Just a silly little TR - Run Away!!

[nebo]

Flip Flopping in the Ocean


Roll 'em! Aaaannnnd... Action!


It was the best of times it was the worst of times.

Okay, I’m on vacation… it may not be the best of times, but it for sure ain’t the worst… take two!


It was a dark and stormy night.

The sun was shining and it was morning, so that doesn’t work… take three!


Once upon a time.

This ain’t no fairy tale, princess… take four!


It’s quiet… a little too quiet..

You left out "Call me Ishmael."


We woke up at a slightly more humane and human hour on Tuesday April 17 (for those of you keeping score… gotta have dates for those who don’t have any). It was probably around 8am or so….

Yes, we all like to have dates. Did I tell you that last week the girl at MacDonalds said she wanted to date me?
What exactly is carbon dating, anyway?

And what’s with people spelling probably ‘prolly’? ‘Probly’ or ‘probabely’ I can understand, but ‘prolly’?

Good name for a bird, though.

I too have wondered the prolly word.
My problem is I keep wanting to say "probably obably",,,, is that from a children's book,,, Stuart Little or Charlette's Web ?





I hate beaches.

They’re boring.

Well, I kinda agree with you again.. good for a while,,, then I get bored and end up staring at each wave that washes on the beach,, "ok,, will the next one come up a little higher?"
or,,,"Meet the new wave,,,, same as the old wave..."


Yeah, yeah. I’ve shocked all the sun bunnies. Infuriated all the laid back, take the time to smell the roses people.

That's salt, seaweed and dead alewives they're smelling.


Elle and Kay love the beach. They could spend all day there… and they do. Here’s a typical beach day at the pkondz household.

“Ok kids! We’re going to the beach tomorrow!”
“Yay!”
Pkondz spends the day/evening before packing and shopping for ‘beach’ stuff. Gotta have drinks, hot dogs (need wieners, buns, condiments, paper plates, oh shoot, gotta have something else besides hot dogs!, chips, maybe something else too? potato salad? need spuds, eggs, blah, blah, blah…) beach toys for making castles and moats, bathing suits, towels, sandals, sunscreen, hats, sunglasses, camera, gas for the car, cash for ice cream… the list goes on and on.

Not that it matters, ‘cause I’ll still forget something.

We drive out to the beach. Pick a nice spot. And the kids head for the water… and play and have fun all day long. I, on the other hand, sit on the beach and … sit…. On the beach… for as long as I can hold out. Usually around 6 hours or so.

Then it’s cook supper on the portable BBQ that refuses to work right… if at all. Eat (okay, I do like that part. Mmmm…. fresh air, good food), guess who cleans up? Then drive back into town. Unpack, clean up, put everything away.

this sounds so familiar,,, and I almost burned up a picnic table once with a portable propane BBQ. I turned a beautiful Porterhouse steak into beef jerky.


I call up a place I found on the net called Twogood Kayaks. I plan on renting anywhere from 2 to 3 kayaks… but I don’t really know.

Why would you rent 3 kayaks if they only have 2 good ones?

“Hi! I’ve got a question for you. I’ve got a 15 year old and an 11 year old girl. Should I rent a single and a tandem kayak? Or three singles? Neither one of the girls has any experience.”

I noticed you left yourself out of the inexperience description, are yuou a master of the umiak kayak?
I'm getting pretty good at my Kodak though.

We had a choice between renting a kayak for $55 or taking a guided tour for $3.2 million.

I chose the former.

Wait, what farmer, did I miss something?


We get to the kayak place and are given a safety briefing.

What, boxer briefs aren't good enough?

“Okay, you’re going to go into the ocean here. You can paddle out to this island here. Don’t go this way, ‘cause you’ll be swept out to see where your bodies won’t be found for a month. Don’t go this way ‘cause the waves will smash you and your boat into small particles undetectable to the naked eye. Don’t go here ‘cause that’s where we keep the kayak eating sharks. Have fun!”

I thought you were going to say the most terrifying thing,,, that if it's lost or destroyed, you WILL be responsible for replacing the 65,000 dollar kayak. '


For an extra $6 I also rent a dry bag and back support. The kids are young… they don’t need it. I’m old. Without some support, my back is gonna hurt and someone’s going to have to knead it.

What?

Ok, you got me,,, what is a dry bag?






That’s like saying, “Just sit on this couch for a while. When you’re confident with your couch sitting abilities, your confidant will pop you onto this 2000 pound bull… named Diablo… bareback.”

I thought the bull's name was Fu Manchu.



We drag the kayak across the sand and stop short.

There’s waves.

There’s big waves.

There’s big waves crashing onto the shore.

There’s lots of big waves crashing onto the shore.

you do realize that your last sentance made the couple above it unneccesary, don't you?
Geesh,, a little efficiency here,, how about it?

Now what?

There's lots and LOTS of big waves crashing onto the shore?

A woman from Kailua sailboards and kayaks offers to give us a hand. She grabs the kayak, points it into the waves and gives us instructions.

Wait,,, you are now getting assistance and advice from a COMPETITOR of where you rented the kodak from? Yeah,,, that's someone I'm gonna want to listen to.
Did she also tell you that Man of Wars make great pets?



