Category: The DayBook

The decorations were fabulous. An old friend from Hulihe’e Place days, Ben Mahi, was the Christmas wizard. Nobody decorates for Christmas like Ben.

Today is the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe. I can assure you the she is well and truly honored by the church next door. Shortly after 4AM this morning the faithful started arriving to honor her. In this neighborhood, The Lady of Guadalupe beats out the old world’s Feast of the Immaculate Conception. (That was on Dec 8).

My exciting adventure today was breaking out an absolutely steampunk old vacuum and giving it a little runabout. It’s the first time in 10+ years that I have run a vacuum. I will happily wait another 10 years.

I think the plan was to go to Puako. Billy and Monique would swim. I would sit. We might do brunch. That would be it. 

Well, it turned into a 4 beach West Hawai’i adventure. 

But Puako, while lovely, wasn’t really suitable for swimming today. So, off to find lunch and another beach.

Not real great swimming here either. So, up the road we go. But, we see a whale breach! The first and most likely only whale for me this year. 

Billy gets in his swim, but Monique joins me in the chair section. 

Time to go home. But wait! Is there sand at Kua Bay?

Don’t worry. The sand will be back next spring.

So that’s it. One Day. Four Beaches. 

(I didn’t do anything, but I am still tired.) 

Today’s only adventure was taking my box of coffee to the post office.

Isn’t that exciting?

And now I learn that Calibri has been declared a DEI typeface. Naturally, it’s a Microsoft font — and all my fonts are Apple or Adobe — so I cannot immediately start using it on everything, even if I wanted to join the revolution via typography. 

Have I mentioned recently that I hate the second quarter of the 21st century? Absolutely hate it. My current longevity goal is to live long enough to see the war crimes trials of the current regime begin.

Why am I getting my panties in a wad over a typeface when, earlier today, the United States of America stole an oil tanker from Venezuela? I believe the polite term for that is piracy.

At this rate, I may get off the plane in Chuuk next week and apply for political asylum.

When Carlton and I wandered around the country for days on end, I always insisted that we could do anything for five days,  then I needed a day off from “having fun.” In pre-Internet days, I’d say I needed to do laundry, get supplies, write postcards, and reorganize. I need that discipline more at 81 than I did at 41, but I tend to forget that reset days are still necessary.

So today was a reset day. Zoom yoga this morning, followed by some serious thinking about what to send home and what to schlep with me on the next phase of this Last Great Adventure, Maybe.

Last Great Adventure, Maybe. That’s how I tagged all the photos from this trip. When I started, I was thinking: “OK. This is it. Last time to spend six weeks in Kona, and last time to head off halfway around the world.”

But the longer I’m away from The Asylum, the more confident I am in my ability to keep going. I’ve already reserved this condo for next winter. Japan might be a different story — medical evacuation insurance will soon be impossible to buy — but we’ll see.

Gratitude

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Grateful to Carlton, who insisted I move to The Asylum, where they worry more about me than I do. When I get back, they have to let me in, and I know everything will be “fine.”

Grateful to Billy and Monique. I know they’ll look after me. I don’t want them to need to take care of me, but it’s comforting to know they have my back.

Grateful that my elderly, increasingly unreliable body still makes the bell.

Nobody is Promised Tomorrow.

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In Hawai’i, Kīlauea is the realm of Pele, creator, destroyer, and the heart of the islands. When she erupts, it isn’t just geology on display; it’s a reminder that the land is alive and constantly being renewed. People show her deep respect, whether actively erupting or resting quietly beneath the surface. Offerings, prayers, and pūʻolo bundles at the crater honor that presence.

Hawai‘i is more than an Instagram moment.

You can see that I am not exactly over worked these days.

Nice lazy day at home. And, yes, this is home. I am rather like a turtle. Home is wherever I happen to be. 

This is what you do with your Christmas stockings when you have no chimney. Or even an exhaust fan. Works for me.

I knitted 60 seconds of volcano viewing. This is what it really looked like from Steaming Bluff / Wahinekapu Overlook.

And now, back to the sofa

A little more from yesterday’s excellent adventure.

We’d been on the road for about an hour when things started looking promising.

At this point, we declare the trip a success. Never mind that we are still far from our destination. 

Eventually, Volcanoes National Park. But first: traffic and parking.

We got a great parking spot – right next to where the Ranger was directing traffic. Made it super easy to get in and out of traffic.

Did I mention it was foggy and raining and cold? It’s always foggy and raining at this overlook. There are steam vents. They increase the fogginess. But, makes it warmer.

We spent a lot of time watching the cloud through our binoculars.

Without binoculars, you really can’t see the structure of the plume. The USGS explains the “stuff” in the air:

Another hazard closer to the vent is fallout of Pele’s hair and other volcanic fragments from lava fountains. Pele’s hair is strands of volcanic glass often produced by lava fountaining activity and can be carried well over 10 miles from the vent. Other hot glassy volcanic fragments including Peleʻs hair, volcanic ash, pumice, scoria, and reticulite can fall on the ground within 1-2 miles  of the eruptive vent(s) with the highest concentrations downwind of the vent(s). Pumice and other volcanic fragments have fallen on Highway 11 west of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park depending on wind and eruption conditions. 

