HOW LONG CAN YOU TREAD WATER?

FLOODED

Started raining again about noon yesterday and it was a heavy, steady downpour for the next 12 hours. Between 7:00pm and 9:00pm it was a windless monsoon.


South Kihei Road flooded in it's usual low spots. The pics below were taken from the FOODLAND parking lot, looking south. That's "LAB" ("Life's A Beach") on the corner of the "Triangle."




Move a half block to the east and this is the back parking lot, behind Kahale's, at the "Triangle."



These shots were taken around midnight, about 3 hours after the heavy rain.

During the peak of the flooding I watched some kid, riding a "boogie board", being pulled down S. Kihei Road by a 4x4, riding the bow wave.

LAB had to sandbag their main entrance after flood waters entered their bar. They never did close though. However, Neptune's and Kahale's were forced to close due to inundation. During the peak flooding, that back lot had over 2 feet of flowing water in it at it's highest point. Over 4 feet at it's lowest. In fact, the water escaping out of that lot onto the street looked like a spillway on a dam.

We had four major areas of flooding. In front of the "Triangle". A mile north from there, between Marco's restaurant and Chevron. A half mile north of that, by the Mau'i Sunset condos. And 2 miles further north, near the junction of the Mokulele Highway and S. Kihei Road. In all the locations the water was between 3 and 5 feet deep.

Also had a bunch of stranded motorists. These idiots seemed to think that they could "keep on truckin'" at 30mph through the flooded areas. Each one had their car's electrical system shorted out. The tow trucks stayed busy for hours.

It is possible to drive through this (sometimes there just isn't an option), but only at a 1-2mph crawl. Don't create a bow wave!!

By 3:00am all of the flooding had drained off.
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GAS PRICE

It just keeps going up. I thought crude oil prices were dropping?

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"ALL ABOARD!"

The "pineapple express" is now in effect.

Poor California, especially the Bay Area, is going to have one hell of a rough time.
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Later.....

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

WHO'LL STOP THE RAIN?

WEATHER UP DATE

Well, it is not raining at the moment. But last night it started about 5:00pm and continued all night.

"BIG BLUE" shows that we are still tapped into the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). I'll be glad when this pattern is over. There is a good chance that this tropical flow could create another "pineapple express" to the west coast of the US. Something they really don't need.

Didn't work last night, hence no pics today.

All my old injuries were complaining too much. Even had to get my cane out to walk to my car at home. I seldom have to use it. No way was I capable of lifting 200 pound (90kg) bags of luggage into and out of the trunk.

As the old line goes:
"If I knew I was gonna live this long, I would've taken better care of myself." :)

See ya tomorrow. Aloha!

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Later.....

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

TUESDAY TIDBITS

MAU'I TORNADO

Photo is from the Maui News.

They are rare but tornadoes, and waterspouts, do occur here.
You can read more here.
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SOME FELLOW DRIVERS
Brian L.

Flor

Ginnie

Harden J.

Harden made the worldwide tabloids this past Christmas when Paris Hilton peed in the back of his cab.

Jim G.

Joel B.

"Kimo"

Mary M.

Susan H.

Tina

This is only part of the crew. Some just don't want their pics taken and the others I rarely have contact with.
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RAIN, RAIN GO AWAY....

The weather is starting to improve. Kind of a "milky" blue sky right now. The weather front that caused all the problems has moved north but there is still enough residual moisture in the atmosphere to cause some convectional heating thunderstorms. Hopefully by this weekend we'll be back to our normal tradewind weather that Mau'i is so famous for.

And the tourists will stop complaining to me about the weather. As if it is all my fault that their vacation was rained on.

At least they didn't have to shovel it.
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SPRING BREAK

"Spring Break" is a month long event. Different colleges and universities take their breaks at different times. Thus spreading out the tourist flow.

We typically get the "juniors" and "seniors" here, since the cost of transportation is so expensive. "Freshmen" and "sophomores" typically pile a whole passle of people into a few cars and head for Ft. Lauderdale, FL, Lake Mead, NV. or South Padre Island, TX.

Our "spring breakers" tend to be more relaxed and not the underage "binge drinkers" that the other locations get. Thank god.
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COAT-OF-ARMS

Turns out that my family name has a "Coat-Of-Arms".

Not really important, just thought I would share it ;)
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ANOTHER WEEK

Start another work week at 7:00pm. Time to take a nap.
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Later.....

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

MONDAY "FILLER"

BIG BLUE

Here's a shot of the Pacific showing the massive cloud cover over Hawai'i.

The image above is static.
The images below will change with time

GOES-11
(View of entire Pacific ocean. Updates hourly)

GOES-12
(View of North and South America & Atlantic Ocean. Updates hourly)

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PEOPLE I WORK WITH

Steve is the senior valet at The Grand. He works the overnight shift by preference.

