The Plan
Judy and I are off to Hawaii today, Monday 15th August to start our near 7 week holiday in Hawaii and the USA. We have 8 days on the Big Island of Hawaii and then the rest in Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota, Utah, Arizona and Nevada. We are concentrating on the Rocky Mountains, Yellowstone National Park, Salt Lake City, Grand Canyon, Death Valley and Las Vegas. I will cover the details as we go along
Before we left …
It will not surprise you to know that I started packing a few weeks ago and created a packing list a few months ago. As we travel east on Monday we cross the International Date line and get a second go at Monday. We arrive in Hawaii before we leave Sydney. The down side is that coming home we go from Thursday when we leave miss Friday and arrive home on Saturday 1st October.
This plays havoc with my walking regime. I am sure you all know that I walk every day without fail and Monday 15th is day number 3880 without a break. I had a choice to make up for the lost day, Friday 30th September. I could walk twice today, Monday once in Coffs Harbour and once in Hawaii but after 26.5 hours travelling I thought I might be a little tired so I went with Plan B.
Plan B was to walk twice on Saturday 13th. , which I did. So I covered over 11 km on Saturday morning. My little leggies complained a bit but I soon put them in their place.
We were waiting patiently to board our (Qantas’) plane so I thought to have a look around the Tax Free store for a bargain or two. My concept of Tax Free is that the prices should be 10% cheaper than in the regular shops. (the cost of the GST tax) I saw a packet of Tim-Tam chocolate biscuits which you can get at Woolworths for under $3 and $2 on special. They were priced at $6.90 Everything I knew the price of was more expensive with the exception of spirits. Needles to say I saved $6.90.
If something of note happens along the way I will write to you again but in the mean time.
Click on the link below to see a few photos we took in Hawaii. To see a larger image double click each photo on the web page. This is my humble selection Barrys Photo Selection and this is Judys Photo Selection
Our apartment here at Hilo on the Big Island is self catering so after we found it (No mean feat!). Americans love numbers it was property number 1436 in section 15 of 26th avenue.
We decided to go out in the dark to buy some food for breakfast. The supermarket was about 15 minutes away. We found it without a problem thanks to Ken (our pet name for our Navman GPS) . I was worried that if we converted him to Imperial (Miles and Yards) he would take on an American accent. Lucky for us he still spoke Australian. Most of which we did not understand. Hawaiian names have lots of a’s together in the middle of words and Ken chose to say each place quickly so that we would not notice his woeful pronunciation.
I was very impressed with my diction and the linguistic skill of the shelf stacking lady in Walmart. She not only understood my pronunciation of Porridge Oats but knew what they were and where they were!
By the time we came to drive to our home base we had been travelling for 32 hours. I was steering the car from the passenger seat on the wrong side of the road. (Very sensibly American cars have steering wheels for the passenger – to go with the pedals on that side also). Naturally every time I wanted to turn right I put on the windscreen wipers. Luckily it was dark and raining. I thought I was doing quite well until I was coming to a right hand turn and so I put on the wipers and sirens started wailing behind me, blue and red lights flashed and I was thinking how I could explain to the policeman (with a gun) some of our quaint driving customs in Australia. Imaging my immense relief when I pulled over to be passed by an ambulance.
Judy, the Porridge and I made it home safely
I have found my dream home
It is on the corner of Shower Street and 26th Avenue in Hilo. I am in the process of persuading Judy to pack up and move to Hilo, Big Island, Hawaii. You may all be wondering what has caused this sudden enlightenment. Well the home has the ultimate of attractions – 4 Satellite dishes! It is a little tired (as the house agents would say) but nothing that 5 years of hard work cannot fix. I will keep you posted on the progress of the moving discussions.
There is a photo of my dream home here. You will also find another batch of photos and a movie of lava flows.
It did not take long…
I have already received two complaints about my photos from Native Americans who are part of the Lakota tribe.
They said that my uploaded photos contain only flowers and not Hawaiian Bikini Clad girls. I have promised to try and rectify this situation at a later date. One should try, whenever possible, to live amicably with the Natives.
Volcanoes erupting
This year Kilauea volcano decided to wake up. There have been flows and eruptions for some months now. Judy and I drove to the end of the paved road leading to the current lava flow and then cycled. It was a 13 km round trip. As I said earlier I have put up some photos and videos of the hot and cold lava. The most spectacular views are where the molten lava flows into the sea.
