The wooden planter by the path leading from the driveway has two citrus plants growing in it – from seeds – both alive and well. I also have a hanging pot in a tree on the opposite side of the path that has a dozen small citrus plants growing in it they are about two or three inches tall – all from seeds out of a tangerine.
First chore was to put the solar panels on the roof of the shed and hook them up. Then I turned on the refrigerator and transferred the perishable food (bacon, sausage, ham, vegetables) into the refigerator. The water bottles in the collapsible cooler that I had frozen in Arizona had all melted, but everything was still cool. Within 45 minutes, the refrigerator had cooled from 70 degrees to 35. It was hot, cloudy, and overcast all day, but it still maintained over 12 volts in the system all day and dropped to 11.6 overnight.
After setting up the solar panels, I headed into Naalehu. I went to the post office, the bakery, and to the water fill station to fill up any empty water bottles I had.
The rest of the day was spent cutting the grass by the road in front of the property with my clippers – there has gotta be a better way to do this! I got about 1/2 the area chopped down. I took a shower at 4 PM. The water was cool.
As I sit in the terminal waiting to board the plane, I realize that I did not pack my medications, and forgot the blocks of cheese I wanted to bring.
Was originally scheduled for August 13th but I got the flu and have been battling it for the last 2 1/2 weeks. I still have a nagging cough.
I was able to change my flight on-line. The airlines had made a change about three weeks ago and told me that if their new itinerary did not work for me, I could change it up to two times without any fees. I didn’t even have to pay for the additional cost between the flights.
I arranged for a ride share ride to the airport. Normally, the cab ride is between $16 and $20, but because I needed to be at the airport at 4 am for my 6 am flight, the cab company wanted $36. The ride share was $33.00.
The flight out of Phoenix was totally full. The flight attendants on the flight from Oakland to Kona said that that flight was totally full also, but the middle seat in my row as well as in the row behind me were both empty.
I slept for most of the flight from Phoenix to Oakland, and about half the flight from Oakland to Kona. About an hour from Kona, they passed out the mandatory State of Hawaii Agriculture forms. . . more landfill fodder.
We landed in Kona about 5 minutes ahead of schedule, so we had to stay out on the tarmac until the plane that was parked in the place they wanted to park our plane moved out. After pulling into the place where they wanted the plane to park, they opened both the front and the rear doors for people to get off – different – Never done that before. The front door had the typical sloping ramp, but the rear door had stairs.
Before going to the luggage carousel, I walked around the airport looking for a luggage cart. The only ones I saw were secured in the dispensers where you have to pay $6 to use one to move your luggage 100 feet from the baggage claim area to the roadway. By putting my carry-on roller bag on top of one of the checked bags and my backpack on my back, I was able to drag both checked bags over to a restroom where I could change into a pair of shorts.
After leaving the restroom, I saw an empty lugggage cart, so I hustled over to it and commandeered it for my luggage. By now it was 1:15 PM and the bus is scheduled for 2:30 PM, so I pushed the luggage over to the bus stop between the two roadways in front of the airport terminal and waited.
The bus arrived at 2:35 PM, and I loaded my luggage into the baggage compartment and got on the bus. We rode through Kona, then Captain Cook, and on to OceanView, stopping to let people on or off as the situation warranted. After stopping at the rideshare parking area in Oceanview, we rode past South Point road and on into Waiohinu without stopping until we got to the chinese store where I got off and collected my luggage. My neighbor showed up a few minutes later to give me a ride and I was at the property at 5:15 PM.
The grass along the side of the road in front of the property has grown to about 2 or 3 feet tall.
Everything appears to be undisturbed, and right where I left it. The weeds/plants, grass in the footings and over the septic system has become overgrown – some are 3 feet tall and there are lits of that shrub with the obnoxious little burrs that stick to your clothing.
