Here it is, Dec 26th, a federal holiday as of last week. The weather today is very uncertain, with wild wind gusts and sudden downpours. The shopping areas are likely all crowded with bargain hunters and gift returners. So not much to do but stay at home and veg! Which in my case, includes updating this blog...
On Christmas Eve, we went to the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl. I'd bought us tickets even before we knew who was playing. Just thought it would be fun to go to a college bowl game. The matchup ended up Univ of Hawaii (7-6) vs Notre Dame (6-6), and the sportswriters ranked it the 7th most exciting potential game.
Aloha Stadium has 50,000 seats and 8500 parking spots, so we went to a designated satellite lot near us and took a bus. That worked out a lot better than I'd hoped. We got to the stadium about a half hour before kickoff, which gave me time for a bio break and Chris time to get a beer. Then we settled into our seats, which were also more comfortable that I'd hoped, and got to see the national and state anthems sung before kick-off. Of course, I sang along, to the usual furtive over-the-shoulder looks I get when I sing...
Our seats were just nine rows up from the field. If I'm being very generous, I could describe them as the 1-yard line... But we could still see pretty well. Notre Dame got two touchdowns before Hawaii got one. When it was 14-7, I still thought we were looking at a competitive game. But at half time, it was 28-7. Still, I'm an optimist. I watched Frank Reich bring back the Univ of Maryland all those years ago from that 31 point deficit. Things can happen in college ball.
They can. And they did, for Notre Dame. You can read all the details on a sports page. By the middle of the 4th quarter, it was 49-14, and we decided to see if they were loading buses for our satellite lot. Fortunately, they were, and the bus driver had the game on the radio, so we could hear Hawaii get their last touchdown and make the score 49-21. "Boy, it has really cleared out here," said the announcer, and all of us on the bus laughed at that.
OH, the half time show! No football game is complete without that. The half time show started with a nice slow hula danced to "Over the Rainbow", and then the next song had the Tahitian hip-shakin' hula dancers with male fire dancers (what's a Hawaiian event without fire dancers?). They were pushing the musician platform off the field as the players were getting into position for the second half kick off.
Still, it was fun to see a football game live. Notre Dame scored right in front of us, with a receiver catching a ball, and that was pretty neat to see so close up. We had a few sprinkles on us, but otherwise it was great to sit outside in the afternoon and enjoy the moment. We ate pretzels and popcorn and teased the Notre Dame fan sitting next to us, in his ND jersey, his blue-and-gold kukui nut necklace, and shamrock-shaped green sunglasses.
I was thinking of putting us on a whale watching boat today, but the website doesn't guarantee whales until January, so that'll be an event for next month. Besides, the winds don't look promising for spending any time on a boat... So we're just hanging out. Chris is watching the Dirty Jobs marathon on the Discovery Channel, and I'm reading a great book that Chris bought me, and may go read / nap by the pool! Hope your day after Christmas is equally enjoyable.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Sunday, December 21, 2008
The weekend before Christmas...
...means football! Somehow we missed yesterday's Ravens-Cowboys game, which is especially a shame since the Cowboys lost, which ALWAYS makes my day.
We're currently watching the Titans-Steelers game and the Titans are ahead 24-14 with 9 minutes to go, but the Steelers are capable of coming back...
Chris was complaining about the commercials and how repetitive they are. I said, "That's part of the point. Repetition. Doesn't this commercial make you want to run out and buy diamonds for me at Kay's Jewelers?"
"No," he replied, "But I do want to go buy you a Bud."
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Race Results!
First, I was afraid that the severe weather we've had lately would cause me to follow up on my evil idea from yesterday - just keep shirt and not actually do the walk... Last night shortly before going to bed for my abbreviated sleep, we were still having monsoon conditions.
But when I got up at 1:30, all was quiet outside, so I put on my walking outfit and took off for Honolulu. It was a very pleasant drive at that time of night! I successfully navigated to the point where the info sheet had said to park, near the zoo.
Except the road was blocked coming from the north. No big deal, I thought, I'll just go around the block and come in from the other side. The other side was blocked, too, so I rolled down my window and shouted questions to the policeman. "We're supposed to park there. The info sheet says so," I said, waving it about.
"I can't let you up that street. That's where the buses pick up."
"I know. That's why the info sheet says to park there."
"I don't have any information on that," says the man in the uniform. "I can't let you up there."
The marathon organizers are getting a letter, I think, as I try to figure out what to do next. Somehow I end up on this side street that has a small parking lot. The sign at the entrance doesn't seem to have any restrictions, so with some misgivings, I park the car, lock it, and walk away wondering if I'll ever see it again. I'm just a short walk from the bus pickup point, though.
It's just after 3am at this point, so there's no line for the bus either. No nice luxurious tourist buses, though, just schoolbuses. As it takes us through the streets of Waikiki, lots of people are walking towards the start line, near the Ala Moana Beach Park and the mall.
The bus drops us in the beach park, nowhere really near the start, so I walk across the grass heading towards the street. Large groups of Japanese people are being led through some stretches and exercises, but it strikes me as a bit early for that.
I already have 20 min of walk time on my pedometer, and now it's about 3:40am. Near the start is a stone wall that's just the right height for me to sit on. I'm dreading the tedium of the next hour and a half.
At this start line are several people holding tall poles with flags that say "Race Day Walk," so that's how I know I'm in the right spot. One of the officials says to those of us sitting on the wall, "Get in line, get in line."
"We're supposed to just stand in line for an hour and a half?" I ask. Well, I don't really ask. There's a strong note of challenge and skepticism in my voice.
"You need to warm up your legs anyway," he says.
"Standing doesn't warm up your legs," I replied.
"I'm just trying to make things easier for everybody," he says, implying that I'm not helping. Well, I'm not standing up for 90 minutes. Walking, no problem. Standing is much harder. But that's the end of our conversation. I pass the time by watching the people coming through our group to line further up for the marathon.
There were a few people in costume. One guy was in a Yoda outfit, complete with light saber and a Christmas hat on his Yoda head. A couple of Japanese girls had grass skirts and coconut bras over their running clothes. Most people were fairly skinny, but a few had some bellies on 'em. Many of the walkers were wearing the shirts they'd given us yesterday.