She judges the wind, the water, the sun, rolls some bones and ululates a mystical chant and shouts, “Go!”… Kay scrambles on.

ululates? can you say that on a family board?



“Go!”… pkondz flounders and kicks and squirms and wriggles and lunges and oh so gracefully finally gets into the #^%@$# kayak.

I think you mispelled the word before kayak.

.

After about half an hour of fairly vigorous paddling, we arrive at Flat Island. It’s a fairly non-descript, round, flat piece of land that just barely sticks above the water. There’s a small beach where you can land your kayak… and we weren’t the only ones who had that thought…

Wow, is this where the people renting them from the two different companies all go at one another?



A neat thing about this island is that because it’s round, the waves hit the opposite side of the island, split in two, swing around it from both directions and meet up again on the near side. The water sort-of makes a clapping motion (and sound) on this side. I don’t know if you can see what I mean from this pic, but… here ya go.

It's a great picture and no, I don't see what you mean.

After a few minutes, we re-board our kayak (a lot easier this time around) and head back out. Our next destination is Lanikai beach.

I can't believe yoiu are keeping all these names straight.



Oh, sure. The girls would scream every time the kayak rocked a little too much, but whaddya gonna do?

Rock it even more!

We get to Lanikai and the waves are a lot smaller here. We ‘surf’ onto the beach and pile out. The girls go for a swim while I do what I always do on the beach.

Wait.


Actually, it wasn’t that bad. It really is a beautiful beach. And I enjoyed just sitting and relaxing for a bit.

It really does look pretty there.

Obviously, I got a drop of water on the lens while we were kayaking and didn’t notice, so those shots and the next few will have a blurred area. Ah well. We had great weather and a blurry spot. I’ll take it.

You know,,, I thought you were bleeping something out,,,

After about an hour or so of frolicking in the surf…. I never thought I would be able to use ‘frolicking in the surf’ in a sentence… we pack up and head back to Kailua beach.

No,,, real men don't "frolic",,, it ranks up there with saying "tee hee".

I don’t mind telling you that I was a wee bit concerned about landing this puppy with those waves.

And I'll bet the kids were worried about the pappy.

After lunch we drove into the town of Kailua and Kay spotted something she’d been looking for ever since we left Winnipeg… a Starbucks. No, she doesn’t drink coffee, but she does love the Vanilla Bean Frappuccino. Heck, I don ‘t drink coffee and I love ‘em too. We stop there and she finally gets her drink… me too… aaahhh…

Believe it or not,,, I don't think I've ever been in a Starbucks in my life.


Since we’re close, we pop into a Long’s Drugs and the kids each pick up a pair of flip-flops. We used to call ‘em thongs when I was a kid… until a certain other item of clothing started being called that.

We called them tongs when I was little, or flip flops.. unfortunately,,, my ears always heard clip clops,,, so that's what I called them,,, to everybody's amusement.


It’s not a good thing for a guy to tell another guy that he likes his thongs.

Just sayin’

you know,,, I don't see it being a good idea in either definition.


They aren’t called flip flops in Hawaii either. Or thongs, jandals, toesies, beach shoes or shower shoes. They call ‘em slippers. Or if there’s any possibility of confusion (too late!), rubber slippers… or more accurately, “rubbah slippahs”.

Ok,,, this will be on your head.
Guy goes into a drug store to buy 'rubbahs',,"How much?" he asks. "Four dollars" he's told.
"Ok, give me a pack."
"Fine, that will be 4. 32"

"4.32? I thought you said 4 dollars?" he complained
"Yes,, 4 dollars for the product, and 32 cents tax."

"Tacks,,,,!!? Don't you have any that roll on?"

I kept reading how everyone wears rubber slippers to not cut feet on coral, or when going out, and leave your slippers at the door…


It was months before I figured out what they were talking about.

Well than,, what I added will really help clear that up.



When we’d had enough (funny how even the truly breathtaking can become dull with time) we walked back to the car… and passed the flip…. shoe…about 100 feet from the edge.

Those are great pictures from your vista,,, but I still don't think the wind was as strong as it gets every time I want to cook burgers on our cheapo gas grill and it keeps blowing out.

Let me now introduce you to Witchin’ Betty… except her name wasn’t Witchin’ Betty.

It wasn’t Baby Betty…
Or Blue Betty…
Or Bingo Betty…
Or Bratty Betty…
Or … you get the idea.

Whoa-O Black Betty, rama lam.

Betty was our brand spanking new GPS. Betty could be very helpful sometimes… and other times…

One time,,,, one. stinkin. time. I borrowed a GPS for the drive to Disney. Never again.
You cannot imagine the swear words that came out of sweet little Smidy's mouth every time "Jack" would argue with her.



I wanted to go back down on the road we came up on and continue West to Honolulu. But Bit… Betty insisted that I go down a different road.
“You sure?”
“Yes I’m sure. Don’t question me. I have millions of dollars in satellites telling me. You on the other hand are merely human… and really... not that bright.”

So far she has a point.








Eventually we get back onto the original highway and half an hour after visiting it… we see the turnoff for… Pali Lookout.

