Polynesian Cultural Stuff

Here is this cool canoe we saw at the Polynesian Cultural Place. Air Force Daughter got us all tickets to see this place, eat the Luau, and watch the Extravaganza later. This place was kinda like a theme park, but still interesting in it's way. We saw the Maori exhibit, and having watched and enjoyed "Whale Rider" it was nice to see the exhibit. There were "villages" from various island cultures.
We avoided the "canoe" ride on the little pond though. Then it was time for the Luau. This was held in a big pavilion, and served cafeteria style. I don't know if that is traditional or not, but the food was OK, and not what we would eat at home, especially the purple bread. They also put on a show there that was supposed to show what was traditionally done at this sort of thing. This is some of the dancing.
After the feast, we stoped in at the IMAX movie. This may have been an unwise thing, since sitting close to that gigantical screen, with a full tummy, was somewhat more exciting than I would have prefered at the time. But we all survived the aerial photography and learned a bunch of stuff about coral reefs. We finished the evening with the Big Extravaganza. It was actually pretty good with all the dancing and playing with fire and all. Playing with fire is always cool. I'll just say that those dancers got quite a work out there.
We don't often go in for these kind of things, but every now and then it's good for a change. We even went to Stone Mt. by Atlanta once to see the light show. We got to see some really different country in crossing the island though the mountains. This area is a lot different than by Honolulu.

Makapuu Lighthouse

This is the Makapuu Lighthouse. We took a hike up the mountain to see it and admire the view. This is supposed to be a good place to see whales also, and we did get a glimpse of a few flippers. There is a plaque up there in memorial of an air crew who after a long patrol in lousy weather, mistook the light for another, and flew into the side of the mountain. This thing is really high above the water. You can see the waves crashing against the rocks far below. On the way up the trail, we had a good look at this old volcanical crater. There are a bunch of cacti and other desert looking plants out there, not what I
really expected from a Tropical Paradise. But I guess there is such a thing as a Desert Island. But this isn't one of them. We hope to camp out on the beach tonight, surrounded by the sand and the surf.

Chinatown

After the Botanical Garden, we slid on into Chinatown, Honolulu style. My Sweetie, being from California, is more familiar with these sort of things, I guess I'm a bit provincial in comparison. That's why she usually drives in the Big City. And Honolulu is the Big City. Any way, We had some Chopstickie lunch and walked around a bit, and poked around in some shops. She picked up some tropical type produce, and then we slipped out of town.

Gardens

Yesterday, My Sweetie and I went up to the Botanical Garden. It was pretty impressive. Unfortunately, the pictures don't do it justice. The flora here is a lot different than at home, big surprise, right ? Sometimes what looks like something you recognize isn't what you thought when you take a good look. Different sights, different smells, but that's one reason we travel.
There is a lot of difference in the climate between Honolulu and the mountains ( where this garden is ). It was much wetter up there, like a rain forest or something.
Well, I gotta go, Bye bye.

Arizona Memorial

Today ( actually, yesterday now ) was the day for our Pearl Harbor tour. As guests of the Air Force we were set up with the special military tour, much cozier and personal. This is not the boat we rode, it is the Admral's "Barge".In my youth I lived for a time near the Erie Cannal, And I saw plenty of barges. None of them looked like this one. Aparently, things are diferent for admrals.This vessel, however, is in diferant condithion. This is what is left of the Utah. It seems that before our friends the japanise were sending us Toyotas, they were seending bombs. The Utah was a recipreant of a few. Here is a look at the Arazona, the finaal resting place of many of our sailors. This happened like, over 65 years ago and the oil is still seeping from the hulk. In the memorial the smell of fuel oil is still strong. You can see the rainbow paterns floating on the surface as you study the ship below.

More Beachin'

So here's the view from the beach. Probably recognizable to a lot of folks. It's funny just how much of other places we've all seen in pictures, movies, or even on the tube. But there was a nice view of this Diamond Head place from the beach. Since we are guests of the Air Force here, we can go to the military places that are not so crowded. This one was not the home of the big surf, but there were some surfers out. I sent this one to the guys at work for their enjoyment. They did ask for some pix, so I'm not just being mean.

