Marching forward

With all due respect and multiple appologies to CCR:

Just got home from (Paradise), lock the front door, oh boy!
Got to sit down, take a rest on the porch.
Imagination sets in, pretty soon I’m singing,

Chorus:
Doo, doo, doo, Looking out my back door.
There’s a giant doing cartwheels,
A statue wearing high heels.
Look at all the happy creatures dancing on the lawn.
A dinosaur Victrola listening to Buck Owens.

Chorus

Tambourines and elephants are playing in the band.
Won’t you take a ride on the flying spoon?
Doo, doo doo.
Wond’rous apparition provided by magician.

Chorus

Tambourines and elephants are playing in the band.
Won’t you take a ride on the flying spoon?
Doo, doo doo.
Bother me tomorrow, today, I’ll buy no sorrows.

Chorus

Forward troubles (Paradise), lock the front door, oh boy!
Look at all the happy creatures dancing on the lawn.
Bother me tomorrow, today, I’ll buy no sorrows.

Chorus

As for my trip:

I uploaded the dates for my trip (March 7 thru March 28) into the Hawaii Travels website and received a confirmation email that I did not need to quarantine upon arrival.

Got my QR code from Hawaii Travels.gov

Apparently, this might be the last time I need to do this as the Governor of Hawaii has lifted all restrictions for travel to Hawaii from the mainland US. Most likely, they have run out of money to maintain this worthless process and the Federal Government will no longer pay them to pull the wool over the eyes of the citizens of Hawaii trying to make them believe that they are from the government and they are interested in helping.

I still went through the standard TSA circus.

I do not forsee this charade ending anytime in the next decade.

The planes were full both directions.

I flew the “hometown” airlines so I had to make a stop in Honolulu,

In Honolulu, I switched to a smaller plane for the ride to Kona.

Looking at Diamondhead from the runway as we took off.

Honolulu and Waikiki Beach from the air.

but this gave me an opportunity to see many of the other islands from the air.

I saw Southeast Oahu and Diamondhead from the air.

Molokai, Lanai, and Maui.

The island of Lanai with Molokai at the wing tip.

Lanai with Molokai in the upper left corner.

The three cloud banks are centered over the islands of Molokai, Maui, and Lanai.

The volcanoes on the Big Island were shrouded in clouds as I approached,

The clouds are obscuring the volcanoes on the Big Island.

but I got a good view of the coast line.

I rode the bus to Waiohinu and walked to the property. Halfway there, I was offered a ride. Thank you, Thank you, kind stranger!

Before leaving for Hawaii, I had arranged for a delivery of building materials and they arrived right on schedule.

Then after moving them out of the driveway, I contacted a neighbor named Greg Larsen who has a backhoe

and he came up and helped me out with a couple of rocky humps in the driveway.

He charged me $150.00 per hour with a two hour minimum and we used the entire two hours.

He brought along a jackhammer attachment just in case, but it turned out that we did not need it.

Greg gave me a name and phone number for rock materials. So I ordered a load of 2 1/2″ minus road base rock/sand.

15 tons cost me $450.00.

Now I needed a way to move all these rocks,

so I bought a wheelbarrow.

This took me a few days to spread out on the driveway, but it sure made a big difference.

I practiced singing the old songs “15 tons, what do you get?”

As well as the one about finding a peanut while shoveling coal.

Then it was time for the chipper guys to come and munchup all the branches I had piled along the roadway on my last trip here.

They created more piles for me to move.

All this dirty work really got my clothes dirty. So, it became necessary to take time out for Laundry.

I then spent a good deal of time raising the deck to make it more of a gazebo I could walk under than a deck,

and laying more block on the corner pillars for the gazebo.

I poured a concrete cap on each pillar at the 4 foot height.

I finished removing all the decking from the floor joist to make it easier to lift.

Then I painted all the ceiling joist.

I’ll use wood posts from the concrete caps up to the ceiling joist.

A trip to Hawaii isn’t complete without a trip to the shore.

On my last trip, the State Department of Land and Resources had closed the section of the coast that I like to go to, but this time, it was open.

And the ocean was putting on quite a show.

I found a place along the shore where there was a small rocky “bridge” and the water came under and over and around.

The small pool we like to use to sit in and get refreshed had a sandy bottom and a sandy beach.

Gong through Naalehu, I found that gas prices are on the rise.

Back at the property, I found guavas starting to grow on some of the guava bushes/trees.

After covering the driveway, I used some of the wood chips to make the pathway near the kirchen area easier to walk on.

Even though this trip has been possibly my most expensive trip (other than when we bought the property) I feel that it has been one of my most productive. I got a lot accomplished that I wanted and needed to get accomplished.

I will return again in late April.

TTFN

Goin’ Back

Next Monday, March 7th, I’m going back to Hawai’i. I’ll be there until March 28th.

I have gone onto the Hawaii Safe Travels website and entered the date for my trip, and uploaded my Covid-19 vaccination card.

Almost instantly, I received my QR code.

You used to be required to fill out a questionaire within 24 hours of your arrival, but I guess that it became too cumbersome for the State of Hawaii to manage this in addition to the Hawaii Safe Travels website, because as of November (I think it was in November) of last year, they cancelled that requirement.

So, now that I have my QR Code, I am “safe” – no matter how much exposure to covid I have in the next 6 days!!!! What a farce!!!! Nothing to do with Health, OR safety . . . everything to do with Government control!!! Less than two months ago, they were talking about requiring everyone to have received the booster shot as well. I guess the bribe that Big Pharma paid to the Hawaii Governor to continue this wasn’t large enough!

This morning, I saw on the news that Hawaii has decided to cancel the requirement for visitors to be vaccinated. This is to take effect on March 26. I guess the economic drain has exceeded the amount of money that the Federal government is giving them to continue this mind control experiment.

Ayway, I have contacted one of my neighbors who owns a backhoe to have him come do some work dislodging the humps in my driveway. I have also contacted the guy with the large chipper in hopes of chipping the piles of limbs I created next to the road during my last trip. I have arranged for a delivery of building materials (concrete), and I will see about getting some cinders or gravel delivered as well.

TTFN

Building Permit Application

After nearly two years of mis-steps, I have finally submitted for a building permit.

My first attempt over a year ago resulted in rejection by the County of Hawai’i because the plans I had with me had the Architect’s stamp on them but they were not signed by the Architect.

Two months later, they were rejected because the codes the Architect had specified on the plans were the old codes. They had adopted new codes since he drew the plans. Also, I needed to have the septic permit as well.

So, I got the Architect to change the codes on the plans and hired an engineer to get me a septic (IWS-Individual Wastewater System) permit. After two months of not hearing from the engineer, I called him and left a message on his voicemail. His wife called me the next day – he had come down with covid-19 and almost died, in fact, he was physically weak and mentally incapacitated. I hired a different engineer.

Now, everything must be done on-line – Covid-19 fears still running rampant! (Actually, a good excuse to provide even worse customer service than before)

The Engineer has submitted for the Septic permit.

And I have submitted for the building permit.

Now, we just wait.

TTFN

Florida in February

I feel soooooo much safer now.

We went to Florida in February of 2022 for a long weekend – traveling on a Wednesday and returning late on Saturday. . . just a chance to get away to a sunny beach!

Once we arrived at the airport, I put on my mask – that piece of cloth that makes the insecure and the gullible feel better about the world around them – and proceeded to get in line with all the other lemmings.

The first TSA agent checked my ID and their machine scanned my boarding pass. He motioned me to go on through.

Then it was the luggage check and the full body scan. My bag was pulled aside for “further inspection”.

“OK”, the TSA agent began to explain. “What we are looking for is probably some food items.”

I’m thinking many thoughts at the moment. . . thoughts such as:

“If you already know, why bother?” and ” food items are allowed” and “why then the explanation? Just get on with it!” and finally, “What a complete waste of taxpayer’s money”. But I didn’t say anything!

As she is rummaging through my bag, she is looking up at a monitor that is hanging in front of her.

“I think it is over on this side,” she says. “Ah, yes! here it is!” and she lifts out my unopened bag of peanut M & M’s, my package of 3 Musketeer bars, my Baby Ruth candy bars, and the Nestle Crunch bars.

She stands there with my M & M’s bag in her hand and begins looking around the room. Obviously, she is looking for someone – someone to help her – someone to tell her what she is supposed to do now. The look on her face reminds me of my dog Hunny. Hunny used to love to chase cats. She could chase them up and down the neighborhood, around the corner, through and under trees and bushes, until the cat would hop up onto a fence and escape. In the rare instance that she would actually catch up to a cat and corner it, she would then look back towards me with the same confused look on her face as if to say, “What do I do now?”

Another TSA agent came to her rescue and she handed him the bag of M & M’s. He turned the bag over a few times and rolled the contents around inside the bag – back and forth – a few times while squeezing the sides of the bag trying to “see” inside the bag. He handed me the bag and asked, “Can you open them up so I can see inside?”

You never know, there could be an entire infantry brigade of commie terrorists concealed within that bag.

As I was tearing open the top of the bag, I guess I gave him an exasperated look because he turned to me in a very confrontational manner and demanded, “You gotta problem?!”

I kept reminding myself that he simply was not worth the trouble he could cause, so I continued to open the bag and replied, “No problem.” and handed him the opened bag of M & M’s.

He rolled the M & M’s around inside the bag as he looked in . I guess he was satisfied – I KNOW he was disappointed that he did not get a negative reaction from me, because he didn’t say another word, but handed me the bag and left! The other agent was standing there with my 3 Musketeers package turning the package over and over, while looking for him to tell her what she should do next! But he had abandoned her!

She put the three Musketeers package down and picked up the package of Baby Ruth bars and turned them over and over again in her hands. These packages each contain 6 of the mini candy bars. I think on the packaging, it lists the net contents as

something like 3.9 ounces! She handed me the package of Baby Ruth bars and asked, “Do you want to repack this, or should I?”

