Sunday, January 04, 2015
New Years in Richmond With Family
Between London and Hawaii is Christmas and New Years in Florida. But one of the grandkids got the flu and that goofed up all of Lulu's plans. But it did not prevent the Everhart 8 from getting together.
Lulu got on the horn and called Delta Airlines. For a fee - they re-routed our flight to Hawaii - so we went form Tallahassee to Atlanta to Richmond to Atlanta to Honolulu. We all got together - and spent 3 days together. Some of us flew in - others took the train down from Washington DC.
When given lemons - make lemonade. When the flu hit the family - Lulu made the best of it. I picked some lemons the size of grapefruits - and put them on the plane along with all of the Christmas gifts. We made lemonade to drink instead of the kool aid as we watched the Seminoles in the Rose Bowl together.
On January 2nd - we all piled into the planes - trains - and automobiles - and got on with 2015.
Sunday Morning - Waikiki/Honolulu/Oahu/Hawaii Is An Earth and Space Science Teachers Paradise
This was 6 AM - 11 AM back home. My friend George Dawson just texted to say they are having a power failure there. Here street lights are flickering - but not from power failure. The ocean air rising up the mountains causes twinkling - just like the stars twinkle.
A kid can learn more about earth and space science in a week out here than they could learn in a year in my classroom. I taught earth and space science - it included a quarter in each of these - astronomy - geology - meteorology - and oceanography. Hawaii has them all covered.
First off - we are staying in Waikiki which is a section of the capital city Honolulu - on the island of Oahu in the state of Hawaii. To make things more confusing - one of the 8 major island is also named Hawaii - although they call it The Big Island over here.
Lulu loves the beach more than almost anything at all. She has told me that she would be happy living in a shiny old trailer as long as it is on the sand overlooking the water. When she was a kid - they called her Surf - this is the girl I fell in love with at the Bungalow Pool. She was 5 when we married 43 years ago.
Astronomy - if you want to study about outer space - the biggest telescopes in the world are on the Big Island. The crisp clear dark ocean air provides a clear view of the heavens. I compare it to how much better I can see now that the doctor removed my old dark cloudy lens from my eye and replaced it with a new clear multifocal plastic lens. Because the skies are so clear here - the natives have used the stars for centuries to navigate where there is no land. Obviously - living so far from the mainland - learning about time zones is essential for communications.
Geology - The Hawaiian Islands are a line of islands made over millions of years by one hole in the earth's crust. As that hole moved due to crustal plate movement - new islands pop up like cookies squeezed from a tube. Presently - the only island that has active volcanoes is The Big Island on the eastern end. All the other island volcanoes including Diamond Head right outside my window - have been dead for millions of years.
Meteorology - Hawaii has a purely tropical climate. Yesterday at the beach is was 77 degrees and the water was 79 - in January. When the ocean breezes rise up the mountain side - they get cooled off and drop tons of rain. There are spots on this island that get over 400 inches of rain a year. Compare that to Tamaqua PA and it 40 inches of rain a year - and the 70 inches of rain Tallahassee got last year. Then there are places on this island in the west where they only get 20 inches of rain compared to places like Las Vegas and her 15 inches. On top of some of the mountains that are 14,000 feet high - there is snow right now. You can snow ski and water ski within a few miles of each other.
Oceanography - There are so many water creatures here - the state fish has so many colors and over 20 letters in its name. A large portion of their diet is from the sea. With the giant waves on the North Shore - this is the surfing capital of the world. Even the ambulance out here tows a 20 foot boat on a trailer for rescues. It is really different seeing an ambulance flying up the street with lights and sirens going - pulling a boat. It reminds me of the campers in Florida.
Every time we come out here - the University of Hawaii makes Lulu an offer to stay here as a full-time professor and teach library science. Although she loves the students here - I remind her of how much fun she has visiting the grandkids and following the Seminole sports teams. You have not experienced homesickness until you have witnessed the grief of her grandkids not coming on their Christmas visit due to the flu. She can drive 20 hours straight in a car - but I do not think she could swim 3000 miles.
Saturday afternoon was spent on the beach. The hourly TV weather update starts out by describing the waves at each of the beaches around the island. When the surf is up - the school attendance drops.
Hawaii is famous for rainbows. When the sun shines and it rains at the same time - the raindrops form prisms and you have rainbows. The University of Hawaii is back in the Manoa Valley - their teams were called the Rainbow Warriors.
We settled on Queens Beach where the boogie boarders like to go.
Water was 79 degrees - I was surprised Lulu did not hop right in.
