31 Mar The Lion's Roar in PA, 1 March-in' Florida

 31 Mar: The Irish Pub is a great place for lunch; we especially enjoyed conversation with Kim-Eric. The weather is cold and wet!

 28 Mar: Archival work commenced once again at the Lutheran Seminary of Philadelphia.  It will take us awhile to figure out where we left off last spring. 

We will wear our new ribbons proudly... as Fellows of the Swedish Colonial Society,

27 Mar: What a surprise!  We were astonished and delightfully surprised to receive Fellow of the Swedish Colonial Society status at the annual Forefather's Luncheon.  The organization thanked us for archival work with a Fellows Pin and Award.  Thanks really goes to the late Dr. Peter Craig for his outstanding contribution to the history of the Swedes on the Delaware or we would not have this honor.   The "fellow-ship" and food were quite marvelous; we loved seeing Rambo/Bankston cousin Jill D' with her delightful hubby Michael. 

26 Mar: Yup.  Still chilly.  Free breakfast coupons warranted a five dollar tip to the server.   Nice day for staying indoors.   Very nice!
25 Mar: A high of 45 is forecast for Philly today with minimal increase over the next few days.   We are ensconced at the Hilton Garden Inn following a delicious dinner at Bone Fish Grill.       
24 Mar: Columbia, SC  departure ca. 4 PM; on 81 in VA by sunset with marvelous views of spring en route.    Everything at the Gowdy's has been organized ten times over with the recycling taken to the dump, too.
23 Mar:  Columbia, SC.
22 Mar:  Columbia, SC. 
21 Mar:  Columbia, SC. 

20 Mar, 2011, Sunday: Breakfast at Lizard's Thicket was wonderfully enjoyable again.  Dick was suitably disgusted with my hot-sauce smiley faced grits and broiled fish and egg whites.  Susan was again the delightful waitress and the coffee helped.  Once I knew the names of the other waitresses, but too much time has passed for my memory.  The two additional 12GB hard drives have been paid for ($26 including shipping), a bag of pine straw provided impetus for the daily walk, but the knee is still complaining.  (Insert)  Smooch Smooch Ahoy in Texas!  She is finally over a bad cold and appears to be ship shape for arrival in Philadelphia Friday at 2: 40 PM.

19 Mar:  Columbia, SC.  Awakened before dawn to avoid the neighbors' barking dog.  Late afternoon I tore into Donna's computer and exposed most of it's innards without breaking anything (I hope).  Ruby Tuesday's salad bar provided a filling meal although light on the protein.  Clark & Elizabeth, Greg & Donna proved entertaining as usual. 

18 Mar: The 12GB hard drive is ordered from eBay and totals a mere $17 (PayPal-ed).  I shoulda done this three days ago.  It was a big surprise that another laptop bid for $30 succeeded (add 15 shipping).  Two other bids are still highest with a day of bidding left.  The administrator password for my XP system still eludes me, so today's project is thrashing through all the paper hereabouts hoping to come across that password while separating recycling for the next dump (& recycling) run.  Today's other goal is to surprise Mary Lou with a gift bag of pine needles.  Third goal is to mail a few things.

17 Mar:  Amazing how big a holly bush can grow when neglected for an entire year.  Dick was sick, so today's exercise was a shorter walk & talk on cell phone to smooch who is still sickly.  Donna and I enjoyed a pleasant lunch and afternoon with Mary; her back yard landscaping is looking wonderful with spring in the air, flowers blooming, and trees leafing.  More mending until sleepy at 11 PM.

16 Mar:  6:40 AM in Columbia, SC.  I woke up at 2 and was still awake at 3, so got up & found the clone computer, cleared space, dug for stuffs, and am now set up for the day.  72 degrees forecast for high today; 48 degrees now.  It rained gently last night as I was setting up the tent to sleep out.  The tent leaked, so I threw tarps over it.

15 Mar: Smooch is off to Texas for ten days.  She started missing me upon awakening, 10 hours before the plane left.  Our exercise program is recovering: 45 good minutes on the elliptical machines, upper body weightlifting, and a couple of dozen sit-ups preceded by IHOP omelets and followed by Ruby Tuesday salad bars.  (Ashley from NJ is general manager and was indeed at the Lexington IHOP last year.)  Once Cynthia was en route at 4PM, the lawn & shrubs occupied me until Greg came home with bad news about his vertebrae - 5 discs are trashed.  My threadbare "Key West" shirt is now completely mended.

14 Mar: Smooch's sunglasses mysteriously disappeared for a time, then showed up in an impossible place.  Gold's Gym was incredibly noisy.

9 Mar:  Good grief - where does the time go?  There are just so many fun things to do daily ... and having a smooch smooch in tow reduces available time to zip.  We have been having lotsa fun and are now in Lake Wales, Florida.  I'll post a picture of my brand new Fla driver license as soon as I have one.  The clerk at DMV in Key West was delightful and helpful with all the paperwork, the machine testing my eyes obviously enlarged the letters to my benefit, and my smiling face did not break the camera (even though it had to exercise its craft twice).

8 Mar:  We got on the road in Ft. Meyers early to deliver "Mom" - our mobile home - to the Lexus dealer for her 30,000 mile maintenance.  Don't you wish you could have your joints tightened and fluids refreshed in a couple of hours?  The nearby IHOP had just fed us egg white omelets (not as good as the Big Pine Restaurant), and we had paid $2 to cross the bridge onto ?? when the dealer called us to return the 2011 loaner Lexus hybrid.  We scooted up the coast to St. Petersburg and into the Dali Museum for a few hours - MARVELOUS.  Vic and Nola insisted that we stop in to visit in Lake Wales and treated us to a fine Grouper dinner at the Cherry Pit.  Wonderfully fun couple.

