FIRST OFF

MY APOLOGIES

To Roger & Catherine from Sydney, NSW, AU.

The damn camera failed. (Dead Batteries)

That really torques my jaw.

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GAS PRICE

Dropped another penny.

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BELIEVE

These signs started appearing along the shoulder of various roads the past couple of days. No "identifiers" anywhere on the sign to hint at the origin of the message.

Curious. Its picqued my curiosity. Maybe one of my readers on Mau'i knows what this is all about.

Nice idea though.

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MEMORIAL DAY

Monday, May 29^th, is our National Holiday, Memorial Day. The Friday prior marks our unofficial start of the summer vacation (holiday) season, which hits mid-stride on Independence Day (4^th of July) and concludes on Labor Day (first Monday in September)

I like what Shadow wrote on her blog.

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CLICK IT or TICKET

MPD is stressing seatbelt use this holiday weekend. I read that Mau'i County has the highest compliance (something like 87%) to the mandatory seatbelt law than anywhere else in the nation.

Speaking of seatbelts. That collision on Monday was a fatal.

And speaking of fatal incidents. Here is our local entry for the Darwin Award.

Flashing roadside sign.

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PROFITABLE NIGHT

And no outlandish individuals.

Either Wednesday or Thursday was Lahaina Noon in Kihei. The tradewinds are non-existent and the past few days have been sticky reminders that we live in "The Tropics".

I have a feeling that this three day weekend is going to be rather active. And, if the "trades" don't come back, there will be a greater than average number of fights as the nights amble on.

Had a late night run to Pukalani, up the hill, about 3:30am. The husband passed out and snored (loudly) all the way there. The lady kept thanking me for picking them up. As SOP, I had collected an $80 deposit for the run and the meter read $63.20 at their home. Gave the lady seven $1 bills and two $5's. Figured that she would have every opportunity (she already had the motivation) to give some type of decent tip.

Yeah, right.

She didn't even cover the 20 cent balance.

People who

"thank you"

profusely and people who say

"Don't worry. I'll take care of you"

seldom have their words match their action.

Crossing the isthmus, just before daybreak, I noticed that a cane field was being burned prior to harvest.

When the embers die down, later in the day, the mechanized cutters will scour the field and the denuded stalks will be taken to the sugar mill, in Pu'unene, for roller pressing (the process by which the sugar slurry is removed from the cane stalks).

The smoke cloud above this field looked like the mushroom cloud of a low-yield nuclear blast. It probably rose 2,000+ feet (610+ meters) into the still, cloudless, night sky. Later today, the finest of the particulate matter from this event will be covering everything inside and outside of my home.


Later.....

Wil
=8^))
"Let's all be careful out there!"

12 HOURS - 7 RUNS

THAT PRETTY MUCH SUMS UP THE SHIFT

Aloha, adieu, adios, ta-ta, good-bye the night of May 24^th, 2006. May you rest in peace.

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THE "LITTLE" CHURCH

Along Kihei road, nestled between Shaka Pizza and the Aloha Open Market, stands this wee bit of a church.

Probably can hold no more than thirty standing people inside.

I have no idea what denomination it serves.

Usually it is "blacked out" at night but last night it was ablaze with lights.

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OH! WHAT DO I DO?

Okay, you're driving along Kihei road and the tsunami warning sirens activate. For those who haven't grasped the concept that the water is going to get very deep, very soon, where you are standing, we have these signs pointing the direction away from the danger zone.

Unless, of course, you are a surfer.

Then these point the direction you just came from.

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GAS PRICES

Dropped 3-cents.

Probably just the oil companies' caress before they slam us in the teeth with the next baseball bat of summer price rises.

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YET ANOTHER "CLICK THROUGH"


PIC 1 PIC 2


Later.....

Wil
=8^))
"Let's all be careful out there!"

PLODDING THROUGH

TO THE MIDDLE OF JUNE

Between 7:00pm and 2:00am I was only able to manage 7 runs. Thats pretty piss poor. Made up for that with 6 more runs during my solo period, so the night actually turned out pretty decent.

