On the Cruise… Island Hopping, The Valley Island – Maui

            Getting off the ship at Lahina, Maui is different from the bigger ports. The ship dropped anchor lowered some of the lifeboats and “tendered” us in.            The city is at the top of this picture

            Geoff started our first adventure back on the Big Island with a helicopter ride. For Maui, our last island adventure I reached into my bucket list and pulled out the slip that said “Go fly in Hawaii.” The intention being for me to fly the airplane, not just be a passenger. So, I arranged to rent an airplane at Maui Aviators, Kahului Airport, Maui, Hawaii. I also hired a local instructor to ride along and help me with the radio work and act as tour guide.

            I had it planned out in advance exactly where I wanted to fly. The weather caused some on the spot modifications to my flight plan but I got mostly, call it 90% of what I wanted to do. Here’s plot of how we went from Maui to Molokai to Lanai and back to Maui. The magenta line is the first leg we flew.

            With Chip in the right front seat, Geoff had the entire back seat and all the cameras to himself. If I go again, I feel comfortable enough to leave Chip on Maui and let Geoff, or whoever, sit up front in the right seat.

           The pink line was the first leg of the trip, starting at the lower end from Kahului Airport along the Maui coastline then across the water to the eastern tip of Molokai Island. At the center top of Molokai is an airport on the Kalaupapa Peninsula. You can see it in the forground here with the colony in the background

            Kalaupapa was once a notorious leper colony established by Father Damian. When I was on Molokai in the 70s on a Navy project, it was still serving a population of lepers. At last report, according to one source, that population has diminished to 14.

 

            After doing a touch-and-go landing at the airport my original plan was to fly inland over the pineapple plantations and do another landing at the main airport. The clouds hanging over the island dictated and change in plans and instead we flew west around the western tip of the island and headed for Lanai. These buildings on the western tip were used in WW II as strategic lookouts against a Japanese invasion.

 

            Discounting Nihau Island ([privately owned, population ~130), Lanai is the least populated of all the inhabited islands. Lanai’s only industry is tourism. We did another touch-and-go landing at the only airport…

 

 

 and once again the low clouds interfered with my original plan to fly over the middle of the island. Skirting around the south shores we headed for Maui.

            Just offshore we circled around the Star Princess for a few pictures then headed for a popular SCUBA dive spot, Molokini Island. Formed by a lava eruption and then eroded by ocean currents, some call it the best SCUBA and snorkeling site in the entire island chain.

 

 

            We may not have put our shoes on the dirt on two of them, but I claim Geoff and I visited six of the seven Hawaiian Islands in our four-day adventure.

            If you ever want a totally different experience, contact Maui Aviators, ask for Chip Remmert and tell him you want to do a three island round-robin just like Casey did. Even if you don’t have a license the company will take you on a ‘flight-seeing’ jaunt. Below, Chip on the left with two haolis.

 

 

 

 

On the Cruise… The Garden Island – Kauai [and near disaster]

             Geoff and I had agreed weeks ago that we would do at least one snorkel trip. In figuring out when and where I got the communications messed up. I thought we’d agreed to rent gear so I left my fins and booties home and brought only my prescription lens mask and snorkel while Geoff brought his whole kit.

            No big deal. After a short shuttle ride to pick up the rental car it was off to Wal-Mart for me to buy a set of fins and booties.

            At Geoff’s suggestion our first junket was to visit Waimea Canyon. Then we could head back to the ship to wash off the salt and sand.

            Mark Twain once described Waimea as the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. After seeing it from several scenic overlooks, I certainly won’t argue with the Twain’s description.

            The canyon stretches more than 17 miles from the Pacific Coast climbing to an altitude over 4,000 feet from sea level. I say more than because that’s as far up as we drove that day.

            Down in the canyon we could see several of some sort of bird soaring in the updrafts. They were white with swept back wings resembling a jet fighter and had bifurcated tails. They never came high enough to get a decent picture of them.

            Here follows a series of pictures.

            After stopping off for lunch we headed for Poipo Beach Park. We wandered around a bit because my Tom-Tom GPS didn’t list it as a point-of-interest even though it is touted several places on the Internet as an ideal snorkeling location. Persistence paid off, though, and we found it finally.

