EXCITING SNORKEL

Aloha! Jackie and I hadn't been to the south shore for quite some time so last Wednesday we decided to give it a try. This was a very good idea as the snorkeling was super. We arrived at Pk's around 9:30 this was about an hour before low tide. As we were setting up our chairs we noticed that we were sharing the beach with an Hawaiian Monk Seal. The wildlife volunteers had a pretty good section of the beach roped off to keep the people away from the seal. Glad the seal decided to come ashore where he did cause at PK'S you have a spot about 20 feet across where you can enter the water without too much trouble and if he had come ashore there we would have been forced to enter the water over the rocks. We have done this before and it is not a lot of fun when the waves are crashing. Ok back to the snorkel. Jackie and I got in the water ok. We went out to our normal spots and saw a ton of fish. The fish you see at PK's are a lot different than the ones you see at Anini. There are more butterflies and parrotfish. We stayed out for about an hour then came in for a cup of coffee. We hadn't been ashore more than 5 minutes when the seal decided to get back in the water. Jackie and I were kicking ourselves cause the seal was just hanging around in the same area where we had just snorkeled. We have swam with them before and they are really neat. They move so gracefully and they look so big when they are swimming beside you. We debated about getting back in but decided it really wasn't cool to get back in just to pester a seal. It's one thing if they decide they want to swim with you and another thing entirely if you decide to swim with them. Anyway we sat drinking our coffee and watching him cruise around after about 20 minutes he swam off for good. We sat there talking story for awhile then decided we should get back in after all its a long drive to get here and we had better make the best of it. We had been in the water for about half an hour when we decided we should probably head back in. On the way in I came across two large parrotfish. I was swimming along behind them trying to get where I could get a good video when I caught a glimpse of something big and gray out of the corner of my eye. It was what I believe to be a blacktip reef shark. This guy was between 5 and 6 feet long and about 20 feet in front of me. I started filming then looked back to see where Jackie was. She had seen the shark also and was doing her best to point him out to me. The stupid camera battery picked this moment to give up. It had been flashing for a while but one would have hoped it could have lasted for another 30 seconds as thats about as long as the shark stayed in sight. We stayed out in that area for another 15 or 20 minutes but never came across him again. I always thought if I ever ran into a shark my snorkeling would be over but it really wasn't as frightening as I thought it might be. The shark never even acknowledged that we were there. I'm sure it knew we were there it just didn't care. We might just as well have been a floating log. The clip I got of the shark is about 12 seconds long but it is not very good. If you know where to look you can see it but it is more like a shadow. It really bums me out cause I had him centered nice and stayed with him for the 12 seconds my battery lasted. Guess maybe the low battery explains the lousy quality of the clip. I will post a video taken at the same beach when Dave and Carol were here.

CATCHING UP

Aloha! Sorry for the long delay between my posts but Jackie and I really haven't had much to blog about. I think I mentioned in my last post about Jackie taking a job at Foodland in Princeville. This was a very good move as Jackie really likes her job. She has met a lot of very interesting people some of them people that live here and a lot of them people that are here visiting. Almost every day when Jackie gets home she has a story to tell me about someone she has met. I guess they must spend a good deal of time talking story while she is bagging their groceries or helping them out to their car. Other than Jackie's job not much has been happening. We have gone to the beach a few times and have made more than a few trips into Lihue shopping. The garden has been doing good. We have harvested tomatoes as well as peppers and okra. This year the fruit fly have been hitting our tomatoes pretty bad even the cherries which they normally don't bother. I have been trying to come up with a plan to detour the little buggars and my research on the internet hasn't been much help. One site will say try this it seems to work the next site will say that won't work you need to do this instead. I think my next move is to turn the computer off and get out in the garden and do my own research. I think I will start by putting a plant into a pot and building a screen to go around it. I will post some of our older pics as most of the recent pictures I have already put on Facebook.

