LONG SHIFT

MORE LATER

LAVA ALWAYS HAS THE
"RIGHT-OF-WAY"
Bet you won't find that rule in any driving manuals

Later.....

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

GLITCHES

AN EXTENSION OF MURPHY'S LAW.
and Murphy was an optimist.

Three times last night I came across visually interesting scenes. And three times my little Sony "Cyber-Shot" would only give me a screwed up screen. Reminded me of an older TV set with a blown cathode-ray tube.

Since we are entering our traditional slow period, money is going to be a bit tight until winter tourist season begins. Get home and turn the camera on and viola, the damn thing works perfectly. I give.

I have no idea why it quit or why it began working again. But I ain't looking no gift horse in the mouth.

---

SLOWLY BUT SURELY

The night started at less than a snails pace. I had the phone and had nine cabs hibernating around Wailea. Until about 9:00pm, the majority of the calls I fielded were for reservations today (Saturday). Over that 2 hour period, three of the dayshift cabs gave up in defeat and scooted off home. A night driver packed it in at 10:00pm. Then the phone started ringing. Our resources were never taxed but the five reamining cabs stayed relatively active. Auntie Susan finally wore out a little after 1:00am and the final three cabs were gone by 2:30am. Nothing major, just a couple of pu-pus, during my solo hours. The meter total was okay but not impressive. Take-home beat minimum wage, in Hawai'i ($5.15 per hour).

Had one interesting incident during the shift, but the story isn't short and I am too danged tired to relate it this morning. I'll save it for my days off. MEMO TO ME: "MIKE", "ELEVATOR"

Business is definately on the downhill slide into autumn.

---

PARADISE PIX

"Upcountry"

Anyone for golf?

Protea

Seascapes

Keawakapu Beach
Kihei Surfside (near)
Mana Kai (far)
This is the beach that the Mana Kai webcam captures a limited view of.

Sunsets

Okay, this one is actually a sunrise

Oh, I forgot to mention it yesterday, but there are only 4 shopping months until Christmas. Actually saw my first Christmas ad this past week. A local business's TV ad inserted on a couple of the national cable channels. Made me want to start singing "Deck The Halls"........

NOT!



Later.....

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

SPEEDI-SHUTTLE

YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR

Most metropolitan and tourist areas in America have a shuttle service that will transport you from the airport to your hotel/condo, on arrival, and back to the airport, on your departure. The fare for this service is very cheap.

On Mau'i, this company is Speedi-Shuttle. Speedi-Shuttle is a "cash cow" for taxis on Mau'i. Even though they have very modern vehicles, the latest in GPS tracking and two-way radios that cover the entire island, they just can't seem to cover those returns to the airport. It is at least a weekly event for Royal to get a call requesting that we pick up people they have left stranded.

I was having a very dull night. At 4:00am I had handled 11 runs but was barely over $100 on the meter. Then Steve, the night valet at The Grand, called. Speedi-Shuttle had failed to show for a 4:00am airport transfer. I was sitting right next door, at The Shops Of Wailea, and 5 minutes later, we were on our way to OGG. The first time I had been out of Kihei all shift. This windfall brought the meter to about $175 and made the shift one where I would actually go home with some decent cash in my pocket.

The fates seem to like toying with me this way.

---

Thunderstorm in Kahului

Two panoramic views of Honolulu

Honolulu
from Diamond Head

Diamond Head
from Waikiki

Luau

Palapa & Beer

And so ends another day of "Sun, Sand and Surf"

Later.....

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