Turning the corner?…Time to get busy…New photos…One year ago, a photo of our fabulous final meal in Marrakech…

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The chicks were born in early February and will fledge in the next month or so. It’s been amazing to watch their fluff fall away as their feathers suitable for flying grow in.

It’s only a subtle change after 10 days of being ill. I didn’t lay in bed often during the day over this period doing so for only short stints. I showered and dressed every morning, doing laundry as needed, and preparing our meals. It felt good to move about rather than lounging all day long.

Never hesitating to post I scrambled for good new photos to share. I never dreaded posting during this period. The words may not have flowed as easily as on better days but, they came nonetheless, and as long as I could roust up new photos, I was content. Bear with me over the lack of creativity during this time.

An un-banded Albatross out for a walk. It’s impossible to determine the albatross’s gender without a DNA test. There are no obvious markings or physical definitions. Since both parents equally share in sitting on the nest and the care and feeding of the chick, perhaps nature has made them visibly indistinguishable. 

Now, on day three of the second round of antibiotics, yesterday I noticed a slight improvement, enough to inspire me to get out. Needing more probiotics and anxious to see how the Laysan Albatross chicks were progressing, I asked Tom to drive me to the nearby neighborhood to see them, take photos and then head to the grocery store for the six items on the grocery app on my Windows phone.

All of the chicks now have both fluffy and new feathers, as shown in this napping chick.

As soon as we got into the car, it started to rain. In the two minutes it took to drive to the albatross, most of them were tucked inside their own proliferating new feathers as shelter from the downpour. We were able to get these few shots although it was difficult to do so with their heads tucked away.

Tom is absolutely the most patient photo spotter on the planet. He backs up six inches, moves forward nine inches, and repeatedly backs up to provide me with the perfect angle for a shot. Never complaining. Never once. Without his patience and perseverance, we’d miss so much. 

This banded albatross appeared to be a parent when she or he was hovering near a chick.

As the sun began to wane with a decent sunset appearing on the horizon, at 6:30 pm, we wandered across the street to gather with the crowds at the overlook that both walk and drive to this location to take photos and gawk at the impending beauty.

This chick has been a favorite of ours with his nest fairly close to the road and her/him often checking out the scenery.

As it turned out the sunset wasn’t as profound as we’d expected. We returned home at 7:10 for a quiet restful evening. Again today, the improvement is still small but enough to give me hope that I’ll be feeling better soon.

Our plan for today was for both of us to head to Lihue to return the rental car and pick up another car we’d reserved. Originally, we’d intended to leave Kauai on the 15th to spend the remaining nine nights until the cruise in Honolulu. After our unimpressive 11 nights in Waikiki, once we got settled in Kauai we decided to stay here until the 23rd, spending only one night in Honolulu.

Here are two chicks approximately six feet apart although they look closer in this photo. Here again, they are tucked away napping during the wind and rain. The parents lay one egg and thus these two are not related or, perhaps in some way, they are.

As a result, when we were unable to extend the remaining nine days over the phone and a trip to Lihue was necessary today on the 15th.

Tom will return the car without me with no necessity for me to be sitting in the car for two hours for the round trip to the airport and back. Tom loaded his favorite podcasts on his phone for the drive and the time will fly quickly for him.

By the time we left the area, the sun was shining and we spotted this typical lawn mowing scenario. A Cattle Egret hovers near the mower hoping for morsels the process may unsettle. This always makes us laugh.

With a little catching up on departure tasks such as paying in advance for our luggage on the upcoming flight to Honolulu and logging a few receipts on our spreadsheet, I’ll make good use of the time.

Yesterday, we took enough photos to share over the weekend. Hopefully, by Monday, we can escalate our activity level and visit a few remaining sites before departing Kauai. Have a wonderful Friday and upcoming weekend!

                                               Photo from one year ago today, May 15, 2014:

A year ago, Madame Zahra had lovingly made our last meal at Dar Aicha, the lovely riad in which we lived for the prior two and a half months. With utmost respect, we didn’t take photos of the household staff.  Saying goodbye to Madame was tearful and emotional for her and me. With a total language barrier somehow we managed to communicate with one another during the entire period.  For details of that final day, please click here.

A blender…An usual recipe…A request from a casual encounter….Kind words from a friend…

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Huge boulders placed on the beach as a breakwater or were they there all along?

A few days ago I wrote to the lovely property owners of our upcoming vacation rental in Trinity Beach, Australia beginning on June 11th. I posed a question to  Andy, the owner of the property for which I anticipated a negative response: “Is there a blender available for our use during the 89 night stay?” Only about half of our vacation rentals have had blenders.

With the huge time difference of 20 hours between Hawaii and Trinity Beach, Australia, I didn’t expect to hear back for a day or so. In no time at all, Andy replied that they had a blender and would let us use it during our stay.  We were thrilled. 

A lone tree near the shore on the Kauai Path.

Why do we so desperately need a blender? Over the past few years, as we fine-tuned our diet, we’ve stopped using products containing soy, vegetable, and seed oils and any products containing chemicals. Store-bought mayonnaise contains all of these. 

I’ve been making a walnut (a nut, not a seed) oil dressing and yesterday, I made a bacon grease mayo that was delicious. With our low carb high fat (LCHF), grain, starch, and sugar-free way of eating, saving the grease from nitrate-free bacon over several days, left us with the one cup of clear, clean, chemical-free oil needed to make a perfect mayo.

You may cringe at this thought. If I were to try to explain how it’s safe if not healthful on our way of eating to consume bacon grease every day on our salads, it would take me more than the 1000+ post we’ve done so far. 

A bushy path to the beach on the Kauai Path.

There are numerous scientific books I’ve posted here that explains it better than I. If you’d like to see that list again, please feel free to write to me and I’ll resend you the list that is the basis of this way of eating.

Oh, it’s easy for me to talk about health when I’ve been suffering from an infection for over a week, now slightly better on day two of taking Cipro. No diet, no lifestyle change, and no exercise modality can make any of us exempt from illness. If there was, we’d be doing it! Being sick in a strange land is awful.

The beach in downtown Kapaa.

So for those of you who either have adopted this way of eating or are considering doing so, here’s the recipe:

Jess’s Baconnaise
2 egg yolks from pasteurized eggs (readily available at most grocery stores)
1 tsp. prepared mustard
1 T. lemon juice
1 cup bacon fat, strained or not (Don’t refrigerate it before using, only after it’s made. If the bacon fat is solid, place it in hot water in the sink to let it liquefy. Don’t heat it in the microwave. Hot grease won’t work. It will cook the egg yolks which you don’t want).

