Baby Reid Delivery Update

Kate has updated all sorts of information about the delivery hospital in Folsom, visiting hours, and everything else one needs to know if going to visit when Gabriel's cousin is born.

Check out the Its A Reid! website for all the details.

I told Tom this morning that April 15 was my bet, and I think Kate would be okay with that as long as the birth wasn't Friday April 13th.

Jesus Party with Uncle Jap

Hopefully everyone had a great Easter. Ours was quite nice, if not a little unusual.

We're quite proud of Gabriel as he figured out the meaning of Easter. We told him that after he woke up from his nap, we were having a party - we barely hosted Easter dinner for the family.

On his own, he said it would be a Jesus Party. And that's basically right!

Jack Nemeth, Jill's uncle, drove down from Seattle where he's been the past four weeks assuming his new job as Marketing Director for the Seattle Times newspaper. He's been put up in a hotel downtown all this time, so I'm betting a friendly home-cooked meal was a nice change of pace from all of those terrible gourmet meals he's been having near the Seattle waterfront.

Sandy, Judy's sister, is getting things finished up with the sale of their home in Connecticut. She should be joining him full-time in Seattle sometime later this Spring after the home sells.

Gabriel did not immediately take to Jack. He wouldn't share his Joe's O's with Jack in church. But by the end of the evening, Gabriel was talking to "Uncle Jap" and chattering away. And, he gave Jack a good-bye kiss on his way out the door.

In all, we had the pleasure of Easter dinner with Gabriel's Memo, Grandma, Nana, Papa, Uncle Jack, Mom and Dad.

Dinner was very nice: smoked salmon - salmon fillets provided by Grandma & Memo - with some nice sides, including a yam recipe Jill improvised that turned out nicely, and strawberry shortcake for dessert. Not bad at all!

Gabriel's Cousin Arriving Early?

Gabriel's Aunt Kate is reporting at her blog It's A Reid! that she may be delivering early because of blood pressure/Preeclampsia symptoms.

She's been prescribed lots of bed rest and will likely have to return to the hospital for more blood pressure/symptom monitoring. And, apparently, the baby's size is consistent with 40 weeks already! Looks like early delivery is growing more probable by the day.

Check her website frequently for updates!

Why Don't Oysters Donate to Charities?

Because they're shellfish.

Yes, indeed, I'm getting as much mileage out of this clean but cornier-than-Iowa joke as I possibly can.

Be Careful What You Ask For

Kate has issued a warning of eviction for a certain short-term tenant at her blog Its a Reid!

I have to warn her that a judge will order the eviction, but with some rather tough conditions: the tenant be granted a new, 18-year lease with option of a 4-year renewal after that. There is no reversion of the value of improvements when the leasehold is up.

The lease is full-service, not triple-net. Tenant improvement expense is substantial and recurring. The tenant will be very noisy with wildly varying hours of operation for the first two years of occupancy. The tenant will drive significant maintenance & operations expense, as well as overhead including substantial insurance expense. And beware the capital reserve requirement for "college education." Is there a stronger word than exorbitant? Extortion?

However, federal and state tax law does provide some relief for various provisions of the leasehold for the property owner(s).

But here's the ironic rub: the tenant may, eventually, become your landlord and/or make custodial decisions for you in a remarkable reversal of roles. So it is in your best interest to be a fair and wise landlord!

Norma Goodman Passes

Being an Alaskan got a bit less distinctive last week. Here's a link to remarkable obituary for her remarkable life.

Why Is She Bothering With American Idol?

She starts blowing the competition out of the water at 3:48 if you want to fast forward.



I think the Chairman of the Board would have agreed.

Boise

I don't think I've posted about it before, but since July of 2005 I've served as Consulting Economist to Ada County, Idaho (Boise metro area). I'm in town today on assignment as a matter of fact. And every time I come, I get a new assignment. Consulting gold, basically.

Anyway, I've been asked to begin assisting the Ada County Paramedics service provider figure out exactly how much new developments need to pay for new paramedic facilities and services, and I kicked off a new assignment today in helping the Kuna Library District figure out what types of facilities and service needs several new developments will require of them.

Crazy stuff, but it's a lot of fun. Hopefully, I'll remember to post more about all of this in the near future.

By the way, there have been a number of comments to posts lately - thank you for the input.

The Day is Still Interesting

So I'm sitting at the airport waiting for my 11:40 Boise flight and who should also be waiting not 20 feet from me?

Jerome Kersey, former star of the Portland Trailblazers.

I hope I don't sit next to him; Horizon airplanes have only so much room for people over 6'3".

Update: Nice Video of Zach Steer's Iditarod Finish

Click on this link for a nice interview video with Zach Steer just after he crossed the finish line of the Iditarod in Nome.

Not A Good Morning

Did this happen to you this morning?

You woke up an hour too late for a 6am flight?

-and-

In your rush to get to the airport anyway after only eight hours of sleep in the previous two days, hoping the flight will be delayed, you hit a seemingly invisible freeway off-ramp divider curb at about 50 mph and burst your front driver-side (and, therefore, freeway side) tire at about the location in the webcam below?



-and-

You got sprayed over and over again - in your sport coat and slacks - by cars speeding by a little too closely on their way to work as you changed your tire on the right-side pullout?

-and-

When you attempted to loosen the nuts on the tire in the pre-6am darkness, you somehow didn't get the jack perfectly under the car and the car slides off of the jack back to the ground?

-and-

When finally - tired, wet, and grubby - you go to the back of the car to get the spare that you leaned on the bumper, you look and see that the spare disappeared?

-and-

When you looked around you realized that when the car slipped off the jack, the tire managed to slip off of the bumper and roll 100 feet across three lanes of interstate freeway to rest in the middle median?

