Thursday, September 20

Delaware County Fair

Upfront Secret w/driver Corey Callahan

And they're off

We had a pleasant surprise on Tuesday.  Trish, Chad and the kids came back to Ohio for the Little Brown Jug.  Chad bought a horse 3 weeks ago while we were in Hawaii and it was staked to the Brown Jug so they decided to take a chance and enter her in the Jugette.  Andy and I went up on Wednesday for the race and it was good to get out and enjoy the fair atmosphere but as the kids expected, the horse, Upfront Secret, did not place in the top 4 which would have qualified her to race again later in the afternoon.
Today, Peg and I took the kids to the Boonshoft Discovery Museum in Dayton.  I have heard about it and I knew that our otter pups from two years ago were sent there but that was all I knew.  I googled directions and we headed down around noon.  If you have young children and want to give them a smaller COSI experience with a lot fewer children, this is the place to go.  We thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon and were pleasantly surprised at the number of animals that were in their exhibit.  We watched the otters being fed and also saw the small burrowing owl eat his mouse.  Peg was mortified, Lily was not happy either but Luke thought it was pretty cool.  I tried to tell Lily that the owl was just kissing the mouse but she was a little too smart for that one and promply said, "no, Gammaw, eat!"  I thought it was pretty cool as well.  Lily's favorite was the meercat.  It was a very nice day and I am so thankful that Peg and I get to share all of these experiences together.  She is such a wonderful person and I am constantly amazed at how she interacts with the kids.  You can tell she was an elementary teacher, she has the patience of a saint.

Standing in front of the Boonshoft Discovery Museum

Astronaut Lily

Watching the keeper feed the 3 boy otters

The hungry burrowing owl getting ready to pounce

Getting ready to kiss the mouse!

Sunday, September 16

Trisha Marie  8 lbs. 3 oz.

Trish with her daddy and a not so happy cat, Dusty.

Trish with her grandpa Bichler

Vacation at Myrtle Beach 1982

I'm feeling a little old this evening as I recall that 35 years ago we were about to have our first baby.  It was a Friday and we went to the football game at West Jeff.  Don't ask me who they played but I'm guessing that they won.  Our kitchen was completely torn up as we were going to put new kitchen cabinets in over the week end.  Now, why we thought it would be a good idea to do this, when my due date was September 17, I cannot tell you.  I guess everyone had told me the first baby never comes when they are supposed to but in my case Trish arrived right on time.  We got to the hospital early Saturday morning and after about 5 hours of labor she was born weighing 8 pounds 3 ounces.  Perfect in every way with dark eyes and dark black hair. Needless to say, Andy and my dad were frantically installing kitchen cabinets and putting a baby crib together before it was time for the two of us to be released from Madison County Hospital.  I can't believe that she will be 35 years old tomorrow.  Where has the time gone?  Well, Happy Birthday little girl, you sure have made your mom and dad proud!

Saturday, September 15

The goldfinches, the last of the songbirds to nest, are bringing their little ones to the thistle feeder

My hummers have been in a feeding frenzy lately, must be storing up body fat for their long migration across the Gulf of Mexico

 This female kingfisher has been cruising up and down the creek

I never tire of this view out my front door

Happy birthday to my son in law, Matt.  I hope you had the best birthday ever because you certainly deserve it!  Sara and Matt have their airline tickets for their return to Cincinnati and are pretty excited about coming home.  I pray everything goes smoothly as they go about all of the preparation for packing and paper work that needs to be done.  Even Shorty and Savannah will be returning on the same flight with them.  Shorty is going to love Molly but I'm not so sure Molly will love Savannah.  I hope Sara and Matt can find a place quickly although, Savannah is pretty good at finding hiding places.  The change in weather was a pleasant surprise.  I was afraid that after spending 3 weeks in Hawaii that I would dread the coming of fall, but I think I will be ok after all.  After the Buckeye game today I tried to get Molly to walk through the woods with me but that just wasn't going to happen.  She came down as far as the pump house and then took off for the house.  I continued into the woods and just enjoyed the warmth of the sunshine coming through the trees and the sounds of the kingfisher as she winged her way above the creek.  The gentle winds were playing with the cottonwood leaves high above the woods and I just stood and marveled as I watched the trees sway back and forth above me without feeling the wind where I was standing.  The late summer flowers have almost all lost their blooms with the exception of several cardinal flowers.  The squirrels were scampering about tossing nuts to the ground and biting off small branches to make their winter leaf homes.  We have several little red squirrels that have just started coming out of their nest.  They are so much fun to watch as they chase each other up one side of the tree and down the other.  Yes, I love fall and I must admit that I enjoy it a lot more now that I am retired than I ever did while I was teaching.  I hope you will get out on these warm autumn days and take advantage of the sights and smells that come with the changing of seasons and give thanks for the beauty that surrounds us.

