RAIN

TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING

I woke up about 7:30 this morning. Stumbled out for some iced tea and was sitting at my desk when it penetrated my senses that it was raining outside. A very heavy downpour. No wind, just rain, rain and MORE rain. Stayed up for about an hour and the strength of the storm never lightened up at all. This is great sleeping weather, so I crawled bak into my bed. Woke up again around noon and it was still falling just as hard as it was earlier. Never one to miss a golden opportunity, I went back to bed. Slept very comfortably until 4:30 in the afternoon. Now it was just a light drizzle. Had to stay awake, since I was going to take Judy to dinner tonight. Called her about 5 and learned that Mau'i had been under a "Flash Flood Warning" all day. The police were forced to close the Mokulele Highway, which connects Kihei with Kahului. Kihei Road was flooded in all its normal spots to depths of 5 feet and also in other low spots close to the shore that normally just have minimul ponding. The "high" road, Pi'ilani Highway, was also closed intermittently during the day due to run-off from up country. Rocks as big as basketballs were being propelled onto the roadway.

A lot of the businesses in the "Triangle" were flooded out. Thats pretty normal when storms like this occur.

This was our first rainfall since last March. It was desperately needed but this was a bit of overkill. All the shorelines were in brown water conditions from the runoff, which is perfect for Tiger Sharks to feed in during the day.

This storm is also impacting the Big Island where yesterday's epicenter was. Just what they need. NOT!

Judy and I had planned to try out a new mexican restaurant but it was in one of the flooded areas. We opted for OUTBACK instead.

An interesting sign inside OUTBACK.

Always thinking of their customers
OUTBACK provides reading material in the restrooms

Baby "change stations" are now common in men's rooms.
I wish they had been back when I was a young father.

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THE PICTURE GALLERY

All of today's images are of the HANA HOTEL-MAUI, located in Hana.
808-248-8211 or Toll Free: 800-321-4262















"Let's all be careful out there!"

LUCKY I LIVE

MAU'I

The poor people on O'ahu (Honolulu) only have about 25%/30% of their power restored. Only a few of the TV stations are in operation. Cell phone service is dropping out as the battery back-up systems for the cell towers go dead. Water is becoming a problem as the storage tanks run dry and there is no electricity to operate the pumps to refill them. The Honolulu Water Department only has a few generators.

"Water, water all around and not a drop to drink"

The storm headed for Mau'i appears to be breaking up and we shouldn't get the drenchings that O'ahu and Kaua'i had.

As of this moment, there still have not been any fatalities directly linked to the quake. Which is great news. The property and infrastructure damage reports on the Big Island continue to mount. Most of the electricity on the Big Island has also been restored, except in the hardest hit areas. Reports from Kailua-Kona indicate that many of the hotels/resorts had significant impact on their facilities.

Here is a USGS map showing where the epicenter was and I've indicated where I live. Hope this helps you get a handle on the scene.



Took some TV dinners over to Judy's house tonight. Her cupboards were as bare as Mother Hubbards. Her cat, Bob, was as skittish as Bear, who is peacefully sleeping on his tower at the moment. All day long, he would jump whenever any one made a loud noise in the neighborhood.

Neither Bear nor Bob displayed any precognative reaction to the temblor. They both froze when it hit and didn't run for safety until it was over. Bear to his hiding spot under the bed and Bob into Judy's closet.

Later today you might want to checkout the on-line edition of Maui News (link in dropdown menu on sidebar). It is usually published around 10:00am my time (8:00pm UTC).

I want to thank all of you for the kind words of concern in both the comments and e-mails. It is very much appreciated.

Glad to see you back "on-line, Shadow.

The tree that someone asked about is a Banyan Tree.

Well, I've been awake for about 40 hours. Time for bed.

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THE PICTURE GALLERY

Ka'anapali Beach

Silversword

Jacaranda Trees

O'heo Stream
(formerly called the
"Seven Sacred Pools")

Little Beach & Big Beach

Molokini

Kama'ole Beach

Moloka'i

Windsurfers At Ho'okipa

"Let's all be careful out there!"

NOT "GREAT"

BUT REALLY, REALLY GOOD

A pretty active Saturday night. Never left town but I did stay busy with runs the entire shift.

