February 2020 Journal Photos

Narcissus Queen Coronation Ball

Two of our neighbor Betty's granddaughters were in the Narcissus Festival Court as First (Sabrina), and Second (Amanda) Princesses. Andrea and I were invited to the coronation ball held at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Coral Ballroom on Saturday, Feburary 1.

Narcissus is a beautiful flower named after the Greek legend.

We took Betty with us and stopped on the way there to pick up Joe and his wife. There were many people in most of these photos, below, so I have kept the full resolution versions. Maybe you'll see someone in the crowds you recognize.


We drove all the way to the top of the parking structure and entered on the ballroom level. Group picture taking was underway when we
arrived. Click the image to see the full resolution version.


Family members got behind the princesses at the autograph table. Click the image to see the full resolution version.


The Star-Advertiser photographer took this one. Miriam, unknown name, Andrea, Rick, Barbera and Joe (Mayor of Chinatown) Young, and Betty Young.


Here's an overall lobby shot during the no-host bar cocktail hour (5:00 to 6:00 PM). Click the image to see the full resolution version.


We were at table 19 with Betty (not shown), Joe, and his wife. Click the image to see the full resolution version.


I walked to the rear of Ballroom III to get an overall picture. The spotlight operator let me climb up on his platform. Click the image
to see the full resolution version.


Dancing lions came in to feed on money envelopes suspended from tree branch lures. That's governor Ige and his wife on the stage to the right
Click the image to see the full resolution version.


The lions gobbled up the money, shedding good luck on everyone. Click the image to see the full resolution version.


The lions on stage, posing with the court. Click the image to see the full resolution version.


Hawaii News Now's Mahealani Richardson, mistress of ceremonies, introduces Governor Ige. Click the image to see the full resolution version.


Governor Ige, on the left, chats with attendees. Sabrina is on the right in the blue dress. Click the image to see the full resolution version.


We were at table 19. Photo by Carl Young.


Zack and Sabrina with Governor Ige and his wife. Photo by Carl Young.


The court was presented in a procession for the coronation by the Governor. Click the image to see the full resolution version.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time at Manoa Valley Theater

Andrea and I attended the play about an autistic boy on Sunday evening, February 2nd, Groundhog Day. The Kansas City Chiefs won the Superbowl, against the San Francisco 49ers, which we did not watch.


The theater was sold out. Kawaiahao Church owns the property.


The simple stage setting with projection screens.


We went to the newly re-opened Sunset Bar at the Kaimana Hotel for cocktails and pupu afterward.


Monday morning Andrea went on a Manoa Valley Heritage Center huakai which included a trip up to Roundtop while I stayed home and exercised.
Photo by Andrea.


Status meeting Monday night.


Working to install the drive train gear boxes into the chassis.

Coffee with a Cop in Aina Haina

Andrea and I attended the community policing event at the Aina Haina Starbucks on Tuesday, February 4.


Coffee with a Cop event flyer.


We arrived a little before 9:00 AM. I got a cup of coffee and Andrea had tea.


Five officers at the door to greet arrivals.


Andrea chatted with policemen.


It was a busy event.


View from outside.


One officer was serving coffee.


Look what I got in the mail. Trumpery: something without use or value; rubbish; trash; worthless stuff.


Tuesday night Andrea was chaperone and she provided dinner of pulled chicken. Working on the robot chassis.


Working on the intake/scorer.


Making progress on mounting the motors. Photo by Andrea.


Dinner break.

Mission Houses Tour

Andrea and I both went to my Wednesday Mission Houses tour, intending to go to the Doris Duke Theater afterward for an opera preview (Mozart's Marriage of Figaro), on Wednesday, February 5. However, when we got there, Elizabeth told us that Mike was out sick and asked us if we could also do the 12:00 o'clock tour, so we did.


The staff and volunteer Kathy were fully occupied with the keiki from Enchanted Lake Elementary when we arrived.


A praying mantis was climbing up a palm tree.


Andrea returning from the noontime tour.


It rained overnight and on Thursday Andrea went back to the Mission Houses for more tours. Meanwhile I stayed home to exercise and try
to stay warm. It was the coldest day of the year so far, ranging from 67 to 69 degrees F during the daytime.

Kevin Ryan, friend of mine, and fellow former mentor at FRC 294, Beach Cities Robotics, posted these YouTube links on Facebook, reminiscing about the 2008 robotics competition seasons:

We won the San Diego Regional competition that year and went on to compete in the world competition. Two years later (2010) we (FRC 294) won the World Championship in Atlanta, Georgia.

Rainbow Bonsai Club Meeting

Andrea and I volunteered to have the club meet at out house on Sunday, February 9, since we still have no permanent place to meet.


I have been working on bonsai for the last few days, getting my collection in shape. I took this photo Saturday afternoon. Click the image
to see the full resolution version.