Sunday, September 2 ~Skydive Hawaii~

State Park overlooking Honolulu

I know this is the post you have all been waiting for and so have I.  I am writing this a week post jump because I was hoping to have a video to post or at least some pictures to share but I am obviously not smart enough to upload my video and I didn't get any photos until yesterday.  The day started like most, the kids were up early and we were trying to get caught up on laundry from Maui.  We had to rent a car here on Oahu because Sara's car died a week ago and it was going to cost too much to fix and since they weren't going to ship it home anyway they are selling it to the dealership.  Sharon and I asked Matt to call and see if we could still get in to skydive and were pretty excited when we got a time for 2:00 pm.  We all decided to take a ride up to a State Park that overlooks Honolulu and then go to the Counter for lunch.  From there Matt drove Sharon and me to Skydive Hawaii in Waialu on the northern side of the island about 40 minutes away.  The airstrip is located in the middle of nowhere but we did pass a polo game in progress and a well advertised yard sale next to the polo field.  Skydive Hawaii was very busy and before we did anything we were instructed to watch a video. The video featured a man who bore a striking resemblance to Fidel Castro with a beard that reached all the way into his lap.  It seemed his message, which he repeated in triplicate was that if we decided to skydive that we could die.  "Skydiving is very dangerous and you may die", "human and mechanical error may occur and you may die"....he must have used the words die and death at least 20 times before ending his morbid infomercial.  We then were instructed to find a computer and complete an information form and sign 7 disclaimers that said we would not, nor would any of our friends, relatives or acquaintances, sue them when our impending death occurred as we jumped to our death.  When we finished the paper work we were told we would have at least 2 more hours to live because there was a competition going on and they were using some of Skydive Hawaii's planes.  While waiting Sharon pointed out that we were surrounded by 20 year old adrenaline junkies that appeared to be high on crack cocaine with hair of every color of a Hawaiian rainbow.  We were definitely out of our comfort zone.  Let's just say we "weren't in Kansas any more, Toto!"  Well the Land of Oz was looking a lot younger than we were.  Two hours later I heard my name being called and turned around to see Kevin holding my harness.  Kevin could have been a WWF cage fighter and had a purple Mohawk and a Fu Manchu beard.  I will say that even though I had told Sharon earlier when I saw him that I was convinced that he was on drugs, he did have a nice smile.  Not really, he was completely crazy!  Anyway, Sharon, Matt and I all completed our jumps and have the certificates to prove it.  The view from the plane on the way up and from our parachute on the way down were breathtaking.  Actually, the first few seconds of the jump when the air was rushing into my face I was have trouble taking a breath but eventually my breathing came easier and I could enjoy the soaring down.  I now know how the hawks and vultures feel as they circle and ride the wind currents but I doubt they feel like their stomachs are upside down.