1 Mar. Tues:  "Raindrops keep fallin"  on my head..."  anndd intoooo the car, (despite windows cracked down the tiniest bit).   A mop job and Ron's  ON THE ROAD AGAIN  by six-thirty AM.  Nearing Tampa at eight, patches of blue sky hold forth promise of clear skies for seven sunny hours to Big Pine Key; nearing Naples at eleven the skies are pure Willie:  
"Blue skies keep smilin' at me, nothin' but blue skies do I see...
Never saw the sun shinin' so bright
Never saw things goin' so right
Noticing the days hurrying by
When you're in love, my how they fly by."

By-passing Naples at noon-thirty, Ron talked his way down the Tamiami Trail....arriving in Big Pine Key before seven to surprise Greg, "Happy Birthday, Greg!"

Smooch is dismayed to find HER lost day:  she arrives in Key West a day later... Thursday and not Wednesday.  We have reservations at Parmer's in Big Pine Key.

28 Feb: I love you too

Crystal River

28 Feb:  It was a delight to see Tom and Dot again; too bad Smooch smooch is still in Texas with commitments.  Tom & Dot have gone off kayaking for a few hours and left me at home with a magnificent view of Crystal River from the picture window (duckies, wind, and manatee dive boats adding interest).

27 Feb, Sunday: Breakfast this morning with Martha Frank en route to South Florida.  Martha and her son Dave are wonderfully entertaining conversationalists.  She is a closer cousin to Cynthia, and Martha's brother's 67-marker DNA matches exactly some of the Bankston cousins descended from Lawrence (born about 1704).  After a pleasant day of conversation, humor, lunch, and show-and-tell (dollhouse and Baltimore mirror), Ron finished "the last" cup of coffee and commenced driving towards Crystal River on the interstates.  Eight hours and several conversations later, at 1AM, the GPS directed me onto a narrow "cart track" that is North Circle Drive.  Sure enough, Dot left the light on, the bed made, and the key hidden as described.  In the morning I puzzled over my readiness to sleep indoors until the no-see-ums convinced me of the merits of shelter.

26 Feb. Saturday:  We walked to the fitness center and to the nearby recycling before Ron departed alone alas at 12: 15 PM: east on 105 to Beaumont en route Big Pine Key, FL.  Rte 105 proved to be a nice, quiet, pleasant back country road.  In Baton Rouge, Pat was entertaining the family and was unavailable for dinner, so I continued driving until past Mobile, AL.  Thirty miles from Pace, Florida the gauge was nearing empty and Love's gas was $3.19, so, so I filled up and decided to sleep next door at the Bay Inn Motel, "newly remodeled."  Smooch discovered that her flight to Key West is WEDNESDAY and not Thursday!  She lost a day someplace.

Sunrise at the Lake House, 25 Feb.

25 Feb: Ron awakened early and put the time to good use cleaning leaves and slop out of Dorothy's gutters.  The "behind-the-back-pass" motion catalyzed a "muscle memory" convincing me that I've done this before, and the focus needed to land the slop in the yard (not on the porch, not on the railing) convinced me that I've cleaned Dorothy;'s gutters before - and forgotten it entirely.  Dorothy was also amused to think that the muscle memory is better than either of our mental memories.  By early afternoon the gutters were cleaned and the gutter-guard screening was re-installed, and Dorothy was delighted to accept my offer to trim a few limbs overhanging the roof.  The Verizon phone repair showed up just after we had trimmed a couple of 8-inch limbs overhanging the street (to quiet the city's inspectors).  The Verizon guy was sociable, but DSL is his biggest problem.  DSL wouldn't sync until the modem was disconnected; it read 2.8 MIPS when the house wiring was disconnected but only 0.5 MIPS when connected to house wiring.  Dorothy disconnected all but one phone inside the house, we bypassed the surge protector, and Dorothy now has high speed internet - Thank God.  Smooch didn't want her daughter to catch her sinus infection, so she decided to sleep at home, and the allure of another night with my Smooch drew me back to the lake house in Montgomery.  During a stop at Kroger for gas and raspberries, a lovely bouquet of yellow roses screamed "BUY ME," but smooch intercepted me just inside the door, so my attempt to surprise her "failed."

24 Feb: The DSL issues are not resolved (Dorothy's "machine.")  Testing the lines tomorrow.

23 Feb: We celebrated two years by packing furiously.  Boxes of papers strewn throughout the game room were efficiently (or almost) whisked away into the car or closet.  Smooch was promptly delivered to the car rental by one PM, and Ron was en route to Denton once again to retrieve a bag of important papers, cell phone chargers, etc., left the week before by a sleep deprived Someone.  Not to mention names... but that same Someone and Dorothy talked last night way into the wee hours:  TWO AM!

19 Feb: Workers are gone until the end of the week.  Quiet, peaceful day followed by a repeat of last night's moonscape turning the lake water into molten gold. 

18 Feb: Smooch drove home because Someone was too tired.  The sunset on the lake was marvelous, the moon was an incredible golden orb that filled the eastern sky.

 17 Feb: Smooch walked for two hours while Dorothy and Ron worked on computer issues and began indexing her new book.  After dinner, Dorothy and Smooch went to sleep.  Someone else stayed up the entire night to finish the index for chapter one.

16 Feb: Two Blue Herons perched on the boat slip enjoying the sunrise, too.  After lunch at the Caddy Shack we drove to visit cousin Dorothy in Denton, a sprightly and delightful watercolor artist of some renown.  Dinner was delicious: stuffed grape leaves.

15 Feb:  Another early morning.  This afternoon the Dr. will take the stitches out of my toe and admire his handiwork.  I wondered what my Smooch was doing in the wee hours of the AM.  This Feb 14 entry explains her mission.

