537 – Weird Weather

Ok, this is NOT a complaint, but since the “SnowTober” storm back at the end of October that knocked down trees all over our state, and put over a million people out of power for up to close to a month, we’ve had the mildest winter we’ve had in my life.

Supposedly, it’s due to the Jet Stream making a “hat” above New England, in a place it’s never been before.

The only other snow we’ve had, was about 3 inches of light powdery stuff last Saturday, and that’s all gone today after a few days in the 40’s and even Tuesday when it got up to 54 degrees! Friday, it’s suppopsed to hit 50 again.

Unfortunately though, February is usually our worst month, when it comes to snow.

For now though, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that this great weather continues into Spring.

Welcome home to my dear friend Merle, who’s been under the weather for a bit. *S*

One more Hawaii picture that I forgot to post…
a memorial to all those brave souls:

 

 

 

 

 

And now for something to make you smile:

The Rookie Cop...

A rookie police officer was out for his first ride in a cruiser with an experienced partner. A call came in telling them to disperse some people who were loitering.

The officers drove to the street and observed a small crowd standing on a corner.

The rookie rolled down his window and said, "Let's get off the corner people."
A few glances, but no one moved, so he barked again...
"I SAID, let's get off that corner... NOW!"

Intimidated, the group of people began to leave, casting puzzled stares in his direction.

Proud of his first official act, the young policeman turned to his partner and asked, "Well, how did I do?"

Pretty good," chuckled the vet, "especially since this is a bus stop!"

536 – Hawaii IV

Our last island was Kauai, “The Garden Island”.

We found our hotel easily enough, and except for having to walk a half a mile to find an ice machine, it was nice enough. The day after arrival, we took a helicopter tour of the island. My wife was a bit nervous as she’d never been on a helicopter before, and I have to admit, flying over Waimea Canyon was kinda scary! (It’s one of the places that they filmed Jurassic Park) That’s our helicopter at right, with our pilot, John. (click on any picture to ‘embiggen’)

There were waterfalls everywhere, and rainbows too as we flew around this lush, green island. Here’s a picture of one (forgive the reflections, but we are inside a glass bubble! *chuckle*)

The pilot was narrating everything we were seeing outside in an uninterested monotone voice, but I’m sure he’s said all this a thousand times before. The only other thing was, we really couldn’t ask him any questions as we had no microphones to speak to him through.

To the right, is probably the best picture I took in the heli, and it’s of Waimea Canyon (or just the beginning of it).

The colorations of the moss, browns of the dirt and red dirt made the views breathtaking.

Kauai actually is a small island, and the next two days, we went in different directions of our friends and one day we took the island road North to the end, stopping in and out of little shops, restaurants and scenic overlooks just enjoying our day. The next day, we did the same thing, just to the South.

The last picture I’ll post here is of the Kilauea Lighthouse, on the North side of Kauai. It’s incredibly beautiful, as is the surrounding area.

As you can see, Hawaii is an incredibly beautiful place, with kind, friendly people and temperate weather.

I hope you enjoyed my brief glimpse of our Hawaiian trip.

535 – Hawaii III

We left off and we were in Maui. On our second day there, we took my car and drove up a volcano named Haleakala in the middle of the island. Keep in mind, this is a 10,000 foot mountain and the road to the top is 22 miles long! That means, a lot of switchbacks, curves and narrow roads.

Here’s a photo we stopped to take not even halfway up the mountain!

Little did I realize when we started this trip, that we were going above the clouds!

At this point, I was beginning to wonder how we get down this mountain without ruining the brakes on our car, as it was long and downhill.

More on that later… but as we ascended, we got to a ranger station that began the state park, and when I mentioned to the ranger “Thank Goodness We’re Here!”, she chuckled and said “hon, you’re not even halfway up!”.

So, up we climbed.

(Click on any picture to ‘embiggen’)

See the photo at right about the volcano.

When we finally reached the top, the view was breathtaking (as was the altitude… breathtaking I mean!)

 

This i s where I took one of my favorite photos in Hawaii.. the crater at Haleakala:

 

This photo is only half size, but you can see the beauty in it!

The colors there are so rich and vibrant… it was well worth the drive.

More coming soon….!