Flight and rental car booked for Australia…Great deals! Sharing the best prices we’ve found for car rentals…

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Taro root, growing in this field, is a popular item used in Hawaiian cooking.

As many of our long term readers are well aware, often our photos don’t match our stories. We continue to search for new and hopefully interesting photo ops in our explorations of any area in which we’re living at any given time. This is the case today, as is often the case, with the exception of the car photo listed below.

The Hawaiian Coot, most often found near water. It was our first sighting of this bird.

We commence with today’s story:

We booked all of our airfare through the Expedia link on our website. As a listed advertiser for us, we get a tiny commission for using it although the pricing is no better or worse than through Expedia directly. 

If our readers click on any of our advertiser links, we receive more tiny commissions, none of which will make us rich but help offset some of the costs of maintaining our site. Please feel free to use them as needed. 

The Hanalei Wildlife Refuse provides a lush habitat for a considerable number of birds in Kauai.

There’s no pressure from us to use these links. Our site is “free” to our worldwide readers. But, if you’re going to shop at any of these sites, please consider doing so through us. We appreciate it!

However, when shopping for flights and car rentals, the best pricing is always our first consideration. For airline tickets, we’ve had considerable luck with Expedia. 

We were surprised it had taken us so long to travel this particular road.  We were glad we did.

However, with car rentals, especially for our extended periods, we’ve had to perform extended searches for the best possible pricing. Over these past 30 months, we’ve spent hundreds of hours researching off and on as to where to get the best pricing on car rentals.

So far, for us, the best bet has been at this link for rentalcars.com. Once we enter dates and times, their site searches all providers allowing us to choose the best cars for the best prices. Here’s what we locked up a few days ago:

The Okolehao Trail begins here, leading up a steep incline using ropes to assist experienced hikers only up a two to three-hour hike up the mountains. Not quite suitable for us. Click here for details.

Car Group: Hyundai i20 or similar
Supplier: Europcar

Pick-up details:
Country: Australia
City: Cairns
Location: Cairns Airport
Date: 11 Jun 2015 10:00

Drop-off details:
Location: Cairns Airport
Date: 8 Sep 2015 10:00

Total Cost: US$1709.50
Flight number:

That’s US $1709.50 for 89 days! That total at $19.21 per day, not too bad or an average of $576 24 per month.  Here in Kauai, we paid a little more at $677 per month, still an excellent deal.

Sure, a Hyundai 120 is a small car. See photo below:

This Hyundai i20 is ideal for our needs with excellent gas mileage and, we can easily fit all of our luggage between the hatchback and back seat, our first consideration when renting a car.

Often, once we arrive at the desk of the provider at the airport, they often try to up-sell us a larger car. We rarely consider an upgrade. What’s the purpose? However, when we lived in Madeira almost a year ago, we chose a larger car with a more powerful engine in order to navigate the many steep hills. 

The difference, if I recall correctly, was about $50 more a month and well worth the expense under those special circumstances. Those steep winding hills with Tom driving a stick shift were tough enough in our upgrade.

It’s good to know that cattle are no longer branded, instead, wearing tags (in this case orange tags) on their ears as shown in this photo.

Our next expenditure a few days ago was to purchase airline tickets from Sydney, Australia to Cairns, Australia when we arrive by ship on June 11th. Careful planning, considering the time of day the ship reaches the dock, the time it will take to disembark 2000 passengers, and how long it will take to get a taxi to the airport in Sydney.

The ship will dock in Sydney at 6:00 am and be ready for passengers to disembark by 8:00 am. However, based on past experience it can take several hours to get our luggage, go through customs and immigration, and to wait in line for a taxi.

A lone horse, tied to a rope looked our way as we stopped for this photo.

With only a few nonstop flights to Cairns each day (pronounced Cannes, like the French city), we chose the afternoon flight, leaving us almost about five hours to run through the entire process. 

We often set up our transportation from cruises in this same manner, leaving lots of time for the process. We lay back on getting off the ship, staying in our cabin until they kick us out. It’s either, wait on the ship or wait at the airport, neither of which makes any difference to us.

The Hanalei River continues for 15 miles.

Why didn’t we chose an earlier flight?  As it says in our tag line or motto: “Wafting Through Our World Wide Travels with Ease, Joy and Simplicity,” we always attempt to take the less stress-invoking means of arriving at our next location.

What if there were a customs or immigration delay at the ship?  We don’t want to be rushing and worrying. A day of travel is a day of travel. The things we control we plan to be easy and hopefully seamless. The things we have no control over…we plan for extra time to accommodate them.

Driving down a road we hadn’t traveled, we followed the shore of the Hanalei River.

The cost of this nonstop one-way flight for both of us, from Sydney to Cairns, is as follows:

Qantas Price Summary

  •     $235.40
    • Flight          $218.00
    • Taxes & Fees $17.40
  •     $235.40
    • Flight           $218.00
    • Taxes & Fees  $17.40
    • Total:          $470.80
Based on the fact we’re able to fly Qantas Airline, one of the highest-rated airlines in the world, we’re pleased with this booking.
We’ll pick up the rental car and be on our way on the relatively short drive from the airport to Trinity Beach, the location of our next 89-day rental. The estimated drive time is 22 minutes or 12.18 miles, 19.6 kilometers.
Nene birds, the Hawaiian state bird are often found near water as in this case as we drove along the Hanalei River.

Hopefully, by 6 pm, we’ll arrive at our new home, get settled, and head out to dinner. These days, unpacking only requires about 30 minutes. The following day we’ll find a grocery store and familiarize ourselves with the area. 

With these two bookings out of the way, we have peace of mind, a valued commodity in our lifestyle. Low stress…good for health…good for life. 

Have a wild and wonderful Wednesday!

                                              Photo from one year ago today, April 22, 2014:

Our photo from this January while we visited the Moholoholo Rehabilitation Centre in Hoedspruit, South Africa, a day we’ll always remember. For more photos, from this date, one year ago, please click here.

What, no oven?…We made an error in booking a future rental…

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Two intertwined white Hibiscus flowers.

In this past week, amid all of our busy days and nights, we realized it was time to start preparing for the upcoming trip to Australia and the South Pacific. In the process, we reviewed the upcoming rentals over the next year to see if there were any issues we needed to address.

Kauai always presents a beautiful mountain view.

Disappointed that we missed it during the booking process, we discovered that there is no oven in the first house in Fiji. There’s only a built-in stove top. How did we fail to notice this when we carefully read every detail before booking any property?

I suppose it was not unlike when we booked the house in Kenya, we didn’t think of asking if there was an indoor living room or lounge area or indoor sofa (there was not). 

Hanalei Beach is seen from one of the wraparound lanais at the St. Regis Hotel, where we often walk.

As a result of our failure to ask if there was a living room, we spent three full months from 7:00 am to 11:00 pm sitting outdoors on the screen-less veranda, getting bitten by mosquitoes and other insects, carefully stepping over poisonous centipedes seven days a week in scorching humid heat. (This proved to be a good thing when it toughened us up for the remaining almost nine months In Africa).

Who ever thought of asking if there’s a living room? (It was so hot and humid that the zippers on our luggage turned green). We now ask or verify in photos that there’s an indoor lounge, salon or living room. Lesson learned.

There’s always something burning in that area.  We aren’t certain what it is.

We booked Fiji after the no-living-room-situation in Kenya. In the fuzzy photos we could barely see a modern kitchen with a built-in stovetop assuming that there was an oven below. We also observed a microwave on the countertop assuming if there’s a microwave, surely there’s an oven We’d never discussed anything about an oven.