Only two more weeks of "groups" and then the summer tourist season begins and shifts into "high gear" on the Friday nearest June 15^th. We go into "overdrive" from the 4^th of July (Independence Day) weekend until Labor Day, the first Monday in September.

Just biding my time.

Compared to the dayshift, those of us who work nights are making some good money. But we have drivers on both shifts who do not grasp the concept of the "ebb and flow" of the tourism business and are desperately short of the rent this month. They'll learn or move on down the road to a job with a guaranteed fixed income.

The current group "in-house" is some large software company out of the UK and they are enjoying our limited "nightlife" to the fullest. And tipping EXACTLY 10%.

[mantra] F. I. T.s in 2 weeks. F. I. T.s in 2 weeks. F. I. T.s in 2 weeks [/mantra]

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FELICIA & TAMMY

These two ladies are from Santa Cruz, CA (USA). They are travel agents and are finally getting a chance to enjoy one of the perks of their occupation. Picked them up at The Prince and dropped them at the "Triangle".

~ FELICIA - TAMMY ~

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ROB & KARI

I think they said they were from the Sea-Tac area of Washington State (USA). I forgot to write it down.

Anyway, today is their wedding day, so lets all wish them the best. Okay!?


Beautiful Dress

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ANOTHER "CLICK THROUGH"


PIC 1 PIC 2 PIC 3

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BEACH ACCESS

I mentioned before that, by law, all beaches are public land. Some of the accesses are hard to find so the State put up these numbered signs where the pathway begins.

That "Right-Of-Way" only covers the path. If you step off it, onto private property, you can be arrested for trespassing.

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THE POLICE

These two cops spent almost an hour hanging out at LAB. Since I never saw any signs of trouble, I guess they were just as bored as I was.

When the limo pulled up to acquire his guests, Keala street was narrowed down to just one lane. Luckily, traffic was light.

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ARTISAN OUTLETS

I mentioned earlier that the pavillion at Kihei Kalama Village contained many artisan booths. There are also two more outlets, one a block south


Kihei Market Place
This just opened about two weeks ago.

and the other, a block north.


Aloha Open Market

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TROPIX SURF

Opening soon.

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THE MOON & VENUS

A beautiful moonrise, accompanied by Venus, about 45 minutes before sunrise.

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KBR - Kihei Boat Ramp

My last run of the shift was a couple going to KBR for a snorkeling trip to Molokini.


K B R Molokini and Kaho'olawe in the background


Pre-launch Staging



Later.....

Wil
=8^))
"Let's all be careful out there!"

DINNER PLANS

GONE AWRY

Judy & Dave had invited me to their home for dinner. Dave has a brand new gas BBQ grill and wants to show it off. I was to be the beneficiary (or victim) of his culinary skills.

Actually, he's a great cook and BBQ'd "whatever" always is great.

The fates had different plans.

On my way out, I stopped by the landlord's and paid June's rent. He told me that there had been a bad accident on the Pi'ilani highway, near Safeway. Traffic was backed up for miles and had been for hours. All highway traffic, both north and southbound, was being diverted from Pi'ilani down to Kihei road. Kihei road is just a two lane roadway and was totally overloaded. Utter gridlock. These are the only two roads that go north/south and there are no secret shortcuts to be used.

Since the highway was closed for that long, the accident had to be a "fatal". One of the major delays is that a medical examiner must be flown in from Honolulu. Then M.A.I.T. (Major Accident Investigation Team) has to do a mapping survey and gather evidence at the scene. Anywhere from 12-24 hours before the scene is cleared and the roadway reopened.

I came home and fixed a couple of hotdogs.

---

Another "Click Through"


PIC 1 PIC 2

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A STREET SIGN THAT YOU CAN READ!



Sleepy Hollow is a private street that feeds to 12 rental homes in the middle of Kihei.

The only "english" street name in Kihei.

