alexandriacardinals

December 1

We have crossed a new month threshold and on this day would take a field trip to the northern tip of the Big Island.  Our garage door guardian was still holding fort – he/she kinda looks like a broach?

[First stop along Highway 19, a lava tube, as I recall just past the airport? They appear to be performing a drill – in case older Minnesotans come by and fall in.]

[Well, I have a butt thing . . . ]

[Heading to the north end, past Mauna Kea.]

[And some lava fields . . . ]

[And our first sighting of Maui . . . yup, from the Big Island.]

[Then a neat little state park.]

[The Super enjoying the scenery . . . and with Roy.]

[Spying on Maui.]

[After we bid adieu . . . er, aloha . . . to the state park, we arrived at the northern most habited place on the Island – Hawi.]

[Again, the jumble of wires mindful of South Asia.]

[Where we dined . . . ]

[So, I had just finished a chat with Fidel, and someone snuck up behind me. We always laugh about Alexandrians running into other Alexandrians all over the planet. We were on the very north end of the island of Hawaii, at the small village of Hawi, and had just finished lunch. Kay (Wasson, Alex class of ’64) and Randy Sukovich said they noticed us there. They’ve been staying for a week or two on the north end of the Big Island for about 5 years now. We each had no idea the others were here. In Alex, we live on the SW side of Lake Darling, the Sukoviches live on the NE side of the same lake, and we’re all members of the golf club – I’m not sure if we saw each other in Alex all summer? Uffda!]

[Big banyans in the city park . . . and I always wondered where Sonny went after the Fireside Steakhouse?]

[Pololu Valley Lookout – the end of the road!]

[Coconuts!  I understand the old Marx Brothers movie was recently reprised at the Guthrie.  😉  ]

[What I said!]

[Heading home, we found King Kamehameha . . . and the Super found shopping!]

[Then we took the high road home, at altitude it is as Roy says somewhat akin to Austria or Switzerland.]

[Our first sighting of “home” from on high.]

[“The hills are alive . . . with the South of Music.”]

[Mauna Kea, again.]

[I believe these small green craters are called small green craters.]

[Yes, it is the Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B!]

[Back in Roy’s backyard, more sunsets . . . ]

You want to know what it’s like to be on a plane for 22 hours? Sit in a chair, squeeze your head as hard as you can, don’t stop, then take a paper bag and put it over your mouth and nose and breath your own air over and over and over.  ~  Lewis Black

Up next:  Hawaii, but not much more.

[Ruthie’s birthday is New Year’s Day.  Her sister Rita’s is New Year’s Eve.  Rita sent Ruthie a Diana Krall CD for her birthday.  She also sent her the birthday card below.  Rita is a nurse, so she knows about anatomy.]

[On January 2, the Super completed the quilt her grandmother began 73 years ago . . . ]

[On January 3, we celebrated Christmas upon the arrival of Grandson Tom from Purdue . . . celebrated in the sense of opening presents (the Super could contain herself no longer) and eating and drinking ourselves into a stupor.]

[Let’s begin with boy undies – Duluth Trading Post undies, that is, guaranteed to last until the next ice age.]

[Woo-woo!  Now I can make coffee in my new undies!]

[And other stuff . . . thank you Aunt Toodie and Uncle Mo for the Smithsonian finery!]

[The Super scores a homerun with Jami.  Look for it on her person soon at Cherry Street Books!]

[And here we’re in a stretch where we really tried to get Jami to cheer up a bit!]

[Page break . . . ]

[Well, so much for trying to fit into certain attire by the April cruise . . . ]

[Above and below, thank you Aunt Toodie and Uncle Mo!]

[A final blitz to the finish . . . ]

[And now the nether regions of the tree are devoid of presents.]

Santa Claus has the right idea. Visit people once a year. ~  Victor Borge

Up next: Better get moving on Hawaii before the next trip comes up!

DING! DING! DING!  Another milestone!  This is the 750th posting on this blog!  Do I win anything?

November 30

[A day to hang around the neighborhood.  Remember the previous discussions of Roy’s wild “pets”?  Well, here’s the spider that guards the garage door – doesn’t look like someone to trifle with!  And the giant moth on the swing – well, here he/she has moved to the screen door at the back of the garage.]

