The Deep Blue Sea

I grew up vacationing and fishing on a lake near Dayton, Ohio (Grand Lake St. Mary’s) that was about nine miles long by three miles wide and had a depth of less than seven feet.  So you can imagine my disconnect now when looking out our backyard and seeing humpback whales swimming past and ocean going cruise vessels entering  the Hilo Harbor.

"Valentine" in Backyard

This led me to wonder just how deep the ocean was off of our lanai, which in turn led me to the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) site which was brought to my attention by a friend of mine in Marine Science at the University of Hawaii - Hilo:  http://www.nauticalchartsonline.

www.NOAA

So the ocean seems to be about 14 feet deep near our cliff, then increasing to 25 feet in depth and quickly to 34 feet.  Beyond that the water becomes about 90 feet in depth which must be fine for humpback whales.  It seems that humpback whales seem to prefer "shallow/protected" waters and spend the majority of their lives in waters that are 300 feet or less, and in this case, considerably less  than 300 feet.  http://www.whalewatchmaui.com/maui.html

Credit: Devany Vickery-Davidson

From deep water on the north, there is a ship channel to the inner harbor edge to the wharves in Kuhio Bay. A Federal project provides for an entrance channel 35 feet deep and a harbor basin of the same depth in Kuhio Bay. Channel and basin are maintained at or near the project depth. www.NOAA

As you can see, our weekly Tuesday visitor, the “Pride of America,” has a draft of only 26 feet.

www.NCL

Humpback whales and the cruise ships seem to coexist peacefully.  We have even seen whales swimming next to the ship and “porpoising” in and out of the water next to the boat. 

Interestingly, the 20-fathom depth (120 feet) curve is seldom more than one mile from shore in Hawaii and usually not far from the coral reefs that fringe much of the island coastline. The bottom generally pitches off rapidly to great depths from a narrow coastal shelf. Under normal conditions the color of the water changes from a deep blue in the open ocean to a blue-green between the 10- and 15-fathom (60 feet to 90 feet) curves; and bottom features become visible at 6 to 7 fathoms (36 feet to 42 feet).  www.NOAA

Ancient Hawaiian Fish Ponds

I spent a weekend recently at the Fairmont Orchid at the Mauna Lani Resort, and learned that the Kalahuipua'a Fishponds are the spiritual center of the area.  Predating even the earliest Western contact, the ponds are from the days when the land and sea supported the Hawaiian Ali'i (royalty) -- the original inhabitants of the land.

The first true fishponds were probably built during the latter half of the fifteenth century.  And increasingly thereafter as chiefs could command the labor necessary to transport the tons of rock and coral used in the enclosing walls. These ponds, which yielded several hundred pounds of fish per acre annually, were not only feats of engineering technology, but reflected chiefly power and were a major symbol of the intensification of agricultural and aquacultural production. nps.gov

Auburn University

The Hawaiian people practiced the most advanced fish husbandry among the original peoples of the Pacific.  Fishponds (Hawaiian: loko I’a) were typically shallow areas of a reef flat surrounded by a low lava rock wall built out from the shore.  Several species of edible fish such as mullet thrived in such ponds, and methods were developed to make them easy to catch.  The Hawaiian fishpond was primarily a grazing area in which the fishpond keeper cultivated algae; much in the way a cattle rancher cultivates grass for his cattle.  Ponds were fed with cut grass, mussels, clams, seaweeds, and taro leaves. The porous lava walls let in seawater or sometimes fresh or brackish water but prevented the fish from escaping. servinghistory.com

zazzle.com

The ancient Hawaiians and their vast system of fish ponds are one of the foremost examples of successful fish farming in the world. Royal fishponds and ancient walled fish traps were part of the everyday landscape of old Hawaii.  When Captain James Cook reached Hawaii in 1778, there were approximately 360 fishponds producing almost two million pounds of fish per year. uhh.hawaii

The coastal fishponds and their resources were the exclusive property of the district chief and were not a major economic resource to the general population, who were prohibited by kapu from fishing, collecting seaweed, or polluting the pond. 