FLASH FLOOD WATCH

Aloha! As you have probably gathered from the title Kauai is under a flash flood watch. So far that is all that it has been is just a watch...at least around my house. Can't say for sure about the rest of the island but all we have had here is just a few sprinkles. Hope that remains to be the case. As I'm not looking forward to the pounding we have had in the past when the weathermen say we should expect heavy rains. Now I have some more news I would like to share with you. After a lot of soul searching Jackie has decided to come out of retirement and work part time. She started working at Foodland in Princeville last week. She will be working 2 or 3 days a week and her bosses there promised she could have all the time off she wants to visit the grandkids! That was very good news seeing as how that was the only reason she wanted to go back to work in the 1st place. Now we won't have to feel so guilty about visiting as we won't need to take money out of savings to do it. We had talked about my returning to work but the way my retirement is set up I would need to get permission to do so and doubt I could find a job that would be as flexible as the one Jackie has found so I guess I will just have to find something to occupy my time while Jackie slaves away at work. Last week my time was split between working in the garden, watching t.v. and napping. You will just have to guess which one took up the lions share!

BACK IN THE WATER

Aloha! Jackie and I were finally able to get back in the water. Seems like it has been weeks since we have gone. Very nice snorkel...we saw most of our old friends including a couple of flying gurnards. We also captured a little video of some milk fish. Usually when I try to get video of the milk fish it doesn't turn out too well as they have a tendency to blend into their surroundings. I hope this weather holds for a while...I really need to get the lawn mowed. I probably should have done it today but wanted to see if the eagle ray was still hanging out at Anini. No luck with the ray so I guess now I will be forced to for go the race and concentrate on the lawn...that is unless mother nature gives me a reprieve!

PATIENTLY WAITING

Aloha! Jackie and I are still waiting for our weather to improve enough so we can get back in the water. Guess we should just buck up and go anyway but it is a lot more fun when its not cold and windy. Besides that our paper (The Garden Isle) had an article this morning about a 14 foot long tiger shark taking a bite out of a surfers surf board in Hanalei bay Monday afternoon! Every once in awhile we will read about this happening and it does make one get a little chicken skinned when you are out snorkeling with the honus especially if the honus are acting a little edgy. There was also another article that Theresa and Tricia might find interesting. It was about a missing hiker...he disappeared while hiking with his family and a guide on the trail to Secret Falls. Evidently he had been acting a bit strange after he fell out of a tree and he ran off into the jungle on his way to the falls. He has been missing for almost a week and as far as we know hasn't been found yet. I hope he was just trying to escape a bad situation at home and found Kauai to be a perfect place to escape to. I don't want to think he might be out there in the jungle hurt and confused. The weather forecasters keep saying our beach weather should return by the end of the week. I sure hope so...Jackie and I need to get back in the water and we are going to need to mow the lawn as well. Bet you can guess which we will do 1st. I will post the video of my Mom's and my sister's visit. I have been thinking a lot about that visit lately maybe because Mom's birthday and Mothers Day are just around the corner.

MISSING PICTURES

KINDA WINDY

Aloha! Bet that title has you wondering am I referring to how I can put a lot of words on a page and say very little. Or its possible I might be referring to the weather? Of course it might be that I'm going to tell you I had beans for supper and the title would explain the after effects! Well you can be assured I will keep this post brief and Jackie is not dumb enough to serve beans on a day when we have had to keep the door closed. So that leaves the weather and it has been a bit on the breezy side...just enough to keep us inside with the door closed for most of the day. Of course the fact that it has also been overcast and the temps have been in the low 70's were factors as well. There is at least one positive to being forced to stay indoors...it gave me time to look at my older photos. Not surprising the ones I picked for the blog today are of my grandsons with a picture of all my brothers and sisters thrown in as well.

ERRANDS TO RUN

Aloha! I don't have any real exciting news to blog about but anyone who follows my blog even casually knows that that has never stopped me from rambling on in the past so here goes! The wind has kept Jackie and I indoors for most of April...that and the frequent rain showers but those conditions have improved a great deal over the last few days starting Thursday. I think that was the day we mowed the lawn. Friday was very nice as well and we spent the biggest share of it working in the garden. Then Vasil took us to a Japanese restaurant to thank us for our help around the house...very nice place called Kintaro's. I was too chicken to try most of the sushi but did try the Tako (Hawaiian for octopus). It wasn't as gross as I was afraid it would be and I think I could be talked into having it again but given the choice I still prefer a good hamburger! We had a great time at the restaurant and our ordering was made so much easier thanks to Vasil's friend Mieko. She is Japanese and took us poor country bumpkins under her wings helping us to understand just what it was on the menu we were ordering and how it was prepared. We had the best time talking story with her and Vasil. It really made us realize just what a sheltered life we have lived. They are both world travelers and have lived in many other countries and have been exposed to a lot of other cultures. Who knows...if Jackie and I continue to associate with cultured people maybe some of that culture will rub off on us! Think there might be hope for Jackie but I probably have to much Okie getting in the way for it to affect me. Saturday the weather was perfect...lite trades and temps in the low 80's. We sat on the lanai most of the day talking story and just enjoying the great weather. We also watched the Nascar race. Sunday we decided to go to the beach. Not sure why we picked this day as it was the worst weather wise of the last 4. The trades were blowing and it was about 10 degrees cooler than Saturday. We had a nice snorkel anyway and saw a ton of fish but the wind did have the water kind of choppy. Today the weather was great again but Jackie and I had a lot of errands to run in Lihue so we didn't get a chance to make it to the beach. I think that will be on the list for tomorrow. Not sure what kind of pics I'm going to post so we will just have to look.

