Hawaiian Adventure

Yes, I had another adventure. Another near death experience, you ask? As in Africa? Well, not really. In fact, this time my description of the accident is written with tongue firmly planted in cheek. But wait 'til you see my crappy photos - you'll wish Anna was with me on this trip too.

I loved every single minute of my time with Stephanie, Dan and Wesley in beautiful Maui. I have been blessed to go to Hawaii many times and Maui is perfection in so many ways. The nice thing about being a frequent visitor is that, at this point, there is nothing I NEED to see - I have already seen what is important to me. I have snorkeled at wonderful beaches and at Molokini, watched the sun rise on Haleakala, driven to Hana more times than I can remember, driven all the roads on which you are not supposed to take rental cars, toured the museums, hiked in gorgeous valleys, eaten at wonderful restaurants and stepped into many shops. I thought I had done it all but no, there was one attraction I had not yet done and this is where the perilous adventure happened. Yep, it was on the Sugar Cane Train out of Lahina.

Okay, picture it. An ancient steam engine pulling four brightly colored cars filled with kids (and their parents and a few grandmothers as well) sitting on hard wood seats with windows thrown wide open to catch any available breeze (85 degrees most days). The track went from Lahina to Ka'anapali  (a round trip of about 6 miles) and we were hurtling along at a grand speed of about 5 miles per hour.

Historically, the track wound through sugar cane fields but not any longer - instead we saw houses and bare land on the inland side and hotels and condos on the opposite ocean side. The children could have cared less - they were thrilled to be on a moving train.

About 20 minutes in (hmm  - 2 miles or so) the unexpected happened. The steam engine hit the front of an SUV that drove through a stop sign. The two machines were so unevenly matched that I didn't feel a thing - after all, we were each going about 5 miles per hour. The train engine suffered no damage but not so the SUV. The force pushed the hood up a bit and ripped off the fender and one of its head lights. The 3 surfboards perched on top were untouched.

The children were agog and hung out the windows to watch the driver (male, maybe 55) explain what happened.

The conductor apologized for the delay and sang and played a ukelele to help pass the time.

The children didn't mind - they watched in fascination as not one but two police cars drove up to investigate. I just wish a fire truck had come along because they aren't red in Maui but bright yellow. It would have added to the scene.

I could't help but feel bad for the poor driver - how do you have ANY credibility when trying to explain how you ran into a large, slow moving steam engine? A train that had sounded the traditional announcement of its arrival in the road?  The driver looked chagrined, the police looked official, the conductor continued to strum his ukelele, and the children bounced in their seats.

After about 15 minutes we were once again tootling along but not before 4 cars of children leaned out to enthusiastically wave goodbye to the policemen and to the poor driver who had given them such interesting entertainment. God bless him, the driver gamely waved back! Except for the cost of the car, it was perfect entertainment - unexpected, interesting, no one was hurt and the delay was minimal. However, it meant we were late to the Ka'anapali train station so had no time to get out and stretch - we had to make up time on the return trip to Lahina.

But the excitement did not end there. For the 5 remaining days of the trip Wesley used the little wood train set I bought at the station to recreate the accident. We played it over and over and over again.

So now you can see exactly what happened. The blue car with the green driver is the SUV, the black engine - well, if you look close you can see SUGAR CANE TRAIN written on its side - is pulling the cars with kids on them. The animals (giraffe, zebra and elephant) are innocent bystanders. The red car has the police man who is ready to take the driver "off to the pokey" (Wesley loved that term, much more fun than jail) which was the plastic box on its side behind the animals. In reality, of course, the driver stayed with his car but the jail idea was much more interesting. Wesley used a very firm voice to reprimand the poor driver.

But Wesley did other things as well. He swam a lot.

He tried fins for the first time - and was unimpressed.

He was more pleased with the snorkel gear once he realized how much more he could see of the turtle design on the bottom of the pool.

All in all, we had a wonderful time relaxing in the sun. Wesley took a "submarine ride' - a glass bottom boat with a submarine-type top, the Sugar Cane Train, climbed on the magnificent banyan tree in Lahina, visited the aquarium, ate lots of shave ice and more fresh pineapple than he had ever had in the past and enjoyed the time with his parents and grandma.  I loved every second.

I leave tomorrow for a week in California - I am going to the 50th reunion of my 8th grade class. Yep, I haven't seen most of these folks since I was 14 and can't wait to catch up. I attended a small Catholic elementary school - you know the scene -  the nuns, 50 kids to a class that stayed together for all 8 years. It should be lots of fun.

