Hello, World

 Rick vs. The Volcano Not quite the movie with Tom Hanks, but there was a battle of the elements. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is like many of the U.S. National Parks, full of splendor, impeccably maintained buildings, roads, and trails, and larger than life. They get a lot of visitors which, to be fair, would probably triple if the access to it was easy. Being 90 miles from Kailua-Kona, where most visitors to the Big Island congregate, it is a rollicking two-hour plus car ride on a mostly two-lane highway marked at 35 and 45 miles per hour most of the way. Taking a bus is not a bad option. But we didn't. We shoved off early - 6 AM. While I had expected it to be cooler, the grand plan was to pack long pants (the only pair taken on this trip) and a hoodie I wore to SeaTac airport when it was in the mid-40's. The plan was solid for the 55-65 degree day expected in the park, but execution was lacking when I realized the hoodie was still hanging in the condo closet after we left.

 Hawaii 2021 - Day 3 I'm a little behind. Cathy and I have been here on the Big Island for three days now and covered a lot of ground with walks involving beaches and volcanic rock, swam in tempting waters, ate some good food and found some really good beer.  Today started with a hike through the proverbial jungle. Hawaii, the island, is the youngest of the Hawaiian Islands and therefore, has a lot of volcanic rock with relatively young growth coming out of the rock base. It's still making new land and volcanoes spit molten lava out on the eastern side of the island. It's why it is a little thin when it comes to sandy beaches, they just haven't had time to deposit dissolved rock in the form of fine quartz. For that, you have to go to Kauai, one of the oldest islands, which is loaded with sandy beaches. This is 'Alula Beach (yes, the apostrophe is part of the name). Along with the tongue-twister National Historical Park (Kaloko-Honokohau), it contains some replicas o

 We finally escaped. After a year of dealing with all the incredible nonsense - some of it just a piece of nature and some of it from complete udder administrative malfeasance - from the Covid-19 bug that derailed our trips and gatherings, ended. We got on a plane and made it to Hawaii. Our reward is this: This is the view from our balcony for the next eleven days. Leaving Washington State just shortly after it burped a foot of snow on our home and the rainy chilly days that followed, we have come back to the Big Island, the Big Kahuna, or just plain Hawaii if you listen to the locals. Of course, Covid had its final say by requiring several hoops to jump through before and shortly after our five and a half hour plane ride. The State of Hawaii has some interesting requirements. You must have a negative Covid-19 test in hand through testing labs they approve, none of which involve the simplicity of going to a Walgreens and getting a test. Fortunately, they sanctions the UW Medicine Labs

 After reading a news account of the impact Brexit is having on food availability in the UK, part of the report mentioned how certain items will take a while to get back to normal. For now, things aren't so jolly in ol' England as food shipping has more hoops to jump through to get to the stores shelves. It will all get worked out eventually, but until then they need to make do with what they had. One recommendation was simple, disregard the food "use by" date. "You don't need to throw out the food if it is past the date on the package. Simply open the package and examine along with smelling it. Does it still smell fresh? If so, use it and don't worry about it" as one food inspector suggested. I knew it. After years of being programmed to toss unopened food based on the dates on the package, it's all a ruse to for you to toss it and buy more. The food industry, those vile scheming bastards that brought you cereal sweetened to the point they make

 What a hoot. The nation has been getting its fill of Bernie Sanders photographed at the inauguration arms folded wearing hand-made mittens with a look of near obliviousness on his face. This image has been transported and photoshopped into a variety of famous photos with ridiculous circumstances. Ha Ha Ha.  Considering the time people have on their hands given the pandemic's hold on people's activities, it's not surprising the creative juices have exploded. No good honest opportunity to promote irrelevant fun should be missed.  Fortunately, Sanders handled it with uncharacteristic mirth and turned this moment into a beneficial opportunity - not to enrich himself, but rather someone else that could use the help. The Bernie camp quickly produced sweatshirts with the photo likeness and sold them to raise money for the Vermont Meals-on-Wheels program.  While some of these photos are produced with the intent of giving Bernie a not-so-gentle jab at the personality he has become,

 Jan 11 -15 Six months ago, Cathy and I drove to Newport, OR where we intended on staying three nights before driving to Bend, OR, a drive of about two and a half hours. Newport is on the coast; Bend is inland on the lee side of the Cascades known for its sunny warm days and fantastic beer. We arrived just as an onslaught of fowl winds filled with smoke invaded Newport during the night. We woke up to a red ball sun and unhealthy air conditions. We departed and went home, which was a trick in itself as we dodged the fire ridden hills. Another 2020 delight. Despite still threatened by Covid, we traveled to the Oregon coast again. Some may consider this foolish. After all, the post Christmas surge in cases is evident and vaccinations are dragging. That said, we aren't going to beach parties and bars. Oregon is doing pretty well in containing virus spread and has a good culture of distancing and masking.  For those unfortunate enough not to experience the Oregon coast, it's hard to