Sunday, after the meeting, I gave members a guided tour of the back yard while Mel Carillo live-streamed video to Facebook. Here I'm showing
a viewing stone (suiseki) from California. Photo by Andrea.


Talking about the larger bonsai on the bench behind the kitchen. Photo by Andrea.


Showing the neagari (octopus root style) autograph tree, the subject of a Web how-to page. Photo by Andrea.

Livestream video of the yard tour by Mel Carillo.

Robotics Build Season Week Six

Monday, February 10, I had an MRI appointment at InVision at 12:30 PM. Then I went into robotics for an hour.


While I was in the MRI machine for about an hour, Andrea drove (due to the rain) to Ala Moana Shopping Center, got stuck in noontime traffic,
and took this photo of a mural in Kakaako.


Monday afternoon Mr. Silver opened the lab at 2:30 PM, as it was a student day off. I arrived at 3:40 PM, and only one student was present.

Sans Souci Beach

It was windy and rainy on Monday so we didn't go to the beach then, but we did on Tuesday, February 11. It had rained in the morning, but the sun came out after lunch.


Monday evening I found this bear and a box of chocolates at my place at the table. Andrea is starting the Valentine's celebration early.


We had heard about this sailboat run aground at Sans Souci Beach. There it was. Click the image to see the full resolution version.


After my pullups and bar dips I took another photo with the boatwreck. Click the image to see the full resolution version.


Some outrigger owners beached their boats for the bad weather we had earlier.


Movie making at the Kaimana Hotel. A busy day at the beach indeed.

Abbey Seitz's Book Release

Abbey Seitz, whom we had met at the Land and Sea Festival in 2019, was at the beach and she invited us to her book release event in Kaimuki, so we decided to go, even though we had plans for a regular Aina Haina Prepared (AHP) meeting and mentoring at robotics. We were able to squeeze it in and do all three.


Abbey greets two arrivals near her table with copies of her book, Perseverance Floods the Streets. We bought two copies.


Indian food was available for guests.


Abbey's event at Da Shop (a book store) on Harding Street in Kaimuki was well attended.


We left at six to make our two other meetings. Andrea dropped me off at the Kalani High School robotics lab where bumper making was underway.


Andrea went on to the AHP meeting at Grace Chapel in Aina Haina. Twenty students were busy building the robot.


Lots to do and lots being done.


All the students were busy.


Designers and the PR team in the cave.


Dinner break. Sandwiches again. Fourth time for me, so I passed and went straight for the cookies.

Mission Houses Tour

I went to the Mission Houses Museum for my regular Wednesday volunteer tour on Wednesday, February 12, stopping in Kaimuki to get a haircut at Supercuts and getting gas for the Toyota Corolla at the Shell service station next door.


I arrived early, just before 10:00 AM, and Wheeler Elementary was there with about 50 students divided into two groups. I had a tour of one
person from Oregon.

Democratic Party Region One Meeting

Andrea and I attended the Democratic Party Region One meeting at the Hawaii Kai Public Library on Wednesday evening, February 12. State Representative Mark Hashem also attended.


The meeting got underway just after 6:30, conducted by Region Chair Lorna.


We posed for a group photo after the meeting. I photographed Lorna's posters on the wall behind us with with copies uploaded to Google Photos by Andrea.


I photographed my Harry Hirao suiseki to post in the Quimper Geological Society page in Facebook.

Here are the density calculations:

Volume = 12.25 cups. Length = 16.0 inches. Mass = 27.0 pounds. Cubic inches in a quart = 57.75. Cubic inches in a cup = 14.4375.
Volume = 176.86 cubic inches. Density = 0.153 pounds per cubic inch = 264 pounds per cubic foot.

Eel River geology.


Thursday the 13th I went to the beach while Andrea did her Mission Houses tours (no takers today). It was a fairly low tide.


The lifeguard pulled up onto the beach to refuel. The wrecked sailboat is still on the reef.

Valentine's Day

I went to the beach on Valentine's Day while Andrea got her hair cut.


I gave Andrea a chocolate rose for Valentine's Day and she put it in a bud vase.


Kaiwi the monk seal was resting in her favorite spot.


The tide was low so I put my towel down close to the water.


The daily status meeting at 5:00 PM.


Figuring out how to put the bumpers on.


Working on the ball handling mechanism.


Digging into the lobster Wellington Andrea made for Valentine's dinner. Photo by Andrea.


Jolene brought us two Valentine cupcakes. They were delicious. We ate them after dinner while watching an episode of The Repair Shop.
Photo by Andrea.

See all of Andrea's valentines photos.

Democratic Party of Hawaii Training

Andrea and I, as elected Democratic precinct President and Vice President, went to a training session at the Democratic Party of Hawaii Headquarters on South Street on Saturday morning, February 15.


The training for the presidential party primary and county and state conventions was conducted by Mike Golojuch, a party official.

Murder on the Orient Express at Diamond Head Theater

On Saturday evening we saw Murder on the Orient Express at Diamond Head Theater, a stage play adapted from the Agatha Christie novel. We had both read the book and seen the movie, but it was still delightful on the stage, a farcical adaptation.