            When we parked the car to gear up for the water was when I discovered I had left my mask and snorkel back on the ship. I felt really stupid then. Geoff shrugged it off and we headed back to the ship with dry bathing suits. I on the other hand felt really, really stupid. Especially after we wasted time by going out of the way for me to buy a set of swim fins. Not to mention I had ruined our only opportunity to do any diving while in the islands.

            If it hadn’t been for the gorgeous views at Waimea Canyon, the day would have been a total disaster.

On the Cruise… Island Hopping, The Main Island – Oahu

            The first stop after picking up the rental car was the Pearl Harbor Memorial operated by the National Park Service. Don’t miss this if you ever get to the main island of the Hawai’ian chain. Also, be sure to make reservations in advance; maybe even weeks ahead.

            The trip out to the Arizona Memorial starts with a brief lecture and a short movie telling of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

           A motor launch transports visitors out to a gleaming white curvilinear structure built over the sunken battleship. Some parts of the ship remain above water and from the memorial’s deck you can see more of the hull below the surface.

            On one end wall of the memorial are carved the names of the 900+ Sailors and Marines who died on the ship that day, most of them still entombed within the ship’s hull.

            When the tide and winds are just right, as they were the day we visited, globs of fuel oil leave a rainbow sheen as they drift away from the Arizona. It is slow leakage from the ship’s fuel tanks that have not been emptied. Sort of a fitting reminder of blood and tears shed on December 7, 1941.

            After a brief launch trip back to the main site we wandered around a couple of the museums. Then it was time for lunch. As we drove away, I felt just a bit morose thinking of what had happened behind me so many decades ago. I hope we never forget.

            I you ever decide to rent a car to travel these islands, I recommend taking your GPS. My Tom-Tom was a real help getting us through the warren of streets and onto the highway for a trip over the Na’Pali overlooking where I spent three years as a US Marine, Kaneohe Bay.

           Although the road was been replaced by four-lanes of modern road and a couple tunnels, a remmnant of the old Pali Highway still remains near the scenic view at the top. When I was there, some 57 years ago, the old road was a narrow two-lane ribbon snaking up, down, and around through what at night appeared as an inpeneterable jumgle. I remember hitchhiking it a couple times after I’d emptied my wallet on Waikiki Beach and didn’t have the two dollars to pay for the taxi ride back to the base at Kaneohe.

            From the Pali, we drove down to Kailua Beach and did some wading.The water was warm even if the first toe dip seemed chilly. That side of the island is for me filled with nostalgia. Its where I met my future soul mate. Some of the memories made my eyeballs sweat just a little.

           From Kailua we took the scenic long route back to Honolulu, with a stop at the Blow Hole that I remembered from times past.

            This particular feature is an ancient lava tube that extends from the surface to down below the surf line. When conditions are right, high tide and three to four foot swells, the water rushes into the bottom and spews out the top. When the Blow Hole is in top form, the water spouts 30 to 40 feet into the air.

            We turned in the rental car and headed back to the ship pretty close to the last minute. Close enough so that I was the last passenger to board the ship before it sailed away to our next adventure.  Next stop — Kauai, the Garden Island.

On the Cruise…. First Stop, Hawai’i, the Big Island

            We had decided long before to plan our own shore side adventures, including renting a car, rather than follow the flock around going to and seeing things someone else decided we should see.

            Geoff and I have both participated in ship designed excursions. The problem I had on the Panama Canal trip was having to hustle to get back on the bus just when something interesting caught my eye and I wanted to see more of. Like in Cartagena, Columbia, with the small statuary distributed across the town square and the peddler hawking hand-made rosaries.

            For example, on the drive away from the Kilauea Caldera in Volcano Nat’l Park, we stopped and watched some of the Hawaiian Ne Ne geese alongside the road.

            Early in the morning we took a helicopter ride over the Volcano Nat’l Park. That was a neat experience. Geoff made the reservations with an outfit called Paradise Helicopters. I can’t resist saying we took a Hilo Helo ride. The unique part was Geoff and I had the back seats to our selves with the rear doors off. Talk about a great view!

            The flight went out over the lava fields laid down by  still active volcano action. Truthfully, still active. We saw several places where red hot molten lava was flowing out of the ground. I’m disappointed in that even with the doors off, I didn’t get any really good pictures. I’ll take most of the blame but I do have to say our required altitude above the lava field and the motion of the aircraft made precision photography difficult.