Lo and behold, a few days ago upon further inspection on the website, and based on the fact we’ll be moving into that particular property on September 8th, a mere 4½ months from now, we carefully inspected the listing to discover that there’s no oven, no toaster oven, no convection oven.

Savusavu villa rental - very spacious living room with fully equipped kitchen and dining of Villa B.B.
The kitchen in Fiji is along the back wall.  Its easy to see how we could have missed noticing if there was an oven or not by looking at this fuzzy photo.  We’ve never been in a property with a stove top but no oven. As a result we “assumed” if there was a stovetop, surely there would be an oven. We learn as we go.

For some travelers, not having an oven would be no big deal. However, spending 89 days in a single location cooking most of our meals, we need an oven. Plain and simple. Our way of eating requires considerable cooking in an oven.

View to the sea over African Tulip trees.

First step, rather than panicking was to contact the property manager Mario, to ask a few questions about the lack of an oven:
1.  What would the on-site cook charge us (its a resort) to come get our prepared items, bake them for us in whatever kitchen she uses to prepare meals for guests and return it, ready to be eaten?
2.  Is there a portable convection oven anywhere on the grounds that we could  use or have in our house for the 89 days?

Mario, a most thoughtful and helpful property manager, immediately went to work on coming up with a solution when I kindly asked for his assistance or suggestions.

Within 12 hours, Mario got back to me. He went to town and purchased a full-sized stove/oven which will be hooked up awaiting our arrival in September! We were both shocked and extremely pleased by his generosity and thoughtfulness.

View from several stories above this beach at the St. Regis Hotel. Tom has verbal slips, often referring to this as the St. Frances Hotel. His sister Beth is a nun and her order is the St. Frances. How that trips up his brain makes me laugh!

We never expected this amazing solution, nor would we have backed out of our commitment to end up booking somewhere else with an oven. The deposit we’d paid to date was only $300 and if we were different people, we may have forfeited the $300 and moved on. There are other rentals in Fiji.

Backing out is not our style. Mario had locked up that property for us over a year ago for our three-month stay.  Leaving them in the lurch just isn’t our style. 

We would have learned to cook everything on the stove top. I even went as far as looking online to see if there was a way to bake a low carb pizza or low carb muffins atop the stove. A microwave just won’t cut it. 

A bit of ocean, mountain and vegetation create an exquisite view.

We use an oven almost everyday for something; baked eggs muffins, Tom’s blueberry scones, a roast, a whole chicken (all low carb, starch, sugar, and grain-free) and on and on. It would have been very limiting. Plus, there’s no grill available on the property which would have been a difficult but acceptable alternative.

This kind of attention to detail and desire to please the customer doesn’t occur without the utmost of appreciation and gratefulness on our part. He didn’t even ask for a portion of the balance of the rent in order to buy the oven which isn’t due for several weeks. Wow!

We stopped for a moment to savor the view as we wandered through St. Regis Hotel.

Did we learn a new lesson? Most certainly. Added to our list of other items to verify in the future is now an oven. Here’s are some of our considerations for all of our rentals:

1.  Wireless broadband, directly in the property. TV not required.
2.  A living room with sofa and/or comfortable chairs. 
3.  Ceiling fans or if not available, air conditioning in the bedroom for hot nights (we’ve never used it here in Kauai).
4.  A full kitchen with an oven and stove top.  Dishwasher not necessary.  Microwave optional. 
5.  Ideally, an ocean view or other significant view if the property is located in the interior.
6.  A table and chairs or counter top area for dining. 
7.  A coffee pot, a large bowl, dishes, pots and pans, kitchen utensils, and knives.
8.  Bath towels. Believe it or not, some properties advertise to “bring your own linen.” This doesn’t work for us. 
9.  Easy access to a washing machine. We don’t need a dryer, only a drying rack or clothesline. We prefer to avoid taking our laundry to a Laundromat.
10. Access to a grocery store within a 30-minute drive.
11. A parking spot if we have a rental car. (In Fiji, we’ll use a driver).
12. An outdoor area of some sort. A pool preferred, not necessary.
13. Access to a safe area for walks or walks along the beach.
14. A comfortable bed, preferably larger than double. In the past, we’ve managed with a double bed provided it has adequate pillows and comfortable, clean bedding. There’s no way to determine this until the first night’s sleep.  In these past few years, we’ve adapted to some horribly uncomfortable beds. If a problem arises, we don’t hesitate to address it with the property owner. In December, on the Big Island, the owner immediately replaced an awful bed and threadbare linen upon at our request.

The chandelier at St. Regis Hotel is not necessarily befitting this tropical environment.

Anything included beyond the above, is considered a bonus and in many cases when we’ve walked in the door of a new property, we’ve been pleasantly surprised by some extras we hadn’t expected; a laundry basket, cleaning supplies, a vacuum, a blender or an ice machine (as opposed to using ice cube trays which is most often the case).

When we look back at all the abundance in our old lives such as possessing every kitchen gadget known to woman/man or TV’s with DVRs, high definition all access cable channels, or comfortable chaise lounges on a sunny patio or an outdoor table and chairs with an umbrella, it’s easy to see how much we have changed.

View across an indoor water display at St. Regis Hotel.

We’ve lowered our expectations, not only in what amenities we’ll expect in a vacation home that we rent for a period of time or, in a hotel for one night or, even at a restaurant. There’s nothing more satisfying than a pleasant surprise.

On the other hand, we make every effort to prepare ourselves for potential disappointments by figuring out workarounds rather than whining and complaining for two to three months. 

These commonly seen bright balls grow on various palm trees as future leaves, not always flowers.

I’ll send this post to Mario to ensure he realizes how much we appreciate what he’s done for us and how much it means to our level of enjoyment and comfort while in Fiji. Thank you, Mario. We look forward to meeting you and Tatjana in September.

Have a thought-provoking Tuesday filled with solutions for what may keep you awake at night. I only had to think about an oven in the middle for one night, thanks to Mario.

                                             Photo from one year ago today, April 21, 2014:

On the rooftop of our riad in Marrakech, a small area was designated for the washer. With Madame Zahra and Ouimama doing our laundry, we never had to use it. Of course, as is the case in many countries, wet clothes are hung outdoors. For details and more photos of the riad, please click here.

A rockin’ good time!…Anini Beach rock concert performed with friend Rick on the guitar…

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Our friend Rick is quite the talented songwriter, guitar player and music producer.
Stuart and Rick of Group Therapy obviously enjoyed every moment of entertaining their many avid followers and friends at the pavilion at Anini Beach on Sunday afternoon. We couldn’t have been more thrilled to be included in this special event.

From the band Group Therapy’s Facebook page: “Local north shore musicians on Kauai comprises of Rick Robbins – Guitar, Al Overton – Keyboards, Stuart Hollinger – Bass & Vocals, Jerome Camposeo – Drums, and Debra Drayton – Percussive arrays and Vocals”

Stuart, on bass and vocals, has an amazing voice. Last year, Stuart won the  2014 Hawaiian Hoku Academy of Recording Arts Award for rock album of the year.
 Al, on the keyboard.
Debra, on percussive arrays and vocals, is going on safari with Cathi and Rick to South Africa within weeks.
Jerome, on the drums.
The following is a quote from another website:

“Rick Robbins is a guitar player, a producer, and songwriter. Born Rick Beilke in Tulsa, Oklahoma he spent most of his high school years going to classes during the day and playing gigs from 9 p.m. until the wee hours of the morning. “That was really rough,” he said. “I just couldn’t wait to be done with high school.” In fact, the day after graduating from Memorial High, Rick left Oklahoma to go on tour. Still in his teens, he came to Los Angeles and built a reputation as a session musician working with recording artist Phil Driscoll then spent the next three years as a session player at A & M records. Not a bad beginning for a bright-eyed kid from Oklahoma!

