid Aug for right now so if you want to come this summer get with us real soon. We are also planning our own little local trip for vacation so we'll be out of the loop for the last of June. 

Hope this finds you all well.

Aloha

Trekkies??

Just in time for Star Trek ...

http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/090506-tw-warp-drive.html ... a link discussing the possibilities of warp drive.

http://www.space.com/technology/top10-star-trek-tech.html ... a link to a site discussing the top 10 technologies from Star Trek.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yrdEe95Hs0 ... a link to the new official trailer.

Can't Wait!!

http://www.startrekmovie.com/ 

Yeah, total geek here. 

At least I admit it!!

Aloha

Hello again,

Hope everyone is well.  We've been doing great.

We have been trying, once again, to take in a bit more, and new, scenery. So ... no long stories, just some pictures and some dialogue ...

H and I decided to go on a short hike up what is called Kole-Kole (Koh-lee - Koh-lee) pass. It is small saddle between two peaks on the mountains that separate the central part of the island from the western side (or Leeward side as it called here). This was the view from the top. A sign at the start of the trail tells of a great rock that was used as a sacrificial altar during ancient times for the Hawai'ian royalty. H decided to get a bit silly and took a seat in the 'chair' in the rock.

(hey uncle D, does this remind you of anyone??)

Anyway, we walked around at the top for a while and scrambled down this short trail and we ended with this view ...

The top photo shows the western side just north of a town called Waianea (Wi-ni - long 'i' sounds). There is a beautiful hike along the coast that takes you (if you want to go) all the way around the north-western tip of the island and then back along the north shore to just north of where we live. There is no road that traverses that area. We took part of the walk and here are a couple of views from about midway from the park north of Waianea to the north-western tip. The first is looking south ...

and this is looking north ...

It doesn't get much prettier than this. My co-workers say this is a great hike in the winter as the whales are pretty plentiful, as well as dolphins and other sea life. The entire walk to the tip takes about 2 hours. We went a little over an hour and the little ones, all 3, got tired and hungry so we turned around. Next time ...

On the return trip, G spotted this unique rock form and I had to take a staged shot. This was too cool. Total shark attack ...

The water here is far enough from the city and Pearl Harbor and Hickam Air Force base to be extremely clear.  The tide pools were beautiful and many shots like this one were taken.

There were also some cool rock formations. This is a natural arch that faces north-south (I fell taking this picture on some volcanic rock that looked stable but when I stepped proved otherwise. I looked like a total tourist and everyone had a great laugh even though I got a nice strawberry on my elbow and knee.)

We also saw some land dwelling creatures. This crab was hanging out just catching some rays while he waited for the tide to bring him some lunch ...

All in all it was a very good trip. Anybody up for a hike ...

This past Thursday, I got the chance to visit G's school during 'Community Helper' month. They had been visited by Firemen, they had gone to the Mayor's and then they decided to choose me. It was way cool as the teacher asked me to show some really gruesome pictures so we did. Some were very grossed out and others thought is was just as cool as we did.  I also took some time to dress up in my surgical outfit to show them that I was still me even though I was all draped up.

This is a pic of G giving me the traditional welcome/thank you ... a Lei. I actually enjoyed myself pretty well. The teachers have such a hard job. My hat is off to you, teachers, who help us raise our kids. THANKS!!!

This morning. L, G and I went on a drive down the southeast side of the island and went to the 'Pali' (Pah-lee) lookout. This is a site where the last battle for control of the Hawai'in islands took place. You can see by the photos, the cliffs were very steep and I cannot imagine climbing those to mount an assault on the home team. The island in the background below is Kaneohe (Kah-nee-o-ee), the marine corps base here. Again this is all on the south-east side.

G took after her big sister and decided to get a little silly. See the road down below. This is a really steep hill ...

Here's trusting you all have a great summer ... looks like we'll be seeing some of you very soon.

Aloha

Lenticular Clouds

Hello all,

First off, I have to tell you how much fun G and the other girls are having with this thing on the MAC called 'Photo Booth'. They sit around many days and record movies of themselves, shot pictures and just whatever. Well, as many of you know, all my girls are officially undiagnosed ADHD kids. We have a terrible time getting them to focus on regular things, though they usually focus during playtime (go figure). Well, G was working the Photo Booth the other day and got a bt distracted just as she set it up to take a picture. Here is what she got ...

that darn TV

Well, too much fun.

My brother sent me some pictures the other day and I just had to share them. Below are some pics of a phenomenon called 'Lenticular clouds'. I read the short synopse but don't really recall the story behind them. I remember a bit about thing being dry and the rain clouds setting up in just the right conditions and the air coming off the mountain just right, and voila (hey French teacher, check my spelling!!) Anyway, here are some of the more interesting pics he sent. 

Way cool.

dig the cool colors

I love the fall colors in the foreground!! 

Miss that!!

Take care all.

The Last Roll Call ...

     On Friday, I was priveleged to attend a memorial for one of our Soldier's. One of the doctor's, a Colonel in our clinic, ended his 3 year bout with cancer last week following chemotherapy and finally stem cell therapy. He died leaving his wife and 2 sons, 15 and 11. As you all know, this hits quite close to home for us. 

     The memorial service was set-up like most, with the standard 23rd Psalm, the Lord's Prayer, the singing of Amazing Grace, a short Christian sermon, and some touching words of remembrance by our Commander and some of his close friends within the DENTAC.

     There were, however, some striking differences. To start, the memorial began with the National Anthem. This Doctor was first and foremost, a soldier, and a soldier's committment is to the Nation. Quite fitting. Second, positioned at the front of the chapel, the trademark of the passing soldier: the standing M16 Rifle with Kevlar mounted on top, his boots positioned squarely in front, and a picture of the soldier. And finally, the Last Roll Call ...