Place yolks, mustard, and lemon juice into a blender or food processor. Blend on low for 15 seconds. Put the lid on the blender removing that little plastic cup in the middle of the lid. Turn on to the lowest speed. As slowly as you possibly can, drizzle the grease into the hole in the lid of the blender. Season as you’d like with salt and pepper or other spices. Store in a glass jar with a lid. It keeps two weeks in the refrigerator.
A house during construction above the Kauai Path which has a magnificent distant view of the sea.

Please don’t consume a high fat and high carb diet together. It’s a lethal combination! It’s that way of eating that is causing diabetes, heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and obesity all over the world. 

Please read about this way of eating before adopting this lifestyle to see if its right for you and also check with your doctor, although most doctors didn’t study nutrition in medical school for more than a few hours and still believe in the low fat, high grain diet that we were fed by congress in the 1970s. Read the book by Nina Teicholz, The Big Fat Surprise, if you’d like to see the facts.

Anyway, enough pontificating for today.  I apologize if I bore those of you who have little interest in these topics. 

In any case, Andy offered the blender and we were almost as appreciative of Andy in Australia as were with Mario in Fiji who purchased a stove for us as told in this post of a few weeks ago. 

The Kauai Path is well maintained and has several restroom buildings such as this and lifeguard vehicles with surfboards for aiding in water rescues.

Gosh, maybe it really is OK to ask for what we want. In our old lives, we hesitated to ever ask for anything we wanted or needed from others. We always tried to do it ourselves, never wanting to impose. How we’ve learned from experience!

Continuing on…yesterday, I received an email from a lovely woman I’d met while on the tour of the Princeville Botanical Garden, asking for a reading list on my anti-inflammation way of eating.  

I wouldn’t normally bring up my diet on a tour but when I refused to taste the fruit from the trees and the sugar-added-chocolates during the cacao beans demonstration, I was asked why I refused to taste either. In brief, I explained, and yet, the questions kept coming during breaks on the tour. Today, after I’m done here, I will send Barbara the list. If you’d like a copy of this list, please send me an email.

In every direction, a mountain view enhances the exquisite scenery in Kauai.  On most days, there are full clouds hovering over the mountains. The sky is seldom totally clear for more than an hour.

Then, early this morning while checking my email, I was blown away by a message Tom received from Jerry (and Vicki) whom we met on the beach in Hanalei when we first arrived in Kauai. 

See this link here from the day we met Vicki and Jerry. We only spent a few hours together on that special day.  They were leaving the next day but a friendship blossomed that we’ll always cherish and remember. We’ve been lucky to meet so many wonderful people here in Kauai!

I couldn’t resist posting this photo of Tom and Jerry, one more time, as we approach the end of our time in Kauai. Here it is! It bespeaks the fun we had that afternoon.

This photo makes us smile as we recall how lucky we were to meet Jerry and Vicki in January.

Today, Jerry wrote the following in his message. I blush over the accolades but so admire him for taking the time and effort to share his thoughts with us. Here it is:

“Hello Tom:  Some days, I speed read Jessica’s blogs.  Of late, I am hanging on every word.  I am so glad I/we met you and Jessica.  She says and writes what she thinks, in a way putting into simple words what we think, but somehow can’t get out.  Ah, what a teacher.  Teaching is a way to see the world thru nature and our interdependence on one another.  The May 13, 2015 blog was special.  It strikes one’s emotions and reminded me of a saying I once read in “golf in the kingdom”—-we are all kites in the wind, attached only by a mere thread.  but even a kite, a symbol of freedom in the wind, cannot fly without a conductor, someone to help it get going.  Thank you, Jerry, Hanalei Beach January 19, 2015, Kauai, Hawaii.”

Jerry, thank you!  Your words warm our hearts and validate the degree of effort we exercise daily in posting and sharing endless photos. We’ll always remember you both. But, as we soon leave Kauai in nine days, guess what? We’re taking you with us! As you hopefully continue to follow us each day!

                                               Photo from one year ago today, May 14, 2014:

Taking a few more photos in the souk as we wound down our last day in Marrakech, we spotted this colorful swirl of scarves. For details from that final date and our total expenses for the two and a half months in Morocco, please click here.

In the best of times, in the worst of times…We all carry on…The power of the human spirit…More new photos…

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A small lagoon between Anini Beach and Ke’e Beach.

Many times we’ve written about the innate ability of animals in the wild and their ability to survive in the most treacherous of conditions, foraging for food while surviving the elements and the brutal attacks of predators and humans.

Each day as we interact with the same birds that visit; Mr. & Ms. Birdie and the Red Heads, we see the fragility of their lives. Able to fit into the palm of our hands, these tiny creatures often survive for years, mating for life, somehow managing to stay alive, resilient and healthy.

We stumbled across this beach when we took a side road off the Kuhio Highway between Ke’e Beach and Anini Beach.

Ha!  And we think we’re the supreme beings on the planet! 

I find myself wishing I had the resiliency of the birds, that somehow if something wasn’t right, that I’d have the patience and perseverance to see me through utilizing my own strengths and personal resources. 

The reflections in the water caught our eye as we walked along the beach.

But, we humans haven’t grown up flying in the breeze and living on the branches of trees, pecking at bugs, seeds, and worms in order to survive. We’ve grown up in a world that encourages us, or shall I say, requires us, to seek the support of others for education, sustenance, information, and care during most periods of our lives.

As much as we’d like to believe we’re independent, we’re not. Even those who through illness, necessity, or personal decision “decide to drop out” are often subject to the rules and decisions of others who deem their lives inadequate by today’s standards.

There’s an expanse on Kuhio Highway a few miles outside of Princeville, where the scenery is breathtaking with many Acacia trees. Unfortunately, there isn’t a single spot for a car to stop to take a photo. I’ve tried taking the photo from the moving car, as in this case, unable to capture the expanse of the beauty below this bridge.

Even us, as independent as we strive to be in our travels, and as much as our desire to travel the world was in part precipitated by our desire for freedom of lifestyle and choice, we continue to fall prey to the rules and requirements of others.

We still file and pay taxes, follow rules of a variety of travel mediums, prepare “paperwork” for this and that, and now, caught up in following the advice of a medical system that dictates rather than includes.

Ke’e Beach in Kapaa.

Today, still struggling with this condition after two doses of the “big guns” Cipro, I’m tempted to say to myself and to Tom, “I’ll bite the bullet, hang in there and leave the “system” behind. Get over it! Get well through sheer determination.”

