"Made It!" or "A Boy & His Dog"

So...I arrived back in NY today around noon, but only after:

1--having a blow-out arguement with the airline in Honolulu about the size of the

crate for the dog and threatening to call the CEO to complain

2--sitting in my connecting plane in Salt Lake City and watching it snow, for goodness sake

3--transfering to 6 different planes

4--going through security 3 different times

5--traveling for 42 hours

6--developing swollen ankles from so much sitting

7--drinking way too much coke on the planes

and

8--finding that my luggage did not arrive with me in Albany

When I make my own itinerary, I try to choose aisle seats.  Because I was rerouted on this trip, I wound up sitting next to the windows most of the time.  Except that I feel like a prisoner when sitting next to the window, I usually pull out the camera and amuse myself a little.  Small consolation, but it works.  How cool are these next three images?

We've had dogs through all the years that the kids were growing up, but for some reason when Caleb was in high school he began talking about how he couldn't wait to have "his own" dog.  His dream finally came true.  Kashimir made the trip from her home in Honolulu to her new home in Fairbanks with Caleb. 

Not the kind of image I'd be happy with normally, but considering I only had about 10 minutes (ok, maybe 20 minutes) to hug the boy, meet his new friend, get a "family portrait", get back through security, and get on my plane, I'm happy I got an image this good.  Fortunately the Fairbanks airport is about as big as an oversized postage stamp, so getting through security was pretty easy and quick. 

Oh yeah, by the time I got back to the plane, there were only about 3 passengers left getting their tickets checked, so I really did make it back "just in the nick of time." 

PS--I'm freezing

Night Before Departure

Dinner at Haleiwa Joe's, Kaneohe, the night before leaving. 

24 Hours until Take-off

Another beautiful day, another beautiful beach.  This beach is on the windward side of the island and is restricted to military personnel.  My friend has a pass, so we hopped in the car and took a ride over there today. 

If I saw a photo like this in a magazaine, I would assume it was colorized.  But I assure you, this is the real deal--no photoshop magic.

2 Days Left

Today was one of those picture perfect days so it was absolutely necessary to go to the beach.  I took my camera and tripod, some lunch and my trusty ice-coffee and headed to the North Shore.  I stopped at a few beaches, and although there wasn't much activity, the water and sky were gorgeous.  

On my way back through Haleiwa, I heard a Shave Ice calling my name, so I stopped at the General Store for my last one before leaving.

This was a day of some of my favorite things:

1-taking photographs

2-lying in the shade on the beach reading a good book

3-taking my time driving

4-Shave Ice

5-warm temps and low humidity

6-watching waves

7-driving with all the windows down

8-walking barefoot in the sand

9-going to the post office and being the only one on line

10-going to the bank and being the only one on line

11-finding a parking spot at every beach I stopped at

 “Don't grow up too quickly, lest you forget how much you love the beach.”

 Michelle Held

3 Days Left

A friend and I finally managed to have some time together on Monday afternoon.  We drove to the Hawaiian Hilton in Honolulu and walked around the grounds.  Most of the area was shaded and I didn't have my tripod, so my options were very limited. Not much to say about these images. 

4 Days

One of the hymns we sang in church this morning.  Hope you all had a blessed Easter Day.

5 Days

There's a singing group here on Oahu named Rebel Souljahz.  I don't know if this plate is a take-off on the group's name or not, but it seems like it to me.

I think the sign says it all...



6 Days--Another Retirement

My friend's husband had his retirement ceremony today, celebrating 20 years of service in the US Navy.  The ceremony was held on the USS Missouri.  It was beautiful.

Another fun license plate...

7 Days--Spiral Staircase and Shark's Cove

My host's house is undergoing a major renovation. It's been going on since January. This morning was the day scheduled for the spiral staircase to be moved from one side to the other.

Now..., I grew up in an apartment in a large city.  The most creative you could be was to hang a few pictures and paint the walls a different color.  Even after all these years, I still have a hard time comprehending that you can knock out walls and put them someplace else, make windows where there weren't any, seal doorways, etc. 

