March 2020

As I look out the window, the only thing I can see is the ocean. And the wing of the plane, of course. There is a thin layer of clouds toward the horizon and below us, but looking directly down (as well as I can through the window of a plane) the water below us looks calm and blue.

The ocean looks calm from 40,000 feet up

We left Oakland behind about ten minutes ago just as most people were starting their day. Mine started around 3:38 this morning. For some reason, the alarm clock decided to sleep in and didn’t go off at 3:00 like it was supposed to, so I had to rush. The taxi I had arrainged for is early and waiting- but he’s not blowing his horn. I jump in the shower, brush my teeth, and throw the last few items into my carry on bag and head out the door. It is now 4:05 AM. Still ten minutes earlier than I had scheduled for the Taxi.

The drver’s name is Robert – I would guess he is in his late 30’s or early 40’s. He tells me that he lives in the Phillipines 6 months out of the year and drives a taxi in Phoenix the other 6 months – which pays for the 6 months in the Phillipines. He has a buddy who has a 30 foot sailboat in San Diego and is planning on sailing to Hawaii in about a year. He mentioned this because he saw my sailboat in the RV driveway on the side of the house. He does not like all the development along Tempe Town Lake, but what can you do? He thinks that all the buildings have ruined the view. I didn’t ask what view is he referring to? The things that taxi drivers talk about on a ten minute ride to the airport!

There is no line at the TSA check point at the airport, but they have a new x-ray machine. It uses larger plastic trays and everything goes into a tray. No need to remove anything like your laptop from your luggage. But you still have to remove your shoes.

Both of my carry on bags – OK, my carry on bag and my “personal item” – were shuttled to the side for further checking. The new machine cannot see thru the aluminum inner lining of the cooler bag that has my cheese and sandwich meat. It also cannot tell the difference between a bag of rice and a bag of whatever white substance might be in a bag the size of a 2 pound bag of rice.

I slept on most of the flight from Phoenix to Oakland. We left Phoenix around 5:30 AM and arrived in Oakland at 6:30. It was a two hour flight, and California is one hour behind Arizona – at least, it is at this time of year.

My flight from Oakland to Kona left at about 8:00 AM. As we were boarding, there were maybe a dozen families with small children getting on the same flight. I was not looking forward to lots of crying and screaming in the near future! As I board, all the window seats in the first 15 or 20 rows are occupied – I am flying Southwest Airlines where they do not assign seats – so I move on back. At row 20, I see an open overhead bin and put my roller bag into the overhead compartment, but I take my back pack with me to row 25. I place my backpack in the overhead bin and sit in seat “25F” – the window seat.

I am joined a short time later by an elderly couple who appear to be in their late 70’s or early 80’s – Earl and Sally. I ask Earl, “So are you two on your honeymoon?” He smiles and chuckles. He tells me that they are headed to Kona on vacation. He asks where I’m headed, and I tell him a little about the property and the work ahead of me to tame the jungle. We talk a bit about Hawaii and of course, Pearl Harbor. He was in the Navy and was stationed at Pearl for a while. I didn’t mention about my Dad being at Pearl towards the end of WWII. He told me that they had recently been to Alaska. He was not as impressed with the whales and glaciers as Sally was, but “it was still nice” he adds. He said that when they returned home to Pittsburgh, he heard someone on the radio saying that it was colder in Pittsburgh that day than it was in Anchorage.

We are at 36,000 to 40,000 feet and about half way down to the ocean is a layer of white fluffy clouds like cotton balls.

There are a few openings in the clouds directly below us where I can see the ocean, but off towards the horizon, it is a thick blanket. The clouds are still gathered and bunched at the horizon. As I gaze at the later below, I follow them to the north. It appears that the clouds rise up and extend to the 40,000 feet elevation we are at – I wonder if that is some kind of ocean storm gathering there. About an hour before we arrive in Kona, the clouds below us clear away and I can see the blue ocean. This is one big ocean!

