Category: The DayBook

Finally caught up with the Super-Harvest-Beaver-Whatever-Moon this morning.

Billy delivered a dozen multicolored eggs this morning, and we headed out for a little walk and a lot of breakfast.

And on that rock – there is a ruddy turnstone.

The ruddy turnstone flies here from north of the Arctic Circle. Apparently, they can make it all the way to New Zealand on those tiny wings. It’s about the size of a robin. Think about it.

Most excellent Eggs Benedict.

Carlton would always tell the visitors that it was 212 years into its 200-year cycle. Well, Carlton hasn’t made it to Kona in a while, but it is now 225 years into its 200-year cycle. It’ll really mess things up next time it goes.

And out on the lanai – it must be Wednesday because The Pride of America is at anchor in the bay.

Well, the skirt is hemmed. It rather pleases me to know that I can still hem a skirt. It was a thrift shop purchase in San Diego. I decided that I hated absolutely hated the skirt that I brought. (I traveled with 1 pair of pants and 1 skirt, so hating 50% of my wardrobe wasn’t good.)  I picked up a new skirt at the thrift shop and left them my rejected skirt.

Don’t know why I started hating that skirt. It has been on several trips. I must have had it for a couple of years. It was a part of my “age-appropriate” collection. The replacement skirt is also “age-appropriate”.  And, it’s now 2 inches shorter. But still well below my knees.

Had a little computer excitement. Photoshop wouldn’t load. Insufficient scratch space. WTF? Well, turns out PS was correct. Only 16GB free. How did that happen? Cleanup ensued. Now have 120GB free. Don’t like calling on “Terminal” when I am oceans away from a friendly Apple store. But, not too shabby for an old woman. Even if I did have some help from ChatGPT.

No, I would never use a 3rd party APP to clean up my computer.  And most of the problem was old Lightroom Library Backups. I hadn’t cleaned them out since last December. (Wonder why they are called 3rd party. Why not 2nd party? Or even 4th party? Bet ChatGPT knows. IDNC.)

And wasn’t yesterday’s election a good start in the right direction? Operative word being start. 

A couple of years ago, a similar huge fig tree in Hilo tragically killed two women. Therefore, if your tree is deemed dangerous, it will be removed.

Kona is having a hard time. Part of the village’s problems are self-induced. Free parking has disappeared. That’s part of the problem. The other problem is the lack of visitors. Kona gets a lot of winter visitors from Alaska and Western Canada. That’s not working right now. 

Had a good Zoom yoga session at 7 AM this morning. I embarked on a skirt hemming project. Now I am deciding on dinner. Grilled cheese and tomato or peanut butter and honey? I stir-fried veggies and shrimp for lunch.

I don’t have a dishwasher but I do have a rainbow. I almost like rainbows more. Almost.

Well settled into 6 weeks of leisure.

I did manage a 2-mile walk before breakfast. Then later I prowled around my immediate neighborhood for another mile.

Oh, and I tweaked one of the ceiling fans. It was spinning in the wrong direction. Doing no good at all. Thank you, Carlton. I believe you are the one who explained ceiling fans to me. Never thought I would need to know that.

And now. A few shots from my walk.

And this bad boy was out waiting for trash pickup.

And of course. Ocean.

And EVERYONE. Go vote. Vote for bond issues, school board, dog catcher. Vote. It could be your last chance. Go Vote.

Old habits. Billy, Monique, and I head to the Old Airport for a little walk followed by breakfast. The usual restaurant was full. But not of visitors ordering Eggs Benedict, mimosas, and Kona coffee. But full of locals ordering the Kamaʻāina breakfast and hold the coffee water is fine. Business isn’t good. This is the slow time of year. But it shouldn’t be this slow. Billy was quick to point out that there was only one charter fishing boat heading out this morning. 

My 17 pounds of groceries weren’t enough. On the way back home from breakfast, I stopped by KTA for peanut butter, honey, soy sauce, and cheese. Eggs were on the list – but Billy and Monique promised to drop some off. I hope you enjoy about ¾ of the soy sauce selections.

Back at the condo, I checked my parking space.

