Hurricane Matthew…Natural disasters wreak havoc throughout the world…Inconveniences as opposed to danger…

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Notice the buffalo in the back of this photo when we carefully strolled along the road where Tom had his buffalo experience.

“Sightings on the Beach in Bali”

Misty morning with river and sea views.

First, we would like to send our love and prayers for people experiencing the wrath of Hurricane Matthew.  We’ve heard from several friends in Florida and hope that they along with millions of others in many locations in Matthew’s path, stay safe along with their families, friends and homes.

A new home in the neighborhood.

Yesterday, we spotted numerous online stories of the inconvenience experienced by cruise passengers when their cruise was diverted to New York (instead of the Caribbean) as a result of the hurricane.

Many passengers tweeted about their frustrations when they ended up in New York without warm clothes and shoes. Certainly, we appreciate the inconvenience and disappointment in discovering their cruise has changed or been canceled, as has been the case, for many US eastern seaboard, Caribbean sailings scheduled over many days.

When we encounter gates such as this, our curiosity tempts us to explore what lies beyond. Respect for the owner’s privacy prevents us from further exploration.

The cruise lines have been working hard to find ways in which to compensate their passengers and many have offered reasonable compensatory packages. But, human nature prevails and many are irate.

Another property protected with a gate to discourage the curious.

Instead, we think of all the citizens of the many countries, islands, cities and states who’ve lost and will continue to lose much more than a cruise vacation. They run the risk of losing their lives when millions are unable to evacuate while making every effort to protect themselves and their loves ones.

I suppose it’s all relative. It’s easy to feel frustrated when plans change beyond our control and we’re left to the decisions of others to determine our next step. We have no doubt those passengers would have chosen their personal safety over so many days of sunbathing or shopping on a tropical island. 

This path was particularly tempting, but we didn’t go beyond the opened gate.

Not intending to be facetious in regard to the irate passengers, long ago we decided that regardless of any inconveniences, we’d always choose safety and well being over possible annoyances. 

We’ve been left waiting in less-than-safe airports for hours at a time when flights had been delayed or  canceled. We’ve experienced outrageous inconveniences going through security at various airports. We’ve encountered the endless power (and subsequent Wi-Fi) outages (including an outage only a few days ago). 

Many of these types of gates are kept locked.

We’ve had countless everyday items confiscated at security checkpoints, items difficult to replace in the upcoming location. Oh, we could go on and on. As frustrating as such situations may be at the time, we’ve always tried to remind ourselves that safety comes first. In doing so, we find ourselves diffusing some of the frustrations able to continue on with an alternate plan.

A food cart on the highway attracted several children after school.

Inconveniences?  Ah, they go with the territory. Traveling the world is wrought with frequent surprises we could never anticipate regardless of how prepared we may think we may be. We’re prone to check and recheck before each travel period and arriving at each new property.

Were we provided with a map and/or directions to find the property when many aren’t available in online maps? We spent hours in the middle of the night trying to find the property in Madeira  when our map wasn’t as specific as it could have been. Lesson learned.

Bridge over a river.

Is there a way for us to enter the property once we arrive? Is bottled water available upon entry if tap water is considered unsafe to drink? Is the Wi-Fi user name and password readily available?  Is the power turned on?  Who do we contact in an emergency?  It goes on and on.

We have no doubt any of the residents in the path of Hurricane Matthew would gladly trade places with the cruise passengers as they board up their homes and determine where, when, how and if they’ll escape the wrath of this massive storm.

Many markets such as this are found in every village.

Inconvenience, we can handle.  Loss of safety and well being is an entirely different matter. We pray for their safety.

May your day be safe.

Photo from one year ago today, October 7, 2015:

Badal, the neighbor Sewak’s dog, stopped by each night while we were having dinner in Fiji. We give him something good to eat, usually whatever meat we’d prepared for dinner.  For more details, please click here.

It’s official!…Hurricane Ana is a Category One hurricane…A year ago…A ride in a single engine airplane…

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We’re in awe of the ocean views as we stopped along a beach on our way to Kihei.

As of news reports this morning, overnight, Hurricane Ana decided to hit the Hawaiian Islands with less intensity than expected. As I write now, weather warnings continue to pop up on the TV screen for flash flood warnings on the Big Island which Ana is approaching.

