My Summer Vacation: One Pair of Long Pants

That's all I have; one pair of long pants. On interisland flights I'll do shorts, but when I'm on long flights I wear long pants because the plane gets so cold. I hadn't quite thought through my recent weight loss and what it's impacts might be on my ability to wear the limited selection of clothes that I have here. Like the one pair of long pants. I tried them out on Sunday night and found they were indeed much looser than they were the last time I used them in January. Even after using 2 safety pins they were still loose; they are also stretch jeans material so that doesn't help. So I used my fanny pack belt to help keep my pants up while I was traveling; fortunately this part of my trip involved a lot of sitting! Robert is a good friend; after getting Mr. Kai his caffeine, we went to Goodwill & I got another pair of long pants!

Can you believe it, a Starbucks with such limited hours! We had to go to the casino to find some coffee for Kai.

Goodwill to the rescue!

This actually wasn't where I found my jeans. I prefer black jeans, they were in the fancy pants section.

My purchase: black jeans & duct tape.

I also got a roll of duct tape because, "Duct tape is like the Force. It has a dark side and a light side and it holds the Universe together." As he was repeating this quote to me, Kai was in the middle of reading The Martian (which was purchased at Goodwill) and the following passage popped up, "Yes, of course duct tape works in a near-vacuum. Duct tape works anywhere. Duct tape is magic and should be worshiped."

Tada! Instant hem!

My sun protection clothing from Patagonia arrived yesterday. I had just enough time to put them through one wash, hang them out, and have them dry before I had to leave for the airport. On my next order I think I will get the next larger size on the Anchor Bay shirt; the body fits well but the sleeves are a little tight in the arms; I am unable to roll them up without cutting off my circulation, its a good thing it has the tabs & button to hold the "rolled" sleeves up. The crew neck shirt fits well; I think I will stay with that size.

Anchor Bay long-sleeved shirt (L), crew neck long-sleeved shirt (R).

The plane to Chicago left Honolulu about 4 pm Monday and landed about 5 am the next day; dinner was a Smoked Gouda Cheeseburger (for purchase). I met up with Kai at O'Hare International Airport on Tuesday morning as we made our way to the gate for the flight to Green Bay. The beginning of this blog was written at O'Hare; we saw an exhibit about the guy O'Hare was named after.

Smoked Gouda Cheeseburger.

Kai checking out the F4F-3 Wildcat at the "Butch" O'Hare exhibit.

Because Kai had basically nothing to eat before he got on the plane, he was starving when he arrived in Chicago. We stopped at a place in the airport that purported to have Mediterranean-type food but everything we tried to order that seemed along the lines of the Mediterranean diet was not available. I decided on the Turkey & Avocado Wrap and Kai went for the Salmon & Bacon Wrap. When we compared them they looked the same. They also tasted the same.

I wonder what this really is?

Our plane was a small Canadair CL-65. How small was it? It was so small even I had to duck to avoid hitting my head when I got in to my seat. O'hare was a pretty busy place.

Kai makes his way down the aisle.

Ground traffic at O'Hare, they just kept coming.

We arrived in Green Bay about an hour after we left O'Hare. It was similar to flying to the Big Island; just enough time to ascend as the jet gets up to speed, then you're ready to descend & land again; the flight attendant had just enough time to give us the complimentary Stroopwafel. Brian, a pilot from American Airlines, was sitting behind us. His seatmate was asking him a lot of questions; we found out a lot. Ever wonder why they tell you to turn off your electronics when they are taking off & landing? It's because in older planes the wires are unshielded so the tiny bit of interference caused by the electronics can affect the signals from the beacons enough that if the plane has to depend on instruments for taking off or landing in less than ideal visual conditions, the plane can be just far enough off center that some of its wheels are off the runway. Not a good thing people! So listen to the flight attendants and turn your electronics off during take-off & landing! (Brian says the public never hears about when the plane is only a little bit off the runway. You just hear about the big crashes.)

Getting our bags was easy and getting to the Radisson Hotel across the street was just as easy, they send a van for you if you are a customer; they didn't even ask for our name. The Radisson is run by the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin.

Robert was waiting for us in the lobby. Kai & I decided we needed a nap before we started to go out sightseeing, so Robert went home and came back later. He is a very good friend; he indulged my idiosyncrasies and we did some birding while driving. The birds we saw included Black Vulture, Canada Goose, and Sandhill Crane.

Black Vultures (Coragyps atratus) in the air; they have spotted something yummy!

Black Vultures on the ground, we didn't actually see what it was that brought them in.

Canada Geese (Branta canadensis).

Sandhill Crane (Antigone canadensis). Yay! I can check this endangered species off my Life List!

We made a specific stop at the Oneida Buffalo Overlook. The tribe is raising bison as a protein source for the elders in their nutrition program. They have been raising American bison (Bison bison) since 1996 and currently have about 100 head.

Kai, looking like a mountain man, next to the bison statue.

We also stopped at the Where the Water Birds Nest Natural Area. It is a restored wetland.

Canada Goose family heading towards the water.

American White Pelican (

One of the blue darners; you can only tell them apart by looking at the male sexual appendages under a microscope. Why one would want to do that, I don't know.

Turtles are very important for the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin; it is the totem of one of the clans. There is a turtle as well as the Tree of Life in the Oneida logo, several of the roundabouts incorporate a turtle design, and one of the school buildings is designed to look like a turtle (most easily seen from the air), among other things.

Oneida Nation seal on water tower.

Roundabout with turtle design.

We had dinner at the Golden Basket Restaurant. Robert had the French Dip, Kai had the Gyro Platter, and I had the Caesar Salad with Salmon.

Robert with his French Dip.

Kai's Gyro Platter.

Caesar Salad with Salmon.

Robert had told me earlier that the transition between the city limits for Green Bay and the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin reservation (where he lives) was seamless, you couldn't tell where one ended and the other began; unlike reservations in Washington where the difference in socioeconomic level is readily visible.

Green Bay.

Oneida Nation of Wisconsin.

We also went to see the elder housing that Robert lives in. The tribe takes care of its members very well. In the facility there is a cafeteria where tribal members over 55 can have a subsidized lunch, if they are over 70 it is free. The buildings are connected by hallways so they are not exposed to the weather and there is also a tornado shelter built in to the facility.

The green cross-hatched area is the tornado shelter.

After we got back to the hotel I found out there is an exercise room at the Radisson. I spent half an hour on the treadmill; I worked it up to 2.9 miles per hour, which is the fastest that I have walked uphill. It was rather easy to do on the flat; but I did have to Biofreeze my knees since that was twice as long as I usually walk at any pace.