I’ll do it” I answered.

“OK” she said, and then proceeded to put everything back into the suitcase and tried to close the lid. The zipper got stuck, and she got even more frustrated and anxious while I stood and waited. She finally gave up and slid the suitcase across the table towards me. She stood there and fumbled with her hands for a few seconds as though she wanted to say something; but decided not to, and turned and walked away.

I feel sooooo much safer now that I know that the TSA personally inspects all the candy brought on board airplanes.

I guess I shouldn’t make fun of them . . . after all, they are just doing their job, and making it so easy to ridicule them when they act like the three stooges!!!

And I’m just being cranky, old, and obnoxious!!

While waiting to board the plane, the gate agent announces that the flight will be delayed – possibly for an hour – due to a mechanical problem. The pilot was unable to communicate with the tower. They have called for Maintenance to come fix the problem.

Twenty minutes later, they resumed the boarding process – I guess they fixed the problem.

I told Alanah, “The maintenance man most likely pointed to a switch on the console and said to the pilot – ‘Do you see that switch?’ To which the pilot replied, ‘Yes.’ and the Maintenance man said, ‘Well it only works when it is pointed in the “ON” position!”

Anyway, we all get on the plane, they close the doors and we just sit there. No safety briefing, just crickets.

Finally, a voice on the intercom says, “Ladies and gentlemen, I’m your pilot for the flight to Austin. The problem we are having will not affect the flight of the plane, but is one that the FAA requires to be fixed within the next three stops, or 24 hours. The next three places this plane is scheduled to go, each have minimum maintenance facilities. Phoenix is a major maintenance facility, so they are going to keep the plane here. That means that we will all need to get off while they look for another plane for our flight. We’ll let you know when they have figured it all out.” Then he adds, “Thank you for flying Southwest, we appreciate your patronage.”

Immediately after he is finished, another voice comes on the intercom – one of the flight attendants – who repeats everything the pilot just said. Hmmmmm. . . If we were not listening to the pilot, what makes you think we will listen to you?

So, we all get up and begin gathering our carry-ons as we file off the plane. About ten minutes later, they announce that our flight will be leaving from a different gate down the concourse. We proceed to go to this gate where there are people waiting to board a flight to Sacramento. They tell the people waiting for the Sacramento flight to remain seated while they try to find another plane for their flight. Another ten minutes pass and they begin boarding for our flight. After we are all on the plane and we are all seated, the same voice we heard before of one of the flight attendants comes on the intercom. “It is a federal mandate that we must all wear a mask that covers both our mouth and our nose at all times while on board the plane. We are required to enforce this mandate, and if you refuse to wear a mask we will have to deal with that in a different manner.”

HUH????

WHAT????

He and the other two flight attendants come marching down the aisle of the plane and stop two rows in front of us, where they are talking with a man and a woman. the woman is gesturing animatedly, and it appears that she is apologizing while the man just sits there quietly. The flight attendant is shaking his head and gesturing towards the front of the plane. The two passengers get up and proceed to get off the plane. Everyone is wearing a mask.

Except for these two empty seats, the plane is totally full. The flight attendant comes walking down the aisle of the plane and a woman in the same row where the two just vacated, asks if she can move across the aisle to one of the empty seats. He shakes his head yes, and proceeds to laugh with the passengers in the row directly in front of us about how he “showed them who is in charge!” To them, it is all a big joke.

I remembered the confrontational TSA agent from an hour ago and thought how this political pandemic has turned the world upside down and created an opportunity for the angry, deluded fools within our society to exercise their miniscule authority.

The plane ride to Austin is uneventful. When we arrive in Austin, we remain onboard while others get off. We do change seats and move towards the front of the plane for the rest of the trip to Miami.

Once in Miami, we pick up a rental car and drive up to the Ft Lauderdale area where we have booked a resort in Weston, Florida, a few miles inland from Ft Lauderdale.

The contrast from one side of the highway to the swamp on the other.

The cost to fly to Ft Lauderdale was twice the cost to fly to Miami, and we were planning on renting a car anyway, so the 30 minute drive from Miami to Weston was not important.

Carved out of the swamps of Florida, there is nothing “natural” about Weston – well paved streets, manicured lawns, tennis courts, swimming pools, gardens, stucco buildings, all testify to the effect that man has on the environment.

It is from these man made enclaves that the world’s “environmentalists” clamor for a zero carbon footprint – all the while sitting under imported palm trees. And, despite man’s best efforts, Nature still has a way of being in control.

Remove man and his constant maintenance efforts and Weston Florida would revert back to the swamps it was carved from, making it more “environmentally friendly”.

In fact, after we checked in at the reception desk, we passed the security guard in the parking lot sitting in his electric cart. Around his cart, there were four racoons who acted more like domesticated cats and dogs than wild animals.

The next few days revolved around trips to the shore to relax on the beach. The water was a bit on the chilly side, but not too cold for a quick dip after constructing sand creations on the beach.

We weren’t the only ones to enjoy spending time on the beach, and we shared it with these sand pipers.

Adter spending the mornings and early afternoons on the beach, we would return to the resort and spend time around the pool.

The water in the pool was a few degrees warmer than the ocean. We preferred the smaller pool to the main large pool due to the crowds of people.

After spending the morning at the beach, we packed up and drove to Miami to return the rental car and fly home to Arizona. The flight home went through Houston where we were delayed for an additional hour, therefore, we arrived home after midnight – which made for a very long day.

TTFN

The Adventure you are ready for is the one you will get. – Jeff Probst

January 5, 2022

It is just a little after 6:00 AM and I am on a plane waiting to takeoff for Kona. I will stop in Los Angeles to change planes, and maybe I’ll get pre-cleared for Hawaii.

When I got to the TSA Security for “C” gates, the line was out onto the concourse, so I walked to the other end of the terminal to the security for “D” gates. Hardly any line here. I breezed right through. After putting my belt and shoes back on, putting things back into my pockets, and putting my laptop back into my backpack, I walked over to the moving sidewalk and proceeded back to the other end of the terminal. I’m not sure if that was actually any quicker, but I feel better doing something rather than standing around waiting for others to go through their motions.

It took just a little over an hour for the flight to Los Angeles. My flight to Kona will depart from the same gate – only 3 hours later. According to the gate agent, the flight to Kona will have 85 passengers – meaning there will be over 90 empty seats.

I bought myself a $3.00 breakfast Burrito that cost me $12.00 because it is at the airport. I forgot all about getting pre-cleared until we were about to board. I’ll just do it in Hawaii.

The pilot announced that it would be a 5 hour and 5 minute flight – that we had a tail wind blowing our direction and we might even arrive sooner. The flight was uneventful – a smooth ride without much turbulence. As we approached, there were clouds covering most of the island, but the peak of Mauna Kea was poking up out of the clouds, and the top had snow on it.

After we touched down, we stopped out on the tarmac away from the terminal. The pilot told us that we were 40 minutes early and we did not have a gate to pull into, so we would need to remain out on the tarmac until they could sort it out – as if we just dropped in unexpectedly. They did turn off the seatbelt sign and we were allowed to get up and go to the bathroom. They passed out cups of water as we waited. It only lasted about 20 minutes.

As I had not pre-cleared before boarding in Los Angeles, I needed to show them my vaccination card, my ID and my QR code from their website.

The passenger in the seats across the aisle did not have a pre-clearance bracelet. She told me that she was not vaccinated, had not been tested, and did not register on the Safe Travels Hawaii website. Yikes! The State of Hawaii is going to freak out when she arrives. She planned on just quarantining for 5 days at her home. She was out at the baggage carousel before I was. They had her sign a form agreeing to quarantine and she was free to go. That was it!

It took 45 minutes to get our luggage. The rental car agency was more hassle than the government check-in. They wanted to see the travel portion of the website to verify that the QR code I was showing them was for this trip. For some reason, I could not pull up that section of the website. So, the rental car agent called the airlines and verified that I was on the flight that had arrived an hour and a half ago.

After arriving at the property, I found sheets and blankets and went to bed.

Thursday – 1/6/2022

The tall grass had grown up in the cleared area of the roadway in front of the property

– so, I got out the clippers and proceeded to cut it down. Then I used the clippings to line the new walkway.

My tomato plant is still alive and well – It has about 10 tomatos on it and one is dark red and ready to eat. It is about the size of a ping pong ball, and it was delicious!

There are two more that will be ripe in a few days. The rest are still quite green. The squash plant is still alive, barely. It is not very large, but it is still alive in the garden by the gates, but it is dead in the garden below the deck.

There is a guava tree that I had tied up with a rope to straighten it located below the deck. On the ground below this tree, there are at least 20 guavas in various stages of decomposing. I shook the tree and four more fell down. I picked up these four and peeled them and ate them. They are not quite fully ripe, but they were still good.

I removed the temporary plywood at the walk-in gate and the wood and corrugated metal forms from the top of the columns.

As I removed the tarp from over the car, I saw that the sun roof must not have been closed all the way, because there is now mold and mildew all over the front seats of the car. Yuck!!! And, the battery is dead! I used one of the batteries from the solar system to jump start the car. I let it run for about half an hour to charge the car battery.

I moved the 2 batteries for the solar system to the concrete pad below the shed to get them out of the shed and out of the way.

I have brought a metal connection box with a lid to make the connections inside. I have installed this under the floor in the corner, and have run wires from the batteries to the connection box. Then ran wires up to the controller inside the shed, which I located near the south doors.

I set up the stove and got out the kitchen stuff. Slowly, I’m getting set up again.

Friday 1/7/2022

I set up the solar panels on the shed roof and attached them to the controller so they could begin charging the batteries.