The wheelchair runners got a police motorcycle escort through the crowd, and we all applauded as they came through. Our area slowly filled up, and the guy tried to get us all to stand up again. I still didn't get the point of that.
Just before five, the opening ceremony began. Someone sang the national anthem. I sang along, the only American voice in the crowd. I didn't think anyone was paying attention, but several people turned around at the end. One Japanese lady said, "nice, nice, nice." The mayor said a few words. The Japanese translator was louder than the other speakers, so our guests heard what was said, but I couldn't make out most of it. Then they set off fireworks, which was a great way to start.
The running crowd looked to be around 31,000 people (that's the highest bib number I saw - though the paper said 23,000 were expected to actually start), and we were close to 6,000. Getting that many runners through the start line (so the chip in their shoe registers their start time) takes a while. The folks holding the flags would take us up a few feet forward at a time. Alas, we didn't merit chips, so it didn't really matter how we crossed the start line, but the officials wanted all the runners through first.
Since I was at the front of the walkers, I pretty quickly was mingling with the last of the runners. The runners are supposed to line up based on their projected finish time, so the slower ones are at the back, and some of them walk the first couple of miles, or walk the whole course.
My main thought at that time was "where are the porty potties along the route." My one comfort stop earlier in the morning had worn off. An Irish bar, bless its heart, was open very early and allowing us to use the facilities. We'll have to go back and eat there sometime...
It was very pretty walking along Honolulu's streets in the dark like that. I was glad to get the chance to see some of the Christmas displays. A lot of the Japanese were stopping to take their pictures with the various displays and formations of lights.
Since we didn't have an official timer, I was using the one on my watch. They had placed kilometer and mile markers along the route, so at 5km, I was pleased to see I'd been on the road about 55 minutes, which included my bathroom break.
But sometime between mile 3 and mile 4, my left hip started to act up, and I shortened my stride to try to make it better. No longer was I passing people, but was one of the ones being passed. I kept telling myself finishing this first one was the goal.
But after mile 4, it was down to a dull ache and I was back into a comfortable rhythm. My right knee, the one with the ruptured ligament, was fine the whole time. It rained off and on, sometimes just a refreshing sprinkle and occasionally a healthy downpour. I'd grabbed a trash bag from the house before taking off and put a hole in it for my head, and had that around my shoulders. Next time, I thought, grab the lawn/leaf size rather than the kitchen size...
Along the way, we passed a couple of water stations where they passed out cups of water. Apparently the custom at these things is to toss the cup on the ground and the volunteers sweep and shovel them up, but it went against the grain to do so! The second cup I got, I just held onto it until I saw a trash can.
Never did see those oatmeal cookies the paper mentioned...
Our walking finish line was just beyond Waikiki, so we could see the ocean for the last half mile or so. There were also people on the sidewalks shouting encouragement. Most of those were Japanese, but there were a few Americans. One lady was holding an umbrella, yelling nice things and offering high fives.
Some felt compelled to yell back, "we're just the walkers," but I figured we're participants in this event, and if she wants to holler for us, fine with me, so I high-fived her as I went by. Another women held a sign, "You're all winners today." All of those were a welcome distraction from the dull pain in my hip.
At last, I could see the finish line! I looked down at my watch and it showed a time of 1:53. I was very pleased to see that, all things considered. When I did the 10K Volksmarches in Germany, seemed like those took 2-2.5 hrs, but we were usually going up and down on uneven terrain, and this had been a flat walk on asphalt. I figure it was more like 1:55 when I finally crossed it. There were lots of photographers there and I tried to give my best finisher smile. I suspect I'll get word there's a website where I can look up my number and buy my picture...
We did actually get a certificate for finishing, and a palmetto-shaped plastic fan. I believe the marathoners get a cert with their name and time, but ours just said, "Finisher." I stood in line for the restroom first and wandered around the park looking at the tents. Most were set up by Japanese companies or clubs, and there were also tents for the marathon finishers, and places to get their "finisher" shirts. I tried to get close to their finish line to cheer on the ones coming in, but it was blocked off. I could see a couple of finishers at the showers just beyond the finish line, and we cheered for them. They were still on their feet, but looked pretty tired.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that I still had some energy left, which was good since I was going to need it to get to the car and then drive home! I stopped at a little store for a Coke Zero. No more of that water stuff for me! It tasted great.
Other results - the overall and men's winner (from Kenya) finished at 2:14:35. The women's top finisher (Japanese) was 2:32:36. One of the more impressive finishes for me was in the women's 80-84 age division. The winner finished in 4:49:45. And she's 81. She was 1,387 overall.
And Gladys - did she break the record?
Well, it doesn't look like it. According to the race results, she hasn't finished yet, and it's over 9 hrs, 20 minutes. But I hope she finishes and comes back next year...
But when I got up at 1:30, all was quiet outside, so I put on my walking outfit and took off for Honolulu. It was a very pleasant drive at that time of night! I successfully navigated to the point where the info sheet had said to park, near the zoo.
Except the road was blocked coming from the north. No big deal, I thought, I'll just go around the block and come in from the other side. The other side was blocked, too, so I rolled down my window and shouted questions to the policeman. "We're supposed to park there. The info sheet says so," I said, waving it about.
"I can't let you up that street. That's where the buses pick up."
"I know. That's why the info sheet says to park there."
"I don't have any information on that," says the man in the uniform. "I can't let you up there."
The marathon organizers are getting a letter, I think, as I try to figure out what to do next. Somehow I end up on this side street that has a small parking lot. The sign at the entrance doesn't seem to have any restrictions, so with some misgivings, I park the car, lock it, and walk away wondering if I'll ever see it again. I'm just a short walk from the bus pickup point, though.
It's just after 3am at this point, so there's no line for the bus either. No nice luxurious tourist buses, though, just schoolbuses. As it takes us through the streets of Waikiki, lots of people are walking towards the start line, near the Ala Moana Beach Park and the mall.
