October 2019 Journal Photos

Trip to Connecticut

Andrea and I arranged a trip to Connecticut to sight see and visit Becky and Eric, leaving Wednesday, September 18, and returning Wednesday October 2.

Travel back to Honolulu from New Haven, Connecticut

Tuesday, October 1, Becky drove us to the Crowne Plaza Hotel at JFK airport.


In the lobby of the New Haven Hotel with our luggage waiting for Becky to pick us up. That large picture on the far wall is a found item
assembly representing a notable tower of Yale. Click the image to see the full resolution version.


We went to the Boat House in Stratford for lunch and said goodbye to Eric.


Joey C's Boat House restaurant from the waterside deck. Photo by Andrea.


Heading to the car for the drive to JFK airport with Becky. Eric drove his car home. Photo by Andrea.


Becky joined us in the lobby bar of the Crowne Plaza Hotel at JFK airport. She flew to Huntsville, Alabama on business that evening.


We flew out the next morning, Wednesday, October 2. Our Hawaiian Airlines Airbus A330 was named Kumau.

I have created a separate page for our Connecticut Trip.

Back Home in Aina Haina

We found the house and yard in good condition and the cats well cared for by our house sitter.


We brought some books back with us from the Atticus Book Store in New Haven. The three under the two on top of the stack. The penultimate
book I took to read there, on the plane and in New Haven, which I didn't quite finish, plus the one on top by Tiffany Schlain was here
when we returned via Amazon. The short stack in the back are read books to be gotten rid of, and the short stack in front are read books
to be put in the little free library.

ABCs of Bonsai Class

Thursday evening, October 3, I went to the Community Center in Moiliili to assist with the Hawaii Bonsai Association's annual ABCs of Bonsai classes. Many students were 20 to 30 minutes late due to dense traffic before the LA Clippers vs. Houston Rockets game at the Stan Sheriff Center at the University of Hawaii.


Ready to begin.


Ed Murakami will demonstrate on this California Cypress.


Students pay attention and assistant instructors watch from the back.


The resulting bonsai in training.


Now the instructors are one on one with hands on training.


I assisted John and this is his tree.

Sans Souci Beach

Andrea and I went to the beach for a swim on Thursday, and on Friday, October 4, I went by myself while Andrea got her nails done (blue).


Friday on the way back from doing my pullups and bar dips I saw this fishing boat in fairly close to shore. I used 8x zoom on my phone.


The boat lingered, going back and forth. Some girls were doing photography nearby.


They took several photos in different poses.

Rainbow Bonsai Club at the Hispanic Heritage Festival

Andrea and I joined Rainbow Bonsai Club members at the Hispanic Heritage Festival on Nuuanu Avenue in Chinatown on Saturday, October 5.


This is the bougainvillea bonsai I brought to show at the festival. Photo by Andrea.


The Festival occupied two blocks of Nuuanu Avenue between King Street and Pauahi Street. We were down at the makai end with the low riders.
This is a 1979 Lincoln.


All set up and ready to go before 10:00 AM.


Miss Latina Hawaii.


The low riders.


Opening ceremonies at the mauka end.


Opening mele and hula.


I worked on some trees I brought and answered passersby questions. Photo by Andrea.


We had 30 feet with a display of bonsai in the center.


A green Chevrolet Impala.


A 1954 Chevrolet Bel Air with Power Glide (a two speed automatic transmission). Notice the Corvette wheels. Photo by Andrea.


Salsa dancing in the street. The Dragon Upstairs, a jazz bar, is above Hanks Bar. Photo by Andrea.


Dancers with a drum corps paraded by.


Andrea and I went into the Tin Can Mailman, a Hawaiiana antique store. Lots of good stuff there. Photo by Andrea.


The 1984 Monte Carlo had electric powered pneumatic equipment in its trunk.

I created a separate page for Rainbow Bonsai Club at the Hispanic Heritage Festial.