He toured Europe, the United States, and Canada with rock legends Leon Russell and Joe Cocker and has played with many of the guys from Eric Clapton and Bob Segar’s bands. He toured with Joan Armatrading and joined John Lennon in studio recordings and also worked with George Harrison. As a touring musician, Robbins played stages all over the world with  Rick Danko, The Band, Paul Butterfield, Richie Hayward, Little Feat, Ray Parker, Jr., Andy Gibb, and Phillip Bailey, Earth, Wind & Fire, just to name a few.”

We met Cathi and Rick at our first full moon party we attended in February. The fact that they are soon returning to South Africa for safari immediately connected us with our shared passion for wildlife.

The pavilion at Anini Beach was the stage for yesterday’s fabulous performance by Group Therapy, our friend Rick’s band. In the center is lead singer Stuart, to the right is Debra on percussive and vocals. The support beams prevented a good photo of the entire group.

With Cathi gone for almost a month in March for the birth of another grandchild, we missed an entire month of getting together. With the intense connection we all experienced, we knew we’d end up spending as much time together as possible as our days in Kauai wind down.  

This past Wednesday we had a fabulous dinner and evening at their home here in Princeville sharing the details in this post on Thursday. They also invited us to attend the concert and beach party on Sunday (yesterday) at Anini Beach. 

Speaking of hippies as in yesterday’s post, many now seniors, flock to the beaches to enjoy the continuation of a life of decades past, along with the rest of us more traditional folks.

Rick and his professional band, Group Therapy, were performing a free live concert at the Anini Beach pavilion, not only for invitees but also for the enjoyment of anyone who happened to be at the beach between 2:00 and 5:00 pm.

Anini Beach is a local favorite.

As it turned out, there were about 100 in our group and more dancing and rocking and rollín’ to the beat. Need I say the band was terrific, talented, animated, playful, and totally engaged in offering this complimentary venue.  That’s the people of Kauai, for ya,’ friendly and inclusive. Its like nothing we’ve ever seen!

Rick’s favorite fan and wife, Cathi, and my new friend with whom I share a unique kinship.

In addition, there were other new friends in attendance making us feel further included and a part of this amazing community of many retirees, like us, from the mainland and other parts of the world.  We couldn’t stop smiling.

There’s my guy, grinning from ear to ear, as always having a great time.

Many danced on the grass including the adorable Cathi. She and I have determined we are “sisters of another mother” and with more time, surely we would have become “glued at the hip.” I’ll miss her.

Anini Beach is our favorite beach in the area, easy to access with ample parking and of course, beautiful views.

To hear her beloved husband Rick (married 32 years), experienced guitar player, songwriter, and producer, play along with his band was both exciting and reminiscent of day’s long past when many songs they played were familiar from our younger days. 

More new friends, from left to right, Steve and Susan who hosted our first full moon party in February at their lovely home. Then we have Alice and Travis, with whom we dined out over a week ago. We look forward to seeing them all again.

The music and lively response from the audience were refreshing. It was an entirely new experience for us in our travels. Neither of us can recall the last time we attended a live outdoor concert. Was it decades ago?

Richard, our friend, and personal social director.

Although Tom and I sat glued to our chairs with Richard at our side for the first hour or two, we had an opportunity to mingle at the break while from time to time, I wandered about taking photos we’re sharing today.

This adorable couple perhaps well into their 80’s were dancing along the shore while the band played. We all cheered them on. This is what Kauai does to seniors! Keeps them young!

What a fun event! Our lives in Kauai continue to be filled with one memorable experience after another. We’ve never been bored for a moment thanks to our friend Richard, our personal social director, who ultimately is responsible for us meeting many of the fine people we’ve met in these past three months.

A guest had brought along a bouquet of flowers, reasons unknown but pretty none the less.

As for Cathi and Rick, we’re looking forward to spending time with them again, as well as the other fine friends we’ve been fortunate to meet in Princeville.

A windsurfer provided additional entertainment.

Today is my workout day requiring a trip to the Makai Club and a stop at the Princeville Shopping Center to purchase a few items at Foodland. I’ve already spent a little over $300 on groceries this week so it’s no surprise that another trip to the market is on the agenda as we run out of vital ingredients for preparing our next meals. 

A Hawaiian woman thoughtfully lined the edge of the stage with the flowers for “good aloha.”

However, the quality of our lives has made the higher costs of living in Kauai worth every dollar spent. No complaining here. Besides, we budgeted for that!

Happy Monday for those who work and a happy “What day of the week is it?” for the rest of us!

Photo from one year ago today, April 20, 2014:

Many cats live throughout the souks cared for by the shop owners and food offerings from tourists. For more on this date’s story, please click here.

Taylor Camp, a lifetime ago, a great Kauai story…Photos…

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Today’s black and white photos are all from the book, Taylors Camp by John Wehrheim published in 2009.

Taylor Camp was located on the Napali Coast on the North Shore of Kauai which still has numerous remote beaches.

Recently, when asking locals about interesting facts about Kauai, a few had mentioned Taylor Camp, a property owned by Howard Taylor, the brother of famed actress Elizabeth Taylor. 

In 1969, when Howard became frustrated over his ability to obtain zoning to build a house on his gorgeous strip of oceanfront property at the end of the North Shore, which the county wanted as parkland, he gave up the battle and offered residency on the land to a group of jailed-for-vagrancy-hippies as a camp.

The Napali Coast, the location of Taylor Camp.

Over the next several years the group of hippies that camped on the land grew not only as babies were born but from the addition of other refugees finding their way to what they perceived was an idyllic environment for their simple lifestyle of farming for their own use, smoking marijuana, nudity with a goal for a lack of strife.

Eventually, the county won and in 1977 the land was condemned and the huts, tree houses and tents were burned to the ground while the hippies were driven away, many of whom still live on the island today.

With limited funds, the hippies managed to create a livable environment.

The following quote is from the acclaimed hardcover book by John Wehrheim published in 2009 available at Amazon at this link:                       

Some of the structures built by the hippies living in Taylor Camp were on stilts to protect against high tide and storms.

“In 1969 Howard Taylor, brother of Elizabeth, bailed out a rag-tag band of thirteen young Mainlanders jailed on Kauai for vagrancy and invited them to camp on his oceanfront land. Soon waves of hippies, surfers, and troubled Vietnam vets found their way to Taylor Camp and built a clothing-optional, pot-friendly tree house village at the end of the road on the island’s North Shore.

In 1977, after condemning the village to make way for a ‘State Park’, government officials torched the camp – leaving little but ashes and memories of the ‘best days of our lives’.

Powerfully evocative photographs from the Seventies reveal a community that rejected consumerism for the healing power of Nature, while the story of Taylor Camp’s seven-year existence is documented through interviews made thirty years later with the campers, their neighbors, and the Kauai officials who finally evicted them.”

In 2012, author John Wehrheim also released a stunning movie, available here, a documentary of the complete story of Taylor Camp with testimonies from its former occupants with breathtaking photos and stories.

Many were simple structures such as this.

Here’s a link to an article by the Kauai newspaper, the Garden Island, extolling the virtues of the documentary.

Over a week ago, while out to dinner with new friends Alice and Travis, they loaned us their copy of the above-acclaimed video about the story of Taylor Camp. A few nights ago we watched the interesting documentary in awe of the well-done video and unique story which won multiple awards in the industry.

Clothing was optional in the camp.

