Hawaii, Days 5, 6, and Day 7 Hawaii to E-ville

 Day 5: Kapalua

Department of Plumbing (cont'd): The plumbers did not come first thing, they did not come while we were down at the beach, they did not come while we were eating lunch on the deck, they did not come in the early afternoon, the plumbers do not eat green eggs and ham. 

HAH! THB has the story a bit backwards: the plumber did come this morning while we were at the beach. He tried to fix the first toilet and had not got the right part. Then he disappeared until 3:30. And that's why we thought he hadn't come first thing. 

Along with plumbing issues, the condo rental management company was supposed to schedule two daily cleanings. Today, while the plumbers were not here, a crew of four came and did an excellent job. Good enough that they don't have to come tomorrow, our last full day. And, delivered late afternoon yesterday, the bathrooms now have large shampoo and conditioner, enough to make it through our last full day tomorrow. And, two of the four TVs don't seem connected. Good news: one of the working TVs is in the twins room, the only room that watches TV. One of the soap dispensers spumed chemical-like foam. One of the light flickers when the group it belongs to is turned on.

Department of Conclusions: Most of the in-house issues are probably from the lack of usage of the condo during Covid. The follow-up and scheduling is clearly an issue with the management company. And, actually, even the Covid-related issues are the result of the management company not having a Covid-restart checklist. 

Today the day starts off raining, then clears early and this morning and afternoon were the most gorgeous so far. Down to the beach and THB takes 2 snorkels: visibility is very good on the west side of the beach and there are schools of fish along with much diversity. DB takes one snorkel (we go separately so that there are always 2 adults to 2 twins) with less success as THB wasn't there to guide her to a prime spot. 

THB sees pretty much every fish on this side of the card

THB sees some on the other side of the card

Meanwhile the twins enjoy playing in the water and sand. One twin gets a full hour swim lesson as her sister needed a time out. That also means the twin that got the extra lesson is the swimmer.

Lunch of poke bowl and leftover chow fun and slivers of ice cream sandwiches from en suite dining last night.

LB arrives around 2ish and she and KM and twins head to the big pool. The owner's pool below us is totally full, not enough room for the twins to enjoy themselves. 

Ribs and sweet potatoes for dinner. Twins fall asleep and miss dinner. THB eats dinner and falls asleep. 

Day 6: Kapalua and Kula

Department of Conclusions (cont'd): Super-sleuth KM finds out that this unit has been on sale since April 4, for $6.8Mil. That may explain why the management company isn't putting the best foot forward to renters....or does it? Not fixing toilets? Not fixing toilets same day? Not arranging daily cleaning? Letting it rain off and on for 4 days in a row? Letting the Reds lose 9 of their last 10 games and 18 of 21? 

Twins do swimming lessons and one visits the beach. THB takes another very nice snorkel, this time on the west side of Kapalua. A fast lunch of leftovers and a long ride to Maui Ponies where the twins get their first live pony ride (one big, one small).

Melissa is the owner/trainer

We brush our pony, we brush our pony

Twins have dinner en suite while watching TV and adults have dinner on the deck of takeout pizza from Taverna. Decent.

Book Review: The Magic Mountain, Thomas Mann (novel, pub'd 1924, translated): THB downloaded the free version, all 720 pages. He made it to around page 75: one cousin has been at a tuberculosis clinic in the Swiss Alps for six months and the other cousin has come to visit for three weeks. It is still day one of the visit, and life is already too repetitious for THB. Is it a farce? Mann's wife was in a similar institution for over 6 months and Mann came to visit her. THB decides to move on. Nobel prize winner's most famous book

Day 7: Kapalua, Kihei and E-ville

Very uneventful: checkout before 10am, drive south and meet-up with Auntie in a park in Kihei, then lunch at a taqueria near the airport, an easy flight back to Oak-town, and in bed after midnight.

Twins awaiting bags in Oakland

A pretty typical day if it isn't raining or drizzling

Twins playing at park in between checkout and flight time

THB has eaten here at least two other times

Never with identical twins accompanying the blaring HI-Mex music with an interpretive dance all their own

A bird hunting just outside the to-go drive thru at "Donalds" (the twins have dropped the Mc)

Book Review: Bibliolepsy, Gina Apostol (novel, pub'd 1997): life in the Philippines up to the abdication of Marcos in 1986, focuses on two orphaned sisters: the narrator is the younger, and her life is books, sex, books, writer/poet groupie, books, more sex, and an occasional meet-up with her older sister, a seer who predicts Marcos' exit. Neutral

Hawaii, Days 3-4

 Day 3: Kapalua

Department of Plumbing: all the toilets in our rented condo are running. The flaps don't cover the outlet sufficiently to prevent leakage. Maybe the place hasn't been occupied during Covid? In any case, on the morning of Day 2, we notified the management company (which appears to be one woman). No plumbers show up on Day 2 or 3. Side issue: no shampoo in the two of the three bathrooms with bath and/or shower. Small concern yet that also isn't resolved on Day 2 or 3.

More intermittent sun and light sprinkles during the day. DB, KM and twins go out for pancakes at Slappy Cakes. Apparently much chocolate, sprinkles and some pancake mix consumed. THB stays back and plays on-line bridge with MQ. Amazingly, THB and MQ have a decent game even if it is 7am when THB gets on. THB enjoys his fave breakfast, Grape Nuts and fruit, during the game. 