Sylvia at the Manoa Valley Theater

Andrea and I picked up Janice at the Hilton Garden Hotel in Waikiki and went to Manoa to see the play Sylvia on Sunday afternooon, October 6.


At Manoa Valley Theater waiting for the play about a husband-dog-wife love triangle to begin.


The stage set. Photography is not allowed after the play begins.


Afterward we went to a restaurant called "Eating Place 1849" on the third floor of the International Market Place.


Janice had the Kauai prawns and Andrea and I shared three pupu. Photo by Andrea.


Monday the 7th I went to the beach while Andrea had the Toyota in for service at Lex Brodie's. Saw two monk seals and got rained on
after my swim.

Mission Houses Tour

On Wednesday, October 9, Andrea and I did some decorating for Halloween in the morning and then I drove to the Mission Houses Museum to give a tour. There was no tour at my scheduled time of 11:00 AM, but Mike asked me to stay for the noon tour, so I did.


Getting into the Halloween spirit. Image from a friend on Facebook.


There were school keiki events underway when I arrived just after 10:00 AM.


The hale crew were moving a large coral block down the street.


Crossing the street with the stone, bringing it to the hale pili for a doorstep.


Walking the stone in front of the Mission Houses gift shop. It weighs about 900 pounds. Uncle Earl (in hat) supervises.

ABCs of Bonsai Class

Thursday evening, October 10, I went again to the Community Center in Moiliili to assist with the Hawaii Bonsai Association's annual ABCs of Bonsai classes.


Thursday afternoon Andrea and I went for a swim. The two monk seals were still there and I saw this thunderhead forming over Honolulu.


Warren introduces Alvin who will demonstrate for this evening's project.


Alvin's finished tree.


Students at work with one-on-one assistance.


Todd with his finished tree.

Kinky Boots at Diamond Head Theater

Andrea and I went to see Kinky Boots at Diamond Head Theater on Saturday afternoon for the 3 o'clock matinee. Afterward we went to the Hau Tree Lanai for dinner.


We parked at Kapiolani Community College and then walked across the street to the theater.


The stage setting with musical ensemble before the show started.


At the Hau Tree Lanai at the Kaimana Hotel at Sans Souci Beach.


We stayed with pupu and cocktails. Andrea had a cosmo and a Manhattan. I had a side car and an old fahioned. We shared a crab salad,
sliced duck, escargot, and crab cakes. For dessert, Andrea had a keoki coffee and I had a Grand Marnier in a snifter. Photo by our waiter.

Rainbow Bonsai Club Monthly Meeting

Andrea and I went to the monthly meeting of Rainbow Bonsai club on Sunday morning, October 13, at The Plant Place in Waimanalo.


I brought my kiawe tree to work on after the business meeting.


John talked about his ficus he brought to show.


I'm finished defoliating the kiawe. It may be my show tree in two months at the annual club event at Noelani Elementary School.


We stopped on the way home at Charles Nii Nursery, but they weren't open yet, so I got this photo of the new Casava Plantation on the way home.

The Opera Tosca at the Neal Blaisdell Concert Hall

Andrea and I went to Opera Tosca at the Neal Blaisdell Concert Hall on Sunday afternoon, October 13.


At the concert hall with beautiful Andrea.


The view of Thomas Square with its new statue of King Kamehameha III, and in honor of the Restoration of Hawaiian sovereignty.


We heard Dr. Lynn Johnson's talk on Puccini and the opera Tosca. The role of Spoletta was played by Nathaniel Catasca.
I happened to sit next to his father, Paul, who had arrived in Hawaii from New Mexico to watch his performance. He did very well.


Afterward we had dinner at Mud Hen Water restaurant on Waialae Avenue. Waialae means "mud hen water."

Andrea has produced a History of Halloween for the grandkids.

