Silence of the Mind

We went to Busch Gardens today. There is a free shuttle from Seaworld in Orlando to BG in Tampa, but what they don't mention is the $12 in parking at Seaworld. Ah well...it was so worth it just to not have to deal with traffic and driving over an hour to get there.

BG was not bad, lots of animals to see and a few decent rides. I was dragged on to my first wooden roller coaster and all I can say about that is "Oww..my poor kidneys." angie_di found a coaster she LOVED, and ended up going on it like 4 times. I had to buy the photo of her where she appeared to be asleep on the back of the coaster. I think today might have been better if we'd been able to fall asleep before 3 or 4am last night.

Tomorrow, Seaworld.

We left the Jacaranda inn at about 1030 or so to head to Hilo and our flights. We stopped at a greasy spoon for breakfast and also at Radio Shack in an attempt to find a headphone splitter so we could watch a movie while we waited in Lihue(4 hour layover). I was surprised at the Radio Shack...I skipped the MP3 section and headed for the audio section figuring the MP3 stuff would be overpriced and not what I needed. Turns out that was not the case, the audio section only had some mono to stereo y converters, and they cost more than the fancy audio splitter cable in the MP3 section. Color me surprised...the emp actually knew what she was talking about, so no "You've got questions, we've got blank stares" for the Radio Shack in Maimea. I have to admit that the best part of Waimea was the lack of humidity...it was the first time in the whole trip that I actually needed a blanket to sleep and was not sticky humid when I woke up.

We drove on though the rolling hills as we passed out of the drier grasslands and back into the greener tree'd areas of the eastern coast. I made a short detour to Wa'pio Valley just because(it was a 9 mile detour). The valley is impressive really, its a steep STEEP drive down the valley that we were not allowed to take. You have to have 4wd, 2wd or even AWD is not enough...its a 25%+ grade from the ridgeline to the bottom of the valley. Apparently the valley tends to stay green and damp and be excellent for growing even in the worst droughts, and its well protected where it sits with the steep canyon sidewalls. We stopped at the top to view it and take some photos, and then headed back. I think we were both pretty well traveled out, because neither of us really wanted to do much besides just get to Hilo. I kept thinking "I should stop for that...but I don't wanna" and she was just "nope, lets just get to the airport.

We got into Hilo with plenty of time to gas up the rental and rearrange our belongings into carryon vs checked and get to the gate. We got a fairly surly counter agent and I did not get a chance to see if they could check us all the way to Anch, so we had to pick up our bags in Lihue and recheck them(turns out we'd have had to anyway, because USDA does agriculture inspections to be sure you don't take any pests out of Hawaii and we couldn't do that in Hilo at that time). We also saw a rather odd bit of security theater when turning in the rental car...they made us pop the trunk so they could look inside it for security reasons, and I can't think of a logical reason for it.

We made our flight, and even made our fairly tight connecting flight from Oahu to Lihue(10 min between landing and theoretical start of boarding on the next fight...luckily it was delayed a and we had a chance to get something cold to drink). As we walked out of the terminal to get our bags in Lihue I turned to angie_di and said "I had a horrible thought...its 4 hours to departure, what if they won't let us check our bags yet?" We decided to fetch bags and go see...arriving on Hawaiian Air the bags were at baggage claim in 5 min, unlike when we flew in on Alaska and it took over an hour. We headed down to Agriculture and they told us that the Alaska Ticket counter didn't open til 730...crap, thats an hour away

We checked and sure enough, since Alaskan has only the one daily flight there is no one at the counter till 730. And to make matters even worse, the ticket counter area is open air...and it was hot and humid and nasty with no respite from it. We sat and read for awhile, then I went to see if USDA could inspect us now and ran our bags though(I don't see the point, its a simple xray, how do they see anything on it anyway?). As we waited there were more and more people there, and finaly about 715 someone showed up and started checking people in. We had left out bags in line to hold a place while we sat down(10 feet away, so we could watch them). We got unlucky here, as we got waved forward to a ticket agent that did not know what she was doing or had a computer issue and we ended up watching the entire line behind us disappear as they checked them in and we were still waiting. Ugh. They finally got everything straightened out and we headed off though security and into the terminal.

We got to the waiting lounge and first step was to find a seat next to a wall jack and use it to charge PDA's and my phone(I'd charged it this morning, but for some weird reason it burned though nearly all its battery in just a few hours). I also dug out my laptop and a movie and we attempted to watch it together, but angie_di was focused on her book, and the cheap earbuds she had from the trip out were so quiet that she could hardly hear. It didn't help that there is something broken on the audio with DVD playback where the voice track is nearly silent but the background track is LOUD(I need to troubleshoot this...its odd). I got my PDA charged and her's mostly charged and put away the laptop as it was nearing boarding time. We were going to take turns watching the gear while the other hit the restrooms before boarding, but when I got back just a few min later they'd already started and were nearly to us. ack...