I logged in at the usual time and was advised that I had a "special" at 7:45 pm. Drove into Kihei and got some bottled water. The weather was still hot and humid and there was a chance that we might have some rain before dawn. Luckily, the front coming in from the northwest stalled. The islands of Kaua'i and O'ahu were getting drowned and had flash flood watches in effect

My "special" was Tony and Denyse, from the east side of the SFO Bay Area. They are seasonal regulars and are great people. Took them to the Lotus Room, a new nightclub located at The Shops At Wailea.

~Denyse & Tony~

"Doc" Kevin had the phone last night. He's a nice guy but is so intelligent that he sometimes fails to see the "Big Picture". He tends to get too engrossed in the "nuts and bolts" aspect of dispatching. Multi-tasking is not his forte and he thinks in a very linear fashion. Thats just grumbling on my part. Not everyone can dispatch the way TMR and I do.

By 10:30pm, the climate had sapped my energy and I still had another 6-1/2 hours (minimum) to go. Went home to and vegged for about 90 minutes. Came back out and took over the phone so the "Doc" could go home early. He had some important activities planned for Sunday. He and his wife run a wedding business.

He was gone by 12:30am and only TMR and myself were left. We stayed very busy. Just before 2:00am we picked up a party of 12 from the Lotus Room and took them up to Mau'i Meadows, a sub-division that straddles the eastern edge of the Kihei/Wailea boundary. These folks were part of a wedding party from the Denver, Colorado area.

TMR finally was able to get off about 2:30am and I kept busy through my "solo hours". A little after 3:00am, I received a call from the wedding party asking if I would bring them some cigarettes. I explained that I do not make deliveries but that I would pick them up and take them on a roundtrip to the closest place to buy some cancer sticks. That was acceptable and when I arrived, two guys hopped in the cab and wanted to go to the Mana Kai condos. After a few rounds of discussion I finally made contact with the lady who had requested the cab. She and another lady joined the two men and we headed down the hill to the condo. After dropping the guys, we went to the Union 76 gas station. They bought their smokes and I paused the timer on the meter while the three of us stopped and had a smoke. I don't allow anyone to smoke in ONE-NINE. They were vivacious. Missy is single and Meredith just had a baby girl 5 months ago. They are both from Denver. They each had had just enough alcohol to be friendly with an old fart like me, without becoming outlandish. The extended round trip took about 30 minutes and was a pleasant way to end my week.
~Missy & Meredith~

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GAS PRICES

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THE PICTURE GALLERY

Wai'Anapanapa State Park
Remarkable Wai'anapanapa State Park, near Hana, features lush jungle, a black sand beach, historic sites and some of Mau'i's richest blues and greens

Kama'ole Beach

Tail Of The Whale

JAWS
"Extreme surfing" championGarrett M^cNamara ventures into the terrifyingbarrel of Pe'ahi, the north shore Mau'i surf break also known as "Jaws", due to its ferocious power

Lahaina Harbor

Road To Hana

Sunrise At 'Alau Islet, near Koki Beach. East Mau'i

Sailboat At Ka'anapali

Haleakala

I'ao Needle, I'ao Stream, I'ao Valley

"Let's all be careful out there!"

I AM OKAY

BUT IT WAS A GOOD SHAKE

You folks probably know more about today's earthquake than I do.

Cell phone service stayed up but we lost all electricity about 30 seconds after the first temblor. Not from any damage to anything, just an automatic shutdown to prevent prevent problems. It finally came back at 2:30pm and I just now got connected to the web.

The biggest problem was lack of communication. Every radio station on Mau'i went off the air. The only information was from KSSK radio, out of Honolulu, which focused on their market.

The quake hit about 7:08am. I would rate the magnitude at 5.5 at my house, which would correspond with the actual 6.6 measurement from about 100 miles away.

Poor Bear is still scared shitless.

Checked with Judy and she is okay.

Called my son about an hour after the quake to let him know that I was safe. It hadn't even made the news by that moment.

BTW - Since I am from California, trying to guess how strong an earthquake was is a normal reaction. I went through the Loma Prieta (October 17th 1989, World Series) quake and I was in El Lay when the Northridge (January 17th 1994) quake hit. This one didn't even hold a candle to those.

At this moment, there have been no reported deaths anywhere in the State.

Every island in the State did loose power. Honolulu (O'ahu) is experiencing the greatest problem from this.

Our airport is open and functioning. All United flights were cancelled, along with ione flight from ATA. All other airlines are still providing service, albeit delayed.

I was 5 minutes from making this morning's post and lost everything when the power went kaput. I'll recreate it shortly and try again.