14 Feb:  Happy Valentine's Day! Smooch!   it was a stellar day, roses, roses everywhere.  The trip to the Montgomery County Recycling left the house empty. We had a lovely lunch at Hyden's and Valentine's dinner at the Caddy Shack.  Happy Days are here again!

13 Feb: Rachel and Ryan visited around dinnertime.  I was not at my best, having little sleep for 2 of three nights while preparing to start traveling again.  The big accomplishment was addressing and writing a note in each of the 75 annual letters going to friends without e-mail.  Oh, and opening 6 months worth of mail to do my financial accounting - I'm not broke yet.

8 Feb: Goodie, Cynthia uploaded a good close-up picture of my colorful toe.  The Dr. calls the red stuff a splint.  Sorry that the snow is not more vivid in the picture; it was certainly cold on the foot !  The laptop has frozen four or five times now.  Your neighbourhood geek knows how the scare the living snot out of it; take it apart and spray that icy electrical contact cleaner all over it's innards; threaten it with EBay.
The second CD "chapter" is on the web today ... only ten more to go.  Google books and Open Library and Internet Archives AMAZE me with the text of so many genealogical books on-line.  It has helped resolve errors but has tons of time because "prospecting" for answers is just too appealing and is usually unsuccessful.     3 blocks walking today.

7 Feb: My old laptop provided me quite a scare today when the screen suddenly went dark.  Once I realized that the Caps Lock indicator wasn't lighting, it was obvious that the system had crashed and a reboot was unavoidable.  Fortunately the reboot worked, leaving only the question, "Why?"  The fan has been making more noises, and all the plaster dust in the air has probably reduced air flow and caused overheating.  [Good theory, but no dust devils in there.](Where does one buy a new fan for a 10-year-old laptop?)
The remodeling crew was back at work after the weekend off, and the entire house smells of aerosol from the texture spray.  That huge wall should be nearly finished this time tomorrow.[it is]  Once the computer failed and the house was filled with noxious fumes, a long walk seemed like a healthful idea, so I walked around the block and talked with brother Dean for the duration.  The toe formerly hammer-toed never hurt during the walk, thank God.

6 Feb, Sunday:  Cynthia was up at 5:30, omelet-ed, and off to church by 6:30.  Her hearing aids enabled her to enjoy the sermon, and she was delighted to see Jim & Julie & Eric.  After all those days of a cold house, it was nice to be comfortable again.  We ate lunch at Hydens and were surprised to find absolutely no flowers at Walmart.  (Cynthia thinks that the SuperBowl addicts bought the entire supply to try to avoid marital discord during the game.)  Amazing how relaxing it can be to be home alone without a remodeling crew providing "amusement."

Well, the Dr. SAID to ICE the toe!

5 Feb: Last post was just minutes ago ... in January?  Smooch smooch has again been enjoying egg white veggie omelets for breakfast at home.  The Rambo CD is progressing ever so slowly despite huge investment in time, but is still very satisfying.  Toe is healing nicely, but I'm still in bed with foot elevated and iced most of every day.  The house is still full of plaster dust and cold air, but remodeling is nearing completion.  Setting the thermostat at 83 degrees overnight didn't even maintain the 65 degree temperature we enjoyed most of yesterday.  Thank goodness that Cynthia's study receives morning sunshine thermal gain.  (No problem for the chronic hypothermic.  Gosh, I betcha that "chronic hypothermic" alone will Google my site only.  Fooey, it is a medical situation, and even discussions in Greek and Japanese show up ahead of me.)  Air conditioning maintenance was called and replaced the filters.  Amazing that clogged filters can cause the system to pump out only chilly air.

4 Feb: Dinner last night with the "work crew" and Katie was again a wonderful treat for us all.  Jim and Cindy, who are working semi-professionally at remodeling as a retirement hobby (you may have to read that twice - it is an outrageous concept), showed up on their normal day off to complete working on the 20-foot high wall.  I knew they would because ...

3 Feb: ... when I sneaked upstairs to work on the CD last night, the scaffolding and ladder was nearly blocking the entire staircase. (Amusing that lying in bed all day reduces the amount of sleep needed at night.)  This evening we took Jon, Jim & Cindy, and Hank, Felicia, & Katie to dinner at the Caddy Shack.  Everyone enjoyed themselves thoroughly again, and our waiter, Matt, was more sociable than his usually sociable self.  We decided that he was smitten by Katie because she is a "water girl" and had terrific fun tubing despite 50 degree lake water temperature.  (Besides the fact that she is cute, smart, sociable, fun, mature-for-her-age, and good with sodoku.)  The big event of the day was the visit to Dr. Ehret to find out if my toe was still alive.  Again reassuring to have the professional opinion that it is still there.  He was very pleased that I hadn't done anything stupid to retard healing.  I was happy to hear that everything looked excellent to him but was disappointed that the stitches didn't come out and that the next appointment is 10 days from now on a Tuesday.  He encouraged me to spend as much time as convenient in bed with the foot elevated and iced.  I'm allowed to wear shoes that don't cause pain and to be up and about more gradually.  The big shocker to me is that nowadays a medical "splint" is nothing more than gauze and a compression bandage.  We are "training" the "soft tissue" to lie in alignment with the other nearby toes.  (Never mind that one of those looks to be beginning to hammer.")

2 Feb: Sub freezing temperatures forecast, and the house takes forever to warm up in the morning.  I suspect that the heating system is dead or dormant.

31 Jan: Best continuing Wishes for a Happy decade

31 Jan: Another lazy day in bed, although we have BIG plans to grocery shop and dine out this evening.

30 Jan, Sunday:  Smooch surprised me by posting pictures again.  I'm still satisfied, making good progress on the Rambo CD; the Companion Volume is mostly complete.  This AM Smooch mentioned breakfast out, but cooking omelets in sounded better to me.  After cooking the egg whites veggie omelet for Smooch Smooch, I called Dick Richards since I was too late to catch the Gowdys or Gregorys at breakfast.  It will be fun to see everyone at the wedding.