A day at leisure.
On my walk today I spotted a 2nd Hand Book fair. There was a wide selection of books of all kinds. The prices were good too. You could fill a brown American Grocery bag for US$6:50 (Aus$ 8.44 or GBP4.92) (I can speak 3 languages!)
I suddenly realised when I staggered to the checkout that the excess baggage cost on the plane would be around Aus$ 1,203,996.87 so I then put them all back and picked up one paperback that would fit in my pocket.
I did look at the books in the Humor section and after flicking through the 3rd book I realised that I did not understand American humor. Although that is not totally true, I often laugh (and cry) at Donald Trump.
Thick and fast
The complaints are coming thick and fast. I have had one more making 3 in total. This time it was from a retired Qantas engineer who also complained about the lack of Hula girls. He further complained about no pictures of Sunset strip in West Hollywood (5,000 kms to the East) I think he was just testing me!
To silence all these critics I have included a Bikini Clad Young Lady who was playing with her 4 children. I also included a shot of the beach. The only sandy beach for 20 kms which may explain the lack of young ladies. Of far more interest to everyone I am sure are 3 images showing the Captain Cook memorial. Long shot, close up and the text written on the memorial. This is near where he was killed on 14th Feb 1779 when the natives realised that he was not a returning God but a mere mortal.
Well that caused a stir…
My very tasteful picture of a young lady was not received well received in some quarters. Judy was not overly impressed. I have taken it down from the website. I apologise if it caused offence.
In its place I took a picture of two Hula girls in traditional costume and it is on the website. This also might stop further complaints about the lack of Hula girls.
My first mistake was…
Before I get to my first mistake (for last Tuesday, not counting pictures of people) let me give you some background.
The events that led to that day’s mistake started three months ago with, you guessed it, a mistake.
We always intended to hire a car here on the Big Island of Hawaii. The prices I found were very steep but I just thought they were the costs on the island. When I finally booked the car I found that Thrifty lived up to their name as they were much cheaper than the original quotes by well over $100.
I booked a car at Hilo airport and returning it there 8 days later. That was the first mistake, we stayed 4 days at Hilo, then 4 days at Kona on the other side of the island and I booked to fly back to Honolulu from Kona, 80 miles from where the car was to be returned. No worries I thought I’ll drive the 80 miles to Hilo, return the car and catch a bus back. Easy!
There is one bus a day from Hilo to Kona. It leaves the Hilo shops at 9:10 am and arrives at Kona about noon (I am not counting the one that leaves at 4 am.)
Last Tuesday the plan swung into action.
- Leave the apartment at 5:30 am
- Drive to Hilo airport.
- The car was checked in by 7:55 am
- Walk to Hilo Shops in the rain by 8:50 am
Here comes Tuesday’s mistake.
A bus came along – not mine – and stopped. The driver opened the door and asked me where I wanted. “Kona” I said and he replied “The Kona bus does not come down this street”. I stood on the bus stairs and said “The timetable says it does” also “The super at the depot said it does”. He replied “No” but rather uncertainly I thought. He asked the two passengers on the bus and they both agreed he was right. He looked defiant and stood (sat) his ground. I hoped the two were bus company executives although it crossed my mind they were somewhat shabbily dressed for executives. He continued “I can take you to the bus station where all the buses stop”. I thought it best not to nit-pick as I was sure the 357 to Park Plaza in Coffs Harbour did not stop there. He shut the doors behind me, doomed I thought. He said “I’ll check” and got on to his two-way radio and my confidence rose, momentarily. It flagged again when the person on the other end of the radio asked him where he was. He checked with the two passengers. At this point I was sure that these two were not company execs nor passengers but guides who provided help and guidance in return for a free ride.
I turned to sit down and my driver asked for a full fare, I said I was old and should be allowed to travel at a discount. We agreed on half fare which I duly paid. Luckily I had the right money as no change was ever given. I was not very disgruntled to think that I would have to pay again to go from the bus depot to Kona but I resigned myself not to worry.
Imagine my delight when on de-bussing when the driver handed me a docket which allowed me to go to Kona without extra cost. I never did find out if the bus went past the shops. The Kona bus arrived a bit late but did arrive at Kona Commons shops by 12:35pm after a toilet stop along the way.
I have to admit I came out on the right side financially. Set against the extra cost of the car hire firm returning the car for me at over $100, I spent $8 on petrol and the negotiated bus fare was $1!