BACK TO THE BLOG

Aloha! Jackie and I had the most wonderful visit with my sister Tommie and her grandson Ethan. It was a blast! We got the chance to show off our beautiful little island and we were able to do it at a pace that was very Hawaiian...you know easy and slow. There were only two appointments we had to keep the entire week they were here. The 1st was their arrival and the last was their departure! Everything in between was done without having to look at a watch which is a very good thing seeing as how Jackie and I got rid of ours years ago. I'm not going to attempt to try and tell you everything we did. I will just say that Ethan was able to spend some time in the water both snorkeling and boogie boarding. Tommie got to spend some time on the beach watching. Guess my trying to get her to snorkel while wearing a turtle suit didn't help to alleviate her fear of the water. We were also able to hike down to Queens Bath...this is something that is not always possible especially in the winter months when the ocean is usually angry. We also had a chance to talk story...this was my favorite part of their trip. Living in Hawaii has a whole lot of plusses but not being able to visit with family sure isn't one of them!

AWESOME EAGLE RAY

Aloha! I'm sure you have all heard the old adage about March coming in like a lion and leaving like a lamb. Well I know in the Yakima Valley that was true more times than not and I'm hoping it will be true here on Kauai as well. At least I can say for sure the 1st part is gospel as the wind has been howling like crazy this past week. It has been blowing so hard it has kept Jackie and I away from the beach and cooped up in our apartment like a couple of old hermits. The only times we have even gone outside have been trips to the store or brief stints out working in the garden. Luckily that changed a bit today. The winds let up enough for Jackie and I to chance a beach trip. Wow am I glad that we did! Jackie and I had one of the most amazing snorkels we have ever had. We encountered two eagle rays! They were out at the opening of chicken skin crack and they stuck around long enough for us to get a good look. It was awesome! I think they were as intrigued with us as we were with them because they just kept swimming slowly past...almost like they wanted to see what kind of creatures were invading their territory. We swam with them for about 30 minutes or to be more precise Jackie and I kind of hovered in one spot and they kept swimming past us. It was amazing! I shot picture after picture and almost 20 minutes of video. If my battery would have held out I could have captured more. I really wish you guys could have been there to share the experience with us. The video is just not the same as real life. We finally had to just swim away because we were both starting to get chilled and it was a long way back to shore but let me tell you it was very hard to leave them cause they were putting on a spectacular show. The video I shot today I put into 3 parts. It is posted on my Facebook page and I will put as much here as I can. It might have to be in a couple of posts.

