I survived!

[Fred Douglass]

Back from 15+ days (and four of eight islands) in Hawai'i!!! Gotta say driving "The Road to Hana" (on Maui) really requires a Cobra! Two helicopter rides (Big Island and Kauai) were worth the trip in themselves! Didn't compute the angle of the "winter" beach profile too well while body surfing-----one-point landing on the outermost of my chins.....ar-ar-ar-ar

Looked around for Excaliber's cobra in Honolulu/Oahu but dint find it.....(lucky for him!)..

Went climbing for 3/4 hour in rainforest/jungle----looking for an audible (but unseen) waterfall. Wifey loved it! Wait, lemme check my notes........ar-ar-ar-ar.

Nonetheless, I survived--even lived through the Crudes-Ship experience. I must say, re the latter-----Americans are REALLY dressing down and bulking up nowadays. I felt positively svelte next to some of these Hindenbergs. Rare is the waheine who outweighs me (I'm a slim and sexy 250# nowadays) but they were there in abundance. And..since when are dungaree "half-pants" and wife-beater shirts de rigeur for dinnah! Krikeys!

On the very last day (12/23) did my Christmas shoppin' in downtown Waikiki. Also acquired a good dose of Delhi-Belly----which didn't kick in to full "party-favor"* mode until I got home (thank Zeus!)!!!

Ar-ar.

Ronnie W., ever the gentleman, has typically offered to help me post some of my horrific evendentiary photos in my Gallery. Gawd he'p y'all, if I ever get around to that! Thanks and happy birthday, Ron!

*remember the old party-favors which shot stuff outta bofe ends? Ar-ar-ar-oooooooogle (yick!)

[Ron61]

Freddie,

Nice to have you back and I am glad that you had a great time. Sounds as if you got to do a lot of things. Ernie probably had his Cobra hidden.
The birthday was nice, thank you. Weather was pretty good and I enjoyed a nice day of just walking around. Today it is raining just hard enough that you get soaking wet after about 5 minutes out in it so I never got to take the dogs for their morning run.

Ron

[Fred Douglass]

I can tell ya, the Hawaiian landscape is a whole lot different from the Solomons----although there is a good dose of verticality out in the SW Pacific, it isn't quite as abrupt as Hawai'i! My sis, who's a compootah whiz (musta got the other half of the gene set!) and who used to program the SOSUS and SOFAR stuff for the Navy back in the old oak-tag days of compootin', (early 1960's) has promised to help me. Nonetheless, you're on deck!

Chow

[Ron61]

Freddie,

When I came home from Korea, we were tied up at the dock at Pearl Harbor for most of the day. Some marines were getting on to come back to the mainland. I am the worlds worst person for getting sea sick, I know because a Navy Doctor told me so as I spent all 21 days on my way over there in the sick bay and lost around 30 pounds. Anyway after being aboard for about 30 minutes some of the marines were hanging over the side throwing up and we were still docked and never left for another hour or so. I don't know how they did after we left the harbor as I was to busy being sick myself to watch to see if they were.

We are all waiting to see the pictures Freddie.



Ron

[Fred Douglass]

....which you can use to scare kids away from your door on Halloween!

It's of me emerging from the surf at a black-sand beach on Maui----after the one-point landing during body-surfing!

I have to affect some truck repairs----THEN it's time fer the pichah-posting!

Chow,

[Jamo]

This wasn't your first time there, Fred, was it?

Imagine this...took the four ladies of my life to the top of the volcano (fog shrouded at the time) all the way from Kannipali, went down through Up Country to Momma's, and then took them all the way to Hana and back to Kannipali in one day.

As the collective pride of females let me know what they thought of this little exercise at the end of the excursion, I told them to remember it next time they b!tch at me for laying on the beach and not doing anything.

Where's the pics???!!!!! Send me your most glorious (the black beach amphibious assualt sounds good) and I'll get it up quickly to hold our interest.

[Ron61]

Freddie,

Hurry up and get the pictures to Jamo so we can all see them. I am really looking forward to seeing the places you went. The Black Beach Assualt one sounds like a great one.

Ron

[Fred Douglass]

Yar, t'was me foist Hawai'ian advenchah! (What I done in Papua STAYS in Papua!) Howsofookin'ever, Hawai'i is still recoverin', you becha. Damn goody okay, fellas! Especially the divot I put in that foo keen beach!!!! Ar-ar-ar-ar-ooogah!

Gad! Just got som'o the pichahs back. Gadzooks! Froitnin' ta beyold, mites!!!!
Shot billions of digitals too. Plus-dare I say this?----MILES of video. Horrifyin' all, I b'lieve.
But the videos have been put under DEFCON 6 closure!!!!!

Chow

[Fred Douglass]

.......rat naow I'm beatin' the livin' shyte out of my wife's Bimmer's starter solonoid with a small(ish) ball-peen. Sounds good? It'll start or it'll DIE!!!!

Keep smilin',

[Ron61]

Freddie,

The pictures aren't that bad. Quit stalling and get them up. As for the wife's Bimmer, to bad it doesn't have a smart key and then Wes could help you out with his snow blower.

Ron

[Fred Douglass]

.....I b'lieve Janie's aboot (1000 hrs, 1/4/09) to post some, Ronnie. There are actually better ones in the PILE I took, so I may trickle them onto my Gallery as time goes by..........

Chowdah,

[Ron61]

Freddie,

Make sure that the one of you doing the assault on the black sand beach gets on here. I want to see that one especially. I have been over looking at some she has posted and they are really great. I did recognize a couple of places that I was at the two days I got to spend there.

Ron

[Fred Douglass]

Fer shur. Ronnie.

WARNING (however)------it will not turn yer hair white----it'll make it (and your teeth) FALL OUT!

Yippa daing!

[Ron61]

Freddie,

The hair is already gone, courtesy of the breakdown, and my dentist will send you thatk you cards from now on.

Ron