Yesterday afternoon, we decided to venture out to the end of the North Shore to see if we could find the remnants of the camp, which apparently has no remaining buildings or distinct evidence of its former existence. 

Having a good idea as to the general idea as to where the camp had been located, upon arrival we realized there was no way to get to it unless we trekked through a dense jungle. Unequipped with proper clothing, insect repellent, or a machete, we took a photo of the general area to share here today. 

Unsanitary conditions were instrumental in the camp’s eventual demise when local residents complained to the county.

A quote from Smithsonian.com describes the location as follows:

“You have to drive the north coast of Kauai—Hawaii’s Garden Island—past Kilauea Falls, the condominium metropolis of Princeville, and funky old Hanalei to find Taylor Camp. Once you get to Ha’ena State Park, where the Na Pali Cliffs guard the island’s impregnable west coast, park the car and thrash through the jungle to Limahuli Stream, which debouches from the mountains on a gorgeous beach.”The drive to Ha’ena State Park is familiar to us. We’ve made that winding, slow driving trek several times since we arrived in Kauai. It’s at the end of this very road, at Ke’e Beach that Julie and I spotted the Hawaiian Monk Seal lounging in the sand about a month ago.
For those of us of a certain age, we can easily recall this “look” one that even the more traditional types adopted into their lifestyles.
Once again, with no available parking spots, Tom dropped me off at the beach to see if “safari luck” would again prevail and another seal would be basking in the sand. No such luck. However, our thoughts and discussions about Taylor Camp created an entirely new perspective of the popular area, always jammed with tourists.
Saturday was most likely a poor choice for driving to Ha’ena State Park. It appears that the tourist traffic is greater in the Hanalei area and other beach towns on the weekends when more tourists fly to Kauai from the mainland for long weekends. Overall, Kauai has become very busy with tourist traffic compared to my prior visits in the 1980s (before Tom).
With poor sanitation and vast numbers of mosquitoes, living in Taylors Camp wasn’t always carefree and easy.
Luckily, the quiet area of Princeville is less populated, or seemingly so, with less traffic and commotion.  If tourists aren’t actually staying in Princeville, they may only breeze through for a few attractions and hiking trails. 
Tom and I both bypassed participating in “hippie life” to any extent. Tom, five years younger than me was a parent by 1970 and I had my first son in 1967. Instead, the responsibilities of family, work, and home superseded any possible interest we may have acquired had life been different for us. At the time, it was an oddity, a lifestyle we could hardly grasp with our traditional values.
We can only imagine what life was like living in Taylor Camp
Now, as we look back at Taylor Camp, we’re in awe over the passion those groups had over “dropping out” of conventional life and morays to pursue that which appealed to their innate desires and needs. 
Many hippies were nomads and wanderers seeking the next exciting adventure, the next source of healthy food and sustenance, and the next comfortable place to rest.
Beyond  the second row of trees is a. dense forest and steep cliffs we weren’t about to tackle
Hmmm…maybe that sounds like us. Perhaps, now, in our old age, we’re a little like hippies, minus a few pertinent aspects, such as the nudity and the pot.
Today, we’re off to a beach party. More on that with photos tomorrow.
Have a blissful Sunday!
                                              Photo from one year ago today, April 19, 2014:
It was one year ago today that we took this photo of the view from the salon, a narrow living room area, where there was a very uncomfortable sofa where we sat when we weren’t out and about. When it was cold or rainy, we would close these drapes to protect us to some degree from the elements. This center courtyard in the “riad” was open to the sky. For details of that day’s post, please click here.

Part 2, National Geographic has done it again!…Life…its astounding…

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It was exciting to touch the vultures. We were told to keep moving while around the vultures. They only eat what appears to be dead meat.

Part 2. Please spend a few minutes watching this exquisite video from National Geographic. You won’t be disappointed and doing so will further explain the nature of today’s and yesterday’s posts.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/Hodomt6bBOw

After posting all the photos yesterday, I suffered a few moments of trepidation. Every time we post, we attempt not to be repetitious.  However, a by-product of posting daily is a certain degree of repetition.

An eagle on the mend at the rehabilitation center.

After all, we’re fast approaching a milestone number of posts which we’ll share in 10 days, a number that is hard for us to believe. After so many posts, we accept the fact that many new readers may not have seen many of our most exciting adventures to date and repeating them from time to time in the photos is the easiest and best way to share them.

For those of our readers unfamiliar with the archives by year and by month located on the right side of the home page each day, please take a look at them. They are under our row of advertisers, under the field that says “SEARCH.”

Tom donned a huge leather hand and arm protector and wad handed a huge chunk of fresh meat to feed this vulture at the rehabilitation center. It was quite a thrill to get this photo. I love the look on Tom’s face!  As their injuries healed, these vultures would soon be returned to the wild.

Every post from March 14, 2012, to the current date, is listed in the archives. If you’re looking for a particular post or a recipe, by typing the words into the “SEARCH” field a number of options will pop up that you can choose to read, not unlike performing a Google, Yahoo or Bing search when looking for a particular topic. The difference here is that you’ll be searching through our 100’s of posts as opposed to the entire web.

These two badgers are at the rehabilitation center to recover from injuries and had become good companions. Badgers are known to be viscous animals feared by others in the wild.

We understand that some of our readers may not be web savvy, mainly using the Internet for their email and an occasional search. Please don’t hesitate to email either of us if you’re having trouble with the archives or searching for a specific post or photo.  We’re always happy to help.  

We had an opportunity to interact with a cheetah at a wildlife rehabilitation center. The particular cheetah wouldn’t ever be able to return to the wild due to injuries sustained in the wild for which he was rescued. 

A link to our email is listed on the home page in the upper right under the photo of us in Petra, Jordan.  (Gee, that seems like such a long time ago when it was only two years). 

Although we were parked at a considerable distance, this lone elephant started approaching us. Quickly, Tom backed up the car and finally, the elephant backed off. There have been many instances in which elephants have been intruded upon by tourists getting too close, resulting in cars being tipped over injuring the occupants.

In selecting photos to share of some of our past wildlife experiences, prompted by our viewing the above amazing National Geographic video, I struggle a bit, when originally I hadn’t hesitated for a moment. 

The fifth animal in the Big 5, (Leopard, Cape Buffalo, Rhino, Elephant and Lion) this herd of elephants blocked the road as we drove through Kruger National Park.  Notice the babies are kept protected in the middle of the herd. The largest elephant, the Matriarch, is often twice as large as the other adult females, holds up the rear with a keen eye ensuring their safety. Seldom are elephants attacked in the wild based on their pack mentality of safety in numbers and their massive size.

In the past few years, my photo taking skills have improved and it was both frustrating and encouraging at the same time to see the changes in the photos. So please bear with my occasional lack of skills in some of these photos that we’re sharing over this two day period. 

There was one day we were visited by an entire troupe of baboons who can be very destructive. Tom held a broom handle over his head to show them that he was bigger than they are.  These monkeys have no respect for women who are known to feed them, which is never a good idea. However, they have fear of men carrying a big stick. They stayed most of the day, finally taking off all at once through the bush.

From time to time, readers contact us to tell us that they’ve gone back to the first post to begin reading as if its a book, albeit a very long book, and found it more entertaining following the full course of our travels, seeing how we’ve changed, our ups and downs and the endless lessons we’ve learned.

A Vervet Monkey and her baby peering at us one morning while we were sitting at the table on the veranda. Check out that thin pink ear of the baby.

Gone 30 months to date, we’ve only traveled the tip of the iceberg, (yes, we’ll go there too), with much ahead of us, health providing. We’ve seen so little of the world and yet in another way we’ve seen so much, as shown in these photos.

