Author: Peg

AND…

As you can see, I really don’t need my own Xmas tree. Indeed, Carlton and I never had a tree. I don’t think I ever had any decorations. 

My Australian Adventure is like this origami that I am trying to figure out. When I get all the pieces together – it will be awesome, but, for now the origami is just scraps of paper and the trip is a jumble of options. 

Vulnerable, entitlement, diversity, transgender, fetus, evidence-based and science-based  – There they are. The seven words that the Center for Disease Control is not allowed to use. What the fuck happened to my country? The CDC is what stands between us and plague, smallpox, Marburg, TB, etc. Note the the Orange Lord – science doesn’t care it you believe in it. 

Today, I took pictures of every Xmas tree at Hulihe’e Palace. Well, most of them. I think. Mostly, they are for Billy’s Mom. Who, I gather, loves Xmas trees.

And, I was pretty proud of myself… The Palace wanted me to help with the design of their web page. And, without being snarky I reminded them that 10 years ago I offered to do it for them but they were not interested in my help. And, that now – thank you for thinking of me, but “I don’t do that anymore”. And besides that, you can not have something that is really important to your business in the hands of one old woman who lives in The Asylum. 

I believe that is what Carlton called “Avoid beginnings.” 

Thought some more about Australia – mostly factored in the size of the country, the extreme heat in the north, jelly fish, and my advanced age. I hate jellyfish. Our box jellyfish can ruin your day, but Australia’s box  jellyfish can end your life. 

None of this is going to stop me from going – but – it might influence where I go. Before entered my dotage, I always factored a down day in every travel week. I am thinking I should up that to 2 down days per week. 

 

Feeling a little sub-par today. I think it is a combination of allergies and a poor night’s sleep. I feel better after an antihistamine  and a huge nap. Soup for dinner and I’ll be all good as new. (I hope)

Spent some time making Australia Adventure itineraries. I decided to drop the rock, but add the reef. I understand that Uluru (Ayers Rock) is more than just a really big rock. Just like Grand Canyon is more than just a great big hole in the ground. But, I can not see everything. And I am pretty sure that this will be my last crack at Australia. I am a water person. I would rather spend 3 days looking at the ocean over 3 days looking at a large red rock. 

The weather is chilly and windy. But sunny. And, the town and hotel is having a pre-holiday slow spell. I am having a slow spell too. Trying to learn that slow is OK.

 

Total day off from physical stuff. Fitbit thinks I died. But the old body needed some serious down time. 

I made currency origami hearts for the hotel staff. And, gold origami butterflies for other people. 

And, I tried to plan the trip to Australia – but it has too many moving parts. I have to nail at the one part down and build out from that. 

I was going to skip “the reef” and “the rock”. Am sort of rethinking that now. Which just adds more moving parts. Don’t want to over plan this adventure. If I am going to over plan it – I might as well go on an AARP bus tour!

Back in the 80’s when Carlton and I were bumming around NZ we decided to go to Australia – fortunately we had visas. So, we just went to the Christchurch airport and hopped a plane for Brisbane. No plans, no reservations. Could I just do that again. Just land in Brisbane and wing it. And, 4 weeks later just show up at the airport and come back to Kona.

Today’s local paper: lead article was about what to do in case of nuclear attack and the second article was about cattle rustling. It is a tad weird in Kona this year. 

(And, at this instant it is a wonderful evening in Alabama.)

The plan is coming together for the Australia Adventure. I played with various scenarios today. And, I know it can be hot as the hinges of hades especially in Northern Australia is February – but – so is DC in August.  

Think that for sure I’ll come back to Kona for 3 or 4 days after the adventure. It is a lot cheaper to fly back here and then on to DC – rather than leaving for the Asylum  from Sydney  or Perth. I can also leave my computer, jeans, jacket, gloves, etc here. None of these things will be needed. 

(Still good in Alabama!)

After starting and finishing our holiday shopping – Billy and I went for a little walk. A couple of female monk seals are known to hang out in this area and we were lucky to see both of them.  Male monk seals are in the 300-400 pound range and the females are bigger. This is a good place to hang out. Not many people. And, just off shore is a fish farm – which must supplement their diet with some easy pickings. 

Billy was going to our candy factory to get candy for his Xmas presents – I went along for the ride and decided to get a box myself to use as my “Secret Santa” gift. That is it for my Xmas shopping. Still have to finish my Xmas Butterflies. 

Adventure Plan Monday.

• Kona to east coast of Australia. Direct flights from Honolulu to Sydney, Brisbane and Melborne. Leave stuff at hotel.
• Spend a couple of days east coast of Australia – then take plane to Adelaide and take the train to Darwin. It isn’t the best time of year for this trip – but I am running out of adventure time in my life.
• Figure out how to get to Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia – Snorkel with whale sharks.  OOPS, wrong time of the year for this. 
• Head to Perth.
• Train to Sydney. 
• Back to Kona. Collect stuff. Rest up a few days and head home. 