Hurricane categories.

Big Island has been hit by heavy rains, winds, and high seas in the past 12 hours, resulting in considerable flooding but not to the degree as in higher category hurricanes.

We purchased more food and water than we can possibly use, but as mentioned yesterday, we’ve decided to ship a box to ourselves for when we arrive on the Big Island on December 1st, the food we can use when the family arrives. 

The sandy beach in front of our building.

Yesterday afternoon, we drove eight miles to a regular grocery store to purchase a few smaller items we weren’t able to buy at Costco. You know how that goes at Costco, not all products are required in “jumbo” sizes. That was always the case (no pun intended) when we shopped at Costco in our old lives, an imminent trip to a regular grocery store was required to fill in the blanks.

Bird of Paradise, definitely an appropriate name here in Hawaii.

Although it takes a good 20 minutes to drive to the Safeway in Kihei most likely that’s where I’ll grocery shop going forward. A lesson I finally accepted in the Safeway was to do not to expect Tom to go grocery shopping with me ever again! Overly grumpy!

As the tide went out we searched for signs of life, at time fooled by the large boulders that appear at low tide.

With no sense of direction, I paid special attention to the return drive as to which turns to take to get back to Safeway next time I need to shop. The rental car company included me as a driver at no extra charge. I have not driven a car since December 2012. I hope it’s like riding a bike.

When we were outside the US, driving stick shift vehicles often on the “wrong” side of the road, Tom would drive me everywhere, waiting in the car reading a book on his phone while I shopped.

On our way to Kihei, we stopped at a roadside area on the beach to find this sign.  We didn’t see any turtles.

I know how to drive a stick shift but not with my left arm when the driver sits on the right side of the vehicle, also driving on the “wrong” side of the road. It goes against everything my brain is willing to process.

In any case, after the rushed moody shopping trip I couldn’t get out of there quick enough. Luckily, they had everything on the list, an app on my phone. How exciting it was to see ingredients I haven’t seen in almost two years. There was nothing on my list that couldn’t be found.

Another gorgeous sandy beach at the Turtle Nesting Area.

As for pricing, next time I do a complete grocery shopping trip, I’ll take a photo of the receipt for those of our readers who may be considering a move to Hawaii and are concerned about grocery prices.

Using the app on my phone for the past five years or more, I’ve become very familiar with prices. Honestly, from what we experienced yesterday and at Costco on Thursday, prices are not much higher than they were in Minnesota over two years ago. – an 8oz package of Philadelphia cream cheese at $2.99, the same price back then; a can of unsweetened coconut milk was $1.79, slightly less than in Minnesota long ago.

Moss growing on the rocks along the shoreline.

Could we ever return here based on what we’ve seen so far?  If it was to Maui, we’d say yes, perhaps someday, if we’re able to rent vacation homes comparable to where we’re living now. It’s beautiful, people are friendly, the weather (usually) is ideal and the vegetation is exquisite. 

The only aspect we’ve yet to discover is wildlife. Last night before dark, we wandered along the shoreline searching for the sea turtles we’ve heard often visit in the early evening. It’s a little early for whale watching but, the season will soon be upon us. We can hardly wait.

As for the next few days, staying put makes sense as the storm maneuvers its way to Maui. The surf is picking up this morning as we watch surfers taking advantage of the ever-increasing waves as the effects of Hurricane Ana gradually arrive.

Late yesterday, the surf had yet to pick up with Hurricane Ana still hundreds of miles away.

Without a doubt, we’re safe based on the local news reports. It won’t be as devastating as the media had feared. Costco made a lot of money this week when shoppers were in a frenzy filling multiple carts with supplies. We certainly fell prey to that mentality.

Tom’s back in his usual good mood and of course, I’m overly bubbly. Wait! Am I supposed to go back to worrying about lava flow?

                                                     Photo from one year ago, October 18, 2013:

For the return flight from the Masai Mara to Diani Beach, Kenya, I was no longer fearful of the small single-engine plane as Tom and I sat behind the pilot.  For details of that day, please click here. 

Safari luck in Hawaii…Today’s flights to Maui cancelled…Luckily we made it to Maui yesterday…Love the new place! Here comes Hurricane Ana!