TSUNAMI PRACTICE

Aloha! I'm sure you all heard about the tsunami scare we had on Saturday. Wow what an interesting day! It was very reminiscent of another Saturday we had a few years ago...May 18, 1980 for those of you who weren't around yet or have forgotten the date. That was the day Mt. St. Helens blew. Jackie and I were living in Washington then and I remember watching the news reports and wondering just how bad things were going to get for us. We did the same thing yesterday. We took the same precautions then as I took on Saturday. We made sure we had enough food and water to last for a couple of weeks, candles, batteries, wind up radio, all the things everyone should keep handy for an emergency. I remember checking on my friends and family then to make sure they were ready. We did the same thing yesterday. I remember then it seemed like the whole country was watching and waiting to see what was going to happen and it was like that yesterday. About the only thing different was that yesterday I was outside part of the time watching Vasil and the painter paint the eaves on Vasil's house where as when the mountain blew I was sitting in my house in Sunnyside waiting for Jackie and Brian to bring our dog Mocha home from the vet. Turns out that even with me watching them yesterday Vasil and the painter still managed to break the sprayer and of course the painters spare sprayer was at his shop in Lihue. Only problem all the roads were closed because of the tsunami so the job didn't get finished and today it was too windy to spray. Hope the weather is better tomorrow cause it sure feels like I'm living in a cave because of the black plastic on my windows. Cory's day was exciting yesterday as well. He had to be at work at 6 am so he had left before I had a chance to warn him about the impending tsunami. He said his jaw about hit the floor when he came around the corner and saw people lined up 3 deep around the store waiting for it to open. He also said it was very easy to tell the locals from the visitors by what they had in their carts. The visitors carts would be full of bottled water where as the locals carts would be piled high with beer! They all commented that during hurricane Iniki you could get bottled water almost anywhere. The Red Cross and civil defense were handing it out but beer...now that was a precious commodity! Jackie and I want to thank all of you for the prayers and well wishes we received yesterday. Reading your comments and about your prayers on Facebook took a lot of the anxiety out of the day.PS. Seeing as how Jackie and I didn't get out much I will be forced to try and post a few pictures of the house. You should be able to see the new house color in the photo of the entry. It's the green at the top of the photo.

FEELS LIKE WINTER

Aloha! Jackie and I must be getting used to our new home. That's the only explanation I can come up with for feeling so darn cold! We are both sitting here with the sliding door closed wearing long pants and thinking real hard about getting a blanket to curl up in. I believe the outside temp is hovering in the upper 60's. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that I would be complaining about 60 degree weather in February. I remember when we 1st moved over we would laugh at the people wearing sweatshirts and heavy coats anytime the temperature would drop below 70. Even the weather forecasters would warn everyone to bring out the extra blankets cause they were going to need them to fight off the chill. Well guess what... last night we were those people! We were scrounging in the closets looking for more covers. I even considered wearing socks to bed. The entire week hasn't been cold...just the last few days. It was real nice on Monday. We even made it to the beach for a snorkel. The water conditions were great. We saw most of our old friends and even ran into a young spotted eagle ray. We don't see these guys very often...maybe 2 or 3 times a year so its a real treat for us to see one. We also came across a flying gurnard. We see these guys quite often but I still can't resist taking a few pics when I see one. This one had his fins flared out. They do this when they are concerned about something. They also have an antenna-like fin they will raise. Guess it makes them look larger to the other fish. We also went snorkeling Tuesday morning. We wanted to see if we could run across that ray again but no luck. We did have a nice swim and saw a couple of honus. These guys were out by the buoy. It was a good thing that we decided to go snorkeling early on Tuesday because by the afternoon the weather had turned windy and cold.

ANOTHER WEEK IN PARADISE

Aloha! Well as you may have noticed it has been more than a week since my last post. It's not that I haven't wanted to write it's just that I haven't had much to write about! Guess I could tell you about our weather or maybe I could say a little about the sorry mess this countries political system is in. Of course there isn't anything I can do to change either one aside from packing a coat and an umbrella for when the weathers bad and voicing my opinion at the ballot box in an attempt to change things there. But a coat and an umbrella aren't much use in a hurricane and your vote doesn't account for much when you need a super majority to get anything through congress. Ok back to what's been happening here in paradise. Not much! Over this past week Jackie and I have made it to the beach just once and that was for about 20 minutes. We have gone to the store 3 or 4 times but the rest of the week has been spent either watching tv, napping, working in the garden or eating. Sure hope Tommie makes it over here soon...Jackie and I need her to push our lazy butts out the door! Well guess I should be more truthful and say Jackie needs her here to help pry my butt from the chair! I will try and post a few more pics from the past.