            The dark shiny “stream” is new lava. We saw several streaks like this. Geoff and I were both surprised by the heat radiating up from the ground when the helo banked into a turn. Especially since we were at least a thousand feet up.

            We flew over and down the coastline but on that particular day no spectacular flows were dumping lava into the ocean. Heading back across the island we flew over several sprawling macadamia nut plantations. That is a major industry there.

               Several waterfalls are scattered over all the Hawaiian Islands. I think I heard the helo pilot say this one is named Rainbow Falls. It is one of half a dozen within just a mile or so, but I liked it the best.

            After we landed we hopped back in the rental car and drove out to Volcano Nat’l Park; about 30 or so miles from Hilo. First stop some steam vents right alongside the road. Sort of a spooky thought that this was real evidence that right below us was a giant inferno hot enough to melt rock.

            A couple more miles down the road we came to a scenic view point overlooking the Kilauea Caldera. Several decades, maybe a little more, this particular caldera was a lake of molten lava that persisted for a long time — until a huge magma explosion. Today it is a constant source of smoke pouring out of the ground.

            Geoff and I both enjoyed occasionally operating someone’s camera so the folks could take home a true group photo. We made it a point at virtually everyplace we stopped for the four days touring the islands. We got to pose in a few ourselves that way.

            I’ve got tons more pictures to show… but not now.

 

Hugs to all,

                        The GOG

 

On the Cruise….

 

 

            Geoff and I met up at  the Oakland, California, airport on Wednesday, October 3, to begin our adventure. From there we drove to San Francisco and checked into the Cow Hollow Inn on Lombard Street in the northern area of the city. The Inn is no special place other than its name, but who can resist being able to brag about spending the night in Cow Hollow?

            Thursday was kind of a wander around and figure out where things/places were. We made a trip back into Oakland to do some shopping then back to San Francisco. Lunch, obviously, had to be on Fisherman’s Wharf. We were after all tourists. From there we explored the Marina Green. All together the pedometer on my watch registered a bit over two miles. Some of the aircraft scheduled for Friday’s airshow were buzzing about.

            While we knew something related to the America Cup sailing races was scheduled, neither of us realized how big the event was. Dozens of tent pavilions populated a large part of the green associated with the San Francisco Yacht Club. Lots of stuff there to do and see.

            WOW! What a day the next one was. We started off with breakfast in Mel’s Drive In, a diner straight out of the 60s, then headed for Pier 80 on San Francisco’s famous Embarcadero.

 

[A note before I go farther into the narrative — for technical reasons, I am composing this on my laptop to upload onto the blog when we reach Hilo, Hawai’i and won’t be able to imbed photos within the text as I’ve done before. I’m going to add them at the end, hopefully with captions.]

 

            At Pier 80 we toured first a Coast Guard Cutter, USS Sherman, then the USS Spruance a US Navy destroyer. The Sherman sports 20 “victory” stickers on the side of the bridge for the amount of cocaine the ship has interdicted. According to our ship guide the ship has also participated in a number of rescues as far north as the Bering Sea off Alaska.

            Spruance, well this particular Spruance, is fresh out of its sea trials and scheduled for its first deployment in a few months. One fascinating part of the tour took us into the Combat Information Center, CIC. That surprised me. I expected it to be strictly off-limits, in fact, operational even in port.

            From there we headed back to the Marina Green to watch practice for the next day’s airshow. Highlights were: Sean B. Tucker and his amazing aerobatics and the precision flying of the Blue Angels. The flying demonstration of the F-22 Raptor is certainly worth mentioning.

            Shortly after the airplanes were done, the America Cup racers came whizzing by. Whizzing? Sailboats? Yep, these 45-foot catamarans were, at least to me, surprisingly quick on the water. Best of all, with their shallow draft they race close enough to see facial details of the crew.

            Altogether eleven boats were on the water. First, they did match races on a one-on-one basis. When that was finished all eleven gathered for what they callled “fleet” racing.

            I haven’t had a chance to check it out but someone said I should search on You-Tube for America Cup racing, particularly for some of the capsizing videos.