Anyway...we're now over the Pacific somewhere, so I'll wrap up and grab some sleep before we land. Its a 5.5 hour flight, but the 3 hour time shift between Hawaii and Seattle means we don't land till 730am

I'm still feeling the altitude effects a bit...its much better than when I was actually up there, but I'm loggy and headachy still. The sunset at 13,700 feet was worth it though, as was the stargazing at 9200 feet. :-)

We're off to Waimea now, and I don't believe I'll have net access till I get home Thursday but we'll see.

And angie_di and I figured out how to describe the Coqui frog sound. Its just like the science consoles on Star Trek:TOS. The beepwhoop is almost exactly like it.

Today was a sleep in day...all the way to about 830 or 9. Did a bit of unpacking and trip planning and then went for breakfast and to hunt up some groceries. After that it was off to the Volcano.

We couldn't do the full loop around the crater because one of the vents is active and spewing Sulfur Dioxide so they'd closed the western end of the road. We went as far as the Jagger Museum(where the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory is) and wandered around there and watched the vent off in the distance, and then learned that the only currently active vent is outside the parks boundary's and we'd have to go nearly all the way back to Hilo and then down highway 130 to get to it. So today we ran around the park as best we could in the misty rain.

After the Mueseum and Visitor Center we headed down the Crater Road. First stop was a overlook into one of the smaller craters but we got there the same time as a tourbuss so we passed and went on to the Thurston Lava Tube. Its a short hike though an actual rain forest to get to it, and then its about 400 yards though the tube. The tube was interesting...I've been in them before but this was the first green one I'd been in.

After that we started heading out across the lava fields and down off the escarpment to the lower shelf(the visitor center is at 4000 feet, the bottom of the crater road is at about 15 feet). As we headed down the ridgelines we saw the active vent off in the distance in a halo of sun. Since the day had been misty rain(angie_di LOVED the rain..I was less enthused due to lack of vis) this bit of clear air was a welcome and gorgeous sight. We continued on down to the flats, and out to the Ocean. We ended up at the end of the road, and parked there. The road used to go several miles farther, but a year or two ago lava cut off the road and they had to pull the VC well back and block off the road. There hasn't been any activity since sometime in 2007 but they have not reopened the road. You can walk about a half a mile to where the lava first cut across the road, and then there is a 400 yard path flagged across the lava to a seaside view of the active vent(6 or 7 miles away). You can also follow another path(if you can call a series of white temp lane markers(the little flags that stick up 3-4 inchs off the road) scattered here and there a path) that leads you about a quarter mile out across the lave fields to the final view point.

angie_di opted to stay with the car while I hiked out. I made it to the seaside viewpoint and attempted the final viewpoint but realized I wasn't going to see anything I hadn't seen already, and there was another rainstorm(as opposed to the showers before) moving in so I headed back. I was gone atleast an hour or so, but she was reading and only groused mildly at me.

After that we headed back up and made good time...the 18 miles took less than 30 min I think. We stopped at the VC at the park entrance on the way out for a legstrech before the hour drive home. I verified that we could infact still make it to about a quarter mile of the current vent, so we'll be trying that sunday afternoon(viewing pad is open from 2pm to 10pm and no cars allowed back in after 8pm).

We decided to have a nice dinner tonight and on the recommendation of the guidebook went to Harringtons. The atmosphere was great and the food was good too, barring a fairly hohum salad. We had a little Koi pond right outside the open windows next to us, so we watched the fish as we chatted. Not a bad aniversary dinner really(first anniversary of our first date...is actually Sunday but apparently this town rolls up the carpet sunday evening before sunset so we had dinner tonight).

On our way back into town it occurred to me that I wasnt sure when payoll time entry was due..a quick txt to one of my team confirmed it was due this weekend...crap. I had to hunt down net access(I'd not been bothering because I just didn't care much..these missives can all sit in queue till I get home really). Our hotel claims it has net access but I could not get connected to the WAP here. They did say it WOULD work in the lobby so I headed down with my laptop and discovered that the WAP I was connecting to was not theirs, and pointed me to the correct one. I got online to do time entry, skim email, and post the last post...this one will wait till later. It seems that even though I'm about 10 feet above and 30 feet away from the WAP, the 4 brick walls act as a REALLY good wifi blocker.

I think I'm going to go read a bit and listen to the Coqui frogs chirping(sounds like a LOUD cricket).