29 Jan, Sat. AM, Lake Conroe, Texas: The Sunrise is spectacular!  The patient  amazing.  Smooch!

Speaking of amazing, my cholesterol labs results are in: total cholesterol 116, HDL = 58, LDL = 49, triglycerides = 43, but the evil LP(a) is still elevated at 35 - way down from 130 a year ago, but still a substantial risk factor.

28 Jan:  WOW, the pain last night was intense several times, but fortunately for only a few seconds until I moved and relaxed.  I wonder if it is the pressure of the sheets now that the toe is more exposed.

27 Jan: Dr. Ehret pronounced me a "good boy" for keeping the foot elevated and iced.  It is healing faster than normal since I'm soooo good.

Not a bad view for the bed-ridden.  This morning a huge flock of birds gathered right out front until a power boat scared them all into flight.  By opening the back door, Cynthia spooked the great blue heron away from the boat cover.

I don't understand how Blogger decides where to put my typing; it won't let me type next to the picture.

The perfect patient !!  Cute ... and bald

25 Jan: No pain !!  Amazing that I've had NO pain throughout the six days since surgery Wed. eve.   Contrary to the expectations of most everyone, I've stayed in bed 24/7 with foot iced and elevated above my heart throughout the day.  (Nordic Ice is pretty amazing.)  About the fourth day, Cynthia expressed her affection with the endearing words, "You poop."  I guess she had more pain from her hammertoe operation years ago.  Until now my "techie" solution for hammertoe has been a slit cut in the top of my shoe, but she needed the operation in order to wear cute shoes.  (Yes, sadly, my smooch is addicted to her cute shoes) 
I've only done a sudoku or rwo a day and have spent most of my time working on the Rambo Companion Volume of Reference and the CD.  It is so very satisfying to be making such progress; the time in bed is actually rewarding and pleasurable.  My mending is still awaiting the day I don't feel like doing anything else.
Dr. Ehret will see me again Thursday; maybe he'll let me walk next week.  I'm very curious to hear from Dr. Gould about the results my cholesterol blood work after a year of meds and limited fat intake (10 grams a day, total for all fats & oils).

21 Jan: Newest link is to http://www.BornerPower.com which demonstrates a more efficient engine design.

20 Jan:  Dr. Ehret cut & pasted my hammertoe, and I'm now (self)-confined to bed.  It is 20 hours since the surgery and nothing hurts yet.  He is a marvelously efficient and competent surgeon besides being a "friend" of Cynthia's son, Jon.  A cold front is arriving, the wind is gusty, and the lake quite excitingly choppy.  Not a bad bed to rest in.  The Rambo proofreading is progressing satisfactorily; 250 pages done, an equal number yet to do.  Companion volume progressing nicely too (simultaneously).  The CD is also progressing nicely, but the amount of work needed there is staggering.

19 Jan:  Another day at the fitness center.  No more fitness for a week after surgery this evening at 5pm.  Walmart Pharmacy here is a farce, rude staff, incompetent lazy help, a huge demand, and totally irritating.  Only one pharmacist, Angelena, seems to do any work, and she is endlessly busy.

18 Jan:  Hank & Felicia, Jim & Cindy, Jon & Katie, and Smooch smooch & I thoroughly enjoyed a dinner at the nearby restaurant.  It was a little noisy, and I was the most casually dressed (substantially), and we stayed up late for us, 10pm.

15 Jan:  We are moved into the lake house (despite much remodeling/painting clutter) yesterday after Dr. Gould confirmed that I'm still alive.  Blood was drawn for the several tests including especially my genetic heritage, the evil LP(a) cholesterol.  I'm still wondering how Dr. Gould knew that I ride a Beemer.
OK, 'nuf blogging.  Time to resume proofreading.

12 Jan:  The DNA cheek swab is sent off to ??; I became interested after release of this latest "Family Finder" test that crosses the male/female boundary to provide more specific relationships within 5 generations.  An empty Schenck family website is up for cousin Jean to modify and she has acquired the gmail account needed for accesss.

11 Jan: Luncheon with the Lutheran Bishop was wonderful.  Michael Rinehart is a very nice guy, and he gave me good advice about website, and he expects to be notified by some Google bot that this mention of his name has been posted anywhere on the web (Hi Michael, don't forget to misspell your name as Michael Reinhardt.  It is even Ok to add a line like "Please don't misspell my name as Michael Reinhardt or Rinhart.")

9 Jan:  Lots accomplished.  I'm a Wiki contributor - to the Peter Gunnarson Rambo page.  The first new chapters of the Rambo Family Tree CD are published to the rambofamilytree web site along with a few other improvements.  The CamblinBook website has another generation and a few links.  It is nearly time to print the annual letter with pictures for mailing.  Goodie, goodie, dumbdrops.  Paint is still "drying" on this rainy day in Texas.  Nice dinner last night at Caddy Shack with John & Hank (Ron) and Felicia.

7 Jan:  My Oh My, How time flies.  We've been in Montgomery, Texas for 24 hours now, and I've caught up with sleep, correspondence, and organization, so it is time to update blog & web sites.  The biggest news is that the MIT Alumni Association had a couple of addresses for long lost buddies, Acorn & Weino.  The wedding invitation list is completed.  We are presently camped out at the Best Western while waiting for paint to dry at the lake house.  Cynthia is just returned from running errands, so we will leave for dinner at the Caddy Shack ASAP.  Cynthia tells me there are new pictures in a Hawaii10 Picasa album.

