The Deal

I was able to get a very good deal on some computer software. I paid the bill, made the download and then the fun began. To make a long story short there has been countless hours on the computer, boring time watching the computer install the program only to spit out an error message. Calls to Microsoft and the software vendor provided little insight into the cure. I am not a person who likes to admit defeat but trying to solve the problem results in lost sleep and constant thought. Finally with the help of Google and a computer friend I was able to cure the problem and install the new software. In review if my time is worth anything then the software really wasn't such a good deal, but it would have been worse at full price. Now I'll try the install on the laptop with fingers crossed.

A bumper sticker allegedly seen on a truck in Texas. I like it.

Tourism

Kona is obviously dependent upon tourism. This morning another tour boat pulled in, that makes 4 in 5 days. They stay for the day and are gone by sunset, speaking of which here is a sample from two days ago. In the evening you can have a Mai Tai at Bongo Ben's or Lu Lu's and watch the sun go down.

More Kona

If the country is in a recession it is not affecting the Kona Brewing Company. Business was good tonight and according to the hostess tonight was typical.

I'm surprised at the amount of traffic on this island but then public transits is nonexistent. Nevertheless there is a large amount of traffic everywhere we go. Question, why have a four wheel drive? There can't be many off road areas, the lava would shred the tires and I'm sure the island has never seen chain control.

Gas prices are approaching $4 and have surely been there before. I would think more fuel efficient cars would be the norm, not so. Kona has more than it's share of big four wheel drive trucks and SUV's. I have only seen a couple Prius. I guess I expected to see a more European style of auto. Oh and we rented a small compact vehicle.

A couple additional observations, we have not seen any travel trailers or motorhomes and there are no out of state license plates.

Kona

A few thoughts on Kailua Kona, we are here for our anniversary week, 40 years today. While the weather has been pleasant we haven't seen much of the sun. That was cleared up today when a local said it is the volcano. Apparently the volcano is creating fog and cloud conditions which depending on wind direction affect Kona.

Today another tour boat is in and the waterfront area just got grayer. This is the third tour boat in four days. It livens up the waterfront street of restaurants and t-shirt shops but the clientele is mostly over 50. The waterfront area remind me of Key West and a little American Graffiti with the locals dragging the main. Yesterday evening the red dress run came through town, females and males all wearing red dresses out for a run. "And it seemed like such a good idea when we were drinking."

This island is mostly one big lava rock, some of which look like recent flows. In the north the lava fields look very old with a cover of grass or trees. As we drive down the west shore there are lava fields with a scattering of trees and then others are just black craggy landscapes. The lava provides plenty of material for walls which are everywhere. They can be very old or recently built and they come in only one color, black. A couple days ago we walked around a wall that was 15 feet thick, 10 feet high and a couple hundred feet long. Someone spent a long time building that one.

Feeling good

I just blogged about seeing Clark's Nutcracker. I also posted that comment on Facebook and received this comment from a former student: I remember my dad pointing out a Clark's nutcracker to me for the first time when we were camping in Oregon. I think the whole point of the trip that was several days and many hundreds of miles was to find a three-toed woodpecker. That's a good memory with good timing too, as today would have been his birthday. Thanks Lee!

Skiing observations

I have been skiing at Heavenly Valley the last four days with one to go. The snow has been good and the legs are trying to keep up. Part of the draw of skiing for me is being in a beautiful place and enjoying nature and the scenery. The view from the top of the mountain is breath taking, many times I will just stop in the middle of a run when I come to a particularly scenic spot, and there are plenty of scenic spots on the mountain. Wednesday Lake Tahoe was as blue as I have ever seen it. Of course I left the camera home. Today at the bottom of my favorite run two Clark's Nutcrackers greeted me from just a few feet away. I've heard them many times and keep looking for them as I ride the chairlift but this is a first time close up sighting in at least three years. Tuesday morning as I ate breakfast three coyotes walked by the house. As my friend Nick says, they own this place, they were here before we were. We are just renting from them. As I rode the first chairlift of the day there was a lone coyote track in the snow following the chair line. Last whenever I take the Canyon run I think about the bear that was in a tree a couple years ago. Of course good weather makes all this possible, when it is snowing, windy and cold, well then skiing just becomes an endurance contest.