The bus drops us in the beach park, nowhere really near the start, so I walk across the grass heading towards the street. Large groups of Japanese people are being led through some stretches and exercises, but it strikes me as a bit early for that.
I already have 20 min of walk time on my pedometer, and now it's about 3:40am. Near the start is a stone wall that's just the right height for me to sit on. I'm dreading the tedium of the next hour and a half.
At this start line are several people holding tall poles with flags that say "Race Day Walk," so that's how I know I'm in the right spot. One of the officials says to those of us sitting on the wall, "Get in line, get in line."
"We're supposed to just stand in line for an hour and a half?" I ask. Well, I don't really ask. There's a strong note of challenge and skepticism in my voice.
"You need to warm up your legs anyway," he says.
"Standing doesn't warm up your legs," I replied.
"I'm just trying to make things easier for everybody," he says, implying that I'm not helping. Well, I'm not standing up for 90 minutes. Walking, no problem. Standing is much harder. But that's the end of our conversation. I pass the time by watching the people coming through our group to line further up for the marathon.
There were a few people in costume. One guy was in a Yoda outfit, complete with light saber and a Christmas hat on his Yoda head. A couple of Japanese girls had grass skirts and coconut bras over their running clothes. Most people were fairly skinny, but a few had some bellies on 'em. Many of the walkers were wearing the shirts they'd given us yesterday.
The wheelchair runners got a police motorcycle escort through the crowd, and we all applauded as they came through. Our area slowly filled up, and the guy tried to get us all to stand up again. I still didn't get the point of that.
Just before five, the opening ceremony began. Someone sang the national anthem. I sang along, the only American voice in the crowd. I didn't think anyone was paying attention, but several people turned around at the end. One Japanese lady said, "nice, nice, nice." The mayor said a few words. The Japanese translator was louder than the other speakers, so our guests heard what was said, but I couldn't make out most of it. Then they set off fireworks, which was a great way to start.
The running crowd looked to be around 31,000 people (that's the highest bib number I saw - though the paper said 23,000 were expected to actually start), and we were close to 6,000. Getting that many runners through the start line (so the chip in their shoe registers their start time) takes a while. The folks holding the flags would take us up a few feet forward at a time. Alas, we didn't merit chips, so it didn't really matter how we crossed the start line, but the officials wanted all the runners through first.
Since I was at the front of the walkers, I pretty quickly was mingling with the last of the runners. The runners are supposed to line up based on their projected finish time, so the slower ones are at the back, and some of them walk the first couple of miles, or walk the whole course.
My main thought at that time was "where are the porty potties along the route." My one comfort stop earlier in the morning had worn off. An Irish bar, bless its heart, was open very early and allowing us to use the facilities. We'll have to go back and eat there sometime...
It was very pretty walking along Honolulu's streets in the dark like that. I was glad to get the chance to see some of the Christmas displays. A lot of the Japanese were stopping to take their pictures with the various displays and formations of lights.
Since we didn't have an official timer, I was using the one on my watch. They had placed kilometer and mile markers along the route, so at 5km, I was pleased to see I'd been on the road about 55 minutes, which included my bathroom break.
But sometime between mile 3 and mile 4, my left hip started to act up, and I shortened my stride to try to make it better. No longer was I passing people, but was one of the ones being passed. I kept telling myself finishing this first one was the goal.
But after mile 4, it was down to a dull ache and I was back into a comfortable rhythm. My right knee, the one with the ruptured ligament, was fine the whole time. It rained off and on, sometimes just a refreshing sprinkle and occasionally a healthy downpour. I'd grabbed a trash bag from the house before taking off and put a hole in it for my head, and had that around my shoulders. Next time, I thought, grab the lawn/leaf size rather than the kitchen size...
Along the way, we passed a couple of water stations where they passed out cups of water. Apparently the custom at these things is to toss the cup on the ground and the volunteers sweep and shovel them up, but it went against the grain to do so! The second cup I got, I just held onto it until I saw a trash can.
Never did see those oatmeal cookies the paper mentioned...
Our walking finish line was just beyond Waikiki, so we could see the ocean for the last half mile or so. There were also people on the sidewalks shouting encouragement. Most of those were Japanese, but there were a few Americans. One lady was holding an umbrella, yelling nice things and offering high fives.
Some felt compelled to yell back, "we're just the walkers," but I figured we're participants in this event, and if she wants to holler for us, fine with me, so I high-fived her as I went by. Another women held a sign, "You're all winners today." All of those were a welcome distraction from the dull pain in my hip.
At last, I could see the finish line! I looked down at my watch and it showed a time of 1:53. I was very pleased to see that, all things considered. When I did the 10K Volksmarches in Germany, seemed like those took 2-2.5 hrs, but we were usually going up and down on uneven terrain, and this had been a flat walk on asphalt. I figure it was more like 1:55 when I finally crossed it. There were lots of photographers there and I tried to give my best finisher smile. I suspect I'll get word there's a website where I can look up my number and buy my picture...
We did actually get a certificate for finishing, and a palmetto-shaped plastic fan. I believe the marathoners get a cert with their name and time, but ours just said, "Finisher." I stood in line for the restroom first and wandered around the park looking at the tents. Most were set up by Japanese companies or clubs, and there were also tents for the marathon finishers, and places to get their "finisher" shirts. I tried to get close to their finish line to cheer on the ones coming in, but it was blocked off. I could see a couple of finishers at the showers just beyond the finish line, and we cheered for them. They were still on their feet, but looked pretty tired.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that I still had some energy left, which was good since I was going to need it to get to the car and then drive home! I stopped at a little store for a Coke Zero. No more of that water stuff for me! It tasted great.
Other results - the overall and men's winner (from Kenya) finished at 2:14:35. The women's top finisher (Japanese) was 2:32:36. One of the more impressive finishes for me was in the women's 80-84 age division. The winner finished in 4:49:45. And she's 81. She was 1,387 overall.
And Gladys - did she break the record?
Well, it doesn't look like it. According to the race results, she hasn't finished yet, and it's over 9 hrs, 20 minutes. But I hope she finishes and comes back next year...