The flight attendants have passed out the mandatory agriculture forms. One per family. You are to fill them out declaring if you are bringing any agricultural items – fruits, vegetables, plants, seeds, soil, etc. – with you. They collect these forms and the airline turns them in upon arrival. I wonder what the final destination is for these forms. Do they actually find their way to the Hawaii Dept of Agriculture? What do they do with them? With the vast number of people who come to Hawaii, there must be hundreds or thousands of these each month. Does someone do something with them? Collect the data and enter it into a conmputer? You are led to believe that if you bring something in and don’t declare it on the form, they will throw you in prison for the rest of your life, but I have yet to have anyone question me about them. I think that they just throw them into a bunch of cardboard boxes and then turn them into toilet paper. The number of these forms that they would get would require numerous data entry clerks, file clerks, along with the requisite supervisors, and acres of storage cabinets . I just don’t see the value of these forms other than as a deterrent with an empty threat. However, we ARE talking about government here, and government exists to spend money. I believe that they do this to provide the illusion that they are doing something worthwhile to protect the environment off Hawaii.

View of Haleakala Volcano from the plane as we head into Kona.

As we approached Hawaii, we flew over the SE corner of Maui, and over the channel that separates Maui and the Big Island. It was interesting to note that in the channel, there were white caps on the waves, but once past the channel to the south of Maui and to the west of Hawai’i, the ocean was flat and blue for as far as I could see out to the west – with no white caps disturbing the surface.

The plane banks to the left and we descend into the airport at Kona with Hualalai volcano off to the left. A soft landing and I have returned.

A little bird once told me . . .

One of my favorite spots to spend a few hours in the afternoon is along the shore line to the east of Whittington Pier. Whittington Pier is an old pier that has long been abandoned Also known as Honuapu, this was once the site of a busy sugar cane center with a huge pier that extended out into the bay. All that remains of the pier today is a rusted concrete skeleton that is battered by the waves. A tsunami in 1946 destroyed the pier which had been abandoned after the sugar industry ended in the late 1930’s. The area was turned into a park in the 1950’s

East of the park the shoreline is mainly short rocky cliffs which the waves crash against creating fantastic displays of water splashing high into the air. If you are too close to the shore when one of these waves come crashing, not only will you get drenched, but the force might just drag you out into the ocean. If you do, there is little chance of you being able to get out.

I was sitting under a tree watching these waves come crashing ashore, when a little brown sparrow came flying up to the edge of the shade from the tree. He lands on the green and black sand about 5 feet away with what appears to be a barbeque flavored potato chip in his beak. (her beak? – could have been). The bird looks up at me and studies me for a moment or two, decides that I’m not an immediate threat and bites down on the chip. Most of the potato chip falls to the ground in pieces while the little bird continues chewing. He reaches down and picks up a piece of the chip in his beak and bites down again, and then chews. Then he takes another bite and chews. Then he opens his beak as if he has a piece of the chip stuck in his throat and is trying to dislodge it. But he just stands there with his beak wide open. Maybe the barbeque flavor is getting to him and he is trying to “cool off” his throat. He looks around as if to say, “Anyone got a drink of water?”

After a moment or two, he returns to the potato chip and repeats the entire process. He does this until he has picked up all the pieces of the chip. Then he flies away.

A few minutes later, he returns to the same spot and begins sifting through the sand with his beak looking for any missed crumbs. He looks at me, and cocks his head sideways. Then flies away.

Crazyness

 This pandemic is crazy.  Maybe it’s just the people, but this is driving me up a wall.  

If the government thinks that someone has been killed, they cannot just start locking up everyone.  They have to be sure that they are locking up the correct person, and they have to have a warrant from a judge, etc.  With Covid-19, they have essentially locked up everyone without due process.  We are all locked up in house arrest.

Here is a chart of the top 5 causes of death in Australia.