Joseph Farber

Commoners, especially women, were seldom in the vicinity of royal fishponds. There was little advantage for commoners to live near a pond for fear of breaking the kapu.  (Kapu means forbidden, though it also carries the meanings of sacred, consecrated, or holy.  In ancient Hawaii, kapu refers to the ancient system of laws and regulations.  An offense that was kapu was often a corporal offense, but also often denoted a threat to spiritual power, or theft of “mana.”  Kapus were strictly enforced. Breaking one, even unintentionally, often meant immediate death.)  Possibly after abandonment of the kapu system in the early nineteenth century did the population concentrate more around these ponds because the resources became available to them. www.nps.gov

By 1985 only seven ponds remained in use. It is estimated that the yields from the Hawaiian fishpond systems operating before the arrival of the Europeans would be on par with most contemporary extensive aquaculture systems; yet the traditional Hawaiian fishponds did not receive fertilization from animal or human wastes of any kind.  http://cmbc.ucsd.edu/Research/student_research/fishponds/

I have no idea how many fish ponds are in use today.  I did see notice of a recent study, supported by the National Science Foundation of a project at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation, whose goals were “to improve upon current techniques and management practices for marine aquaculture, through a detailed study of historical techniques that were used successfully throughout the Hawaiian Islands.” http://cmbc.ucsd.edu/Research/student_research/fishponds/

nal.usda.gov

With the world's fish populations dwindling at an alarming rate, interest in aquaculture is on the rise.  From the ancient loko iʻa to the advanced aquaculture research facilities at UH Hilo, Hawaii has a long tradition of innovation in this field.  The reemergence of the use of fish ponds may one day be an important source of ecologically sound and sustainable fish production and an important export business for the people and state of Hawaii.

Swimming with the Tide in Hawaii

For those of you who do not remember their 9^th grade General Science Class, like me, the ocean’s tides have always been sort of a mystery – e.g., why are there two of them each day?

A search of the literature reveals a complicated, and even somewhat controversial, explanation of why and how tides occur. And some parts of the world do not even have two tides per day! So I will keep it general about why tides occur, but be more specific about what happens.

http://www.soest.hawaii.edu

First, a key definition: Mean Lower Low Water (MLLW): the average of the lowest tide recorded at a tide station each day during the recording period, usually nineteen years. It is the “0” in tide charts, but more about them later.

Simplifying, and ignoring inertia, tides are created because the Earth and the moon attract each other, like magnets. The moon tries to pull at anything on the Earth to bring it closer. However, the Earth is able to hold onto everything except the water.www.hiwaay.net

The gravitational attraction is strongest on the side of Earth that happens to be facing the Moon, simply because it is closer. This attraction causes the water on this “near side” of Earth to be pulled toward the moon (see below).

www.HowStuffWorks.com

On the opposite of Earth (the “far side”), the gravitational attraction of the Moon is less because it is farther away. Thus, the moon’s gravity creates two bulges of water. One forms where Earth and Moon are closest, and the other forms where they are farthest apart. That then means in most of the country, each day there are two high tides and two low tides. The ocean is constantly moving from high tide to low tide, and then back to high tide.

www.TidesfromSpace

A high tide is as high as the water will reach before it starts to fall again. It is highest when the Earth and Moon are closest, and the other daily high tide is somewhat less than the highest tide (shouldn’t these tides have different names (?)). A low tide is as low as the water goes before it starts to rise again. And the same with the two daily low tides; one is lower than the other.

http://freetidetables.com/?tides_data[ttiq]=-16,2

A common misconception is the thought that since there are four tides daily they must be on a six hour schedule. It takes the Earth about 24 hours to rotate once, relative to the Sun. But, because the Moon is moving with respect to Earth and the Earth is spinning, it takes the Earth a little longer to complete a rotation relative to the Moon—24 hours and 50 minutes. Thus, two daily tides occur separated by 12 hours and 25 minutes. www.Woods_Hole.edu

The amount of rise of fall in the tide is directly related to the relative location of the earth, moon and sun, but we’ll address that next time.

Music: Falsetto Singing in Hawaii

Hawaiian falsetto is a style of singing which is unique to the Hawaiian Islands.

http://www.mauiislandpress.com/Sample_Island_Life_101.html

In fact, the characteristic vocal vibrato prevalent in Hawaiian singing is partially what led to thpopularity of the steel guitar (as mentioned in my last posting) in Hawaii.

Falsetto singing is a vocal style that can occur when a normally natural tenor, baritone, or bass sings “falsetto” (Italian diminutive of falso, "false") in the alto range. Technically, the vocal chords vibrate at a shorter length than with their ordinary voice. When sung by men it is that top part of the voice which takes on a lighter, more feminine quality (think: BeeGees).