I've heard that's really nice, you should try to stop there next time.

“





We arrive at our destination… Teddy’s Bigger Burgers. It’s a chain that I hadn’t heard of before but had read about online and in a few guide books. 1950s décor and great burgers and shakes… and they were good, too.

Now this looks like my kind of place



Yummmy!!! Cardiac on a bun. What’s not to love?

Absolutely nothing.

After dinner we waddled down Kalakaua and window shopped. We popped in and out of a few places (Nebo, somewhere here is where I picked up your hula girl) until we came up to…

Hold it,,, you picked up a girl,,, but said she's mine? Am I missing something here?






If you aren’t familiar with this store. It’s a young lady/older girl clothing store. Ruby turns to me and says, “I just want to pop in here and look for something for Elle. I’ll just be a minute.”

Wow,,,, just,,, WOW.

Those are some of the most frightening words a wife can utter. But since Ruby has to work all day while I’m out playing and having fun, it’s the least I can do to let her do what she wants when she’s not working.

“Sure, honey. Go ahead. Take your time.”

I know,,, you had no choice,,, but still,,WOW!




Wow

An hour goes by.

Hey! This is like going to the beach!

Wow, but at least you had the hula girl all this time, right?






I just waited.


Eventually, Ruby and the girls exit the store and we stagger back to the hotel.

I noticed you specifically left out the monetary damage done inside while you were playing sentinel.

The last thing I do, before fading to black, is remember to charge the battery for my underwater camera, for the next day…


…aaaaaaannnnd…. Cut! Print it!

Gracias,,, great chapter!

 

[Backstage_Gal]

This internet thing can be downright scary

Just finished Nebo's breakdown, and the ads at the bottom of the screen are for flip-flops and kayaks

 

[jedijill]

Great update. I really have to get back to Hawaii some of these days. It only takes money.

Jill in CO

 

[shan23877]

Great update! I haven't been in a kayak since high school, and I'm not sure I could do it now. Kudos to you.

Lost your wife and kids to Forever 21? Shouldn't you be used to that by now? Just be glad that there wasn't an H&M next door.

Can't wait to hear more!

 

[queenbetsey]

Originally Posted by dana0801
you know two years ago when my daughter turned 21 I threw her a "kiddie" birthday party and we made "sno-cones" with the Pucker flavored alcohol (because they are colored as well). They have the green apple, watermelon, blue raspberry and one other one (pink but I can't remember the flavor). Anyway the guests could mix their own flavors together and have multi-colored grown up sno-cones. Was very fun, especially for us grown ups WHO don't drink too often and got to see the kids (I say this because all of them were at least 20 years younger than me but NO ONE was underage!) the next morning BUAHAHAHA

Brilliant I would have had some alving and the chipmunk music playing in the morning.

 

[queenbetsey]

Whew! finally caught up. Back from the house of Mouse.
I hear you about the recitals. We don't have those anymore with the kids grown but we are gearing up for street painting season. We will most likely only do one or two festivals this year as both of my older kids are getting married in the fall and I am working summer school as well. Also have to find a new venue for DD wedding as the one we had booked fell through
Great pics. I love the beach but also hate the schlepping assiciated with it. Did manage to hit Ocean Beach for a bit yesterday (down in San Diego) Went to check out a place we saw on Diners Drive Ins and Dives.
The burger place you went to looks like a blast.

 

[Sandy Mouse]

Great chapter, Ponzi, and I love the pictures, too. The water is a beautiful color - very inviting.

 

[laura74]

It was probably around 8am or so….

Sleeping in?

And what’s with people spelling probably ‘prolly’? ‘Probly’ or ‘probabely’ I can understand, but ‘prolly’?

I hate that one too. Right up there with "totes."

I hate beaches.

Say what?

Pkondz spends the day/evening before packing and shopping for ‘beach’ stuff. Gotta have drinks, hot dogs (need wieners, buns, condiments, paper plates, oh shoot, gotta have something else besides hot dogs!, chips, maybe something else too? potato salad? need spuds, eggs, blah, blah, blah…) beach toys for making castles and moats, bathing suits, towels, sandals, sunscreen, hats, sunglasses, camera, gas for the car, cash for ice cream… the list goes on and on.

Yeah, that part's annoying.

We drive out to the beach. Pick a nice spot. And the kids head for the water… and play and have fun all day long. I, on the other hand, sit on the beach and … sit…. On the beach… for as long as I can hold out. Usually around 6 hours or so.

Don't you have any books? I can recommend a few.

I call up a place I found on the net called Twogood Kayaks. I plan on renting anywhere from 2 to 3 kayaks… but I don’t really know.

Looks like they only have two good ones.

We had a choice between renting a kayak for $55 or taking a guided tour for $3.2 million.

I chose the former.

Good decision.

“Okay, you’re going to go into the ocean here. You can paddle out to this island here. Don’t go this way, ‘cause you’ll be swept out to see where your bodies won’t be found for a month. Don’t go this way ‘cause the waves will smash you and your boat into small particles undetectable to the naked eye. Don’t go here ‘cause that’s where we keep the kayak eating sharks. Have fun!”