Went to the store in Naalehu and got ice. Then drove to Kona as I need to return the rental car today, and found a shop to scan my blueprints onto a thumb drive so I can attach them to my permit application. They could not or would not scan the structural calculations as they were on 8 1/2 by 11 paper, so I went to an office supply store and was able to accomplish this. I could have done it all at the office supply store as they also had a large scanner. Then I went and got some bleach and a hand held portable vacuum to work on removing the mold from the car. I returned the rental car at the airport and caught the bus to Naalehu (actually, to Waioninu)and walked home. I was exhausted when I arrived.

On the way to Kona, I had stopped at a bbq chicken and ribs place. They called the chicken huli huli chicken.

I think this is run by some non profit organization or community. I have wanted to stop here before, but when I had the time, they were not open. Today, I stopped and got a 1/2 chicken meal that consisted of a scoop of white rice, a scoop of corn, and 1/2 a chicken. It must have been a very large chicken, because after I ate a drumstick and a wing and some of the white breast meat, there was still a drumstick and thigh and lots of white meat. They must have given me a whole chicken instead of a half. I ate some of the white meat for dinner and went to bed.

Saturday – 1/8/2022

In the corner of the shed, there was a cardboard box. It was the box that the mini refrigerator came in. I kept it in case I wanted to return it. I have been throwing stuff in it just to get it out of the way. Today is the day to get rid of this box. The odds and ends have been put away where they should be and I took the box up to the driveway. I moved the newer mini fridge into this corner.

I have run wires from the panel below the floor up to the inverter. Turned on the refrigerator today and ran it until around 11 AM when the voltage dropped to 11.9 volts because the sky had clouded over. I hooked up the switch box for the lights to the electrical panel below the floor. Now I have lights again in the shed other than the inflatable ones or my flashlights.

During my last trip in November, I had “acquired” four coconuts. We opened two of them and shared them. Today, I picked up one of the two remaining and sliced it open with a machete. I enjoyed the coconut milk and the coconut meat.

Heated some water and added a little bleach to clean the inside of the car. I wiped down the dash, the steering wheel and column, the center console, the doors and the seats. I even wiped down the trim on the sunroof and a little of the roof fabric. Removed the vinyl floor mats and washed them. Vacuumed the carpet in front and back seats with the cordless vacuum, and left the doors open for the rest of the day to dry out.

Tried to put the new carburetor on the chipper but could not find where I had put the bolts, so I went to the hardware store and bought new ones. I also went to the post office and picked up two packages – the electrical buss bars I had purchased for my solar electrical system.

Got the carburetor installed on the chipper but it is cutting out – I think it is bad gas, so I drained the gas from the tank and in the morning I will get new gas.

I moved the branches that were in the planter on the east side of the driveway out to the area next to the road. Tomorrow I will move the other piles. I am putting them out by the roadway in preparation for hiring the guy with the large chipper.

Talked with Scott and Brian out in the roadway as Scott was repairing the road in the intersection of Holowai and Palaoa where someone on an ATV had driven in a tight circle creating a circular rut. Asked them for recommendations for an electrician and a plumber. Scott said he knew a plumber who lives in Discovery Harbor and he will get me his phone number.

Continued with moving branches out to the road.

Sunday 1/9/2022

The weather has been great so far. The temperature gets up to 80 degrees during the day (with high humidity). Yesterday and this morning, the ground and the proch were wet, so it must have rained over night.

I tie the two gas cans on top of the car in the luggage rack. I don’t want the smell of gas in the car and one of them leaks, but I don’t remember which one. I throw some empty soda jugs and one gallon milk jugs into the back of the Escape. I may as well get some water while in town.

The car won’t start!

Dead battery!

I still have the battery from the solar system up by the car, so I hook it up and the car starts right up. I guess I’ll be going to Ocean View to the auto parts store for a battery. I can get ice and water there also, and I can check the price of gas.

It is Sunday!

The auto parts store is closed!

Gas is $ 4.59. In Naalehu, it is $4.42.

A letter I had sent to mom had been returned to the post office box because it had the wrong address on it. I had readdressed it in a new envelope so I dropped this off in the mailbox. I also got a bag of ice.

I get gas in Naalehu and head home. I forgot to get water!

The solar panels are producing 12.8 volts, so I turn on the refrigerator. I put the two freezer packs in the freezer compartment along with the small ice cube tray to see how it goes. Put the ice in the ice chest where the milk, eggs, juice, etc., are.

I carry more limbs out to the roadway. Then I start to build the frame for the walk-in gate. I cut some corrugated roofing into four triangles – 13″ on the two sides – and hammer them flat taking out the corrugations. Then I fold over each edge creating a hem all the way around each triangle. I screw one of these on each corner of the gate and attach the eyebolts that will serve for my hinges.

The gate looks great hanging in place.

I put some gas into the chipper and proceed with some small branches I had piled up next to the chipper. Doing great – for about 30 minutes – then one branch gets clogged inside the chipper and shuts it off. That’s just as well as it is now 5:00 I was going to shower today. The water was hot at 2 PM, but now it is barely warm. Maybe tomorrow.

Dinner is baked beans and Spam.

Monday – 1/10/2022

The car started this morning, so I loaded up all the empty bottles and went to the water station at the waste transfer location in Waiohinu. It took me over an hour to fill about 30 two liter soda bottles, a 5 gallon jug, 6 one gallon milk jugs, and three other gallon sized jugs. If I had 4 ten gallon containers I could get just as much water in about fifteen minutes.

Back at the property, I unloaded the bottles of water and put the fence slats on the gate frame.

When I was creating the driveway, I dug a trench under the neighbor’s 1″ black water line that runs past the property. This black poly pipe extends for about 1/4 mile to Wakea Road where their water meter is located Everyone in this subdivision with county water has their water meter on Wakea or on Kama’oa Road. Then they lay a black poly pipe on the ground all the way to their property. I dug this trench and buried the pipe at the entrance to my driveway to protect it from damage as I drove into the property. I dug a trench abour 8 to 10″ deep – mainly by removing the rocks – and put a couple of inches of sand in the bottom of the trench before placing the pipe in the trench with more sand to cover the pipe. Then I filled the trench with what dirt I could find.

The last time I was here, I extended this for about 15 feet towards the east from the driveway. Today, I dug out the rocks from under the pipe for another 20 feet or so to bury it in front of the walk-in gate. This way, anyone walking through the gate will not trip on the pipe, or damage it. Now I need some sand.

It is now 3 PM. time for a shower. I took 5 two liter soda bottles full of water that had been sitting out in the sun all day, down to my shower – a five gallon bucket with a hose attached to the bottom and a shut-off valve in the hose.

The bucket is hung from a tree branch about 10 feet in the air with a pulley. I lower the bucket, add my hot water, hoist the bucket into the tree, turn on the valve and I have a hand-held shower. I have a hand-held hot/warm shower. I turn on the valve long enough to get wet, then turn it off while I soap up all over before turning it back on and rinse off until the water is all gone. Crude, but effective.

After the shower, I do some laundry.

Tuesday – 1/11/2022

Yesterday, I had created a large pile of branches in the upper portion of the driveway, so today I ran them through the chipper. I tried to move the car out of the driveway, but the battery is dead! Started the car with the solar battery, and went to Ocean View for a battery. $140.00! I think I will put up the hammock and take a nap!

Oh, the plans of mice and men – they often go astray! No hammock! That is to say, I DO have one, I just didn’t use it to take a nap! Instead, I continued working on moving the branches we piled up on the last trip. I started with the pile closest to the road – the largest one. I carried the branches up to the chipper and used the clippers to cut off the branches that would go through the chipper. The larger branches, I carried up to the piles by the road. After completing this pile, I now have a pile next to the chipper, so I started the chipper and ran them all through. I had a pile about 10 foot long and 10 foot wide and eight foot tall. Running this through the chipper, reduced the size to what would fit in two 55 gallon drums. It was now about 4:30, so I started on dinner.

I took a red bell pepper and cut it into chunks about 1 ” square. Then I did the same with a zuchini squash. When I was in Ocean View, I went to the grocery store and bought some zuchini squash, some yellow crookneck squash, a can of pineapple chunks, a can of peach slices, and a can of mushroom pieces. I also got a cheap bottle of wine. I put a dab of margarine in my large fry pan and put it on the stove. When the margarine had all melted, I added the bell pepper and zuchini, some salt and pepper, and about 1/4 ” of water in the pan. I put a lid on the frypan and let it simmer on as low of heat as the stove would go. When the water was almost all gone, I added another dab of margarine and let this melt to cover everything in the pan (about 10 seconds), and then I scooped that out onto a plate. That was one of the best meals I have cooked there.

Saturday – 1/15/2022

The days seem to blend into one another when I am here. I had to stop and think about what day it was, and I was surprised to learn that it is Saturday morning already.

On Wednesday morning, I started the coffee on the stove and took my house numbers (4″ tall numbers that have a small hole in the top and the bottom part of each number so that they can be attached with a small nail) up to the gate to see how they would look once they are installed. I have drilled out the small holes so that a 1/8″ bolt will go through. I have 4″ long bolts with the idea to have the numbers stand out away from the gate, instead of mounted tight to the wood. By using a nut, I can fasten the letter at the bolt head, and then another nut 1″ from the end of the bolt will act as a stop on one side of the wood slat and another nut on the back side of the slat to hold it all in place.

I took the numbers up to the walk-in gate just to see how to lay them out on the gate. I ,looked at different layouts – evenly spaced across the top of the gate, vertically on the left side, vertically down the middle – and settled on at an angle starting at the top left corner angled down towards the bottom right. I got the drill, a wrench that fit the nuts, and a screwdriver, and started to install the numbers. I ended up 8 nuts short, the last two numbers are on the bolts with no nuts, but the hole I drilled in the gate slat is small enough that the bolts are in snug.

This took me about 2 hours. I gathered up the tools and put them away in the shed. then I went back to the kitchen to discover that I had left the coffee on and it had boiled dry. The handle on the coffee put had started to melt, as well as the little clear plastic knob on top.