Some folks do not like Waikiki because it is too glitzy. It reminds me of the Jersey Shore except - it is warmer - the water is warmer - the people are nicer - and everything is so much cleaner and it has palm trees. Hawaii is wonderful because you can have all this - or drive a few minutes and be on a deserted beach with big waves and lots of palm trees. Another thing - Hawaii is warm all year as is the water. I am not sure if it has a busy season.
This beach is just a block from our present Hyatt Hotel. There are some homeless - but the cover charge of a $1000 plane ticket keeps much of them away.
The mountain in the far background is just west of Pearl Harbor.
Boogie boarders were busy Saturday. Waves were 3 to 4 feet on the South Shore.
Saturday, January 03, 2015
It Is Only 1PM - Our First Day in Hawaii - And We Are Already Bushed
When you get off the plane - they put a lei necklace around your neck.
When I was teaching earth science - one of my favorite topics was time zones and jet lag. It takes your body a few days to get adjusted to the local time zone. It is always 5 hours earlier in Hawaii than it is back in Florida or Pennsylvania.
This morning I got up at 3 AM - I was wide awake but when I went out on the porch - not a creature was stirring - not even a mouse. The wind was still - and the street lights twinkled as they went up the mountain.
Some people do not like the busy-ness of Waikiki - the condos - the restaurants - the glitz - the culture. We have been to almost every Hawaiian Island and we love Oahu best. It is like going to a foreign country - that take USA money - your iPhone works - you have wifi - and you can watch familiar TV shows. You can choose between eating at chains or trying the local wares. The people are the most gracious - and Lulu says they are the most industrious students she has had. If you want to
Lulu Welcomes You To 8 Days in Waikiki
This is Waikiki at sunset right before what looked like a storm coming. Either I slept thru it - or it never happened.
Where will she take me next? In the last 6 weeks we have been to Disneyworld with the kids - London - Morocco - Gibraltar - Oxford - then Richmond for the holidays with the kids - now Waikiki/Honolulu/Oahu/Hawaii for 8 days.
Yesterday started out with a 5 AM wakeup in Richmond and a quick car ride to the airport. Then after a short ride to Atlanta - it was an Airbus 330 for 10 hours to Hawaii. Luckily we had a nice wide exit row seat so we had 6 feet of empty space in front of us. I call it "the poor man's first class." We touched down on schedule at 4 PM local time. We landed due west on the Reef Runway which means we did a low flyby of Diamond Head and Waikiki.
Landing from the east - here is slow flyby of Diamond Head
Since we only had carry-on bags - we went right to the curb and hailed an Uber Cab on my iPhone. He was there immediately with a Toyota van and whisked us off to our first hotel at Hyatt Place. We will spend the first 3 nights here for a conference - then walk down the beach a few blocks to our ultimate destination - The Moana Surfrider Hotel. For years we have crashed this famous hotel - Lulu finally found a government rate there that won't break the bank.
After a little supper - we walked the beach until dark. It looked like a major storm coming - the waves and the wind were coming on shore.
Waikiki from our plane is so exciting. You can see the church right in the middle. Our usual condo is right behind it
I am up at 5 AM - the town is still dark and asleep. Everything is calm - no evidence of a storm - no wind - just a pretty view of the mountains - Diamond Head - and the street lights - from our 12th floor lanai.
Lulu has to presentation at a convention a couple of days and then the rest of the time she is mine.
This is the marina in downtown Honolulu. This is where Gilligan left on his 3 hour cruise --- a 3 hour cruise.
The last 4 nights we will stay at Lulu's ultimate destination - The Moana Surfrider. I do not know how she managed it - but she got it at the government rate.
Friday, January 02, 2015
On the way to Hawaii
The Everhart 8 watched the seminole rose bowl game together in richmond. Now we are on our plane to Hawaii. Lulu got us the exit row with lots of leg room. She will presenting at a conference there while I loaf.
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Marge and Tom Jones Had A Lovely Aloha Party As We Departed For Hawaii
They had a party at their home down by the Old Fort. But it was more like a luau. They had friends and family there that lived in Hawaii for several years. The food was fantastic - but what blew us away was the ukulele playing - singing - costumes - and authentic dancing. Before the evening was over they had us all drawn into the festivities.
I am typing this story from 30,000 feet over the state of Georgia. We are flying north to see our kids and grandkids in Richmond. All 8 Everharts together will watch Florida State play in the Rose Bowl on January 1st. Then Lulu and I will continue on to Hawaii on Jan 2nd.