I would be back on the beach after this pep talk.

Our kayak is dropped off by a stream that ends at Kailua beach. The idea is to paddle around for a bit in the stream until you’re comfortable/confident… Confident? Confidant? No, that’s you… confident. Then you drag your kayak across 50 or so feet of sand and into the ocean.

The same ocean with the big waves and sharks?

That’s like saying, “Just sit on this couch for a while. When you’re confident with your couch sitting abilities, your confidant will pop you onto this 2000 pound bull… named Diablo… bareback.”

…we’re ready for the ocean.

We drag the kayak across the sand and stop short.

There’s waves.

There’s big waves.

There’s big waves crashing onto the shore.

There’s lots of big waves crashing onto the shore.

Now what?

Run away!

Imagine a roller coaster that not only goes up and down and side to side… but back and forth and leans precariously from side to side too.

Should have followed my advice.

Once we started paddling and got a little away from shore, things settled down…. a bit.

Phew.

This is what it looks like after about 1/2 dozen attempts to take the picture:

Beautiful!

A neat thing about this island is that because it’s round, the waves hit the opposite side of the island, split in two, swing around it from both directions and meet up again on the near side. The water sort-of makes a clapping motion (and sound) on this side. I don’t know if you can see what I mean from this pic, but… here ya go.

That is really cool!

The girls go for a swim while I do what I always do on the beach.

Wait.

Hmm...I guess it would be hard to bring a book in the kayak.

For those foodies out there, we just went to a little market/convenience store that had a deli in the back. Kay and I both had a caesar salad wrap and Elle had a fruit salad.

Sorry. This foodie isn't impressed.

After lunch we drove into the town of Kailua and Kay spotted something she’d been looking for ever since we left Winnipeg… a Starbucks. No, she doesn’t drink coffee, but she does love the Vanilla Bean Frappuccino. Heck, I don ‘t drink coffee and I love ‘em too. We stop there and she finally gets her drink… me too… aaahhh…

My husband loves those things, but I think they're too sweet. I know. I know, Ponzi. We're so not alike.

Since we’re close, we pop into a Long’s Drugs and the kids each pick up a pair of flip-flops. We used to call ‘em thongs when I was a kid… until a certain other item of clothing started being called that.

Me too!

They call ‘em slippers. Or if there’s any possibility of confusion (too late!), rubber slippers… or more accurately, “rubbah slippahs”.

Sounds like a New Yawk accent. Like "We're gonna toss ya off da bridge in ya rubbah slippahs."

Anywhere else, there’d be signs and possibly paid parking for this view. Here in Hawaii… meh. Just another achingly beautiful vista.

Gorgeous!

he’s got a big grin on his face and he’s holding a flip flop (rubber slipper/thong/toesie/jandal/beach shoe/shower shoe) in his hand.

This kid runs out until he’s just below us and throws the footwear (ha!) as hard as he can off the cliff.

The flip flop goes out about as far as you would expect it to go when a small boy throws it… but instead of dropping down to land somewhere below the point of origin… the wind grabs it and blows it up and over our heads…. about 50 feet over our heads!

Very cool!

Let me now introduce you to Witchin’ Betty… except her name wasn’t Witchin’ Betty.

It wasn’t Baby Betty…
Or Blue Betty…
Or Bingo Betty…
Or Bratty Betty…
Or … you get the idea.

Betty was our brand spanking new GPS. Betty could be very helpful sometimes… and other times…

We named our GPS Veronica because of her sultry voice.

Betty’s got it all figured out.

Betty then takes us into a residential neighbourhood and we weave through backlanes and sidestreets only to emerge back onto the highway… and into the traffic jam.

I hate when Veronica does this to me. I actually have arguments with her when she tries to steer me back to the highway I'm avoiding.

Back at the hotel, Ruby gets off work and joins us in our room.

Poor Ruby misses all the fun.

I’ve got something ‘special’ planned for supper.

This is going to be great!

We arrive at our destination… Teddy’s Bigger Burgers.

Or not.

It’s a chain that I hadn’t heard of before but had read about online and in a few guide books. 1950s décor and great burgers and shakes… and they were good, too.

They don't have this kind of stuff in Canada?

FOREVER 21 Cue extremely foreboding music.

If you aren’t familiar with this store. It’s a young lady/older girl clothing store. Ruby turns to me and says, “I just want to pop in here and look for something for Elle. I’ll just be a minute.”

We're still in the Justice for Girl phase but I've walked by Forever 21 and have seen some cute things in the window. And then I have to remind myself that I don't want to look like mutton dressed as lamb.

An hour goes by.

Hey! This is like going to the beach!

Except not.


Great chapter Ponzi and beautiful photos! Thanks!

 

[dawnbu40]

Sounds like you and the girls had an incredible day! The pictures are beautiful!

Ending the day with some shopping sounds perfect to me! Caitlin Forever 21 and if they were only in there an hour, well you were very fortunate

 

[laura74]

Why would you rent 3 kayaks if they only have 2 good ones?

Looks like I accidently stole Nebo's joke.

Ok, you got me,,, what is a dry bag?

