It Was a Dark & Stormy Night

Actually, it was day time. When I started my morning walk it was lightly spritzing; nothing to be concerned about. In fact, my rash guard was not getting solidly wet since my body heat would evaporate the older droplets. But then, about 10 minutes from the end of my walk when I was on Lurline, it started to rain hard; there was not much I could do except keep walking. When I reached the car it began to rain even harder, so I went to the shelter at the overlook and waited for it to slow down, which took a while.


During the dry part of my walk I think I found the Norfolk Island pines (Araucaria heterophylla) that I can see from the 2nd floor balcony. Now I need to find the coconut tree; I think it is on Lurline.

The view from the 2nd floor balcony.

Close-up of trees.

I'm pretty sure these are the 3 Norfolk Island pines on the right in the photo above. They are on Matsonia.

I think this is the Norfolk Island pine to the left of the other Norfolk pines. This one is on Lurline.

During the really wet part of my walk I saw a squashed giant African snail (Lissachatina fulica); it is larger than any native snail so it is relatively easy to identify even in its flattened state. It is one of the 100 most invasive species in the world, so I was not upset.

Die, invasive species, die!

 
Once I got to the 1st floor bathroom, I removed my soaking wet rash guard, shorts, boots, & socks. My underwear was wet, too, except for a small dry patch that was protected by the shorts and fanny pack. I kept the underwear on since there's nothing worse than having to wear wet underwear except having to wear wet, cold underwear! I squeezed the rest of the things out as best I could, put the damp shorts, socks, & boots back on, and changed in to my dry shirt.

The only dry spot on any of my clothing.

I sat on one of the towels they brought in for Dad. I also went in to the shower room and used the hair dryer to get a little less wet; it was Venus' suggestion. Some of the things in my fanny pack also got wet including my walking schedule and my money. On the plus side, I didn't really need to cool down at all! I was at a pleasant body temperature.

My slightly wet walking schedule.

Dad was in the dining room when I arrived but, as usual, he was refusing to eat any solid food; he finished his supplements then went back to bed. I skipped the mid-morning walk, it was drizzly and my rash guard and hat were still quite damp. My underwear, boots, and socks had warmed up so they didn't feel too wet. Many times I have spent part of my work day sitting at my desk in clothes that were so wet people couldn't tell I was wet since they were evenly colored, unlike when only part of your jeans or shirt are wet. The worst part is when my boots squish because so much water has flowed in to them from running down my jeans into my boots. Since I was wearing shorts that didn't happen, only water from my socks wicked in to my boots so they aren't squishing today.

Lunch today was Pork long squash, Steamed rice, Tossed salad, Sweet corn haupia, and Portuguese bean soup; though I didn't get any soup. Dad ate 1 bite of his peanut butter & jelly sandwich.


I did my afternoon walk because it was dry; no precipitation. It was still overcast & breezy. I decided to do the same long morning walk that I did since I am trying to do 3 miles a day this week. This time my walk was uneventful as I completed the 1.66 miles for a total of 3.35 miles.

I went to Uyeda Shoe Store to return the Salomon hiking boots. I tried a pair of Hoka walking shoes; they weren't as comfortable as the Hoka hiking boots. Since the Hoka hiking boots were the least unstable of the boots I tried, I asked Marcus if I could wear the hiking boots in the house to see if they made my left knee sore and still be able to return them if they don't work; he said yes. So I returned the Salomons, bought the Hokas, and another pair of socks to use with the Hokas. I started wearing them tonight; I will continue for a couple more nights to see what happens.

Olivia is now a Tropical Depression, meaning sustained winds have dropped below 39 mph; in fact, they are at 35 mph. Olivia is about 440 miles southwest of us and is expected to become a post-tropical remnant low by tonight and continue weakening tomorrow; the National Weather Service will no longer be tracking Olivia. There are currently no systems developing in either the Eastern or Central North Pacific.

At 5 p.m.

Happy Birthday to Marcie, Sweet Danny Ray, Kathryn, Duane, & Bryan!