Besides the disruption caused by the power failure, the front and back ways into Hana are closed. They are okay. They have power, telephones, cell service and cable functioning. You just can't get in or out.



"Let's all be careful out there!"

FINALLY!!

A REALLY GREAT NIGHT

Logged on a few minutes past 7:00pm. It was my dreaded Friday night. My night to dispatch. But the Fates were smiling on me. TMR had the phone and he had just left for OGG. A welcomed 1 hour reprieve.

Then "thangs" started getting better. Picked up from The Grand to OGG about 7:40pm. My first time out of town in about three weeks. A nice way to start the night and, due to my turn around time, the earliest I could hook up with TMR would be almost 9:00pm. An additional hour of just driving.

Just as I cleared OGG, I received a call from some of my seasonal regulars at the south end of Kihei. They wanted to know if I could pick them up at 8:45pm and take them to Henry's. Made it there by 8:40pm.

Grabbed a steak and cheddar ciabata sandwich at the drive-thru of one of the "choke-N-pukes". Only took 10-minutes from placing the order until I reached the pick-up window. On Mau'i, the term "fast food" is an oxymoron.

Actually got to take two bites of my sandwich before I was so rudely interrupted by another assignment. Thats par for the course.

Picked up a couple from the south end of town and took them to the Renaissance and then was sent back to central Kihei for a run to the far north end of town.

When I cleared that I was assigned to get a guy from an apartment complex in north central Kihei. Spent 10-minutes looking for him before calling a "10-13" (no show/no load)

We were staying very steady and I immediately was assigned to a call at a private residence in far north Kihei. A guy and his lady going to Hapa's to celebrate his birthday. He planned to "PAR-TAY" all night and knew that he would be too drunk to even attempt to drive home afterwards. I wish more people were like that. Just for all of our health & safety.

As soon as I cleared, I was sent to the Kea Lani. A guy about my age and a lady companion in her early 40's. I wouldn't call either of the intoxicated, He seemed a bit shy and she compensated by being talkative, in a very genial way. He was new to the island and they were on a date. I dropped them at her house. During the trip she kept flirting with me (?!?). She wanted me to join them at "Little Beach", the nude beach down in Makena, on Sunday and then maybe come back to her place that evening to party with them. What a thrilling prospect. Not!

After that it was back down to The Shops At Wailea for a run back to an apartment complex near the "Triangle".

Finaaly hooked up with TMR at 11:00pm, in the FoodLand parking lot. Rather than handing over the phone, he said that since it was so late he would go ahead and keep it until 2:00am. The Fates must really be drunk. I got a "phone pardon"! I really appreciated the gesture and plan on pulling his phone shift next Thursday as a Mahalo.

Sat idle for about 15 minutes and shot the shit with TMR and globetrotting Tina. No matter how busy we are, 11:00pm is always slow. Most people are where they want to be and that is the period of heaviest drinking and dancing. Most of the 0.01% BA romances have passed the awkward intial verbal reparte and are settling whether it wil be "my place or yours?"

I was first up and the next call sent me out to the airport (OGG) for a run up the hill to Kula. I haven't been "up-country" since last spring. My second out of town run of the night. Fantastic!

I got back into Kihei about 1:30am and refueled Met TMR, picked up the phone and the reservations he had taken. Went out to The Grand and got their reservation sheet and compiled them together.

At 2:30am, I departed for a special pick-up from the Hyatt, in Ka'anapali. 2 people leaving at 3:30am, headed to OGG. A nice couple from Osaka, Japan. Starting the long journey home. I think they were newlyweds.

Since it was Saturday morning, traffic was extremely light. Stayed exactly on the speed limit the entire trip since I knew the airport is closed until 5:00am and we were going to be very early. And we were. Made the drop at 4:09am. Total trip time was 41 minutes for the 26 mile (42km) trip.

Flor had come in early to cover a 4:30am from The Grand to OGG and I turned the phone and reservations over to "Murph" just a hair past 5:00am.

While I only did 9 fares, I drove 213 miles, got out of town three different times (yipee!) and the meter was commensurate with the miles driven.

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THE PICTURE GALLERY

The following are all from the Hana Town area.

Banyan Tree

Droplets Over Black Lava

Hana Road

Ke'anae Arboretum

Lush Vegetation

Making A Coconut Frond Hat

Native Crafts

Old Courthouse Of Hana

"Let's all be careful out there!"