Yeah, me too. What is it?

you do realize that your last sentance made the couple above it unneccesary, don't you?
Geesh,, a little efficiency here,, how about it?

Efficiency in a trip report?

Believe it or not,,, I don't think I've ever been in a Starbucks in my life.

Wow! You are a real man, Nebo!

 

[bankr63]

Another great day in Hawaii! I've now bought 3 travel books for the place - and blame YOU!

For an extra $6 I also rent a dry bag and back support.

For Laura and Nebo - see all those things on the kayak in the foreground that look about the size of sleeping bags? Those are dry bags. Kind of do what the name says, they are water proof and keep your gear dry. If there is enough air in them, they'll also float when Kay and Elle's "whoa's" become a reality and the Ponzis unexpectedly go swimmin' with da fishies.

Where’s Waldo? Kay and Elle are both in this picture.

That's not really THAT big a challenge. Which two people look like they just arrived from the land of the ice and snow a few hours earlier? Skin tone gives it all away...

After a few minutes, we re-board our kayak (a lot easier this time around) and head back out. Our next destination is Lanikai beach.

You know some people never get it. We own a couple of Ocean Kayak Frenzies (you can see at least one in the picture above). I've gotten pretty good at getting in and out. Other members of the Ross clan, not so much... I've been banned from taking video of launches and landings.

Let me now introduce you to Witchin’ Betty… except her name wasn’t Witchin’ Betty.

It wasn’t Baby Betty…
Or Blue Betty…
Or Bingo Betty…
Or Bratty Betty…
Or … you get the idea.

Betty was our brand spanking new GPS. Betty could be very helpful sometimes… and other times…

Like this time.

Ours is named "Bossy". Nuff said on that. Well maybe not...

Have you ever noticed how her voice seems to get more strident each time she says "recalculating"? recalculating, REcalculating, reCALculating, RE.CAL.CU.LATING. I'm still waiting for her to say "Oh why do you even bother to switch me on if you are not going to follow my directions?"

If you want to have some real fun, switch the language to Mandarin. Had the kids in stitches one day when I did that without them noticing. We finally settled on the Australian female accent. Somehow doesn't seem quite so bad when she mangles the pronunciation of all the French street names around here. I've even started calling on-ramps "slip roads" like her.

 

[laura74]

For Laura and Nebo - see all those things on the kayak in the foreground that look about the size of sleeping bags? Those are dry bags. Kind of do what the name says, they are water proof and keep your gear dry. If there is enough air in them, they'll also float when Kay and Elle's "whoa's" become a reality and the Ponzis unexpectedly go swimmin' with da fishies. .

Cool. Thanks!

If you want to have some real fun, switch the language to Mandarin. Had the kids in stitches one day when I did that without them noticing. We finally settled on the Australian female accent. Somehow doesn't seem quite so bad when she mangles the pronunciation of all the French street names around here. I've even started calling on-ramps "slip roads" like her.

I know someone who has Burt Reynolds' voice in her GPS and if she's late somewhere she blames it on him.

 

[Thumper_Man]

I still need to read the latest chapter, but wanted to post this first.

Lady H and I were watching a special on tv yesterday and immediately thought of Ponzi when we saw it.

We said to ourselves, he spent all that money to take surfing lessons in Hawaii when he could've just taken them there. Where is there you ask, well it's the reason we're all here; but you have to click HERE to get the answer.

 

[MAGICFOR2]

This internet thing can be downright scary

Just finished Nebo's breakdown, and the ads at the bottom of the screen are for flip-flops and kayaks

We used to play a game on one thread - we would post a random word and see what ads came up! It was always entertaining!

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Ahhh, look what kind of fun you can have when the sun is shining!

Amazing Kayak pics! That is so funny how the water "claps" around flat Island. Great job catching it on camera!

Ahem! I appreciate how you sacrifice your time at the beach with the fam - I hear similar comments from DH too. You are at a tropical Island in the middle of the ocean, getting away from the cold place you live - I'm just not sure what else one would do.

Looks like a beautiful night for a stroll down the beach - fun spot to eat! You are a wonderful hubby and dad to be so patient for the shopping time. Are you sure it was really that long, or did it just feel like it?

Thanks for the update, and for not getting too far ahead of me while I was offline!

 

[Kgroo]

Great update!!! Things have been crazy busy around here. We took DD to see Thomas the train this weekend and I have actually had to work at work lately Your pics are beautiful!! I realty want to go back, but probably won't happen until DD is older.

I have to shop at Forever 21 for work. Between there, H&M, and Top Shop I am really not looking forward to Chloe hitting the teen years.

Keep up the great work

 

[smidgy]

I stood around just outside the store for about 5 minutes.

I moved over to the edge of the side walk.

After 10 minutes, I found a pole to lean against while I waited.

After 20 minutes, I found a guard rail that I could perch on.

An hour goes by.

Hey! This is like going to the beach!

An hour and a half goes by.

This is longer than the average lifespan of a may fly.

To an elephant though… it just seems like an entire lifetime.

Actually, now that I think of it, the elephant would’ve waited 5 – 10 minutes then charged into the place sending bits of plaster and shattered glass flying through the store. Spearing a few rackfulls of clothing with his tusks, he triumphantly trumpets his song of victory!!!


