Paradise Driver

Wednesday, January 03, 2007

I AM SO GLAD

I DIDN'T WORK NEW YEAR'S EVE

Harden (#25) had dispatch duty on Sunday night. It was the first time anyone other than me has had the phone in 5 years. They had nine cabs working, and one cell phone to answer the calls. As quick as he could answer, the call waiting tone would be beeping in his ear. My procedure has always been to just shut the phone off about 11:45pm and turn it back on once we had cleared The Grand of their party guests and "flags" were becoming less frequent. It is the only way to maintain any form of sanity on that night. He didn't know this and just kept answering the phone, even though there were no cabs even going to be remotely available for hours. New Year's Eve for the driver handling dispatch can best be described as a "cluster-fuck". Harden learned this the hard way.

All the drivers who worked did pretty good. All metered over $300 and one actually got above $600. On Monday night the cabs were busy doing round-robins from the hotels to the airport until 10:00pm. Then it died. Last night was like being in a morgue. Hardly anyone went to dinner, away from the hotels, and few went bar-hopping. For our "high" season it has been a complete washout. I hope this weekend fares better.

Speaking of the weekend, my very special friend Wiskers (a/k/a/ Alissa) arrives Friday with her family. I really enjoy their annual visits. The whole family is very special to me. It has been amazing watching her grow from a teenager into a very beautiful and sophisticated young woman. Her mom and dad (Susan & Ron) and sister and brother-in-law (Leah & Pete) will be joining her. Princess Leah is 5-1/2 months preggers with her first baby and she and Pete are so excited. At least that is what a little kitty meowed into my ear the other night. Wiskers' boyfriend, Joey, couldn't make it this time so her roommate is tagging along. I don't remember her name, sorry, but I will get lots of pics. I think they are staying 3 weeks.

Oh, my banner photo was taken from their condo's lanai. A true $1,000,000 (at least) view.

THE PICTURE GALLERY

KAUA'I

Tunnel Of Eucalyptus Trees
On The Highway To Poipu

Wailua Falls
(Fantasy Island Falls)

Waimea Canyon Overlook
On Waimea Canyon

Waimea Canyon

Waipo'o Falls
Waimea Canyon

Waterfalls In The Crater Of
Mt. Waialeale

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"Let's all be careful out there!"

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

YOU'VE MADE IT THIS FAR

SO YOU'LL PROBABLY SURVIVE

We have a local cable TV channel called The Visitor's Channel 7. It runs 24/7 on a repeating loop, about 4.5 hours in length. I always recommend it to visitors. We all know that they are not here to watch TV, but I tell them to keep it playing while in the room. It is packed with information about restaurants, activities, a tour and history of Mau'i.

They are now online. MauiOnline.com has streaming video of each segment of their programming. I think you will enjoy it.

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I was starved when I went to dinner with Judy. Our food was served and everything I took a bite of had absolutely NO FLAVOR. There was nothing wrong with the food, Judy had the same meal and said it was delicious. The only things that had any taste were the baked (jacketed) potato and the bread and butter. My salad had a bleu cheese vinaigrette dressing. It has always been very robust in flavor (flavour). Last night I might as well have been chewing hay. Same with my prime rib. No flavor, just texture. The horseradish had heat but no zing and the "au jus" was just warm water, with a hint of salt. Took most of my meal home. At Judy's place I found something that tasted normal, chocolate covered graham crackers.

Don't have a cold. Allergies are status quo. Hope it is temporary.

THE PICTURE GALLERY

KAUA'I

Wailua Falls
(Fantasy Island Falls)

Aerial View of Sleeping Giant

Ahukini Pier
Hanama'ulu Bay

Kipu Kai Beach

Waita Reservoir

Waipo'o Falls
Waimea Canyon

Waimea Canyon Overlook

Dark Green Fields
Of The Kauai Coffee Company

Manawaipuna Falls
(Juraasic Park Falls)
Hanapepe Valley

Close-Up

Ha'ena Beach Park

Hanalei Bay, North Shore

Hanalei Beach On Hanalei Bay

Hanalei River meets Hanalei Bay

Hanalei River Valley

***

"Let's all be careful out there!"

Monday, January 01, 2007

HAU'OLI MAKAHIKI HOU!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

As I drove home from Judy's, the smoke in the air was so thick that you could only see maybe 100 meters. Both of our cats spent most of the evening hiding under their respective beds.

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A lot of you are waking up with some massive hangovers. When the synapses in you brain start firing correctly check out the following:

Most of us have an idea of the relative size of the planets and sun,
but it's rather dazzling to see it presented this way.