We will be staying at the Hyatt in Waikiki for a convention. Then for the rest of our trip we are booked into the Moana Surfrider Hotel. We will walk our bags because it is right on the beach in downtown Waikiki. A one time this was the only hotel on the beach. We could never afford it before - but Lulu found a relatively economical government rate for our stay. Two year ago it was on this hotel beach where we had our surfing lessons.
In the 1990s - we used to spend a month every summer at Waikiki when Lulu taught a summer course at the University of Hawaii. In those days our friends and family used to come over and spend time with us there. Our good friends the Taylors from Tamaqua PA just spent Christmas inHawaii but have since have flown home. We would have loved to be there with them - but our schedules could not match.
We left mild 70 degree weather in Tallahassee. Lulu just said that it was snowing in Richmond. It will be our White Christmas. We have two large sacks of presents that Santa let at our house - thinking the kids would be there for Christmas.
Lulu Just Got Bumped to First Class
A nice start to our adventure. Lulu got moved to seat 1A in first class. Good. She needed her coffee. Since I am flying on FF miles I must remain in steerage. Heck for a $20 discount I would stand by the toilet in back.
www.harry.everhart.com
www.harry.everhart.com
At The Busy Tallahassee Airport on the Way to Hawaii Via Richmond
Greetings from the Tallahassee airport at 6 AM this morning. Lulu and I are boarding our plane north to see the kids and grandkids. The airport is as busy as I have ever seen.
There is a Boeing 747 sitting here waiting to carry the FSU Marching Chiefs to Pasadena for the Rose Bowl. The band members are going through security check right now. We just beat them to it.
It is unusual because we checked 2 large packages and 2 suitcases through directly to Richmond. We usually carry everything onto the plane. Santa left a few present at our house thinking the kids would be in Florida - but the flu changed all that.
The picture above is Lulu and me at our Christmas dinner. Lulu made a turkey and potato filling. You can see the fire burning the background and our Christmas tree gleaming. The stocking were hung by the chimney with care.
If our plane goes down - be sure to send this picture to the New York Times and the National Inquirer.
Monday, December 29, 2014
We Just Picked Some Lemons For Our Trip North
Tomorrow morning we are flying north to see the kids and grandkids for a few days.
On January 1st we will watch the Seminoles play Oregon on TV. All 8 will be there.
On January 2nd - we will fly straight to Hawaii.
My neighbor Bill's trees are packed with lemons - tangerines - oranges - and grapefruits. Those trees were planted just a couple years ago. We planted the same kind of trees in our yard. We have some oranges - but they are not very big. They have only been in the ground 4 months.
Yes - that giant thing in my right hand is a lemon.
Christmas in Hawaii With the Taylors
Our favorite Tamaqua family - George - MaryRuth - Brandon - and Mike - are turning home after a great week in Hawaii.
George is still an editor for a newspaper in Bethlehem - MaryRuth is a retired Tamaqua teacher that used to work with Lulu. Brandon is a newsman in Hong Kong - China - and Mike is a student at Penn State.
All four of them are Penn State University alumni.
When we lived in Tamaqua - they lived a block down the street from us.
By the look of the background - they are at the airport in Hawaii. Their planes will depart - one going 5000 miles west and the other going 5000 miles east.
Lulu and I will visit Honolulu on January 2nd - for a conference. We are very sad our paths could not cross.
Sunday, December 28, 2014
Texas - Arkansas - Washington - and OREGON have stayed away from the Seminoles
People like to whine about Florida State's schedule being light. But for a team that only started playing football in 1947 - they sure have a lot of victories against the so-called heavy weights. Here is a list of the scores of games that FSU played. Each score is the last time they played that team. Notice that Alabama - Auburn - Michigan - Ohio State tasted the sorry end of the Seminole chop - the last time they played. Out of 42 major teams - only the Sooners - Wildcats - Lions- Bulldogs - and Volunteers walked away with victories. 37-5. This is not a list of all the teams that FSU played - just major names. No wonder Florida State is the replacing Notre Dame as America's team to hate.
Thursday, December 25, 2014
We Watched - The Interview - At Home On The Big Screen TV Today
I hate when someone tries to censor me. I like to read and watch what I want. I like to say what I want.
North Korea used computer terrorism to try to intimidate Sony and stop them from showing this funny movie about a plot to kill their dictator. Sometimes I think the whole political mess was just a gimmick to boost movie sale - who knows.
You can watch it at home using YouTube. For $6 - you can view it over your computer or TV.
It was to be released nationwide today - but many of the theatre chains ran scared and cancelled the show. 600 independent theaters did show it today - but honestly - I liked seeing it better at home.
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