Author: Peg

Part of the ultralight packing is an attempt to save my life. I left my fins and mask and snorkel back in Kona. On purpose. More people than you would imagine. Die snorkeling in Hawaii every year. And nearly every one of them is a visitor. I don’t really consider myself a visitor but I do consider myself an overconfident old woman. So to prevent being totally humiliated by drowning like a dumb tourist, I decided to just leave the gear at home in Kona. After all, moderation only leads to long life.

A normal person would have taken the hotel shuttle to the hotel. Not me. I walked. The hard part was finding sidewalks.

The hotel is modest.

The room is huge. I can see the airport, the ocean and Diamond Head. And it’s as far away from the highway as possible.

And I am such a party animal. It’s 6pm and I have dinned and am all settled for the evening in my room.

And I hate doing the blog with my phone. That’s surely one of my first world kind problems don’t you think?

Feeling a little out of sorts mentally today.  So, I went out on “dinner quest”.

And what was wrong with my mental state today? I was annoyed that I am old. That is not very productive. Accept and Adapt.

Gratitude

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Grateful that there isn’t a good ice shop within an easy walk of my lodgings.

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Living on the wild side this morning. I put on my swimsuit and put everything else in the washer/dryer. I had a very bad experience doing that 50+ years ago. I had visions of walking to WalMart in my swimsuit to buy underwear. Then, go to the thrift shop to get shirts and shorts. Turns out it would have been a good day to do that because the thrift shop was having a “buy one get three free” sale today. So for 4 dollars I could have had 4 shirts and 4 shorts. The washer did not eat my clothes and the dry cycle didn’t burn them. So. No worries.

Heading to Honolulu tomorrow. Then the adventure begins on Sunday morning with a flight to Moloka’i. (Kaunakakai )

Moloka’i has a population of about 7,000, and cell service is marginal. I don’t know if the hotel has Wi-Fi.  After Moloka’i we’ll go to Lana’i by way of Kahului Maui. Only 3,200 people live on Lana’i. But since Larry Ellison owns 98% of the island – I feel sure that it is well served by cell and wifi. We’ll see.

Speaking of billionaire tech boys. Does anyone besides me think Elon Musk might have just bought himself a country?

Fishing is a lot like photography: It involves waiting for something to happen. I watched this guy for 15 minutes or so, and he never got a throw. I didn’t see any fish either.

But if you need a minute of ocean watching. Here it is.

First-world problem: The water pressure in my shower isn’t sufficient for proper hair washing. So, I wash my hair in the kitchen sink. And my hair tries to escape down the garbage disposer. 

Careless old woman problem: I forgot to bring a little SSD backup drive with me. Whenever I take my computer on a trip, I take a little TimeMachine drive. This time, I forgot. This apartment has concrete floors and no carpets. I carry my computer and a cup of coffee all over the apartment. It’s a matter of “I haven’t dropped the computer YET.”  

I trotted off to Target and bought a 1TB SSD drive. Almost everything is backed up to some cloud or other, but I am old. I like to see the backup device. 

Today: Accept and Adapt.

We Democrats lost—fair and square. No whining about “Well, we won the popular vote.” We didn’t. We must be grateful that we could never get rid of the filibuster in the Senate. That’s about the only thing we have to be grateful for. Accept and Adapt.

Accept and Adapt. Do whatever it takes.

Accept and Adapt.

These are the trees in the first photo in the post.

Here we go again.

The first time was a shock. This time was expected. 
Either way is bad.

Even with my binoculars, the dolphins were hard to see. But it makes me happy to see them out there, not being chased by a dozen or so “swim with the dolphins” boats. The boats out there are anchored. 

The Twilight Zone

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• • • There are fewer years ahead of me than behind me.
    • The years go by much quicker.
    • Multiprocessing is no longer possible. 
    • Everything takes longer

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It is raining this evening in Kona. A general feeling of dismay settles in my universe. No matter what happens tomorrow there will be waves to catch, pigs to hunt, and coffee to drink here in Hawai’i.

I declared jet lag over this afternoon. No napping allowed.

Out on my morning walk I am surprised to see a cruise ship. It is the Viking Neptune. It’s a small ship with a capacity of 930 passengers.

Nobody surfing at Honls this morning. But, I did find the Sunday morning yoga group.

It wasn’t all palm trees and beaches. There was uglyness and evil.