I turned everything off. When it had cooled, I scrubbed the inside to get the burned coffee smell out. That night, when I made coffee in the coffee pot, it seemed none the worse for wear. The rest of the day was spent hauling branches either up to the road or up to the chipper.

Thursday and Friday were spent working under the original platform. I am enlarging the footings so I can build 16″ square block solumns and raise the deck to 8′ high – making it a flat topped gazebo so I can move my kitchen underneath.

Thursday night dinner was squash, bell pepper, onion, mushroom and a little bit of pineapple sauteed in a bit of merlot wine. Not great! It was edible, the mushrooms and pineapple were an improvement but the wine took away the squash taste, and that is what I liked before. Then I started the coffee, washed the dishes, and went down to the shed to make my nightly phone call home. After the phone call, I played games on my tablet, and went to bed.

In the morning, I realized that I had left the coffee on the burner all night long! The handle of the coffee pot is hanging at a weird angle, and the little plastic knob is gone. It has totally melted and is a puddle of goo at the bottom of the coffee pot. A total loss! And all that propane – wasted!!

Saturday – 1/15/2022

Slept in today until 9 AM. What’s up with that? I opened the can of peaches for breakfast. Removed the forms from the expanded concrete footings under the deck. And tried out one of the screw jacks I had brought for lifting the deck.

Then I started cutting and fitting the blocking in the rafters in the roof of the shed above the beams. I installed the blocking in 2 of the walls as I was building it, but ran out of blocking material for the other two.

The blocks at the corner take more time as they have multiple angles to figure out and to cut. Today, I have all the blocks in place except for two at one corner.

I went to the U-Cart Concrete place in Ocean View for sand and propane. Wouldn’t you know it? They close at noon on Saturdays! So, I went to Ace Hardware and picked up four broken bags of mortar mix for 25% off and filled the propane tank.

I had created another small pile of small branches by the chipper, so when I got back to the lot, I ran them through the chipper.

I got tired of walking around the pile of block in the driveway, so I started to move them to the pallet I used to use for taking a shower in the clearing for the building. This took the rest of the afternoon.

Sunday – 1/16/2022

Today was a clean-up kind of day. I finished moving all the branches from the driveway clearing that Sean and I had cut on the last trip.

Then I moved all the branches from the original building pad out to the piles by the road.

For lunch, I ate some of the smoked sausage. Then I built a rock wall across the garden below the deck using the rocks I had dug out to enlarge the footings. There was quite an empty hole behind this rock wall, so I took all the small branches from the pile between the deck and the fence (one of the first piles we created over a year ago – or more) and put them behind this wall. They were brittle and easily broken when I stomped on them. Some of the larger branches had begun to rot and deteriorate, So I threw this there as well. I was able to reduce this pile by a third by doing this. The larger branches that were left, I took up to the piles by the road, and the rest of the smaller branches were taken to the driveway by the chipper. At around 2:30, the clouds had all moved in and it started to lightly sprinkle while I was doing all this. At 3:30 I took a shower. Then I lay down in the hammock for 30 minutes. I would have stayed there longer, but the shower had washed off the bug repellant so the flies were bothering me. So, I got up and started dinner. It was still sprinkling – just a very fine mist of rain, and I looked up while preparing dinner to the north and east and I was pleasantly surprised to see a full rainbow.

As I watched it, the colors became darker and more pronounced. Then I noticed a faint outline of a second rainbow above the darker one.

They both were full rainbows and went from the ground on one side to the ground on the other side. Absolutely gorgeous!

Monday – 1/17/2022

Another clean-up day. On past trips we had created three large piles of branches and limbs along the east side of the property. I have been ignoring them hoping they would go away – but they haven’t. The one closest to the deck, I took care of yesterday, which geve me the energy to tackle the other two. Again, the larger branches were carried out to the piles in the roadway. The smaller branches had been there so long that they were either very brittle, or they were in an advanced state of decay. Along side the fence at the east side of the property, there was an indentation about a foot deep, and three feet wide, and twenty feet long. I filled this with branches and then stomped on them. This crushed the branches and broke them into pieces about 6 to 8 inches long. I did this three or four times, and took some of them over to the chipper until the pile was gone, and the indentation was filled in. The last pile, I carried over to the chipper, or threw out onto a pile at the road.

Piles gone from along east property line.

I started the chipper and in about an hour, I had this pile all chipped and chopped. Then I gathered all the chipped pieces and skattered them on top of the end of the driveway where I had built a rock wall. I have been throwing my garbage here, so these chips all covered the garbage nicely.

Then I went to Ocean View to the U-Cart Concrete place and got six bags of sand. I used the bags from the 60 pound concrete mix. This sand is to put around the pipe I am burying in front of the walk-in gate. I also did some grocery shopping, and went to the post office. I needed to buy a stamp for a letter, but they were closed. I thought they were closed because it was 4 PM, but they were closed because it is Martin Luther King Day.

So, I went to Whittington Beach Park. Since it was a federal holiday, I figured I could take a break. In the parking lot at Whittington Beach, there was a large motorhome – probably 40 foot long with Montana license plates, and a one ton chevy truck with a quad cab and dual rear wheels. This truck had license plates from Alberta Canada. I wonder how they drove those two here from Montana and Canada!

I had gotten the phone number of an electrician and a plumber from the guy at the U-Cart Concrete place, so I called them both. the electrician will be in Naalehu on Wednesday, so we can get together then. The plumber did not answer, so I left a voice mail message.

Then I went back to the property and had dinner. After dinner, the moon came up – a full moon, but it peeked out from under the clouds at the horizon, and within minutes it had gone up behind the clouds and was gone.

Tuesday – 1/18/2022

I’ve been intending to work on the columns under the deck ever since I arrived, but I have managed to get sidetracked with chipping, and clean-up, and lob/branch piling at the roadway. Now that all that is done – I guess that today is the day to start laying block on the footings I have expanded at each corner of the deck.

In one of my checked bags, I brought two screw Jacks along with two pieces of 1 1/2″ pipe about 30″ long. Using these, I can raise the deck a little at a time, placing blocks under as I lift.

When I was expanding the footings, I had 4 x 4 posts supporting the deck and sitting on the footings. The new footings encased the lower ends of these posts, so I had to cut them off level with the top of the footings. Then I laid two block side by side to create a 16″ square column. I alternated the direction of the block on each subsequent row.

I was able to raise the deck high enough with the screw jacks to lay three courses on each corner column – to get 24″ tall. I did the two at the south end of the deck first, and then I could start on the two at the north end of the deck.

As I was raising the north end, it became very unstable and the whole deck started to shift. Apparently, as I was raising the north beam, it was also raising the southeast corner leaving only the southwest corner sitting on the stable pile of block I had put under each corner as a safety measure. I was able to raise the north beam so the deck was level. I placed block piles under the north beam in two places to support it while I laid the block. I noticed that it was 3:30PM I wanted to mail a letter. The Post Office closes at 4PM and I need to buy a stamp. So, I got in the car and hustled down to the post office in Naalehu. It was raining in Waiohinu as I went through.

When I got to the post office in Naalehu, there were 20 to 25 people standing in line to get into the post office lobby. Due to the pandemic, they only allow one person in the lobby at a time and they only have one clerk. I’ll mail my letter tomorrow!

I got a voicemail from the plumber I had called. He has too much work and is not interested.

Back to the property, where I heated some water and took a hot shower – Then I fixed dinner – now off to bed.

Wednesday 1/19/2022

Continued to lay block on the north columns under the deck. They are all up to three courses high.

Around 2 PM I went to the post office in Naalehu, bught stamps and mailed my letter. Then I drove to Kona. Alanah arrives tonight at 9:30PM. I did some shopping in Kona – bought some tee shirts, 2 coffee cups to replace the ones I have broken, some concrete, bolts, and went grocery shopping. watched the blazing red sun dip into the ocean from a clear sky. The only clouds were behind me around the volcano. Hualalai was totally engulfed in clouds from about 3,00 feet elevation. Went out to the airport – to the cell phone parking lot – and waited for Alanah’s plane to come in. The plane arrived at about 8:50 PM – 30 minutes early. She got her luggage about 45 minutes later, and he took off for Naalehu. We arrived at the property at about 11:30 PM and promptly went to bed. It was a little chilly, but not cold, when we went to bed. Around 2 or 3 in the morning, it got cold. Also, the air bed was losing air. There must be a hole in it somewhere. We reinflated the bed and added another blanket and tried to go back to sleep.

Thursday – 1/20/2022

Slept in until 8:30. Very restless night. Had to reinflate the bed two more times.

We loaded all the 2 liter soda bottles and the 1 gallon milk jugs into the car and drove into Naalehu. Went to the gas station and bought gas for the car. Paid $4.42 per gallon. When we were in Kona yesterday, the best price I saw was $4.59, with most of them at $4.64. Thank you President Biden!!! Stopped at the park in Waioninu to fill the water jugs from the public water station. There are two hose bibs here for people to get water. There is also a restroom with flushing toilets and sinks with running water. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the county has kept the restrooms locked. They even installed additional steel gates over the openings. They placed three port-a-potties in the parking lot for people to use instead of the restrooms. I guess this is to stop the spread of covid. My thinking is that if there were restrooms with flushing toilets and sinks with running water where people can wash their hands after going to the restroom, then these people might leave their covid cooties behind to infect others, but with port-a-potties, only the insane (or the truly desperate) would go into these smelly, disease ridden, hell-holes. and anyone who goes into one deserves the results and will most likely get bubonic plague, the black death, or anything other than covid.

Back to the property, I raised the deck to lay one more course of block on each column.

Friday – 1/21/2022

I spent $26,000.00 today that I don’t have.

I met with an electrician who lives in Hawaiian Paradise Park. His price for my $1,500.00 worth of electrical is $9,000.00. plus $3,000.00 to the electric company just for the priveledge to hook up.