I just waited.

**************************


how funny! great chapter!!! another way you and nebo are alike.. he also gets bored at the beach! you 2 are nutz!!! look at the view!! .. NEBO: "yup, it's water, all right!"

read, relax, doze, think. wade in the water.

you and your girls did SO much fun stuff!!! I am jealous!!

 

[pkondz]

That was a great chapter, Ponzi, thanks. Everything looks so beautiful there, and kayaking sounds like fun in the ocean. Glad you went, I'll just stick to couch sitting though...

Thanks! Kayaking was a blast. Even with the difficulty we had getting started.

Try putting your couch in an ocean. Make sure it floats, first.

This internet thing can be downright scary

Just finished Nebo's breakdown, and the ads at the bottom of the screen are for flip-flops and kayaks

I've got kayak paddles right now.

Great update. I really have to get back to Hawaii some of these days. It only takes money.

Jill in CO

Thanks Jill... ah yes. Money. I'm going to do so much and see so many things when I win the lottery... except I don't play the lottery, so it might be a while.

Great update! I haven't been in a kayak since high school, and I'm not sure I could do it now. Kudos to you.

I've only done a little myself, but it's like riding a bicycle... just substitute getting eaten by sharks for scraped knees and it's almost identical.

Lost your wife and kids to Forever 21? Shouldn't you be used to that by now? Just be glad that there wasn't an H&M next door.

Nope. Usually it's, "Oh, you're going shopping? Darn, I can't go with you. I've got tons to do here at the house. Stare at the walls, nap, etc..."

Can't wait to hear more!

Thanks!

Whew! finally caught up. Back from the house of Mouse.

And how was it?

I hear you about the recitals. We don't have those anymore with the kids grown but we are gearing up for street painting season.

What the heck is street painting? Is it like Wile E. Coyote painting new lines and a fake tunnel on a wall?

We will most likely only do one or two festivals this year as both of my older kids are getting married in the fall and I am working summer school as well. Also have to find a new venue for DD wedding as the one we had booked fell through

Oh, no! Seriously? How do you book a wedding venue and it "falls through"?

Great pics. I love the beach but also hate the schlepping assiciated with it.

Yeah, schlepping is a great word though.

Did manage to hit Ocean Beach for a bit yesterday (down in San Diego) Went to check out a place we saw on Diners Drive Ins and Dives.
The burger place you went to looks like a blast.

I like Triple D's. Don't watch it all the time, but I will when I see it listed. I've been to two of them. The weinery in Minneapolis was in a scuzzy part of town. Ruby was not amused... but man, those hotdogs were amazing. The other place was a little bit north of Minneapolis and I don't remember the name. But it was only so/so. It's supposed to be famous for its 'red spaghetti sauce'. Elle had fettucine alfredo (lousy), I don't remember what Kay had but it was okay, Ruby had Margherita Pizza (just okay) and I had the spaghetti with red sauce (just okay).

Was the place you went to Hodads? Haven't seen the episode for that one, but found it on the net.

Great chapter, Ponzi, and I love the pictures, too. The water is a beautiful color - very inviting.

Thanks Sandy. It's Hawaii, so every morning, they have big tanker trucks drive up to the shores and dump in blue food coloring for the tourists.

Sounds like you and the girls had an incredible day! The pictures are beautiful!

Thanks Dawn!

Ending the day with some shopping sounds perfect to me! Caitlin Forever 21 and if they were only in there an hour, well you were very fortunate

I can well imagine that getting Caitlin out of there in under an hour would be farily impossible.

I, on the other hand, was thinking about walking out into traffic, just for something to do.

Another great day in Hawaii! I've now bought 3 travel books for the place - and blame YOU!

You're welcome. Planning on going anytime soon? Or just dreaming about maybe someday?

For Laura and Nebo - see all those things on the kayak in the foreground that look about the size of sleeping bags? Those are dry bags. Kind of do what the name says, they are water proof and keep your gear dry. If there is enough air in them, they'll also float when Kay and Elle's "whoa's" become a reality and the Ponzis unexpectedly go swimmin' with da fishies.

Yup. That's them.

That's not really THAT big a challenge. Which two people look like they just arrived from the land of the ice and snow a few hours earlier? Skin tone gives it all away...



You know some people never get it. We own a couple of Ocean Kayak Frenzies (you can see at least one in the picture above). I've gotten pretty good at getting in and out. Other members of the Ross clan, not so much... I've been banned from taking video of launches and landings.

I understand the 'banning'. But that means you've taken some in the past. Link please?

Ours is named "Bossy". Nuff said on that. Well maybe not...

Have you ever noticed how her voice seems to get more strident each time she says "recalculating"? recalculating, REcalculating, reCALculating, RE.CAL.CU.LATING. I'm still waiting for her to say "Oh why do you even bother to switch me on if you are not going to follow my directions?"

You're right! It does sound exactly like that! I kept wanting to say "sorry" to it, every time I missed a turn.

Other times, I was thinking, "Serves you right for trying to steer me in the wrong direction".

