Pandemic news

Today Governor Jay Inslee ordered all schools closed to slow the spread of COVID-19. Inslee is a science nerd, and he's listening to public health scientists, rather than economists who think the disruption to business from a quarantine would be too great.
So, today was the last school day for "T" for several weeks. I hope he ( Read more... )

Today "M" and "L", hosts of my usual Monday evening get-together, decided to cancel gatherings at their house, as part of Washington state's social distancing campaign. We'll still get together, but we'll use some kind of multi-user video chat.
Until the degree of danger from the COVID-19 coronavirus is better known, it's probably good to be safe ( Read more... )

Since we're leaving Hawaii soon, and we still have a fair amount of groceries left, "J" and I decided to scrounge through the kitchen to eat as much of our groceries as we reasonably can. I don't think we'll be able to eat everything, but from previous trips we've found that cleaning people generally gather food that's still usable and share it ( Read more... )

Our first outing for the day was meeting my parents for Sunday brunch at a seaside restaurant we had been to before. Although it was kind of so-so last time, it was excellent for brunch. And of course the view was still great.
(Do I count tag this as brunch because it is a brunch? Or not tag it because it's not with our customary Sunday brunch ( Read more... )

Today we had lunch at an upscale casual dining fish restaurant named Fish Hopper. It was pretty good, but at the price I wasn't all that impressed.
I still had my dive book in the car, and I wanted to get the book signed, so I headed for the shop. But along the way, I spotted a large mural advertising a hobby store, and on a whim I decided to go ( Read more... )

A departure

Today was the last day on the Big Island for "D". Before leaving, he had an errand he wanted help with, visiting a store he remembered from the last time he was on the Big Island. So, we looked up where it was, and got somewhat ambiguous directions, but eventually reached the strip mall he remembered. But the store wasn't where he ( Read more... )

Today, we were planning to meet my parents for lunch in downtown Kailua-Kona. I found a place that sounded good on Yelp and we all agreed on it. We got there well ahead of my parents, and I was having trouble finding the place, so I pulled into the parking lot for the Kailua-Kona Public Library to look for more detailed directions. "D" took the ( Read more... )

Road trip

We started the day with some planning for a road trip to the rain forest Hilo side of the island, then packed up stuff we'd want on the drive. As it turned out, we could have done a better job packing and planning.
When we set out on our expedition, "J" asked whether we had packed binoculars. I said no, and we turned around to go ( Read more... )

Our friend "D" has visited us a few times when we've stayed on Kauai, and now that we're on the Big Island he's visiting us here too. Late this morning we picked him up at the airport. We were all in the mood for lunch, so we went to the Kona Grill House, the same spartan restaurant we discovered on Friday. Again it was amazing.
As before, we went ( Read more... )

We went swimming early this morning, before the Sun was up far enough that we would need sunscreen. I lugged my scuba gear to the pool, and practiced swimming with the fins (over dive boots), mask, and snorkel. I discovered that I should have started warming up my swimming endurance sooner; it felt like harder work than I remembered. Of course, ( Read more... )