     This, if you have never experienced it, as I hadn't, is a chilling experience to say the least. This honor is only afforded to those that pass while on active duty. 

     As we entered the final portion of the memorial, the Benediction was offered and while our heads were bowed, our First Sergeant (the senior enlisted member of our company) positioned himself in front of the congregation. When the prayer had been completed, he called out ... (I'll omit the names)

1SG: LTC A!

LTC A: Here First Sergeant!!

1SG: LTC B!

LTC B: Here Fist Sergeant!!

1SG: SGT C!

SGT C: Here First Sergeant!!

1SG: SGT D!

SGT D: Here First Sergeant!!

1SG: COL E!

COL E: 

1SG: COL E!!

COL E:

1SG: COL First Name, Middle Initial, E ! ! !

Taps (begins as the last name is being spoken, softly, as from a distance) ...

(It's even hard to type)

     As we filed out of the chapel, all military, 1 at a time from the pews, marched to the front and offered a final salute. All others, 1 at a time from the pews, were allowed their moment to offer their respects. A befitting end.

I encourage all of you to offer a small prayer for this doctor's family.

Aloha.

the best deal

Hello again,

L and I had some 'us' time and went out to lunch. As I don't get a lot of time, we went to the PX food court, which also saves a lot of time since it is just across the parking lot. We had a few extra minutes before I had to get back to work so we went in to the PX and ended up in the shoe dept. We always look at the shoe sale isle and often, like today, find a gold mine. We poured over the sales and they had their '75% off' mark-down. Well to say the least, we took advantage. We ended up with 4 pairs of shoes and on the way out, caught another sale rack that gave 50% off the already reduced sale price on some other items of interest. 

All-in-all, we got 2 special items (sorry we can't show 'em 'cause they're gonna be gift to someone lucky) valued originally at $50+ each and ...

The boots alone are $118 (PX original price) each and you can see that the pink tennies are New Balance. 

So, we probably walked out with about $350 worth for about $100.

Ya gotta love the bennies.

C'ya

The craziest lost key story ... EVER!!!

Hello again (sorry, a bit of a long story, but worth it in my opinion)...

So yesterday, Saturday, I was preparing to take H to the Stables for her lessons and volunteering. We spend the morning together; have breakfast, clean up so momma doesn't have so much to do, prepare H's lunch, and get her backpack ready so she has all the essentials ... you know, extra socks, pants, shirt, shoes (and supposedly her raincoat, though that didn't happen yesterday). Anyway ...

I went outside to get an extra cooler as I often take the hike to go see the whales, and I wanted some cold water afterward. We keep the cooler in some locked closets in the carport and I keep my key on my regular keyring (i.e. I knew I had them at that point 'cause I needed the key to unlock the closet). I come back in and proceed to help H fix her lunch. We make her sandwich and put her apple and water and soda in her cooler. I pull the ice bin out and fill the cooler with ice so it's nice and cold for her, filling my cooler as well, and then we get ready to go. Now I can't find my keys. You must understand (and any of you that know me will) that this is pretty typical for me. We look for about 5 min, I get totally pissed at myself, and then realize we are gonna be late for her lesson, so we take L's car and I decide to look when I get back.

When I get back we turn the house absolutely upside down. I check everywhere. L follows behind me checking again 'cause I usually don't look so good. I look in places I haven't been in 2 or 3 months, just because. I look in the toolbox (I didn't go near the toolbox that morning but it was in the closet, so hey ...), I look in the trash in case they fell in (I had actually resolved to empty the trash on the carport to get a better look if I hadn't found them by Sunday night), I look in the ice bin in the fridge 'cause I remember filling the coolers (L actually pulled it half-way out to get a better look). Finally, we give up. We resolve that they are permanently gone (even L who can find a needle in a haystack, as long as the haystack is in our living room, gives up) and we decide to bite the bullet and order a new set. 

We make the call and go the the VW dealer and in the end it will cost around $350 for a full set w/ remotes and a spare plain key, plus having the car towed because they have to 'program' the keys at the dealership and if you try and start the car w/o a programmed key, it will lock up and cost several hundred $ more to get it unlocked. (At this point we are kicking ourselves because I only got 1 set when I bought the car and we had been meaning to get the other set for a while, but just got too busy/lazy to get it done.) And finally, I was prepared to bite it again because I have my work keys on the ring, and that would run me at least a couple hundred $ plus a possible permanent counseling in my file for failing to secure sensitive items. 

I looked again, periodically, throughout the day and even dream of lost keys that night. No luck! Enter Sunday ... 

L and I go coupon shopping at the commissary for misc. items and after getting home, we begin putting things away. I get to do the freezer and it's pretty full, so I squat to re-arrange some items and this is what I see ...

Now take a closer look ...

Yup, you guessed it ... my keys. 

Here is the scoop. When I came in from getting the cooler, I put the keys on the counter. I then proceeded to pull the ice tray out of the freezer and set it on the counter to fill the cooler. The fridge has the ice/water in the door thing, so the ice tray has this rotating shaft that is crooked on the end. As I set the tray on the counter the shaft hooks my keys. As I pick it up, the ice shifting in the tray covers up the noise of the keys clanking. I put it back in the freezer, and the shaft goes into the little gear box that turns it, pushing the keys further onto the shaft and effectively locking them in place there. As L and I looked in the ice bin on Saturday, the keys were solidly hooked onto the shaft so they don't fall. The ice shifting, again, covered the noise of the clanking keys. 

This, in my humble opinion, is truly 1-in-a-million!!

Happy days!