Today We were going to get up to see the sunrise, and I woke up at about a quarter after 5(alarm was set for 530 for a 558 sunrise) for some reason. It was a good thing too, because there was a slew of clouds all over the easter horizon and nothing to see so went back to bed. We woke at about 930 to a WHAMMM from a rain squall kicking off and hammering the condo. We rushed around closing windows to keep the water out and then settled down to get ready for the day. angie_di's parents were out shopping when the squall hit, so we called them and asked for some AfterBurn for angie_di's burns...such interesting patterns she has. There are two sets of lines down her back that are pale where you can see where I rubbed sunblock on(in a 4 finger pattern from my hand), but burn all around it.

We headed out towards the North Side around 1030 or 11am. First stop was Kilauea Lighthouse..interesting light house. Turns out that its the northernmost point in inhabited Hawaii...There is a small island just north of it but thats uninhabited. I have to admit that the replacement for the lighthouse is most unsatisfying. I know that the automated beacon/light is less costly and more reliable but a light on a pole with a radio beacon on it just doesn't have any romance to it.

After that we wandered westward on the north coast though Princeville(home of the dotcommers that made it out with money) and Hanalei and all the way to Ha'ena beach. We were looking for the newlyweds, and even though they were supposed to be one beach farther along snorkeling with a friend that was leaving today, we managed to find them there...the water was too murky at Ke'e beach. They do this all the time as a family...its a touch creapy really :-) They headed off and wen started looking for lunch since it was after 2pm. Ended up in Hanalei at a burger place that had yummy burgers and bad math(claimed 1/3lb patty s, but three of them made a 1/2lb burger? Was good nonetheless though). We headed on to Princeville so her mom could hunt for a hairclip she'd found at another resort farther south(no luck) and I discovered that I'd lost my eyepiece for my camera. I suspect it got lost somewhere in Hanalei but there was no point in going back to look for it since we'd wandered all over town.

We started heading back towards Ka'paa after that, and ended up going to the Wailua Falls. It was pretty, but late afternoon by this point so the eastward facing falls were in shadow and not impressive photographically. It was decided we'd head west to see about capturing a sunset at this point. We made it all the way to the Pacific Missile Testing Facility to discover there is nadda for beach access there unless you are in the know so we had to backtrack to what i think was Kekaha Beach Park to watch the Sun set over the trees along the beach. It was rather pretty if unspectacular...one of those "Gee, thats a nice sunset" but not "OMG!! LOOK at THAT! Its AMAZING!" sort of things. We both got splashed, so went home in salt encrusted shorts and I was barefoot most all the way because the salt and sand were irritating the sunburn on my feet.

We got home about 9 or so and did a load of laundry. We both sat around the laundry room together reading, because it closed at 10 and we did not want the security guard locking our cloths in till morning.

Tomorrow(well today actually...didn't get to post last night) is Waimea Canyon(we hope) and checkout(her parents fly home and we fly to the Big Island).

We made it to Lihue at about 730pm tonight. For some reason both flights we were on the airflow nozzle was barely working, so they were both rather warm...I guess that was to get us ready for landing here. Its after midnight and 75 degrees and 94% humidity. Seriously muggy.

It took ages to get our bags, well over an hour and they came out on the wrong carousel to boot. Atleast it was the next one over though. First thing we did when we got here was run into a gaggle heading out of the condo to the pool...so we went and changed and went swimming for awhile. It felt wonderful...great way to get used to the mugginess as well as work out the kinks from the flights. Its weird for it to be dark out and still be warm enough to wander around in shorts and barefoot(just watch out for the frogs).

There's a quasi batchelor/bachelorette party going on, mostly snacks and drinking and chatting...nothing too big. We're in a 2 bedroom condo thats about 100 yards from the beach. Nice little place they have, you can walk out the sliding glass door onto the patio and then out on to the grass and the seawall. Can't get to the beach directly that I can see but its dark...have to check it out tomorrow. I havent checked out net access on the cable modem here, it says to connect and see the for pay options and I did not bring a cat5 cable with me. I did bring both my personal and work celldata cards with though, the work card wanted to only connect at GPRS which was just painful, but later on decided it could do EDGE data. Not great but it'll do for the little bit I'll be online here.

I think I'm gonna head for bed, its 1am but my body is thinking its more like 3am(Hawaii doesn't observe DST so its two hours behind AK in the summer) and it was a long day of flights.

We drove over to the coast today, so we were up at 630 and on the road by 7am. I swung though Sutherlin to get coffee on the way, and then headed for Reedsport. It was a nice quiet drive, angie_di dozed a bit, but woke up once we passed Reedsport and got near Florence.