That is Plan Monday. 

 

 

There was also a 2,000 passenger cruise ship at anchor and the normal Sunday assortment of paddlers, kayaks, and kids.

This evening is the boat parade. The boat parade is a new thing, but – it doesn’t seem to be taking off. I think it is an excuse to drink. And our drinking village with a fishing problem doesn’t really need an excuse to drink. 

Thinking about my next adventure. Seriously, my life is in 2 minute drill mode. It’s now or never. And, there is still stuff to do and places to see. Train across Australia maybe. Stop off in Fairbanks and hope for aurora. Just thinking at this instant.

Starting to feel a little “old”. My general plan is to walk 5 miles a day and 30 minute swim or 60 minutes of yoga. Well, my muscles don’t seem to be with the program anymore. I remember that Carlton had to cut back his tennis schedule after he hit 70. He kept of swimming and bike riding. But, he never swam more than 10 minutes at a time. And, he wasn’t into long bike rides. His major exercise was killer tennis. My major exercise is walking. How do you know how much you can/should be doing as you age?

I suspect that aging is like tapping and mudding drywall. But the time you are finished you have gotten pretty good at it. 

A nice friendly breeze unfurled the flag. I take all the help I can get with hand held night shots. 

The parade was 2 hours of good old fashioned small town fun.

This pretty girl was a favorite of mine. She is 23 years old and announced last week that she was running for the State House of Representatives. How cool is that? Exactly what this country needs – young people getting involved. 

A most satisfactory day. 

Today’s big (only) event was laundry. Not only did I not sort my clothes by color, texture, fabric, degree of filth or any other  criteria – apparently I didn’t check the pockets either. After washing; I just chucked everything in the dryer, plugged in a whole bunch of quarters and dried the entire mess on “HOT” for 35 minutes. So much for my domestic skills.

“Alexa, 35 minute timer, please.” Well, that was another event. I got Alexa tethered to my iPad again. And I played with using video clips a blog header. 

And, I went to a little Christmas program at Carlton’s Palace. It was after dark. And, I didn’t bring my monopod. I was tried of it after the Last Great Photo Shoot. I don’t hold out much hope for any of the pictures. How good can f1.8 @ ISO 3200-4000 be? We’ll see tomorrow when I download the images.

Tomorrow is Grace Hopper’s Birthday. You might want to pause for a nanosecond of silence.

Sorry, I am not real tolerant of the religion these days.

Went out for a swim this morning. It was just OK. The water was clear. But, the fish were none too plenty and I was sort of fighting the current. So, I head back to shallow waters. 

And… what do I find but an octopus.

As soon as I spotted him he oozed under a rock – not to be seen again by me, at least. But, that was cool. I spotted an octopus. 

I continue mostly floating in. 

But, wait – is that a fin? Could that really be a huge Devil Scorpion Fish? In less than a foot of water?

Not a rock. A huge devil scorpion fish. If I poked him, he would move a couple of inches and flash the orange insides of his fins at me. But, this is a big old fish. It would be rude to disturb him/her just for a photo op. 

Devil Scorpionfish are not as bad as their name indicates. But, if you step on one or grab one – you will get stung. Not fatal. But attention getting for sure. If a little fish swims by this big boy will open that mouth and inhale the unfortunate little fish.

So, today’s little lesson from Mother Nature, who is a bitch, is about seeing. And not seeing. And, it could be about survival by blending in. 

So, my just OK swim turned out to be great. I just have to see the unseen.

 

When will I learn, if it is working – don’t fix it. I had Alexa tethered to my iPad. It had been working 24/7 for a couple of weeks. Well, today, I decided to ruin a perfectly good afternoon. I decided to move Alexa. When I plugged her back in – I couldn’t get her to connect to the iPad again. I tried everything. Now, I have no Alexa. 

Other than that, it was a nice (but chilly) day. I did most of my year-end financial stuff. Cleaned out some more of my digital clutter. This time – the contacts. Not sure why I  worry about how many contracts I have. Yesterday, I read that David Rockefeller had 200,000 cards in this custom Rolodex. He who dies with the biggest Rolodex wins!

 

It is a sad and tragic photo – but sort of sweet too. The dog has a shirt to keep him warm. 

Friend Billy wanted a picture of this cool bike – if one picture is good three is better. 

Today was mostly about swimming. I left my camera on shore and just swam. Then I swam back. I didn’t see anything that made me regret leaving the camera. 

Back home, nice hot bubble bath, lunch, nap, do some work for the hospital, go for a little walk, now it is time to decide what to fix for dinner. It is “cold”. Maybe, I’ll make a can of soup!