 

            Saturday was boarding day for the Star Princess. Since we weren’t scheduled to go aboard until 12:30 or later, we headed back down the Embarcadero to tour an aircraft carrier. That turned out to be a bust. The line of people stretched for more than a half-mile… and it was NOT single file. I opted to not punish my knee and hip. Good plan because later on we noted one particular group that we could identify by their dress, had moved maybe 200 feet in an hour.

            I wasn’t a complete bust. It so happened that the Cup racers docking and maintenance hangars were right nearby so we spent an hour or so gawking at the boats and chatting up one of the volunteer workers who gave us great insights. Got some good pix of hauling one of the US boats out of the water an stepping the mast.

            When it was time to head back to board the cruise ship, we decided to drive up the Embarcadero in spite of warnings and advice about the horrendous traffic we’d encounter. To say the traffic was bad is an understatement. I drove the 3.75 miles in right about 1.5 hours. According to the Fusion’s performance computer, I used enough fuel to take me more than 150 miles at the car’s average mileage. A couple of times Geoff got out of the car and walked over to take some pictures or buy some snacks. Each time, he had to wait a few minutes for me to catch up with him.

            But eventually we made it. I left the car in the parking garage at ten minutes after one PM. Checking in to the ship was a breeze and we were in our cabin in probably, well even less than a half-hour. On the way out after we left the pier, I got a few pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge.

            Life aboard the ship is pretty much the same each day. Geoff isn’t a breakfast fan so I usually order something from room service like coffee, cereal with banana and milk or maybe indulge in a Princess Cruise knock-off of the Egg McMuffin. So far out of the four mornings I spent two in the fitness center for an hour. During the day, Geoff and I usually team up with three or four other travelers for a round of trivia(L PURSUIT).

            Geoff gets more involved in shipboard activities that I. I do some reading, take an afternoon nap, walk around…, pretty much just relaxercising.

            The food is as always reported, excellent. Before I left home, I made a pact with myself not to lose [too much] ground on my weight reduction goals. When the ship is pitching and rolling even a little bit, it is close to impossible to get an accurate reading on the scales, so I don’t know for sure. One thing in my favor: before I left home I put in a ‘dietary request’ to the ship for low-fat meals. I LOVE IT! The proteins all come grilled sans butter. Instead of creamy sauces, I get steamed veggies. For example this evening I had broccoli, carrots, summer and zuchinni squashes, and a couple of potato wedges with my salmon. I keep trying to tell the waiters I want small portions, but I’m getting the point across so I usually leave almost a full meal on my plate when I’m done.

            In the morning we dock for our first island adventure. When time and the internet is available, I’ll post some details. Meanwhile here are [I hope] some photos.

 POSTED FROM HILO, HAWAI’I

 

Diving Cozumel – Part 2 – Getting Wet

                In the last post, I told you how we got to San Miguel (Cozumel is the name of the whole island off the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula) and told you about our adventures on dry land. Now it’s time to get wet.

                The Caribbean Current flows east to west across the top of South America and is deflected north at the bulge of Central America gathering speed to rush through the gap between the Yucatan Peninsula and Cuba. On its way north the current splits around both sides of Cozumel Island.

                The result of this is a nearly perpetual flow of water over the reefs popular for SCUBA diving. Known to the SCUBA community as “drift diving.”

                Belize, Ambergris Caye, where I dived last year [see an earlier post] isn’t significantly affected by the Caribbean Current because it lies in what looks on charts and maps much like a bay.

                On all the eight dives that Tiana and I made we were dragged along by the currents. On one particular dive, the curent was moving faster than a brisk walk on land. The upshot is if you are only interested in watching the scenery go by, just cross your fins, stick  your arms out like wings and and pretend you’re Superman. On the other hand, staying in one place to take a close look or properly frame a picture can be a daunting prospect as well as swimming alongside a Loggerhead Turtle for a great photo op.

                Having experienced both drift and still diving, my fascination for hanging around one place to peek  in the pockets and crevices of the coral makes the latter more attractive.

                Swimming against the current takes some effort, which results in heavier breathing, which can become a problem. A real problem! A diver can suck only so much air through that itty bitty tube and the tank only holds so much, besides!

                Speaking of photo ops I’d brought along three cameras, two Canon 750 ELPHs) with underwater housings. (One is mine, the other was a loaner from my son Geoff to Tiana) and my Canon 60D for which I don’t have a UW housing. I’m not sure I want one; the housing cost more than the camera with lens and a waterproof flash about half that much more.