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Meet Gladys, my idol..
Tomorrow is the Honolulu Marathon and the 10K race walk. I'm just doing the race walk, but Gladys Burrill is the 90-year-old who inspired me to do that much. Yesterday's local paper had more info on her.
She started doing them just 5 years ago. Now that she's hit 90, she's in a new age bracket and thinks she can beat the record for a 90-year-old woman in a marathon, set in Portland in 1997 at 8:53:08. Her personal best is 8:36, so she definitely has a shot at it. She lives in Oregon most of the year, but has been here training for about 6 weeks, and recently did 20 miles in 6 hours. Her grandson and his wife will do the race with her.
She and her family both mentioned that people try to get their pictures taken with her, which slows her down, so part of her family's job is to try to keep the people away until she finishes. Especially since this could be her record breaking year! The sad part is that her 89-year-old husband passed away just Wednesday night back in Oregon, so she won't get to share the moment with him.
The logistics for the race are a bit daunting for me. The marathoners start off at 4:55, and we walkers at 5:25 (yes, that's in the AM...). Buses run from the parking to the start line between 2-4am. 60-70% of the entrants are from Japan, so hopefully most of them will be staying in hotels near the start and won't be clogging up my parking. I plan to leave home at 2am (oh, it hurts to even put that in writing), which should get me there between 2:30-3:00. (They strongly recommend not to count on catching that last 4am bus...)
So once I'm at the start, I have no clue what there will be to do until 5:25am, except perhaps stand in line for a porta-potty. There will be fireworks before the start, and it will probably be exciting to see the marathoners take off. About 25,000 - 28,000 people will run the race, and there will be about 2,000 of us walkers. Some of the publicity says it's the third largest US marathon. I checked the Marine Corps Marathon, and they say they stop at 30,000 entrants. The NYC Marathon says it had 38,000 last year. Boston had 22,000. So I guess the publicity might even be accurate...
I enjoyed watching the London marathon the last couple of years when we lived in Yorkshire. The non-elite runners often run in costume there. One guy had on a Pink Panther suit, which was probably fine the first mile, but after that, it had to be miserable wearing that thing... People ran in fairy costumes with wings, and some in very little at all (and it's chilly in London for their run...)
Yesterday I went to the expo at the convention center to pick up my souvenir shirt and bib number. I already have that pinned to the shirt I'm wearing tomorrow. (No Pink Panther costume for me - t-shirt and shorts.) I want to have as little as possible to do when I roll out of bed at 1am or so...
I also picked up some other items in a "goody" bag, which was definitely oriented towards the Japanese visitors. Most of the items were primarily written in Japanese with tiny English subtitles, and were mostly offers for tourist attractions I've already seen.
At the finish, they start a concert at 8:45 or so. The elite runners will start finishing around 7am. The wheelchairs usually come in first, then the men around 2:11-2:18, and then the women around 2:25. I expect to finish around 8am (our finish line is the same - we basically do about the first 6 miles of the course). I just hope, since we'll be after the runners, that they leave some water and oatmeal cookies for us along the way.......
The overall winners get some money, and there's also prize money for people born in Hawaii but living elsewhere, and people currently living in Hawaii but born elsewhere and people born and currently living here... And the top 3 in each age category get something, though I don't think it's cash. And every finisher gets a T-shirt and certificate. The awards ceremony starts at 1pm, but I doubt I'll hang around that long. I'm sure I'll be ready for a nap.
And we walkers, well, I guess the shirt I already picked up is it! So I could just stay in bed tomorrow and wear my shirt later. tee hee
But I doubt I'll do that, so stay tuned for a full report tomorrow!
She started doing them just 5 years ago. Now that she's hit 90, she's in a new age bracket and thinks she can beat the record for a 90-year-old woman in a marathon, set in Portland in 1997 at 8:53:08. Her personal best is 8:36, so she definitely has a shot at it. She lives in Oregon most of the year, but has been here training for about 6 weeks, and recently did 20 miles in 6 hours. Her grandson and his wife will do the race with her.
She and her family both mentioned that people try to get their pictures taken with her, which slows her down, so part of her family's job is to try to keep the people away until she finishes. Especially since this could be her record breaking year! The sad part is that her 89-year-old husband passed away just Wednesday night back in Oregon, so she won't get to share the moment with him.
The logistics for the race are a bit daunting for me. The marathoners start off at 4:55, and we walkers at 5:25 (yes, that's in the AM...). Buses run from the parking to the start line between 2-4am. 60-70% of the entrants are from Japan, so hopefully most of them will be staying in hotels near the start and won't be clogging up my parking. I plan to leave home at 2am (oh, it hurts to even put that in writing), which should get me there between 2:30-3:00. (They strongly recommend not to count on catching that last 4am bus...)
So once I'm at the start, I have no clue what there will be to do until 5:25am, except perhaps stand in line for a porta-potty. There will be fireworks before the start, and it will probably be exciting to see the marathoners take off. About 25,000 - 28,000 people will run the race, and there will be about 2,000 of us walkers. Some of the publicity says it's the third largest US marathon. I checked the Marine Corps Marathon, and they say they stop at 30,000 entrants. The NYC Marathon says it had 38,000 last year. Boston had 22,000. So I guess the publicity might even be accurate...
I enjoyed watching the London marathon the last couple of years when we lived in Yorkshire. The non-elite runners often run in costume there. One guy had on a Pink Panther suit, which was probably fine the first mile, but after that, it had to be miserable wearing that thing... People ran in fairy costumes with wings, and some in very little at all (and it's chilly in London for their run...)
Yesterday I went to the expo at the convention center to pick up my souvenir shirt and bib number. I already have that pinned to the shirt I'm wearing tomorrow. (No Pink Panther costume for me - t-shirt and shorts.) I want to have as little as possible to do when I roll out of bed at 1am or so...
I also picked up some other items in a "goody" bag, which was definitely oriented towards the Japanese visitors. Most of the items were primarily written in Japanese with tiny English subtitles, and were mostly offers for tourist attractions I've already seen.