Ancient Hawaiian chanters were known to use a technique of a characteristic break for the transition from a normal voice to a falsetto voice. This was referred to as kauna, which may have been the Hawaiian word for counter, as in countertenor. A countertenor is a male singing voice whose vocal range is equivalent to that of a contralto, mezzo-soprano, or (less frequently) a soprano, usually through use of falsetto, or far more rarely the normal or modal voice.

In the 1830’s, the Mexican vaqueros were brought to the Island of Hawaii to teach Hawaii’s paniolo to become cowboys. As discussed in an earlier posting the tuning of their guitars became the origin of the Hawaiian Slack Key guitar style. Mexican singers were also known to use falsetto and yodeling, and it is common knowledge that a predominance of early Hawaiian falsetto singers came from the Big Island. http://digital.thinkindie.com/search/release.php?release_id=27247

http://www.hawaiianmusichistory.com/recordings/falsetto-contest-cds.htm

Additional influences such as missionary hymns, and the music of the Spanish, and Portuguese immigrants to Hawaii blended together for 100 years to produce this unique singing style, or as it is known in Hawaiian, leo ki'eki'e (high voice). http://www.hawaiianmusichistory.com/falsetto/history.htm

Some female singers use falsetto techniques, such as veteran Auntie Genoa Keawe and young stars Amy Hanaialii Gilliom and Raiatea Helm, but it is usually associated with male singers like Mahi Beamer, Dennis Pavao and the Hoopii Brothers. http://www.mauiislandpress.com/Sample_Island_Life_101.html

http://www.folklife.si.edu/hawaii/falsetto.htm

Check out the Hoopii Brothers doing some beautiful Hawaiian falsetto singing here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlRugBW-_6I.

This posting then completes my summary of the essentials elements of Hawaiian music. That is, the slack key guitar, the ukulele, the steel guitar and lastly, falsetto singing. There are many more elements to the unique sound of Hawaiian music, so this is just a start. I’ll leave a more thorough discussion to the artists out there actually making this wonderful music.

Historic Overview of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

Watching Ken Burns’ spectacular series “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea,” I learned that parks were created both in Hawaii and Alaska way before they were States. In fact Hawaii Volcanoes National Park here on the Big Island was established in 1916 and was actually just the country’s tenth national park.

So how did this happen on Hawaii Island? It appears that suggestions that the Kilauea summit area become a national park began appearing in the Volcano House guest register and in newspapers in Hawaii as early as 1903. Apparently its territorial status did not inhibit the United States federal government from acting.

Two men’s passions, Thomas Jaggar and Lorrin Thurston, crossed -- the former in his role in establishing the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) and the later for his effort in convincing the United States government to protect the volcano by making it a National Park. It is possible that we would have had a National Park without the HVO but I doubt if it would have happened nearly so soon. My guess is that the HVO greatly facilitated travel to the volcano and helped to heighten interest in it.

Thomas Augustus Jaggar, Jr.

Philadelphia born Thomas Augustus Jaggar (1871-1953) not only had a great name but he had three geology degrees from Harvard (A.B., A.M., and Ph.D.), studied in Munich and Heidelberg, and taught at Harvard! There was then only one volcano observatory in the world, at Vesuvius established in 1847 and Jaggar thought America needed one. He traveled to Hawaii in 1909 determined that Kilauea was to be the home of the first American volcano observatory.

Within a year of meeting Lorrin Thurston who (along with others) provided financial backing, a small observing station was set up on the rim of Halemaʻumaʻu crater (a pit crater within Kilauea's summit caldera). In 1912 construction of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) began.

Lorrin Andrews Thurston

Lorrin Andrews Thurston (1858–1931) was born in Honolulu, grandson of one of the original missionaries from New England. He studied law at Columbia University and became a member of the Honolulu bar. In the Kingdom of Hawaii, Thurston served in both elected and appointed positions, but he was a leader in the revolution (January 17, 1893) that overthrew Queen Liliuokalani and ended the native monarchy.

He was also a volcano enthusiast and in 1891 he bought and expanded the Volcano House hotel at the rim of the volcano. Thurston commissioned a cyclorama of Kilauea which he displayed in his travels to the mainland, including the Chicago World's Columbian Exposition of 1893.