Ah, all the objections I sense with the cautious rumblings in the background as these words are read by our loyal readers. How could I possibly carry on if not better by tomorrow, our target day to go to the hospital in Lihue if I wasn’t feeling on the mend?

It’s not unusual to find free-range cattle in Kauai.

Maybe I’m being “overly bubbly” in assuming I can overcome this malady by sheer will. Perhaps, not. But, I have the next 24 hours to figure it out as well as two more 12-hour doses hoping somehow it will work, when at the moment I’m not so sure.

If we had a home, I’d have already visited my own doctor, had multiple tests, and be on the mend, or…not.  This life we live doesn’t make all of that dependence so easy.

A relatively young calf is in the foreground.

Today, I dressed in regular clothing as opposed to loungewear, put earrings in my ears, made myself presentable enough to go out with a plan to visit the albatross chicks, who soon will fledge the nests.

Maybe in essence, soon, we’ll fledge the nest, once again free to soar to the heights and see the world.

                                                      Photo from one year ago, May 13, 2014:

On this date one year ago it was 108F, 42.2C, as we packed and prepared to leave Morocco in two days. For details of that date, please click here.

Counting down the days with a bit of trepidation…What do world travelers like us do without a primary care doctor?…This morning’s new photos….

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This Cattle Egret is sitting atop a tree in the backyard, a usual sight to see. Most often, they are on the ground near where there is landscaping, grading, and excavation in the process. They seem to know that such scenarios are excellent opportunities for foraging for bugs and worms.

After a fitful night of listening to science podcasts, at 6:00 am, I literally rolled off the edge of the bed, exhausted and wishing I could lay back down for a few more hours.

My mind was doing a number on me. I had to get up and try to call the doctor again with no response after yesterday’s call.  ER doctors don’t usually participate in any aftercare for patients they’ve seen on an emergency basis.

We no longer have a primary care doctor. It’s simply been too long since we last visited our former doctor in Minnesota, which was in September 2012, a month before we left. 

The egret couched down watching me open the door to take the photo.

I knew he wouldn’t participate in any health care questions at this late date when several months ago, I inquired to the Minnesota clinic with an online request for a relatively innocuous medication refill, never receiving a response. At that point, I knew he was no longer in our court. Too much time had passed. We get this. They have “rules.” 

Travelers maintaining a home base would have no difficulty contacting their primary care physician for advice.  Although in Hawaii, prescriptions can’t be “called in” from an out-of-state physician.

It’s a little late to establish a relationship with a doctor in a private office or medical clinic in Kauai. Besides, none of the testing equipment required for a diagnosis is readily available at any of the local clinics and a trip to the Wilcox Memorial Hospital in Lihue would be required. 

This morning’s view from our lanai while it rained off and on.

From what we’ve discovered most doctors refer patients to the hospital if their condition can’t readily be treated with meds. I suppose this is not unlike many clinics worldwide, let alone in the US.

Finally, this morning at 7:00 am I reached the ER doctor I’d seen on Friday asking for a different, perhaps more effective antibiotic. This is often necessary with a variety of infections, which don’t respond well to a particular drug which seems to be my case at the moment.

Ah, the perils of world traveling without a home base!  We knew this going in. We also knew that having only major medical insurance (which pays 100% of any hospital stays, doctors, tests, and medications rendered while in the hospital) would be a risk. 

I edited this photo to be dark in order to show the two rainbows that developed after the rain.

By purchasing the international policy, we chose the option of major medical only or paying outrageous fees to include doctor visits. However, if we had made a choice to include doctor/outpatient services, the policy still didn’t include any necessary medical care as long as we’re in the US, as we are now. 

Since Medicare doesn’t pay outside the US, we opted out of Medicare’s Plan B which pays doctor visits with a copay of as much as 20% for which most seniors purchase an additional policy. This would not be a sensible option for most senior travelers especially those who periodically return to a home base. They can easily purchase a specific travel policy for their trips, event by event.

This individual trip policy was also not available to us when our lives consist of one continuous “trip.” No such policy exists for us other than the 12-month international policy that we purchased almost three years ago and renew each year.

It was raining when we got this rainbow shot. If the hill and the trees hadn’t been in the way we’d have been able to see the end of the rainbow in the ocean.

When we consider the potential out of pocket costs for tests at a hospital, we cringe but fully accept that potential no matter where we may be. We’ve dodged a bullet to date but, we knew sooner or later the scenario could change on a dime.

In any case, the ER doctor refused to “call-in” a different prescription without my having additional tests. We understand her dilemma. As an alternative, I presented her a list of all of the antibiotics we currently have on hand and she suggested Cipro, the “big guns” for infections. 

She emphatically stated that if I’m not better 48 hours after taking Cipro which will be Thursday, we’ll be heading to the hospital for more tests. Both Tom and I agree that this is our only option. At that point, it will be only 10 days until we depart on the cruise. 

It’s hard not to appreciate the seeming magic of a rainbow.

What do ex-pats do in these cases? They either purchase insurance available in the country in which they live, purchase international insurance such as ours, or in some cases, pay for medical care out of their pocket when medical costs in some “retiree friendly” countries are surprisingly inexpensive. 

From what we’ve read online to date, a typical doctor’s office visit in Australia may be around US $50, as opposed to $100’s in the US. Once we arrive in Australia, we won’t hesitate to see a doctor if we deem it necessary at the time.

These berries on this plant remind me of Christmas.

If this illness had occurred a few months ago I would have followed the doctor’s instructions and not given it much of a thought. The current time constraint is weighing heavily on my mind at the moment.

My sister Julie worriedly reminded me of how many times we’ve been sick since we left the US, more often me than Tom. I must admit that at least twice a year I’ve picked up some type of infection, viral or bacterial.

With a history of inclement health for most of my life (mostly due to heredity and inflammation), my immune system continues to remain vulnerable regardless of how hard I’ve tried to offset it. It was equally precarious when we lived in Minnesota, still contacting some type of virus, sinus infection, or respiratory infection once or twice a year. 

Sunset from the front lanai.

Then again, how many of us don’t “catch” something once or twice a year? Tom would push through such conditions and continue to work as did many of the guys he worked with on the railroad, often infecting one another while working in close quarters on a train. 

Having a home base has what we now refer to as “luxuries” that come with it; easy access to medical care, cable TV, working cell phones, appliances such as a clothes dryer, quality Internet services, shopping centers, and grocery stores with familiar products and services.