-and-

You had to run across the three lanes of traffic, admittedly not peak rush hour because its only 6am, fetch the tire and when there were few enough approaching cars you ran it back across the freeway to your car?

-and-

After you got everything put back in place and drove off you heard the brakes - which needed work anyway - grinding even worse than before indicating something possibly more serious?

-and-

Finally, when you got to a phone and called the airline about missing the flight, the agent states that the airplane was delayed for more than 30 minutes and you realize you would have made the flight if it wasn't for having extraordinarily unlucky tire trouble?

If you did, your morning was as bad as mine. Trust me when I say I hope you said no to the above questions.

By the Way...

I've uploaded a few new photos to our Flickr photo album. Click on the photo of Gabriel in the previous post or click this link and you can view them.

Cheers.

Gabriel's New Friends

Gabriel's New Friends, originally uploaded by korynasz.

Yesterday, Gabriel and Mama went to Gresham and brought back four new friends for Gabriel - and a solution to Gabriel's insatiable appetite for eggs!

No names yet, but we have some contenders:

How about Laverne & Shirley for two of them?

There's one of each of four varieties (images from feathersite.com and mypetchicken.com)
:
A Golden-Laced Wyandotte pullet


A Barred Plymouth Rock pullet


A Black Star (hybrid) pullet


and A Golden Comet (hybrid) pullet

Congratulations to Zach Steer

The Anchorage Daily News is reporting this morning that fellow Service High alum Zach Steer surged into Nome past four-time Iditarod champion Martin Buser to take third place in the Iditarod.

Wow. Congratulations!

He'll take home $57,000 in prize winnings, likely to help train next year's team. I doubt there'd be much left to invest in his Sheep Mountain Lodge in Sutton.

In a way, this doesn't surprise me. I have one image of Zach indelibly burnt into my memory. In June of 1991, while hiking to the top of Flattop Mountain in Anchorage (and sucking wind while doing it), I looked up the mountain and saw a red-headed runner in shorts and a t-shirt running down the mountain path.



As he got closer, I recognized the runner as Zach, training for the grueling Mt. Marathon in Seward. He had run up and down the mountain in preparation for the July 4th race that year. That's the race that my jr. high friend Andy Hornung ran and lacerated his leg on loose shale rock when he fell on his descent, requiring too many stitches to count.

Anyway, finishing the Iditarod is quite a feat, much less finishing in the top three.

By the way, Lance Mackey - another fellow GenXer - (and yes, son of previous winner Dick Mackey and half-brother of previous winner Rick Mackey) won the Iditarod last night wearing bib #13 on March 13 - the same bib number worn by his father and brother when they won. Most notably, he made history by becoming the first to win both the 1,000-mile Yukon Quest and the Iditarod in the same year. He is also a cancer survivor, and in a pleasantly ironic way, I'm guessing a victory by anyone else could not be more appropriate in light of Susan Butcher's loss to cancer this past year.

A remarkable Iditarod all the way around: a herculean victory, a passing of the generational torch, a racing dynasty cemented, and tragic disease overcome.

I'm Feeling a Little Less Relevant

Joy

Christmas Joy, originally uploaded by korynasz.

Indeed, particularly on Gabriel's mommy's face. This must clearly have been the end of the Grotto's Festival of Lights tour.

Gabriel was 16 months in this photo and clearly a handful after only four months of walking and running experience.

So this is just to say that our Flickr.com page of photos has been updated to include recent events (including Gabriel's trip to Texas and Gabriel cooking chicken-broccoli-salt-grapes-Joe's O's soup) and some "greatest hits" from earlier in Gabriel's life like the photo above.

Enjoy!

Happier News of a Fellow Alum

I went to the Anchorage Daily News website this morning and was delighted to learn that Zach Steer, a fellow Service High School alum (Class of '91 - a year after me) is currently in the lead in the Iditarod. He apparently pulled into Ophir first early this morning. Looks like they're taking the Southern Route this year.

adn.com | Sheep Mountain's Steer leading heavyweights

Which reminds me of a couple more fellow Service alum's: Chad Champ and Glen (Ryan to some of you) Coulson.

I heard from both of them via email recently (both doing quite well) but I haven't posted about that yet. I'm trying to figure out how to post photos of Chad's family that he sent, but I haven't come up with a good workable solution yet.

In the meantime, here are their MySpace pages (confirmation that people over 30 are on MySpace)

Chad Champ
Glen Coulson
&
Tom Reid (nice webcam shot, hoser)

Dear Dr. Pritchard

I feel awkwardly bad that this letter is written too late for you to read it. But I thought it a good idea to express how maybe, just maybe, hanging on for another week might have been helpful to you. Or maybe not; small gestures are usually just that.

You see, tomorrow at my follow-up appointment with you to look at my left knee I was planning some good natured banter about the fact that I learned you are a fellow Baylor alum. And not only that, we attended Baylor at roughly the same time. You were a freshman when I was a senior (should I feel old?!). When you said at my first appointment you attended UT medical school at Galveston, and by the look of you, I strongly suspected Baylor. And looking at the Baylor alum directory online, I confirmed you were indeed a fellow Bear.

But tomorrow's appointment - and any other appointment with you - has been made impossible. I was shocked to learn of your very unexpected death this morning when I called Providence Tanasbourne in response to their vague voicemail message for a need to reschedule. The receptionist let me know they learned of your death yesterday morning, with no cause given. "Reeling" was her word, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't rather taken aback myself.

I think the only thing that shocked me more was the confirmation this afternoon via the Astoria, Oregon newspaper that "suicide was likely" after the identity of your body, which washed ashore at Cannon Beach Monday, had been established.