 

A very lazy day today. Only 2.5 miles. Most of those miles were necessary miles not fun miles or exercise miles. To the grocery. I came home with 17 pounds of groceries. (The condo has a scale). And my wallet was $137 lighter. I think that means that groceries cost $8 a pound. Still need to pickup peanut butter, honey, cheese and eggs. 17 pounds of groceries is about 5 pounds more that I am comfortable schlepping.

So, I got food. And I got unpacked. That’s it. I was even too lazy to take a nap.

Time to cook dinner. Shrimp, zucchini, tomatoes.

Not the smoothest travel day ever today. But, I am an experienced Amtrak rider. So, the plane being 3 hours late was no biggie.

And with a lot of help from my friends, I am safely settled in my new digs. Billy checked out the bathtub and declared it “dangerous”. I tried it out. Very carefully. 

It’s always good to be back home in Kona. 

 

The plan was to walk along the water until I got hot, tired, or bored. Then head up through “town” and back to my hotel. And stop for a little snack somewhere along the way.

OK. I am hot hot hot now. Seriously overheated. Time to head for the shade of tall buildings. But I am trapped. There is no way out. And, I refuse to turn around and go back. I am hot. I want shade.

There is a sign. Points up these stairs. It says “CITY”.

I walk a couple more blocks. Up on the roof deck of the Convention Center, looking for signs of life or stairs to the CITY.

I made it down. And the CITY was there.

But wait. A promising-looking spot for a snack.

And it was a really good crème brûlée.

By the time I made it back to the hotel, I had been 4 miles, and that was enough for me. I have truly enjoyed my time in San Diego. All that remains is to find something for dinner tonight. Pack up. And to get myself to the airport by 8:30-ish tomorrow morning.

Next stop Kona.

I decided to go north because the southern terminus is Tijuana. And, I didn’t think I was up to that.

After a stop for coffee and some people watching. I start back to the hotel.

 

Today was Zoo Day. A trip to the zoo was 11,899 steps. So. That’s it for today for me. But it was a fine day at the zoo. Fantastic weather. And October is kids get in free month. So the zoo was stuffed with school groups. And what’s the zoo for if not kiddos? Normally the admission is $62 for kids. And $72 for adults.

I am not a good zoo-goer. I sort of wander aimlessly around and look at whatever I blunder upon. The only exceptional critter I saw today was a couple of Tasmanian Devils. Chasing each other around their enclosure. They didn’t look all that dangerous. But definitely strange in a demented way. No pictures. Sorry.

And yes, they were blazing construction cone orange in color.

But, this was the best. I loved floating over the zoo in my own private open-air gondola like some lazy queen of the zoo. 

And before 1PM West Coast Time, I was safely installed in my hotel.

It’s a standard boutiquey hotel. Location is great — one block from the city bus that goes to the airport for $2.50 every ten minutes, and about three blocks from the ocean.

Being this close to the docks, I wandered that way.

I stopped to admire the old girl. Like me, she had a long and interesting run.

Long about 5PM East Coast time, I was starved. Fortunately, there was a restaurant handy.

Now my mission is simply to stay awake until 7 PM. That’s two and a half hours from now. My legs refuse further duty — maybe I can convince them to make it as far as the lobby espresso machine.

And I did not do anything to reduce my wrinkles or sags.

Finished up packing.

All that’s left to do is to charge up all the gear and get downstairs at 0700 hours tomorrow to catch my ride to the airport.

ChatGPT assures me that TSA and ATC will probably be working tomorrow — but offers no guarantees about Oct 31 when I fly from San Diego to Kona. Worrying about that now falls under “wreckage of the future,” which Carlton had a strict ban on.

At this instant, I have plans for the garden box next year. Will see if the plans (and the plants and I)  last until spring. I have had the box for 10 years and the sage plant came with the box. And, Ray the Rosemary has been mine for at least 5 years. Well, seems that Ray died in December 2017 so, I must have gotten his rosemary bush in the spring of 2018. And, it must have been around for some years before that.

That’s it from The Asylum until after Xmas.
Next Stop: San Diego.