Back Home

Moʻo was very excited to see me when I got back to the house! She was bouncing around near the gate. Usually she just quietly goes to lie down near the fence so I can attach the tie out so she can't bolt out the gate & on to the road like she has done 3 times in the couple of weeks before I left. I am planning to tie her up through the end of the month, then see if she has retained the message that she is not to go running out the gate when the car comes or goes. She was doing so good over the last 2 years or so! I'm not sure what caused her to forget her training. 

She was moving so much I couldn't get a good photo of her!

It was an early morning start for us; we woke up around 5 so we could be on our way to the airport by 6. Karen made coffee for Kai. (Mahalo e Karen!) With all the omiyage, my suitcase was 68 pounds but the very nice attendant just gave me a warning & put a "Heavy Baggage" tag on my bag. She said in the future, it would cost me $100 if it was over 50 pounds.

 

Going through TSA in Seattle was a breeze; I found out there is a code on the back of my temporary license that they scanned to verify it was an authentic ID. I wonder why the Kona Airport does not have that same technology? I stopped at the bathroom on my way to the gate; it had a rather interesting sink. The airport designer apparently thought it looked cool; I think it looks like an accident waiting to happen.

There is no rim; it just all slopes towards drain.

 

As we started to board, the gate attendant announced that the flight was full & asked people to consolidate items & also check baggage that they would not need during the flight. Surprisingly, the row I was in was almost empty & there were a couple of other empty seats in our section near the back of the plane.

Once in the air, woman on the other end put her legs up on seat & went to sleep.

 

The morning weather was the normal western Washington gray. On the ground it was business as usual. The clouds looked more beautiful when viewed from above.

Overcast but dry.

The tops look so soft! Cascades peaking through clouds in background.

When they announced the meal service would begin, I was ready if they said I had not pre-ordered. I had a screen shot of my order on my phone. But it worked out this time & I got the hot meal I pre-ordered with no problems. The Carnitas Breakfast Bowl tasted better than it looks!

I placed this order 3 days ago.

After breakfast, while most people were still awake, a flight attendant announced that all passengers must fill out the State of Hawaiʻi Agriculture Declaration Form. Alaska is part of a small group of airlines testing the use of an online form; it is accessed via their inflight wi-fi connection. Once I figured out how to connect to their wi-fi, it was fairly easy to navigate. (They will give you a paper form to fill out if you can't use the digital form.) One thing though, they should have announced that if anyone did not fill out a form, no one would be allowed to get off the plane at the destination & the baggage would also remain on the plane until all forms were accounted for. How do I know this? Apparently at least 1 person on our flight did not fill out the form & we spent another 15 minutes or so stuck on the plane with our baggage! Auē! 

I was sent this email when I was done.

Fran picked me up at the airport; at the same time she dropped off Billy who was headed back to Honolulu for work. On the way back to Kohala, since she was driving, I was able to take a good look at Terraformation's restoration area about 2 miles south of Lapakahi. It is still surprising to me that this site is 3 or 4 years old. I am used to western Washington sites where by Year 3 there is a lot of cover & by Year 5 in most places it is difficult to tell the ground used to be bare. But there is a lot more precipitation in western Washington than on the leeward coast of Hawaiʻi Island.

Restoration site is marked by bright green plants on hillside.

After Fran dropped me off & I was closing the gate, Jessie asked me to wait by the fence. She came out with a plate of sushi for me! It was very nice to not have to make meals after a long day of travel. We also talked about the chickens; Sugar & Spice are starting to crow & Henrietta has 8 chicks, though she did find 1 dead chick in the front yard.

 

Later in the evening I got a Civil Defense alert; the well had gone out again! Once more we are on Essential Needs Only Water Use. Just what I need when I have a  suitcase full of dirty laundry! Auē! I guess I need to go to Waimea again to do laundry!

 

As we were driving back, Fran mentioned that everyone was getting prepared for the hurricane to hit. I had not been paying attention to the forecast while in Washington. It turns out Hurricane Kiko is about 1265 miles west-southwest of Baja California & moving west-soutwesterly at about 7 mph. It is anticipated to enter the Central Pacific region in a few days. Once it passes 140 degrees longitude, the boundary of between the Central & Eastern Pacific basins, it is usually about 3 days before it makes landfall here if that's its path. So we have at least another week before it hits; that's lots of time to for me to make final preparations since I have impact-resistant windows & an emergency preparedness kit that is always ready. The main task will be picking up loose things around the yard that might become projectiles.

It's so far away right now, the state does not show up on the forecast cone map.

There is minor activity at Kīlauea with sputtering visible at the north vent. The next episode is anticipated to begin some time between the 3rd & the 6th.  

 

Hauʻoli lā Hānau e Mary & Zoe! A me ka Hauʻoli lā Hoʻomanaʻo makahiki kanalima kumamālua e Mike & Marilyn! A me ka Hauʻoli lā Hoʻomanaʻo makahiki ʻumi kumamāwalu e David & Sheila!