Thurston in Center

From 1906 to 1916 he and friends lobbied with national politicians to create a National Park to preserve the Hawaiian Volcanoes.

Building the Observatory

Starting in 1912 a foundation had to be dug only about 20 feet from the rim of the caldera for Jaggar's volcano observation post.

To help stretch limited funds the diggers were prisoners of the Territory of Hawaii, sentenced to a term of hard labor. The prisoners dug through almost six feet of volcanic ash and pumice to a layer of thick pahoehoe lava—a firm base for the concrete piers on which seismometers would be anchored

Plans and elevations for the piers were hand drawn by Professor F. Omori at the Seismological Institute, Imperial University, Tokyo, Japan, and mailed to Jaggar. Also shipped to Jaggar were an Omori-type seismometer and a seismograph for the observation of earthquakes

Mauna Loa Lava Flow

Why Jaggar chose Kilauea for his volcano observatory included the following reasons: (1) Kilauea was the safest known volcano in the world; (2) Kilauea and Mauna Loa were isolated, more than 2,000 miles away from complications other volcanic centers might impose; (3) Kilauea was reasonably accessible—it could be reached by a 30 mile road from Hilo harbor or a day's sail from Honolulu; (4) the central Pacific was good for recording distant earthquakes and was served by good transportation east or west; (5) the climate was uniform, with air clear enough for astronomy; (6) small earthquakes were frequent and easily studied; (7) hot and cold underground waters were available for both agricultural and scientific purposes; and (8) "The territory is American, and these volcanoes are famous in the history of science for their remarkably liquid lavas and nearly continuous activity" (Jaggar, 1917).

Becoming a National Park

While Jaggar established the HVO, Thurston used his newspaper to promote the national park idea and convinced the territorial legislature to fund a group of congressmen to visit Kilauea in 1907. The trip included a dinner cooked over active lava vents. He hosted a visit by the Secretary of the Interior James Rudolph Garfield (son of the then late-President) in 1908, and another congressional visit in 1909. He convinced Territorial Governor Walter F. Frear to introduce a resolution supporting the idea, and formed a survey team to propose exact boundaries. His newspaper printed endorsements of the park by President Theodore Roosevelt (who happened to be a classmate at Columbia), conservationist John Muir, and powerful Senator Henry Cabot Lodge. In 1913 he explored a lava tube in the park that is now named after him.

Today Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is the largest of the five national parks in Hawaii. It contains the active volcanoes of Mauna Loa and Kilauea and covers some 520 square miles (over 320,000 acres) of land. Over half of the park is designated wilderness. The east rift of Kilauea has been erupting continuously since 1983. Kilauea’s crater covers more than four square miles and is the largest active volcanic crater in the world. Its inner pit, Halemaumau, is sometimes called the “House of Everlasting Fire.” The park’s landscape includes the Kau Desert on the arid eastern slope of Kilauea and a luxuriant tree fern forest on its moist western side. And not to be missed is the Jaggar Museum (the Hawaii Volcano Observatory which adjoins the museum is not open to the public) and its incredible views.

Mark Twain and the Monkey-Pod Tree

One of my hobbies is reading and one of my favorite authors is Mark Twain. So when I heard that at the age of 31 he had brought the monkey-pod tree to the Big Island, I was immediately curious.

The monkey-pod tree is fascinating and magnificent. Part of the legume family the tree is also commonly known as raintree, from the belief that the tree produces rain at night.

The leaflets close up at night or when under heavy cloud cover, allowing rain to pass easily through the crown. This trait may contribute to the frequently observed fact that grass remains green under the trees in times of drought.

However, the shading effect of the crown, the addition of nitrogen to the soil by decomposition of litter from this leguminous tree, and possibly, the sticky droppings of cicada insects in the trees all contribute to this phenomenon. (For more information on the tree see Roger G. Skolmen’s Monkey-Pod Tree.)

But back to Mark Twain – why would he be the one to bring this fantastic species to the Big Island? As far as I know he wasn’t particularly interested in botany, and for another, where would he get the seeds and how likely were they to grow? It sounded like a tall tale to me.

Among hundreds of references to this affair, is this one from a recent New York Times article (NY Times), “a long drive out of Volcanoes National Park winds down around the United States' southernmost point, then up the coast to Kailua-Kona. In Waiohinu, a roadside marker points out Mark Twain's monkey-pod tree, planted by the man himself.”

