Catching up and waiting, waiting, waiting.........
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| Oahu from the top of the Makapu'u lighthouse hike |
Well, it's good to be back (in an electronic, pixillated way at least). The L'ORIENTs have been busy, busy, busy so we'll catch you up.
At our last post, we had fled from Oahu to Kauai (heaven on earth). A scenic bay, a river for exploring, great food scene, and super nice residents. And why not be chipper in Hanalei Bay? The poorest family lives in a $5 million dollar beach front home. But Neptune never takes his eyes off you for too long. We were warned by the locals that there's a good reason that big wave surfing championships take place in Hanalei Bay. In Winter with a north swell you get 40 ft waves. Gulp. As August turned into late September, we began noticing locals surfing closer and closer to our boat as the break expanded. Time to leave- so we headed back to Ko Olina Marina in Oahu, our Pacific base.
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| Hanalei Bay in Kauia- our favorite place (so far) |
Boat projects and important socializing with yachtee friends took over from there. "Hey Tom and Kirstin.....you guys busy ? Come over for drinks". I look at the calendar app on my phone.......let's see..........it's Halloween in 3 weeks, then a Canadian Bank holiday, and then Thanksgiving sneaks up on you in November........"Yeah, we're free.....be right over".
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| Boat work intrudes- new hand sewn steering wheel cover, 720 lbs of batteries, and our new sea water manifold......it's the stuff dreams are made of ! |
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| Kirstin on Covid-Air flight 666 - 58 ppl on a Honolulu to Chicago |
November brought with it our long awaited trip back to the mainland to see relatives. Kirstin visited her Dad in Wisconsin, then met me in Naples, Florida for a visit with my mother.
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| Don't think we are in Hawaii anymore! |
We were quite nervous about the long plane rides during a pandemic but it seems we made it through OK. It was most encouraging that an exhaustive study funded by airlines declared that airlines are safe to use even during a pandemic. The only disturbing thing is that the video of the study they show prior to takeoff features all the airline employees scurrying off the plane prior to the test and only test-dummies breathing the aerosol Covid particles. But none of the dummies got sick, so I guess it's safe ! Glad I've got that in my pocket ! In Florida at the start of our 6 day visit we reached consensus with Mom that she'd be happier and less isolated if she moved to the Independent Living facility around the corner. So we extended our stay by 10 days and managed to move her into her new luxury condo, downsize and empty her house, and get it up for sale. A miracle of logistics.
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| Can't discard a mink coat and hat without experimenting with a new look.....na, not for me. |
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| Moving day- Mom has a lot of stuff ! |
The trip back to Hawaii was long but uneventful and we're enjoying the holiday season here. We were disappointed in having to postpone visits from Princess Emily and Kirstin's Dad due to the draconian Covid restrictions on Hawaii. Based on where they were flying from, both would likely have ended up quarantined on our boat for the entirety of their visits, an awful reward for 26 hour in a plane (the round trip involved). We sent the Princess a case of her favorite wine to soften the blow and the promise of a future visit to French Polynesia so she handled it with a stiff upper lip, as they say.
Our plans remain equally fluid and frustrating. We very badly want to return to FP. But unanswerable questions abound.......Will French Polynesia offer the vaccine to non-French visitors ? Will airlines restrict flying to only vaccinated travelers, even if you're traveling to get the vaccine (in the US) ? When would we get the vaccine in Hawaii ? Will there be any problem with our Carte de Sejour (long stay visa) extension in French Polynesia ? As it's a 14 day sail through sometimes challenging conditions to get there from here, you don't want to make a mistake. The nightmare scenario is sailing 14 days to FP only to have to turn around and come back to Hawaii. So, until we gather more info, we wait.....and we're not good at waiting.
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| The top of Oahu- you can see whales spouting from here |
We're in a beautiful place; the weather is spectacular........and even the brief squalls and storms are really interesting. We almost take for granted that we more than occasionally see whales spouting offshore while we're standing on the beach or a scenic overlook. We have Costco, Safeway, Home Depot, food delivery, US Mail, Amazon, and any on-line chandlery we need. But nevertheless, the constant drumbeat of bad pandemic news forces you to consciously stay positive. Our West Coast friends have it far worse than we do, and we hope their lot improves. At least we don't have the pandemic and a side order of 500 forest fires like they have had.
Anyway, doing a lot of waiting and beginning to explore Oahu a bit more. Despite much of the tourist infrastructure still being closed, there's enough to see to occupy us. Enjoy the pictures.
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| Making the best of it ! |