Were you lonely? You admitted much family in Texas; were you feeling alienated so far from your family and most of what you have known in your life? Did Oregon's winter get to you? Were you hiding something inside? I have to admit that I got a little bit of that sense that you might be. And in the context of where you are from and where you went to school, I could see how much the stresses and strains of that would possibly be unbearable.

Would a friendly hello from a fellow Baylor alum have helped significantly? Probably not. Would it have been enough to get you through a dark day you might have been struggling with right at that time? Maybe. Mutual acquaintances, experiences and divergent paths post-graduation would have been fun, memorable chat. But unfortunately, you and I will never know.

I hope your family takes the news with great courage and faith. And if indeed a hidden secret is what drove you to the desperate act of ending your own life, it only underscores the fact that our Texas Baptist alma mater and other Christians of similar mindset should finally understand that the neighbor Jesus commanded us to love and not judge, the very one He died for, may have that very same type of secret.

Whatever the cause or desperation, your passing is tragic. So much medical training that could have helped so many people over a lifetime, including all of those that may have suffered from whatever ailment or problem that finally caused you to take your own life.

But all of that will soon be laid to rest in Texas. I hope you rest in peace.

Thank God for DVD

You don't really see it anymore, but there was a time when TV transcended itself and could be intelligent, poetic and even inspirational.

Take for example an hour-long, character-driven television show featuring a large cast, won Emmy awards, took place in an exotic location, and featured the following characters:
-A young, talented but stubborn doctor stranded in a remote location
-A beautiful, tough young woman in an on-again/off-again romance with the doctor
-A younger, more rugged ex-con with an affinity for books, sharing an attraction for the woman
-A mystical, metaphysical bond between a philosophical white character and a similarly philosophical black character
-A younger male character, with mixed heritage, and an affinity for pop culture and a laid-back "dude" personality

Sound a bit like Lost? It's not. It's Northern Exposure, and it couldn't be a more polar opposite television show, despite some remarkable coincidences that Lost creators have seemingly cribbed. But the bar was set pretty high by NX, with no brutality, killings, or other glorifications of the darker side of humanity.

Proof:



Another thank you very much for my Christmas gift, Jill.

A Question Worth Asking

A conversation with Jerry at work about a book of U.S./Latin America foreign policy reminded me of William Walker, who in pre-Civil War years led more than one war of conquest in Mexico and Central America.



At one point, Walker declared himself the Ruler of Honduras, fatally crossed Vanderbilt family business contracts there, and tried in earnest to make Central America a slave-state confederacy to add to the U.S. South. Vanderbilt's wrath eventually led to the capture of Walker by the British navy, who turned him over to Honduran authorities all too happy to execute him by firing squad at age 36.



Check out the Wikipedia entry below.







William Walker (soldier) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



The reason it's also interesting is because Jill used to work at William Walker Elementary School in Beaverton. I cannot find another William Walker that had enough national notoriety to have a school named after him in the 50's or 60's. Beaverton schools website and the school website are silent on the issue.



So is this elementary school in Beaverton (with an amusingly ironic enrollment predominance of Hispanic students) named after a classic jingoist/imperialist from the U.S. that tried to expand the evil of U.S. slavery, in part as a failed attempt to save his own neck?

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Gabriel's New Big Truck

Well, not really that big or a truck, but Gabriel is now a happy passenger in a 2002 Toyota Highlander we bought on Friday evening. We got it used on Craigslist and it was quite a find for us.



Below is a photo from the listing. So far we've taken it out to see the horse and back, went to the park to see geese and throw rocks, and done a few odd chores. It's great fun to drive and Gabriel loves the keyless entry remote, of course.




That means I get to get rid of the chickenmobile!

GABRIEL FRANCIS

GABRIEL FRANCIS - that's what Gabriel began to declare over and over again last night after seeing his reflection in our bedroom window. It was a surprising and funny moment of self-discovery as he has pretty much avoided saying his own name or any part of it.

Now, all of a sudden with great pride, he will happily tell you his name is GABRIEL FRANCIS and that he's "2".

It was very cute, very touching, and very funny.

Other bits we're proud of: He already knows and identifies most major colors, can count to 6 (but 5, for some reason, comes after), and in his currently favorite book "Snow" he knows and says all of the rhyming words himself.


He's also taken to helping sing his lullabies, specifically "Winkle" (Twinkle Twinkle Little Star) and "Peace" (All Through the Night - Peter, Paul & Mary version). Not only that, he'll sing "Zoo" (Going to the Zoo, Peter, Paul & Mary/Raffi versions) any old time.

Myrtle Cash Passes

Aunt Mo Myrtle Cash (Hays) passed away around midnight, January 10, 2007. Her condition immediately prior had worsened to the extent that her physicians recommended she be taken off all but her pain medication for comfort purposes.

For anyone wanting or needing the information: they are cremating her and placing her next to Glennda Sprouse in Okolona, Arkansas. A memorial service for her is being held in Bay City, Texas. Flowers can be sent via Bay City Floral at 979-245-9492.

Uncle Jimmy's (J.C. Cash) phone number is: 979-244-2568, and their address is: 2720 Cottonwood, Bay City, TX 77414.

All of Myrtle's adult children, Uncle Jimmy and his sister Alice (92 years old) have gathered in Bay City. They would all likely enjoy hearing from everyone.

Me-Ma has been doing okay, just a little low. She is the last surviving sibling of the Dr. John and Myrtle Hays family.

We offer our most sincere condolences.

It Is Better to Remain Silent and Thought a Fool...

than to speak and remove all doubt. -Sam Clemens

Having said that, there are some major family and personal developments I haven't been documenting. Luckily, someone has: Kate Reid.