Sans Souci Beach

On Tuesday morning, October 15, Andrea and I went to the beach in the morning because Terminix is coming for their regular appointment in the afternoon.


While we were coming out of the water after swimming we saw Buster, the monk seal, also going up on the sand near the Natatorium.
The lifeguard started putting around the cones and warning signs. One sunbather didn't want to move outside the cones. Click the
image to see the full resolution version.

Mission Houses Tour

On Wednesday morning, October 16, I went to the Mission Houses Museum downtown for my regular weekly docent tour. I had two women from Arizona who said they enjoyed the 11:00 AM tour.


Keiki from Punahou were there when I arrived Wednesday morning before 10:00 AM.


I couldn't resist downloading this image from Facebook Thursday morning. Femimism getting serious? Likely a faked book cover.

ABCs of Bonsai Class

Thursday evening, October 17, I went again to the Community Center in Moiliili to assist with the Hawaii Bonsai Association's annual ABCs of Bonsai classes.


Tonight's class is on pots and potting. This is Warren's sample display of small bonsai pots.


Warren starts off talking about potting soil and its composition.

Land and Sea Festival

Andrea and I helped at the Land and Sea Festival held Saturday, October 19, at Queen Emma Square at Saint Andrews Priory. We arrived shortly before noon and manned the sign-in table.


The event flyer.


There was an inflatable whale in the gymnasium.


Devon helped with sign-in and he painted the surfboards and Oahu moku map. Andrea and I are interested in buying his surfboard standing
on the left.


A vendor tent.


One of several musical performer groups.


I went for a walk down to Fort Street and took a photo of Saint Andrew's Cathedral on the way back.


More of Saint Andrew's. Olive trees and a fountain.


At Queen Emma's bust for the closing ceremony.


We went to Moku Kitchen in Kakaako for dinner afterward. Photo by Andrea. We had mai tais, margherita pizza, pork pot stickers, and
house cut fries. Quite good. A bit noisy due to bad accoustics (concrete floor, steel ceiling, brick walls), but service was good.

Botting for the Future

Team Magma, Kalani High School's robotics team (FRC 3008) held its annual fundraiser, Botting for the Future, at Kalani High School from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM in the school cafeteria. Andrea and I donated water and soft drinks and attended the event.


Looking at the display board for the quadrotor subteam.


We arrived after the first hour and it looks well attended under natural lighting.


The buffet lunch food line.


Students practice with light sabers.


A lesson in light saber swordsmanship.


Robot demonstrations were set up outside the cafeteria.

Aina Haina Prepared Home Retrofitting Talk

Andrea and I attended the Home Retrofitting talk by Dennis Hwang of UH's Sea Grant program put on by Aina Haina Prepared at the Aina Haina Public Library on Tuesday evening, October 22.


Adele, who arranged the speaker for the event, introduced Dennis and then he bagan his presentation on homeowner preparedness.

Mission Houses Tour

On Wednesday, October 23, I drove downtown for my regular Wednesday Mission Houses tour at 11:00 AM. I had two women from South Korea and they were very curious and asked a lot of questions. One insisted on giving me a tip afterward, and after first refusing it, I graciously accepted, intending to give it to the Mission Houses donation jar. I did not get any photographs at the Mission Houses this week. That evening Andrea and I had dinner at Chef Mavro's restaurant on King Street.


We arrived a few minutes early for our 6:00 PM reservation so we walked Ewa on King Street and passed Alan Wong's restaurant. We will
have to try it some day. We noticed that there are lots of restaurants between Chef Mavro's and Washington Middle School on King Street.


Some of the work by local artists inside Chef Mavro's.


We started with some French champagne. Photo by our waiter.


We had the four course dinner with wine pairing. Dessert course.

Donor Appreciation Party at the Manoa Heritage Center

Andrea and I assisted at the donor appreciation party at Manoa Heritage Center (MHC) on Thursday afternoon and evening, October 24.