Life's a Beach

Went to a huge swap meet this morning, but you can do that any where, can't you. But latter we reverted to more traditional activities, and went to the beach. That's always appropriate at times like this. I know many folks have this opportunity all the time, but the beach is a long pull from our little home town. So we took the plunge literally.
After a pleasant swim in the surf, my Sweetie and me, kicked back on the sand and just enjoyed the view. I'll try to get some more on latter, but for now it's time to party.

Aloha, Y"all

Airborne at last. Liftoff early (very early) monday morning. First stop, Atlanta. They say yoou always haveto go though here, but, personally, this is the first time I've been here. Been to stone Mt. to see the light show, but not the airport.
After a brief stop, and some grub, in Phoenix, on to Hawaii. We are visiting family here at Hickam AF Base located on this Tropical Paridise.This mornig as we were dealing with the Jetlag, we took a brief walking tour. This is the famous Watertower that survived that "Day of Infamy" we all remember even if we weren't born at the time. Doesn't really look like a water tower to me, but that's what it was at the time.We also walked out along the chanel to the harbor and saw this cool ship leaving port. Who knows what new advetures await us on the marrow !
I won't bore you with the weather details, let me just say it's been much nicer than North Carolina this past week. So, for now Aloha.

Bootism

So, what happened to Spring ? Temps. in 20's, feather comforter at night. The heater fired up again.
Smoke in the sky. No snow though. Those peaches had actually made it though the last cold snap. It hit before the fruit was set and there were actually tiny BB sized peaches beginning to grow. But this probably finished those tender young things off for good. Or maybe that's "for bad". Cold in the mornings, and I had to break out my booties. My Sweetie and I both got a pair of these super warm "Booties" (we call them) just for these occasions of the cold tootsies. Of course, we thought they were already on summer break, but that shows how much we know. I guess they'll have to wait a bit longer for their chance to air out now.
When Young Daughter saw me come to supper with 'em on me feet, she asked if I was becoming a Bootist . Bootism seems to be a cold weather religion. So for now, I'm a practicing "Bootist".
Tonight, they're calling for 26.
But in Hawaii- This Afternoon: Mostly sunny, with a high near 81. East wind around 14 mph.
Monday: Mostly sunny, with a
high near 81. East wind around 13 mph. Sounds Good.

Blessed

This poor beat-up Motorcycle is resting here in it's lair. No this is not one of those high dollar jobs you can watch them build on the TV. This is just my little Honda Motorcycle. It may not look impressive, but it is a real Motorcycle. It may not be real fast, but it is fast enough to hurt someone, like me.
But this is not just a poor old Motorcycle, it is a Blessed Motorcycle. It is really true. My Sweetie found in the local "Shopper" paper, that a church in a nearby town was having the "First Annual Blessing of the Bikes". This seemed like a good thing. All kinds of bad things can happen to you out there, blowouts, break downs, wrecks, once I even hit a deer.
So I did it. I rode up there last week and ate hot dogs and stuff and got me and the bike blessed. But I guess I'll still have to change the oil.

Burrito Nite

Wendsday is Burrito Nite at our house. The Burritos are a family tradition. These are simple Bean Burritos, but with our own little special touch. It is necessary to use home made Tortillas of course. This is a shot of the Tortillas in progress. As is evident we substitute the old fashioned rolling pin for a high tech Tortilla press. Crude, but effective. My Sweetie rolls the
Tortillas, whilst I mash the beans. We've experimented a little, but pintos are traditional. The beer is optional but does make a nice complement to the operation as well as the meal. Of course there are other elements besides the beans and Tortillas.There's the onions, and olives. Today, some mashed up avocado. Some home grown cilantro, and of course the cheese. The sour cream makes them "deluxe" and all that. But there is still that one thing, that special touch that makes our Burritos unique, the slaw. I like to add a bit of tabasco for a bit of zing.
I suppose these are not really "authentic" and all, but they are our own family tradition, and have quite a following here. And of course, they are loaded with vitamin "F".