                Just before we left the states, I purchased a GoPro HD2 — especially for the trip. If it hadn’t been for my granddaughter being there, my language at the condo would have stained the walls purple when I unpacked my gear and didn’t find the GoPro. I remembered exactly where I’d left it on the living room coffee table. So much for the check list I’d put together for packing.

                The cameras worked great and between the two of us we took, probably, a couple hundred photos. We spent the first couple days learning some techniques. Later on I’ll tell you why my camera caused me some problems, personal problems as you will see.

Nothwithstanding, I had a great time diving Cozumel with Tiana. With our personal guide we explored some swim-through experiences, 

swam (swum, swimmed) with… well, had a chance to swim with a Loggerhead Turtle, saw countless exotic (to me anyway) fish, scared up a ray, saw fascinating corals and plants…,Tiana saw the squid, I didn’t — I saw the shark, Tiana didn’t. Overall, it was a great adventure.

For me, the most attractive fish was the Spotted Drum. I took the picture on the left of a juvenile. As the fish matures, its body shape changes a lot.Tiana took the picture below of a mature Spotted Drum. We saw several Drums and, like I said, had to capture their pictures as we sailed by.

One of the more exotic was the Monkfish.This one had backed under a ledge in the coral with just his snout visible. The head is huge compared to the rest of its body. One site on the Internet refers to it as the “All Mouth” fish. Apparently it is pretty tasty: I found several recipes for preparing the Monkfish.

Look close just to the right of center an you’ll see a Spider Shrimp. I’d guess stretched out, this critter might have spanned ten inches — toe-to-toe, so to speak.

                We came across a few crabs  and several lobster.  The lobster were pretty good size, maybe in the four to five pound range. [Pardon the blue cast -- the flash didn't fire for this one.]

On a dinner plate, I prefer crab. I think the flavor of lobster is overrated.

            The following pictures will give you an idea of the gamut of fish shapes, sizes and colors we saw in our eight dives.

        For me, the Loggerhead Turtle was probably the most impressive creature. One we came across had just a small part of his, maybe her, body sticking out from under a ledge. 

                A recent National Geographic television show pointed out that the Loggerhead is on the endangered species list.

 

The Nat’l Geographic videos somehow don’t convey the effortless grace of this huge reptile as it swims through the water.

            I was fascinated by the plethora of coral — sizes, shapes, colors. I’ll stick to fish (and one large reptile)  in this post and put the coral in Part 3.

So, until I find some time to work on Part 3 – the Living Coral, see ya next time.

The GOG

 

Diving Cozumel – March and April 2012 — Part 1, Getting there and setting up…

            The trip really started months ago when I challenged my eldest granddaughter, Tiana Larsen, to get her Open Water certification as a SCUBA diver. I promised her a dive trip to Cozumel if she made the grade. She did.

            So, on March 26, 2012, we met in Los Angeles to spend the night at the Best Western LAX Plaza. The next morning we hopped aboard a United Airlines flight non-stop to Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico. From there we took a bus ride down the coast to Playa Del Carmen and a ferry across to Sana Miguel on the island of Cozumel.

            After arriving at the El Cantil Norte Condominium well after dark we packed it in for the night.

            The next day was designated a kick-back day to do some exploring, buy some groceries, and check in with Blue XT Sea (the SCUBA diving operator) to get fitted out with whatever gear Tiana might need.

            We started with breakfast on the balcony of Prima, the rooftop restaurant at El Cantil. We would eventually eat several meals there, but breakfast was “on-the-house,” (pun intended) as part of the condo rental. I had Huevos Rancheros con salchicha y papas on that first morning. Take my word for it, in a real Mexican restaurant, they don’t slather Pace Piquante Sauce over two fried eggs and call them Huevos Rancheros. I must note that that was the most Mexican item on the breakfast menu.

            Café and jugo with a pan dulce is most common for breakfast. Alternatively, chilaquiles (corn tortillas with meat, cooked red or green salsa, onions, and cheese), burritos, frijoles, or tacos are typical Mexican breakfasts in Quintana Roo.

            Chedraui and Mega in Mexico are the equivalent to the US Super Wal-Mart. Both are located just a short distance from the condo. We started with Chedraui and picked up stuff for lunches and a few dinners and some stuff for salads. Probably the scarcest protein, and most expensive, on the island is beef – pork, chicken and seafood abound.