We howl every time we look at this photo of a monkey in Kruger National Park kissing the ground. Too cute!

Yesterday afternoon, we took a one hour walk, mostly talking about the future and further committing to one another our dedication in continuing on with a high level of enthusiasm and excitement. 

This photo was taken through the window of our cottage when we stayed at a resort on the Indian Ocean in Diani Beach, Kenya to celebrate our one year anniversary of traveling the world. The monkeys were hanging around as soon as we moved in. They knew we’d have the complimentary fruit plate provided to new guests at check-in which many guests often fed them. We didn’t eat the fruit nor did we give it to the monkeys who need to forage for their food.

We discussed that we’ve spent too much time in Hawaii, as much as we’ve loved it and are ready to move along. Who’d have ever thought anyone would say, “We’ve spent too much time in Hawaii?” 

A leopard, the fourth animal of the Big 5, all of which we’d seen in the first 10 hours on safari in Kenya.

It’s not about Hawaii. It may be one of the most beautiful places on the planet and we’ve loved it, especially our time in Kauai. However, as we’ve passed the 90-day maximum period we usually stay in one location, the wanderlust has kicked in for both of us. We’re ready to go. 

This Barn Owl was trying to figure a way out of the attic of our house in Kenya. Hesborn, our house man, helped it escape.

With a variety of social activities ahead of us, plenty of sorting and packing to tackle, a box of supplies for the next two years yet to be shipped, in about three weeks we’ll begin the preparations to depart Hawaii.

The White Fronted Plover, a bird often seen along rivers in Africa.

We always giggle to ourselves when someone we meet says, “Enjoy your vacation or have a good trip.” Although, we have a similar sense of excitement that one has when anticipating an upcoming vacation, holiday or trip, as we navigate our way from one location to another it never feels like a vacation. It feels like a glorious life for which we are grateful, humbled, and never take for granted.

We spent an entire day watching the activities of a group of thousands of grasshoppers as they moved from one tree to another.
Close up of one of the above grasshoppers dining on a cabbage leaf we’d left on the driveway.

It could all change in a minute by unforeseen circumstances. We choose not to worry about that possibility, perhaps that eventuality. As we discussed on our walk yesterday, we’ll always have the option to figure it out. 

The Golden Orb Spider web was located in the carport in South Africa.
This frog hung out in the rafters watching us each day during our entire time at the African Reunion House in South Africa.
Male frogs fertilizing the egg-laden foam nest made by the female frog overnight. Seeing the progression of this event occurring in our yard in South Africa was an amazing experience.

As we neared our condo we encountered a couple, a few years older than us, most likely tourists based on the camera hanging around his neck and the binoculars in her lap. She was in a wheelchair and he was pushing her along the same path we’d taken.

Having an opportunity to see an endangered Hawaiian Monk Seal on the beach in Kauai was a thrill.
We weren’t ever able to get a photo of a full breach of a whale. Once we get to Australia, we may have better luck.

We said hello in passing with both of us in quiet contemplation for several moments afterward. At the same instance, we turned to each other and spoke simultaneously in almost the exact words, “That could be us one day.”

We love the Helmeted Guinea Fowl. They visited every day, many with their chicks.
Look at the colors in this close up of the above Helmeted Guinea Fowl. Tom referred to these birds as Guinea Hens.

We agreed, “Yes, it could be us and if it is, we’ll carry on, one way or another.”

Enjoy the weekend! We’re off to explore today. Back tomorrow with all the new photos!

                                                Photo from one year ago today, April 18, 2014:

Le Jardin restaurant in the souks of Marrakech was a favorite we often visited. Two turtles wandered about the floor providing a degree of entertainment.  Please click here for details.

National Geographic has done it again!…Life…its astounding…

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Please spend only a few minutes watching this exquisite video from National Geographic.  You won’t be disappointed and doing so will further explain the nature of today’s post.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/Hodomt6bBOw

The above video reminded us of photos we’ve taken during our travels in the past 30 months.

A lone female stopping for a drink.  The edge of the open vehicle is shown in this photo illustrating how close we were to her.

Yesterday afternoon I noticed an email in my inbox from Tom. I must admit that he sends me a few items each week. When we began to travel he finally dispensed per my request with all those endless jokes and stories. 

Hippos along the Mara River while we were on safari in the Maasai Mara.
Crocodiles sunning along the Mara River.

As much as I enjoy a good laugh like anyone, I prefer not to spend time each day riffling through a pile of email messages, reading jokes and stories. 

The Cape Buffalo, one of the Big 5.
The cheetah and leopard are distinguishable by the cheetah’s tear lines running down her face, as shown here.

As a matter of fact, once I’ve completed posting here each day, take care of necessary business and respond to emails from our readers, I prefer to spend as little time at my computer as possible. 

A female lion looking for the next meal. The lion is the second of the Big 5.
The pride of lions from which we took the above photo of what appeared to be a mom.

My computer is kept on all day allowing me to occasionally check for email, new comments, and to receive phone calls from family and friends. We have a Skype phone number for which we pay $5 a month since we have no cell contracts on our phones, using SIM cards in other countries that aren’t available in the US without a contract (unreal).

In the first 10 hours on safari, we saw the Big 5. The black rhino is one of the Big 5. (The leopards and elephants we saw are a part of the Big which will be shown tomorrow). Note the birds which are oxpeckers who eat the bugs off of the rhinos and other wildlife’s hides.

Anyway, yesterday afternoon I received an email from my dear husband who now sends me only pertinent information or something he knows I’ll love seeing. When he sent me this National Geographic video yesterday and I began to watch it, I nearly wept.

Males lions are always on the lookout for a female making a kill. Why? So he can steal the kill from her.
This male was dozing in the bright sun. The Maasai Mara is cool in the morning

It’s five minutes long but, I promise you won’t regret taking the five minutes of your life to watch it. For us, the content was profound. As I watched it with Tom watching it a second time with me, my mouth was agape at the wonder of it all, especially for one particular reason…

A turtle climbing a hill to greet us.
We traveled across rough terrain to Tanzania to catch the tail end of the Great Migration.

It reminded us of all that we have done and seen thus far in our travels and, all that we have yet to do and see in the future. 

We couldn’t resist posting this contented lion who was, at the time, engaged in a mating ritual with the female about 15 feet from him, leaning on another tree.
Giraffes are a thrill to watch. This one was very close to us allowing me to take this headshot. Their cheeks are often puffed up due to the manner in which they eat storing the greenery in their cheeks.

The video inspired us in writing today and posting some previously posted photos. Somehow, we felt compelled to share them with our readers, including many new readers, as to the reasons and motivations that inspired us to travel the world. Also, we selfishly wanted to see them once again to remind us of how blessed we have been to live this astounding life.

Within hours of our arrival in Marloth Park, two moms and seven babies aka piglets, not all shown in these photos. This family became daily visitors to our yard.

Life. It’s all about life. It’s about the gift of life I’ve been given with renewed health by changing my diet making it possible for me to have a 34-hour travel day from airport to airport and continue to be “overly bubbly” without a word of complaint or exhaustion. 

This was one of the first zebras we spotted in Marloth Park, a fluffy baby, aka foal.
An adult male zebra standing under our carport on a hot day.

It’s about the life I’ve been given to be able to make the three-hour walk to Petra in Jordan, the trek down to the Queen’s Bath in Kauai, and every tough trek in between, all over the world, at times in 100-degree (40C) weather, at times sitting outside all day in the heat waiting to see who may stop by for a visit.