Kate and Tom are expecting their first child in April. Kate has admirably begun blogging about her experience at itsareid.blogspot.com. I strongly encourage a visit and a greeting to Kate and Tom at their site.

Beyond this announcement, way overdue on this blog, I honestly don't know how often I'll be updating in the future. I have much to say, some of it actually positive, but I'm not in a place where I feel so inclined or motivated to publish it. I would encourage family newshounds to instead follow Kate's blog. I mean really, there's nothing unlikeable about the pending arrival of a new baby.

So, thank you and until I feel like getting back in the saddle, please enjoy occasional Gabriel photo posts. Also, don't forget to check out our flickr photo album. I update that with new pics on a regular basis. Now featured: the Kauai vacation.

Gabriel at Princeville 2

Gabriel at Princeville 3, originally uploaded by korynasz.

Wow! And here he is enjoying the reflecting pool at the Princeville Hotel while Dada enjoys the view

Gabriel at Princeville 1

Gabriel at Princeville 1, originally uploaded by korynasz.

Wow! Here's Gabriel enjoying the view of Hanalei Bay at the Princeville Hotel

Gabriel's 2nd Birthday

Sunday was Gabriel's 2nd birthday and my own 34th birthday, so we threw a party in the back yard. Not allowed to eat much sugar, Gabriel definitely enjoyed the cake, ice cream and fruit sodas that were served. The shot below is right after Gabriel blew out his candle.



Several cousins of Gabriel's appear in the photo and I had to refer to the following webpage for guidance as to how Gabriel is formally related. Gabriel's first cousin once removed (1C1R in geneology lingo) Teri Lynn Garcia is holding him. Teri's sister, Leigh Ann - also Gabriel's first cousin once removed - can be glimpsed immediately above Teri's right shoulder.

To Gabriel's right are Toni Rae and Taryn, Teri's daughters and Gabriel's second cousins. Behind Toni Rae is a partial glimpse of Me-Ma, Gabriel's great grandmother and Gramma Dianne's mother. Well, that's all settled and I got to learn how cousins are designated. Nifty.

Also attending his birthday party were his Grandparents Korynasz and Grandparents Reid, his mama (who was fighting through a bad headache, poor mama) and dada, and his friend Ian, Ian's parent's Karl and Melani and Melani's sister, both of whom are from Indonesia. Melani brought over some tasty sticky rice with chicken stuffed inside. Google revealed the dish to be called Lemper Ayam - here's the recipe for those interested.

Below is a shot of the kids playing in the sandbox - a big hit (thank you Uncle Tom and Aunt Kate) - though Ian's a bit preoccupied with dumping a bucket of sand and didn't look up.



By the time of the birthday party, I was already a bit worn out from all of the chores and cooking. I cooked a 10-lb. brisket in the smoker for ten hours and I have to say I think it turned out very well. I actually saw my dad cutting his like butter with his plastic spoon. I took that as a compliment.

The old Texas grocery store chain H-E-B, where I shopped on the cheap during college in Waco, turned out to be invaluable for brisket recipe information. Their site has some great, local recipes from various places in Texas. Check it out.

Gabriel did very well in the gift department, as can be seen in the photo below. I helped him open his gifts, he helped me with mine, and Gramma Judy is there showing him how to push the music buttons on an Elmo book. Gabriel's fascination with choo-choo's was clearly rewarded with several trains and train books, including the Duplo Thomas the Tank Engine set.


But honestly, if everyone had brought him a balloon, the boy's so fascinated with them he may have been just as happy!

Thanks to everyone who came and generously gifted both of us! We hope you had a great time!

Susan Butcher

The Anchorage Daily News reported yesterday that Susan Butcher, four-time Iditarod champion, lost her long battle with cancer in Seattle late Saturday night. She was 51.

I had followed her story in that paper over the past few months. It was just a week ago that her doctors at Fred Hutchison Cancer Center in Seattle helped her to fight a further complication of her body rejecting her tissue transplant. The same day they let her know her cancer returned. If you read between the lines, she wasn't given much more time to live.

The news is sad, and her passing reminded me of a particular Robert Frost poem. I've posted it below.

Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening
by Robert Frost

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Renovation In Progress

As you can see, I'm working on a major overhaul of the appearance of this blog. I don't know if I like the colors, but I like the layout and the versatility with what goes where.

I plan on modifying significantly, so we'll see what happens.

Seattle to Portland Ride Photos

This link will take you to the Post Falls Recumbant Active Unofficial Group (PFRAUG - guess what the animal mascot is!) website.



There you can find various photos of the groups's bicycle journey from Seattle to Portland a couple of weekends ago. Here's a shot I took at the finish line along with some action shots of Gramma Dianne, Andrea and Jim Ed.





Congratulations Again!

Eventful Weekend

Part I

This past weekend was rather eventful for Hillsboro, Oregon and/or its residents.. at least the ones that get press on this website.

First, Mom and Jim Ed completed, and Andrea went over half way on, the Seattle to Portland (STP) Bike Classic. It's a two-day bicycle ride (over 100 miles each leg) from the University of Washington in north Seattle to the Lloyd District in Portland.

I don't have photos, but I can vouch for the fact that they were both rather sunburnt and exhausted when I picked them up near the finish line. Follow the link above for more information about the event.

Congratulations to All Three of You for Your Foolhardiness Bravery!

Part II

This weekend marked the annual Oregon Airshow held at the Hillsboro Airport, a couple of miles from where we live. Past years have been enjoyable because the different plans have a flight pattern that goes somewhat near where we live.. fly-bys, not acrobatics.