            We would eventually find that we overbought and ate dinners out more than we expected but fixing meals in the condo was convenient and coming in from a day of diving to fix a lunch was easy-peasy.

            The view from our seventh floor balcony faced west. At night we could see the lights from Playa Del Carmen on the horizon. The sunsets were a disappointment. While it only rained on one day while we were there, and that was while we were out for one of the dives, the sky was never totally clear and a thick bank of clouds always blocked out the sun setting to the west.

            Nonetheless, the view was great with a seemingly endless flow of sail- and motorboats cruising back and forth. Tiana did some snorkeling right in front of the condo, but I pretty much stayed with the pool… and the Jacuzzi installed on our balcony. The algea in the pool was cleaned out daily – less than 30 minutes for the staff. It wasn’t noticable from the pool deck only from our seventh story balcony.

            San Miguel (Cozumel defines the entire island) is a port of call for all the popular cruise lines, including Norwegian and Princess, although I don’t remember seeing Holland America. On one day, six of the floating monster hotels were docked in port and the mercados were choked with Bermuda short clad octogenarians with cameras dangling from their necks.

            Touted as the world’s largest cruise ship, Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas came in one day. What a monster that is!

Next up – Dives 1 & 2…… See you later.

This ‘n That… Personal Financial Hazards and Today’s Technology Flaws

             I gotta say up front that I’m not a fan of some of the new technology in stores. For instance the check payment scheme at Wally World (Wal-Mart) along with the stores, like Walgreens, that don’t require any credit card signature for less than $25 and in some cases $50.

            Even above that, it’s a joke. Not long ago, I totaled up a purchase for a couple bucks under $90. When the little electronic gizmo read “sign here,” just for the heck of it I drew a smiley face and trapped the ACCEPT button as a joke. The clerk smiled back at me, then ripped off the receipt and handed it to me with, “Have a nice day.”

            I mean c’mon! Almost a hundred bucks against a smiley face and no request for ID. I don’t even remember when the last time a checkout clerk asked me for ID anyway.

            For reasons not germane to this topic, I had to fall back on writing checks for purchases. Okay, okay, I’ll confess; I lost my wallet which resulted in cancelling all two of my credit cards and my Credit Union debit card. After writing checks here and there, three to the DMV alone, and paying with greenbacks several times, I got to thinking maybe I should quit using credit cards altogether. It wouldn’t be the first time, but that’s a subject for another blog.

            So today I went to Wally World for some Christmas Shopping. Now it turns out that just today arrived my replacement Credit Union debit card.  Hot Ziggety! No more check writing writer’s cramps.

            Wrong! As the clerk wagged my goodies through the scanner I swiped my debit card through the magic reader and dutifully enter my PIN# ****. When the final tally came up — $156.34 – the little screen blinked a couple times and flashed the message “Card Not Authorized.” Humph… Okay, swipe the card again and use my other PIN# ****. “Card Not Authorized.” Again?!? After trying the card twice more, this time being VERY careful to press the correct numbers on the keypad, I apologized to the folks in line behind me and hauled out my checkbook.

            The very helpful clerk said, “Just write in the amount, that’s all I need.”

            “I don’t have to sign it?”

            “No, just write in the amount.”

            I did, and handed over the check: no date, no words for the amount on the long line, and NO signature. The clerk pushed the check into the requisite slot on her machine and after some whirring and clicking it popped back out. She handed the check across the counter, smiled and said, “Merry Christmas!”

            In sort of a daze, I piled my bags of goodies into my cart and headed for the door.

            I’ve heard about this technology but I confess I never paid much heed to it. In fact, this was my very first experience with the system. Now, I’m somewhat alarmed by what happened. What if, instead of my wallet and credit cards, I’d lost my checkbook? Almost newly reloaded with 21 blank checks left in it?

            Within hours of losing control of my credit cards, I’d called in and suspended them. Would I, in my ignorance and naiveté, have done the same over a missing check book? When would I have even realized it was no longer in my possession?

            Without asking me for any identification and no signature on the check, the clerk hit my checking account for $156 and change. That account serves as my emergency reserve and the balance ain’t chicken feed. I dutifully balance my checking account when the statement comes in. That means once a month I go through the charges and sort of verify them. Days or weeks might have gone by without me knowing that some miscreant has been ripping me off by using my checks.