GROUND HOG DAY

Aloha! It has been a little more than a week since my last post so I will try and get you caught up. Guess I will start by telling you that unlike most weeks Jackie and I only made it to the beach once! We have stayed busy though mainly here at the house. On Monday we mowed the lawn. That takes about 6 hours and after we are done all we want to do is sit and rest. It sure takes a lot longer to recover from a little bit of work than it did when we were younger! On Tuesday Alex had a bunch of his friends over to celebrate his 23rd birthday. They started cooking around 11 and continued through out most of the day and into the evening. We had so many new things to try. A couple of Alex's friends are chefs at the Princeville resort and they prepared some wonderful dishes. We ate and talked story well into the night. On Wednesday and Thursday the weather was a little rough...scattered wind and rain so we stayed in and did our usual tv watching as well as playing on the computer. On Friday Jackie and I decided that the sun wasn't going to shine on the north shore so we put on our swimsuits and headed to the south shore. It was great...just a little overcast but nice. We spent the majority of our time at Poipu sitting in our chairs and snacking on the apples and cheese we had brought with us. Jackie wanted to get wet but I was feeling just a little under the weather so I talked her into just sitting on the beach. From here we went to PK's and watched the surfers for awhile. There are some benches in front of the Beachouse restaurant and you can watch the surfers from there. This is about as close as you can get to where they surf with out getting wet! From here we headed home and thats when things went a little sour for us. It started to rain while we were going thru Kapa'a and the further we came north the harder it came down! By the time we reached home it was coming down in buckets! We got soaked in the short distance from our car to our door. We watched it rain for a bit and Jackie fixed us a nice supper. After we had eaten and got the dishes put away I got a craving for some ice cream. We didn't have any here at the house so figured we might as well drive into Princeville and get some. That was a mistake! We got almost to the Kalihiwai bridge and came upon a rock slide. I saw a car stopped in the opposite lane and there was a patrol car going to aid him so I had cut my speed way down to about 10 miles an hour. That wasn't slow enough...the rocks were all the way across the road! I hit a pretty good sized one with my left front tire. It was enough of an impact that we were airborne for a bit. I was totally amazed that we were able to continue after such an impact. We went about a quarter of a mile to where Anini road turns off and I told Jackie we had better turn off here where it is safe and check the car. All four tires were up and the fenders were still on so Jackie and I continued on to the store...thanking our lucky stars! We made it all the way into the parking lot before the tire went flat. We found a spot close by and it was next to a light pole so guess things could have been a lot worse. We got the tire changed and Jackie went into the store to get our ice cream and to warn everyone headed to Kilauea about the slide. We made it back as far as the Princeville airport before we came upon all the cars that were stopped waiting for the county to clear the road. They had 3 tow trucks towing the cars that didn't have as much luck as Jackie and I getting past the rocks. There were at least 5 cars that we could see that were disabled...some with quite a bit of damage. Saturday and Sunday were spent watching tv and recovering from Fridays ordeal. Monday we had the carpets cleaned in our room as well as Cory's so the day was spent taking everything out so they could clean then putting everything back. Not the most fun I have ever had but guess it could have been a lot worse. This morning Jackie and I took our car to Costco to get a new tire and the rest of the day was spent running errands in Lihue. I didn't like the way the pictures we took at the south shore turned out so I will try and post some of our pics from way back when.

BEACH AND GARDEN

Aloha!Jackie and I have been a little busier than normal these last few days...mainly with our garden.We had let it go for a bit what with the trip home and everything so Jackie decided it was time to replenish the soil and start over so the 1st of the week I was out there with my handy dandy shovel turning it over and working a few nutrients in. Wow that is a lot harder than sitting on my can and watching tv which is what my old body is used to and believe you me it let me know that it wasn't happy! That 1st night it was complaining so loud I was afraid it was going to wake the neighbors! The next day was a lot easier as it was spent driving Jackie into town so she could get a few seeds and get some flowers and potting soil. After we got back home my only job was pouring a little dirt into our pots and the old tires we use for planters then sitting back and watching Jackie work...something that I have grown very accustomed to doing over these last 35 years of our marriage. I must admit Jackie did a very fine job of getting the garden and the flowers planted. I only had to offer my advice on a couple of occasions and by doing so I learned a very valuable lesson... Jackie can throw a lot further than I thought! Iam just glad she chose to show me by tossing the dirt she was working in and not the trowel she was working with! After we finished the garden we took it pretty easy for a day or two then we decided that it was time to go see our little fish friends at Anini. The water was great very little chop and great visibility...we had a great time! I will try and post a few pics of the garden and a short clip of our snorkel at Anini.

