Category: The DayBook

456 – that is how many pictures I took of surfers this morning. The waves were small. The surfers were not all that good. One looked bored. He might have been hanging wall paper. The other one was fat. Not all that uncommon… but this very white guy’s belly and butt kept peeking out of his shirt and shorts. And, the photographer wasn’t on her “A” game either – or I would have managed at least 1 keeper out of 456.

Grand Canyon is a go. Have to coordinate plane, train, bus and hotel. The hotel is the hardest part of the puzzle.

As you can see, there are not many days left. February was all full too. I have a room on March 1 and 2 and then I move to another room on March 3. Now, I just have to figure out how to get there. And out of the there. And back to the Asylum.

Conditions not favorable for photography today. So, here is one from yesterday – which gives another view of the akule school.

Pretty sure that I’ll stop off at the Grand Canyon (GRCA) on the way home. One of Carlton’s old college buddies said he and his lady spent 4 nights at GRCA last year. Which makes me rethink how long to stay. 

Just have to smooth out the logistics and make reservations. Where trains, planes, and greyhound busses are involved reservations are not optional.

Oh, I find myself reading a real book. Well, the book isn’t real, but the subject matter is: a biography of Commander Hopper. “Grace Hopper and the Invention of the Information Age”.

And that is about it from my very boring apolitical self.

Another lazy day. They just keep piling up. But, wait! I am an old woman. A faux-retired old woman. Everyday should be a lazy day. 5 miles walking, 30-50 minutes swimming, 30 minutes yoga. I am not going to live longer. It is just going to seem longer. (And, hey – is this a bad thing?) And, how hard is it to swim 30 minutes in the bay when it it is full of fish? Or, as would say here “choke fish”.

Started a little research on my trip back to the asylum via Grand Canyon, hereinafter referred to as GRCA which is NPS-speak for Grand Canyon. It seems to be doable. Los Angeles to Flagstaff – get off at 5:30 am. Bus to GRCA leaves at 7:45 arriving at 9:30. Spend night (or two) in El Tovar Hotel. Then bus back to Flagstaff leaving at 3:15pm arriving at 6:15pm. Overnight in Flagstaff near station. Hop back on the SW Chief at 5:30AM. Just in time for breakfast. Or hang for another day in Flagstaff? Overnight into Chicago and on to Washington via the Capital Limited. 

It seems pretty easy and makes me wonder how many National Parks can I get to using public transit?

And I gotta check out the weather. Since I have early fall and summer clothes with me. 

I call these fish akule. When they are are juveniles they are called halalu in Hawai’i. Big or little, they are big eyed scad. Good to eat (if you like little boney fish)  but better used as bait to get something tastier. 

The dolphins showed up in a bay a little earlier than usual this morning – before the obnoxious “swim with the dolphins” boats showed up. They put on a nice show for the swimmers, kayakers, and paddle boarders. 

It was a very calm day so I swam around until I got too cold. Found a small pink tailed triggerfish. I like these guys and they are really hard to photograph with my camera. But, that doesn’t stop me from trying.

No real plans have been made about returning to the asylum, yet. 

So you can see why I am not furiously planning my return. 

Had rotisserie chicken and papaya for lunch. Nothing planned for dinner yet. The chicken and papayas are all finished. But, there is a potato. “Baked” potato with avocado and lots of salsa. That would be good. 

Just a lazy day. Now, it is time for yoga. 

 

As I said, absolutely nothing going on today. But, that is OK. 

Thought about our soon to be Russian President. I have almost accepted that the world changed. It changed on my watch. I most share the blame. The center did not hold. Well, at least my declining years will be damn interesting. Maybe the giant asteroid will wipe out humankind and put the planet out of her misery for a while. There are always various doomsday climate change scenarios. Maybe one of them will playout at warp speed. Could happen. A week ago a 26 acre chunk of lava fell off of our island into the ocean. Momma Nature takes care of herself. 

A friend suggested that I should go to Vegas in addition to or instead of Grand Canyon. I think I could maybe swing by Yosemite on the bus. But only if there is a room for me in the Ahwahnee Hotel. Yep, they have rooms in March.

Nice lunch today. Rotisserie chicken and papaya. Cheese and avocado sandwich on tap for dinner.  

 

 

I should say something profound. But, since I swore off all things political, I have become a very dull old woman. 

Still thinking about the way back to the Asylum. Still swimming, walking, and yoga. 

Still getting back to reading. One of my resolutions was to “Read More”. Well, Carlton wouldn’t approve of that resolution. He would say if it isn’t quantifiable, then how do you know if you are doing it… So, the revised resolution Read 50 book in 2017. They don’t have to be “serious” books. Just books. And, since I have a spreadsheet of my Kindle books, it will not be hard to keep score. Carlton loved keeping score. 

I still have the vague “Travel More”… but, since my only travel in 2016 was to and from Hawai’i even one trip will be “more”. 

A cute goldring surgeonfish from today’s swim. They are called kole in Hawaiian and in olden days, kole were placed under posts during construction of a house for good luck. Good luck for the humans, not so much for the fish. 

 

We were married on January 5, 1994 in our living room, on a snowy afternoon in front of the fireplace. Getting married was not my idea. It was Carlton’s. As these pictures clearly show. We had been together 15 years. It was working. So, why fix it? Carlton said – I didn’t have to consider it a marriage, I could just consider it a business merger. But, getting married was “the right thing to do”, just like moving to the asylum was “the right thing to do”. 

BTW – Carlton was the wedding planner. He made ALL the arrangements. Today would also be Carlton’s 44th AA anniversary. 

I still wear my wedding ring. I still consider myself Carlton’s wife. Which is sort of funny since I refused to change my name. And, no, now that he is gone, I don’t regret not changing my name. 