Compare that with the covid-19 statistics:

They have a population of 

There have been a total of 26,651 Covid cases in Australia as reported on Sept 13, 2020That means that one tenth of one percent of the population has even contracted this disease and they have had 810 people die – that is .00257% of the population.  So everyone is locked up in their homes and they have to report their movements to the government.  They have to ask permission from the Federal Government to leave the country- and most requests have been denied.  This is to protect the citizens of Australia from the spread of Covid.  How does stopping someone from leaving protect the population from the spread of covid?  When someone leaves, they take their diseases that they are carrying with them,

 In 2018, Australia had 8,586 people die of Lung Cancer, (the third leading cause of death in Australia) and yet, cigarettes are still available to be purchased.  That should tell you how much the Australian /government is interested in protecting the health of the citizens.  It’s all about control.  Control through fear!  Covid-19 does not even come close to making the list of the top causes of death.

What is scary, is that the majority of people in Australia, support this madness!

Background

For the past ten years or more, we have been going to different locations looking for that perfect place for a beach getaway.  Well, we still have not found it, but we bought two 1/2 acre lots in Hawaii a year and a half ago.

We traveled to Mexico – Rocky Point (Puerto Penasco), Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, Ensenada, and the Yucatan.  We went to Aruba, to the Bahamas twice, Florida, California, Fiji twice, and Australia many times.  Everything was just too expensive.  We went to Kauai, and every morning at around 9 am, a little rain cloud came in from the ocean and rained for maybe five or ten minutes – a very light rain shower – and then moved off.  It wasn’t until we had spent a week there that we figured out why.  Prices on Kauai are so high, that not even Mother Nature can afford to stay very long.

We found that land on the Big Island (the island of Hawai’i) was more in line with our budget, so we started looking.  We looked around Kona, but it was too dry and too touristy.  At the north end around Hawi, prices were similar to on Kauai.  Hilo was the best as far as the climate we desired so we looked at property around Hilo.  Anything with a view of the ocean was way out of our price range.  We found the town of Ocean View.  It’s not really a town, more like a huge subdivision divided by the highway,  The lots up the hill (Mauka – away from the ocean) are one acre lots and start at an elevation around 2,000 ft. and go up to 5,000 feet in elevation.  In the upper sections, they get lots of fog as it is up in the clouds.  Below the highway (makai – toward the ocean) the lots are three acres.  I found a lot I really liked near the bottom of the subdivision at about 500 feet elevation with fantastic 180 degree views overlooking the ocean.  We made an offer that was not accepted – and were contemplating a counter offer, when my wife said, “‘It’s so ugly here!”  WHAT?  There is too much lava.  No vegetation.  So we looked at a subdivision over near the Volcano National Park.  The only lots where you could see the ocean were those directly on the ocean,  If you were 100 feet off the ocean, you had to get 50 feet in the air to see the water.  Then we found Mark Twain Estates near Na’alehu and South Point (Ka Lae).  The price was right.  It was in the jungle.  It is at 800 feet elevation and two or three miles from shore.  A little tree trimming and we’ll have a great ocean view. . . especially if we build the house 8 feet off the ground.  So that’s the plan.

Plans Received

I received the structural calculations today ( 9/18/2020) from the Architect that were done by the structural engineer for  my Hawaiian Bungaloo.  I received the stamped and signed plans yesterday.  Now, I can submit them to the County of Hawai’i for a building permit.  

Also, I transferred the final funds for the third lot in Mark Twain Estates.  This lot is slightly larger that the original two, and it is on the street to the north of the original two lots.  Escrow should close on Tuesday.

November progress

 Returned on Thanksgiving day from Hawaii.  

While there, I did a little (very little – the chipper jammed) clearing of limbs and branches in the lower section near the shed/cabin.  Most of the clearing took place next to and below the shed.  I cleared an area for my compost toilet. 

Set a pallet there to rest the toilet on, and built a wooden box with the toilet seat on top.  In the box, I set a 5 gallon bucket.  Next to the wooden box is a bucket of leaves to use as cover over the waste dropped into the bucket.  I took most of the limbs/branches from around the south side of the shed and used them to construct a screen/wall around the toilet/pallet. This serves two purposes – it provides a bit of privacy and clears up the are of downed branches. 

I used the chainsaw to cut three or four branches that were protruding towards the neighbor Lorenzo’s house.