At the finish, they start a concert at 8:45 or so. The elite runners will start finishing around 7am. The wheelchairs usually come in first, then the men around 2:11-2:18, and then the women around 2:25. I expect to finish around 8am (our finish line is the same - we basically do about the first 6 miles of the course). I just hope, since we'll be after the runners, that they leave some water and oatmeal cookies for us along the way.......
The overall winners get some money, and there's also prize money for people born in Hawaii but living elsewhere, and people currently living in Hawaii but born elsewhere and people born and currently living here... And the top 3 in each age category get something, though I don't think it's cash. And every finisher gets a T-shirt and certificate. The awards ceremony starts at 1pm, but I doubt I'll hang around that long. I'm sure I'll be ready for a nap.
And we walkers, well, I guess the shirt I already picked up is it! So I could just stay in bed tomorrow and wear my shirt later. tee hee
But I doubt I'll do that, so stay tuned for a full report tomorrow!
Thursday, December 11, 2008
RAIN
Seems like it's the day for bad weather all the way around. Tonight's news had articles on east coast storms and even snow in New Orleans!
But it was our day, too, even if we didn't make the national news. Last night as we went to bed, a hard, steady rain was falling. When I got up, it was still falling. First thing I did was check the pool, curious if it had rained enough to fill it to the top - yep, sure had. No other rain we've had has made much of an impact. I had some breakfast and did a little to my hair and face and checked the pool and backyard again.
Now, not only was the pool to the brim, but the entire backyard area was under a thin layer of water, which had not been the case just a few minutes before. I got my lunch together and checked the backyard again. More water. I opened our patio doors and looked down. Another inch to go before it would be at the bottom of those doors.
I thought through my calendar and remembered an 0800 that I'd been trying to get set up since late October. Hating to miss that, I left Chris a note and headed out to work.
This is the first time in my adult life that I've had covered parking between door and car, and boy was I grateful for that. Still, the amount of rain on the street was just scary.
The closest way to work that I normally take had a couple of big dips in the roadway that I was certain would be ponds by now, so I took the long way in. The second major left turn I have to make was without its traffic light, but people were being lovely, treating it like a three-way stop and everyone taking turns. They're like that here, most of the time.
I was on the last section of road to work and got completely stopped in traffic, so I picked up my voicemails. The doctor scheduled an appointment for me with a specialist at a time I can't make it. Okey dokey, gotta change that. My new eyeglasses are ready -yippee! The pair I have is literally falling apart.
Two voicemails from work - the second one saying we're closed for the day and not to come in. At the first opportunity, I turn around, but while stuck in traffic, try to call Chris and leave him a message.
On the way home, the road I normally take is flooded, so I head back the long way via the interstate. At one turn, as I'm making a right, it feels like the car won't stop, just like I'm driving on ice. But no, just water, a lot of water.
When I get home, Chris is gone and I see his phone sitting on the kitchen counter getting recharged. Guess he won't be getting my message... The rain has started to let up and the water in the backyard has largely receded, though the pool is still to the very top.
When he does get home, he starts working on pumping out part of the pool, bless his heart. I call the people for the virtual 0800 meeting and let them know why I can't make it... I end up going out to an additional facility we have and viewing the damage there. Then I come home, make some more phone calls, finish my Pearl Harbor book, and take a nap!
I also check the local web sites and follow all the weather drama. Various parts of the island are experiencing severe flooding. Five shelters have opened up for people to go to. About 40 schools have closed. Numerous roads are closed due to flooding and mudslides. About 13,000 people are without power. The state Department of Transportation is asking people not to drive - stay put at home or work.
This is not the tropical weather anyone tells you about...
The news stations also report that the area where we live got between 9 and 11 inches of rain overall last night, at times 3 inches an hour were coming down. We're supposed to get more rain in the next 24 hours, with a flash flood watch still in effect until 4:15pm Friday afternoon.
It's still supposed to be rainy and showery for Sunday, the day of my big 10K moment. But I won't mind walking in a few showers. But the stuff we had today - if it's like this, I'll be here at home...
I understand that the island gets a day like this every year or two. We can expect downpours of 3-4 inches an hour every 22-31 years. So at least we shouldn't have 2-3 more months of this!
Looks like work will be on tomorrow though. Good thing I got that nap in - I can be up early and rarin' to go...
But it was our day, too, even if we didn't make the national news. Last night as we went to bed, a hard, steady rain was falling. When I got up, it was still falling. First thing I did was check the pool, curious if it had rained enough to fill it to the top - yep, sure had. No other rain we've had has made much of an impact. I had some breakfast and did a little to my hair and face and checked the pool and backyard again.
Now, not only was the pool to the brim, but the entire backyard area was under a thin layer of water, which had not been the case just a few minutes before. I got my lunch together and checked the backyard again. More water. I opened our patio doors and looked down. Another inch to go before it would be at the bottom of those doors.
I thought through my calendar and remembered an 0800 that I'd been trying to get set up since late October. Hating to miss that, I left Chris a note and headed out to work.
This is the first time in my adult life that I've had covered parking between door and car, and boy was I grateful for that. Still, the amount of rain on the street was just scary.
The closest way to work that I normally take had a couple of big dips in the roadway that I was certain would be ponds by now, so I took the long way in. The second major left turn I have to make was without its traffic light, but people were being lovely, treating it like a three-way stop and everyone taking turns. They're like that here, most of the time.
I was on the last section of road to work and got completely stopped in traffic, so I picked up my voicemails. The doctor scheduled an appointment for me with a specialist at a time I can't make it. Okey dokey, gotta change that. My new eyeglasses are ready -yippee! The pair I have is literally falling apart.
Two voicemails from work - the second one saying we're closed for the day and not to come in. At the first opportunity, I turn around, but while stuck in traffic, try to call Chris and leave him a message.
On the way home, the road I normally take is flooded, so I head back the long way via the interstate. At one turn, as I'm making a right, it feels like the car won't stop, just like I'm driving on ice. But no, just water, a lot of water.