            I mean, c’mon! I can see how this particular technology is definitely a time saver for the businesses that use it. On the other hand their convenience has a HUGE  negative impact on their customers’ financial security. I don’t like it.

            I’m not a Luddite, but dang it, some technology just doesn’t seem right for us little guys.

This ‘n That…. SCUBA trip – July 2-3, 2011 – Anacapa and Santa Cruz, Channel Islands National Park

     Well, after having a great time finishing up my PADI Open Water Certification in Belize, I invested in some personal diving equipment. I really liked using a particular buoyancy control vest I rented in Central America and know that this brand and model won’t necessarily be available other places because of its comparative cost. I also bought my own regulator system AND a prescription lens upgrade to my dive mask. At my tender age, I require correction for both near and far. All I’ll say about the mask is WOWZEE!

     Of course, I had to get it wet! So I signed up for two days, five dives, on the RAPTOR. It’s a dive boat operated out of Ventura Harbor just north of Los Angeles. I give the skipper, the crew, and the boat a double thumbs up for making the weekend a fun experience. I have no problem endorsing them.

      Because I was traveling alone, i.e. without a dive buddy, I spent a few bucks and hired a dive guide. That turned out to be a smart move from a few perspectives. Bill R. is a dive instructor and happened to not have a class that weekend. We spent all of the first dive and most of the second adjusting straps and trimming weights and got the new gear set up perfectly.

     I finally took my somewhat unsophisticated underwater camera kit along on the third dive. It’s a pretty basic shirt pocket point-and-shoot with fair resolution. The camera fits snugly into a purpose built underwater housing that I had tested on a previous dive. After wandering this way and that through a kelp forest, snapping pictures here and there I came to the realization that I was thoroughly lost. Bill had been following along behind, occasional comparing air pressures (BIG safety item). I turned to him, made a big circle with my hand, pointed in various directions, pointed at myself, turned palms up and gave a big shrug. At that point, Bill merely wiggled a finger for me to follow him and went finning away through the kelp. In less than a minute he had lead me back to the end of the anchor line where we had started.

      I probably don’t have to tell you that I let Bill use dive number four teaching me some navigation skills. As has been repeated uncountable times – it’s a whole different world down there. I should point out that I was never in danger or trouble by not knowing where I was. Eventually, I would have surfaced way before I ran out of air and would have seen the boat to swim to. The downside to that is having to swim on the surface to return…, not to mention some minor embarrassment.

      Here are some of the 50 or so pix I took. Well, all except one. The bluish creature near the center of the next to last photo is a ‘sunflower’ star. Unlike the usual sea star this one can have as many as 24 legs and is a voracious predator.

This ‘n That…. Going to the Bees!

          I went out to my work shop/shed this morning to get some tools and discovered some kind of oozy guck on the floor that looked like:

 In the dark corner I couldn’t identify the mob of critters around it. Thinking they might be roaches, I grabbed the Raid(tm) and gave them a squirt. As soon as they started flying I regretted being so quick on the draw. I didn’t get stung, but I was surrounded by a lot of bees!

Checking outside on the other side of the wall I found a fair size congregation of critters. I got close enought to get a couple photos and then retired to a safe distance.

This was about 8:15 and I suspect the bees were gathering for their morning foraging.

In the close up, you can see they were coming and going through a hole in the paneling. Altogether there are three holes. I don’t remember leaving them when Geoff and I sheathed the outside of the shed. I would, however, think it would be extraordinary for the bees to have chewed their way in. Why would they?

          I called around here and there and the editor of the local rag that carries me on the masthead tipped me off to a guy who is doing bee research here is the desert.  Dave J. came over this afternoon and took a look and we laid out a plan that he will try and trap the bees in a ?? behive?? Some sort of box. While we were observing the critters, we apparently got too close for their comfort. Dave didn’t get nailed, but I did. One bee stung me on my neck. I’ve been stung before so anaphylaxis wasn’t a concern.

          I hope the idea of trapping them works. I’m not threatened by the bees, but I’m not real comfortable with them flying around inside the shed. The last thing I want to do is call an exterminator. Meanwhile, the bees and I will coexist for a week or so.

Stay safe,

the GOG