Rocky Mountain High.
We are now alive and well in Denver Colorado. We had booked the same car that we used in Hawaii, an under powered Nissan Versa. We decided to upgrade to a more powerful vehicle to cope with the mountains which we take on tomorrow. So we have gone from a small 4 seater to a monster 7 seater. The tyres would look at home on a farm tractor. The first drive was from Denver airport to Castle Rock 44 mi (71kms). By the time we arrived a warning light had appeared on the dashboard. Here is a picture of it, 
Judy thought it signified that we had lost a horse-shoe but I thought it indicated that we had a thermometer in one of the tyres. We asked a mechanic and he suggested it might be a tyre needing air. We pumped up all 4 tyres, we could not get at the spare as it was hanging under the car. The horseshoe and thermometer both went away.
It just had to happen…
This part of the story started 3 months ago when Judy and I talked about the desirability of a mobile phone each on this trip. I studied the coverage maps and thought that there was little or no coverage in Colorado and Wyoming. (This was subsequently proved not to be completely correct).
I decided that the best coverage was T-Mobile and I found a T-Mobile shop was located near our first overnight stop in Castle Rock south of Denver. On our first morning we went to the shop to seek advice. It turns out that the coverage I saw was for data whereas talk and text was much better. We decided (due to cost) that we would have one phone between us. We have put the phone to good use by booking accommodation ahead etc. The phone is only good for the USA and so nobody knows our number.
Image our surprise when a couple of days ago we were driving along an Interstate road at 80mph (130kmh) when the phone started to ring. Naturally we could not find it, luckily the car radio seemed to know where it was, connected to it and offered to answer the call.
We were greeted with the news that we could go in a draw for a $50 voucher to spend at K Mart and there were only a few small hoops to go through to claim it. I said “No thank you” and marveled that my only call in the USA had been a scam at 130 kmh down I-80!
Leg washing
Yesterday we had a long drive from Cheyenne (Wyoming) to here at Rapid City (South Dakota). We stopped at a roadside rest area with immaculate toilets. Both Judy and I made use of the facilities. When we had driven off I asked Judy if female toilets had a soap dispenser. She immediately said when she pressed the soap dispenser it shot a stream of liquid soap at 60 degrees landing on her ankle and completely missing her hand which was held directly underneath the dispenser. Just the same as my experience. We both had very clean legs.
I helped (maybe)
This morning on my walk I was waiting for a set of traffic lights to change when a Native American walked up beside me and started to chat. When the lights changed we walked on and chatted as we went.
His tribe is the Sioux that had occupied lands in South Dakota before his people were moved to reservations. He did not want to return to his reservation although he was an out of work motor mechanic here in Rapid City. He was finding it difficult to get work because, as he put it, his hair was white and people thought he was too old. I asked him if he resented the way his people had been treated over time and he said he must look forward and forget that. I asked him if I could take his photo and he said “Yes, for $7, the price of breakfast”. I took a few photos of him and when I gave him $10 I got a hug, a handshake and best wishes in his native tongue, Lakota.
Luggage
We realised that by the end of our holiday we were going to have more goods and chattels than would fit in our two suitcases and two carry on bags so we decided to invest in an extra suitcase. Our luggage allowance is 2 x 23 kg suitcases each plus carry-on. An extra suitcase would also come in handy to move our food supply in and out of the motels. We try to seek out rooms with a fridge and microwave to indulge in a bit of self (Judy) catering. (Judy here: we “indulged” in half a hamburger each, and an ice cream each at Mount Rushmore and were US$15 lighter! That’s about AUS$20! Hence the effort to self-cater)
We visited Big KMart (the actual name of the store). There was a good selection of luggage and we settled on an inexpensive mid sized case. There was a label on the outside saying that it was the largest of a set of 3 but we ignored this as we did not want a set of 3 cases. I carried/wheeled it to the car and privately thought it was a bit on the heavy side but reasoned that it was a cheap case and only more expensive ones are made of lighter material. We got it home and opened it up. I am sure you have guessed that inside the case was another smaller case and inside that one smaller still.
Some observations on the USA, its people and customs…
- Americans are very, very polite. This is so when you meet face to face or when driving. Drivers are content to wait for a maneuver or a turn and I have not heard a horn sounded in anger.
- When people learn that we are from Australia they often remark that they would love to visit. Australians appear to be held in high esteem here.
