travel

Hawaii twitterlog for Sunday, October 26, 2008

2008-10-27T10:45:05+00:00

Jeff and I are in Hawaii visiting Brad and Alice for our birthdays. Here's what I've been up to:

3:25 AM HT: Landing VERY late in LAX. Probably will not make flight #2. Preparing to sprint off plane. @jmcclure may eat anyone in his way.
3:45 AM HT: Made Dallas plane. Total layover 3 min. Doubt bags will make it. Their fault, their problem to fix.
6:43 AM HT: Welcome to Dallas. Five timezone leap complete. Time to kill an hour and then get on the plane that takes us home. We have cats to pet!
7:27 AM HT: Hanging out at gate, slurping electrons while @jmcclure hunts and kills breakfast/lunch/ whatever this meal is. (Timezone confusion!)
11:38 AM HT: HOME. Still shocked our bags arrived with us.

Hawaii twitterlog for Saturday, October 25, 2008

2008-10-26T10:45:03+00:00

Jeff and I are in Hawaii visiting Brad and Alice for our birthdays. Here's what I've been up to:

7:19 AM HT: Last morning in Hawaii. Lying in bed, listening to the rain hit the roof, wondering if we should buy more cookies before we leave Hilo.
9:15 AM HT: Packed. Leaving in 45 minutes for one last day of sightseeing -- and beach time! -- before heading to Kona for Flight Night From Hell.
11:12 AM HT: Waiting for a macadamia nut smoothie. Ooh, scratch that, here it is.
12:30 PM HT: Just experienced malasadas at Tex. Mmm. Portuguese pastries. (burp)
1:27 PM HT: Yes, I am spending my final Hawaii day on the beach. Yes, I am aware you hate me. It's okay.
2:31 PM HT: Had to turn over to make sure both sides were evenly baked. Mustn't have half-toasted, half-raw domesticat.
3:23 PM HT: Heading to Kona. My lips taste of seawater, and there's sand in my shoes.
4:13 PM HT: At oceanside restaurant, watching waves crash on rocks and waiting for mai tais.
8:02 PM HT: Through security in Kona.
8:20 PM HT: My bag, after coffee, fabric, wine, and mac nut purchases? 49lbs even. One more pound and American would've penalized me. Maximization WIN.
9:25 PM HT: On plane #1 of 3. Yaaaaawn. See you on the mainland.

Hawaii twitterlog for Friday, October 24, 2008

2008-10-25T10:45:04+00:00

Jeff and I are in Hawaii visiting Brad and Alice for our birthdays. Here's what I've been up to:

8:45 AM HT: Examining yesterday's pix from Mauna Kea summit. Thought 1: lots of pix. Thought 2: telescope porn!
8:46 AM HT: Thought 3: the altitude headache meant I was looking, but not *seeing*. Glad I had these pix to look at later.
10:19 AM HT: Teaser of Mauna Kea summit photos are up at http://www.flickr.com/photos/domesticat/sets/72157608190822253/ More coming in a few hours.
12:06 PM HT: Just bought mac nuts. Coffee next. Alive and I have gardenias tucked behind our ears. The car smells lovely as a result.
12:07 PM HT: Gaaaaah! Auto-predictive text fail again! Alice, not Alive. *mutter*
12:08 PM HT: @stepher where are your photos? I'm curious to compare them with mine...
1:40 PM HT: The long desperate hunt for Kona coffee is complete! Christmas gifts ... Check!
4:06 PM HT: If you only see one of my Hawaii photos, see this one: http://ping.fm/o4yLk
4:45 PM HT: @stepher We fly tomorrow (Saturday) night. It's been peaceful and relaxed - the most time I've spent with @canspice in 8 years or so.
4:48 PM HT: Alice is so disappointed! I bought a metric ton of fabric, but I planned ahead by bringing my biggest suitcase, so it all fit. Easily. Hah!

Hawaii twitterlog for Thursday, October 23, 2008

2008-10-24T10:45:04+00:00

Jeff and I are in Hawaii visiting Brad and Alice for our birthdays. Here's what I've been up to:

8:54 AM HT: Under blanket (chilly!) reading 'Day of the Triffids.' We'll head into Hilo later to get the 4x4 needed to make the Mauna Kea ascent.
8:56 AM HT: @SassyBlonde Glad you liked the pix. Today (tonight your time) will be the big photo op. Sunset 1800HT = midnight ET.
9:24 AM HT: [cat.net] Ascension? (http://ping.fm/nsPAY)
1:48 PM HT: Just left Joint Astronomy Centre. There was a letter there from a sneaky @noahgrey and @crazybutable - ask @canspice about my squeal!
1:49 PM HT: Heading to Saddle Road, where 2wd cars dare not go! Holy shit that's a lot of 'up' we're about to go!
2:50 PM HT: At observation level - see http://Flickr.com/photos/domesticat
3:20 PM HT: Beware Of Invisible Cows. I shit you not.
4:07 PM HT: Acclimated to 9k. Time for the summit!
7:27 PM HT: And we're back. I have a bitch of an altitude headache, but it was worth every moment. Hope the pix do it justice...
7:28 PM HT: @stepher Not going to other islands. We're here to visit @canspice, whom we rarely see. Old friend > other islands.

Ascension?

2008-10-23T19:24:14+00:00

I've mentioned this off and on, but today is the day! In a few hours, we'll pick up the giant 4x4 needed to ascend to the summit of Mauna Kea.

Call this the 'before' photo:

[Original: 'Where I'll be tonight' on flickr]

For those of you totally geeking out on this harebrained scheme, a map of the telescopes at the summit and a map of where all this goodness is on the Big Island, anyway. Both are from the Mauna Kea Weather Center.

What we're expecting:

Summit temperatures will be near 1 C for the night. Winds will be from the ESE at 10-20 mph, with seeing around 0.8 arcseconds. Precipitable water is expected to be in the 1-1.5 mm range for the first half of the night and 1.5-2 mm range for the second half. ... The banding cirrus setting up to the south will continue to drift northward, blocking most of the sky (with the possible exception to the northwest) probably for the remainder of the forecast period.

Or, as Brad pointed out: "Cirrus clouds make great sunsets."

The sun sets at 6:01 pm local time (just after midnight Eastern time) and we'll be there, fingers firmly crossed.

Hawaii twitterlog for Wednesday, October 22, 2008

2008-10-23T10:45:05+00:00

Jeff and I are in Hawaii visiting Brad and Alice for our birthdays. Here's what I've been up to:

6:09 AM HT: Happy birthday @trickjarrett! Do something memorable today.
7:25 AM HT: Heading to Hilo with Alice and @canspice to find out if Alice is having a boy or a girl.
8:14 AM HT: Now I'm the person sitting down with a snack by the Hilo Farmer's Market sign. Fresh OJ and apple bananas for the win!
10:25 AM HT: Alive and @canspice are having a girl. She seems well and healthy but needs another 4 months to bake before she's ready.
10:28 AM HT: Stupid auto-predictive text. *Alice* is having a girl, not some weird entity named "Alive." Grr.
1:22 PM HT: Lunch (poke, edamame, tomatoes) consumed. Listening to wind blow through the house. Quiet. Full. Content. Sleepy, too.
6:31 PM HT: @jiggy *poke* hi you!
6:31 PM HT: @WhatTheCast Welcome back to Political Insanity Land!
8:11 PM HT: Went to Kilauea for night shots. Volcano not spectacular, and cloud cover meant no stars. Fail.