This one is for all my new friends at the Asylum. Carlton was a volunteer at GHBC then and he drafted me to come down and sing Xmas carols. Not because I wanted to, because I could sing harmony. 

Today’s best fish photo…

Thinking seriously about flying into LA then taking the train to DC. An expansive trip would include a detour to the Grand Canyon. Amtrak runs a bus – to GRCA. There is also a frou-frou excursion train. Gotta check out the details. And, the “normal” weather in early March. I will not go on a mule ride at my advanced age. Nevermind that I don’t have any long pants. Or boots. 

Planned activity: parasailing. That would be here in Kona. Maybe on Jan 20th???

Well, this week’s Do Something New – going on a monk seal quest early this morning. Monk seals were found. My contribution was leaving my real camera at home. Took only the cheap underwater Olympus. All of today’s photos are with that camera. 

Apparently monk seals do three things. Look for food. Eat food. And sleep. The larger one was in the water. 

She swam over to look at us and soon swam out into the open ocean. Looking for food, I guess. 

These monk seals are endemic to our islands and there are only 1,000 or so left on the planet. Most of them wisely hang out on our uninhabited northern islands. Yes, there are many more than the 8 Hawaiian Islands that you many have heard of… Depending on who is doing the counting there are 132 – 159 islands in the fine state of Hawai’i. The Island of Hawai’i – AKA The Big Island is the largest and southeastern most. This is where I live. Kure Atoll is the most northwestern land mass. It is less than 200 acres and was once a LORAN station. Now it is a favorite resting place for monk seals.

No swimming today. Boat day. And, the ocean is just too busy. Also, I need to give my aged body a little recovery time. So, just walk and yoga today.

While walking home from breakfast – I decided to try my underwater camera out on the “Hong Kong Orchid Tree”

I was rather pleased with the job it did. I might have to take this camera back east with me. Rather than leaving it in storage here for next year. I never leave anything here that I really like. I bring my wetsuit and mask home to the mainland, but leave my fins here. Most of my clothes stay here. None of my technology stays here. 

Time to think about going home in a six weeks or so… Directly? Take the train across country again? Travel home by going west? The earth is round. That will work.

Went out for a little swim and ran into the bait school. The amberjacks and other diners were cruising around. A young man was out there with me. Being young and thin – he had no trouble getting into the school. I am stuck on top.

Just a normal day. Walk for exercise. Walk some more for necessities. Swim. Lunch. Nap. Yoga. 

Went up the hill to Walmart/Safeway for BP drugs and groceries. Speaking of groceries – getting hungry. Something with avocado. 

Our private jet parking lot gets filled up between Xmas and New Years. (Overflow parking is on Maui!) But, this morning – four jets left during the morning walk about. Gotta go back to work, I guess. 

I have been trying to take it easy today. I over did yoga on Saturday and way over did swimming yesterday. I am not sure how much recovery time the aged body needs. I know that Carlton had to cut back on tennis as he got older. 

Well, it is resolution time again. 

Resolved 2017

1. Practice yoga 30 minutes 6 days per week. Minimum.
2. Do not buy any clothes without getting rid of TWO items. 
3. Keep weight around 120 pounds. 
4. Keep walking.
5. Swim 3 days per week back at the asylum. 
6. Read more. Facebook less.
7. Travel more. 
8. Have a technology free weekend every month. Even when I am in Hawai’i.

These are variations on last year’s. I added 5 pounds to my weight objective. Doctor’s orders. I am trying to get back in the daily DIY yoga habit. Last year, I tried to RESOLUTION myself into getting involved in Asylum activities. It didn’t work. I am not an “activities” person. Never was. Don’t think I’ll ever be an “activities” person. 

So, I need to get in a little more walking, do 30 minutes of yoga… then I’ll be done for the day.

Dinner – maybe something with eggs. And avocado. Bet I can figure out have to make an avocado and cheese omelette in the microwave…  

Our “neighbor”, Paul Allen didn’t bring any of his yachts this year. But, he showed up sometime last week. So, we had fireworks.

Paid for 2 months at the hotel. Had a little walk. And shared breakfast with my friend, Billy. Then we went on a ride down the coast to Kealakekua Bay.

When I got back home, I went for a too long swim. Got lapped by this guy.

And, the bait school was still hanging out. Wish I could get a picture that captures the wonder of a huge school of silvery fish.

 1480 days until January 20, 2021. (Think I need to get a script that calculates this number.)

For the last 15 years or so, this has been my blog New Year’s Eve Post. And, that really is how Carlton “celebrated” New Year’s Eve. 

When Carlton and I were “dating” but not exclusively – I know he went to a New Year’s Party with another woman. I think when he realized that I wouldn’t insist that we go out on New Year’s or any other night for that matter… That was when he decided to become a one woman man. 

But, I am happy to not go anywhere tonight. 

Had a fine day. Logged my 5 miles walking. Went for a nice swim. Did some yoga. Some reading. 

And, I thought about 2016. Was it really the Worst. Year. Ever.

Not even close. 

• 65,000,000 BC – that was most likely the worst. Your giant asteroid that wiped out 75% of life on the planet including every single dinosaur. That had to be Worst. Year. Ever.
• 1348 – The Plague in Europe. 1/3 of the population dies. This one gets my vote.
• 1492 – That wasn’t a very good year for the existing population of the Americas.
• 1837 – The Panic (financial) of 1837. This was a US thing. And, I know it would get Carlton’s vote for worst year ever. 

So, there you have four years that were worse than 2016. Way worse. Not making any promises about 2017!

But, let us end the year on a happier note. 

I put the winter holiday theme away for another year. And the hotel Xmas tree came down. It is much easier to put the holiday theme away!