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The clouds have begun to roll in as Hurricane Ana makes her way to the islands.  View from our lanai.

Thursday afternoon we arrived in Maui after a relatively painless 39-minute flight along with the usual two hours of waiting time at the airport in Honolulu. 

For once, we weren’t charged for excess fees for overweight baggage, although, we were assessed $120 for the four checked bags, two large, two small. For the first time in a long time, curbside check-in was available, allowing us to avoid the long lines of travelers trying to get out of Hawaii before the arrival of Hurricane Ana.

Last night, we heard that all flights to Maui are all being canceled started today. Had we not left Honolulu on Thursday, we’ve been stranded with no place to stay other than moving to a pricey hotel. Safari luck prevails. Now let’s see how it does when the storm hits tonight.

View of Maui taken during the 39-minute flight from Honolulu.

As soon as we picked up the rental car we were relieved to be on our way with the good directions the property owner provided for our new home over the next six weeks.

View from our lanai.

As we pulled out of the Enterprise lot we noticed a long line of traffic moving in and out of what appeared to be a Costco parking lot. The car was loaded with our luggage but how convenient it would be to shop for food and supplies.

We decided to change it and shop for bottled water, non-perishable foods, and a small number of perishable items (in the event the power doesn’t go out after all). An hour later we were shocked by the $604 we’d spent and challenged as to how we’d fit it all in the car.

Surely, we’ll be spending time by the pool as soon as the storm is over.

Somehow, with the utmost creativity, we managed to fit every last item, including huge bundles of toilet paper and paper towels, into the luggage jammed vehicle.

A pretty flower in the yard.

In no time at all we arrived and couldn’t have been more thrilled with the first-floor ocean view condo. Not only does it have virtually everything we could possibly need or want, but it’s also appealing, spotless, and exceedingly comfortable.

The grills at our disposal in the yard.  What a view while flipping a burger!

The thoughtful owners left a gift bag for us filled with macadamia nuts, a lovely bottle of white wine, chips, and cookies. What a pleasant surprise. We’ve been lucky with property owners in our travels, seldom having any type of issue often overjoyed with their kindness.

The grounds at the condo complex. We’ll take more photos soon.

This condo is roomy, and much-appreciated after having lived in the most recent tiny studio, hotel rooms, and cruise ship cabins. 

Our digital equipment was quickly set up with a good WiFi signal, each with our own plugin which was quite a novelty. The furniture is very comfortable.

Since July 31st each property in which we’ve stayed has been less than 200 square feet. We’veve eaten every meal out hoping that after the huge food purchase at Costco, we’d feel up to preparing dinner. 

Beach Bum BBQ & Grill where we dined last night.

After hauling everything inside, putting everything away, unpacking our luggage, and getting settled, we were too pooped to cook. Also, I’m still a bit under the weather with a recent virus.

Tom finally ordered a beer to celebrate our first night in Maui.

Dining out one more night was fine with us. We took off at 7:00 pm for Beach Bum’s BBQ & Grill for a great dinner, a mere two-minute drive from our condo. If we weren’t so tired, we could easily have walked. The food was great and worked well for my way of eating. Finally, we both felt as if we really were in  Hawaii, dining outdoors on a quiet evening in a more remote location.

My dinner, barbecue chicken, and ribs made without sauce but seasoned well. Tom helped me eat the ribs while I ate the dark meat of the chicken, bringing the chicken breast home in a doggy bag.

Today is a new day and we’ll enjoy chopping and dicing once again to make our favorite bread-free sandwiches and coleslaw, a dinner we both have missed. Plus, with a washer and dryer in the condo, I’m actually looking forward to our first load.

Tom’s dinner, pulled pork sandwich, fries, coleslaw, and cornbread. The bill for the dinner including one beer, tax, and tip was a total of $53 which we thought was reasonable.

With the news on constantly, we’re carefully watching for hurricane updates. As soon as we know something, we’ll add a note here to keep our readers well informed.

Stay tuned.

                                           Photo from one year ago today, October 17, 2013:

As our days at Camp Olonana came to a close, we attended a dinner in the bush, presented by our hosts. Again, a fabulous evening. For details of that day, please click here.