My plumeria in the wooden planter is doing well, as is the one behind the kitchen gazebo, but the hibiscus that I put into a wooden planter box next to the gazebo lanai appears to be dead. The palms and avocado by the road seem to be alive and green, but the avocado by the pathway has no leaves – it looks like a stick. None of the mango cuttings I tried to start the last time I was here are alive and in my garden tires there are a few small papayas, but nothing else.
The first order of business is to see if the car will start. Success on the first try – no problem!
So, I open the gates and head off to Oceanview for milk, eggs, butter and juice! Dinner is a heated up can of ravioli!
I put away everything that I will not need from my kitchen into the plastic tote boxes in the gazebo. Tomorrow, I will put the stove in the back of the Escape with the generator. I put away all my tools under the shed, and packed up any loose clothes. I watered everything one last time.
I have organized all my lumber (2 x 4 x 8, 2 x 6 x 8, 1 x 6 x 6 cedar fence boards) over at the Ahi lot and hauled two single mattresses over there. I put these on the pile of lumber under the gazebo and covered it all with a tarp, tying it up with ropes. hopefully, this will deter any thefts and keep out some of the rain.
I hauled the generator and the cement mixer back to the Holowai lot. I put the mixer at the back of the driveway with the table saw and covered them both with a large, heavy tarp; again tying it all up with ropes to keep out the rain and deter thefts. I will put the generator in the back of the Ford Escape.
I made one last trip down to the shore to say goodby to the ocean. While I was there, I saw an area on a side road where someone had dug up the dirt on the side of the road with a tractor; it looked like they had scooped out a few scoops to take somewhere else. I had some empty buckets with me, so I filled these with loose dirt to use in my planter boxes. I have picked up eight old used tires that were discarded along the side of the road, and used these as planters; filling them with mulch, leaves, and what dirt I can find. I grew some potatoes in one of these tires. I took the old soft potatoes that have sprouted and put them into the mulch in the tire. Potato plants came up and grew to about 2 and a half feet tall over the course of a couple of months. When I pulled out the plants, I found that I had grown baby potatoes in the roots. I also planted some turnip seeds and actually grew one turnip! I put three tires one on top of the other and I dump the stuff from the composting toilet into here along with some cardboard, grass, leaves, etc. I think that if this all sits in these tires for six months to a year, it will break down all the pathogens and turn it into some good mulch/fertilizer.
On the trip back to the property from the ocean, I filled up about 30 bottles with water.
I pulled the car into the driveway behind the gates and closed them, using a 1 x 4 screwed down across the top of the two gates to secure them closed.
My suitcases are packed, with the exception of the sheets and pillowcases, which I will pull off the bed in the morning. I have one smaller carry-on size suitcase inside of the full sized one. I will stuff the sheets and pillow cases into this in the morning, and will check this one. I will put some snacks along with my journals and computer and tablet and associated cords into my backpack. Anything I take back to AZ, i will have to bring back later. I just want to give the sheets and pillow cases a good washing in the washing machine at home.
I used some water from my “water heater” (2 liter soda bottles of water set out in the sun on a piece of metal roofing) to take a shower. As it was a bit late in the day, the water was beginning to cool, so my shower was a bit on the brisk side!
I heated a can of spaghetti and meatballs for dinner, then took down the solar panels from the roof of the shed.
For the past week, I have been sorting through everything and separating what I want to take back with me to Arizona on the 17th – if not physically, at least mentally. The main things will be my journal, and the dirty sheets and pillowcases from the bed.
Today, I poured the 5th section of concrete between the columns at the Ahi gazebo. The 6th section still has some large rocks protruding above the surface of the new concrete, so I will need to find some way to remove them – a hammer and chisel? a large prybar? a jackhammer?
I also hauled more of the sand and gravel from the pile in the driveway. I have been stockpiling it at the base of the driveway for use in mixing concrete later. I have left only about 4 or 5 wheelbarrow loads at the top of the driveway. This clears the driveway so I can now back the car down. It does not slide quite as much going down, but the loose fill makes it want to sink in and lose traction. With all-wheel drive, it is still do-able though!