5 Jan:  We enjoyed a lovely drive with Jean to Kapaa, ate at the Wahoo Seafood Restaurant, found the Farmers' Market, and enjoyed the open air atmosphere and street side balcony of the Olympic Cafe.  Jean impressed us with her command of the Hawaiian language.  Cindy at the Koa Kea was a lot of fun; she and I exchanged cheerful banter on several occasions.

4 Jan:  We arrived on Kauii without incident, crammed like sardines into tiny seats on the Hawaiian Airlines Inter-Island flight.  After renting our car from Enterprise, we checked in at the Koa Kea hotel, and Cynthia changed into a swim suit.  The drive around the island to Honalea Bay was scenic but wearing after the lack of sufficient sleep two night in a row.  Once there with Eric & Jean and Jason, Rachel and Ian we found ourselves enjoying the vacation & company tremendously.  Little 10-month-old Ian had no problems with his drool and sand beard, but rubbing a tiny sandy fist in his eye was traumatic.  He learns quickly and only did that once.  Incredibly, today Cynthia and I both got wet in the ocean.  We exited after a cresting wave bigger than I am pasted us and put a taste of salt in our mouths.  Fun, fun, but that beach is shallow with an uneven bottom, so Cynthia swam three strokes, and I swam 0.

3 Jan: As we embarked on our daily walk, we took a path uphill through the grounds and found ourselves on a golf cart path.  Cynthia entered the club house as I entered the lavatory.  She did not reappear, but instead seated herself and ordered a glass of wine and salad.  We enjoyed the lunch with a nice view before resuming our walk, again following an unused cart path.  This part of the course was obviously closed and neglected so we felt quite comfortable and well pleased with the solitude and magnificent views of the ocean.  Imagine our dismay when an authoritarian employee arrived en carte to insist that we leave this deserted course immediately with him on his cart.  His brusque, unpleasant synopsis is that, "In the resort, you are an asset to us.  Out here you are a liability."

2 Jan 2011, Sunday:  The last few days have been pretty eventful, and we've had a lot of fun.  Today George let us take a brand new Kawasaki 900 motorcycle for a test ride.  The bike was good, but we decided to test ride a few others before making a decision.  It was indeed fun to ride on two wheels again ... even if the ride was only ten miles around the airport.  Hawaii is expensive; the taxi to & from the airport was $60 each way.  We hadn't made dinner reservations, but we've eaten at Spago's so many times that the hostesses and wait staff know us, so we were given a nice table in a wonderfully quiet corner, and of course the meal (mahi mahi) was perfect as usual.  Cynthia hadn't know the price of the glass of wine and declared that she'd drink dish water henceforth.

1 Jan:  Happy New Year - we've heard, but haven't tried the Hawaiian for Happy New Year; Mele Kalikimaka twisted our tongues badly enough for now.  Today the skies were much clearer, but we only walked an hour on the road towards the parks and surf.  It was fun to see details up-mountain that had been obscurred previously - like the line of electric generation wind mills marching in a ragged line up the mountain across the bay.  We enjoyed dinner with George, Ghee and their two kids, Gheo and Ginger.  George has a new job at the Harley shop selling motorcycles, so we arranged to test ride a Kawasaki.  The stars were bright and clear, unusual in our experience these eight(?) days on Maui.

31 Dec: Wayne with Hike Maui tours guided us to a magnificent 400' waterfall on the opposite side of the island.  The ride started with a 6am pickup after a cold breakfast in the room.  Sunrise came while we were inside the truck "barn" getting food and gear.  We circumscribed (Is that the right word?) the mountain on a twisty road that puts the "Tail of the Dragon" to shame - something like 600 turns in 20 miles, many of them one lane hairpins.  The hike in to the waterfall was more strenuous than our previous Hike Maui hike to Twin Falls (that one was a stroll); this time we hike uphill for about 2.5 miles and crossed a knee-deep stream twice.  As we were changing shoes prior to the stream crossing, the mist turned to light rain.  The mist/rain combo intensified as we approached the waterfall, preventing us from taking pictures, but the waterfall was magnificent, awesome even due to the additional water.  After the waterfall, the ride back was overlong despite several stops at scenic water including an ocean cave, a black sand beach, and some awesome crashing surf.  Whenever the van was moving, we were constantly thrown against each other as Wayne tried to make good time over this snaky road.

30 Dec: The highlight today was Cynthia's first frightening exposure to the thrills of hitchhiking, even though we hitchhiked unintentionally.  The dead-end road to the State Park is narrow with many blind corners and hills, so I started giving "thumbs up" to indicate a clear road for cars approaching us from behind.  We were both shocked and surprised when a car pulled to a stop alongside us.  The driver & passenger were smiling & friendly, so I hopped in ASAP while Cynthia entered into a state of shock, climbed into the car, and begged them to treat her nicely.  She was kinda shell shocked by the experience, but we did get out to the park at the end of the road quickly with time to hike a mile along the ocean, thrilling to the surf crashing onto the lava rocks, sometimes pounding and sounding like canons and sometimes throwing water thirty feet into the air.  The white rock scattered along this remote beach is a puzzle; later our guide Wayne explained that the white rock was either coral or basalt lava.

29 Dec: Cynthia has resigned as scribe.  Sorry to predict that updates will be less frequent and pictures will be fewer.  Despite the loss & disappointment, I certainly thank Cynthia for all the work she has done on this blog.  AttaDear.

MELE KALIKIMAKA - Dec. 27

MELE KALIKIMAKA

27 Dec 2014: My annual letter is posted on the web at http://sites.google.com/site/rsbeatty/christmas-letter-2010

The Makena has a good breakfast buffet with an omelet chef, so we are fat and sassy again this morning.  I need to get busy editing my Picasa albums, but it is probably time for Smooch Smooch and I to go for our after-breakfast waddle.  More later again.  Christmas dinner at Nick's Seafood down the street at the Fairmont was fabulous with open air on the patio and all the sunset and bikinis that either of us could want.