We don’t share this personal story to elicit sympathy, although bless the hearts of many of our readers for sending their good wishes. We continue to tell our story for the purposes of sharing both the good and the bad of what it’s like to be traveling the world without a home base. 

And, we appreciate the beauty of flowers blooming in the treetops at a distance from the lanai.

The vulnerability we express here at times even surprises us when in our old lives, we only shared a degree of personal information with our close family members and friends.

How foolish we’d be to hide the realities of our daily lives only sharing the details of the most exciting of locations and adventures. With that, we’d only be a travel log, extolling the virtues of where we’ve been, and what we’ve seen, a place for a degree of braggadocio. The manner in which we share our lives is done so with a much bigger intent; truth and reality.  

We have no doubt that at times, some of our readers may become bored with our truth, reality and mindless drivel. Then again, daily life for most of us is mundane at times, isn’t it?

We’ve come to appreciate the simplest of life’s amenities, never taking for granted that which is available to us, including the potential of more medical care in Hawaii. If we must go, we will. If we luck out and I’m well again in a few days, it will be time to rejoice and start packing!

Have a superb day!

                                             Photo from one year ago today, May 12, 2014:

A year ago today, we were three days from leaving Morocco. We were definitely ready to be on the move. For details on that day, please click here.

Sugar Plantations in Kauai…Are there any left in Kauai?…

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Locomotive and coach formerly used for tours of the Kilauea Sugar Plantation, now closed for many years.

Several days ago, I’d mentioned posting information about sugar plantations in Kauai. Unfortunately, under the weather the past several days has left me feeling a little less creative in the writing equivalent of an essay on the topic of which I knew very little, having visited only one plantation in Maui.

An abandoned sugar plantation from 1905.

We’d hoped to visit a sugar plantation before we left the island of Kauai to have our own photos and story to share. However, after considerable research, we discovered that all of them have closed, the most recent in 2007.

As a result, I’ve borrowed the following information and photos from this site which tells the story better than I could have, especially after not being able to visit a sugar plantation while here in Kauai. I’ve changed the font for easier reading.

“Sugar cane, or Ko in Hawaiian, is a perennial grass that can grow up to 20 feet high. Imported by the original Polynesian inhabitants of Hawai’i the plant was believed to have medicinal properties in addition to its sweet flavor. Once harvested the stalks are ground up and the liquid extracted by rollers to obtain juice, which is then slowly boiled down to create raw sugar.

The first commercial sugarcane plantation was started at Koloa, Kauai in 1835. Early sugar planters faced a multitude of challenges including shortages of water, limited labor, and due to their isolated location a lack of markets for their sugar.

It takes approximately 5 million gallons of water per acre to bring a crop of sugar ready to harvest during a two-year growing cycle. Just 20% of that amount comes from rain so the pioneer sugar planters solved water shortages by building irrigation systems that included aqueducts (the first built on Kauai in 1856), artesian wells (the first in 1879), and tunnels and mountain wells (the first in 1898).
 
The 1876 Treaty of Reciprocity between the United States and the Kingdom of Hawaii eliminated the major trade barrier to Hawaii’s closest major market for its raw sugar and a new industry in Hawaii was born. In just 60 short years raw sugar production reached 225,000 tons and by 1932 had grown to one million tons. 

As the major commercial enterprise in rural Hawaii the plantations were cities unto themselves employing the majority of island labor force, providing housing, transportation, entertainment and later even electricity to the residents of Kauai through the power generated at their sugar mills. The first train came to Kauai in 1881 and served the Kilauea Plantation with 3 miles of track and five engines.
For over a century, sugar cane was the state’s leading economic activity providing Hawaii’s major source of employment and tax revenues. It takes approximately three feet of cane to produce one cube of sugar. On Kauai alone, there were over 70,000 acres dedicated to sugar with up to nine major plantations operating across the island at any given time from the Hanalei River to the Mana Plain. 
Former Kauai Sugar PlantationsGay and Robinson
Established 1889 at Makaweli, Kauai
Grove Farm Plantation
Established 1864 at Lihue, Kauai
Kekaha Sugar Company
Established in 1856 at Kekaha, Kauai
Kilauea Sugar Plantation
Established 1877 at Kilauea, Kauai
Kipu Plantation
Established 1907 at Kipu, Kauai
Koloa Sugar Company
Established 1835 at Koloa, Kauai
Lihue Sugar Plantation
Established 1849 in Lihue, KauaiMcKee Plantation
Established 1877 at Kealia, Kauai
McBryde Plantation
Established 1899 Eleele, Kalaheo, and Lawai, Kauai”It doesn’t appear that the plantations closed due to a lack of good product, weather conditions or demand for sugar in the world’s market. In researching online, we found these answers that make the most sense as to the decline of the plantations in the entire state of Hawaii, including Kauai:

Decline of plantations in HawaiiAs the prevalence of sugarcane in Hawaii deteriorated, tourism was promoted to take its place.

“Sugar plantations suffered from many of the same afflictions that manufacturing market segments in the United States continue to feel. Labor costs increased significantly when Hawaii became a state and workers were no longer effectively indentured servants. The hierarchical caste system, plantation managers had worked hard to maintain began to break down, with greater racial integrations as a result, ironically, of the sugar plantations. Workers began to discover they had rights, and in 1920 waged the first multi-cultural strike. Additionally, global politics played a large role in the downfall of Hawaiian sugar. Shifting political alliances between 1902 and 1930 permitted Cuba to have a larger share of the United States sugar market, holding 45% of the domestic quota while Hawaii, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico shared 25%.The Big Five slowed the production of sugar as cheaper labor was found in India, South America and the

Caribbean and concentrated their efforts on the imposition of a tourism-based society. Former plantation land was used by the conglomerates to build hotels and develop this tourist-based economy, which has dominated the past fifty years of Hawaiian economics. [These statements are disputed and not verified or confirmed.” 

In Hawaii, tourism has taken over as the primary economy and rightfully so. As for Kauai, its inordinate beauty more exquisite than any island we’ve seen to date is evidenced by the number of travelers who continue to visit

  The Lihue Museum houses considerable information about the sugar plantations of decades past.

Much to our surprise, Kauai doesn’t have a feeling of tourists crowding every venue; it’s easy to book vacation homes and hotels (except over the holidays) and reservations are seldom required at restaurants. Other than difficulty we experienced in gaining access to the Kilauea Lighthouse, we’ve never waited in a long line at any tourist attractions.

The only other difficult to access location has been the parking at the end of the highway heading northwest from Princeville to the Napali Coast and Ke’e Beach which we visited on several occasions. I’d love to return one more time to see if there’s one more Hawaiian Monk Seal lying on the beach. Please click here to see the photos from the day Julie and I had “safari luck.”