Well, this year was a great time to not be home. It turns out that on Sunday, one of the planes crashed into a residential area, killing the pilot and destroying at least four homes. We were visiting a garden in Forest Grove when it occurred, but on the way back home we noticed a large plume of black smoke billowing upward in the distance from where the airport is located. As we got closer, the smoke was coming from a slightly different direction than the airport. It turned out it was coming from a neighborhood just east of the airport.

The Hawker-Siddeley Hunter MK-58A


It was apparently part of the static display of planes parked on the ground. At the end of the show, as the pilot took off to head back home to California, the engine apparently had an all-out failure. The story reports the engine was silent when it hit the ground. Luckily, the house was vacant and the pilot managed to stear the plane from hitting the always busy Orenco New Seasons grocery store we visit often.

Here's video caught by people in the area and rebroadcast on a local TV station.


A sad day for Hillsboro. Now the whole airshow is being questioned, led (not surprisingly) by Intel. The company has two of its largest facilities in the world located right near the airport and could easily have suffered a major catastrophe compared to a few homes, still tragically, destroyed.

Part III

Tom and Kate were in town to ferry folks around for the STP bicycle event and to visit Gabriel and us, but they ended up mostly ferrying people around. Gabriel got to see them for a couple of hours or so. Maybe next time!

THE COWLITZ TRIBAL CASINO - IN THE NEWS AGAIN

I recently provided testimony before a Clark County, Washington Board of Commissioners work session regarding the impacts of a major, new tribal casino proposed along I-5 at the northern end of the county. I wrote a memorandum for the County summarizing our comments about the Casino Environmental Impact Statement and was there to answer questions.

The Columbian, the paper of record for Southwest Washington, had a couple of stories including information about the memo I wrote, one of of which includes a misquote of something I said.

First story
Second story with misquote

I like the press, but I'm not dumb enough to actually believe (much less say) that a small casino could work at a warehouse/distribution center. I have to wonder what the reporter was smoking thinking.

WOW!!

Day At The Beach

There are now a couple of photos I promised showing Gabriel's grand day at Cannon Beach, to the left and below. Enjoy.. but not as much as he enjoyed the water! Yes, that's his mussel shell he's throwing in the water.



We returned to the beach on Saturday with the rental car I had: a Sebring Touring. It was a grand drive to the coast on a sunny day. But Gabriel didn't so much like the wind in his hair when we got on the freeway. All in all, it was a great time, though. We capped the afternoon off with a great pizza at the beach.

JOHN RECOVERING FROM EYE SURGERY

John Korynasz had surgery last week on his left eye to relieve symptoms of glaucoma. Lucky for him the surgery was done by the head of the department at the Casey Eye Institute at Oregon Health Sciences University (OHSU).

So far, the surgery seems to have been a success with his symptoms, primarily fluid pressure within his eye, being alleviated along with gradually improving eyesight. Good News.

ME-MA TO BECOME AN OREGONIAN

The 4th of July Weekend move for Me-Ma to Hillsboro is now in the furniture rearranging stage as she settles into Gramma Dianne's house. The cooler weather compared to Pahrump, NV must be a relief. We welcome her to town and hope she finds the new digs comfortable! Gabriel enjoys it over there, anyway.. particularly when the waterhose is on.

Toni and Taryn are also in town for a few weeks to pick berries and enjoy the summer up here. Gabriel had fun playing with them the other day, particularly when Gramma turned on the lawn sprinkler.

Welcome!

WAWA & HOT

Those two words were officially added to the Gabriel vocabulary this week. We now count over twenty words, some recognizable and some not. To qualify, they must be specific words for specific things, even though they may not necessarily be English.

mama dadda baby gabri bubble bee hi bye baaa moo choo-choo nana (no) deedah (diaper) nena (Nino) ummy-ngummy (food) wawa (water) hot mo (more) ngigh-ngigh (night-night) ball peepee bath uh-oh wow

I'm sure I forgot something.. I'll go back and revise when I remember something else.

The Front Page

Today marks a noteworthy first in my professional career: being quoted in the headline story of the front page of a major newspaper. I'll probably view this as a nuisance later in life, but for today, I'm delighted.

Today's Oregonian features a headline story about how land prices in the Portland metro area have increased dramatically over the last several years, with availability on the decline. The effect is higher prices, smaller lot sizes, and fewer choices for buyers among other things.

The writer of the story interviewed me for about 30 minutes last friday. Fun stuff. Check it out. The story's called "Land prices sizzle, home market cools"

Note: you might have to tell them your zipcode, birth year and gender to access the story. No one said you have to be honest.

A DAY AT THE BEACH

Yesterday was so hot in Hillsboro that we decided to drive to the coast for cooler, more pleasant weather. A second afternoon of 100-degree heat was best avoided.

So we drove to Cannon Beach and let Gabriel run free on the sand. I hope to post a photo or two, but he wasted no time running through puddles, running out into the shallow waves and splashing, grabbing and throwing a mussel shell over and over again, touching a starfish, and wow-ing at the seagulls as bigger kids chased them into flight.

We all had a great, much cooler time, and Gabriel didn't seem to at all mind the foot-numbing cold of the ocean water. Whereever we go on vacation, it's going to have to have a beach. The kid loves the water.

IN THE NEWS AGAIN

I did a study recently for the Central Oregon Home Builders Assocation and the Association of Central Oregon Realtors about their contribution to the regional economy. The story with some other information got a good write-up in Bend's The Bulletin newspaper.

Take a look.. The article is called "The ripple effect"

UPDATE: I'M A WAL-MART SHILL!

The Comments section in The Olympian article (reached by clicking "Comments" near the top of that webpage - ironically below the Safeway ad!) are priceless.

