Once in awhile-now and again-this is us

first of all thanks-for-giving me my life mom. thanks for all your love. all your concern. all your support. all your caring. all your best. I remember all those things. we had good times and bad times just like every other family. but thanks for making the good times stand out in my mind. the bad times are all forgotten and forgiven.

happy birthday mom

you would have been 91 this nov. 28. passing away when you were only 72 and I was only 48, was too soon for both of us. all the things we think we have time for, fade away into oblivion. who do we ask now? who do we call now?  it’s no longer you when I pick up the phone. there’s no longer anything in the mailbox with your name on it.

how beautiful you were in body and spirit..,

young, on the right of your sister Charlene

with your firstborn, janice

as you aged and came into your own

we celebrated you mom, on thanksgiving and your birthday, having fun as you would have wanted us to do. we boarded the hornblower in Newport beach for brunch while cruising the channels where i’m sure you saw us.

we had window seats, a bottle of champagne, soft music, and delicious food.

there are some beautiful homes there.

yes, this is a house

wait, stop the boat

it was 19 long years ago we had that journey of laying you to rest in the waves of the world. I hope you are somewhere else now. peaceful and calm. (and daddy is behaving).

I want to come join you when it’s my time. (I hope to take a swim first too).

we love you mom

i’ll be seeing you mom
love, jill

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as we were sitting on the balcony Saturday morning for the last time, Hawaii said aloha to us with a beautiful rainbow.

the front

the back

aloha kaua’i

on the way to the airport I took a few more pictures.

you see a lot of these houses on the island

we had another good flight, but we were over the wing again. a bigger wing this time.

we had fun with the stewardesses this flight also. when we walked on the plane, a male stewardess greeted us. I asked him if he was the pilot. “no, he was a stewardess”. so I said “well, i’m glad you’re not flying the plane then”. he laughed and was so nice to me the rest of the flight, even though he was in first class. he secretly brought me cookies. our stewardesses found out it was our anniversary and the champagne (actually sparkling wine)started flowing.

tony was there within minutes of our arrival. the whole trip was such a pleasure. every detail worked out except one. somehow my ticket wasn’t stamped pre checked for tsa as it had been for every other flight. I had to take off my shoes and take out bottles, and go through the x-ray machine. at least I didn’t have the brick in my bag.

midas was there waiting for us. but across the street. he took his time to come over and greet us. but he has since forgiven us for leaving and is back in jerry’s lap.

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well, it’s come to that day. all vacations have to end. no matter if it’s four months or nine days. we always have the next one to look forward to.

we get on the plane at 2:00 today and arrive in los angeles at 9:40 tonight. tony is picking us up at lax. I am looking forward to sleeping in our bed again. I always miss our tempur pedic when we travel. except in the coach. we have one in there.

we’ll soon be back to daily life. which has lots of pleasures too. seeing family and friends again. but,I will miss the sound of the ocean. what a wonderful sound to fall asleep to. i’ll have to start playing my wave music again.

so until the next trip, thanks for all your comments. I’ve enjoyed every one.

oh, and something else I miss,  midas. I know he’ll be on the porch waiting for us.

signing off.

aloha, jnj

it won’t be long midas

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rock or wood?

wood

well, I guess I don’t have that many useable pictures. i was planning on getting some good ones at the  gardens. there are flowers everywhere, but like I’ve said before, this is not a picture taking trip. it’s a trip where I get a good picture now and then. most are quickly taken, in whatever light there is, whatever position i can easily get into, and on whatever setting the camera is on. unless i take a look and change it. (how did i do Sharon and ted)? I’ve deleted some pictures by accident. some of our big night out at the beach house restaurant. (i even dressed up kara). we had a beautiful sunset too. we we’re even holding the AAA magazine to try and get published. damn. i mean darn. no i  mean shit!

this trip has been so much fun. we owe it all to kara. we wouldn’t have come without her help. we also got another emergency envelope from kara. those are sure nice of her to stick in our pocket at the last minute. thank you again kara. we love you.

i also want to thank pam hardin, our AAA agent. she planned everything to the last detail. she’s been to Hawaii a lot, and knew the ins and outs. thank you again pam.

i couldn’t find souvenirs. most everything is made in china or elsewhere. we don’t have much room either. in the coach we can bring back whatever we want. now we are limited to whatever space we can make in our suitcases.

on the way to the airport we can stop and get you some of this. if you let me know what flavor you want????????

how about bacon to go with those eggs

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we had planned to go to the botanical gardens yesterday, but rain prevented that. we had planned to go in the kilauea lighthouse but rain prevented that also. it rained off and on all day. (I guess that’s why the island is so green).  anyway, we ended up leisurely driving around the island enjoying the breaks in the rain. we started out having lunch at puka dog. a fast food place that our dentist recommended. yumm. mango relish tony.

hi dr. baral and staff.

then it was spouting horn.

it was low tide

there is red dirt everywhere here

even in the water

there are chickens everywhere too

even at wal mart

it’s raining heavy now

everyone was leaving

so that ended picture taking for the day. I got soaked taking these. but I did take one more from the car. it was an unusual palm in someone’s yard.