I called another plumber and met with him at noon. He wants $7,500.00 to install $2,000.00 worth of plumbing pipes. Also, the solar water heater will cost $6,500.00. I will never use $6,500.00 worth of hot water!! I fugure that I’m paying $15,000.00 to satisfy governmental stupidity!! As for the environment – the damage to the environment from the manufacture, shipping and installation of this system will be far greater than the damage to the environment from my hot water usage – even if I burned dirty coal to heat the water! The price to live in a “civilized” society!!!

We went to the new farmer’s market in Waiohinu to view the artwork created by our neighbor Scott. While we were there, we bought a papaya.

We returned to the property about 1 pm and it started to lightly rain. I completed laying block on the columns under the deck so each column had four courses while Alanah proceeded to jab a piece of wood into her leg while moving some branches out to the road.

So, we stopped working for a little first aid. and a bit of refreshment.

Cut open the last coconut with the machete.

The water in my solar water heater isn’t heating up hot enough, so we heated water on the stove to take a shower.

Saturday – 1/22/2022

This is the day of every trip that I like the least – I would even say that I dread this day – the last full day before leaving – pack-up day. Everything must be packed up and put away.

Today I raised each corner of the deck with a screw jack so I had room to put two 2 x 4’s on top of the new corner columns and then two more at right angles to these. Then I lowered the deck so the beam was resting on each column. Then I removed the block piles and stacked all the block in a pile under the center of the deck.

I had a metal one gallon rectangular can of wood sealer/preservative which was about 1/4 full. I applied what was left in the can to the top surface of the deck, covering about 1/2 of the deck.

The can was rusting and I felt that when I returned on my next trip, I would find the bottom rusted out and the can empty so I might as well use it up.

There were three or four large branches down by the shower so I took these up to the piles by the road.

I moved the chipper further down the driveway and behind some trees out of sight and covered it with a tarp. We went into town to check the po box one last time. I moved the last two bags of mortar mix to the pie by the kitchen and put the two layers of plastic and a blue tarp over the pile. Then I secured it all with a rope.

Alanah packed up the kitchen stuff and put it into three tupperware style totes which we will put in the back of the car. We have not put away the stove yet as we will need it to fix dinner tonight, so we heated water and took a shower.

I took down the hammock.

As the sun was going down, Alanah cooked dinner and I took down the solar panels from the shed roof.

Tomorrow, our neighbor Bill will give us a ride to the bus stop at the chinese store in Waiohinu so we can catch the bus to Kona and a plane ride back to Arizona – Funtime is over!

Sunday 1/23/2022

We got up early, had a quick breakfast, put away the last of the kitchen and locked up the shed.

We made it to the bus stop in Waiohinu in plenty of time. And we sit and wait for the bus. It is supposed to be here by 8:30 and it is now 8:40. Alanah goes on line with her phone and finds out that all bus service is suspended today because of mandatory training! We call Bill. We ask him to take us back to the property. From there, I will drive Alanah in to Kona so she can catch the plane, and we will change my flight to another day.

When Bill arrives, he says that he needs to go to Kona to go to Costco this week anyway, so he offers to drive us to the airport. On the way, we learn about the history of the Chinese store, the hotel down the street where the new farmers market is being held, and other miscellaneous gossip.

We arrive at the airport in time to catch our flight. I give Bill the last $40 I have in my pocket to pay for the gas.

As we fly away from the island, we have a great view of the volcanoes. I can clearly see the snow at the summit of Mauna Kea – perhaps even some snow on Mauna Loa.

Civilization – Lights of the San Francisco Bay area.

Our flight takes us through Oakland. After an hour layover, we fly home to Arizona.

TTFN

Scott Manley

Our neighbor down the road is an artist. He takes pieces of slate that came from the roof of a historic church in Honolulu and carves a picture into them. Typically. the picture is Hawaiian based.

We went to the farmer’s market in Waiohinu where he displays his work on Fridays.

Here are a couple of examples of his work.

This one is quite detailed and he has put it into a frame.

He has some of his pieces on display in galleries around the islands. There is one on display in the Credit Union in Na’alehu.

TTFN

Hawaii Beckons

October 31, 2021

I am on my way back to Hawaii. Based on the recent actions of the government in Hawaii relating to the pandemic, I decided it would be in my best interest to get vaccinated. In some locations in Hawaii, you have to prove that you are vaccinated before they will let you go into a grocery store, restaurant, etc. So, in the middle of August, I got my first shot. 21 days later, I got the second. I had no reaction to either – apparently they forgot to put the government tracer into either of these injections – other than a sore spot on my arm where I was stabbed that could be covered with a tea cup. 15 days later, I was cleared to travel – that was October 27th.

I arrived at the airport in Phoenix at 6:30 am for a flight at 8:10 to San Diego. In San Diego, I’ll change planes for the flight to Kona. The line at the skycap was quite long, and it did not seem to be moving, so I went into the terminal. The lines inside at the service desk were even worse, but I found a kiosk where I was able to print my checked luggage tags.

As I was waiting in yet another line to drop off my checked luggage, a woman at another self-serve kiosk next to the luggage drop line, retrieved her luggage tag from the machine and turned around and got in line in front of me. There was one couple in front of her and they moved off to the counter as she was bent down trying to put her tag on her luggage, so I stepped around her. She tapped me on the arm and said, “I was there, you are in my place in line.” Then she moved around in front of me and added, “I was having issues.”

I didn’t think it would be wise for me to tell her that she was still having “issues”. She moved off to the next available agent, and I was called to another one as well.

I got through security rather easily and found my gate. It was 10 minutes to seven and they were boarding a flight to Sacramento. On the concourse was a Mexican food restaurant that had a breakfast burrito on the menu. It appeared that they were preparing to open at 7 so I got in line behind two other people. At 7:10 they had still not opened and the guy in front of me asked one of the workers, “What time do you open?”

“7:30” he replied.

The guy left and so did I.

At the gate, they had not started lining up to board, so I found a seat. At 7:37 they announced that they were waiting for one of the crew and as soon as they arrived, we would be on our way. It was 8:45 before we took off – I could have stayed in line and gotten my burrito. I only hope that I do not miss my connection in San Diego. I will probably not have time for pre-clear. The last time I went to Hawaii, I was able to pre-clear at the last stop before Hawaii, and receive a little blue wristband. Then when I arrived, they simply waved you through if you had a blue wristband. The airlines and th Hawaii Safe-Travels program had set this up to make it easier. I may not have time for this on this trip.

I am on the plane over the Pacific Ocean a few miles from San Diego!

Well, that was an adventure! Because we left Phoenix late,

we got in to San Diego late.

We touched down at 9:40 AM. Boarding for my next flight is scheduled for 9:45. I can only hope that the gate for the next flight is close by. I was one of the last to board in Phoenix – but i still got a window seat; row 26 – I think there are 30 rows in a 737 Max. Consequently, it was ten minutes after we touched down that until I got out of the plane I checked the monitors for my flight – Flight 4626. We arrived at gate number 4. There are 10 gates in this “pod”. Flight 4626 to Kona leaves from gate 12. I had to exit the secured area and go past the baggage claim area to get to the “pod” for gates 11 through 18. This meant I had to go throuigh TSA security again . Whoever planned this layout for the airport is certifiably crazy! By the time I had gone from one end of the airport to the other, and re submitted myself to the worthless nonsense of TSA, they were boarding the last group. Just after I got on the plane, and before I had found a seat, they announced “Boarding complete”. I barely made it.

The previous flight from Phoenix was totally full – not an empty seat on the plane. I shared row 26 with a young couple who looked to me to be Asian. They were definitely American, but possibly their grandparents had immigrated to the US from somewhere like China or more likely, Japan, because they had a slight asian look. For all I know, they may have been Middle eastern, or hispanic. I just noticed that they were not the midwestern American caucasian farmboy and girl. Does that make me a racist for noticing that they were different from me? Anyway, after I had gotten settled in my seat in Row 23 on the flight to Kona – and was pleased to see that I had the entire row, both sides of the aisle, to myself, when who should come walking down the aisle of the plane? This same young couple. I guess that boarding wasn’t as complete as they thought it was. What a coincidence, that we were on the same flight from Phoenix, sat in the same row, and are on the same flight to Kona, and will be sitting in the same row! We nodded a silent greeting of acknowlwdgement and they found seats across the aisle and put their carry on luggage in the overhead compartment.

As I said, the previous flight was totally full. On this flight, maybe 60% of the seats are occupied. There are 7 rows behind mine – each with 6 seats, three on each side of the center aisle – and there are a total of 7 people in these rows. From my row forward, each row probably has 4 people – most of the middle seats are unoccupied, unless it is a family or a couple flying together. I would guess that this plane would hold 180 passengers. It appears that there are maybe 100 on this flight.

When we took off from San Diego, we went up through a layer of clouds at about 6,000 feet. We’ve been flying northwest along the coast above the clouds for the last hour without a break in the clouds below. The clouds are not over land, just over the ocean. The ocean below is covered by clouds – solid cloud cover – for the first two hours of the flight,

then there are a few small spots where I can peek through and see the ocean. 3 hours after leaving San Diego, we are totally engulfed in clouds. We had been flying directly over a solid cloud cover, kind of like skipping over the clouds, for the last 10 or 15 minutes.

Now I cannot see past the wings, or above the plane, or below. I guess that is due to climate change – all the build-up of greenhouse gasses and carbondioxide – somehow I always thought that clouds were made up of water vapor – Who knew?

About an hour away from Hawaii all the clouds cleared up. There are a few clouds above us and a few below, but it is mostly clear. As we pass between the Big Island and Maui, the mountains on both islands have a ring of clouds around them like giant white lei’s.

The covid check was fairly simple – I showed them my QR code, which they scanned and saw I had uploaded my vaccination card to their website. Then they glanced at the hard copy of my vaccination card and checked my information against my government issued ID (my driver’s license) and I was good to go.

November 1, 2021

I spent most of the day today just getting organized. I put the solar panels on the roof and got the system up and charging the batteries. Then I sorted through the different totes in the shed and got out my kitchen stuff.