We parked in the KCC parking lot and walked across the street to the theater.


Afterward we went to the Sunset Lanai at the Kaimana Hotel, overlooking the Hau Tree Lanai, for pupu and cocktails.


Metaphotography.


Andrea stitched these two together.

The Marriage of Figaro at the Blaisdell Concert Hall

Andrea and I went to the Hawaii Opera Theater production of Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro at the Blaisdell Concert Hall on Sunday afternoon, February 16.


We parked on Young Street this time, instead of the parking structure, and walked across King Street to the concert hall.


We were half an hour early for the 3:00 PM pre-opera lecture so we walked around the Blaisdell Center.


After the excellent opera we went to a restaurant called TBD in the Lotus Hotel for dinner (formerly Wisp and before that Park).


The cocktails are called "Pour some Gin for Pele," with cucumber, lemon, and mint.


I got the couch seat with pillows. Photo by Andrea.


Monday the 17th the team met at 5:00 PM to continue work on the robot.


Work continued on the bumpers and game piece mechansims.


A nice looking robot.


Wednesday I saw the "salvage" crew dragging the sailboat across the reef, causing it to break up.


Thursday's front page story is the record heat of 2019 in Hawaii.


Thursday afternoon I saw the foredeck of the wrecked sailboat, no longer visible on the reef, by the trash cans.

Financial Consultation

Andrea and I paid a visit to John, our financial consultant, on Friday, February 21. We talked about our investment strategy and delivered materials for tax preparation.


We arrived at the Ala Moana Pacific Center building after parking on the top of Ala Moana Shopping Center parking structure.


In the waiting room before our appointment.


Afterward we had lunch at Islands in Ala Moana Shopping Center.


Meanwhile, the robotics team works on the robot through week seven. Photo by Team Magma via Facebook.


Testing and adjusting the robot. Photo by Team Magma via Facebook.

Housewarming Party at Andy and Mineko's

Our former neighbors built a new house up on Hao Street and invited us to their housewarming party on Saturday, February 22.


I was sent a mentor pin by FIRST and received it in the mail on Saturday, which reminded me to download certificates of appreciation.


Certificate for last year.


Certificate for the year before.


Andrea with Gary and Fritz on Andy and Mineko's lanai. Fritz designed the house. Gary is a landscaper.


Mineko, on right, in her new kitchen.

Picnic with Lenore at the Beach Park

Andrea and I took Lenore to the local beach park for a picnic lunch on Sunday, February 23.


We went to the beach on Sunday morning and saw several boats coming around Diamond Head, going Ewa. One of them started shooting a big plume
of water.


A less zoomed view of the boating scene.


A canoe club was having tryouts too. High school aged kids were running, swimming, and doing various exercises.


This guy was feeding pigeons. I asked him to stop it due to the pigeon poop on the bars. He said I could go elsewhere to exercise.


At the beach park for lunch. Photo by Andrea.


Potato-mac salad, oven fried chicken, and fruit salad. Yum. Photo by Andrea.


We had a table with a bit of shade and a view of Maunalua Bay.


A very nice day, and a light southwest breeze came up while we were there.

Mission Houses Tour

I did my usual Wednesday Mission Houses tour on Wednesday, February 26, while Andrea went to Costco and other stores for shopping.


Kamehameha Elementary School was there for a tour when I arrived.

Date Night in Waikiki

Andrea and I went to Waikiki for date night out on Thursday, February 27.


I went to the beach while Andrea did her usual Thursday Mission Houses tours. This is one of my favorite pull-up bars.


We drove to Waikiki and parked at Kapiloani Park and walked into Waikiki, stopping first at the farmers' market inside the Hyatt hotel.


We didn't see anything we wanted to buy so we went across the street to the Moana Banyan Court for a drink and a plate of calamari.


I, taking the photo above. Photo by Andrea.


Then we walked back across the street to the International Market Place where we went into Lush to buy some beauty products.


We stopped to watch the torch lighting ceremony for a while. Andrea video recorded the kane hula.


We walked to the Lotus Hotel for drinks and pupu at the restaurant upstairs (now called TBD (yeah, really)). Photo by the bartender Willem,
from Holland.

A chess game I played near the end of February.

Ka Iwi Mauka Trail Clearing

Andrea went to the volunteer activity on Saturday morning, February 29, while I stayed home and mowed the lawn.


At the check-in table at 7:48 AM. Photo by Andrea.


Well up on the trail. Photo by Andrea.


Looking back down. Photo by Andrea.


A rain squall off shore. Photo by Andrea.

Email Richard dot J dot Wagner at gmail dot com

index.html: this hand crafted, human readable HTML file was created January 1, 2020.
Last updated March 1, 2020 by Dr. Rick Wagner. Text and images Copyright © 2020, unless otherwise attributed, all rights reserved.