They're still calling for frost here this weekend. But for Honolulu- Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 77. Calm wind becoming southwest between 4 and 7 mph. Sounds good.

The Benders

Meet the Benders, Joe and Wendy. When my Sweetie made a visit to the west coast some time ago, she met the Benders. It seems that they hit it off, and these Bender folks followed her home. They've been here for a while now. Mostly they hang around in the kitchen, I guess the know where the action is. So now we are stuck with them it seems. But it's not so bad, they have such magnetic personalities, and they do know how to keep quiet in situations.
Last year we took a trip to the east coast and while there ran into some kinfolks of theirs. These were the artsy type. In fact, we saw them in the gift shop of an art museum. But nice as they were and all, we did manage to slip off without them.
You can probably tell which is Joe, and which is Wendy in the picture. She is not realy kicking him, they really get along quite well.
The weather's been pretty good here today, but they're calling for maybe frost this weekend.
The weather in Hawaii is-
Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 79. Northeast wind around 7 mph becoming southwest.
Just so you know.

Lawndale Dummy

Back in March I mentioned the Lawndale Railway & Industrial Co. ( Pumped Up, 3/3/07 ) At the time, I didn't want to go into that fascinating little RR. But now, for no particular reason, here goes.

This is one of the original freight-cars, I believe, #314. I believe that because that is what is painted on it. As you might have noticed, the track does not appear to go anywhere. This is, alas, the case today, but it was not so in the early 1900's, in it's days of glory.
Back in that era of the rise of our late lamented textile industry, it seems there was a booming mill and mill-town about a dozen miles from here. Now this metropolis was served by not one, but two modern rail-lines, whereas said mill-town was served by only muddy wagon roads. The Great Industrialist who's mill was lacking this modern transport, was determined to remedy this. When no "real" railroaders could be induced to assist in this endeavor, this Industrialist took matters into his own hands and built his own rail-line. The narrow gage was already largely considered obsolete, but it suited his purposes in that second hand equipment could be had economically, and actually gave some technical advantages in this case. The Railroad operated until WWII when the track was taken up for scrap in those desperate times. But the old LRR had served it's purpose by then, and trucks had taken over from the little "Lawndale Dummy" as it was know.
I think it's kinda cool though. The photo doesn't give a very good idea of the scale of things. Sorry about that. It is a lot smaller than the box cars we usually see. Dig the cool wooden trucks.

Pancake Morning

We had some rice with buckwheat the other day for dinner. It made me think of Buckwheat Pancakes. The weekend is so nice. One can sleep in and have a real breakfast. My Sweetie does not like much to cook the Pancakes, but she doesn't mind fixing the batter. I don't really understand this, as cooking them doesn't bother me, but I don't care much for mixing the fixings. I suppose she wouldn't understand that. But it should be evident that this works out to our advantage. You see, when God puts people together, He has a plan, and in our situation, there is an allowance for Pancakes. And so, here is a delicious Buckwheat Pancake in the pan, hence the term, "Pancake". I would think that if one were to cook such as this on a griddle, it would be a "Griddlecake". Yet, the term "Hotcake" could apply to either. But we don't eat "Hotcakes" here, only Pancakes. So, I made a pot of coffee, and cooked the pancakes, and we ate 'em.

The weather report for Honolulu is- Monday: Isolated showers. Partly cloudy, with a high near 80. North wind between 10 and 14 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Here, it just tried to rain, but not too cold. I think it's going to get rather dark soon.

Getting Culture

The other night my Sweetie and I rode out to a nearby college to enjoy this classical guitar concert. It was pretty good. This is not a big city, but there are things going on if you look for them. There were not that many folks there, mostly students, which I suppose, is to be expected. They have things like this from time to time, and they are free, which makes it nice for us poor folks. It's cool to be able to go out with my Sweetie sometimes and get some culture.