Packing the chute

Landing

Still smiling

The spectacular view once you opened your eyes

My dive master, Kevin

Saturday, September 1 ~Lavender Farm~

Feeding the black swan and the Koi some cheerios

Sitting in the 3rd largest banyan tree

Lily getting her hair braided with beads

The waterfall at the Westin

This morning we got up early and went to the Paradise Grill in hopes of watching the Ohio State game against Miami of Ohio.  Unfortunately, they did not get the Big 10 network but we did get to watch some of the highlights and saw a lot of the OU game against Penn State while we ate breakfast.  We drove to downtown Lahaina and did a little shopping before returning to the Westin to check out.  Today we will be flying out of Maui and back to Oahu for our last 3 days of vacation.  We decided that we would spend the rest of our day at the Surfin' Goat Dairy and the Lavender Fields.  To get to the goat dairy we had to drive on a very small road between the cane fields.  We eventually got there and indeed there were lots of goats and lots of surf boards.  For $1 you could buy a paper lunch sack of alfalfa hay to feed to 6 of the most aggressive goats ever.  Lily lost her entire bag in about 5 seconds.  Trish decided that bales of hay must run about $100 a bale at the prices they were charging. After the hay was gone, approximately 3 minutes later, we visited their store where they sold truffles made of chocolate and a variety of flavored goat cheeses.  Surprisingly, they were quite tasty although very expensive at $2.50 a truffle or 6 for $12.  The lavender farm, however was a true gem.  Located near the entrance to the road that takes you to the summit of Haleakala, the lavender farm was a beautiful botanical garden with not only lavender but many other species as well.  Not only were the grounds beautiful but the views of the Maui shoreline were just as spectacular.  To Luke's delight, they had a treasure hunt that took us to various spots among the gardens.  Once the correct area was located there was a stamp that we would then stamp our card with.  There were 8 locations to be found and once we found them all we returned to the gift shop to receive the prize of some delicious lavender cookies.  Well, that is what the girl told us, personally I thought they tasted too much like the flower.  We made it back to the airport in plenty of time for our flight and got home to Sara's place around 8 pm.  We had Papa John's pizza and then fell into bed.

Friday, August 31 -Trilogy Sail to Lanai-

Captain Riley, 3rd generation on Trilogy, his grandfather started the business

 Eating the famous "Mama's cinnamon rolls"  They fed us a lot!

My air supply sled, soon to be without the dive flag (read below)

This morning Sharon and I sailed the Trilogy III to Lana'i Island.  We did the all day trip that included the sail from Maui to Lanai, a van tour of the City of Lana'i, beach time to either snorkel, surf, or snuba and a picnic before sailing back to Maui.  The waves were pretty big but Sharon had taken her Bonine and had no trouble at all with motion/sea sickness. (There were several of the passengers hanging over the back of the boat both going over and coming back)  Going over we saw bottle-nose dolphins and a pair of spotted eagle rays.  The crew was fantastic and by the time we landed on Lanai knew everyone on board by name.  When we landed we hopped into vans that took us topside of the island to see Lanai City. The driver was a local woman who talked about the history of the island, their people and the changes that have taken place when Dole pulled out of the pineapple business on the island and the switch was made to tourism.  There are two large Four Seasons Hotels on the island now.  She also explained that the island was recently sold and purchased by someone else so some changes are being made once again.  But she felt they were all very positive.  After the tour we went back to the beach for the activities there.  I had signed up to SNUBA instead of snorkel.  I'm kind of glad I did because the waves were so big at the beach that I think I would have felt uncomfortable that far out by myself.  The snuba experience was a lot of fun even though I didn't feel that I could go too deep because I was still having a little discomfort in my ears.  The water was a little cloudy but the reef was really beautiful and we did see quite a few fish.  When it was time to come in I did get flattened by a big wave.  Frank, our instructor said it look clear so we were swimming in when Carrie yelled from the shore to swim back out.  Frank and Angie made it over the crest of the wave but try as I did,  I found myself on shore, after a few tumbles, clinging to the dive flag from the air raft that I had been holding on to.  Carrie fished me out of the surf, I showered and was soon eating some of the best barbecued chicken  ever.  The crew did all of the cooking and serving and when the meal was finished we were back on the Trilogy heading to Maui.  It was a wonderful way to spend 8 hours and if you ever sail I would highly recommend www.sailtrilogy  for a fantastic family oriented day with a crew that operates with family values.

My instructor, Frank

Setting sail on the way back!

Sunset at Maui