When I get home, Chris is gone and I see his phone sitting on the kitchen counter getting recharged. Guess he won't be getting my message... The rain has started to let up and the water in the backyard has largely receded, though the pool is still to the very top.
When he does get home, he starts working on pumping out part of the pool, bless his heart. I call the people for the virtual 0800 meeting and let them know why I can't make it... I end up going out to an additional facility we have and viewing the damage there. Then I come home, make some more phone calls, finish my Pearl Harbor book, and take a nap!
I also check the local web sites and follow all the weather drama. Various parts of the island are experiencing severe flooding. Five shelters have opened up for people to go to. About 40 schools have closed. Numerous roads are closed due to flooding and mudslides. About 13,000 people are without power. The state Department of Transportation is asking people not to drive - stay put at home or work.
This is not the tropical weather anyone tells you about...
The news stations also report that the area where we live got between 9 and 11 inches of rain overall last night, at times 3 inches an hour were coming down. We're supposed to get more rain in the next 24 hours, with a flash flood watch still in effect until 4:15pm Friday afternoon.
It's still supposed to be rainy and showery for Sunday, the day of my big 10K moment. But I won't mind walking in a few showers. But the stuff we had today - if it's like this, I'll be here at home...
I understand that the island gets a day like this every year or two. We can expect downpours of 3-4 inches an hour every 22-31 years. So at least we shouldn't have 2-3 more months of this!
Looks like work will be on tomorrow though. Good thing I got that nap in - I can be up early and rarin' to go...
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Pearl Harbor Day
I picked up a Friday paper on impulse, and in leafing through it, saw a page about the Pearl Harbor Commemoration today. How perfect, I thought. December 7th on a Sunday! The early hour was a bit daunting. Members of the general public would go by boat to the pier on the Pearl Harbor base, between 6:20 and 7:00am, to have us seated by the 7:30 start. They hold it then since the attack began at 7:55am.
I almost wimped out. I decided to just see if I woke up at 5:30. I woke up at 5:35, so I put on clothes and headed there. I knew from two prior visits to the Pearl Harbor historic sites that no purse would be allowed, so wore my zip off cargo pants and stuff the pockets with money, keys, cell phone, breakfast bar, and my iPod for entertainment. Only 2000 seats were available for the public, so my hopes were dim as I got in the car at 6:00am sharp.
But to my surprise, I didn't even have to park in the overflow lot. I made it in time for boat 4. They gave us these large tickets, abt 8.5x3, that we had to wear. Mine was orange.
I sat and watched a movie I'd downloaded for a few minutes before the start. It had been dark when I left, and dawn was just coming up while I sat there. The clouds were faintly pink. We had a roof, but three sides of the structure were open to the water, and the Arizona memorial was across the water near a small island.
The event began with a Hawaiian blessing, which involved 4 men wearing traditional island clothes blowing conch shells, and then a traditional chanted blessing in Hawaiian.
Next, the USS Chung-Hoon came by in a Pass-in-Review. All the sailors were in their white uniforms standing at attention all around the edge of the deck. One of the Pearl Harbor survivors was brought to the center to give the salute and they all saluted back. This was done as part of the Moment of Silence. It was very moving. I'm getting misty-eyed as I write about it, seeing the gray ship with the white uniforms slowly and respectfully come by, saluting the old gentleman in his Hawaiian shirt.
The ship is named after Rear Admiral Chung-Hoon, a Hawaii native who attended the Naval Academy and was here on the day of the attack.
Then there was an F-14 flyover by the Hawaiian National Guard, in the Missing Man formation. Those planes were loud! It made me wonder how loud it must have been when all those Japanese planes appeared 67 years ago. Next came the presentation of the colors (flags for you non-military types).
A representative from the Japan Religious Committee for World Federation said a prayer for peace, something this group has been doing for the past 27 years.
Then started the speeches. First, Sen Inouye from Hawaii. Then the Lt Governor of Hawaii. Then the Commander of the Pacific Fleet, Admiral Willard. And next, a historian from the National Park Service who seemed to get genuinely choked up as he introduced the featured speaker, one of the nine remaining crew members from the Doolittle Raid.
That was the main thing that got me out of bed, I think. How many opportunities are there going to be to hear a Doolittle Raider speak? This gentleman was the navigator on the 9th bomber (the Whirling Dervish) to take off that night in April, 1942. There were 80 men who manned the 16 planes; now there are just nine left.
His talk was short and a bit funny. He said they were stationed on the Oregon coast on the day of the attack, and for six weeks afterward, they flew up and down the west coast, expecting more Japanese ships. One time they opened their bomb doors because they thought they'd spotted a submarine, but a sharp-eyed crew member yelled that it was just a whale, so they saved the whale and closed the doors. He was one of two men who were sent to Washington to assemble all the maps the team would need.
As some of you may know, they were spotted 250 miles closer than they'd hoped to be, so they took off from there. After hitting their Tokyo targets, they barely had enough fuel to make China, but a storm gave them a tailwind that got them there. The Chinese helped them, but at great cost. (Wikipedia estimates the Japanese killed 250,000 Chinese in their efforts to find Doolittle's men. )
The write-up in the program also mentioned that this gentleman, Major Tom Griffin, went on to fly missions in Europe, was shot down, and played a role in "The Great Escape."
After Major Griffin (who got a standing ovation for both his beginning and his end), they presented wreaths for each of the ships damaged that day. Thin metal stands lined the long side of the open pier with a life preserver ring and the name of each ship. First came the representatives from the Army, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard, and Air Force.
Then a Pearl Harbor survivor came, flanked by a National Park ranger and a young serviceperson, to lay a wreath by each ship. They tried to match each ship with a survivor, but some ships didn't have crew members remaining who could travel any more. So for those, someone from shore or another ship stood in for them. A couple of them had chairs to sit in, but the others stood through the entire wreath laying.
First, a Navy spokesman read some words about the ship. Then a National Park Ranger read some words about the individual and what he was doing that day. Again, some of these remarks were a little funny. One person tried to go back to sleep after he heard the first set of bombs, but the second round "got his attention." Some of the ships lost just a handful of their crew, four or five. The Oklahoma and the Arizona received the most damage, with the Arizona sinking in 9 minutes, losing 1,177 members of her crew. The Oklahoma sunk more slowly and lost over 429 crew members.