Bursting Buds

Spring is here and summer is near. The trees are leafing out. More and more each day. You can almost watch them growing. These are the buds of our fig tree opening now. They're not quite big enough yet for their traditional roll in the classic coverup, but will be in time. Eventually there should be some figs, but not for a while yet. I saw some apple blossoms today and had to cut the grass a bit. But that felt good after being cooped up in that truck all day. It's good to have the doors and windows open again.

Sports News

OK sports fans, it's track season again. And not only at the High School. This was the big Saturday Session for the younger set. This is specifically the 5th grader Half Mile Run.
Notice the intensity here. These kids are not fooling around, they mean business. Yes, Young Daughter was involved in this madness, while she ran well, unfortunately she did not win 1st place. I was attempting to aid in her training for a few days, and she ran the fool out of me. I think I'm lucky I didn't have to run with this crowd, they would have made me look bad, very bad.

The Poetry Corner

Here's another good one.


Much madness is divinest sense
To a discerning eye;
Much sense the starkest madness.
'T is the majority
In this, as all, prevails.
Assent, and you are sane;
Demure,- you're straightway dangerous,
And handled with a chain.

Emily Dickinson

Spring Is Here

Just couldn't help it. Happy first day of spring !

A Closer Look

It was at the end of the week at work, and we were cleaning up the trucks, and taking care of some loose ends and all. A couple of the trailers had some "solid waste" on them. "Solid waste" is junk that people dump out on the side of the street. Actually, we're not really supposed to pick this up, but of course if we didn't, no one else would. But I digress again. In consolidating this stuff we came upon one of those big, high dollar TVs, or rather, what was left of one. In the process of manhandling this thing, it was discovered that it contained three of these cool, big ass lenses. I guess I'm just one of those people who if they have a little time, and a pocket knife, are gonna take something apart. Besides all that, I have a thing for big ass lenses. Over the years I have found that the lenses out of old projectors make incredible magnifiers, and these things were huge. And so, an accomplice and I went to work. We each got our own cool, big ass lense, and even had an extra to give to the guy in the shop. Us old guys have a bit of trouble with the fine print these days.
But is this cool or what ? I already set fire to some leaves with it. I don't like to toast ants, it seems cruel somehow. Maybe it would be OK with fire ants though, they deserve it. Mostly, I just carry the thing around and look at stuff.

Pretty but Doomed

We have this volunteer peach tree down in the yard. These volunteers often make some of the best peaches. Now with the warmer weather, we also have these beautiful blossoms. But the tragic fact is, we are expecting below freezing tonight, and our potential peach crop is DOOMED ! It would have been the first year for this young tree, but nature can be so cruel.
Amazing Grace, the movie, finally came to town and we went to see it. Liked it pretty well.
Happy St Patrick's to you all. I'm gonna go have a Pint O' Stout in his honor.

Organic Cookin'

The weather was just too nice. I couldn't resist the impulse to sear these chunks of a dead bird over a small pile of hot coals. We used to raise some of our own, before we got lazy. These however, came from the Harris Teeter. But this is not just chicken, this is "Organic Chicken". We take our chicken serious here. Come to think about it, is there such a thing as "Inorganic chicken" ? Or would that be "Unorganic Chicken". Would that be plastic or something ? My daughter has a rubber chicken somewhere, but I don't think she's ever tried to cook it.
Well I kept the lid down and let all that smoke influence the chicken cooking in there. I suppose that cancels out all the healthy stuff from the "organic" part of things, but it was quite tasty anyway.

Dandelions and Other Stuff

So why do people hate them ? Why are so many bent on their destruction ? Here is this nice bit of color heralding the glorious springtime, and it bothers people. But why, what is the crime here ?
The blossoms are kinda pretty. When they go to seed, they're a lot of fun. Who hasn't plucked the fuzzy little things and gently poofed them out into the wide world ? And they're nutritious, you can add the greens to your daily salad for that natural effect. Shoot, you can even make wine out of them if you add a bit of sugar. The weather is warming up. The Violets are coming out now, the Red maples are blooming. We are looking forward to seeing the new leaves on the trees. I like Spring Time.