A special heartfelt thank you to all of our family members who contacted me yesterday to wish me Happy Mother’s Day and all of our friends and readers worldwide wishing me good health. I received more email than I could count making an effort to reply to each and every one. 

Happy Monday!

Photo from one year ago today, May 11, 2014:

Today, I wouldn’t post this blurry photo from one year ago today which was Mother’s Day. My photo taking skills have improved a little since that time with much more learning on the horizon. For details from that day’s post, please click here.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there…Have a beautiful day!…Expectations….

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Could this Yellow Candle flower be more exquisite with its white blooms?

Special days such as Mother’s Day and Father’s Day can easily result in high expectations. Will the kids call?  Did they send a card or greeting? Will they show for a hug and expression of love? Will the Dad of the young ones make an effort to make them aware of this special day for Mom and, vise versa for Dad on Father’s Day?

We all make the assumption that most moms are anxiously waiting at home to be honored on this special day when for some, the day becomes sorrowful and disappointing. Then again, some moms have an expectation that the husband, partner or significant other will create a degree of hoopla only to be disappointed as the day wears on, that no such event or celebration will occur. I do not have that expectation.

Today, as a mom of two sons and step mom to a son and daughter all in their 40’s I have no expectations. We left. We left behind the circle of life and in doing so, perhaps all of those expectations were left behind. 

A single plumeria bloom.

We said we expected nor wanted cards or gifts and not to worry about birthdays and holidays. None of that is necessary to know we are loved. It’s all OK. (We continue to send gifts to our grandchildren on birthdays and holidays and acknowledge all of our children and significant others on their special days).

We chose this life. They did not. In their perfect world, we’d have been those available doting grandparents.  But, we chose a different path for these years of our lives after my decades of ill health. Do it while we can. Life is short. We’ll see them again in the future. We are not lost forever.

Regrets? None.

Do days like today make me sad? No, not at all. But, I do think of them a little more today than yesterday.  They are truly loved, all of them, and will always be loved.

A miniature daisy?

Tom and I both became parents in our teens. At such an early age, we had responsibilities resulting in few worldly experiences in our 20’s other than attempting to live up to those responsibilities. We were young. It wasn’t easy. We did our best. 

In reality, these facts brought Tom and me together. We had the commonality of being such young parents, working too much, and maybe had our priorities mixed up…work…provide…work…provide. 

As a single mom for many years after an early divorce, I did what I thought was right at the time. I was present and then again, I wasn’t. I was so wrapped up in surviving, let alone “making it” as a single parent that at times, I fell short. Tom expresses a similar sentiment.

Luscious hot pink blossoms.

We seldom traveled (one vacation in 20 years) due to my health and we lived a life of expectations that somehow could never be fulfilled. As we’ve aged, the expectations continue to grow…out of reach…perhaps unrealistic.

Still under the weather today, I’m reminded of how fragile our lives really are. One bad illness, surgery or injury and it all could be over, possibly for good. We could be forced to settle somewhere, living a life of doctor appointments, dealing with insurance, medications and medical care.

As much as we may try to avoid that possibility, I have to face the facts that I’ll be 70 in a few years and for many this is when ill health begins (or sooner for some). No matter what measures one may take to stay healthy, we still can fall prey to an unexpected illness.

Plumeria trees are on a blooming frenzy now that spring is here.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit concerned that I haven’t yet “turned the corner” after almost 48 hours on antibiotics. Our cruise departs two weeks from today. If I’m not on the mend by tomorrow, I’ll have no choice but to call for a different course of antibiotics which of course, I despise taking. Without them, it would only get worse.

Today, we continue to hunker down while I rest, drinking tons of water, hoping that at any moment, I’ll discover that the pain is gone and I’m on the mend. This, dear readers will be cause for celebration on this day or the next.

Again, we wish all of our mom readers a Happy Mother Day by lightening up on the expectations and living another fine day filled with love. I know I will.

                                              Photo from one year ago today, May 10, 2014:

Near the entrance to the Medina in Marrakech, we stopped at the ATM. For details as to why we wrote about “sexist steak portions,” please click here.

Oh, oh!…First trip to a doctor in almost three years!…An expensive medical appointment…

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Tom waited with me in the exam room at the urgent care center in Kapaa. Photo taken with my phone.  Notice our Africa bag on the floor that we purchased for $2 in Kenya many moons ago.  Its holding up quite well.

Traveling the world for years without a home base to return to for doctor and dentist appointments, is challenging at times. Somehow, over these past two and a half years since leaving Minnesota, we’ve managed to figure out health concerns on our own.

Before my health was renewed almost four years ago, via an extremely low carb, grain, starch, and sugar-free diet, often referred to as a ketogenic diet, I’d often seen our local doctor once every month or so. (For the detailed documented science on ketosis, please click here. We are in no manner associated with the sale of this book).

I was a mess of pain and chronic illness, all precipitated by the hereditary inflammatory disease often becoming further ill with infections, viruses, and myriad symptoms.

Three months after embarking on this restrictive way of eating, never faltering by ingesting a grain of sugar or rice, I awoke to good health, pain-free, symptom-free, and feeling better than I’d felt in decades.

Since that day, I’ve felt wonderful almost every day, continuing to be pain-free and healthy. Occasionally, I fall prey to a virus or infection, most often when exposed to other people’s germs or bad food. In our travels, I’ve been ill twice a year, not unlike many of you. 

As for Tom, he’s been ill a few times, once in Morocco, once after a cruise but seems to recovery more quickly than I do. I suppose my immune system may take a little longer to recover from a lifetime of illness. I’m patient in the interim, knowing that without this miracle (for me) way of eating, we wouldn’t be traveling at all. Who’s to complain?

So, on Tuesday when I developed a horrible pain in my left groin that neither Tylenol nor Motrin would help, we became concerned. What would it be? Of course, I spent hours online looking for possible causes and came to the conclusion I either had a kidney stone on the move or a UTI (urinary tract infection).

In my research, I discovered that on a daily basis I consume an inordinate amount of oxalates especially drinking lots of brewed tea and spinach, both huge contributors to the formation of kidney stones. 

Just in case, I immediately stopped drinking tea switching to plain water, and tossed out my remaining container of organic baby spinach, knowing no matter what, I may have done so too late. The pain continued and worsened over the next few days and nights, resulting in little sleep.