[We left Roy’s in the morning to go to his favorite local coffee plantation.   From “Hawaii Revealed”:  This ultra-pink 1926 building is up at the 1,400 foot elevation level in Holualoa (above Kona town). It’s cheap, bare bones, no nonsense and doesn’t seem to change much between editions. No mints on your pillow, no phones, shared bathrooms, but they have a tv in the lobby. If you want two beds, it’s $40, a double bed is $35. It’s $30 if you’re by yourself and plan to stay that way. Rooms #9 and #10 are the best bet and are for couples only; the rest you may want to avoid.]

[Now I mentioned the Kona Hotel only because it was neighborly to UCC Hawaii, our coffee destination.  And like the Kona Hotel, it was another 1,000 feet above Roy’s – great views and cooler!]

[Then we took a little hike down the hill (and then back up – oy, it was steep) to see the coffee plants.]

[Later in the day, it was luau night!  Heading down the hill from Roy’s, we would be going six miles south.]

[You may notice the luau ads and invitation are for the the Ka’anapali Beach Hotel.  The Ka’anapali Beach Hotel is on Maui.  We are no longer on Maui.  I lost most of my pictures from Maui.  We did not go to this luau anyway.  I believe this was the night I stayed in to do my nails.]

[But we did luau at the Sheraton Kona Resort & Spa at Keauhou Bay on the Big Island . . . ]

[Standing in line, enjoying the grounds, a beverage, a sunset, the swimming pool, the sunset again and again and again . . . ]

[Oh, here’s the swimming pool . . . ]

[And our emcee and entertainers . . . you’re going to find this hard to believe, but it featured the hula!]

[First, hula lessons . . . ]

[Then tattoing!  Mine read, “You need lessons on eating California rolls.”]

[This Super’s read, “I’m ticklish!”]

[Appetizers and other stuff . . . ]

[Let the entertainment begin!]

[And keep going . . . ]

[This is my computer wallpaper . . . because the dancer on the left is the one who tattoed me!  🙂  ]

[And going . . .  Well, because we can’t get this stuff in the greater 5-county area.]

[This guy was good, a real entertainer who knew how to milk the crowd.]

Airline travel is hours of boredom interrupted by moments of stark terror.  ~  Al Boliska

Up next:  Hawaii?

[A blizzard, a roundabout, the Legion skating rink (?) . . . welcome to Alexandria.]

[Nephew Michael John Obert performing at Augsburg.  I believe that’s a cello.]

[Uncle Mo w/ his and our grandniece, Liney, in beautiful downtown historic Fredericksburg, Virginia, over the holidays.]

[Liney’s mom, our niece, Kady.]

[Aunt Toodie holding Liney’s new baby sister, Charlotte.]

[The new sisters . . . ]

[A blast from the past.  A seriously funny holiday moment w/ friends Rose and Dick McMullen outside Carlyle Grand Cafe in Shirlington, Virginia.  This Christmas apparition appeared with a schtick that tickled Rose’s funny bone.  I can’t remember the substance, but she played it well – a professional actor?]

[New Year’s Eve, party two for the evening, at Sixth Avenue Wine & Ale.  Al & friends were performing before a packed it house.  Yup, we had fun.  And it was great to see Sami Steidl, who appeared unannounced from Colorado, again – our original Alex musical wunderkind.]

[New Year’s Eve was the Super’s sister Rita’s birthday.  New Year’s Day is the Super’s!  We begin with her beloved Camp Brosius in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, and continue with her usual assortment of tasteless birthday cards.]

[What every girl wants for her birthday: A bottle of spendy champagne, a box of chocolates, and a light weight, battery-operated hand drill! ]

[So, Happy New Year and Happy Birthday, Ruthie . . . ]

[And don’t let the new year curb your enthusiasm!]

Now there are more overweight people in America than average-weight people. So overweight people are now average… which means, you have met your New Year’s resolution. ~  Jay Leno

Up next:  Not done with Hawaii (by a long shot)!