I also finished the last of the rafters on the shed roof and installed the last of the roof sheathing boards on the overhang. 

I picked up two rolls of rolled roofing and one of 30 lb felt.  I used the 30 lb felt to continue the tarpaper down over the sheathing boards I installed, and then used the rolled roofing to cover the shed roof.  Two rolls – 2 squares – finished three of the four triangles.  Need to purchase one more roll.

I also worked some more on the walls.  I took off the corrugated roofing that I had tacked horizontally to the shed to enclose it from two sides.  I cut it and installed it vertically from the corner to the door opening, overlapping the panels as necessary.  I then cut some panels 40″ wide and used them stacked horizontally to enclose the doorways.

I worked on the pathway going from the upper section to the lower area by creating some steps using rocks as step risers

and backfilling the flat tread areas with sand from the beach area.

Return to Hawai’i during the pandemic

Just because you’re paranoid, doesn’t mean that they aren’t out to get you.

The first step is always the hardest.  I am a procrastinator.  I am also a worrier.  Once I finally push myself to take that first step, things usually work out for the best.  Not always the way I had envisioned, but at least not as bad as I has imagined.

Going back to Hawai’i during the covid-19 pandemic was one of these difficult times.  The Governor had basically shut down all travel to the islands, including travel between the islands.  Then the requirements changed, and people were allowed to travel if they filled out a government form on their Health Department website.  

I hate government forms.  I am convinced that they exist only to gather information for ulterior motives.  I firmly believe that the worst lie in history is not, “The check is in the mail” or “I’ll respect you in the morning”, but “I’m from the government and I’m here to help you.”  Governments do not exist to help the citizens.  Governments exist to punish mistakes, and extract as much  money as possible.  The less contact you have with any government, the better.  And this is from someone who worked for a government for 20 years.

Then the requirements changed again.  The form switched to the Department of Transportation, and everyone entering Hawaii was required to “quarantine” for 14 days.  This “quarantine” was not very well defined.   It was stressed that the traveller was responsible for all costs incurred.  Did that mean that when you landed, they took you to the nearest hotel and booked you in for 14 days, whatever the cost, and you got the bill?  The same for any food you ate.  Also, you were not allowed to leave the room, except in a medical emergency.  You were deemed to be guilty before even arriving, and the only option was to purchase your innocence.  

What about returning residents?  They were allowed to self-quarantine in their homes, but basically they had to shut themselves up in their bedroom and not come out for 14 days.  Who is going to monitor this?

At a hotel, they have cameras in the hallways, the common areas, the elevators, and the desk clerk is there 24 hours a day/ 7 days a week.  The people had become the watchdogs.  After all, they wanted to not get this virus, and everyone from anywhere else, is suspect.  Everyone became a stool pigeon, a tattle-tale; not to be trusted, neighbor versus neighbor.

During this time, the media told stories about individuals who violated this quarantine and were sent back to the mainland on the first available flight – again at what cost, and whose expense?  A fine of $5,000.00 and 6 months in jail was bantered back and forth, but I never could understand if these individuals who violated quarantine were sent back on the first available flight, or if that was after they had served the 6 months?

Then there was talk of a negative test result.  The government waivered back and forth, or at least that is how it seemed from the media and the internet.  Consequently, there was much confusion – or at least, I was very concerned, and worried.

A Covid Test

Well, I have broken down and done something that I vowed to myself, that I would never do.  I went and had a covid-19 test.  Not just one, but two!!