These are giant snails. They are a major pest attacking all manner of vegetation. They are also part of the rat lungworm parasite life cycle that infects humans. Nothing good can be said for them. They were intentionally introduced in 1936.

This pest was also intentionally introduced. And like the African Snail, eradication appears to be impossible.

Went for a walk at the Old Airport with Billy, Monique, and Bella to watch the sunrise.

After my walk and socialization period, I returned to the grocery store. 

Let there be Linner.  I have limited cooking “stuff”. Pan-sear yellowfin tuna in butter. Plate the tuna. Toss the tomatoes in the pan with some “spicy” mayo. Let the stay for about 60 seconds. Then add the tomatoes to the plate. How hard is that? And it was excellent. The tomatoes were not great. So heating them and adding some hot mayo helps them along. 

 Last night there was The Coffee Parade. Kona *loves* parades.  

It’s only 5:30 and I am sleepy JET LAG. A walk would help but I have walked almost 5 miles today. First world problem.

Out early this morning. I had no coffee in the house. I made do with tea, a couple of no-doze tablets, and a granola bar. A trip to the grocery solved the coffee problem. I wasn’t operating on all cylinders at the grocery. So my food options are a bit limited at the moment.

After COFFEE, resting and reading I go out for another little stroll. Must see what has changed in 10 months. Not much. Things don’t change quickly in Kona.

Gratitude

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Grateful the “new” antique Keurig machine works. And coffee is now available in the kitchen on demand.

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I did find a new tenant next to the tattoo parlor on the retail floor of the building. The West Hawai’i GOP Campaign HQ.

Last winter I had a little project – “Be nice to the Jehovah’s Witnesses standing the sidewalk”. Maybe I’ll do it again this year.

I made it. To Kona. To my lodgings. To dinner.

There have been changes at my lodgings. There is A/C. There is a new bed. The coffee-making setup isn’t to my liking. But, there is a bit of “contempt prior to investigation” as far as the coffee goes. We’ll see. There is a rat trap. My yoga mat and fins are still here. I haven’t looked for my saute pan yet.

Some settling in is required. But it’s too late to think about anything except trying out the new Costco bed. 

Still love the street scene out of my hotel room. And did I mention, there is a burlesque theater across the street? Tonight is the opening night for their new show. It is sold out. No burlesque show for me this trip. 

It was either a visit to the Gates Foundation’s “bathroom exhibit” or a ferry ride.

I decided to take a Washington State Ferry to Bainbridge or Bremerton, depending on which one left first. The Bainbridge ferry left 5 minutes after I got to the dock and so I purchased a ticket to Bainbridge.

It’s raining pretty seriously. And, all of my rain gear is back at the Old Bat’s Cave.

Gratitude

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Extremely grateful to the Inn at the Market for loaning me a fine big umbrella

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When I returned to the hotel, I noticed that the tread on my shoes was about gone. Guess I can not 100% blame the leaves for the slippery footing.

It’s time to head back to the ferry.

I gave the $5 bill I had for the fare back to Seattle to a street musician. He was wearing a Kamala For Prez button. 

That would be poached eggs in a red wine sauce. Plus fries. And a glass of cheap red wine. With an excellent espresso for “dessert”. 

Now all that remains is to get ready to fly, get packed, get to the airport, fly to Kona, and get into my rented apartment. Tomorrow sounds busy enough. 

Think I’ll turn in early tonight and worry about tomorrow tomorrow. 

An Amtrak miracle. The Empire Builder arrived in Seattle early. Early as in 5 hours before check-in time at my hotel.

But, I know a Japanese store near the train station. So, what to do but “Go buy origami paper”.

The store sells more than origami paper. Anyone want some squid? I didn’t think so.

It’s a ½ hour walk to the hotel. And. I know that it is all uphill. So, I hop on a bus, and in 15 minutes I am at the hotel and they let me have my room. I usually get an OK room at this hotel. Today, I got a great room.

I have been watching people, boats, and seagulls in the bay window for the last hour. I feel a little guilty about not being outside “doing stuff”, but I am enjoying just watching. Besides, I have already done most of the Seattle stuff.

I have been to the Original Starbucks. It was so long ago that there was no line to get in. It was just like any other Starbucks. Except the mermaid in the logo still had tits. I walked by it today. Just to see if people still waited in line to get into the Original Starbucks. They do.

My favorite nearby dinner places are closed on Monday and Tuesday. I am too cozy and content to go out and discover a new place for dinner. So, a granola bar it will be.

A couple more from this afternoon’s walk.