Oh gosh, I was thinking to myself, trying not to worry Tom, we have to be on a cruise in a little over two weeks. What if I needed surgery? What if we couldn’t go on the cruise and lost our $6010, non-refundable at this late date? Where would we stay? What about our upcoming 89 day rental on June 11th in Australia for which we’ve already paid in full? 

Rather than do a number on myself worrying, I became proactive drinking tons of water, moving about as much as possible, and praying for a speedy resolution.

Yesterday morning, after three nights of this dreadful discomfort, it dawned on me that it could be a UTI. It felt like a UTI which I hadn’t had in many years. Looking online, I realized that if it was a UTI it was unlikely it would resolve on its own.I can’t drink cranberry juice with all of its sugar. By noon yesterday as the pain escalated, I told Tom who of course was very worried, we needed to do one of two things:

Option 1:  Drive to the hospital in Lihue (one hour drive) which would result in a urine test and a pricey CAT scan.
Option 2:  Drive to the urgent care center/tiny hospital in Kapaa (30-minute drive) and get a urine test. If it wasn’t a UTI, I’d wait for the kidney stone to pass at least for a few more days, and then if it didn’t, we’d have no choice but to go to the hospital in Lihue.

We waited for the test results and the doctor in this typical exam room.

The cost of option two would be considerably less than option one. We only have major medical insurance that only pays for hospital stays (80%), not urgent care or doctor visits. 

Yesterday afternoon at 1:15, we headed to the Samuel Mahelona Memorial Hospital (more of an urgent care facility than a hospital) in Kapaa, easily finding it, by taking a right turn near the end of the Kauai Path which we visited a few days earlier before the pain developed.

The process was easy with prompt service, a kindly male nurse, and an amazing female doctor, Dr. Betty Dilley.  Within a half-hour of our arrival, as we sat in the exam room awaiting the test results, the doctor entered telling us I did in fact have a UTI and that one week on the antibiotic Keflex would take care of it.

We both smiled, relieved that it wasn’t more serious, We then had a laugh-fest with the doctor and in no time at all, we were on our way to the business office to pay our bill and then head back to Princeville to the pharmacy at Foodland. 

The receipts for the two prescriptions we purchased yesterday. Pricey.

Since neither of us had been to a doctor in almost three years, we asked the doctor to renew our Epipen prescription which had long ago expired. We’re both allergic to bees, wasps, and hornets. Australia is filled with these buggers (as Australians would say). At the end of our appointment, Dr. Dilley handed us a prescription for both the antibiotic and the Epipen.

On the way to the business office, we discussed the reality that this was going to be one pricey doctor visit.  Compared to the $1000’s it would have cost to go to the hospital, whatever it was, we would be fine. Let’s just pay and get out of here!

I suggested Tom wait for me in the car while I took care of the bill. I started up a lively conversation with friendly Brenda the billing clerk. We heartily laughed and commiserated while she figured out our bill. 

The moment I sat down at her window she warned me that the fee would be outrageous. She explained that today we’d pay the hospital charges and later we’d be billed (to our mailing service) for the doctor’s intervention which would most likely be under $300.

When she mentioned the total of $456 (excluding the doctor’s fee), I cringed. She looked at me and smiled, saying, “I like you so much I’m going to give you a discount.” However small it may be, I was appreciative.  After a 35% discount (more than I’d expected) the bill was down to $296.40! 

The bill from the urgent care facility in Kapaa, Samuel Mahelona Memorial Hospital. Notice the discount we received which was appreciated.

I was so grateful I offered her a  tip which she refused, warmly grabbing my hand and thanking me for our business and the friendly chatter. Wow! That’s Hawaii for you! These people are amazing! We’d never have received a discount at the urgent care in our old lives.

Back in the car, I shared the good news with Tom as we headed to Foodland to fill our two prescriptions. The antibiotic was a reasonable $32.41 and the EpiPen two-pack was $485! I almost fell on the floor when I heard that. There was no way we couldn’t buy it. It’s a matter of life and death.

Overall the costs for the day including hospital bill, estimated doctor bill at $300, and two prescriptions totaled $1113.81 plus, while at Foodland, although I wasn’t up to par I quickly purchased groceries spending another $232.34 for the day’s grand total of $1346.15. 

Now, we have groceries for the next week while I recover. Taking my third dose of the antibiotics upon awakening this morning, I can already tell that I’m on the mend. Thank goodness. 

Once again, “safari luck” prevailed and this relatively innocuous illness, easily remedied, will be long gone by the time we board the ship, two weeks from tomorrow. We’re leaving Kauai two weeks from today.

Laying low for the next few days, we’ll cover our previously mentioned story of sugar plantations in Kauai and before too long be back out and about for more photos.

May all the moms out there have a fabulous Mother’s Day!

                                              Photo from one year ago today, May 9, 2014:

We posted this photo last year that surely resonates with our lifestyle. For details on this post, please click here.

The Kilauea Lighthouse…A popular site for tourists…

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A special thanks to my sister Julie for her contribution to today’s photos.

View of the drive to the Kilauea Lighthouse when it was closed.

On several occasions we’ve made our way to the Kilauea Lighthouse and Wildlife Refuse only to be put off by the crowds.  The scenery surrounding the area is beautiful with birds of many species making this area their home, including the Laysan Albatross, Red-Footed Booby, and the Hawaiian State Bird, the Nene Bird, often found on golf courses.

Although we weren’t certain that we spotted the Red Footed Booby, we’ve included a photo of one here:

These may be a family of the Red Footed Booby sleeping in their nests.  

The ocean cliff in this area provides a safe habitat and breeding ground for many other species of Hawaiian seabirds.

The Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1885 by the US Fish and Wildlife Service and is noted by its towering lighthouse. We never had an opportunity to enter the lighthouse due to the size of the crowds and now as time winds down, it doesn’t look promising that we will.

The fact that there’s only a $5 admission fee per person with children under 15 free, this low-cost attraction is a huge draw for families traveling with children. Where in Hawaii can a couple with two children enjoy such a venue for $10? 

Many birds flock to the cliffs in this area. 

For us, having the opportunity to see the lighthouse, take photos and enjoy the wildlife refuse was all we needed for a pleasant experience. Entering the lighthouse itself, wasn’t as important to us as seeing the surrounding area. We’d have enjoyed hearing about the tour, especially with our friend Alice who conducts tours on Wednesdays.

The Kilauea Lighthouse.

Instead, wandering the grounds taking photos, hearing the sounds of the surf slamming into the ocean cliffs along with the myriad of calls from the many birds, was all we needed.

The top of the lighthouse.