On the 16th, I am going back to the Big Island.  With the current pandemic, Hawaii has gone off the deep end.  They have had fewer than 100 deaths – most of which were probably caused by other things like simple old age – that they can tie to covid-19, so they have made it mandatory for anyone coming to the islands to quarantine for 14 days.  Before, it was mandatory to quarantine for 14 days locked up in your hotel room and not being allowed out.  Their tourist industry went from 30,000 people per week to NONE!  Hotels sit empty.  Restaurants are closed.  Whale watching trips, snorkel trips, sunset cruises, are all shut down.  No tourists, and not allowed due to socially distancing rules!  People are not allowed on the beach!  I did not see this as a problem for me, as I will be “quarantined” at the lot anyway.  The problem, is that they will not allow anyone under quarantine to rent a car.  How they stop that, I don’t know.  I can book and pay for a car on-line, and then pick up the car without any contact with any human, so, how would they know?  Without a car, it is difficult to get to the property 75 miles away from the airport!  Without a car, getting groceries, and other supplies is difficult.  But that is their point, I guess.  They do not want me – a potential “Typhoid Mary” to go to the grocery store, or the hardware store.  OK, I’ll just take the bus.  The bus is scheduled for one pickup at the airport at 4 PM.  What if my flight gets there at 5 PM?  Also, because of the decrease in riders, the scheduled stop at the airport is cancelled!  To get on the bus, you have to get a cab into Kona to get to a bus stop ahead of the bus.  The bus makes one trip per day!

But, . . . if you get a negative covid test within 72 hours of departing to Hawaii, you can bypass the quarantine.  .  .  .  but it has to be a certain test, and it has to be by one of their “approved” providers and laboratories.  They have a list of about a half a dozen approved providers.  Walgreens is on the list.  The test must be a NAAT test.  A Nucleic Acid Amplification Test.  Walgreens provides two different ones.  But only certain Walgreens provides them.  And you have to go online and make an appointment.  When on-line, you must fill out a questionnaire to see if you “qualify”.  Only six questions – Have you been in contact with anyone who has covid?  Do you work in a health care environment?  Are you experiencing symptoms?

The test is free.  I don’t know who is paying, but I didn’t.  And I did not have to provide any insurance card!

One test is a panel type.  You get the results in 3 days.  The other is what they call an ID Now test.  You get the results within 24 hours.  From the way I read this on-line, I was under the impression that the only one accepted by Hawaii was the panel one.  Which was fine.  I would take the test 3 days (72 hours) before my flight, and get my results at about the same time.  So, I booked the test at a Walgreens at Extension and University for Friday at 4:45 PM.  Then, I got to thinking, “what if it takes longer to get the results?”  So I did more research, and found that according to Walgreens, both tests are approved for Hawaii.

So I booked the second one for Saturday at 10:45 AM at Country Club and Baseline.  They only give one type of test at certain Walgreens.

On Friday, we went to the Walgreens on University at 4:30.  Drove up to the drive thru – there was only one car in line ahead of us and it pulled out as we were pulling in.  Signs said, to keep windows rolled up, and stay in the car.  I got the feeling that they were convinced that the covid-19 virus is a sentient being and it is looking for an opportunity to jump from host to host.  And that EVERYONE has it!  OK – I cannot control other’s unbridled fear!

I drive up to the window.  With my windows up.  I look at the guy inside, and he looks at me.  I sit there!  He motions to roll down the window.  I point to the sign that specifically says, Keep your windows securely rolled up tight!  He motions to ignore that, and roll down the f’n window!  I roll down the window.  He pushes the tray out to me.  In the tray, are two plastic bags, and a piece of paper.  With the tray open, and air rushing in thru the tray, from my car, up and into his face (but he has a mask on – the same mask he has worn for the past six weeks, but still, a mask all the same!), he says something that I cannot hear!  “What?” I ask?  He bends down closer to the tray so that he can get more of my germs, and tells me to open the one bag with the small vial of liquid, but don’t open the vial.  Take out the paper that looks like a large Band-Aid, and peel it half way open.  Take out the cotton swab, and run it around in both nostrils a couple of times, then open the vial and place the cotton swab, tip down, into the vial and seal it.  Then put the vial and the piece of paper into the second plastic bag and seal it up.  Then he points to a metal box on the wall past the drive-up window, and tells me to use the alcohol cleaning swab from the first bag, to open the box lid, and place the sealed bag into the box.

So, I do that.  I pull out the cotton swab on the stick, swish it around inside my nose – both nostrils – place it in the vial, seal the vial, place the vial and the paper into the ziplock bag, seal it up, open the baby-wipe, use it to open the lid on the box, place the bag into the box, and then leave. As I am doing this he says that I should get the results in 3 to 5 days!