LB and M join us at the beach and THB actually snorkels and feels just fine, no back soreness and no radiation recall, at least while his head is in the ocean. Many different types of fish, turtles, an eel, and no big schools of fish, all in very shallow water. The rain did not impede underwater visibility, fortunately. Kapalua beach is well sheltered from ocean turbulence and runoff. Many people on the beach and in the water. Lots of kids 5 and under. Very jovial. 

And, as THB took off his fins, his feet from toe to top of arch had turned a deep Reynaud purple color!

Twins get swim lesson number 2 from Nia and the rumor is C actually started swimming a few strokes (verified at later pool visit). Great progress.  

Leftover chicken, potatoes and salad for dinner. 

Everybody in bed by 8pm.

 Day 4: Kapalua

Department of Plumbing, cont'd: Plumbers show up at end of day, announce that all the toilets have non-standard flaps (of course, they do not have standard flaps with them) and they will have to return tomorrow to make repairs. THB's hearing isn't good enough to notice toilet noise unless a) has his hearing aids are in his ears and b) he is actually next to toilet. For those with good hearing, annoyance level is very high. 

More early bridge, not as successful as yesterday. Twin have an early swim lesson and progress made. In meantime, it continues to drizzle off and on, then the afternoon activity (pony ride and u-pick strawberries) cancels due to inclement weather up in the mountains. Rescheduled for Day 6.

Plan B: lunch on the deck brought in by KM from local restaurant in Napili, Joey: chicken chow fun, short ribs, lumpia, Brussel sprouts and siu mai (Shumai) supplement. 

More beach time complete with a good size turtle crawling out of the surf line. Dinner is a melange of room service for twins and sushi from the Napili market for THB and DB. The twins dine en suite, more en suite than actual dining. 

Nia giving swimming lessons

The best picture of the weather so far: sometimes you need an umbrella when returning from the pool

    
                                            

Slappy Cakes

Day 3: Kapalua was crawling with snorkelers, upwards of 60 or so at one point

 Day 4: Kapalua was crawling with turtles, only about 7-10 snorkelers in the water

Hawaii, Days 1-2

Department of Medicine, Hawaii 5-Oh style: THB is again feeling flush and punk. A short google search reveals a possible source: to control his CK count, THB went back on Methotrexate after postponing the Rituximab infusions in November.

Methotrexate is often listed as causing sun sensitivity. However, methotrexate is not, in fact, a sun sensitizing drug, but rather produces a reaction called radiation recall. Areas where patients have had sunburns in the past may react again after starting methotrexate.

Everyone growing up in West LA in the 50s and 60s got sunburned, it was a well known side effect of going to the beach and sun-tan lotion that protected against the sun had not been invented yet (good thing or THB suspects that tropical fish would have been wiped out by now). Now THB adds another ailment to he ever-growing list: radiation recall. Soon we'll be walking around with 80 year-old Geiger counters with good memories.

Hawaii, Day 1

THB is back in the warm and windy climate of Hawaii, this time on Maui with DB, KB and the twins, in a condo we stayed in a few years ago. LB and friend are also here, much further south. The flight over from Oak-town is smooth, twins have i-pads to occupy them, and we are spread over 3 rows.

THB tweaked his back a few weeks ago, seemed to get better and is now recurring, rendering THB almost useless. Very unusual as THB has way more internal issues than physical. Isn't getting old fun and enlightening?

Stop on the way from Maui airport to the condo in Kapalua for food: sandwiches and then groceries, and up to the 5th floor. It's overcast, in the 70s, and the twins try out the small "owners" pool (where they floated as 1 year-olds), then the beach and finally the big hotel pool. Brief sprinkles.

Dinner on the deck: steak, potatoes and salad for the adults, twins get a smattering of apples, potatoes, carrot and are too full from late afternoon snacks to eat much. 

We have gained 3 hours on the flight over, so all of us go to sleep as soon as it is dark, closer to 7pm. 

Hawaii, Day 2

THB takes a strong muscle relaxant and then sleeps through the night, about 9+ hours. Today, the back is better. On other hand, the sprinkles have turned to heavy showers amidst intermittent sun and overcast. The twins get individual 1/2 hour swim lessons from Nia. Both seem to do well and afterwards C is ready to try swimming underwater. She'll have to wait.

No rain in afternoon, twins go to local pool and the beach and have ice cream for mid-afternoon snack, plus the table shares hummus and potato chips. Around 5 a steady rain keeps up for well over 2 hours. 

In the airport

In the condo

In the ocean

In the pool with Nia, swim teacher

On the move with grandpa

After learning a finger trick from grandma

Let's go surfin' now
Everybody's learning how
Come on and safari with me

In the midst of dreams?

In the rented mini-van on travel car seats

In the middle of the hula lesson

In the middle of learning the regs in case of an airplane emergency

At huntington and malibu
They're shooting the pier
At rincon they're walking the nose
We're going on safari to the islands this year
So if you're coming get ready to go

Book Review: Better To Have Gone; Love, Death, and the Quest for Utopia in Auroville, Akash Kapur (hardback): Kapur and his wife grew up in the Auroville utopian community, based in the Tamil region of India. As teens, they knew each, then ended up staying in touch as they both went their separate ways outside the community, ultimately marrying and having children and moving back. Kapur spends ten years investigating the Auroville history, with a focus on his wife's mother, Diane, and partner, John, both deceased. And, the community continued to grow and today still exists and now has on-going support from India's government and has become a tourist destination. Recommended