After the wreaths, a Navy Chaplain gave a brief benediction, and then the Marine Corps gave a rifle salute. The last thing was the playing of "Taps." They used two trumpets, one echoing the other. I'd never heard it like that before. My eyes spilled over a bit then.
The survivors and dignitaries were taken by boat over to the Arizona Memorial. Those of us great unwashed wearing our big tickets had to wait about 20 minutes for boats to take us back to the visitor center. I bought a book and came on home.
I've been kind of sad and pensive ever since. What a terrible day that must have been. But I'm glad I got out of bed. For this amateur historian, this was an event worth losing a little sleep for.
I almost wimped out. I decided to just see if I woke up at 5:30. I woke up at 5:35, so I put on clothes and headed there. I knew from two prior visits to the Pearl Harbor historic sites that no purse would be allowed, so wore my zip off cargo pants and stuff the pockets with money, keys, cell phone, breakfast bar, and my iPod for entertainment. Only 2000 seats were available for the public, so my hopes were dim as I got in the car at 6:00am sharp.
But to my surprise, I didn't even have to park in the overflow lot. I made it in time for boat 4. They gave us these large tickets, abt 8.5x3, that we had to wear. Mine was orange.
I sat and watched a movie I'd downloaded for a few minutes before the start. It had been dark when I left, and dawn was just coming up while I sat there. The clouds were faintly pink. We had a roof, but three sides of the structure were open to the water, and the Arizona memorial was across the water near a small island.
The event began with a Hawaiian blessing, which involved 4 men wearing traditional island clothes blowing conch shells, and then a traditional chanted blessing in Hawaiian.
Next, the USS Chung-Hoon came by in a Pass-in-Review. All the sailors were in their white uniforms standing at attention all around the edge of the deck. One of the Pearl Harbor survivors was brought to the center to give the salute and they all saluted back. This was done as part of the Moment of Silence. It was very moving. I'm getting misty-eyed as I write about it, seeing the gray ship with the white uniforms slowly and respectfully come by, saluting the old gentleman in his Hawaiian shirt.
The ship is named after Rear Admiral Chung-Hoon, a Hawaii native who attended the Naval Academy and was here on the day of the attack.
Then there was an F-14 flyover by the Hawaiian National Guard, in the Missing Man formation. Those planes were loud! It made me wonder how loud it must have been when all those Japanese planes appeared 67 years ago. Next came the presentation of the colors (flags for you non-military types).
A representative from the Japan Religious Committee for World Federation said a prayer for peace, something this group has been doing for the past 27 years.
Then started the speeches. First, Sen Inouye from Hawaii. Then the Lt Governor of Hawaii. Then the Commander of the Pacific Fleet, Admiral Willard. And next, a historian from the National Park Service who seemed to get genuinely choked up as he introduced the featured speaker, one of the nine remaining crew members from the Doolittle Raid.
That was the main thing that got me out of bed, I think. How many opportunities are there going to be to hear a Doolittle Raider speak? This gentleman was the navigator on the 9th bomber (the Whirling Dervish) to take off that night in April, 1942. There were 80 men who manned the 16 planes; now there are just nine left.
His talk was short and a bit funny. He said they were stationed on the Oregon coast on the day of the attack, and for six weeks afterward, they flew up and down the west coast, expecting more Japanese ships. One time they opened their bomb doors because they thought they'd spotted a submarine, but a sharp-eyed crew member yelled that it was just a whale, so they saved the whale and closed the doors. He was one of two men who were sent to Washington to assemble all the maps the team would need.
As some of you may know, they were spotted 250 miles closer than they'd hoped to be, so they took off from there. After hitting their Tokyo targets, they barely had enough fuel to make China, but a storm gave them a tailwind that got them there. The Chinese helped them, but at great cost. (Wikipedia estimates the Japanese killed 250,000 Chinese in their efforts to find Doolittle's men. )
The write-up in the program also mentioned that this gentleman, Major Tom Griffin, went on to fly missions in Europe, was shot down, and played a role in "The Great Escape."
After Major Griffin (who got a standing ovation for both his beginning and his end), they presented wreaths for each of the ships damaged that day. Thin metal stands lined the long side of the open pier with a life preserver ring and the name of each ship. First came the representatives from the Army, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard, and Air Force.
Then a Pearl Harbor survivor came, flanked by a National Park ranger and a young serviceperson, to lay a wreath by each ship. They tried to match each ship with a survivor, but some ships didn't have crew members remaining who could travel any more. So for those, someone from shore or another ship stood in for them. A couple of them had chairs to sit in, but the others stood through the entire wreath laying.
First, a Navy spokesman read some words about the ship. Then a National Park Ranger read some words about the individual and what he was doing that day. Again, some of these remarks were a little funny. One person tried to go back to sleep after he heard the first set of bombs, but the second round "got his attention." Some of the ships lost just a handful of their crew, four or five. The Oklahoma and the Arizona received the most damage, with the Arizona sinking in 9 minutes, losing 1,177 members of her crew. The Oklahoma sunk more slowly and lost over 429 crew members.
After the wreaths, a Navy Chaplain gave a brief benediction, and then the Marine Corps gave a rifle salute. The last thing was the playing of "Taps." They used two trumpets, one echoing the other. I'd never heard it like that before. My eyes spilled over a bit then.
The survivors and dignitaries were taken by boat over to the Arizona Memorial. Those of us great unwashed wearing our big tickets had to wait about 20 minutes for boats to take us back to the visitor center. I bought a book and came on home.
I've been kind of sad and pensive ever since. What a terrible day that must have been. But I'm glad I got out of bed. For this amateur historian, this was an event worth losing a little sleep for.
Friday, December 5, 2008
A day off
Friday was a day off, another day of use-or-lose vacation time. I had a routine doctor appointment to review routine new patient blood tests and am happy to report I am a picture of health with cholesterol of 171 and other similar numbers. I don't understand the entire list of items on the results sheet, but I was pretty much smack in the middle of most of 'em.