On Saturday, we arrive at the Walgreens at Country Club and Baseline.  There are 9 other cars in line at the drive thru.  The entire Walgreens store is empty.  No racks, no shelves, no merchandise.  The only thing being used is the drive thru.  Big signs at the entry warning people to DO NOT ENTER!  DANGER!  TESTING TAKING PLACE INSIDE!  Are you f’n kidding me????  They have emptied the entire Walgreens so that they can do this?  They make more money doing Covid-19 testing than an entire Walgreens store?  I get in line behind the other cars.  There is a sign telling me to stay in the car with the windows rolled up tight.  Another sign says to hold up my driver’s license and confirmation email to my rolled up window when I get to the drive-up window.  Another sign says, “VERBAL CONSENT!  By being tested for Covid-19 today, you are giving your verbal consent to be tested for covid-19!”  HUGH???  Signs, signs, everywhere a sign, do this, don’t do that. can’t you read the sign????  It takes ten minutes per car.  An hour and a half after my appointment time, I finally drive up to the window.  Welcome to socialized medicine!  Make an appointment, so that you can wait in line for hours on end and hope that you will get to see someone!  The signs say to hold up my drivers license and appointment confirmation email to my car window – with the window rolled up tightly.  He reads the confirmation because the font is in size 36, but he cannot read the driver’s license,  He has a microphone and a speaker, so I can heart him.  He tells me to place my driver’s licence into the drawer, and he slides open the drawer.  I open my car window, and place my driver’s license into the tray, along with a blast of air and germs that blow up into his face.  But, again – he is wearing a mask, so it is OK..  If it is OK because he is wearing a mask, why do I need to keep my windows rolled up tightly while waiting in line?  PARANOIA IS RAMPANT HERE!

It takes him a while to verify my information, appointment, or whatever, but when he is done verifying, he motions for a girl in surgical scrubs as if she is in an operating room to come over.  She lifts up a blue plastic box and places a piece of paper in a half pipe shape into the box with the same large band-aid as I used at the other Walgreens into the half-pipe paper.  Then places this plastic box into the tray and pushes it out to me.  All the while, she is giving me instructions a million words per second, at a whisper, four feet away from the microphone.  I cannot understand a thing she says!  I reach into the tray and lift out the blue box.  She goes BALLISTIC!!!  Yelling through the window, “DON”T TOUCH THE BLUE BOX!  DON”T TOUCH THE BLUE BOX!” I suddenly became the deer in the headlights and I must have looked at her with a startled and puzzled look, because she yells, “PUT IT BACK!”  I put the box back into the tray.  “Lift out only the paper and the test swab!”  She says as she is leaned over towards the microphone, and she says it phonetically and slowly so that normal humans can understand.  I carefully lift out the paper and the test swab in the large Band-aid.  I open the band-aid and remove the swab.  She says to swirl the swab around inside each nostril for 15 seconds. “I will time you!  Ready, go!”  WTF???  OK.  I twirl, as she times me.  Fifteen seconds pass and she says, “Now the other nostril.  Ready, go!”  So I twirl in the other nostril.  She then says, “Place the swab back into the envelope and place it in the tray, WITHOUT TOUCHING THE TRAY!”  I do that, and she says, “You’ll get the results within 24 hours, thank you.”  I drive forward as my wife busts out laughing and she says, “You touched the tray!  You touched the tray!”  You’re not supposed to touch the blue tray!”

About 6:00 PM I get an email from Walgreens.  My results are in!  The test is negative.  But just because it is negative, I still might have it, or get it so I still need to continue wearing my haz-mat suit.

I can imagine the future.  Instead of these drive-up coffee shops with a 10 x 10 building with drive up lanes on both sides, it will be a covid testing site. and everyone will be required to get a test every week.  We will all have a section of our passport where they will stamp it each time you get a test.  In order to purchase toilet paper, you will need to show a current covid test stamp!