As for the geography of the area, Kilauea Point is a narrow lava formed peninsula which protrudes from the northern shore of Kauai, a short 15-minute drive from Princeville.

It’s obvious that the lighthouse has been well maintained.

The land was purchased from the Kilauea Sugar Plantation Company (tomorrow, we’ll be writing about sugar plantations in Kauai)in 1909 for $1. Construction plans went into play with decisions made to deliver supplies to the point by boat when there was a serious lack of roads in the from the Nawiliwili Harbor. 

View from the railing at the entrance to the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuse.

The Nawiliwili Harbor is 1.9 miles south of Lihue, where the airport is located and the cruise ship, Norwegian Pride of America, docks for tours every Friday. Every Friday evening around 6:00 pm we can see this particular ship sail away from Kauai after the day tours have ended.

After four years of planning, construction began in July 1912 and the lighthouse was dedicated on May 1, 1913.  The tower is approximately 52 feet high and built in the Classical Revival architecture style of reinforced concrete.

Distant view of the lighthouse.

“The upper portion has a steel circular walkway with handrail. The lens one of only seven second-order Fresnel lenses remaining in a lighthouse in the US. Barbier, Bernard, and Turenne manufactured the lens in Paris, France. The 9,000-pound (4,100 kg) lens floated on mercury and compressed air. The lens was rotated by a system of pulleys powered by weights that needed to be reset by an operator every 3.5 hours.

A radio beacon was added in 1930, and with the added generator the light was changed to be powered by electricity. Originally 250,000 candle power, the light reached 2,500,000 candle power in 1958. The station was manned until 1974 when it was automated. In February 1976 the light was moved to a nearby smaller tower and the tower was sealed. It was one of the last lights converted to automation by the United States Coast Guard in the Hawaiian Islands. The radio beacon was replaced in 1956, and then in the 1980s converted to a visitor center. On October 18, 1979, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places listings in Hawaii as site 79000759. The historic district included 31 acres.

The oceanview from the grounds.

“In 1985 the Kīlauea Point National Wildlife Refuge, starting with the original Coast Guard Station, and then expanding to preserve the surrounding habitat. A new visitor center was built in 1988. The buildings were damaged by Hurricane Iniki in September 1992 but repaired. The visitors center is operated by the Kilauea Point Natural History Association. Starting in late 2008, the group raised funds for the restoration of the lighthouse.”

The lighthouse tickets were sold out.  Waiting for the next tour would have required a 90-minute wait.

The lighthouse and wildlife refuse will surely continue to be a great source of interest for tourists to Kauai for years to come. The love, pride and care the citizens of the state of Hawaii provide for all of their national treasures is evidenced in the preservation of the beauty and nature bestowed upon these magical islands.

Although tickets were sold out to enter the main area of the lighthouse, this museum area was open to the public.

Have a fabulous Friday and Mother’s Day weekend. Make it special! You’ll never regret any effort exercised in honoring moms.

                                               Photo from one year ago today, May 8, 2014:

A display area at a restaurant, Le Jardin, which we frequented in Marrakech. On this date last year we were leaving Morocco in one week. For details, please click here.

There’s always an exception to the rule…I left out an important point in yesterday’s post…Making errors here…

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Any comments on the name of these gorgeous lilac flowers?  Notice the blue center.  Wow!

Whatever plans we may make, whatever thoughts we may enter our minds and whatever experiences we may have, there’s always an “exception to the rule.”  The expression is actually “exception that proves the rule” as stated in the following quote:

“Use in English

Henry Watson Fowler‘s Modern English Usage identifies five ways in which the phrase is commonly used, here listed in order from most to least correct.

Original meaning

The phrase is derived from a legal principle of republican Rome: exceptio probat regulam in casibus non exceptis (“the exception confirms the rule in cases not excepted”), a concept first proposed by Cicero in his defence of Lucius Cornelius Balbus.[1] This means a stated exception implies the existence of a rule to which it is the exception. The second part of Cicero’s phrase, “in casibus non exceptis” or “in cases not excepted,” is almost always missing from modern uses of the statement that “the exception proves the rule,” which may contribute to frequent confusion and misuse of the phrase.”


A path to the beach in Kapaa.

Yesterday, after proofreading the post, Tom reminded me of something I’d left out of the post of major importance in regard to our experiences with obtaining visas which was an “exception to the rule.”  Now, bear with me if you aren’t interested in visas.  This is less of a story about visas and more about an “exception that proves the rule.”

After he read the entire post while instructing me to correct sentence structure, nonsensical use of words all the while fact checking dates and events, he adamantly stated I’d left out a very important aspect to the story.

A lagoon at the Kealia Beach in Kapaa.

In yesterday’s post I implied, or rather emphatically stated, that we either obtained visas at airports, ports or call or at a train station’s immigration desks or online from a company that provides them.  This was stated incorrectly. He caught it.

We had one entirely different experience shortly after we first left the US, ending up in the country of Belize, formerly known a British Honduras (reminiscent of what we learned in geography class in grade school).  That particular country, unlike most others, requires that tourists obtain a new (or renewed) visa every 30 days.

This playful dog was with a family loving his/her time at the beach.

We posted the hysterical (to us anyway) story about the cumbersome process in order to renew our visas once a month, which was required to be obtained in person.  For our long time readers, humor me for a moment while I explain this “exception to the rule.”

This pale man and woman laying in the sand and sea must be tourists with their pale skin. Hope they took precautions in the heat of the Hawaiian sun. 

In February, March and part of April 2013, we lived in Placencia, Belize on a peninsula, four hours south of the capitol of Belize City.  The little village of Independence was home of the immigration office located a long way across the bay to the mainland.  As a result, we had to travel on a water taxi, humorously called the “Hokey Pokey” in order to get there to apply for our visa extensions. 


We surmised this line in the Kapaa Path indicated the beginning and end of the Kealia Beach.

In the event you haven’t read that story and seen those funny photos, please click here for our original post from February 25, 2013.  In looking back, we still laugh over that unique experience.  It is those kinds of experiences that add a depth of purpose and meaning to our travels that no tourist attractions can possibly provide.

Shallow lagoon at Kealia Beach.

Anyway, the Belize story was yesterday’s exception to the rule.  How I could have failed to mention this escapes me.  Sure, I could have gone back and changed it to include it.  But, once I upload a post, I’m done, other than to correct any of Tom’s bossy mentions of my errors. 

At times, he sounds appalled by an error I’ve made and even throws a jab of “overly grumpy” at me.  I always say, “You write an essay every day of the week, every week of the year with photos and never make errors!”  Ha!  How about that!