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Wednesday we went on a wonderful journey on horses. it was so much fun. i’m getting better at it now. i’m not afraid any more.

good, it doesn’t look like it will rain

we wore rain jackets just in case

I was on chex

jerry was on studmuffin

the beach where we ate lunch

uh-oh

wait for me

we should have kept our jackets on. we got soaked. it wasn’t cold, so it actually felt good. how many times do you get to play in the rain?

nowhere escapes litter anymore. even on this hidden beach where we ate lunch.

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we went to a luau on Tuesday. the food was so so, but it was very entertaining. it’s amazing how they can shake their hips. the one we went to told a story that I didn’t follow to well. so I just sat back and enjoyed the dancing. the pictures weren’t turning our well either. so I just sat back and enjoyed the dancing. but here are a few.

we took a shuttle to and from the luau. jerry liked that way better. (the drinks were included in the price). I was hoping they would have a whole pig on the table, but it was already shredded in a pan. poi is disgusting. the color and the taste. they said dip the pork in it. yuk.  the people at our table were all nice and interesting to talk to. we had the room beat with 51 years. with that many old farts, I thought there would be more.

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to get to the condo we drove through this ‘tunnel of trees’ as it is called.  the rest of the pictures need no explanation.

kaua’i is so pretty. much different than Honolulu. the roads are not marked very well though. and at night you can get lost. adding an hour to your drive. huh jerry?

hey ray, this is a 70 year old one-jill

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we went to wal mart last night to transfer our pictures. they were having trouble with all machines. but ours seemed to be ok. it went through all the steps, printed the receipt, and then we waited. and waited. finally they said it’s not going to work, come back in the morning. I wanted to do the blog last night. there was a Costco near by we could go to also. then the machine started making noises. jerry waited around a little more while I shopped. I stopped by again and it had printed the index. yeah. more shopping. the disk was 62% finished next time. yeah. I continued on. I found some beautiful material to make pillow cases. I walked by again, still stuck at 62%.. no more shopping. we have to come back today.

we’re driving around the whole island today. without stopping you can do it in 45 minutes. of course there are a lot of stops we’re going to make. and there are no roads on the napali coast so you have to turn around and start back.

Sharon, scuzza me too, but this napali is pronounced naw paw li. italy’ is nap o le. capisci?

I forgot to tell you at the Arizona memorial they now allow survivors to be buried with the ship. a diver takes the ashes down, places them inside.  you can also buy a flag that has been flown on a certain day, or buy a new flag and they will raise it while you are there, take it down and give it to you when you leave.

also here’s another bit of information, don’t ever check your bags.  while standing in line to board the plane, we watched as they loaded the bags into containers. they get dropped, thrown, pushed, pulled, stuffed, kicked, rolled and then dropped again. these poor guys have to work in the sun, on a deadline, without making mistakes.

as if Waikiki wasn’t crowded enough with every store you’ve heard of,  they are tearing down what has been an institution in Hawaii since 1956. its the ‘international market place’. original home of don the beachcomer’s. we walked through it the night we got there. (across the street) it has beautiful banyan trees, stunning orchid’s, and Hawaiian flowers everywhere. it’s like an oasis in the city. you can find just about anything you want there. (except a camera card converter) prices seemed good on jewelry and souvenirs.

the big building to the right has a macy’s.  so as not to be outdone,  saks 5th ave  is the culprit who is “developing” (wink wink) the property.  just what hawaiian’s  need, another overpriced clothing store.

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outrigger Waikiki on the beach

Saturday we left our beautiful hotel and flew to Kauai on Hawaiian airlines. (it was our 51rst anniversary). we were sitting over the wing this time.

the airport is at Hickam field.

the engine was right behind us

I love the clouds

I wonder what that thing on the wingtip does?

us landing at luhie airport in kauai

ha ha

we rented a car, a jeep wrangler, but ended up taking it back because we didn’t like it. that was on  our list of cars to buy, so we wanted to check it out. now it’s checked off. we have a ford fusion now. (not on our list).

we got to the condo, which is fabulous, and settled in. we bought some groceries at wal mart also. good old wal mart. always there when we need her. we have a full kitchen, a bedroom, a ocean view living room and a lanai (balcony) with a beautiful ocean and pool view. did I mention this week is an anniversary gift from kara? does it get any better than that? thank you, thank you, thank you, kara!  I don’t have the pictures on a cd yet. we need to go to good old wal mart again. just wait until you see them.

on jerry’s 70th birthday we took a sunset dinner cruise to the Napoli coast. somehow most of the pictures went to the internal memory. ????????? but here are a few.

the catamaran we went on

I don’t know why these are so small. I must have downloaded them wrong. I guess that’s why my fathers are so small too. I need your help again tony.

hey ray this isn’t blue, but………..

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