If you want to have some real fun, switch the language to Mandarin. Had the kids in stitches one day when I did that without them noticing. We finally settled on the Australian female accent. Somehow doesn't seem quite so bad when she mangles the pronunciation of all the French street names around here. I've even started calling on-ramps "slip roads" like her.

Nope. Can't switch language... or do anything. Betty went back to Costco to torment some other directionally challenged driver.

I still need to read the latest chapter, but wanted to post this first.

Lady H and I were watching a special on tv yesterday and immediately thought of Ponzi when we saw it.

We said to ourselves, he spent all that money to take surfing lessons in Hawaii when he could've just taken them there. Where is there you ask, well it's the reason we're all here; but you have to click HERE to get the answer.

I didn't have to click to know what it was going to show me. I read a TR where someone's tried it. It looked like a lot of fun there too... right Caitlin?

Ahhh, look what kind of fun you can have when the sun is shining!

I haven't mentioned the weather much... if at all. We might've had a couple of minutes of drizzle once or twice... but other than that, the weather was pretty much perfect the whole time we were there.

Do you hate me now?

Amazing Kayak pics! That is so funny how the water "claps" around flat Island. Great job catching it on camera!

Oh, it's easy to catch it on camera. You just take 10 - 12 pictures and swear between each of them until you finally get lucky.

Ahem! I appreciate how you sacrifice your time at the beach with the fam - I hear similar comments from DH too. You are at a tropical Island in the middle of the ocean, getting away from the cold place you live - I'm just not sure what else one would do.

Let's put it this way. When Ruby and I were first in Hawaii with no kids, we went to another one of those "world's best" beaches. We drove out, walked out onto the sand, looked at the ocean, looked left, looked right... then went back to the car and drove off. Total time at the beach? Maybe 10 minutes.

But I do love the warmth and scenery of Hawaii. Just not into beaches.

Looks like a beautiful night for a stroll down the beach

It was!

fun spot to eat!

It was too!

You are a wonderful hubby and dad to be so patient for the shopping time.

I am, aren't I? Don't you think I should get some kind of medal or award or at least a plaque?

Are you sure it was really that long, or did it just feel like it?

I will be completely honest with you. I don't know exactly how long it was. But I do know that it was somewhere between an hour and a quarter to under two hours long. If you have to pin it down, I'd guess an hour and twenty/twenty five.

Thanks for the update, and for not getting too far ahead of me while I was offline!

I did it all for you.

 

[pkondz]

You left out "Call me Ishmael."

Okay... You're Ishmael.

Yes, we all like to have dates. Did I tell you that last week the girl at MacDonalds said she wanted to date me?
What exactly is carbon dating, anyway?

It's a method of determining age in a fossil... such as yourself.

I too have wondered the prolly word.
My problem is I keep wanting to say "probably obably",,,, is that from a children's book,,, Stuart Little or Charlette's Web ?

That does sound familiar. Can't place it either, though.

That's salt, seaweed and dead alewives they're smelling.

Cary Elwes is dead? when did that happen?

Actually, I had to look up alewives, I had no idea what that was.

I almost burned up a picnic table once with a portable propane BBQ.

That's what portable BBQs are for.

I turned a beautiful Porterhouse steak into beef jerky.

Oh, yeah. That too.

Why would you rent 3 kayaks if they only have 2 good ones?

That's why we only rented one. Wanted to leave the other one for somebody else.

I noticed you left yourself out of the inexperience description, are yuou a master of the umiak kayak?
I'm getting pretty good at my Kodak though.

Kodak? Isn't that that company that will soon be bankrupt?

I've been canoeing off and on ever since I was a little kid. I've only done a bit of kayaking, but the theory is the same. Once when I thought I might buy my own kayak, I took some lessons. I'm not a pro (far from it) but I can at least hold my own.

I chose the former.

Wait, what farmer, did I miss something?

The one in the dell... laptop.

We get to the kayak place and are given a safety briefing.

What, boxer briefs aren't good enough?

Yes, I was KO'd quickly. It was a brief contest but mighty tighty for a while.

I thought you were going to say the most terrifying thing,,, that if it's lost or destroyed, you WILL be responsible for replacing the 65,000 dollar kayak. '

No, the most terrifying thing would be, "And now you have to shop for color co-ordinated swimsuits and PFDs."

Ok, you got me,,, what is a dry bag?

I do believe this has been covered. But if you missed it, or still aren't sure, it's a polyurethane/nylon bag that has a thick lip that you fold over a few times which seals it and makes it completely waterproof. We put our towels and shoes and the DDs cameras in it. The whole thing is then lashed on the back of the kayak. The bag gets completely soaked, but everything inside was dry.


you do realize that your last sentance made the couple above it unneccesary, don't you?
Geesh,, a little efficiency here,, how about it?

k

There's lots and LOTS of big waves crashing onto the shore?

Nope. There's a fine line between comedy and overdoneness.

I obviously don't know where that line is.

Wait,,, you are now getting assistance and advice from a COMPETITOR of where you rented the kodak from? Yeah,,, that's someone I'm gonna want to listen to.
Did she also tell you that Man of Wars make great pets?