I put up a tarp over the kitchen – just tried to make it a bit more liveable.

Friday November 5, 2021

I took a shower today. This time with an actual shower head. When I would shower before, I would stand on a wooden pallet and dump water over my head from a 2 litre soda bottle that had been sitting out in the sun to warm up.

I could shower this way using 4 bottles. At first, I had difficulty washing my feet until I brought over a chair to sit in while washing my feet. In the morning, I would set the bottles of water out in the sun and at 3 or 4 PM, the water in them is quite warm – hot even.

I have drilled a hole in the bottom of a 5 gallon plastic bucket and installed a fitting to which I have attached a hose with a shut off valve and a shower head. Then I installed a pulley about 15 feet up in a tree and with a rope tied to the bucket, I raise the bucket up in the air after pouring four bottles of this hot water in the bucket. Then I can turn on the valve and have hot/warm water to shower with. There is not a lot of water, nor is there a lot of pressure, but I can get all wet before turning off the water. Then I can soap up all over and turn the water back on to rinse off. Actually, it is quite luxurious. Or, maybe it just feels that way!

For the past two days, I have been working on clearing an entry path from the road – an entry other than the driveway.

About 30 feet west of the driveway gates, I have dug footings for concrete and rock columns like the ones at the driveway for a 4′ wide gate. I have also been building a rock wall along the front property line from the driveway gates to these two columns.

From the new 4′ wide entry gate, I have carved out a pathway through the jungle and tried to level the ground as much as possible. The pathway angles from the gate back towards the site for the house. There were some small trees to be cut down, lots of bushes to be removed, and two large rocky humps to be leveled and used to fill in the low spots. I have also lined this pathway with short rock walls. Now I need 4 or 5 wheelbarrows full of cinders.

Two trips ago, I had brought a little cardboard box about 2 1/2 inches square. It was a small cube. Inside was what they called a “tomato bomb”. It was a roll of fibrous material with tomato seeds and fertilizer. Theoretically, you just add water and it “explodes” with tomato plants. Accidentally, I had stepped on the box. So, I took what was left of the roll and put it into the end of an upright hollow log about 2 feet long along with some leaves and dirt. Then I began watering it. I figured that the rotting log would provide some sort of nutrients for the tomato plant and I watered it for the next two weeks. Sure enough, three little tomato plants came up inside the end of the rotted log. I had also put a spoiled tomato into a 1 gallon plastic pot along with some leaves and dirt. I had been watering this as well as the tomato bomb. Two plants came up in the pot. All of these plants were about 10″ tall when I left to go back to the mainland. When I returned on my last trip, there was one tomato plant in the log and one in the pot. They were still about 10″ tall. They were barely alive and I started to water them again. They responded and grew to about 16″ tall in the following three weeks when I had to go back to the mainland.

When I returned this time, the one in the log is dead and brown. The one in the pot looked like it had wilted and fallen over the side of the pot and died. Weeds had grown up around the pot. I wanted the soil in the pot to try again, so I picked up the pot, only to find that there was still some slight green on the ends of the tomato vine buried in the weeds. As I lifted the pot, I felt it tear the roots of the tomato that had grown out of the bottom of the pot and into the ground below! OOPS! The tomato was about 16″ long with two branches at about 8″ from where it came up from the soil in the pot. I took this to a garden by the front gates and created a hole by moving some rocks.

Then I carefully removed the root ball from the plastic pot and placed it in the hole along with some leaves and soil, and I soaked it with lots of water. I propped up the branches. I soaked it with lots of water three times a day for three days. The first day, it wilted. The second day, it was still a bit green. The third day, the leaves started to pick up. It has been a week and it is actually growing. There are new leaves on it. I have staked it up to give it some support.

Saturday, November 6, 2021

I would not say that today has been a total loss, but it is close. I had arranged to go to Mountain View to pick up a queen bed this afternoon. I would go to Hilo in the morning for groceries, etc., and would stop in Mountain View on the way back and pick up the bed I had found online.

So, about 9:30 I headed off to Hilo. I was in no hurry – I had all day – and when I arrived in Hilo it was close to 11. There is a gas station in Hilo down by the bay where gas is always cheaper than anywhere else. So, I drove down there. It was closed! There were chain link fences all around the property and a backhoe sitting in the back. Apparently they are doing some repairs/remodeling/upgrading. Surely, there is another one of these in Hilo. I know of 2 over by Kona area of the same brand, so there must be others on this side of the island – of course, that could just be wishful thinking on my part.

My internet search is futile. I can’t get access to look up these gas station locations, but I do have phone service. I call Alanah. She’ll find them for me while she’s in Arizona. There are two. One north of Hilo, and one out towards highway 11 on the south end of town. That’s where WalMart and Home Depot are located, so, I decide to go that direction. She sends me the address and I start to head that direction. Just up the street from the gas station being remodeled is a Bank of Hawaii. It looks like people are going inside. The bank is open and it is Saturday! I need cash! I was able to stop, here and withdraw money from my account in Arizona.

As I am leaving, I remember the Farmers Market in downtown Hilo. It is just on the other block to the north of me, so I let myself get sidetracked again. I drive around the corner and find the parking lot. Unfortunately, I enter at the exit side. The road inside the parking lot is wide enough for only one car. If I meet up with someone who is going the right direction, I’m in trouble. I find a place to park. The only available spot. On this side of the road are tents selling jewelry, art, souveneirs, etc. On the other side of the road are the fruits and vegetables. I buy some tomatoes, green onions, and papayas. and go back to the car. As I begin to drive out the entrance (the only direction I can go because there is not enough room to turn around inside the parking lot) I meet up with someone who has pulled in. They were about three car lengths in and could have easily backed out and let me get out, but they just sat there looking at me. Well, I was the one who made the mistake, so I put the car into reverse and backed up until I backed into the parking spot I had just left. The other car drove past me and through the parking lot looking for a place to park. No spots available! They came back through once again. Nothing available. They left. Then I proceeded to drive out the entrance. If they had cooperated, they could have had the spot I was in, but they made their choice. Yes, I am a vindictive old man!

I find the gas station out by Hwy 11 and I fill up. $4.11 per gallon. Every other gas station is $4.34 or $4.39. A year ago I could get gas in Hawaii for $3.39 while gas in Arizona was $2.89. Thank you President Biden. Keep making those big bad awful corporations pay through the nose for higher taxes. Never mind that they just pass the cost on to the consumers in the form of higher prices! Economics 101 must not be a popular course in Washington!

Off to the lumber yard for parts for the new walk in gate. Then to the grocery store. Then I call the person selling the bed. She told me that they were leaving to take their kids to soccer practice in 5 minutes and would be in Hilo until 5 PM. Could I come back tomorrow?

“I live in Na’alehu”, I tell her. “I drove an hour and a half to get to Hilo today – I don’t want to do it again tomorrow!”

“Well,” she thought a moment. “Maybe we could put them in the back of the truck and meet you somewhere on the way to Hilo.”

“Sure.” I answered. “You pick a place”

“Let me talk to my husband and I’ll call you back.”

I called her back 15 minutes later.

“Oh, You didn’t get my text?” she asks.

“No, I didn’t”

“Well, we are so late now that we didn’t really have time to deal with this. But we can meet you tomorrow in Volcano”

“That’s still an hour’s drive.” I reply. “But I guess it is better than all the way to Mountain View.”

“Uh – OK – Well, then, we’ll see you tomorrow in Volcano”

“What time?”

“Huh?”

“What time tomorrow?” I repeat.

“Oh, . . . Uh . . . how about noon?” she said after coming back on the phone.

“OK”, I answered. “Where in Volcano?”

“Huh?” she stammered, “Oh, Uh, . . . the gas station.”

“Ok.” I replied. “I’ll see you tomorrow at noon at the gas station.”

I retrospect, I should have backed out of the whole deal.

Sunday, November 7, 2021

In the morning, I moved a few large rocks out of the driveway.

Then, about 10:30, I headed off to Volcano. I still had the lumber for the gate tied to the roof of the car and would use this as a platform for holding the bed. I made sure I had lots of rope.

What a difference a day makes. Yesterday, Mauna Loa was totally shrouded in clouds, all the way down to the highway. Today, it is absolutely clear. Not a cloud around the mountain.

Mauna Loa is not the typical volcano people picture in their minds when they think of a volcano. Most people imagine a steep sided pyramid type mountain like these inactive cones on Kilauea

Mauna Loa is a long gentle slope, more like what you would get when trying to pile up dry sand.

It is about 30 miles from Whittington Beach Park to Volcano. Whittington is right on the ocean and about three miles from Na’alehu. This makes it a long gentle rise in elevation to the 4300 foot level as you drive along Highway 11 between Mauna Loa and Kilauea to get to the town of Volcano which is about two or three miles east of the entrance to the Visitor’s Center for Volcano National Park.

I arrived at about 11:45 and went into the store at the gas station. I bought a roast beef sub sandwich and a bowl of chicken noodle soup. I ate 1/2 the sandwich and 1/2 the soup waiting for the sellers to show up.

At 10 after 12, she called. They were just pulling off the highway into Volcano and were almost there. I told her I was already here and what kind of vehicle I was driving. There was one other vehicle in the parking lot, so it would not have been difficult for them to find me, but I wanted to make it as easy as I could. They pulled up in a full size Dodge Ram pickup with the box springs and two mattresses in the back. The husband helps me put the box springs on top of the luggage rack, followed by the two mattresses. They look pretty good. One smells like they spilled a gallon of perfume on it. I give him the money and they leave. I tied the matteesses down and drove back down the mountain to Na’alehu at 45 miles an hour.

Queen Box springs and two mattresses – picked up in Volcano

When I arrived, I struggled with unloading them.

I got all three to the upper deck where I sprayed them with Fabreze and bug spray. Then I covered them with the big tarp I cover the car with because it was starting to sprinkle.

