Category: Hawai’i (Page 2 of 6)

The Island had other ideas

Jan 31, 2011 / Richard

I had forgotten that my vehicle inspections were due this month (January) so today I was in a rush to first off, find a place that could do both of them today, and secondly get going early enough so that I could get both of them done. I grabbed the envelopes out of my vehicles so I could inventory the stuff and make sure I had everything that was needed, and started making calls.

The first place I called was the dealership, and they could not get me in till mid-week. Not an option. I then called the place down south that had done them originally and found that they were no longer doing them, but they gave me the name of a place just south of them that they highly recommended. I called and told them the story and they said they would work me in.

I headed down there to get one vehicle done and discovered that when cleaning out the envelope I had taken out the current insurance card. I was miffed at myself since they had been so kind and it was a hour round trip to get back to the house and get the current card which was laying on my desk. Of course, what happened on the way back on the narrow two-lane road? I get behind a person that was traveling at half the 30MPH speed limit and did not pull over to let me go by (most times people driving slowly on the island will). I took a deep breath – OK, many of them on the drive back to the house – and told myself, everything is fine, it will all work out (still slightly miffed though).

I grabbed the card and headed back along the same road. What did I follow all the way? A school bus that stopped what seemed like 10,000 times to let children off which meant I had to stop behind the bus and wait. Again I kept telling myself, everything is fine, it will all work out. I was more concerned about messing up the people at the shop who were so kind to work me in when they really didn’t have any openings in their schedule.

I finally got there, the inspection went off without a hitch and I headed back to pick up my truck. Yes, if you are thinking ahead, behind another school bus that stopped it seemed like 100,000,000 times.

Finally got the truck and headed back down (behind another school bus that made 100 billion stops of course). Finally got there and while waiting for the guy to finish all the paperwork, we were both chuckling about my bad traffic karma, and he said, “this is the wrong island to be in a hurry on” and I agreed with him.

There have been a number of times I’ve headed off in a hurry and the Island has dropped anchor on me and slowed me down. Luckily I’m not the hurrying type anymore, and the only reason I was sort of miffed was that I was putting others out due in part to my inattention.

Moral of the story: slow down, breathe and enjoy life.

Yes, it does snow in Hawaii

Jan 11, 2011 / Richard

View north from Keck 1

This image is from one of the Mauna Kea Weather Center web cams on top of Mauna Kea. As I write this it is 27 degrees F (-2.5 C) and the road is closed. Another huge storm is moving in Wednesday and Thursday so there will be even more snow up there and of course rain down here.

Solstice, New Beginnings and Holiday Wishes

Dec 22, 2010 / Richard

Gratitude and a Look Back

Well, as of the evening of December 22 (I think) I’ve been living on Hawaii Island for one full year. All in all it has been a wonderful experience and I very much look forward to as many more as the island gives me. Tomorrow evening I’m getting together with friends to celebrate the fact that I made it through the first year mostly unscathed. The initiation was far less of an ordeal than many go through. Still, there have been a number of things that the island has put right up in my face. It has a tendency to do that. Even with those things though, I wake up each morning, make coffee and go outside onto the deck to give thanks for this incredible opportunityEach evening I do the same thing – typically with a glass of wine – and give thanks for the wonderful day. Doesn’t matter how the day went or what the weather or whatever, I’m always grateful.

Winter Solstice, Eclipse and those Wonderful Maya

I don’t know if any of you (perhaps the 2 readers I have left after my looooong absense) followed the eclipse that happened on the winter solstice this year, but in many ways it was quite remarkable and there are those that believe that errors in interpreting the Mayan calendar might mean that 2010 was the 2012 that has been so talked about. Astrologically, looking out at winter solstice in 2012 was virtually a yawner. 2010 though had a lot of significance astrologically. I won’t even bother to try and explain any of it since I know little of astrology, but there are numerous articles on the web.

Warmest Holiday Wishes

To the last two readers I have (probably including myself) I wish you all the Happiest of Holidays filled with love and blessings and may you all have a wonderful new year.

BTW, the photo is a sunset I took while down at the Keauhou Beach Resort one evening having dinner with friends.

A Mauna Kea weekend

Aug 31, 2010 / Richard

Photograph by Vadim Kurland

I’ve been getting patient, but persistent messages that I need to go up and spend some time at Mauna Kea. Something to the effect, “you need to come up and see me.” To the Hawaiian’s, all the peaks on Hawai’i island are sacred, but Mauna Kea is the most sacred. I feel quite honored that she want me to come up and see her.

I got an email from a friend who will be here on the island and invited me to go… guess where? Mauna Kea. The spirits are very resourceful. My friend needed someone to accompany her, and the mountain wanted to see me. So, this weekend, we will be spending time up there with the giant. I’ll take my pocket digital camera and take some shots while there and post again soon about the trip.

I’ve been putting a trip up there off trying to get some web designs out the door, and I also need to make a trip back to Wyoming to finish “editing” that chapter of my life within the next month. I guess Mauna Kea has different plans, and I just got the memo.

Life in the tropics

Jul 14, 2010 / Richard

I had planned on getting a “meatier” post up this week, but I’ve been busy with other stuff. I hope to have something more substantive up in a few days.

How many of you have ever seen coffee “on the hoof?” This image is from right outside the house I’m living in on a sustainable, organic coffee farm. The owners are quite happy since the trees are heavy with coffee cherries this year. At the elevation, and in the area I’m living, June and July are the wet months, and although the first few months I was living here were very, very dry, June and July have turned out quite wet—at least wet as far as this ex-Wyoming boy is concerned. We’ve been getting at least an inch or two of rain each week, and this last couple weeks has seen an inch or more each day. I’ve got yard work to do (weeding and such) but haven’t been able to get out to do it. I might just have to put on my board shorts, a tee shirt and flip-flops and do it in the rain.

The first couple months here, the front area of the house was virtually just bare ground except for a few tropical plants that were somehow managing to survive the drought. Where as before I could look up the hill in front of the house and see the car parked up there, now all I can see is lush tropical plants (and of course the inevitable weeds). Weeds are good though. This island is a rock and dirt and topsoil are scarce actually on most of the island, so you have to create your own soil, and those weeds, which can grow 4 or 6 inches in just a couple days, become soil once composted. The soils here are quite loose, so pulling most weeds is very easy. There is probably a couple days work to be done in trimming stuff and pulling weeds, but the weather report for the next several days or so calls for at least 30% chance of rain, and here in this area and at this elevation, 30% is more like 100% this time of year.

I still have to pinch myself every so often to make sure that living here isn’t a dream. I’m thankful for every day, and each morning and evening, I express my gratitude to the spirits of this incredibe island.