Foolish Desperation

I'm kinda a Slacker sometimes, and I let the sunflower seed get a bit low. With the whole wide world out there, I didn't really understand just how important this was to the Avian Economy. This desperate little fella, somehow managed to squeeze himself into the feeder in an effort to obtain the last few seeds. Birdbrain as he is, he never thought out his escape plan. But then, a lot of us often don't think very far ahead, do we. Rest assured, after I made him pose for this humiliating picture, He was allowed to return to his home and family. Perhaps he learned a valuable lesson in this, it would be nice to think so.

The Poetry Corner

Always kinda liked this one.


I'M nobody ! Who are you ?
Are you nobody, too ?
Then there's a pair of us - don't tell !
They'd banish us, you know.

How dreary to be somebody !
How public, like a frog
To tell your name the livelong day
To an admiring bog !

Emily Dickinson

Final Final Destination

I'll admit it was hard to see. A sharp eyed surfer got it close. A deer was the call, and considering how hard it was to see, I guess that was close enough. Here is a closer look at this tragedy. So congratulations to Woodie, you'll have to buy your own lottery ticket, but if it's any consolation, I hope you win big. Maybe if you do you'll remember the Fuzz.
I guess that stuff about the glue factory isn't true any more. These big guys get special treatment. They have a nice deep hole just for them. Horsies, Moo-Cows, Dogs and Cats, ( the animal "shelter" is here at the landfill ) this is the final destination for so many.
But I'm getting depressed about all this, so I think it's time to say Bye Bye.

Rusting Away

More on the fascinating subject of railroads, or at least railroad trestles. Back to the old Southern RR. This is the part abandoned. Here it crossed the river on the other side of town. Actually, I suppose, it still does, but no trains. Not even any track. But this is an impressive trestle, is it not ? There is that long stretch with the timbers leading to the river itself. Trains must be really heavy, I guess the trick is to use lots of timbers. And then we come to the river itself. This is not the river of the River Walk, only a contributer to that mighty flood. But still a real impediment to railway travel.
I think at flood stage, all those timbers would catch all kinds of trees and other debris, so this problem was eliminated with this iron span. It seems so fragile in a way, with it's slender braces, compared to more modern bridges. But this one carried trains for years and years, and never let them down. Now it sits here, quietly rusting away.

Still no score on the "Final Destination" quiz. You'll have to look real close to uncover the sad truth.

Final Destination ?

Ha ! No picture.
Yes it's quiz time. Turn back the pages of time and "Kinda Fuzzy" itself. Travel with me back in history to Saturday, February 24, 2007, and the "Final Destination". How observant are you ? Who's "Final Destination" is this ? Unfortunately there are no prizes, no big bucks. If you want that, buy a lottery ticket. But you can have the smug satisfaction of knowing your keen powers of observation are a cut above the rabble.

Pumped Up

The weather was so nice today I couldn't resist taking out the 'Cycle. Topped off the tank and headed up toward the South Mts. That's always a pleasant ride on the winding through the hills. On the way I passed this place. It's a museum for the late Lawndale Railway & Industrial Co. Which is not the subject here. But I did want to share these cool gas pumps. I already had a full tank, so didn't try to fill up here. I'm not sure If I know how to work these things anyway, and besides, the place wasn't open.
Some other time we'll look at the LR&I RR.

Still Hanging In

This little fella goes back pretty far. Back to the days of the house in the country with the holes in the floor. I was trying to saw a plank out of an old log I'd found in the woods, which was more work than I'd expected of course. There was this little tip left over and I got inspired to make a little "Protecter of Socks" and such. Some might think I had too much time on my hands, but I wonder if that is actually possible. I must have been a bit of a pagan at the time. But be that as it may, I was not relying on any dark forces or anything, only the fact that he was a bit of sweet smelling cedar wood.
For some reason he's still hanging around, although I don't know that he ever had a chance to do any work in his field.