Shuttle Launch

Saturday, I drove south on A1A from St Augustine, hoping to see the shuttle launch. Last year, I walked out on the beach near my office when that one went up but being 65-70 miles away, I barely saw the contrail after someone with binoculars identified it for me.

Not wanting to be right under the thing, I stopped about 30 miles north of the launch site at Bethune Beach instead of going all the way to Cape Canaveral. Actually, I didn't have much choice because the road ended just south of there in a state park. Anyway, I arrived around 2:30 with the launch scheduled for 5:00 PM so I drove around a bit then had fajitas at Mi Mexico, a Mexican Restaurant a block off the beach.

I had my Pentax DSLR camera ready with 300mm lens ready to go but when the shuttle launched, I couldn't make the thing focus and had to manually manipulate it. I managed to squeeze off a couple of marginal pictures as the fireball rose in the sky. It's tiime to be looking for a new zoom lens. Right on schedule, I heard a cheer rise and saw the rocket flame and smoke plume but not the actual shuttle.

By 5:05 PM, all the whoops and whistles had subsided and I found myself in a crowd of people headed back to our cars. I then added seeing a shuttle launch to my "been there-done that" list of things to do and made my way back to St Aug.

When there's a will, there's a way

On Memorial Day, I was out buying a few things that normally could be dropped down in Boudreau's saddle bags. I stopped off at Home Depot for a couple of things I couldn't find anywhere else and while there decided I just couldn't live without a quarter sheet of fiberboard for a project.

With a little roughneck engineering and help of 3 bungee cords, I strapped that stuff on Boudreau and headed home. Folks in the parking lot and on the highway may have gawked but I got my stuff home.

I did discover, no matter how hard you try, it's really hard to look cool hauling plywood on your cycle.

Oh well, who needs a pickup truck?

St Augustine, Florida

This is my third time here in St Augustine so I don't even bother plugging in my GPS unit. I have not noticed any changes since my stay on Anastasia Island last summer. After just four days here, I'm still not sure if I'll be here another week or several months.

St Augustine is a pretty laid back community with a lot of retired or partially retired individuals, many of which hail from the upper east coast. During spring break, the beaches are wrapped up with college and high schoolers and the summer with vacationing families. It's about an hour from the airport in Jacksonville and about an hour north of Daytona Beach.

St Augustine claims to be the oldest continually occupied European established community in the US and oldest port in the continental United States. The historic district is a great place to wander around and spend time looking at tourists who may have an appearance more dorkier than yourself.

Obligatory sights are downtown of course, the Fountain of Youth as well as Ripley's Believe It Or Not. They've dismantled the old Bridge of Lions and at present, constructed a by-pass bridge. So far, I've passed on the alligator farm across from the lighthouse but plan to walk the endless beach. I've settled in at the Holiday Inn and expect little if any excitement, That probably isn't a bad thing.

Back On The Mainland - A Week Off

Recovering from a long flight between Honolulu and Dallas, then on to Baton Rouge, I enjoyed all my family for the weekend. My company was gracious enough to let me lay out a few days before hitting my next assignment which was going to be in Bossier City.

Unexpected problems with Boudreau cost me a couple of days with motorcycle parts laying all over Gary's ( my brother-in-law ) carport. Wrenching isn't my second nature and my hands are still sore from dismantling and repairing the Harley. You'd think it would be possible to remove a starter solenoid without taking everything off except the engine and transmission ...... but, noooooo.

To make sure Boudreau was running fine, I road back up to Baton Rouge to enjoy reading a bedtime story to Henry. I'm gone so much, I almost have to reintroduce myself each time i come home. It's getting easier each time and can see his acceptance groups expanding.

Thursday morning, I loaded up a minimum of clothes and necessities and pointed my chin north for a few days with my mother, brother and a son and his family before I rented a car to head on over to Bossier. After crossing the Mississippi River, I checked my messages and found out my direction would have to change the next Monday.

Arriving in Swartz, I laid over a few hours to watch my grandson, Devin, practice Karate before going on northwest to Farmerville to see my mother.

I spent the night with my mother and on Friday, fixed the hot water heater and visited with my brother some while I used his phone and computer to work out planes, hotels and car rentals for my changed assignment in St Augustine, Florida.

With new directions in mind, I headed back south Friday Afternoon to spend the night with Darren & family and Darlene. Late Saturday morning, we gathered at the Monroe Children's Museum where we had a small birthday party for Hagan.

By 2 PM, I was on the road headed south through Natchez, Mississippi again so i could get back home to change the way I was packed. Monday morning, I'll be on a plane for Florida.

Aloha means Goodbye too.

As make a few preparations to leave Hawaii again, I reflect on my past four and a half months here on Oahu. When I arrived here on Christmas day, my thoughts were, "this is NOT Maui but at least it's close" and felt like this would probably be a short visit.

After I had been here for a couple of months, I actually began to enjoy it while I steadily complained about the traffic and the same time tried to be proficient in negotiating it. I saw the rugged beauty of the North Shore and East Side as well as the ugliness of Waikiki. I watched the sunrise along the Ala Wai canal and stood on Kuhio Beach and watched the sun set. I passed Pearl Harbor daily and visited Chinatown for the New Year. I stayed on the 15th floor of hotels and dived the depths of the Pacific. Most importantly, I've forged deep relationships here that will stay with me for a lifetime.

My business life was centered in the Aiea/Pearl City area and slowly realized I was being pulled deeper into the culture and love of the people here.

Each weekend, I found myself becoming less and less of a tourist or visitor (if that be possible) and went out to learn the heart of this place. I picked the brain of my co-worker for tidbits and curiosities and talked story with clients who could understand me perfectly while I struggled to process their Pidgin phrases. I met shop keepers and hotel bellmen who had come here from somewhere else on their quest for a life adventure and greater understanding of the world and what it has to offer. This culture is deep and complicated and I have not even scratched the surface.

As an old Heinz 57 Caucasian, I was pretty much a minority almost everywhere I visited and began to see bronze colored complexions and puffy Asian eyes as quite the norm. In a curious way, I felt a little self conscious about my deep set eyes, long nose and super white skin that seemed make me stand out like a neon sign.

I'll fly out of here Friday night on my way back to Louisiana and may prove to be quite adjustment period as I get back being comfortable being all white and nerdy.

Buh-bye west Oahu, I'll miss you.