Hello All,

     Well maybe I will get to posting a little more consistently after the slowdown in posting I have been going through lately. Not that I have a whole lot to share currently, but I guess a little bit of something is a whole lot better than nothing.

      I did get one of my horses put down on Saturday, everything went smoothly and quietly. I really do think he was ready, even if I wasn’t really…… I think a connection with a horse is different than that with other animals, those of you with horses I think will agree with me. I wasn’t sure how the rest of the herd would deal with one of its members no longer being around, but it seems that they had accepted the inevitable long before I did…… At least now they will get more of my time since I will not be spending a couple hours every evening doctoring a terminally ill companion. Enough said…

     Summer has now decided to hit here, looks like the warm weather is here to stay for a bit. Now that the hot-tub is in, maybe I need to look at putting in a swimming pool, lol. Fortunately my place backs up to a creek with several swimming holes, and when that gets to low the river is only a short drive down the road. Another plus is being only about an hour and a half from the coast and several great beaches.

     Well enough for now, hopefully will catch you all up on how the rest of life is going soon…… Take care and please keep smiling…

  Jon

I appreciate others ability to share even though it can be quite difficult, especially not really knowing who I am. I think this medium which tends to be rather anonymous can make that process a bit easier. I know it may sound weird, but when I was married I was a victim of spousal abuse, not the physical but the mental/verbal type. I know how easy it can be to judge people who put up with any form of partner abuse, but every situation is different. I dont judge others regardless of their situation, but hope somehow just being here to listen and offer support and advice can help.......I guess having been in less than optimal circumstances myself makes it easier to understand what others have or are going through. Take care and keep smiling...... Jon :-)

My second day on Kauai was spent mostly driving and getting a feel for the island and decide on the rest of the weeks adventures. So getting up at a reasonable time (9am) and packing my cooler and daypack got me on my way a little before noon (well it is vacation ya know). I headed north on the road that took me through the area that had been affected by the previous weeks dam breaks and subsequent area of flooding. About 5 miles out of town traffic was stopped as the road was down to a single lane since the road had been washed out and they were only able to open one lane. Driving through that area was definitely humbling……

 The weather wasn’t too bad, mostly cloudy with a few off and on rain showers. I drove all the way to the end of the road, which ended at a wonderful state park/beach. The only problem was the lack of parking and I guess everyone else had the same idea of where to go….. Regardless I took a little hike down to the beach and hung out for a while enjoying the views and sounds. This particular park was the trailhead for a coastal 17 mile trail along the beautiful Napali coast. Next time here this will be one of my priority hikes, weather permitting…… so whoever comes with me better be ready J.

  Heading back up the road was when I had decided to make a few stops and side road trips. There were several quaint little towns and a few large resorts along the way. Stopped at a small beach nestled below the cliffs of Princeville Resort area, had to slowly make my way down a very steep cliff area with help of some steps cut into the cliff and ropes tied off to trees. The stop was well worth it, quiet and few people will make for another place to return to someday. Meandered around the area of Princeville, sporting  multi-million dollar homes was rather interesting, obviously there are lots of people with lots of money somewhere…… The next town was a quaint little town of Hanalei, not as resort minded as Princeville but not without its own expensive homes. Another place I wouldn’t mind spending a little more time at exploring some backroads and trails.

  Then back to Kapaa where my condo is located…… Drove a bit around town to get a feel for the area and where things were, mostly looking for the locals hangouts rather than the touristy places. Did end up going out to dinner at a restaurant at the “Coconut Marketplace” right next to the place I am staying, rather disappointing dinner though, will have to be more imaginative from here on out when picking where to go.

Jon

Good Morning All,

 Things are as hectic as ever here, trying to catch up at work which of course is an almost impossible task, and fighting this cold/flu I have had since arriving home from vacation.

 Speaking of which, I thought vacation time was to relax and recover from working… I didn’t get a whole lot of R & R those 2 weeks I spent on the Hawaiian Isles, but the time was well worth it. These next few posts will be about where I went, what I saw, and what I did. Hopefully with what I share and the photos I post, it will give the reader an idea of the term “Paradise”.

 Of course just getting ready to go was a chore, with getting “ahead” at work so I wouldn’t be buried on coming back, and getting somebody to care for my place and critters while I was gone. With that being accomplished and my stress level subsiding I had to be at the airport at 4:30am on Sunday morning. Of course it is an hour drive to the airport, so that gave me only a few hours sleep before the big travel day. Fortunately plans went on without a hitch, got to the airport on time checked through and on the plane for the first flight from Medford, OR to San Francisco, CA. Only had a short layover in SF before the longer flight direct to Lihue, Kauai. The flight was uneventful, which is just fine with me, with my arrival in Kauai a bit after noon that same day. All my preplanning and reservations worked to make this trip fairly painless as far as travel was concerned. Picked up my rental vehicle, the same as I reserved, a Grand Cherokee without problem and headed to the Condo I had rented.

 The place I rented was just as advertised, a clean 1 bedroom condo close to the beach. It was a well maintained privately owned unit on the bottom floor within about 100 yards of the beach. So after getting my bags unloaded and unpacked it was time to walk down to the beach. It was a short walk across a grassy field to the sand, unfortunately weather hadn’t been so kind to the island previous to my arrival, so there was a lot of driftwood lining the beach. Regardless, it was time to relax, so I sat there on the beach watching the waves, enjoying the peace for several hours … even through the drizzling rain. Weather was not going to be a factor on my having a great time!! The week prior to getting there they had had a dam break about 5 miles up the road that had washed out the highway and taken 7 poor souls with it.

  That evening was spent pouring through the dozens of brochures and maps about “What to See and Do in Kauai”. I did take a break for a bit to go shopping for groceries, talk about sticker shock…… So for the following day I decided to take a drive up to the north coast and do a little sightseeing…… So my next post will be from there…

Jon