BUSY SUNDAY

Aloha! It has been awhile since Jackie and I had left our house with no clear plan on where it was we were going. We used to do this at home sometimes and it always was a lot of fun. Of course when you live on a small island your options are limited somewhat. From the end of our driveway if you turn left you have about 25 miles before the highway ends at Ke'e beach. If you turn right you have about 60 miles until you run out of road at Polihale beach. Today we turned right...we made it as far as Kealia beach and decided that we needed to check out the Kapahi area. It is located mauka of the beach....very nice area with a lot of homes. A large portion of Kauai's population live in the Kapahi - Kapa'a area. We made a couple of loops thru this area before rejoining the main highway just makai of Opaeka'a Falls. We turned to the right again and we hadn't gone very far maybe another 3 miles or so when I noticed a sign strung between two palm trees saying motocross Saturday and Sunday. We figured what the heck...we might as well check this out. As we were heading into the track Jackie mentioned that she though Marine Camps beach was on this road. Now neither Jackie or I are big on motorcycles so we went right on passed the track. As we were heading past you could hear the motorcycles and see the huge dust cloud. Every once in awhile you could see one of the guys coming off a jump and he would be flying higher than the trees on the side of the road! It was at Marine Camps that our day got a little more interesting. Have you ever done something that it so stupid...something that you knew wasn't going to work even before you attempted it but you are so thick headed that you barge right ahead anyway? Well I did today! We were checking out the beach area and I come to a spot where you could either turn around and back track about 50 yards or continue on ahead for about 10 yards thru some very loose sand and save yourself the hassle of turning around. So stupid me I continued on ahead. Lucky for me there were two kind gentlemen there to bail me out! I hadn't gone more than 5 or ten feet into the sand before I was stuck. Between the 3 of us pushing and Jackie easing it back we were able to get going again with out to much hassle but boy did I feel like an ass for even attempting something that I knew wasn't going to work in the 1st place! From here we decided that it was time to get a little something to eat so we turned back to Kapa'a and made a stop at Burger King. From here we decided it might be better if we headed north for awhile so we decided to check out Anini. At least at Anini I knew I wasn't going to get stuck! The water at Anini was pretty rough and neither Jackie nor I wanted to get wet so we decided to give Kalihiwai a try. It was very nice. We sat there admiring the ocean until it was time to start thinking about supper. Decided that barbeque sounded good so it was off to Foodland for shortribs and then home. All in all a very nice day for Jackie and I.

BLUSTERY DAY ON KAUAI

Aloha! Not a lot has changed since my last post. Jackie and I have gone to the beach a few more times, made a trip into Costco...you know just our normal day to day existence here in paradise! Isn't life grand? Never did I ever imagine that I could be in such a rut as I'm in now and love it so much! We did change things up a little this past week by substituting a trip to the lighthouse in place of a beach trip. The humpback whales are here for their annual visit. They start trickling in in November and are gone by the end of March so January and February are the best months for viewing them. Yesterday a mother and her young calf gave us a pretty good show. It looked like the mom was trying to teach the youngster how to pec slap. First she would do it then the calf would do it. They must have done this 10 or 12 times in the hour and a half that we were watching. It is a good thing that Jackie and I chose yesterday for the lighthouse instead of today cause you can bet with the way the wind has been whipping around here today it is blowing twice as hard at the lighthouse seeing as how it is stuck out there on that point with nothing to protect it! I will have to give you another rerun today as Jackie and I have not been doing a very good job of taking pictures. This is one of my favorites...of course I always say that!

LAWNMOWER BIRDS

Aloha! It was beautiful on Kauai today...lite trades, upper 70's. Of course instead of spending our day at the beach we had to mow the lawn..bummer huh? But it worked out fine for us cause if we would have been at the beach we would have missed Kinzi's video call. We use a program called Skype. It is really a neat program that allows you to make video calls for free. Today when Kinzi called Jackie was able to give her a tour of our little apartment. She was even able to take her outside and show her the many lawnmower birds that were following my mower. Isn't technology great? For a little while it was like having Kinzi visiting us here in Hawaii while at the same time Jackie was able to get a peek into her dorm room at BSU. We also had a chance to visit with Jaynee for a bit before she headed to work. I had always heard that a phone call was the next best thing to being there but with a video phone call it is almost like you are there! Like I said above...isn't technology great? The video I posted today was from a few weeks ago at Anini.

1st POST OF 2010

Aloha!Things have been rather quiet these past few weeks for Jackie and I. We have been spending more time at home so I don't have much to blog about. We did manage to make it to the beach a couple of times and we have gone to the store a bunch but other than that it has been relaxing at home watching the bowl games. The pics of Jackie and I at the beach were taken on New Years day. It was very nice that day so we brought subs to the beach and had a little picnic topped off by a short snorkel. The last photo shows 3 Hawaiian oranges from a tree in our yard. As you can see they aren't much to look at but these oranges taste better than any I have ever tasted.