I gotta admit, that really impressed me. Funny you mention Man of Wars. Apparently, while we were in the water on the north and east coasts, the south coast (i.e. Waikiki beach) was closed due to jelly fish. We didn't even know until a day or so after the fact.

ululates? can you say that on a family board?

Yeah, it's the little dangly punching bag thing at the back of your throat.

“Go!”… pkondz flounders and kicks and squirms and wriggles and lunges and oh so gracefully finally gets into the #^%@$# kayak.

I think you mispelled the word before kayak.

You're right! It should be $@#^#!& kayak.

Wow, is this where the people renting them from the two different companies all go at one another?

Didn't you just read 'Hunger Games'? Well... only one kayak left the island.

I can't believe yoiu are keeping all these names straight.

Maybe I'm not. Who'd know the difference?

Oh, sure. The girls would scream every time the kayak rocked a little too much, but whaddya gonna do?

Rock it even more!

I like the way you think.

No,,, real men don't "frolic",,, it ranks up there with saying "tee hee".

What if you giggle and frolic at the same time? Is your man card revoked AND burned?

And I'll bet the kids were worried about the pappy.

Nope. They think I have all the answers.

Believe it or not,,, I don't think I've ever been in a Starbucks in my life.

Oh? They don't have any in Chicago? :

We called them tongs when I was little, or flip flops.. unfortunately,,, my ears always heard clip clops,,, so that's what I called them,,, to everybody's amusement.

I remember that you do.

Ok,,, this will be on your head.
Guy goes into a drug store to buy 'rubbahs',,"How much?" he asks. "Four dollars" he's told.
"Ok, give me a pack."
"Fine, that will be 4. 32"

"4.32? I thought you said 4 dollars?" he complained
"Yes,, 4 dollars for the product, and 32 cents tax."

"Tacks,,,,!!? Don't you have any that roll on?"

This is a family board, so I'm not even going to come close to commenting on the "this will be on your head" part.

Whoa-O Black Betty, rama lam.

Nice. Great tune, too.

Now this looks like my kind of place

I liked it... It's a bit too... ummm... 'chainy'... but still good.

Hold it,,, you picked up a girl,,, but said she's mine? Am I missing something here?

Ooops! I swear, it was completely innocent!

I noticed you specifically left out the monetary damage done inside while you were playing sentinel.

Ruby had her spending money and I had mine... so I wasn't worried about it... much.

Gracias,,, great chapter!

Thanks Nebo. Great breakdown!

 

[pkondz]

Sleeping in?

Hey, at least it's not sleeping around.

I hate that one too. Right up there with "totes."

Thankfully, I don't hear that one very often. Don't spread it around.

Don't you have any books? I can recommend a few.

Are they shaded and sort of a grayish color?

Actually, next time I go to the beach it probably will be book reading time. Prior to that, whenever we'd go, I'd be watching one or both girls like a hawk. Now that they're older, I can relax a bit. It never ceases to amaze me how some parents will let their little ones go in the water with little to no supervision. I've "saved" at least one kid that I can recall, because the parent was too busy yapping to pay attention.

Maybe I'm hypersensitive about it since I almost drowned myself a couple of times. But I'd rather be over sensitive and not take my eyes off my kids than have the alternative...

Looks like they only have two good ones.

Nope, sorry, that line's been used already. I'll just wait here until you come up with something else.









still waiting...

I would be back on the beach after this pep talk.

The thought did cross my mind...

The same ocean with the big waves and sharks?

I really, reeeeaaallly have to work at NOT thinking about it.

Run away!

Nah. Of course if it had been a bunny...

Hmm...I guess it would be hard to bring a book in the kayak.

Yeah, what with the shoes, towels and cameras already in there, there wasn't a lot of room left.

Sorry. This foodie isn't impressed.

I didn't say it was a Michelin rated restaurant, now did I?

My husband loves those things, but I think they're too sweet. I know. I know, Ponzi. We're so not alike.

Wait, I thought we'd established that we were alike... I'm so confused now.

Sounds like a New Yawk accent. Like "We're gonna toss ya off da bridge in ya rubbah slippahs."

Wit a cement overcoat.

We named our GPS Veronica because of her sultry voice.

Betty and Veronica... what are the odds?

I hate when Veronica does this to me. I actually have arguments with her when she tries to steer me back to the highway I'm avoiding.

Who wins?

Poor Ruby misses all the fun.

I was in a perpetual state of guilt the whole time we were there. Even though we knew it was going to happen, it still felt wrong. Then again, Ruby would not have swum with sharks or surfed. And the only way she would kayak is if she gets to sit in the middle or at most dip a paddle now and then.

They don't have this kind of stuff in Canada?

Yes... and better too. But I love a really good burger. Actually, I think I'm a bit of a burger snob. I've tried pretty much every burger place in town that's had good reviews.

We're still in the Justice for Girl phase but I've walked by Forever 21 and have seen some cute things in the window. And then I have to remind myself that I don't want to look like mutton dressed as lamb.

I'm pretty sure that Kay is now out of the Justice period... so it won't be long before Monkster's moving onwards and upwards.

Great chapter Ponzi and beautiful photos! Thanks!

Thank you!