Our faithful truck was covered in Pele’s hair and little bits of glassy tephra on the trip home — until the rain washed it all off. We didn’t get coated in “volcanic fragments” because the wind was in our favor.

Time to leave. As we walked back to the truck, we saw a woman rushing to the overlook, yelling, “We’re going to miss our plane!”

And all that tephra makes the sunsets better.

Indeed, the day has been so great that I don’t want to mess with my photos. And, they are still uploading anyhow.

Yesterday, Monique called and said, “Episode 38 will start tonight or tomorrow”. So, I got ready. And a little after 8 this morning, she said “GO NOW”.

These screenshots are from USGS webcam #2, pointed in roughly the same direction we were — though the USGS has much closer setting. There were three USGS webcams until 10 AM; now there are two.

I want to keep these images background for the day. And the blog seems to be the best place to keep them.

This is what Madam Pele was doing when we took off on our 90-mile trek to see Episode 38.

This is my blog, and I can do whatever I want. Tonight all I want is to reflect on the glorious day, good friends, and Madam Pele delivered. Tomorrow will be soon enough to process my 110 photos and videos.

Just think: I was able to sit in a beach chair with my feet propped up and watch a volcano shoot molten rock 500 feet into the sky.

Got my shit together today. And did my two things. Plus some other stuff.

Doing the blog early today, because there is a chance of a volcano run. My dear friends have said “Next time we go”. I don’t want them to feel any pressure, but I really would like to see 1,000 ft lava fountains. And how many more tomorrows do I have? 

Clearly not starving out here. In fact, I’ve cleaned up my eating (and drinking) habits in a major way — enough to drop 7 or 8 pounds. I bet I’ll fit back into my gray pants. Real food. What a concept. We’ll see what happens when I return to The Asylum… which is where the gray pants are currently living.

And for Barb: one minute of ocean from this morning’s cardio walk.

I had one of those days. I know there are a couple of things I need to do. Should do. But I don’t want to do them. One requires admitting I may have made an error, which might reflect poorly on my rapidly aging mental equipment. The other requires admitting I changed my mind. Neither is big. Neither life-threatening. I just don’t want to do them.

Tomorrow. I will.

With that settled, I went for a little pre-dinner walk to inspect the sunset. It wasn’t happening. Until I got back to The Western Old Bat’s Cave.

That kind of day. On the plus side, while studiously avoiding the things that actually needed doing, I got my photo culling and cataloging done through November. November 2025!

And, I didn’t kill anyone.
However, I was snarky.

At 4 PM two short weeks from today, I’ll be wandering over to my hotel in Honolulu. The time has gone by quickly. And, it has been a great time. Different time. Not heading out into the ocean is the right decision. But it makes for a different experience. Accept and Adapt.

Happy to report that I’ve recovered from my COVID shot. Got ample miles and solid cardio today. I’m trying to be in the best shape possible for a non-athletic old woman for the adventures ahead.

And honestly, being in the best shape possible for a non-athletic old woman might be a decent long-term strategy. On the other hand, I may be too old to need a long-term strategy. I used to have personal 5 year plans. Now, a 5 day plan seems too long.

Another day another small ocean video. Weather back east looks unfriendly. Back east is unfriendly. All of hell was emptied out and dumped inside the DC beltway.

Exhausted today. I had to take a rest in the middle of my Zoom yoga class. I have never needed a rest in the middle of a yoga class. 

However, a quick review of the Blog from December 3, 2024. The day after I had my last Covid shot, I was also exhausted. I believe there is a connection. So, after lunch, I took a handful of ibuprofen and had a nap.

Here is a 90-second sunset video. The weather at the Asylum looks like an ocean sunset is needed. 

Today called for an early walk. Followed by a midmorning walk to get a Covid shot. That added up to over 3.5 miles. Training for Tokyo?

Yesterday was supposed to be the first big waves of the season. Just not within my walking range. So, Billy, Monique, and Bella picked me up, and off we went for a picnic dinner. I am so spoiled. 

The trick is to get your boat safely back in the friendly confines of the harbor. It looks a lot like surfing. You wait and wait for the right moment, then enjoy the ride. Or not.

I took some video, but I’m too lazy to process it today. Maybe on a snow day back at The Asylum.

And speaking of processing, it’s time to start processing the trek back to do list. Covid Shot. That was today’s action.

OK, it’s December. What about that crazy plane ride to Tokyo, anyway?

Well, in November, “my” flight from Honolulu to Guam was scheduled four times.

It’s supposed to connect with a Guam–Tokyo flight with a 55-minute window. (Yes, fifty-five.)

Here’s the scorecard for November:

• • One flight was cancelled after leaving Honolulu but before arriving in Guam. Haven’t a clue what happened to the passengers.

  • Twice, the flight missed the Tokyo connection entirely.

  • And once, the stars aligned and the plane actually arrived before the Tokyo flight departed.

Whatever happens is what I planned.

Here’s a 5-minute video of the Guam → Honolulu leg. The guy doing the video is a CNN correspondent. I do not expect to get the fine treatment he did.