After spending a few days on Maui, I did not see my bird friends I call Bert and Ernie for a few days. They have returned to coming to the feeder.
Other birds are also coming in to grab a bite to eat.
I also saw a pair of different lizards – different than geckos, and Jackson Chameleons – out in the driveway at Holowai on the pile of lumber and pallets.
By researching on-line, I find that these are Green Anole lizards.
They apparently are territorial, and these two do not seem to be getting along.
This morning, I went down to the ocean to watch the waves.
The tide was in and the waves were crashing against the lava.
The water even was flowing over the initial lava at the shore into an area that typically has very little water.
My wading pool was full and overflowing into the overflow pool
The swimming pool was engulfed and unrecognizable due to the churning water filling it above it’s normal level.
After returning to the property, I poured more concrete in the forms I had set up yesterday,
Then I dug into the pile of branches/stumps/rocks/debris at the side of the gazebo. I hauled the large branches and logs up to the side of the driveway.
I set up the forms between the columns of the gazebo for two more sections to be poured with concrete.
I poured one section and needed more sand and water, so I did a sand/water run into town. When I returned, I had the materials for another section, maybe tomorrow This makes three of the six necessary sections are completed.
I also worked some more on moving the pile of delivered gravel and leveling the driveway.
Set up the forms between two of the gazebo columns at Ahi for another concrete pour.
Using the generator to produce electricity for the electric cement mixer is much easier than mixing it in the wheelbarrow. After pouring the concrete in this formed area under the gazebo, I worked on creating steps into the shower.
I hauled some sand and gravel from my pile in the driveway to spread out and create a flat base for the shower floor. Then, at the entrance to the shower, I built a small rock wall about 7 or 8″ tall between the rock columns. I backfilled behind this wall and leveled the area above and behind the rock wall. About 16″ behind this rock wall, I built another. Backfilling and leveling, I repeated this to create yet another small rock wall. I now have three tiers creating steps into the shower.
These will be the base for concrete steps – each step overhanging the rock wall by about 3 – 4″. I plan on pouring a concrete floor in the shower, but have not decided on a pattern yet, or if I will install a drain, or let the water just flow over the edge.
I spent the day shoveling, raking, and hauling a 15 ton delivery of sand and rock at the top of the Ahi lot that came yesterday. By no means, am I finished. I made a big dent in the pile, but it will take more work to distribute this pile to where I want it. The driveway is quite steep – my all wheel drive Ford Escape handles it nicely (except where it is lose gravel) but it would be much better if it were not so steep. I have been adding the branches and shrubs I have cleared on the property to the bottom portion to raise it up and lessen the slope. Then I cover it with this material.
It would be much quicker to have someone with a tractor - something like a bobcat – move this, but I never do anything the easy way. Especially when it comes to saving a few hundred dollars.
I put the last piece of roofing on the gazebo roof – I should say that I “placed” it there, because I have no more tar to glue it down with. I will have to depend on boards I will lay on it to hold it in place until I can get some more tar.
I stripped the forms off the “seat” I poured in the shower.
Since I have used all the sand and gravel that I have in mixing my concrete, and I want to raise the level of the driveway to lessen the slope, I ordered another truck load of 2 1/2″ minus sand and gravel mixture. This means that it will contain anything that will pass through a screen with 2 1/2″ holes. I hung around the Ahi lot all afternoon waiting for the delivery. It came around 4 PM. I had him dump it at the top of the driveway.
Because the driveway is so steep, I did not want to risk getting the truck stuck at the bottom. For the next hour and a half, I shoveled and raked sand and gravel down the slope of the driveway.
Poured concrete in the forms for a seat/shelf in the shower at Ahi. I used the rebar that I picked up in Hilo as reinforcement as well as some garden fencing.
I also poured the first two sections of concrete for the floor under the gazebo.
TropicalCastaway 