Another typical reference, taken from Pahala Village Hawaii History of Ka`u, “1866: Mark Twain visits Ka`u. He plants a row of monkey-pod trees in Waiohinu” (http://www.pahala-hawaii.com ).

Yet in Mark Twains’ letters about visiting Waiohinu there is no mention made of a monkey-pod tree planting. Nor did I see it in his book, Roughing It in the Sandwich Islands which is basically his Hawaii letters in more polished form.

His letters from the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii) were published in the Sacramento Daily Union. Here is the complete excerpt from his time in Waiohinu.

The Sacramento Daily Union, October 25, 1866

Kilauea, June, 1866.

We went ashore in the first boat and landed in the midst of a black, rough, lava solitude, and got horses and started to Waiohinu, six miles distant. The road was good, and our surroundings fast improved. We were soon among green groves and flowers and occasional plains of grass. There are a dozen houses at Waiohinu, and they have got sound roofs, which is well, because the place is tolerably high upon the mountain side and it rains there pretty much all the time. The name means "sparkling water," and refers to a beautiful mountain stream there, but they ought to divide up and let it refer to the rain also.

A sugar plantation has been started at Waiohinu, and 150 acres planted, a year ago, but the altitude ranges from 1,800 to 2,500 feet above sea level, and it is thought it will take an other year for the cane to mature.

Cherimoya

We had an abundance of mangoes, papaias and bananas here, but the pride of the islands, the most delicious fruit known to men, cherimoya, was not in season. It has a soft pulp, like a pawpaw, and is eaten with a spoon. The papaia looks like a small squash, and tastes like a pawpaw.

In this rainy spot trees and flowers flourish luxuriantly, and three of those trees - two mangoes and an orange - will live in my memory as the greenest, freshest and most beautiful I ever saw - and withal, the stateliest and most graceful. One of those mangoes stood in the middle of a large grassy yard, lord of the domain and incorruptible sentinel against the sunshine. When one passed within the compass of its broad arms and its impenetrable foliage he was safe from the pitiless glare of the sun - the protecting shade fell everywhere like a somber darkness.

And no mention of planting a row of monkey-pod trees or even of planting a single one!

On the other hand, I did learn that the monkey-pod tree was reportedly introduced into Hawaii in 1847 almost 20 years before Mark Twain arrived. Mr. Peter A. Brinsmade, a businessman visiting Europe, returned to Hawaii, presumably via Panama, with two seeds, both of which germinated. One of the seedlings was planted in downtown Honolulu, the other at Koloa on the island of Kauai. (These seedlings are possibly the progenitors of all the monkey-pod trees now in Hawaii).

And further, although the seeds are hard coated and long lived, some germinate soon after moistening by soil contact.

Mark Twain did spend two months in Ho no lulu, Waikīkī and Nu‘u anu, and five weeks on Maui before coming to the Big Island. -- so it was possible that he brought the seeds from Oahu. He spent three weeks here after landing at Kona and traveling along the south coast and up to Hilo and to the volcano at Kīlauea.

Given the lack of reference to the event in his writings, I was prepared to jettison this story into the “island myth” category, but the following review from the Los Angeles times changed my mind:

“Everything in Naalehu and Waiohinu, the two wide spots in the road that pass for towns at South Point, claims to be the southernmost this or that. Except for a monkey-pod tree planted by Mark Twain in 1866, there's not much else to crow about. There is, thankfully, a gas station, along with a couple of places to eat, a fruit stand, and a few B&Bs. These end-of-the-world towns are just about as far removed from the real world as you can get (LA Times).”

So, I say, if that’s their claim to fame, let the legend live on! I’m sure Mark Twain would support it. And, if not true, it should be because it sounds just like the kind of tree and tale he would have loved.

Hilo Latitude -- No Attitude

We had a visitor last night from the mainland, a fellow ceramic artist friend of my wife's (East Bay Potter), who actually lives full time on a sailboat in Richmond, California across the bay from San Francisco. We started speculating over some red wine where you would end up if you sailed east or west from Hilo.

I did some research today and learned some wild geography.

First, Hilo Hawaii is located roughly at 19.7 degrees north of the equator.