25 Dec: Mele Kalikimaka.  We arrived at the Makena resort in Maui towards evening, so today was our first walk & look-around.  The hotel grounds are spectacular, arranged around an interior courtyard with waterfall and nature trail.  Our balcony overlooks the ocean, the beach, the sailboat, and a couple of islands.  I've taken a couple of pictures and will post them soon.  The only drawback is expensive (or limited internet access): $60 per week in the room, free in the lobby.  So now I'm hungry and ready to search for food.  More later.

 24 Dec: The transition to Maui went smoothly.  The cabbies were friendly and talkative (me too, surprise, surprise).  We are both happy with the progress genealogically during December.  Cynthia is beginning to commence to start working on another book, this one about the 3 James Leas in Caswell County in the 1700s.  Ron's Camblin website shows up well now.  The Rambo CD is progressing nicely, although there is still an incredible amount of work ahead.

18 Dec: Today I omeletted in the condo, snacked at noon, and computered outside covered with a sheet to thwart the mosquitoes.  Now it is getting too hot for me outside and the sunshine is creeping towards my toes.

17 Dec: Dinner at 5:30 oceanside at Huggo's was perfect with a bright sunset, good waves, and wonderful Ono (that's fish).  Cynthia prefers Huggo's to Jackie Rey's for a wider selection of fish, better sunset views, and the ocean almost underfoot.  Breakfast at Bongo Ben's was less than perfect, although the 13-year-old family member who waited on us was delightful.  Our shoreside walk after breakfast was delightful, as was the evening walk to dinner.

15 Dec: The luncheon at Lava Java was wonderful.  Mike was in town looking for a new, used pick-em-up truck, so the girls talked and the guys talked and a fine time was had by all.  Excitement runs high today because we have a luncheon date with Wendy (and hopefully Mike) at Lava Java.  Wendy assures me that they have good, healthy food and nice salads (and obviously coffee).

Cynthia is beginning to worry about over-crowding at our wedding.  We have nearly 100 confirmed attendees already and the facilities are comfortable for 125 to 150.  We gotta have a dance floor at the reception; we may have to "recept" in two shifts, early & late.  There are a number of people I've not yet invited (usually for lacking ANY address).  We may have to invite them to the Friday brunch only.  Hmm, since several are AT hikers, they should be comfortable outside ??

14 Dec 2014: Breakfast at Bongo Ben's this AM.  Highly recommended for anyone in Kona.  They do a wonderful job with egg white veggie omelets, and the nearly ocean side seats have pedestrian traffic for added amusement. The walks to and from were perfect, cool and comfortable; not overlong.
After spending too many tedious hours editing the Camblin material for acceptable presentation (and drinking coffee all afternoon), I was still able to resume work on the Rambo CD until midnight.  The work is more fun on the lanai in the morning because of flower fragrances in the air (although the bugs and a few mosquitos lessen the pleasure).  By mid-afternoon, it is far too muggy: pleasantly warm but very humid.


I wonder if Cynthia has yet become a "follower" of this blog.  Blogger tells me that I have 0 (that's a big fat goose egg) followers.  [15th, ohhh, she added a widget to the margin and is now a follower.  Smooch, smooch, smooch I love you.  Thank God for Cynthia.]  Where is Ron Now finds me first,  and this sentence corrected the problem resulting from mistakenly Googling Where's Ron Now. Once again I'll just have to Google myself to rise in the results rankings.  

Maybe my beloved will download the newest Waikaloa pictures from my camera onto another Picasa web album. (Thanks Google.  Thank you Cynthia.  Thank God for everything.)  [15th Ron, you Dummy, always, always, ALWAYS remember to remove pictures of your beloved that are un-flattering, no matter how amusing.]  I doubt I'll ever convince her to post the "cute shoes" picture even tho' I think it is marvelous.

13 Dec: Returning the rental car to Waikaloa went wonderfully well.  After waiting an hour for the commuter bus, the miracle is that it is a free ride.  Amusing to think that NO ONE on the hotel staff has any knowledge of it for the tourists.  Dinner at Jackie Rey's was as satisfactory as always; when the chef owns the restaurant but prefers to stay in the kitchen, good food happens.


12 Dec, Sun:   Test for day two:  What was the white stuff atop 13,000-foot Mauna Kea this morning?  SNOW !  In Hawaii ??  They musta  shipped it in from the Midwest where we are told they have an oversupply.  Now we can vicariously experience camaraderie with our friends and family who are housebound after being nailed by the big, early blizzard of 2010.

11 Dec Sat:  Are you ready with paper and number 2 pencil?  Eraser?  This is a test:  Where did Ron and Cynthia eat dinner the last night at Waikoloa?   OHH!  You peeked.  Yes, it was at the HAMASUTRA!  Who surprised us?  WENDY (and her hubby Mike)!  Yes.  Right again.  Wendy was our favorite staff person at Waikoloa both times we were here in 2009.  She looked beautiful and gave Ron a huge hug.  AHHH!  The staff at the Kamuela Provision Company keeps "our" table right at ocean side every night.  They have been marvelous! And the ocean views table side are the best garnish any meal could ever have.  Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou Tiffany.

We saw one of the two the big barracudas in the boat canal during our walk last night. 

10 Dec: Wow, clouds and rain today; Cynthia also loves cloudscapes.  We are still spending way too much time indoors, venturing out only to eat dinner at the Hamasutra restaurant. (The real name is Kamuela Provision Company, but I cannot seem to remember that name.)  Yesterday was productive in terms of the Camblin genealogy, so today's focus is communication (hence this update).
Oh, as an aside to my dear friends who view my sleeping indoors as a MAJOR life change, I have to tell y'all that I'm now cooking omelets for breakfast whenever convenient; even I view this as major change.