Monday, November 8, 2021

After breakfast, I decided to do a little chipping. I tried to start the chipper, but it just would not start. I made sure the fuel shut off valve was open and glanced in the tank to check if there was fuel. I pulled, and pulled on the starter rope, but no go. I figured that it was because of the carburetor. It was flooding out before, and I guess now it is not working properly at all. Possibly the float and needle are not working correct on the float bowl, so I decided to take the carburetor off and try to install the new one I had bought. I undid the fuel line clamps and removed the air filter holder. Then I removed the bolts holding the carburetor in place and pried the carburetor away from the fuel line. There is another hose fom the front of the carb that I’m not sure what it is for. Kind of like a vacuum hose on a car, but I don’t think that small engines have vacuum lines. But, maybe? Then It dawned on me that I had not shut off the fuel shut off valve. Gas should be pouring out the open end of the fuel line, but there was none. I looked closer into the fuel tank. The tank was empty. The bottom was wet and I must have seen the wetness and assumed there was gas in the tank. All this for naught. Well, I’ve already got it off, I might as well install the new one. But the new carburetor does not have a fitting to attach the additional hose. Wrong carburetor! Everything else is the same, but just no fitting for this hose. So, I put the old carburetor back on and swapped out the gasket at the top of the float bowl with the one from the new carb that is the wrong one.

I spread the mattresses out on the deck and sprayed them with the rest of the fabreze, then I went back to digging out the big rocks in the driveway. Did a little trimming of trees at roadway in preparation for lumber delivery. In the evening, I stacked the mattresses back up and covered them with the tarp.

Tuesday, November 9, 2021

More digging out of large rocks in the driveway.

Extending the driveway to the house pad.

Have spent a few hours using the clippers to cut the branches up into pieces two or three inch long since I cannot run them through the chipper. Spread out the mattresses. They do not seem to be drying out. Went down to Whittington Beach Park for a break. The other entrance just beyond the park is still closed and wrapped in red caution tape.

Wednesday November 10, 2021

I worked under the shed today, removing the large rocks and leveling out the dirt. Trying to create more under cover storage area. Now that I have created concrete pillars at three corners of the shed under the roof posts, the original bucket sized concrete supports and the double 2 x 6 beams under the floor rafters are redundant.

These are the original concrete pillarsm I am now removing from under the shed.

Along the north side of the shed floor, I have installed joist hangers on the ends of each floor joist to support them from the double 2 x 6 rim joist. I have removed the rocks and dirt from under one of these bucket sized supports and even removed the concrete support. Now I need to do the same with the other support and I can then remove the double 2×6’s.

I did some laundry today. I found some clothes in one of the plastic storage bins that had either gotten wet, or I had put them away when they were wet, and they have started to mildew. I washed these as well, and have everything hanging out on ropes strung between the trees.

I contacted the lumber yard about my delivery scheduled for tomorrow. Still on schedule. The driver will call me tomorrow with a more accurate time frame.

Thursday, November 11, 2021

Veteran’s Day – Being isolated here, it does not really matter when it is a holiday. Delivery driver called. Delivery will be around 4 PM tomorrow. I worked on cutting some of the overhanging branches at the driveway and next to the road to give more room for unloading. I’m not sure if I have cut enough, but we will see.

I talked with the neighbor, Bill. Asked if he could give us a ride to the bus stop in town on the 21st. Then I sharpened the chainsaw and did a little cutting. I also moved a few more large rocks from the driveway. In the large hump I am trying to do away with, there were four small trees with some little green berries – kind of like guavas, only a little different.

Spindly plants I think might be guavas..

I’m not sure what they are, but I dug the rocks out from around their roots and was able to get a large amount of roots and I transplanted them to a spot next to the gates. Not sure if I was successful, but I’ll know in a month or so. My tomato plant is 3 times the size it was before, and I have squash growing in two places.

Friday, November 12, 2021

Delivery truck came at about 3:30. He was able to unload with his forklift – even in the tight quarters I provided at the road by picking up a forklift load and then moving the truck.

He was gone at 4:30. He was even able to put the pallet of concrete and the two pallets of block inside the gate on the driveway near the walkway.

That will save me quite a few steps.

I went to Ocean View for milk and juice, and stopped to fill my empty water bottles at the water fill station there in Ocean View. It was more busy than I have ever seen it. 4:45 must be when others have finished work and can go get water. Most of them had large 200-300 gallon containers in the back of a truck or on a small trailer. Also, I think that this is the dry time of the year when there is not as much rain to fill their catchment tanks.

Saturday, November 13, 2021

Spent most of the day moving lumber from the roadway.

I started by cutting the 20 foot long rebar into ten foot lengths. I took them down to the shed and leaned them up against the sawhorse. I need to come up with a way to keep them from rusting.

I had spent most of friday leveling out under the shed, installing framing anchors on the floor joist, and removing the double 2 x 6 beam originally installed when building the shed.

I had also removed the concrete pillars I had poured on top of the hill I had selected for the location of the shed. I have removed much of the top of this hill. Today, I also have stacked the lumber under the shed – except for the two longer 4 x 10 beams. I’ll need help with those.

Sunday, November 14, 2021

Today, I spent time building the columns for the walk-in gate at the front of the property. I have gotten both up about 18″ tall. I have built a form about 16″ tall and 22″ square. I set this up over the footing and stacked rocks on the inside of the form as tight to the form and as tight together as I can, leaving the middle empty. Then I fill the inside with concrete and more rocks.

When I remove the form I hope to see more rocks than concrete, and by carefully removing the form, I can reuse it over and over again as the column gets taller. This is what I did when I built the driveway gate columns.

I did laundry today. After the laundry, I needed to go into town to get water. Went to the water station at the waste transfer station in Waiohinu instead of the one at the park – also in Waiohinu. At the park, there are only two hose bibs, but at the transfer station, there are 6. It takes me 45 minutes to fill all my 2 liter soda bottles, one gallon milk jugs, and other assorted plastic bottles I have saved. Others pull up with a 250 gallon metal framed tote and are able to fill this in the same amount of time. Some come woth multiple 5 gallon jugs or 55 gallon barrels and they are done in 10 to 15 minutes. I think I need to get larger containers.

Monday, 11/15/2021

Poured another “lift” on one of the walkway columns. Stripped the forms from the foundation at the SW corner of the shed. Installed sill plate and 2- 2 x 6 blocks – which will ultimately be replaced with the beam for the proch. removed the last two original double 2 x 6 supports for the floor joist, removed the rocks and dirt from where the concrete pillar was poured.

Went to Whittington Beach Park to use the shower there. It has rained most of the day and my water bottles have not heated up, so I may as well use their cold water instead of mine.

Tuesday, 11/16/2021

For the last few days, every time I went into the shed, I have felt that the floor slants from the North to the South – (not that I would have built it that way . . . I would have built it level – honest. Trust me!) When I put a level on it, the southeast corner IS an inch lower than the northeast. Hmmm! I wonder if my activity to reinforce the foundations has caused this? Well, I took the shoring jacks that I had used to support the southwest corner when I replaced the wood post with a concrete column and I used them (along with the car jack) to lift the southeast corner. Then I put a 1″ block under the porch beam that supports the corner post to bring it all in level again. We’ll see if this changes over time.

The sun was out with not a cloud in the sky when I started this project. The clouds have moved in as I was finishing up. I still need to put the twin bed in the tent and put the queen bed into the shed in preparation for Alanah and Sean arriving tomorrow.

Early this morning I removed the tarp from over the queen mattresses on the deck so they could continue airing out. I discovered thet the tarps I had covered the mattresses with had leaked. The mattresses were soaked! Both of them! Back to square one! At that time, there was plenty of sunshine, but I knew I would need more than one day of sunshine to dry these out. I moved the twin bed into the tent and cleaned out the shed in preparation for the Queen bed. Then I worked on leveling the floor as described earlier. I then placed two pallets on the floor to lift the queen box springs and mattress off the floor and to provide some ventilation under it. Then I put some 2 x 4’s on the box springs with one mattress on these, thinking this would provide some ventilation between the box springs and the mattress to aid in them drying out. I also sprayed them with fabreze.

On each wall of the 10 x 10 shed, I have built a 3′ wide opening centered in the wall. I have built two 18″ wide doors for each opening. I have already hung the set in the north wall on hinges.

The other three sets are held in place with a 1 x board screwed across the opening and screwed to the doors. Today, I hung the set in the south wall. I have both sets of doors (in the north and the south walls) open tonight to provide ventilation and I will sleep in the tent.

Wednesday, 11/17/2021

Alanah and Sean are coming in to Kona tonight at 10:00 pm. I will go to Kona this afternoon to pick them up. I worked on another “lift” on one of the walk-in gate columns this morning, then I tried starting the chipper. It ran for about 30 minutes, then started coughing and sputtering before it died with gas pouring out from the top of the float bowl. I need to buy a new carb – the right one this time.

I took a shower with the new shower bucket set-up. Not a lot of pressure, not a lot of volume, but it works; and is better than dumping bottles over my head!

Around 2 pm, I went to Na’alehu to check the PO box – nothing there – then headed off to Kona. As soon as I got to South Point Road on Highway 11 it started to rain, and it rained all the way past Captain Cook. It was not raining in Kona when I arrived around 4 pm. Went to the farmwer’s market on Henry stret. There are only about half the number of venders as there used to be and these were all closing up for the day. I walked down Alii Drive along the waterfront to the ABC store and bought four tee shirts for $20.00. As I strolled back along Alii Drive, I stopped in at an Art Gallery that had some interesting paintings and carvings. After leaving the gallery, I returned to the car and headed off to the thrift store up by the lumber yard. They were starting to close up as I walked in, but I was able to get a spatula and another large quilt and a tea kettle. I stopped in at the lumber store for a short piece of 1/2″ pipe for my hinge pivot for the walk-in gate, then to the grocery store. After groceery shopping, I went to my favorite chicken fast food restaurant, but they were all out of chicken! All the other fast food type places were also closed as it was after 7 pm. So, I went to a different grocery store and got a bowl of rice with teriyaki chicken from their deli section. I took this out to the airport to the cell phone lot and joined approximately 20 other cars waiting as well. Around 10:15 I got a call from Sean. They were at the baggage carousel waiting for their luggage. Alanah’s phone was dead. He would call when they had their luggage. It was close to midnight when we arrived at the property. I had put the second twin mattress in the tent and made up both beds as I knew we could not sleep in the shed on the wet, smelly queen bed. Alanah and Sean slept in the tent, and I slept in the back of the car.

