SMILES FROM KAUAI

Aloha overcast with gusty trades today the perfect weather for staying inside and playing on the computer. Jackie and I bought a Macbook pro a couple of months ago and I love the way it handles my photos. It has so many neat slideshow themes and they all look so cool when played back on my computer or broadcast to my T.V. only problem when I try to publish them on the blog they come out way to blurry when played back full screen and if you watch them condensed down the photos look way to small mainly because there is more than one picture to a page. I guess I will be posting more blogs with just stills or will use the same theme I used today it is not my favorite but at least the pics are only are only one to a page.

DOESN'T FEEL A BIT LIKE CHRISTMAS

Aloha it has been very nice on Kauai. The temps have been in the upper 70s with moderate trades not the kind of weather that gets a person in the mood for Christmas but it has been the kind of weather that forces one to get out and mow the lawn and weed the garden. Jackie and I have been wanting to work a beach trip into our busy schedule but things haven't fallen that way for what seems like a very long time. Jackie is either working or the weather is a bit iffy or we have other things that we have to get done. Hopefully someone will visit us soon so we can get our priorities back into the proper order with a trip to the beach being a lot closer to the top then it is now.

BACK TO THE BEACH

Aloha! Jackie and I spent the morning at Anini. It was absolutely gorgeous. Temps in the upper 70's with very lite trades and the water as smooth as a babies butt. At least it was on the inside of the reef. The waves were in the 6 to 8 foot range outside. A person would think these conditions would add up to perfect snorkeling conditions and normally they would be right but today the water clarity wasn't what we have come to expect. I would say it was only fair at the best. It was still nice to get back in the water and the swimming was good for my old bones even if the visibility was some what limited. I will try and post a few pics from our last visit home. I'm not real sure how successful I will be because Jackie bought us a new Mac computer and it is somewhat different from our old pc. Better but different! Couldn't find the pics from our last visit home so will post these from our trip to Oklahoma in 1983 instead.

SITTING ON THE LANAI

Aloha thought I would try something a little different.Tonight I'm writing on my blog using my IPad so far I think it's working pretty well.The battery on my laptop needs replacing but the thing is so old I really hate to put any money into it so instead of replacing the battery I keep it plugged in this works ok but really limits the mobility.It was beautiful on Kauai today temps in the upper 80's with lite trades the kind of day that just screams beach So you know with the kind of luck Jackie and I have had lately we had other things we needed to do Jackie wanted to get her hair cut we needed to renew the safety sicker on our car and most importantly we needed to check the post office to see if the letter our landlord was expecting came in. We had good luck with the first two not so lucky on the letter guess it will just have to wait until next week seeing as how Jackie has to work the rest of the week and I'm to stubborn to drive into Kapaa by myself just to check the mail. I will try and post a few pics of Mr. Honu because I'm sure he was expecting to see us today he always looks for us on nice days.

BACK IN PARADISE

Aloha! It's nice to be home. Now don't get me wrong, Jackie and I really enjoyed our visit. I think the grand kids have grown about 2 inches since we were there in May and the gathering at Kay and Mel's beach house was absolutely awesome! It was so nice talking story with the Aunts and Uncles or better yet listening to them catch up on old times. They have all lived such interesting lives and they have so many great stories to tell. I also need to mention the weather. Living on Kauai these past 5 years has made me just a bit jaded as far as the weather goes but the weather there was every bit as good as what we have come to expect on Kauai. Still as perfect as every thing was I have to admit it was a great feeling when that plane touched down in Lihue. Even though my little apartment is so small I can sit in my chair and spit a watermelon seed and hit every wall in it. It is our home and there is nothing that can compare to the rest you get by sleeping in your own bed. I will try and post a few pics taken at Kay and Mel's.

I'M LEAVING ON A JET PLANE

Aloha! Jackie and I have spent the better part of the day getting all the last minute details out of the way for our trip home tomorrow. We will only be gone for 8 days but it seemed to take as much getting ready for this short trip as it would have if we were going to be gone for a month or two. Jackie and I are really looking forward to seeing as many of our friends and family as we can but this trip is going to have us up against the wall for time. 3 of the 8 days are going to be lost to travel. Monday by arriving in Seattle then driving to Richland, Friday by driving from Richland to Poulsbo and we will be flying out of Seattle early Tuesday. Jackie and I wanted to make this trip a little longer but with us just being there in May Jackie didn't feel right about asking for too much more time off. I will try and post a short slideshow of our hike into Queens Bath.

UNDERWATER PICS

Aloha another beautiful day on Kauai temps in the mid 80's with lite trades and a sky full of large white puffy clouds. Jackie and Cory are both working so I have been spending the morning rotating between coffee on the lanai or setting in my easy chair and watching the world slowly fall apart on T.V. The lyrics from American Pie kept running thru my head so I decided to turn off the telly hide the remote and go outside and watch the pretty white clouds. Thank god for the pretty white clouds! When I 1st went outside I saw clouds in the shape of pirate ships and knights on horses chasing dragons across the sky but after about hour and a blender full of margaritas these were replaced by Unicorns and Bunnies playing tag with lovely Mermaids on a sea filled with cotton balls.