Of course, the doctor was an hour late, but that seems to be the norm around here. Funny how I never had to wait that long in the three other countries we've lived...
Since it was a day off, I hated to spend the whole thing on chores, so after lunch, I headed up towards the North Shore again to see the big waves those beaches get this time of year. On the way there, I saw a sign for "Wahiawa Botanical Gardens," so impulsively made a right turn.
I was glad I had! These gardens were really nice, well laid-out, nice walking paths, and I explored part of them, enough to know it would be a nice spot to return to. There were mostly a lot of large green plants with a few informational signs, including that there was only one species of palm native to Hawaii, and no, it's not the coconut. I will have to return sometime and explore it more detail.
Then I kept heading up the Kamehameha Highway. I almost stopped at the Dole Pineapple Plantation to search for possible souvenirs, but the parking lot was too crowded, so just kept heading towards the beaches.
You climb for a few minutes with fairly flat land on either side of the highway, and then you start to descend and you can see mountains on your left with the ocean straight ahead. The sky near the horizon was a pale baby blue, increasing in gradient until it was a bright royal blue overhead. Fluffy white clouds completed the picture. It's a view that makes you want to sing Bali Hai.
I took a right on the bypass that circumvents Haleiwa (historic North Shore town) and kept heading east. The infrastructure up there is pretty minimal, and not many of the beaches have much in the way of parking lots. When I saw an empty spot of dirt, I pulled in, and walked along one beach. There were a lot of waves, but they didn't look like 20, 25 or 30 footers to me. Maybe 10. Dramatic, beautiful, soothing, but not huge.
Next place I found a parking lot was Pupukea Beach Park. There was even a red light to help you get in and out! I walked along that beach for a bit, feeling sand in my toes, and sat down on some volcanic rocks and just watched more waves rise, curl, crash and start all over again.
I drove next past Sunset Beach, where they'd just completed a surfing competition, and were in the process of removing stuff. What exactly, I couldn't tell, but looked like it might have been some kind of temporary bleachers. As famous as Sunset Beach is, that was one place I expected to see a significant parking lot, but no.
I drove past that a bit, stopped one more time, and then headed back. Walking in the sand gave me plenty of time to philosophize on disappearing footprints and so on. But mostly it was just a great time to relax, enjoy the ocean smell and the sound of the waves. Not think too much.
At this point, I was ready for a snack, but no luck. No entrepreneurs selling hot dogs. One stand had tropical fruit, but I wanted something bad for me. My cholesterol could take it.
I pulled in one more place, at the Waimea Beach Park, which has a parking lot and bathrooms, AND they had a stand selling chips and cookies! My kind of place. But no empty spots, so I was saved from myself and kept driving home.
A little after 3pm, I was home again, and went out to sit and read by the pool. We've had a lot of nice days since that beautiful Thanksgiving Day, and it's been a welcome relief from six weeks of mostly cloud and rain in Oct/Nov. We'll have plenty of both in the next couple of months, so I'm treasuring these moments of fluffy cloud and blue sky.
Of course, the doctor was an hour late, but that seems to be the norm around here. Funny how I never had to wait that long in the three other countries we've lived...
Since it was a day off, I hated to spend the whole thing on chores, so after lunch, I headed up towards the North Shore again to see the big waves those beaches get this time of year. On the way there, I saw a sign for "Wahiawa Botanical Gardens," so impulsively made a right turn.
I was glad I had! These gardens were really nice, well laid-out, nice walking paths, and I explored part of them, enough to know it would be a nice spot to return to. There were mostly a lot of large green plants with a few informational signs, including that there was only one species of palm native to Hawaii, and no, it's not the coconut. I will have to return sometime and explore it more detail.
Then I kept heading up the Kamehameha Highway. I almost stopped at the Dole Pineapple Plantation to search for possible souvenirs, but the parking lot was too crowded, so just kept heading towards the beaches.
You climb for a few minutes with fairly flat land on either side of the highway, and then you start to descend and you can see mountains on your left with the ocean straight ahead. The sky near the horizon was a pale baby blue, increasing in gradient until it was a bright royal blue overhead. Fluffy white clouds completed the picture. It's a view that makes you want to sing Bali Hai.
I took a right on the bypass that circumvents Haleiwa (historic North Shore town) and kept heading east. The infrastructure up there is pretty minimal, and not many of the beaches have much in the way of parking lots. When I saw an empty spot of dirt, I pulled in, and walked along one beach. There were a lot of waves, but they didn't look like 20, 25 or 30 footers to me. Maybe 10. Dramatic, beautiful, soothing, but not huge.
Next place I found a parking lot was Pupukea Beach Park. There was even a red light to help you get in and out! I walked along that beach for a bit, feeling sand in my toes, and sat down on some volcanic rocks and just watched more waves rise, curl, crash and start all over again.
I drove next past Sunset Beach, where they'd just completed a surfing competition, and were in the process of removing stuff. What exactly, I couldn't tell, but looked like it might have been some kind of temporary bleachers. As famous as Sunset Beach is, that was one place I expected to see a significant parking lot, but no.
I drove past that a bit, stopped one more time, and then headed back. Walking in the sand gave me plenty of time to philosophize on disappearing footprints and so on. But mostly it was just a great time to relax, enjoy the ocean smell and the sound of the waves. Not think too much.
At this point, I was ready for a snack, but no luck. No entrepreneurs selling hot dogs. One stand had tropical fruit, but I wanted something bad for me. My cholesterol could take it.
I pulled in one more place, at the Waimea Beach Park, which has a parking lot and bathrooms, AND they had a stand selling chips and cookies! My kind of place. But no empty spots, so I was saved from myself and kept driving home.
A little after 3pm, I was home again, and went out to sit and read by the pool. We've had a lot of nice days since that beautiful Thanksgiving Day, and it's been a welcome relief from six weeks of mostly cloud and rain in Oct/Nov. We'll have plenty of both in the next couple of months, so I'm treasuring these moments of fluffy cloud and blue sky.
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