Thursday, 11/18/2021

Raining – not real hard – but enough to make it difficult to get up any ambition to do any work. The queen mattresses were smelling awful. We loaded them on top of the car and took them to the waste transfer station ( the garbage dump). That’s why I stated earlier that Saturday November 6th was almost a total waste.

Then we went to Punalu’u Bakery and to Whittington Beach where we did not get out of the car because of the rain. After sitting in the parking lot for about ten minutes, we drove over to Punalu’u Black Sand Beach. As you leave the highwat to get to Punalu’u Black Sand Beach, you must drive past the Sea Mountain Golf Course and condominium complex. At the edge of the development, there is a road that goes between the golf course and the ocean. Actually, this road is about 2 to 300 yards off the shore line with rugged undeveloped land between the road and the shore. We found a road that headed off into this undeveloped area commonly known as Ninole Cove, and drove out towards the ocean. There is no sandy beach here, but on a better day – one without the overcast and the rain – it might be a place to come to swim. After exploring here a bit, we went to Punalu’u Beach to see the turtles. Away from the area most frequented by the tourists, there is a rather large tide pool. As we were exploring here, we saw a large green sea turtle inside this tide pool. The tide pool is about 100 feet across, so there was plenty of room for the turtle.

It must have gotten in during high tide and now it cannot get out. It will have to wait for the next high tide.

On the beach in the tourist area, someone has built rock walls outlining a rectangular are about 70 or 80 feet long and extending about 30 feet from the shore. There are signs just inside the rock walls telling people to stay out and to maintain a 20 foot distance from the turtles. Inside this rock wall enclosure, there was one turtle measuring about 4 feet across its shell. It was just laying in the sand and I could not tell if it was dead or alive. The turtle was about a foot away from the rock wall with tourists on the opposite side of the rock wall barrier.

I thought that they need to teach the turtles to stay 20 feet away from the rock walls. This should be easy since, they have obviously taught the turtles to come ashore only inside this enclosure and no where else on the 500 to 600 foot long crescent shaped beach area. Additionally, out in the water about ten feet from shore, was another turtle battling the waves as it fed off the growth on the rocks. Eventually, it came up close to the shore.

It was more interesting to watch the tourists than the turtles, and after watching both for a bit, we headed off to Ka Lea – South Point. When we arrived, there were quite a number of people here. Down the coast towards the lighthouse beacon there were people who had set up rather elaborate tents over and around their cars/trucks. It appeared that they intended on staying for quite some time. Most of these had large ocean style fishing poles propped at the edge of the cliff with their line extending far out into the ocean.

While we were there a group of four young men in their 20’s came out to the cliff edge and proceeded to entertain us with dives and flips from the cliff into the water some 30 feet below. Then the rain started. Within a few minutes it was raining quite heavily so we headed back to the car. We then went into Ocean View for eggs and milk and ice.

As Alanah worked on dinner, I inflated the queen air mattress in the shed and put sheets and blankets on it in preparation for tonight.

Friday – November 19, 2021

In contrast to the overcast gloom of yesterday, this morning we woke to sunny skies. This lasted until about 2 pm when the clouds moved in once again.

However, I was able to remove the form from the gate column and raise it up for the last “lift” on the far west column. Alanah lined the inside of the form with rocks and Sean and I filled the inside with concrete and more rocks. Then we did some clearing at the east edge of the building pad and the end of the driveway to connect the two.

With two of us, we were able to accomplish quite a bit of brush/branches clearing. We discovered two or three guava trees in the area we cleared and tried not to disturb them. In the afternoon, I removed the form from the west gate column and installed it on the east column for the last “lift”.

We had enough hot water from the water bottles for all each of us to take a shower with the bucket shower. After dinner, we sat around in the kitchen area and played backgammon until time to go to bed.

Saturday – November 20, 2021

Alanah lined the inside of the concrete form I had installed for the last “lift” on the walk-in gate columns while I made a form with narrow pieces of the corrugated roofing for the top of the west column just as I had for the columns for the driveway gates. Sean and I poured concrete into both of these forms, and afterwards, I formed the cap for the east column.

Alanah started packing up in preparation for leaving tomorrow. We are all catching an 11:00 AM flight out of Kona to return to AZ. This is the part of each trip that I like the least. Obviously. As Alanah was packing, Sean and I did more chainsawing and clearing.

In the afternoon, I removed the solar panels from the roof of the shed, and put away all the tools and materials as Alanah packed up the kitchen, leaving only what we would need for dinner and a quick breakfast in the morning.

Sean and I poured the cap on the last gate column and propped up a piece of siding plywood in the gate opening to similate a gate.

Walk-in gate with cap forms still on and plywood siding to similate a gate.

By heating a bit of water on the stove in the two tea kettles, we were each able to take one last hot shower.

Sunday – November 21, 2021

Up early. Got a lot to do this morning before the neighbor comes to give us a ride into town to the bus stop at the Chinese Store. We folded up all the bedding and put it into plastic totes along with some little packets Alanah brought that are supposed to help keep away mildew and mold. I deflated the queen air bed and put it away back into the box it came in and moved the twin mattresses down into the shed from the tent. Sean took down the tent and we all had a bowl of cereal for breakfast. We put the last of the kitchen items into the back of the car and took down the tarp over the kitchen. The neighbor arrived and we caught the bus into Kona, arriving just in time to go through TSA security and line up to get on the plane.

As we flew out and away from the island, we were able to get a good view of the two major volcanos – Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa – both with snow on their peaks.

TTFN

Hawaii 1962-63

When I was 6 years old, my family moved to Hawaii. We lived on Oahu in a small town on the northeast corner called Laie.

We were in Honolulu a number of times. On one of these times, we visited the Aloha Tower.

In order to get from Laie to Honolulu, it was necessary to go over the Pali. Here is a photo looking towards Honolulu from the Pali.

Somewhere on Oahu are these tunnels to get through the mountains. I’m not sure if they are/were on the highway from Honolulu to Kaneohe, or some other highway.

Another place we went to was Punch Bowl. This is a large extinct crater where a veteran’s cemetary has been built. Originally, they buried thousands of military personnel killed in the December 9 attack in 1941 here.

We also went to a sugar cane field

As well as a pineapple plantation

Another place we visited was the International Market Place

We went out to where they were growing taro

One day we took a drive up into the hills to pick guava

We ended up at this waterfall.

I’m not too sure what this waterfall is called, but I think that the one in the following photos is Laie Falls

In June, they celebrate King Kamehameha Day to honor their past royalty. They have parades in Honolulu as well as most of the other large cities such as Kona and Hilo. we also had a celebration in Laie at the elementary school.

There were many other celebrations at different times, but I do not recall the purpose of these. Maybe to celebrate statehood?

Whatever the celebration, the Luau was always the best part.

We spent lots of time at the beach

This is me trying to husk a coconut. We used to stab a pick into the ground and use the sticking up point to tear the husk off coconuts.

Yeah, I used to be cute.

ttfn

Hukilau

A Hukilau is a way of fishing. It comprises a large net with a rope around the net that has ti leaves tied to the rope. The ti leaves would scare the fish into the net as the community of people would all pull on the rope, making it close up the net. Everyone who participates, shares in the catch.

When I was young, we did a similar hukilau, but instead of one big net, each person had a small net. The group of people in the water would cause the fish to swim around and hopefully, they could be caught by the individual nets.

There is a song and a traditional hula that is associated with this community activity.

Two haole wahines doing the Hukilau hula.

The hukilau song

Jack Owens

Da-ba, da-ba, da-ba, da-ba
Da-ba, da-ba, da-ba, da-ba

Da-ba, da-ba, da-da, da-ba, da

Oh, we’re going to the hukilau
Huki, huki, huki, huki, huki, hukilau
Ev’rybody loves the hukilau
Where the lau lau is the kau kau at the hukilau

We throw our nets out into the sea

And all the ama ama come a-swimming to me

Oh, we’re going to the hukilau
Huki, huki, huki, huki, hukilau

What a beautiful day for fishin’
The old Hawaiian way
And the hukilau net was swishin’
Down in old Laie Bay

Oh, we’re going to the hukilau
Huki, huki, huki, huki, huki, hukilau
Ev’rybody loves the hukilau
Where the lovely hula hula maidens roll their eyes

The silvery moon is shinning above

The kanes and wahines

Sing a song about love

Oh, we’re going to the hukilau
Huki, huki, huki, huki, hukilau

The silvery moon is shinning above

The kanes and wahines

Sing a song about love

Oh, we’re going to the hukilau
Huki, huki, huki, huki, hukilau

Huki, huki, huki, huki, hukilau

Huki, huki, huki, huki, huki
Huki, huki, huki, huki, huki, huki, huki, hukilau

ttfn

Polynesian Cultural Center 1962

When I was 6 years old, my family moved to the town of Laie on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. We lived there for a little over 2 years. Our house was across the street from the beach, and down the street from where they built the Polynesian Cultural Center. Here are some photos of the construction taking place.

Not sure about the spelling, but I think this carver’s name is Seone Tuone Pulitao

These pictures were taken in late 1962/ early 1963. If anyone can identify the different “villages” and buildings contained in these pictures, I would greatly appreciate it.

TTFN