Parastars: Two months gone... (part one)

The last post to this blog was two months ago. So, where have I been and what have I been doing for two months? And how could it be so all consuming that I would deny you, good reader, of the pleasures of the blog?

Well, since I don't do guilt and since I was really having a wonderful time, I will not apologize. I will, however, take a trip back through the past two months with you and bring you up to current times. If you are ready, strap yourself in because this promises to be an exciting ride. OK, it was probably more exciting for me than it will be for you so you can unstrap yourself, grab a cup of coffee, slump down comfortably in your chair and read on.

I know that I just said that we were going to go back two months and get caught up on things but to fully understand why the past two months have been extraordinary you need to know about the past two years. Don't worry, it won't take long to tell you about the past two years; it will only take one word: work. Up until a couple of months ago, all I did was work. The few days off that I did have were so crammed full of obligatory things that there was little that was memorable.

During the past two months my life has been more normal with work taking up the requisite number of hours per day and with weekends containing two full days without work. To make the past two months even better, I was able to take three weeks off. Two of these weeks were spent on vacation (which means no computer, no phone, no beeper), the other week was spent doing chores around the house (which I enjoy) and taking local day trips. But, more on that later...

Looking back we see the last post here was on 4/12/05. April 12th is three days before the end of tax season. Working for a tax service you learn that if you live until April 15th, you will probably be ok until at least January 1st when the whole shooting match starts over again.

April 15th fell on a Friday this year. On Saturday morning, April 16th, D and I were on a plane headed for my parent's place in Phoenix. We stopped in Phoenix only to avoid the hellish flight from Tampa to the big island of Hawaii. If you are like me then it's not the flying that's bothersome, it's being treated like luggage that makes flying so uncomfortable. The thought of being squeezed into an airplane for over 12 hours almost thwarted our plans for a Hawaiian vacation. Stopping at my parents overnight and breaking the long flight into two more easily tolerated flights really improved the chances of having this be an enjoyable trip.

The trip from Tampa to Phoenix was uneventful. My parents met us at the airport and we headed back to the house. First things first, time to relax:

On Sunday, April 17th, we headed for the airport and the four us checked in on Hawaiian Airlines. Oh, did I not mention that my parents were going? Although I stated earlier that I don't do guilt, I didn't mean that others don't do guilt on me. Can you imagine what it would be like to try to get on a plane - post 9/11 - with two octogenarians hanging onto you, screaming and crying about how their son is killing them. It was easier to take them along than it was to try to explain this behavior to airport security.

The Hawaiian feel started right in the Phoenix airport at the Hawaiian Airlines check-in where we were entertained by a ukelele player, hula dancers and a women's beautyshop quartet.

We were lucky enough to have a second uneventful flight and were greeted in Hawaii in the traditional manner. Everyone got lei'd then we got our rental car and headed to the condo which would serve as home base for the next two weeks. The condo was clean, neat, well equipped and provided this view from the private patio:

The view, the room, the smell and sound of the ocean... things were looking good. Rather than stress over where to eat and how to get there, we decided to have dinner at the condo restaurant which was a short walk from the room. As with everything so far, this was another good choice.

Rather than bore you with a detailed day-by-day account of the trip, I will just cover the highlights, those things that really stood out as exceptional in my mind.

Sunsets:

Good Company:

The obligatory luau:

Akaka Falls:

The Original Hawaiian Chocolate Factory (I could write a book on the couple of hours that we spent here - a totally enjoyable morning):

Walking on live lava flows at night (I was a very stupid photographer and tried to shoot pictures without flash ... ended up with hundreds of photos of red blurs ... thanks D for having the experience to take some decent photos):