I take exception to one particular discription there: someone calls me "some stooge from Seattle..." But I'm not even from Seattle.

IN THE NEWS

Here's a link to a story in the Olympia, Washington newspaper The Olympian about the economic analysis I did about a proposed Wal-Mart in Tumwater. Tumwater is south of Olympia. Recall I did a study and provided public testimony about a store in nearby Yelm, Washington as well.

I get to answer public questions about my findings in a couple of weeks in Tumwater.

BAD BLOGGER, BETTER PHOTOGRAPHER

After Kate shamed me into updating the blog, I'm here to put up a new post with plans to add during the day when possible.

I'll start off with the following photo:


This is the view out of my window at my office in downtown Portland, taken yesterday right before I headed home from work. Andrew Sullivan, a writer that I regularly read and admire for contrarian political and religious opinions, is presently publishing select reader-submitted photos to his blog at Time Magazine's website. I submitted the above photo and he liked it enough to post it.

MATTHEW GARDNER MAKES NATIONAL NEWS

The Seattle City Council recently voted to reverse a building height limit in the downtown core of the city. Our company's Seattle Principal, Matthew Gardner, has been a part of the process through coordination with the Downtown Seattle Association. (I had a small part with a white paper I wrote some months back about the tax benefits of taller buildings).

But since then, he has co-published an editorial with the head of the DSA, Kate Joncas, in the Seattle Times about the benefits of greater density in downtown Seattle.

And yesterday to cap it off, the AP Wire picked up the story of the height limit reversal and Yahoo! News picked that up on its front page. Matthew is given the closing quote about significant changes to building heights downtown.

Congrats on the exposure!

LOOKING FORWARD TO A LUAU

Jill and I will be attending a huge luau in Forest Grove on Saturday, April 8. The thing is apparently quite a deal, with over 2,200 people attending annually. Here's a link to the press release about the luau. Here's even more startling information about the size of it, particularly the freight of food and goods from the islands involved:

Luau of Hawaiian Club at Pacific University
Aramark at Pacific University for ten years has been hosting the parents and supplies for five days each year. We offer the parents free meals and use of our kitchen while they prepare their Luau meal for their annual Luau at Pacific University that is open to the community. Luau is a time when 'Ohana comes together to celebrate and share our culture with the extended Pacific Community. This event has an average crowd of 2200. Over 18,000 lbs. of cargo shipped in from the Islands, and over 100 parents, siblings, grandparents, aunties and uncles arrive to prepare a Traditional Luau Meal and show and this is the largest mainland Luau west of the Mississippi. This year will be the Luau 46th Annual Benefit Luau.

TIMELY MOVIE - GREAT NOVEL

I did some googling and found out that The Tortilla Curtain, a novel by T.C. Boyle that I read some years ago, is now being filmed and will star Kevin Costner and Meg Ryan.

Now before anybody rolls their eyes, the novel is a well-done story (I have no idea how the Hollywood-ization will turn out) about a "latte liberal" Southern California couple that crosses paths literally with an illegal immigrant Mexican man. The yuppie runs over him with his car accidentally when the Mexican runs out into a rural road unexpectedly.

What happens after that is a wicked satire, with a strong dramatic and tragic streak. What I found most impressive about the book, and Drop City by Boyle that I'm reading now about the end of the Hippie era when a commune relocates to rural Alaska in the early 1970s, is that Boyle is not sentimental or slanted in his narrative. He's honest and surprisingly objective with the issues so that you don't truly know where the story will end up, but a lot is observed and treated along the way.

It's the sort of story that last year's Best Picture Crash apparently tried to emulate - superficially without the comedy - and the movie Spanglish the year before parroted in some ways, but not very effectively in my opinion.

I'll go on record as saying that I truly do not understand the rage expressed by the right about illegal immigration. It's a crime, there's laws on the books, let's enforce them. If the law cannot be enforced as a misdemeanor, why is it smart to ramp it up to a felony when the offender couldn't read the difference between the two in English - or understand the difference - if they wanted to? Anyway, it seems like a lot of misspent rage targeted at the poor - which to me personally is bad policy.

But I will go on the record and say that I think this issue is being stirred up nationally to motivate conservative turnout and pro-GOP independent votes in the 2006 mid-term election like the Gay Marriage Bans were for the 2004 Presidential election.

The reason I think so is because of the farcical effort put into protests in Oregon as a gubernatorial issue of late. Seriously - what on Earth can Oregon's governor do about illegal immigration besides freeze funds to public services for illegals, including their helpless children, many born here? This is a grass-roots political effort to take the pressure off the GOP for pork-barrel spending, corruption and poorly executed war by ramping up xenophobic hysteria.

Anyway, check out the book. And if you can find a copy of it, El Norte does a far better job of treating the illegal immigration issue than most everything out there already. For instance, the focus is on an indigenous Guatemalan family (Mayan) trying to get into the U.S., reflecting the shift in immigration trends from largely Mexican to Central American people due to changing economic conditions at home.

TWO RECENT BIRTHS

First up is the birth of Savanna Holmes, granddaughter of the "Other" Grampa George Reid, Jr. It looks like I have a new second cousin. She was born March 14th in Farmington or Bloomfield, NM. Congratulations!

Second, my old college friend Bryan Moore and his wife Renee had their second child on March 11th. Connor Austin Moore was born 8 lbs. 15 oz. 21 inches - WOW - buy that kid a football. Congratulations!

A TRIP TO THE COAST

We spent Sunday, Sunday night, and Monday at the coast this past weekend. The goal was to take Gabriel to the Oregon Coast Aquarium, which we did. But playing in the sand was, by far, the best part of the trip. Well, except the staircase at Mo's in Lincoln City.