7 Dec: Another beautiful day in Hawaii.  No wonder that the Hawaiians are all such happy people.  Our condo is in the middle of the golf course, but we've not seen any of those interesting black goats yet this year. [Cynthia saw several from afar on the 8th]  The stars were wonderful at 5:30am, and I did see a mongoose slink across the lawn early today.  The computer and I are on the back porch at ground-level in bare feet and short sleeves.  Cynthia and I have not done much sight seeing, but we are making terrific progress on our sundry projects relating to correspondence, wedding, and genealogy.
Perhaps recapping, we've eaten dinner at sunset nearly every night overlooking the ocean at the Kamuela Provision Company at Waikaloa; our helicopter ride over the volcano this year was even more awesome than previously, but only the granddaughter & friend took pictures.  We flew right over Mauna Loa's crater and later saw a lava flow on the surface dropping over the cliff into the ocean.  The pilot pointed out "silvery" lava that was just now cooling and had thought that a home twenty feet away would be in flames by then.  He showed us the 1983 flow that had frightened Hilo residents (which was already very overgrown and green) and also told us that the lava flows around Waikaloa were about 5,000 years old but were still black because the leeward side gets only about 4" of rain annually vs 170" in the mountains.

4 Dec:  It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas: Where IS Ron NOW?  Decking the halls?  Decorating Trees?  Kissing under the Mistletoe?  Jumping for Joy?  Riding on a one-horse-open BMW?  Dashing through the Snow white Hawaiian sand?   Roasting coconuts on an open fire?   AH!

 IMAGINE! JUST IMAGINE!  Another glorious, sunny day in Hawaii. The bright, blue ocean beckons. But Ron is focused on his computer sitting on the lanai near the beach (and bikinis) with his eyes FOCUSED.  He has more SAVE THE DATE cards to mail and addresses to update. He does NOT trust Cynthia's methodical record keeping of those who have sent RSVP's, so he is emailing again so HE can keep his own list. IMAGINE! Cynthia has her Christmas letter written, all of her gifts purchased or ordered, everything is finished except to fill the stockings. IMAGINE!
[RSB Strange to see the meanderings of the female mind in print.  I could never imagine all that without a accomplished guide.  I would have imagined that Ron wants to find addresses of friends who have dropped out of sight since last correspondence, casualties of his single-minded focus on publication of five volumes of Rambos.]

3 Dec. Hawaiian Sunset at the Kamuela Provision Co.

3 Dec, Friday: Oh... what a relaxing day. Smooch Smooch had a pedicure and manicure while Ron gazed at bikini bodies!  [RSB there have been a few bikini bodies, and Cynthia alerts me by yanking my arm viciously out of socket whenever she sees one.]

Koi and Duckie

Howza bout this for a spa location?  And Howza bout the Hawaiian Siesta?   [RSB Thank goodness Cynthia didn't post the really embarrassing pictures.]

Rare Chicken (Eat Your Heart Out Carol B

Unique Koi

Pink Flamingos

2 Dec, Thurs: Rising early, we finished breakfast by eight AM. The buffet is not only delicious, but it is enormous.  Sally is our favorite waitress. She studied English in her native Thailand for six months before emigrating to Hawaii right at the time Waikoloa Village Resort was under construction.  Despite rudimentary English language skills, she applied and was immediately hired.  Sally loves her job and it shows because return guests request a table in her section.  She is a charmer!  

1 Dec, Wed: We have just been simply too busy - too many fun things to do since our arrival in Hawaii.  Sat night the girls (granddaughter and college roommate) returned to the Mainland after astonishing views during the helicopter ride across the island and over the active volcanoes.  They proclaimed this day "The MOST FUN ever!"  Previous to the helicopter ride, the Luau on Friday night had been best because of the hunky male dancers!

Ron's Rambo Companion Volume of Reference is moving along nicely as is the CD compilation.  Cynthia is focused on file organization and is having WAAAAAAYYYYYY too much fun with a new I-Pad.  Next time she will do the driving so Ron can play with the I-Pad.  It is quite a novelty.  Her hip bursitis (caused by four hundred miles of hiking in four months) is improving daily with icing. Soon she will out-run Forrest Gump.

Sunset 1 December 2010

Hiking Hawaii

 25 Nov Thursday:  Happy Thanksgiving! 


 24 November, Wednesday:  Hilton Waikoloa Village, Kailua-Kona, HI.  The girls (granddaughter and college roomie) arrived in Honolulu yesterday; we met them at the airport and flew here ready for sleep.  The girls hit the swimming pools, took the tram and boats through the moat before meeting us for dinner at the Kamuela Provision Company.  It is clear that the resort does not have the kind of night life that college seniors enjoy - but everything is new and unique so that makes up for it.


21 Nov. Sunday - What a treat to meet Dale's delightful wife, Sherry! We hiked the Makiki Valley Loop Trail with a guide, sometimes in mud, sometimes with bugs, and always straight up! Cynthia is pointing, "You are Here!"

November Thanks N' Giving N' Going

19 Nov., Fri:  Jet lag abounds.  Yet, we awaken before dawn and jog on over to the Hyatt to eat Dale's delicious omelets before starting computer work or another Sudoku and off we go for lunch at Duke's on the beach.  Today was a marvelous sunny day with gorgeous blues from ocean to sky.  The brilliant reds, golds, and oranges in the sunset were awesome to behold.

18 Nov.  Thurs.  Awoke at 4:30 AM but waited a decent time to hoof down to the Hyatt for one of Dale

s famous omelets; we were surprised to see him looking so skinny!   The photo is the sunset taken last night from the beach.