Until this week, I've been working, so I've been gone by the time the guys get here to begin their job of dismantling walls, creating new rooms, moving windows & doors and generally making a lot of noise.  But this morning I was able to grab my camera and document the monumental task of moving the staircase.  What a job.  It was a beautiful thing to watch though-very well orchestrated and there wasn't a single glitch.



Taking the staircase out of its original location.



Placing the staircase in it's new location


When we were done documenting the construction, Betty and I decided to go to Shark's Cove to snorkle. When we arrived we saw this Monk Seal basking.  It's a pregnant female.  Once they're on the beach, watching these creatures is like watching paint dry.  Because of that and because she was on her back and not very photogenic, I didn't stick around to take too many photos.

After snorkling, we headed back to Haleiwa for, yep, you guessed it, Shave Ice.  I really wanted to get a photo of Betty and I together, but there weren't any likely candidates hanging around to take the photo, so we took each other's photo.  BTW, there's a new flavor now.  White Cake.  Very yummy!

And no, I didn't have two Shave Ice.  I offered to hold Betty's while she was taking the photo.  After all, which is most important--that I only have one in my hand while Betty juggled the camera and her Shave Ice, or that my camera was safe in her hands??  hmmm, no contest!

8 days--Honolulu Zoo

Well, before I recount my experiences at the zoo, I have some thoughts to share. 

1.  I'm so amazingly tired by the end of the day that I can't even think about writing anything interesting, witty, thought-provoking, exciting, etc. on my blog.

2.  I recently ordered two books of my past blog posts and after reading them I realized that the posts I've been putting up lately are beyond boring.  See #1 above.

3.  Day by day I'm astounded at how wonderful blessings are mixed in with the things that depress me, and I'm so grateful for those blessings.

4.  When I put my photos into photoshop and really examine them, I wonder why I just don't throw the camera away.

5.  I wonder what I would do with myself if I did, indeed, throw the camera away.

6.  I only have 8 days left here and that depresses me.

7.  On the other hand, my calendar is dotted with interesting things I have scheduled when I return to NY, and that gives me something to look forward to.

I could go on and on.  Instead, here's the lowdown on my Zoo day.  I cleverly entered the zoo right around noon--high noon to be exact.  Now, that is definitely NOT the most  appropriate time to go to the zoo on a sunny, hot day.  The animals are lethargic, the sun beats down, and a good part of the zoo was "under construction", or the animals were not available.  In addition I wore sandals--big mistake.  Walking long distances in sandals makes my legs tired AND they gave me blisters so bad that by the time I left, I had to take them off and walk barefoot.  Well... maybe that wasn't so bad after all. 

Anyway, here are two photos that are somewhat redeemable, at least in tiny format.

When I'd finally had all I could take of the zoo, I walked across the street to the beach (happily barefoot all the way).  The surf was pretty active--usually it's not much on the south shore in the winter.  The water was a beautiful color, the surf was good, the sky was blue and the tradewinds were blowing, creating an almost perfect beach day.

"Ono" in Hawaiian means "delicious".  Great license plate.

When I leave here next week, I'm taking a detour to Alaska to deliver a dog to my son.  He was concerned about what size crate I would need.  The current owner already has a crate, but it's large and my son didn't think it would be allowed.  I contacted the airline. The crate will work.  I'm psyched.  See....small blessings are always mixed in with the other nonsense of life.  Thank God. 

9 Days

Two ladies from work treated me to lunch today as a "goodbye".  They took me to a place that serves local food.  I let them order for me because I don't know what most of the foods are called or what they are. 

I was really surprised that I liked it all.  All except for the poi.  I wouldn't even taste that because I had some a few years ago, and I knew then that I need never taste it again.

Hawaiian food still isn't high on my list of foods that make me drool, but it was fun and I enjoyed my time with my friends.

I saw this license plate a few days ago.

The Countdown--10 days

Spent the day at the beach at Ko Olina.  83 degrees.  Soft breeze.   Partially blue skies.