Part 3 - Florida

Tuesday, March 9, I flew to Florida for the ACTEC meeting in Bonita Springs. Thursday eve we had dinner at a private animal park, where we could get up close and personal with a giraffe, alligator (small), and rhinoceros. This guy didn't seem to notice us!Spent most of the days in meetings but did manage to make it out to Lovers' Key State Park Saturday afternoon for a couple of hours. Florida beaches don't look like Hawaii's, but it was nice to get out.
Behind the beach was a trail along the inland waterways. Saw a few birds ...
and an alligator!

Sunday afternoon, I moved to Ft. Myers to be closer to the airport for my Monday morning flight then checked out the beach at Ft. Myers.

Big bird -- eagle?

Monday, I left Ft. Myers at 7:30 EDT, met J. Lynn at LAX, then arrived in Kona at 5 HST -- one long day!

Part 2 - Family

We got to visit with our wonderful grandkids. Thursday, March 4, Tucker turned 8. On Saturday, he was baptized.
Most of the family was present for the occasion.
Rob, Anna and family

Tucker and Dad

That eve, we had a little family party for the birthday boy.

We spent Sunday afternoon with my folks, then went over to the Taylors' for dinner. The food and company made for a lovely evening.

Grandpa Taylor with his arms full!

Monday eve, Terry & Angela, Liz, Alan & Andrew, and I celebrated Dad's 93rd birthday a day early. We had a great time being together.

Trip report - Part 1

Flew out on March 2nd to Utah for Tucker's birthday, baptism, skiing and visit with family. Friday, Whit, Jim, Court, Todd, Rob & kids and I all went skiing at Brighton. About 16 inches of new snow fell during the night, so skiing was great! Court & Todd on the lift
Beautiful day!

T's B'day

Tristan's first birthday was Friday, so we went over for the celebration. Friday night, Christian and Shandra had another couple over, and we ate some great Greek food, then watched T-bone open his presents (with a little help from his mother).
Saturday's party was planned for Kailua Beach Park, but after the beaches were closed by a tsunami warning, C & S decided to move the venue to a park in Manoa valley, not far from their home. Everyone came, we had a great time, and at the end of the party, we weren't even wet or sandy. All in all, we had a wonderful, though short, visit.

Presidents' Day

Decided to relax a bit yesterday afternoon, so Mom and I went down to look for whales. Friends told us they were "all over," however, we went from Puako to Kawaihae Harbor and couldn't see a one. Apparently, they were further out -- or active earlier in the day. So we settled on the beach for a couple of hours and read and enjoyed the sun and water. I managed to lock my key in the trunk, so ended up staying a bit longer than planned while we waited for a friend to bring our spare key down. All in all, it wasn't a bad way to spend an afternoon.

Here's a thought

"The essence of contemporary liberalism is the illiberal conviction that Americans, in their comprehensive incompetence, need minute supervision by government, which liberals believe exists to spare citizens the torture of thinking and choosing." George Will

As of January 1, we now have a ban on driving while touching a cell phone (or other handheld electronic device) on the Big Island, as well as in Honolulu. (Don't know about the other counties.) You can talk on the phone with bluetooth or ear buds, but don't touch the phone. And if you want to pull over to answer or call, make sure you turn off the engine; otherwise you'll still be in violation and in line for a $97 fine. So tell me which is safer: a) using my Iphone GPS feature to guide me to my location, b) talking to a person at my destination who gives me instructions, or c) trying to navigate with a map I'm holding in front of the steering wheel? If you choose c), you won't be fined.

The End of the Story

On Wednesday, Christian, Shandra and Tristan came down from Orange County for the day. It was great to see them. Tristan just gets cuter and cuter!

Thursday eve we met my cousin Craig (left far end) and his partner, Larry, and ex-, Iddy, for dinner, before they headed off to Temecula for a late night show. We had a fun visit (and good dinner). It was good to see them again.

That's all my pix. For a more complete account of our adventures, see Court's great post.