17 November Wednesday:  The trip to Honolulu was terrific... especially considering the tickets cost ten dollars apiece for Business First RT thanks to Continental One Pass mileage.  Dont' try the shuttles from the airport.  We tried; one showed up (cab) with our name but took someone else who may have made a better offer.  We waited and waited and finally called a cab to the tune of $42.00.  Our hotel, the Hilton Waikiki Prince Kuhio is reward travel ... NO cost ... plus they upgraded us at no charge to a great room with an ocean view.   We had dinner with Paul G. at the Tiki Lounge overlooking the marvelous beach on Waikikki with Diamond Head in view to the side of us. 

15 November Monday:  We have perpetual vistas.  The sunrise from the east (above) and the sunrise in the west are simply marvelous when we don't have clouds or fog.  The lake view is magnificent rain or shine. Our November days are dwindling down to a precious few before we leave for Hawaii  Wednesday morning.  EARLY!   During our time at the lake house, Cynthia turns into a contractor.  Ron is editing and perfecting the Mailing List for YOU KNOW WHAT!   Ron cooks egg white omelets. Is that amazing or what????  She says they are the best she has eaten.  So what more could one want?  We walk to the Caddy Shack for dinner every evening and onto the Fitness Center (about three miles RT).  We enjoyed a visit from Bill and Merry S. Sunday and a visit from Jay A.(a good friend of Cynthia's on Saturday. 

Sunrise at Lake House

October Rocky Mtn Trails

25 October Monday:  Drove from dawn to dark.  We will be stationary until the 17th of November 0 the departure date for Hawaii.    

24 October Guadalupe Natl Park.   The hike to the summit of the highest point in Texas was a three thousand foot ascent in four miles.  It was a great hike but hard on the knee. 

22  October Ruidoso, NM... discovered a Mechem Street that library sources say was named after Gov. Mechem.. . but don't know if this is the father or son; both are cousins (were). 

20 Oct. Wed: The bike was loaded, the car packed but plans to stop at Tia Sophia's for breakfast with LInda were put on hold because the traffic downtown Santa Fe is too much to maneuver.  Instead we boogied down to ABQ to the airport.  From there to visit Charlie B. and his wife, Sam, along with their charming daughter and granddaughter.  Thanks Charlie ... for the overnight hospitality.

More photos uploaded to the Rocky Mountain Picasa album of Moab and Aspen Vista. 

http://picasaweb.google.com/rsbeatty/201010022010RockyMtns#5530103489057539682

19 Oct. Tues.  Norma and Ron hiked a portion of the Aspen Vista trail with Norma's doggy whose age does not allow for the long hikes any more.  Movie star Cynthia had a "girl day" at the hair and nail salon.  OH what fun dining at Ristra with Nina. 

18 Oct. Mon:  Smooch Smooch took the car into be  serviced and a BATH.  After three months in a storage unit in Boulder... she is mighty dirty.   We met Janie at Ristra for a great dinner. 

17 Oct. Sun:  Our waitress/hostess, Maria, remembered us from a year ago and recited our order perfectly!  She is anticipating a new baby her four year old son tells her is a girl, "Just trust me, mom!" 

The breakfast was wonderful and Sudoku riveting -  causing us to miss a walk because we had visiting to do!  How fun to see Tony and June ... and learn that they plan to attend our wedding along with daughter Liz and grandbaby.  From there we raced to Trader Vic's for wine and flowers to bring to dear friends, Linda, John, Bob and Lupe.  Linda prepared a marvelous feast of turkey and all of the delicious trimmings. Thank you, Linda!!! 

16 October Sat:  We are winding up a three month tour of the Rocky Mountains via motorcycle - ten thousand miles - a fabulous journey impossible to express in photos or words.  The views from the bike are beyond description.  We will return for several months next summer now that we know we know we can tour comfortably.  In the meantime-and in-between time we had a great hike today to Aspen Vista after biking up to the ski basin.  The colors are awesome.  Dinner with Nina at "Dave's Not Here" was a delight.  From there we journeyed to Stewart and Judy's for wine and cheese and fun conversation. 

15 October Friday.  Why does Google mess up a good thing?  Now the blog photos are automatically aligned center. Oh well.  Thanks Google for the free space.   Where IS Ron NOW?  Homewood Suites at Buffalo Thunder near Pojoaque, New Mexico.  He has been neglecting "shoulda" activities to struggle to identify Nancy Bankston's daughter's ancesters on Ancestry; now he is neglecting address book & phone calls in order to pacify his beloved Smooch smooch to write "a couple of funny lines for this here blog; enough neglect back to Smooch smooch for chronicling.  I promise to review it later tonight or tomorrow. 

Last night we had a fantastic dinner with our dear friend Nina at Ristro's.  She is awesome - beautiful - and a joy.    NOW.. This is the week that was:  We had a marvelous time with Lance C (see bottom photo) in Moab and spent a great day hiking in Arches National Park.  The middle photo shows the rock that Cynthia climbed up on the trail and slid down on her rear because of the sheer exposure on both sides.  Leaving Moab we had a cold but nice drive to Georgetown, Colorado to visit Pat A. (top photo)

7-8 - 9 Oct. Thurs. Moab... 10 Oct. Sun. Grand Junction, CO to  Georgetown, CO  to Taos, NM.  We have pictures to prove it once we have time to upload and detail the trip. 

6 Oct. Wed.  Zion National Park:  And the Rains came down!  I never dreamed I would see waterfalls in Zion, my favorite park, this time of year, much less to see so many of them.  Cynthia counted 31 that were not there yesterday.  What an amazing and incredible sight to see.  We hated leaving this wonderful park so we shall return next summer.  Lots of waterfall photos are on the Picasa web album ... so follow the last link in Sept. posting.  We are en route to Moab to visit Lance C.  via interstate because of the rain.  We arrived in Richfield, UT to spend the night... very chilly.