More when I return.

Musings on the Bus

It's Autumn in Portland and spectacular weather continues. Still no rain and only a few gray days but even on these the sun came out by late morning. From today's paper I learned that this has been the driest summer in almost 100 years so I have been swooning about something not quite normal. I remain delighted, however, because I know gray skies and drizzle are not far away.

My bus ride to my volunteer job at the down town library last Saturday was unusual - it was full, jammed full. I only got a seat because another white-haired woman moved over and pointed to a now empty seat next to her. People were standing in the aisles, chattering, laughing, almost boisterous. What was going on in downtown Portland? Still not sure. The marathon was coming - but on Sunday. Fashion Week has started but much of that is on Swann Island, to the north of the city. . .  and I know, I know. After my ribbing of Portland Couture in an earlier blog entry how can a Fashion Week exist here? Well, there is a Portland style that is based on what I mocked but is much edgier with an interesting use of textiles and designs. It certainly is a "look" and, if you are like me and watch Project Runway, you know it probably includes more designers from Portland than any other similarly sized city. Who knew? Whatever was going on, down town Portland was one happening place as I walked up to Starbucks, grabbed a latte and made it to the library right when it opened at 10. Oh how very very Portland I have become.

I have taken the bus quite a bit in the past few weeks - extra slots of volunteering at the library and needing to get to my daughter's house while my car was at a garage. What makes it so easy is the app for my iPhone. I type in where I am/where I want to go and it quickly gives me 3 options with maps for each route showing all the stops. Each arrival is shown in real time (as opposed to scheduled time) and it tells me exactly how to get to the appropriate bus stop from where I am standing (how many yards to walk and in which direction). If there are any problems on a specific bus line that affects arrival time, the app lists them by stops. When I left the library at noon I saw that the next #33 bus was 6 minutes away (a 5 minute walk from the library) so was delighted that I was in my house by 12:25.  So easy - no driving and no finding/paying for a parking space.

So Autumn is on its way. The leaves are in the beginning stages of turning yellow and red. Most Portlanders have added a light jacket but, interestingly, few hoodies are in sight. Just no need yet. Yesterday, while on the bus to Stephanie's house, a grocery bag carried by a young woman swung over onto me when the bus braked. She apologized for her errant potato chips and canned tomatoes.  I laughed, dismissed it, and we started chatting. I commented on the beautiful weather. She smiled, paused and then said softly, "Yes, it is beautiful but I am missing our usual weather. I like scarves and hats and gloves. I can't wait to put them back on again." She is not the first to express this. Two book lovers at the library said similar things. I am not quite there yet but will hopefully be more accepting when the sun disappears.

5 Signs of Autumn

1. School busses are out and about.  Love their very specific, immediately identifiable, intense color.

2. Some of the tables set up outside of restaurants have been removed and stored until next sumer. This was one of the biggest surprises when I returned from Africa. All these tables I had never seen before had suddenly sprouted up all over the city. Who knew that Portland would be full of outdoor seating for the glorious summer months?

3. It is getting dark earlier. Gone is dusk at 9 - now it's closer to 7 - and with the end of day light saving in sight, it will soon be 4:30 or 5.

4. Neighborhood gardens are going to seed - the veggies and summer flowers are either gone or are on their last legs.  These have been a delight on neighborhood walks - in the spaces between the sidewalks and street or full-on blasts of color in front yards.

5. We had the annual neighborhood block party and it was much fun. The two ends of my street were blocked off by cones and neighbors placed several tables and lots of chairs in the middle (right in front of my house - so convenient). Those who lived on the west side brought desserts, those on the east brought side dishes. Barbecues were ready so we could toss on meat to cook. It was lots of fun. I met neighbors from the two far ends while gobs of neighborhood children ran up and down in ever changing groups. There are so many young ones on this block - I counted 14 under the age of 10. Most evenings, as I walk down the street, I find toy guns, laser light beams and plastic swords tossed on lawns waiting to be picked up the next time the posse passes.

So, all is well up here in my corner of the Northwest. It is supposed to finally rain this coming Saturday. My goodness. But, guess what? I'll be in Maui! Stephanie and Dan (and Wesley) invited me to join them for a week in heaven and I am looking forward to it. So, unlike the Portlanders I leave behind, I will get one additional week of sun with the added bonus of tropical breezes - and banana kahlua coladas. Can't wait.