Males hang out together. We never saw a female and a male together other than when mating. On this particular day, we had seven zebras visit although only five are shown in this photo as they depart. They’d had their fill of our attention and nutritional pellets and were on their way after a one hour stay.
Male impalas will graze with the females and fawns.

None of this would have been possible 44 months ago. And then I say, “Life, so good, so solid, so much fun with this man I met almost 24 years ago, who never seemed like the kind of guy who’d suggest this life, embrace this life and ultimately love this peculiar life we live.” 

One day, over 100 impalas visited our yard.
There were monitor lizards in our yard, occasionally making an appearance from their holes in the ground. They were very cautious and skittish making it tricky to take photos.

So today, we share this video with our readers to celebrate life on a regular day, not an anniversary, not a milestone day but just any day in the life of two people traveling the world for years to come seeking, searching, and savoring every nook and cranny of the world for signs of “life.”

Stay with us, dear readers, there’s so much more yet to come including an amazing story of a special place in Kauai forty years ago.

                                            Photo from one year ago today, April 17, 2014:

Tom had a haircut in Marrakech but wasn’t thrilled with the way to charges were handled.  Please check here for details.

An extraordinary evening with friends…

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Spotting these yellow tipped stamen on these Anthurium was a first for us.

Last night we made our way to Cathi and Rick’s beautiful home for dinner arriving at 5:45, smack dab in the middle of the suggested 5:30 to 6:00 pm. It’s funny when one is invited within a range of time how we contemplate whether to show up at the earliest point in the range or the latest or, in our case, the middle in order to play it safe. 

I only recall too well when we often invited dinner guests, how difficult it was when they showed at our door a little too early while we were still getting dressed or washing the kitchen floor after a messy day of cooking.

This is a view easily found in many backyards of homes in Princeville.

Having been out to dinner with Cathi and Rick in the past with another friend in attendance, and together at a few parties, the prospect of spending an evening at their home became much more intimate. 

As we all know, a four person dinner party can go one way or another with people you don’t know so well. In our old lives, we usually entertained longtime friends always able to count on having a fabulous evening. 

With the history of times spent together combined with mutual interests, humorous stories and lively banter, a good time was always expected and achieved. But, with new friends, it’s easy to experience a bit of trepidation as to how the evening will go.

The St. Regis Hotel down the road from us doesn’t seem to mind when tourists stop by for photos as we’ve done here.

Last night was no exception. Our inability to reciprocate by an invitation to our tiny condo leaves us feeling a little frustrated. Throw in the reality of my restrictive diet, inviting us could easily become a nightmare for a host.

To lighten the risk of any extra work for our hosts over what to cook we’ve always brought along a few items to add to any meat, fish or poultry dish they may be preparing. By doing so, the hosts can prepare any main dish and sides, they choose, leaving me a four or five ounce portion of the protein included in the dish.

Last night, we brought six of our homemade Low Carb Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins which they loved, (I’ve already sent Cathi the recipe this morning) and a low carb salad, hoping these additions would defray the concern. 

African Tulip trees are seen throughout the Hawaiian Islands.

I can easily recall how difficult it was over the years entertaining guests that were vegetarians or with certain food allergies, worrying there wouldn’t be enough food they could eat, resulting in my spending considerable time researching and preparing appropriate additions to the meal. This extra effort was never expected but was always appreciated.

With their plan to cook filet mignon and mahi mahi on their grill, we were thrilled. With no grills allowed at our condo, having grilled meat was appealing to both of us. It was delicious, cooked perfectly, seasoned with finesse. In addition, Cathi steamed a huge batch of al dente asparagus topped with butter, which added to our wonderful meal. 

Tropical plants and trees are blooming now that it’s spring. Hawaii’s year round warm climate experiences seasons, although they’re less pronounced than in other parts of the world.

The entire meal was comparable to one of those delicious meals we make for ourselves almost every single night; a protein, a vegetable, a salad and a low carb grain, starch and sugar free muffin. 

With our hosts at ease over the meal and us, especially at ease knowing I wasn’t having to refuse one item after another, the dining portion of our evening couldn’t have gone better. They set a Martha Stewart worthy table with linen napkins, woven placemats and Hawaii appropriate dinnerware. Add the candlelight on the lanai, a drink for Tom, drinks for themselves and the best iced tea I’d had in years.

At the end of the road at Anini Beach.

Many moons ago, when we lived in Minnesota, I’d often go to lunch at a chain restaurant with friends or client that has long since wafted away, the Good Earth. What I always remember about that “healthy” restaurant which eventually went out of business was their flavorful iced tea.

Last night, when Cathi poured me a glass of iced tea, my taste buds went into a frenzy over the spicy yet sweet (no sugar added of any kind) flavored tea. “This tea is amazing,” I told Cathi.

This may be a Fishtail Palm Tree.

“Its the same tea they served at the Good Earth restaurant many years ago,” she told me with a wide smile on her pretty face. We both broke into laughter. Indeed it was the Good Earth’s tea a remnant of years long ago, the exact same recipe.

Much to my surprise and delight, she insisted I accept an entire box of tea bags so I could make my own, at least while we’re still here in Kauai. I’ll savor each and every tea bag either hot or cold. She buys it online by the case. I wish I could do the same but, with baggage restrictions and space limitations doing so would be a frivolity.

From the dinner or the lanai, to standing at the granite topped island in their gorgeous kitchen in their equally gorgeous home, to Rick sharing some of his professional music skills with us, to sitting on the comfy sofa in their living room as the evening waned, every moment was memorable.

More interest buds on a scrub. 

The laughter, the freaky commonality that Cathi and I share in many details of our lives, the hysterical banter with Tom and Rick at times poking fun at us girls for our “overly detailed” organizational skills, every moment was filled with warmth and a blooming friendship one doesn’t easily find in this world.

This is in no manner is intended to diminish the quality of all the fabulous friends we’ve made both here in Kauai, Marloth Park and other parts of the world. 

Memories easily flood our minds of many friendships we’ve made in these past  months in Kauai, going back as far as our first few days on the island when we met Vicki and Jerry at Hanalei Beach or, the fabulous time we had last Friday night with Alice and Travis and of course, our friend Richard…and everyone in between.

New macro photo of tiny wild flowers, as small as a bean.

Perhaps, these friendships mean all the more to us with our vagabond lifestyle. Perhaps, the fact that we’ve simplified our lives to a degree that “less is more” we’ve come to appreciate friendships in an entirely new light.  That’s not to say we didn’t love and appreciate the friends in our old lives. We did more than we can say and will always love and miss them. But, everything is different now.

Oh, and I should mention that Cathi and Rick have also been to Kruger National Park on safari (soon to return) and fully grasp the power and depth of feeling such an experience embeds into one’s heart for a lifetime. 

We even went as far as to discuss the possibility of meeting up in Africa in the year of my 70th birthday (Tom’s pacifies me with this possibility when I say I miss Africa) to see what we all had missed; the gorillas in Rwanda, Victoria Falls, the Rovos Rail and more. One never knows what lies ahead.

Exquisite colorful plants and shrubs are found everywhere in the Hawaiian Islands.

For now, they’ve invited us to two more events, both beach parties, both coming up this weekend, both of which we’ll excitedly attend. We thank them for including us in their lives, for opening up their home and their hearts to us, for the laughter and for an evening we’ll always remember.

To respect their privacy, we haven’t included any photos of them or their home. However, snapshots of our evening together will always have a place in our hearts and minds.

                                             Photo from one year ago today, April 16, 2014:

My dinner plate, a mixed grill, one year ago in Marrakech at a local restaurant in the souk was excellent. Our story described the nuances of living with a household staff of our, two of whom were in attendance almost daily from 9 am until 7:00 pm. Please click here for details.