But among all the displays of sharks, fish, otters, puffins, seals and sea lions, Gabriel liked the simulated tidepool with real sea life the best. Here's a shot of him reaching for an anemone.



He was also pretty fond of the starfish tucked under the corner, as well.

And to any parents out there who would like to go to the Oregon Coast with a toddler, I highly recommend the Looking Glass Inn where we stayed.



Located in south Lincoln City, properly known as Taft, the hotel has all sorts of reasonably priced rooms with:
-seperate-bedroom suites
-kitchenettes
-Mo's chowder house right across the street (Gabriel couldn't get enough of the halibut fish and chips)
-a boardwalk overlooking the Siletz Bay across the street
-direct beach access across the street, and
-good espresso places in case your toddler decides to melt down rather than sleep through the night

We got home last night before 8pm after less than a two-hour drive - which Gabriel slept through mostly, put Gabriel to bed, and I then promptly fell asleep on the couch leaving a hand print on the left side of my face.

Good Times!

MY NAME IS BILL AND I'M AN INTROVERT

Hi, Bill...

The movement is growing. Here's an owner's manual:

Caring for Your Introvert

Our Motto: "I'm Okay, You're Okay-In Small Doses"

But best of all, at the end of the article, are three fundamental tips to those who know and deal with introverts (25% of the population):

How can I let the introvert in my life know that I support him and respect his choice? First, recognize that it's not a choice. It's not a lifestyle. It's an orientation.

Second, when you see an introvert lost in thought, don't say "What's the matter?" or "Are you all right?"

Third, don't say anything else, either.

DSL AT LAST

And wireless, too!

YEEEEEEEHHHAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWW!!!!

SCARIEST/HARRIEST ATHLETES ON THE PLANET

Mushers clearly are not out to win a beauty contest, as the Anchorage Daily News 2006 Iditarod Musher gallery proves.

Click at your own risk.

Looked like a huge police line-up, didn't it?

If you ever worried that meth has reached Alaska, the photo of Lance Mackey (#24) will do nothing to calm your fears. Other highlights include:
Trent Herbst (#68) - Proof there's someone for everyone.
Tim Osmar (#41) - Looks like the actor who played Bluto opposite Robin Williams' Popeye finally turned up.
Sebastian Schnuelle (#34) - I guess Schnuelle is German for "Manson."
Rachel Scdoris (#42) - Finally, and admirably (and actually attractively), she's blind and running the Iditarod. Of course, I'm sure she'd reconsider if she had an inkling of what her fellow racers looked like.

By the way, as of noon Tuesday, March 14 three-time champ Jeff King was the first to begin taking his mandatory 8-hour rest at the White Mountain checkpoint, roughly 60 miles from Nome. Barring any surprise event, like collision with an insane moose - just ask Susan Butcher - he has the contest locked up.

SNOW DAYS

We've had a crazy winter: record rainfall through February and then snow in March. Notice our pink camellia blooming in the background.

Gabriel got to take advantage of it at least.

WAY OVERDUE

Wow, am I lazy? Well, yes and no. Between work at the office, being on the road frequently and problems with my previous computer(s), posts have been sparse.

Well, today marks a new one. As you can see to the left, Gabriel has grown considerably since Halloween and now talks on his toy phone and the real phone. Well, he'll respond to me over the phone. He'll say Dada, "Nene" or meow (Nino), Uh-oh!, Mama, or Bebe (baby) when he hears me ask "where's ...?".

And as you can see below, he's a very quick study!



NEW COMPUTERS

My 4-year-old work computer recently decided to quit working and our 5-year-old home computer has been disfunctional on and off for quite a while. So both were recently replaced with HP Pavilion machines.

My new work computer is an HP Pavilion a1330n.

The new home computer is an HP Pavilion a1230n. The main difference is the home computer has a slightly smaller hard drive, slightly slower processor and I had to buy and install the DVD-ROM drive myself.

Otherwise, both are fantastic machines.

And speaking of updates, our neighborhood finally has DSL service and I'm scheduled for service set-up on March 17. One week and counting! I also ordered a wireless router so that I can work in other rooms with the laptop much easier. Wow.. Hillsboro in the 21st Century is shaping up nicely.

RECENT GOINGS ON

A lot has been happening with family and friends, so I'll just bullet-point in the interest of time...
-Grampa Dave recently visited Gabriel for nearly a week this past week. Much dining out and playing was enjoyed, even though Grampa got wore out.

-Gabriel is taking swimming lessons again. He has one more week in Forest Grove and then he can take lessons in April in Hillsboro now that the swim center has reopened. No more racquetball?!

-Uncle Tom is glad to no longer be with the trust law firm and has recently gotten a different position elsewhere.

-Grandma Judy has been invited to sing with the praise group and the traditional choir at Trinity Lutheran Church in Hillsboro. We've been visiting there the past few weekends.

-Me-ma is continuing to have a good recovery after her lower spinal surgery in Las Vegas. The surgeons repaired nerve damage in her lower spine that was causing several different problems for her lately. She's in the middle of physical rehab and has a good prognosis.

-Gramma Reid (my gramma) has recently moved to a nursing home for a while following a rough patch with her health. Things seem to be getting better for her, though.

-We were saddened to learn that family friend Shirley Anders recently passed away from complications due to the flu. Shirley was a cancer survivor well into her 70s, so the news was surprising but not shocking. She recently relocated to Klamath Falls from Medford. She will be missed. She had a remarkable life, a pioneer of sorts as a woman in rural southwest Oregon. She was one of the first female log truck drivers in Oregon, she was one of the first women to bid on timber sales in Oregon, and she ran a fishing guide service on the Rogue River in Curry County for several years with her late husband. All this in a petite little package - a stiff wind could have blown her over. She was one of the nicest, sweetest and with-it senior ladies I've had the pleasure of knowing.