The Kauai Path has numerous pavilions for the enjoyment of visitors.  Once one embarks on the long walk, there are not seating area.  For those, picnicking or preferring to sit, its best to stay in the area closest to the multiple parking lots.

Oh, yes, I make errors and, dear readers, Tom makes errors in failing to find some of my errors. How could we not make some errors.  At times, they consist of sentence structure, spelling, punctuation and line spacing. It goes with the territory or perhaps I should say, “Its the “exception that proves the rule.”

Happy Thursday.  Today is 5% off senior day at the Foodland.  Hummm…
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Photo from one year ago today May 7, 2014:

Our time in Morocco was winding down as we were running out of photos ops when many of the shop owners and locals refused to allow us to take photos.  We took photos when the shop owners agreed.  On this date, we were only eight days from departure and we were excited to be on our way to Madeira, Portugal.  For details from that post, please click here.

What’s the deal about applying for visas for various countries?…

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Fisherman casting toward the huge surf.
Long ago, we applied for second passports, which basically consists of a US two year second passport with different passport numbers from our main passports. Most US travelers aren’t aware that a US citizen can apply for a second passport.

Why did we need a second passport? Two years ago, it was necessary to send in one’s passport to a consulate in order to get visas from some countries. We didn’t want to be stranded in a country without a passport in our possession while a visa was being processed through snail mail. 

Tourists stopping to read a sign on the Kauai Path. Notice the cross on the shore, most likely as a memorial to a swimmer’s death in the sea in this area.

Over these past few years, most countries have since begun issuing electronically produced visas for travelers to their country, making it unnecessary for us to send it in to acquire a new visa.

Over these past two years we’ve used these second passports for all of our entries and exits to about 40 countries, resulting in our main passports, which don’t expire until 2021, having no stamps posted as yet.

In December, the second passports expired. As a result of the use of electronic filing for visas, we decided not to renew it. When we soon leave the US, for the first time we’ll use our 10 year passports.

Tiny green balls growing along the beach appear to be some type of weed.
How have we been able to get visas in all of our travels to date? We’ve been able to acquire 90-day visas when we arrive at immigration at any airport, train station or port. The ease of this was surprising to us. 

This easy process doesn’t apply to every country’s immigration process. For some odd reason, US passport holders seem to be presented with an easier process to enter and exit most countries.

If you have a passport from any other country, please check with your travel agent, passport office, immigration or consulate for the country you’d like to enter to determine the process applicable to your country’s passport in regard to obtaining visas. This can vary from country to country.

The Kauai Path is an easy to walk path along Donkey Beach and other beaches.

Thus far, for us, its been a breeze. When traveling to multiple countries via a cruise ship, the immigration staff aboard the ship collects all of our passports. When we arrive at a particular port of call, an immigration officer boards the ship and processes all of the passenger’s and ship staff’s passports for entry and exit.  

Prior to reaching a country’s port, our passports are returned to us, in most cases which we bring with us on our tour whether arranged by the ship or a self guided tour. 

There’s never a shortage of roosters wandering about.

When arriving in a country, we wait in what is usually a long line at immigration processing, tell the agent how long we’d like to stay and as long as the stay doesn’t exceed their set duration of 60 or 90 days, we receive a dated stamp providing us with a visa which is stamped in our passports.

Australia, where we’ll be arriving in little over a month on June 11th after an 18 day cruise from Honolulu, Oahu to Sydney, Australia requires a pre-arranged visa before entering. If we arrived at our ship without processing the visas the cruise line wouldn’t allow us to board. 

The wind and waves were substantial on Monday which has since settled down. 

In reality, a more stringent process may be wise for most countries to follow for obvious reasons I won’t get into here. Here’s a quote from Tom:

“When we applied for our driver’s license in Nevada before we left the US, they asked me to take off my glasses when they took the photo.  I said that I needed to wear my glasses to drive. They said it’s not for that reason. This is a facial recognition photo. Why isn’t this technology used for passports?”

Good point! Why isn’t it?

Last night, we visited CIBT at this link. In less than 10 minutes, with our passports and a credit card on hand, I completed the online documents separately for each of us and our individual visas for Australia were processed, completed and confirmed at a cost of US $45 each.

This view at the Kauai Path is similar to the views we had from the two houses we rented on the Big Island in December.

(By the way, once we arrive in Australia, we’ll be entering all dollar amounts posted here in both USD and AUD (Australian dollars) as we ‘ve done in all other countries which use a alternate form of currency).

The visa process will be slightly more complicated for some of our upcoming stays including both Fiji and Bali.  We’ll report back the processes for those. 

The vast expanse of the ocean never disappoints.

Our Australian visas were issued last night for which we won’t need a piece of paper. It’s recorded electronically in the Australian immigration department’s system and will appear when we check in at immigration at Sydney.  The visas are good for one year until June 10, 2016. 

With our visa on file in Australia we’re allowed 90 day visits only and in one year we’d have to file again which may be more complicated the second go-around. Before we book more time in Australia, we’ll figure it out. At this time, we are only booked for 89 days in Australia (leaving one extra day for cancelled flights, etc.). 

Alternate view of the above fisherman.

We decided that we’ll investigate other options in Australia once we are there and get a feel for the “lay of the land.” Prices on vacation homes are as much as 100% higher than other countries in which we’ve lived, making it difficult to rent vacation homes to fit within our budget. 

We still have the over two month gap to fill beginning next June and have yet to decide where we’d prefer to go. We shall see what we decide and of course, report it here promptly. We’re attempting to stay somewhere in the South Pacific, if possible.

At certain areas, the beaches are less pristine as is the case here in the southern end of the Kauai Path.

With the imminent visa task handled for the moment, we’re now beginning to tackle the other items on our lengthy “to-do” list, found here.

We’re down to 17 days until departing Kauai to fly to Honolulu for one night. On the 18th day, we’ll board the ship. We’re excited, to say the least. We haven’t been on a cruise since this past September. Hopefully, we’ll have good weather as we travel so far across the ocean. If not, as always, we’ll just hang on!

Happy Hump Day!

                                              Photo from one year ago today, May 6, 2014:

Strawberries were small in Marrakech as shown here. They don’t do GMOs (or pesticides). As a result, the berries are small and unevenly shaped. When buying giant, uniform strawberries or other fruit, its easy to assume that nature alone doesn’t make them that huge, uniform and sweet. Remember the strawberries we ate as kids? They were tart and small. For more photos from that day’s post, please click here.