PICS OF AN EAGLE RAY

Aloha! Thought you all might enjoy these pics. Jackie and I took them while snorkeling at Anini March of 2010. These Eagle Rays stayed out at chicken skin crack for a couple of weeks and Jackie and I were able to swim with them numerous times. With Jackie working now we haven't been able to get in the water as much as we would like where we use to go 3 or 4 times a week. We're lucky now if we can make it 3 or 4 times a month. Course I guess I shouldn't complain. Her working has made it possible to get back to the mainland a couple of times a year to visit the grandkids and now we have health insurance again, something we went without for a few years. As a matter of fact we will be flying to the mainland a week from Monday. This trip will be a short one, only 8 days. We will be spending the first half with the grandkids and the second half visiting with Jackie's mom and her brother and sisters. Really looking forward to seeing them. It has been a number of years since we have been together with all of them. I'm going to try and make more of an effort to keep my blog updated. I no longer have an underwater camera so I will be posting some older pics taken when I did or maybe some new out of the water pics if I can remember to take my camera!

VIDEO AND PICS FROM EARLIER POST

Aloha

GOOD DAY AT THE BEACH

Aloha! Well Jackie and I have enjoyed another great week here on Kauai. The weather wasn't the best early on but as the week progressed it got better and better. It was nice enough by Wednesday for me to get the lawn mowed and that always takes a big load off my mind. It was even nicer on Thursday but Jackie had to work and I was pretty much done in from mowing the lawn so the day was spent inside watching tv with a little computer time thrown in as well. Think the highlight for the day was watching the Boise State -Fresno game. Even though Boise State got thumped rather badly watching my niece Kinzi play always puts a smile on my face. Jackie got home from work in time to catch the last couple of minutes so her day was brightened as well. This mood only lasted until we got the weather report for Kauai. The weather guys put the island under a flash flood watch predicting heavy rains for Thursday night lasting thru most of Friday. Normally we aren't concerned to much by the weather but Friday was Jackie's day off and we were really looking forward to a day at the beach. Guess Jackie must be living a good life and staying on the right side of karma because even though it rained most of the night it wasn't a heavy rain and this morning we awoke to beautiful blue skies. We checked the ocean report to get the info on the tides and to see what we should expect for visibility. The report said only fair so we didn't know if it would even be worth getting in the water. We took our snorkels any way and kept thinking positive thoughts. Being positive must have worked because the conditions were absolutely gorgeous, the best we have seen them in a very long time. They were so nice Jackie and I went out twice for the full snorkel each time. Even going all the way up chicken skin crack, something we rarely do unless the water conditions are ideal. I will try and post a few pics and a short video taken before my underwater camera bit it!

CHANGING WEATHER

Aloha Jackie and I have enjoyed a rather slow laid back kind of week here on Kauai. Of course most of our weeks are of this variety and thats just the way we like them. We did manage to make it to the beach once and that was today. We figured that with all the rain we have been getting the water would be mucked up so we didn't even take our snorkels, just the beach chairs. Kind of nice to just sit on the beach and watch the waves. Very soothing and a nice way to eliminate any stress that might be creeping into your life. Of course Jackie has told me on more than one occasion that if I get any more relaxed I will be bordering on comatose! The rest of the week was split between Jackie working at the store, me working in the garden or sitting in my chair listening to the rain and I might have watched just a little tv, played on the computer some and eaten way too many snacks. Think the weather is supposed to start looking up around the middle of the week and if it does I will need to get the grass cut. Other than that next week should be a lot like this week. Have I mentioned how rough my life is here on Kauai? I will try and post a few pics of Jackie and I when we were a lot younger. Back in the days when a fence gate made a darn good pony and Indians were hiding behind every tree!

More From Kauai

Aloha! Lets see if I can remember how this blogging thing works. I think I'm supposed to write a little bit about what Jackie and I have been up to and maybe post a picture or two that illustrates our life here in paradise. Well the 1st part should be easy enough cause how hard can it be to say not much. Pretty much the same old same old. I can tell you that the weather this week has been outstanding. Jackie and I have gone snorkeling twice and both times the conditions were ideal, very little wind chop and temps in the low 80's. We saw our normal assortment of fish as well as a few large eels. We also had the chance to talk story with a few of our visitors. Always a lot of fun to meet and talk with different people. Seems when people are on vacation they are much more relaxed and willing to shoot the breeze with strangers they have met at the beach. Too bad things can't be as relaxed in the real world. Now for the 2nd part that could prove to be a little harder than it was. My underwater camera finally gave up the ghost and the camera I got to replace it is not an underwater one nor is it nearly as tough so consequently I can't take it to the beach as easily. The other one I could just toss it in a bag or my pocket. This one takes better photos but I need to be a lot more careful with it so if we are going to the beach to snorkel this camera stays home! Some day I will probably get another camera like I had but for now I can find other uses for Jackie's money!