- The best diet Strawberry Jam is made by a company called “Smuckers”
- Buying fuel for the car yields a different experience every time. There are 3 grades of petrol with differing amounts of ethanol. At first one must insert a credit card into a slot at the pump. Ours is always rejected because it asks for a zip code and 2450 is never accepted. Next, one goes into the shop and to offer a credit card to buy an amount of petrol, say, $30.00. At this point you can use a King Soopers card to get a 3 or 10 cent discount. The attendant alters the prices at your pump reflecting the discount. The car is filled and you then return to the attendant to receive a receipt. If less than $30 is pumped then the difference is credited back to your card and will appear on the card a few days later. Of course, Petrol is called Gas here where Gas is what Australians get when they eat too many Baked Beans.
- There are different sized Disabled parking spaces for Vans and Cars.
Interesting Chats
The first interesting chat was in a Sports store in Buffalo, Wyoming. We were looking for an inexpensive camera tripod to stabilise our long lens. The tripods were kept in the Gun Department. After looking at the store’s offerings, I made the comment that selling guns openly in a shop was foreign to us in Australia. The assistant knew all about the Port Arthur massacre some 20 years ago that led to the change in gun ownership laws. He stoutly defended the US Gun laws saying that there were state and federal checks so that was OK. We agreed to disagree. I did not outline that thousands of people were shot intentionally and by accident in the USA each year.
The second chat was in a gift shop in Cody also in Wyoming. The man wanted to know about Australia and he mentioned he planned to shoot a kangaroo one day. We said they are strong and could be violent and were a bit of a pest. Now wait for it, he said with a wry smile “Just like our Blacks!!!”. We left the store ashen-faced and speechless.
A new career
I am thinking of starting a new sideline. Fixing Mobility Scooters. The idea came about like this.
We were walking around the Old Faithful Geyser area and near the furthest extremity of the paths (about 2km from the Visitor’s Centre) we happened upon a guy on a Mobility Scooter that had broken down. He could not walk (only stand) and was in trouble. Naturally I asked if I could help. The starting system was a socket which must have had two strips of metal inside which, when connected by a bar of metal, allowed the scooter to move. The problem was that the scooter would not move and made a high pitched beeping sound when the starting bar was connected. This noise also sounded when the scooter was in neutral. So I set to work, unfortunately I had no tools but I was not going to let a little thing like that deter me.
I first got the guy, he was from Ohio, to sit on a bench and I overturned the scooter to check the gearbox and the gear engage. That looked OK. No joy there. Next I took out the twin batteries and cleaned the terminals and did a battery reset, still no joy. I checked the wiring, it looked OK too. The next job was to get at the starter socket as I was by now convinced that that was where the problem lay. Sadly, I did not have a Phillips screwdriver on me and there were six such screws holding the handlebar assembly together.
So it was last resort stuff that all electricians resort to, brute force. I pushed the starter bar in and out of the socket repeatedly with some force and of course, I am sure you have guessed, the scooter stared and My Ohio Mate was on his way.
Now, perhaps a job of milk hand on a dairy farm in Wisconsin would be better?
We met a farmer who ran an Organic dairy farm in Wisconsin. He had 999 acres of land 40% of which had to grow feed for the stock. They had a house on a separate 139 acres. We talked of many things, his biggest costs are property tax which he cannot minimize. They sound a bit like our household rates and some things get paid out of the tax that we pay with income tax. He did offer me a job if I could reduce his tax which I will investigate before I commit. The milk hand sounded OK until he said they milked at 5am – year round! They bought a circular milking machine from New Zealand. A very interesting person to talk to.
Kevin and the Bear.
We saw our first Black bear in the wild today. One can always tell there is something good to see as all the traffic stops and people abandon their vehicles to stand in a clump to photograph and video feverishly. You will see some photos and a video on the photo page. The link is at the end of this page as usual.
I have to say that I think Judy was rather more interested in talking to Kevin Costner who also stopped to look at the bear. He told Judy that he had seen a Grizzly Bear earlier in the day. By the way, have any of you been followed by Kevin Costner. I am proud to say that Judy has. He followed her for quite some miles (his pick-up truck had a Texas number plate and stood out). How about that! (Judy here: He followed our car! And I’m pretty sure it was Kevin Costner – we had a bit of a chat and I became overwhelmed when I recognized his voice and smile! Sadly, I didn’t tell him that I have enjoyed every movie I have seen him in!)