At Florence we finally popped out of the green rainy forest and onto the coast itself, and headed just north to the Sea Lion Caves. It was rather lowlight in the caves, and hard to take photographs but we both gave it a shot. I haven't yet even downloaded the photos to see how they came out. I ran into a guy on the Marketing Committee for NANPA and talked shop for awhile while angie_di toured the giftshop.

We headed up the coast a ways and stopped at Cape Perpetua to have a look at it, but it was rain squall so only I got out, and there wasn't alot to see besides a blowhole that didn't appear to be doing much. I went back and got my camera just in case, and amusingly even thought the blowhole had done nothing the dozen wavesets I'd watched while talking with a whalewatcher, once I got back with my camera it promptly spouted from the next couple of sets.

We got into Newport just in time for Lunch and met up with my Aunt and Uncle at Flashbacks. Its a supposedly Retro cafe, but not much of one. Food was good though. After that we piled into their car and went to Yaquinta Bay lighthouse to see the Jettys, and then went out to the Yaquinta Head Lighthouse and actually went up inside and looked all around. It was really interesting to see what it looked like, as well as hear all the tales about it. Like the skylight decking on the light level is a series of quartz pieces that were lost at sea, and they had to shanghai replacements from a bank in Portland for the lighthouse so that the keepers had light to see by on the last deck before the light inside the lighthouse.

Next we headed for Depoe Bay, which is reportedly the smallest natural harbor anywhere. I can believe it too, its a multiple dogleg turn to get inside it and the harbor itself is rather small. I watched a Coast Guard 47footer head out to go on patrol, and watching it time its exit to match the waves was interesting. Getting back in with any sort of swell would be a nightmare.

We got back to the car around 6pm, and bit my aunt and uncle good evening and headed home. I decided to show her the house in Junction where i went to first grade from, and then we went to Olive Garden at her request. I was testing out Dad's new GPS he got for xmas,and it proved surprisingly useful for getting around. I don't know how to drive around Eugene at all any more since its been too many years, but the GPS got me everywhere I needed to go there.

The day after Xmas we needed to head over to Bend to meet up with my aunt to get a bag out of the back of their SUV. I invited Dad and Grandad along with us, and we took off about 11am or so.

Turns out it was a much longer drive than I'd expected as we woke up to snow falling that morning in Oakland. From what I'm told thats about the 5th time snow has fallen there in the 20 years since my grandparents moved back. They're only a t 450 feet above sealevel, and the passes over the Cascades to Bend are close to 5000 feet. Dad opted to take Willamette Pass over and Santiam Pass back, and it ended up being a rather long drive. I'd expected it to be 6-7 hours, but it was closer to 11.

The drive wasn't too bad, we had several spots where we had to stop because there was a road full of people stopped to put on chains. We didn't need any, Dad had good tires on his truck and 4x4 High was all the more we needed. He said the only bad part of the drive was when the window wipers iced up and stooped working very well.

We ended up stopping for a late lunch in Crescent, nice little diner that had good food. My aunt called just before we got to the Diner to see where we were at and I let her know we were 45 min out...but then lunch delayed us and I forgot to call her. Oops. We still made it there by just after 5, and hung out with them for about 30 minutes before we got back on the road. The drive back was about the same as the drive over, except it was dark, and the one major turn we needed to make was not lit and not marked well at all and we almost missed it.

I think my granddad really enjoyed the trip, I got the feeling he hasn't made it up into the mountains to see the snowfall in quite awhile, and he's not really up for longish drives with him driving anymore...was part of why I asked if he'd like to go with us.

angie_di and I dragged Mom out shopping in Roseburg. We managed to get just about everyone shopped for, barring my sister and mom...and then we realized that we'd left the bag from Disney in my Aunt's SUV in Portland...urgh, especially since it had my brother's present in it.

When we got home I was banished to the Den(hereafter referred to as the Bat Cave) while wrapping occurred, so I dug out my laptop and started catching up on news and LJ(Its amazing...this is the first vacation in 5 years where I did NOT need to be checking email for work daily...and I rather enjoyed it) since I'd been offline pretty much since Tuesday. My youngest brother turned up around 6, with the dog. I somewhat pity him having to drive 1300 miles with that doofus of a dog in the backseat of his truck. I still thought he had his old S10 pickup and felt REALLY bad for him...but then discovered he'd upgraded to a brand new Colorado Crew Cab, so not as bad but she still barked in his ear if someone walked near the truck.

The downside to the day was that angie_di took a turn for the worse last night, and I ended up having to boot my brother out to the parents trailer and giving her his bed while I slept on the couch. I was starting to get REALLY worried, because this had gone on for nearly 3 days, but she woke up Xmas morning all bouncy and full of energy(it only lasted 3 hours before she crashed and slept) and she managed to eat and felt relatively ok all day. So I think she's recovering. Color me MUCH relieved.