Dennis is the evening "Doorman" (the overall chief of the entry) at The Grand

Tammy is the evening valet supervisor at The Grand. She's just returned from maternity leave.

Tonya was Tammy's leave replacement. She still covers on Tuesday evenings.

Debbie is new to The Grand's valet team. She came over from the Kea Lani. She works in the evenings. She is very smart.

Tim GWR SECURITY

John GWR SECURITY

Tom GWR SECURITY

Jennifer, valet supervisor at the Kea Lani in the evenings.

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Later.....

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

WAY TO START MY WEEKEND

SHIFT CHANGE

First "day" driver checked in at 4:00am, second one at 4:30am, and the third at 4:40am. I was home by 5:00am. [big] :) [/big]
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ALOHA ALISSA

She, and family, return home to the "Twin Cities" today.

"Here are some parting shots:

Oh, the name is Alissa, not Alyssa. I've been making a "typo" on this all week.

BTW - I think Natalie is one of two "non-blondes" in Minnesota. ;)
Then again, I'm willing to bet that not all those blondes have matching carpets and drapes.
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SERENE NIGHT

After Friday night's fiasco, tonight was enjoyable.

Every one of my drivers were able to make at least one airport run, which made them "happy campers."

It was never busy but it did stay steady. The balance between "calls" and cabs was perfect.

The weather has stayed crappy though. Lots of mild "thunderbumpers" and mediocre "lightshows." We've even had "tornado watches" and "warnings" this week.

There is a huge "Kona" low off to the west of the state and it is sucking up moisture from the equator, right over Hawai'i.

Other than getting wet, rain is usually not uncomfortable. The air is 75f/24c, the ocean is 75f/24c and the rain is 75f/24c.
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MY OFFICE

Here is a shot of my cab's interior, from a passenger's "point-of-view".

Note that "Maggie" is in position.
I spend more time in the driver seat than I do in bed.
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Later.....

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

BUSY NITE - NOT!

TSUNAMI'S

The busiest place last night was Tsunami's.

Unfortunately, no one arrived or departed by cab.

The "Triangle" only generated two runs at bar close.

I got off early at 5:00am and left with only 10 runs on the log sheet. My total "meter" last night was less than my normal "take-home" for a Friday. I spent more at the grocery store than I earned. :(

It had rained most of the day and through the dinner period. The majority of the tourists just stayed in their hotels. Can't fault that. Being "cooped up" on the forty acres of THE GRAND WAILEA isn't really a hardship. ;)

(40 acres is equal to 161,874.26 square meters or 16.19 hectares or 0.06 square miles)
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ALYSSA

Well, she leaves on Sunday. I am really going to miss her.

Here's a shot of her and Natalie, from Thursday night, having some fun for the camera.

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Later.....

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

NEW BANNER

Do you like it?

When I went to Alyssa's house for dinner on Sunday, it had been raining all day. Stopped just as I arrived. The sky was totally overcast. As sunset approached, I thought that I could see a little clearing of the sky right on the horizon. About every 30 seconds to one minute I snapped a shot. The fourth and fifth shots I took about 20 seconds apart.

Those with digital cameras know that you really can't see much on the 1.5-inch LCD.

Downloaded the pics when I got home and made the post that contains all 7 shots.

It wasn't until I woke on Monday that I really looked at them in my files. That fourth shot was spectacular! You can see how the fifth shot, 20 seconds later, had lost the light, the texture, the splendor.


Kept studying that shot all day. I had been wanting to put a banner here for awhile but never could find the right pic. Used Photoshop to play with it, and you can see the results above.

Also had to make some minor changes in the template's HTML and Javascript. Been playing with that stuff since 1998, so no big deal.

I am proud! :)
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Later.....

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

RAIN

ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER DOLLAR

Started at 7:00pm and watched a tropical lightshow developing in the distant northwest, near the island of Moloka'i. Had my first run at 7:45pm. To the airport (yipee!!). My guests and I talked story about how crappy the weather has been these past 10 days.

No rain on the way there but coming back I drove into a cloudburst for about three miles.

I immediately was dispatched to a call when I checked in at the Kihei town boundry. It was nearby. That run took me to the FOODLAND/"Triangle" area. As I dropped, I picked up a run from there to Wailea.

When I cleared I was immediately dispatched back to the "Triangle" for another dinner return to Wailea. Then I had an in-Wailea pupu run.

Cleared it and was dispatched back to The GRAND for another airport run (yipee!! again).

It rained the entire trip there. Heavy at times.

When I cleared at OGG, I was advised to standby for a "meet & greet" at 10:40pm (and again, yippee!!). A family arriving on American 161, going to The GRAND. Met a wonderful family from Chicago. The rain on the trip back to Wailea was steady.

The light show was getting better.

