Hawaii Day 8 and Observations

 

Hawaii, Day 8

Weather: blue skies, mid-80s, a little windy, same as it ever was

Annals of Medicine: nothing to report

Department of Remediation: the Loft looks remediated, part of the sub-flooring has been removed, and there is an amazing amount of clutter given that only one wall of stuff has been relocated to another part of the Loft. Appears livable...so for now, we are in Emeryville; not sure Sandy will say the same

Before finishing packing and heading to the airport, K and the twins and THB head to the beach for a bit more snorkeling and floatie rides.

And, it turns into a real surprise: a turtle and eel rescue, with weekend volunteers helping the twins (and adults) understand what is going on. An early morning snorkeler called in a turtle-in-distress message. By the time the rescue team arrived, got set up ad headed out, that turtle was gone. A different turtle needed help and was brought to shore along with an eel that also needed help and appeared dead. Here's the tale in pictures:

the eel in distress, wrapped up in fishing line and a large hook

not easy to see, the large hook from the turtle rescue

the mini-zodiac raft used to bring in the animals

the eel being shuttled back to the ocean, nobody wanted to actually pick it up once it was de-hooked

the turtle is ready to return to the ocean: a "tattoo" has been painted into the shell and a chip implanted with the date and what was done, weighted, measured, etc

the blue device is just a small fan to dry the tattoo

the turtle is wheeled down to shoreline, it is heavy! 

the flippers are moving like crazy

all fixed up and gone!

No King protest just outside the main Maui airport - maybe a few hundred people in good spirits and despair at same time

Observations:

• All that pool time at beginning of the week when murky water mean low visibility in the ocean really benefitted the twins in getting a better feel for keeping their heads in the water when finally in the ocean
• The adults all ended up getting more sun than was advised; the twins did  too yet it did not slow them down in the least
• Coral Tree turned into a very nice spot for the week: plenty of room in the condo, privacy when needed, we ate in most of the time, the pool was terrific, and it's a small world when we ran into a bunch of Head-Royce families and ex-employees. Plus they were playing American mah jongg, something DB had been doing up until a year ago.
• Hawaiian Airlines switches aircraft and (departure) times from Maui to Oakland multiple times, causing some people to lose their travel partners to other seats and/or extra wait time at the airport if they don't see that the plane is leaving later than expected.

Book Review: If I Die In A Combat Zone, Box Me Up And Shim Me Home, Tim O'Brien (read by Dan John Miller, pub'd 1973 : a memoir of O'Brien's 13 months in the American War in Viet Nam, and an obvious source for Alex Vernon's biography, so a bit redundant if you listen to that book first (or vice versa). There's an interview with O'Brien in thsi audiobook, worth listening to as well. Recommended if you start an O'Brien binge like THB