We greeted guests at the house and directed them down to the visitor center. Mary gave an introductory talk as the program got underway.


Jessica gave an overview of MHC activities.


Kilohana led the program of music and hula. Her husband, Harry B. Soria, was unable to attend due to a shoulder injury.


Kit performed a kane hula, the "Cross-eyed Mayor of Kaunakakai."

Here's a chess game I played against my computer program in October.

The Illusionists at the Blaisdell Concert Hall

Andrea and I went to the magic show at the Blaisdell on Friday evening, October 25.


Outside waiting to go in for the 8:00 PM show. Sabine Van Diemen, from Finland, is the Sorceress and Paul Dabek is the Trickster.
Raymond Crowe, from Australia, was the Unusualist. Jonathan Goodwin is the Daredevil. Stuart MacLeod, a Scot, is the Delusionist.


There was smoke inside. They must have been testing equipment earlier. An Ha Lim is the Manipulator.

I was getting a headache when we got home. I went to sleep and woke up at 4:30 AM with a worse headache, so I took an aspirin (standard tablet, 325 mg). I still had it when I got up for breakfast so I took another one. I couldn't finish the eggs and Portuguese sausage Andrea had fixed me for breakfast and by 8:30 I felt very tired and went back to bed. Andrea went to a palm basket making class at the Manoa Heritage Center.

At 10:30 I felt much worse. Headache was no better so I took another aspirin. I was lethargic and had begun to shiver uncontrollably. I texted Andrea telling her I had the shakes and needed a fever thermometer. She left the basket class and stopped at Long's Drugs to get the thermometer. She got home by 11:30 and my temperature was 102.9 F. She called the Urgent Care facility in Hawaii Kai and we arrived there at about noon. I had no upper respiratory tract symptoms (runny nose, cough, etc.) and no gastro-intestinal distress. Symptoms were headache, fever, and inflamed crotch lymph nodes on the right side. Urinalysis was normal and a test for the flu was negative. My temperature was 101.5.

The medical practitioner's diagnosis was a bacterial infection of the skin originating from a lesion on my calf and he prescribed a seven day course of antibiotic treatment, a sulfa drug called Bactrim. Andrea dropped me at home where I went straight to bed and she went back to Long's Drugs to get the prescription filled. I took the first dose then and the second before bed that night. In the morning my fever was gone, with a slightly below normal temperature. Over the next two days my temperature remained near normal but the redness and swelling in my lower right leg increased. The pain in my crotch lymph nodes decreased. By wednesday I was mostly over the infection and I was able to perform my duties as docent at the Hawaii MIssion Houses.


Left: Sunday, center: Monday, right: Tuesday.

I was able to do a light workout Tuesday morning. Floor exercise (stretching, pushups, situps) and light weights. No running. The antibiotic drug, Bactrim (sulfamethoxazole 800 mg plus trimethoprim 160 mg), seems to be an appetite suppressant. I appear to have built a tolerance to that effect as on the fifth day (today is Wednesday) I seem to have recovered most of my appetite.

Hawaiian Mission Houses Tour

I gave a docent tour to a group of nine from Goodwill Industries on Wednesday morning, October 30.


When I arrived at 10:15 AM an activity with a large school group was underway.

Halloween

I was able to do a full morning workout Thursday, October 31, including lifting the 85 pound bar (presses and curls). I weighed myself and found I had lost two pounds since Saturday.


Photo of my son Tom via Facebook.


In the afternoon I carved this Jack-o-lantern while Andrea did her Thursday docent tours at the Mission Houses.


All decorated for Halloween.


And as you get closer, it gets scarier!


Andrea came out and took some pictures. The front door area.

Email Richard dot J dot Wagner at gmail dot com

index.html: this hand crafted, human readable HTML file was created October 2, 2019.
Last updated November 1, 2019 by Dr. Rick Wagner. Text and images Copyright © 2019, unless otherwise attributed, all rights reserved.