My Summer Vacation: Test Kit Getting Closer

Just after midnight I received a text from the U.S. Postal Service; my test kit has made it to Honolulu. I can't believe that it will take another 3 days to get from Oʻahu to Kapaʻau. From Honolulu to Kona is a 40 minute flight, then its just over an hour drive to Kapaʻau; you would think they could a get a package there in a day not the 3 additional days they told me yesterday. Mom used to send me packages that would get to me in Washington in 3 days. I guess I'll just have to wait & see what really happens.

I weighed myself again this morning before I drank or ate anything. I was the same weight as yesterday. Oh, well.

Today's Feast Day proothie is an avocado proothie, using half of one of the avocados that Sherry gave me earlier in the week. Even with half of this smaller avocado my proothie was really thick.

Gastro Obscura launched a new part of its website today. One of the articles is about the Monstera deliciosa fruit; I have mentioned it before. I have never tried it; but I watched the video so I know what to do now if I ever have the opportunity. (At one point he says it tastes like cherimoya, like a whole lot of people would know what that tastes like!) Kohala Grown Market has a lot of unusual fruit; I think I will try some fruit that are new to me when they are in season.

I got a couple of texts from Janice this morning. She was on a flight to Charleston. She travels around the country a lot doing presentations on cultural humility & inclusion of patients in decisions on patient care.

FYI Since I have been sipping on my proothie in the mornings, I have been skipping lunch. It does not seem to have hurt me ...

At 1:25 p.m. I got another text from the U.S. Postal Service. The test kit has been delivered! Hulō! It took about 11 hours instead of 3 days. Which means I now have until the 19th to pick it up. Good thing I will have my car there by the 14th! Although, it is small enough I could walk to the post office & pick it up on Saturday morning. (Or this might be Jessie's test kit since I ordered for her also since she doesn't have a computer. Or maybe its my contact lenses?)

I am trying to clean out everything that I have in the freezer, so this evening for dinner I had a vegetarian burger by Hilary's. It was okay for a burger that is not trying to masquerade as real meat; though I still prefer either a Gardenburger or Boca Burger (Spicy Chicken flavor).

Today's Kauakukalahale column in 'Ōlelo Hawaiʻi is on the invasive coqui frogs (Eleutherodactylus coqui). So far I have not heard them at our house, but they are in a couple areas of North Kohala.

There are several bills in the State legislature requiring conversion of cesspools to septic systems. I think this is a good thing to do. My house has a cesspool that was installed when my grandparents 1st moved to the property in the mid-1960's. I was told by both Uncle Kazu & Lem that Grandpa built a very large cesspool so I do not need to worry about ever overloading it. But that is not my concern, it is the fact that materials could leach in to the water table. Although I would not be required to upgrade my cesspool, I will be watching these bills closely, especially the one providing financial incentives to homeowners to upgrade their systems; putting in a septic system is not cheap, it runs about $15,000.

Hawai'i Island is getting a new K-9 officer to help with tracking missing children & adults while another is retiring. Falcon (right) retired on January 21st & Scout (left) started yesterday.

The Mauna Kea Astronomy Outreach Committee is looking for designs for a coin featuring Mauna Kea. The annual contest for Hawai'i Island K through 12 students began in 2011 & attracts several hundred to a thousand entries. The contest closes on March 21st; I will try to remember to post the winners here.

Kīlauea volcano is still erupting. And Mauna Kea summit still has patches of snow.

The Aix weather app forecast rain all day for Honolulu; it could not have been more wrong, there was not even a drizzle today. For Kapaʻau, Aix also forecast rain all day; Big Island Now forecast showers likely in the morning then scattered showers in the afternoon with a 70% chance of rain. The Honomū weather station recorded 0.10 inches by 5:00 a.m.; it remained that way throughout the day. For Marysville,

Kaimukī looking northerly at 8:52 a.m.

Waikīkī looking easterly at 9:02 a.m.

Kaimukī looking westerly at 9:04 a.m.

Honomū looking northerly at 9:04 a.m.

Marysville looking northerly at 9:04 a.m.

Kelly Slater won the mens division of the Billabong Pro Pipeline meet today. It is his 8th time winning this title. FYI He will be 50 in a week or so. The womens division continues tomorrow.

The High Surf Advisory is still in effect for north facing & west facing shorelines. The large waves mean the Billabong Pro Pipeline will be on for tomorrow; the other shorelines would be better for the non-pros.

Laniākea (N) at 8:59 a.m.

Hilo Bay (E) at 8:59 a.m.

Waikīkī (S) at 9:02 a.m.

Banyans (W) at 9:01 a.m.

Maui is relaxing its COVID-19 requirements. They are removing the requirement for the 3rd shot that they had initiated a couple weeks ago or so. Since Terri also wants to visit Maui I sent her this information.

There were 1278 new cases of COVID-19 reported today, increasing the total known cases to 225,535. There were also 18 new deaths reported today, bringing the death toll up to 1222; this is the highest number of daily fatalities reported. Currently there are 25,114 cases considered active. The 7-day new case average for the State is 1363 with a positivity rate of 8.9%.