For our US friends…Its tax day…Responsibilities continue…

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The waning sun on a less cloudy evening.

This day, April 15th is the dread of many US citizens for a few reasons:

  1. They haven’t completed and submitted the complicated forms and are scrambling last minute to get them postmarked by midnight tonight to avoid penalties and fees.
  2. They owe money and may not have the funds to pay.
  3. They have yet to file an extension (Site not guaranteed. Please check for alternate options as well)) to prolong the process and don’t know how to go about doing this.
  4. They have completed the forms, but are working today, their kids have a game tonight and they have to find time to complete the forms and submit them on time.
  5. Most state tax forms (where applicable) must also be completed and submitted.
  6. How does one file a return electronically? The thought of this is frightening to some who aren’t familiar with the web or, based on recent news reports, feel unsafe putting their private information out there.
Dozens of tourists and locals flock to the overlook to catch the sunset.  This sunset of a few days ago was not to be missed.

The US federal tax code is 74,000 pages. How is the average American supposed to figure this out? We hear endless stories on recent news of how those needing tax preparation assistance are unable to get through on the phone to a representative, often on hold for hours at a time.

When this occurs, they hear a re-coding recommending that those with questions go to the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) website for answers. Not everyone has access to the Internet or would feel competent to peruse the website for answers. It’s a no-win situation for many.

The setting sun, stuck between the palm trees.

Our posts are never intended to be political. Nor will today’s post be political. I write this in frustration for all the taxpayers that are struggling today to find answers to these issues. 

Not everyone can hire an accountant to do their taxes or, has access to a chain type tax preparer. Not everyone is able to purchase a tax preparation software application and feel confident answering the endless questions.

And then, it was gone.

To avoid a political rant on these issues, I choose to turn the direction of this post to a question we’re often asked by both US citizens and citizens of other countries, “Do you have to pay taxes while living outside the US?”

I know this may seem to have an obvious answer for those who travel and are familiar with tax laws to some degree. But, many wonder why in the world would we have to file and pay taxes while living outside the US?  Why wouldn’t we file and pay in the country in which we’re living?

The colors remain for a few minutes after the sun has disappeared.

The answer is simple. All US citizens, wherever they manage to live or visit another country are required to file and pay US taxes on or before April 15th of each year unless an extension is filed. Plain and simple. 

Another question we’re asked, “If at some point, we’re considered ex-pats (people living permanently outside the country of which they are citizens), do we still have to file and pay? The answer again is “yes.”

The only way to avoid this responsibility of filing and paying US taxes is to become a citizen of another country incurring considerable taxes and fees to do so. (I won’t get into the details of dual citizenship here). Doing so may result in the loss of certain benefits.

The colors of the sea appear to change before our eyes.

For our purposes, the cliché, that one can’t avoid death and taxes is so true. For us as world travelers, we still have the same responsibilities as those firmly implanted in a home and lifestyle; balancing bank accounts, paying bills, managing money and investments, handling insurance, planning for the future.

Although there are some differences for us as we travel the world: 

  1. Balancing bank accounts: We perform an almost daily check on our bank accounts to verify all transactions and fees. If anything is off, we address it immediately to avoid waiting until a statement arrives.
  2. Bills: The only bills we have are credit cards, insurance, and taxes, keeping in mind that we charge all of our vacation rental fees, car rentals, groceries, dining out, health insurance, and tax bill on credit cards to be paid off in full each month to make way for new charges. In many cases, we’re paying three months’ rent at any given time, less the prepaid deposit. 
  3. Managing money and investments: Tom handles this area which includes planning for the future. 
  4. Managing health and personal property insurance: I handle these two items once a year close to the time of renewal, making an annual payment. Together, we assess our future needs. We have personal property insurance for the belongings we carry with us. With no storage, no other such insurance is necessary.
The coral is close enough to the shore that many snorkelers enjoy this area, once they manage to get down the steep cliffs.

Of course, regardless of which of us manages the above, we discuss all aspects of our responsibilities. Wherever we may travel, these responsibilities travel with us. Thank goodness for the Internet. Without it, our lives on the move would be have been considerably more complicated. We may have never chosen to attempt this lifestyle without it.

A sunny day such as this made taking photos of the coral easier from above the cliffs.

A lesson we learned early on in our travels; never wait until the last minute. We acknowledge the fact that stress associated with last-minute preparations and planning is entirely avoidable, no matter how painful the task. 

Our rationale is this: if we can somehow find time to accomplish a task today, we could have just as easily accomplished the task a month ago. We must remind ourselves of this frequently.

This pool created at high tide is considerably larger than it appears.

Some may ask, “Why did we wait to file our taxes yesterday, as opposed to a month ago?” We were ready a month ago. But, in the hands of an accountant, her busy schedule dictated when it would be submitted.

For our US friends, we wish you all a relatively stress-free day, responsibilities, and all, and hope you’ll have thoughts of April 15th behind you by tomorrow morning on April 16th.

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

One year ago, we had a date night in the souk dining atop a restaurant with this view. For details of that post, please click here.

Coffee, tea and me…Tom’s worries about cruising…What about Norovirus in today’s news?

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Beach view.

In this morning’s news its reported that two ships, Royal Caribbean’s owned Celebrity Infinity and also our upcoming ship, Legend of the Seas, have been stricken with hundreds of cases of the dreaded Norovirus. 

Here’s a portion of the article with the full article here:

“Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has two ships at sea along the west coast of California and Mexico, where passengers are experiencing gastrointestinal ailments that include vomiting and diarrhea.

An outbreak on the Legend of the Seas, on a two-week cruise ending tomorrow, sickened 114 passengers, about 7 percent of the total, and two crew members said the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Infinity, part of the company’s Celebrity line, reported 106 sick passengers, or about 5 percent of the total, on a cruise ending Monday.

Outbreaks of norovirus on cruise ships aren’t uncommon during the winter season. Cruise line operators are required to report the total number of gastrointestinal cases, with online updates posted when they account for more than 3 percent of passengers and crew.”

Tattoo shop in Kapaa.

By the time I sat down to start my computer, Tom had already sent me the article. However, while I was getting ready to begin my day, Tom mentioned the following to me, “When we’re on the ship, take extra teabags each time you make a cup of tea. On this long cruise, they’ll probably run out of your favorite tea.”

I giggled aloud. That had never occurred to me. Once, a few cruises ago when they ran out of Earl Grey, my choice over their other options, a tea I never purchase when we’re “landed.” It was no big deal. 

Café along the Kuhio Highway, the main highway in Kauai from the north where we’re located to the south past Lihue where the airport is located.

A few days later, Earl Grey tea bags magically appeared. Either the ship picked it up at a port or someone bothered to go into the storage area to finally open an awaiting supply. 

My dear husband remembers these three days that I didn’t have Earl Gray tea. I drank Lipton. It was no big deal. But, for him, he was concerned that I didn’t have what I wanted. (I only consume tea with a jolt of caffeine so those fruity flavored herbal teas have never appealed to me).

Clothing store in Kapaa.

Drinking hot tea is only important to me a few times a day while on a cruise, once in the morning, two mugs full, and the same around 4:00 pm each day. The remainder of the time I drink iced tea or water.

My first choice of morning beverage is always coffee which we now have every morning using real cream. My way of eating prevents me from using half and half which contains too much milk sugar. Rarely do the ships have real cream available. On a few occasions, I’ve been able to get it. Instead, in the mornings on the ships, I drink plain tea. It’s no big deal.

Rainy day, sandy beach view.