Picked up Alyssa and Natalie about 12:30am and took them to Makena.

After everyone else left, I had some Kihei pupu runs.

Finished the night with another OGG (final yippee!!) from Wailea at 4:30am. Major portions of SR311 (Mokulele Highway) were flooded. But, on my return, the flooding was gone.

At 5:00am, just as I was trying to clear at the airport, our radio repeater went B/O (bad order). I could "key-up" our westside repeater from Kahului, but the eastside one was dead. They are on different channels and have different "footprints" on the island.

When I left at 6:00am, it was still down. Hope all the dayshift drivers have cell-phones.
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WHERE WILL IT END?

This morning's pump price:

Our highest price was in September last year. $4.049 for 87 octane.

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OGG

That's the FAA designation for Mau'i International Airport.

Apparently a Mr. H O G G was influential in having the airport built and the FAA honored a county request to use the last three letters of his name for the designation. Fact or fiction? I don't know, but thats the story I've heard. Sounds good, anyway. I can see why they didn't use the first three letters instead. Everyone wants to go to paradise, not HOG heaven. [groan] ;)

Here is baggage claim (looking east):

These folks are entering baggage claim from the east escalator. They're off an Air Canada flight:

On your left as you enter baggage claim is a display provided by the Mau'i Ocean Center, the world's largest reef aquarium, located in Maalaea. That dark spot is an aquarium:

Here's a look inside the aquarium. It's artifically illuminated during the day:
Well, its "Aloha Friday"!
==============================================

Later.....

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

CHARACTER BUILDING

"Sometimes the magic works,
and sometimes it doesn't."
Chief Dan George
Little Big Man

When a driver has a bad night, especially new drivers, I tell them that these are "character building" shifts. Helps remind you that everything doesn't always work right.

Last night was a "character building" shift for me.

Oh, I made money, usually do, but I seemed to get all the fares that just didn't (or weren't able to) tip. Had three runs in a row, total fare for the three was $30.80 and the total tips were $0.55.
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CONTRAST

Made a pickup at the Mau'i Prince around 4:00am this morning. Destination: Mau'i Memorial Medical Center Emergency Room. I usually don't pay much attention to my passengers appearence but this couple was striking in their contrast. He was a high 6 foot (almost 7 foot) tall black gentleman, one of the blackest people I have ever seen. Pure ebony. She was barely 5 foot tall and appeared to have never been exposed to the sun. Blonde, with eyes so pale blue that they were almost translucent (like the actress Meg Foster). Pure ivory.

During the run to the hospital, the gentleman was calling his airline to reschedule their return to the mainland. The customer service person at "1-800-WE GOT YOUR MONEY SO GO TO HELL" was not very helpful. I was amazed at how calm my passenger remained. Most people would have been screaming bloody murder by the run around he received. Never once did he raise his voice, nor did he use any profanity. A real class act. I was impressed.
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ZZZZZZZZZ

A very long and boring evening. Even half the bars in the "Triangle" closed shortly after 1:00am, due to lack of business.
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MAGGIE

Maggie is the night cashier at FOODLAND. She and I spent 1/2 hour talking about how many "weirdo's" there seem to be during the "wee" hours of the morning.
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Later.....

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

BONDING

LOVE

At 4:20am today, I picked up a 45ish dad and his 7 & 13 years old sons. He was taking the boys to Lahaina, where they were going on a deep sea fishing excursion. The trip took about 35 minutes and the boys "nodded" while dad and I talked. They were from "The Gateway To The West", St. Louis, MO., USA.

Dad has a friend, who is one week older than him, dying of pancreatic cancer. Dad said that all his friend can talk about now is all the time he favored his career over his children.

The old "if only" syndrome.

I sure hope they catch a marlin.
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PARTY TIME!

Alissa, Natalie, Leah, Erin, Pete, Al

Picked up Alissa and entourage last night. It was time for their assault on the "Triangle." I think the "Triangle" won. ;)

Leah, Pete, Natalie

"Trinity"

"Princess Leah"

Only Leah was sober. And, by her own admission, not from lack of trying.

Natalie is a lifelong buddy of Alissa.
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LAST NIGHT

Mediocre side of average overall.
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Later.....

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

DINNER CONVERSATION

BELOW SEA LEVEL

This is a Tiger Shark!

But the oceans contain many fascinating creatures




courtesy MAU'I ACTION PHOTOS
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"TALK STORY"

That's pidgin for "conversation" or "story telling."

One of the many reasons I enjoy having dinner at Alissa's house is the stimulating "dinner talk."

Last night, one of the myriad of topics we touched on was early television and the old black & white movies from the '30's and '40's. Especially the THIN MAN movie series starring William Powell and Myrna Loy. Always stop & watch if I come across one of these plums while "channel surfing."
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Later.....

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