P.S. Barry’s back: Needless to say we are only allowed to watch Kevin Costner movies now!
Weather everywhere
Over the weekend I got sunburnt and I have to put some soothing cream on the top of my ears that were a bit red. You will see from some of Judy’s photos taken last Monday that that was not the case.
Q: When is a Bank like a Ski Lodge.
A: When it is the First National Bank of Wyoming.
I have put up some photos here. For maximum enjoyment read on first. The first time I visited was at 7:30am on my walk. I asked where the ATM was. “Right across the street” I was told. So it was, on the other side of the road in a lay-by. It was a drive-through ATM. There was one car at the machine already so I waited patiently behind. After a minute another car pulled up behind me. I would have loved a photo of me waiting in line between two cars.
When the first car moved off I could not resist making Broom, Broom noises and moved forward to the machine without a seat-belt. (I left off the handbrake, of course). By the way, it is the same reaction that I have to a ‘Beware of the Bears” sign. I start to sing “There’s a bear in there, Play School” (Australian Humour).
Now hands up all those of you who thought I got the time wrong, well I caught you out. It was a 24-hour bank in Cody, Wyoming (The hint is in the name) with staff at the counter around the clock. I did not have the courage to ask if I could take photos of the bank’s interior.
The next day I went in to the same bank at 7am to change a heap of coins, pennies, nickels and dimes into quarters. (Ooh! Are you jealous I can talk American?) I asked if I could take a photo of the huge fireplace as we don’t have fireplaces in banks in Australia. I insisted she check as I told her I did not want her to go to jail for encouraging terrorist acts. She came back and said it would be fine and would I like to photograph the bear, a metal mural and the original safe. I took my photos and when I thanked her I said I first thought this was a Ski Lodge until I saw the bank sign. What do you think – take a look at the photos.
A Scare
This evening I opened the lid of our laptop and pressed the ON button and nothing happened. We knew that the battery was fully charged. I went through the possible scenarios and, of course, chose the obvious option – PANIC! Next, I pressed every key in sequence. When this had no effect I used some well chosen words describing the parentage of the laptop. This also made no difference. So, to the last resort – take it apart. This necessitated a drive to the general store to purchase two sets of jewelers screwdrivers (in case one set did not work). Well, you will be pleased to know that this fixed the laptop. When I returned it started up as if nothing was wrong. So. when your laptop does not start go to the general store and buy screwdrivers – that should fix it!
The Latest Adventures
Some American Observations
- American Ice Creams served in a Waffle cone that come from a big storage tub are great. They are good value and the ice cream has a great taste. Far superior to regular Australian ice cream.
- Regular Australian chocolate is superior to Regular American chocolate. I am sure there is high quality chocolate sold in the US and Australia but the regular brands here do not compare to Australian Cadburys.
- Always check a hotel booking ahead of time. We experienced that 4 of our hotels bookings made in advance were not to be found in the hotel’s booking system. They were made on the internet ahead of time but the hotel had no record of them. We do not know who was at fault, the hotel or the booking agency. Just letting you know. (BTW: After advance checking, room was “found at the inn”!)
- This is the only country I can remember where I read a sports section from cover to cover and never understood any of the sports discussed. Cricket and Rugby Union are not big here.
- Americans are really, really polite. It is such a refreshing change. It appears to be their natural behavior. This extended, most of the time, to the road as well.
- Ken, our car GPS, looked after us very well. He pronounced all American road names in a comforting Australian accent. His most American direction was on the outskirts of Salt Lake City when he said “Keep left in one of the six lanes”. At that point we were on a seven lane highway.
We are now in Las Vegas and leave for home today, Thursday. We arrive back in Coffs at lunchtime on Saturday. We don’t get a Friday as we had two Mondays on the way over.
Over the last couple of days, we enjoyed a Celine Dion concert at the Coliseum theatre at Caesar’s Palace. She pointed and waved at me which was pretty special. She was entertaining us for over 90 minutes – it was so professional with the staging, lighting, musicians and support singers etc. Great!
We also saw the magician, David Copperfield at the MGM Grand. All of the 90-minute show was so mind-blowing e.g. a space ship suspended over the audience and multiple illusions that defied explanation.
Well, it is home time now after a great time away.
Judy and I have put up some photos of The Hoover Dam, Las Vegas and the Celine Dion concert here.
Bazza and Jude, you all.
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