Going east we would hit the Mexican city of Manzanillo, its busiest port and located about equidistant between Puerto Vallarta to the north and Acapulco to the south. Manzanillo is also a beach resort and host of a yearly sailfish fishing tournament. Weirdly, the city claims to be also well known for the green flash phenomenon during its sunsets, something I’ve tried to see about a hundred times and was beginning to think was a myth.

Continuing east from Manzanillo at about the same latitude is Vera Cruz, a major port city on the Gulf of Mexico and Mexico’s second largest city. During the Mexican-American war, US forces led by General Winfield Scott took the city on March 29, 1846 after a lengthy siege.

Going west is even more fantastic because we run into "the Oriental Hawaii," which is surprisingly (at least to me), part of China! The “Oriental Hawaii” is an island named Hainan which is the smallest land province in China and located at its southern end. The island has a population of over seven million! According to travelchinaguide.com, “its natural beauty has gained a good reputation among the visitors and has been widely known around the world.”

Its capital city is Haikou, situated at the north end of Hainan Island, and it is the largest city on the island, located between 19.6 - 20.1 north latitude.

Continuing west across the Gulf of Tonkin, which is utterly evocative of the Vietnam War for most baby boomers, is Thanh Hóa, the capital city of Thanh Hóa Province, a city of nearly 200,000. The city is located about 85 miles south of Hanoi and considered to be a growing trade and industrial center.

During the Vietnam War US strategic bombing destroyed much of the buildings and infrastructure, the whole city has been totally rebuilt since then.

So who knew? I realize Americans are famous for their lack of knowledge about other countries but this was all quite new to me (and I even know that Tasmania is not a country in Africa). Also on Hilo’s latitude is Mumbai (Bombay) or should I say that we are on theirs? Aloha.

Blog 17 – Getting Off the Ground

After a fitful night’s “sleep,” the next morning at the motel near the San Francisco airport was more than chaotic. Five trips down from our second floor room got the car reloaded with our pets and luggage. We then proceeded to SFO where I dropped Devany off with the dog and the cat and most of our bags – with agreement to meet at the gate. I then drove to the rental car place, hoping it was open at 6am so that I could be shuttled back to the airport.

Devany had great success with an extremely helpful Redcap that handled everything with great aplomb – checking all the bags at curbside and directing where to go for the animal check-in, which turned out to be in the basement. There they inspected the animals and cages for security risks and accepted them for transport.

Meanwhile, the rental car shuttle dropped me off at its only stop about five terminals away from my destination. It probably took almost an hour for me to get to the gate, but I was there first which concerned me.

Devany finally arrived after having encountered the bad-tempered Gestapo Lady at the security line who told her that her carry-on was too large (the same bag she had used many times), and told her in no uncertain terms to get out of the line which was now up to about 20 minutes long. The bag had our computer and other stuff and the GL took Devany out of line and demanded she put it in the carry-on template where off course it didn’t fit. Luckily, another security agent took pity and told her to take out the computer and try it again – which worked, even though she now had too many carry-on items. Go figure.

We met up at the gate, wobbly but intact and already seriously needing an adult beverage even though it was only about nine in the morning.

Anyway, time to get on board and say good bye to the Bay Area…….!

Blog 16 Moving Day Finally Arrives

I am not sure that we would schedule a move again immediately after the Christmas Holidays, but it did work out. The problem is that so many places are closed between Christmas and New Year, and many service providers are operating at reduced levels.

Anyway the packer/movers were scheduled to arrive Friday, January 2^nd and have everything removed by the next day (which seemed highly unlikely). Little did we know that the West Point Movers would send ten workers, arriving the first day at 8am and staying to 10pm, and returning the next day early in the morning.

Luckily our next door neighbors (“the best ever”) had us over for Friday night and we crashed in one of their guest rooms and then even though they were out, gave us the keys to their place for Saturday night.

All we needed to do on Sunday was figure out how to get rid of all the stuff we decided not to move, and to have someone in to clean the carpets. Remember our house was still on the market during all this excitement.

The carpet cleaner (The Carpet Man, San Ramon, CA) was fantastic and arrived right on time. And luckily, during the garage sales we met a young musician who agreed to take anything that went unsold or that we didn’t want. He agreed to come pick up everything we were leaving. And our home cleaning service agreed to come in the following week and try to return things to near normal.

Off to the motel……..and on to our Big Island dream