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MORE JOBS

Your job could be asking, "Would you like to try a 'value' meal"


or reminding other to ask, "Would you like to try a 'value' meal"




Later.....

Wil
=8^))
"Let's all be careful out there!"

A FEW WORDS TO THE WISE

TIPS FOR "DUMB" TOURISTS


Hawai'i was the 50^th state to join the United States.

Saying

"Don't you ever get to 'the States'?"

Or,

"When we go back to 'the States'..."

sounds really dumb to folks who already live in "the States".

* * *
Other thoughts you might want to keep to yourself are:

"Gee, you speak good English."

"Don't you miss snow?"

"Are you a real Hawai'ian?"

"Do you accept 'American' money?"

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SOME MORE "CLICK THROUGHS"

PIC 1 PIC 2
PIC 1 PIC 2
PIC 1 PIC 2

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FRIDAY'S RIDE - KIHEI SIDE

We are headed southbound on the Pi'ilani Highway (SR-31). We are about 1 mile into town. The majority of the development is on the right/makai (toward the ocean) side. The left/mauka (toward the mountain) side of the road remains mostly undeveloped.

Please excuse the bug marks.


There are over a dozen different major (20 acres or more) housing projects under construction in Kihei and Wailea.



Entering the canyon area of Wailea


Entering the developed area of Wailea.


And headed down the hill.
Thats the Shops Of Wailea.

Part of the Wailea "Blue" Golf Course.


167 new townhouses are under construction across from The Grand.
Got a spare $15,000,000?






Later.....

Wil
=8^))
"Let's all be careful out there!"

SAN FRANCISCO TAXICAB

UPDATE LINK

Anyone else with links to the above site, need to check the URL.

He has moved it to:

http://sftaxicab.blogspot.com/

His RSS feed is http://sftaxicab.blogspot.com/atom.xml

The "redirect" he has on the old URL is not functioning properly


Later.....

Wil
=8^))
"Let's all be careful out there!"

I LOVE HONEYMOONERS

THEY ARE SO RESILIENT


I picked up this wonderful couple, Nick & Julie, from OGG at 11:45pm. They had just arrived on the puddle jumper, Pacific Wings, from O'ahu (pronounced OH-AH-WHO, NOT OH-WAH-WHO). They have been awake for nearly 24 hours and are from the Richmond, VA area. Today is their first day anniversary of marriage. Took them to the Fairmont Kea Lani.

It was pouring down rain at the commuter terminal and was a bit chilly. Julie asked me to turn on some heat but, alas, I had by-passed the heater core on Friday morning. She was exhausted and uncomfortable but very understanding. They are going to be here for 11 days and then back to O'ahu for three more. I hope I have an opportunity to snap their pic again, when they aren't semi-comatose.

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LAST NIGHT

We try to field 5 cabs on Saturday nights but only were able to get 3 on the road last night. And the 3 of us stayed very, very busy.

While it was my night to dispatch, TMR Alex took one look at me and said he would keep the phone. I know I felt shitty but I didn't think I looked as bad as I felt. I guess I was wrong but I am very thankful that he did it.

Except for The Grand, every other location was under the "two minute" rule. If the fare isn't on board within two minutes of our arrival, then off to the next pick-up. "Ya snooze, ya looze."

I had three out-of-town runs and a passle of long in-town runs.

I finally logged off at 6:30am with 17 trips and over $300 on the meter. Sweet!

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My last run of the shift was a pupu from The Grand to the Wailea Gold & Emerald golf courses. This is also where the Seawatch restaurant is located.

A very appropriate name. This is their ocean view from just below the restaurant's lanai.

Kaho'o'lawe in the background and Molokini up front.

Telephoto shot.

Looking north from Wailea Alanu'i. The white building is the Kea Lani (Hawai'ian for "White Heaven") and the darker structure to its left is the Polo Beach Club.

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY "WISKERS"!!

She turns 22 on Monday.


Later.....

Wil
=8^))
"Let's all be careful out there!"