Tom’s suggestion to take extra tea bags to save in the event they run out is pointless to me. Why would I always want my small pockets filled with tea bags, which are always full anyway with business cards, my phone, a tube of lipstick, and a cruise ID card?

Plus, it drives me nuts to see others loading up on supplies that they want to save to take home. We don’t do that. We can buy our own tea bags and stir sticks when we get to our next location. 

Mountain view with a fire nearby.

Of course, Tom worries about the norovirus. Based on the small percentages that actually become ill and the zillions of times per day we wash our hands and avoid touching anything, we’ve never had norovirus on these past 10 cruises. 

On three prior cruises, we did come down with the “cruise cough.” It’s hard to avoid someone coughing on the elevator or even in one’s face. On the last ship, on our way to Hawaii, while I was getting my breakfast (using a cloth napkin wrapped around my hand which I tossed in the bin before eating), I saw a man sneeze on a bunch of clean white plates and then walk away.

Views out to sea.

I stood at the plates to prevent anyone from taking one until a staff member walked past me so I could report it. I watched as they cleared every plate and washed the general area. How much of this actually occurs that we don’t know about?

Based on this, why would anyone choose to cruise? For us, it’s plain and simple. We have a blast doing our thing each day and basically attending a party each night when we meet six or eight new people at our dinner table from all over the world with whom we engage with considerable laughter and animated conversation. It’s so much fun! 

A trip to Kapaa on a sunny day.

Plus, stopping at various ports of call either on small group tours or on our own, is an enriching and rewarding experience. How else can one possibly see so much of the world in a relatively short period of time?

Worry? Yes, he’ll worry. But, not me. Until I’m eating onion sandwiches and sewage is running through the halls, I’m not about to worry.

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

The winding roads and fast driving by our driver made me car sick for the first time in decades. I was grateful when we finally returned back to the riad after cutting the trip short by a few days. For details, please click here.

A robust social life on the island of Kauai…Making new friends…

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From the overlook across the street from our condo. We’ve loved this area!

Who would have thought that living on the island of Kauai, known for its lush greenery and quiet reflective lifestyle would result in our having a great social life? Not us.

When we first arrived and met dear friend Richard at the Makai Golf Club pool and fitness center, we thought that his kindness and eagerness to include us in social events was a fluke. 

As the sunset progresses.
It was no fluke. His warmth and friendliness have been repeated over and over again in other people we’ve met at some of these social events and also, many people we’ve met on our own.

Not only have we made new friends from our attendance at local events but we’ve met many tourists, who generally aren’t eager to make friends during a short trip.

What a sunset!

The overlook across the street from our condo has been the most social setting of all in meeting other travelers, many here on long stays, others here for a few weeks at a time. It seems that most tourists second and thereafter visits to Kauai may be extended to weeks, not days, some even to months.

Kauai isn’t the type of place one can easily visit for a few days and leave. Not only is there a considerable number of activities for sports enthusiasts and adventure seekers, but the calming effect of the laid back lifestyle is also intoxicating.

As the sunset dropped behind the horizon.

Kauai has a magical way of lowering one’s level of stress and creating a sense of peace enhancing a desire for quiet, the likes of which few vacation spots offer. One only needs to sit back and enjoy the sound of the surf, the birds, and the gentle breeze wafting through the trees with the almost daily trade winds.

The climate is ideal, although rainy at times and often cloudy for part of each day. Alas time passes and the sun shines, the sky clears and the intense colors of the mountains, the sea, and the surrounding vegetation almost develop to a point of “pleasure on overload.”

Look at those clouds at the mountains.

As I sit here now, writing to our readers, I look out the glass door to see the clouds, the vog, and rain in the nearby mountains, and yet the sun is shining on the lanai at the moment. The roosters are fully engaged in their morning ritual, crowing at a fevered pitch while the chickens do their fair share of clucking in response.

The bird sounds make us laugh especially when we hear the distinct sounds of our favorite visitors, Mr. & Ms. Birdie and two other birds, all cardinals, two different species who will soon alight on the railing singing that specific song that says, “Give me nuts, please!”

Colorful pods abound on most vegetation in the Hawaiian Islands, typical of most tropical plants.

And quickly one of us jumps up in response to that request, grabbing the little bowl containing the nuts I hand chop every week, placing bits of nuts on the lanai railing for them to happily peck at until they’re gone. 

The same breeds share with one another. The opposing breeds fight over the nuts. We make every effort to ensure fairness at times separating our offerings into two distinct areas which sometimes works and other times doesn’t.

It was surprising to see these tall evergreens. growing in this tropical climate.

In a way, at this point, we both feel a little lazy. We’ve seen and done so much on this island, experienced more than we’d ever anticipated, made more friends than we’d made anywhere except in Marloth Park, South Africa, an equally friendly environment.  

If we didn’t have one more social activity planned, we’d be content. However, that’s not the case at all.  We have many more social events planned and without a doubt, more will suddenly appear as it often has. We’ll be the first to chime in to say yes to an invitation, if not taking the initiative for inciting the invitation ourselves.

The uniformity of this flower made it worthy of a photo.

This life we live has no room for shyness. In our old lives, we’d seldom made new friends. In a social setting, we hesitated to ask people we met for the first time for their email or a phone number to set up a time to “get together.” We didn’t want to appear to be stalkers.

In this new life, we have no concern that we’ll appear to be stalkers. We simply love having the opportunity to ask, “How about if we all go out to dinner soon?”

A water hazard on the golf course.

On each occasion, the response is immediate and warm, “We’d love to.” We exchange business cards. If they don’t have a card, we give them ours asking them to email us their email. Who carries a pen and paper these days? 

Otherwise, if we have one of our phones in our possession, we’ll enter it there, keeping in mind, we don’t have cell service on the phones and wifi service only when we’re “home.” (Once we arrive in Australia, we’ll be able to load SIM cards into our phones for service).

On a walk in our neighborhood, these condos have excellent views of the Makai Golf Course.

If we don’t hear within a few days, we don’t assume for a moment that they don’t want to get together (Tom says that sound cocky). We assume they may be like us in our old lives, not taking the initiative to make new friends.

Overall, we hear from the other couple 50% of the time and make the effort for the rest. After a dinner out, such as this past Friday night with Alice and Travis, we’re so happy we all enthusiastically made the effort. We had a fabulous time and plan to see them again before we leave. 

Not only is there amazing vegetation in the Princeville Botanical Gardens, it abounds everyone one goes on the “garden island” of Kauai.

Our dinner plans for Saturday night were postponed to this Wednesday due to an injury incurred by our host and we look forward to seeing this wonderful couple again this week at their home for dinner.

It’s been hard to say goodbye to the many lovely couples we’ve met in Kauai, many here for short stints, others longer. With many, we continue to stay in touch via email often hearing they are following along with us here.  To each and every one of those lovely people, we say, “Thank you” for sharing a bit of your precious holiday/vacation time with us.

Cloudy day mountain view.

Today, it’s raining off and on as the sun also appears off and on. A drive may be on the agenda but if the weather doesn’t cooperate we may stay put once again. After highlighting the Princeville Botanical Gardens for the past three days we continue on with other photos and stories. If you haven’t had a chance to see those posts, please scroll down after today’s post to see all three of them with many photos.

Our Nevada accountant has completed our taxes as of this morning to be filed electronically today. Having that behind us gives us peace of mind, leaving our minds free to soak up our remaining “40 days and 40 nights” on the beautiful, peaceful, and social island of Kauai.

                                            Photo from one year ago today, April 13, 2014:

A Kasbah on the road to the Atlas Mountains. I had done a little whining one year ago on this date. For details on why, please click here.