-A door is closed and a window opens: Margaux Johnson recently turned one year old. Happy birthday!

PORTLAND HOME PRICES: JERRY CHIMES IN

Here's a front-page story in the Oregonian today. Portland's real estate market continues to be making price gains that are more than likely unsustainable. I wouldn't want to be an owner in some of the nuttier areas of Portland.

Jerry chimes in with just enough skepticism that the jouro writing the article didn't catch on. Nicely done.

I would add that although the market as a whole shows sustained price gains and low inventory, I think the region is being pushed by a smaller and smaller inventory of neighborhoods/areas. I am personally noticing more and more homes that are sitting with a for sale sign and no two-day "Sale Pending" turnaround.

It remains to be seen...

FUEL CRUNCH HITS SANTA

Looks like the fuel cost crisis has hit the North Pole.

"ONE OF US IS EVIL"

Can you guess which one below? Here's a link to the Bad Santa Photo contest entries, now more than ever this year.



APOCALYPTO

As much grief as Mel Gibson catches for his movies, particularly the last one, he's doing some pretty daring stuff.. making a mainstream hit out of an independent film entirely in Palestinian Aramaic. He's back with another period piece: an epic set in the Mayan empire filmed entirely in Mayan dialects.

Here's the trailer... cool beans.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JILL

Today is Jill's 3Xth birthday and I'm such a rotten husband that I had to be out of town today on a business trip to Boise. However... we plan to formally celebrate this weekend. But I did surprise her with a well-received gift this morning.

Happy Birthday, Sweety!

UH OH!

Gabriel has a new, favorite thing to say and his timing is quite remarkable.

"Gabriel, Gramma Dianne is headed back to Portland." --> "Uh Oh."

"Gabriel, Gramma Judy is coming over to see you." --> "Uh Oh."

Uh Oh, indeed!

I'LL TAKE MANHATTAN

I'm sitting in Boise right now, but Tom is presently enjoying Manhattan. Away on a job assignment, Tom is working in the financial district not too far from the World Trade Center site. His temporary office is on the top floor of a large building that gives a clear view of the Brooklyn Bridge and all points east.

Here's a link to the Google map of where he is located. It looks like if he steps outside and looks west, he can see the Statue of Liberty.

He says he's explored several must-see landmarks and will have a more detailed report soon. Ed Sullivan Theater?

Here's a profile of Rockefeller Center's famous and celebrated Christmas decorations. Tom said he's already visited here.

ME-MA HAVING MORE TESTS

Me-ma is in the middle of a series of tests to determine the cause of her recently very bad headaches. So far, tests are inconclusive but the specialists have a good idea of the issue and hope to confirm. It sounds like she's in far more capable hands than a year ago when she was having heart problems.

We're keeping you in our prayers.

WYOMING PROPERTY CLOSES

Congratulations Mom & Dad. You are now the proud owners of 40 acres of view property in Pinedale, Wyoming. This is quite an exciting development.

I posted a picture of the views from their property of Brokeback Mountain The Grand Tetons back in November.

Here's a Google map pin-pointing Pinedale, less than an hour from Jackson Hole.

Below is the Pinedale webcam shot of the city with the mountains in the background.



CHRISTMAS WITH THE BUNNIES

The Christmas season is in full swing and we hope everyone is having a wonderful time. In my mind, the official kick-off is seeing Charlie Brown and George Bailey on TV.

One of the better internet sites I have seen lately is the Bunnies' versions of different movies... mostly scary ones. How scary can they be if cartoon bunnies re-enact them (in 30 seconds or less.. Jaws is a favorite of mine... We're gonna need a bigger boat).

They've also done Christmas movies, and here they are:

It's a Wonderful Life
A Christmas Story

I'M EXHAUSTED

Yeah, I just got back from vacation, but I'm in the middle of some rather contentious projects and I just don't get around to updating as much as I'd like.

LUCKILY, NO MULE

First off, Mom and Dad have apparently put an offer in for 40 acres of lovely views in Pinedale, Wyoming. There's apparently another offer on the property, so nothing is clear at this point. But I'll report if something is announced. In the meantime, below is a photo of the most compelling aspect of the site. Pretty compelling, I'd say!



THE FLAVOR OF ALASKAN PORK

Instapundit.com, one of my favorite blogs, has been a leader in pushing for the recent Federal transportation bill to be reconsidered in light of hurricane disasters and the federal cost affected areas will incur. I applaud and support his and others' efforts to push Congress to repeal and cut some of the pork.

Alaska, specifically Rep. Don Young, has been a major target of scorn because of at least two audacious pork projects he recently secured. The projects seem a bit much to me, but at the same time I do understand the psychology that explains Young, Sen. Ted Stevens and Sen. Murkowski, Jr.

I distinctly remember a moment of my youth in Anchorage before the triumph of President Reagan over the Soviets. It was a viewing of the movie War Games. Remember that one, with Matthew Broderick as the nerd that nearly starts a nuclear war between the U.S. and the CCCP?

There's a moment in the movie where a computer illustration shows Alaska to be the first and perhaps the hardest hit of U.S. territory should nuclear war break out. I realize it's a Hollywood production, but there enough reality about Alaska's strategic military position to make the thought of nuclear annihiliation hit home.

So, this morning I sent an email to Professor Glenn Reynolds (Instapundit) providing my two cents' worth.

However, there is an underreported side to this story that I think provides context, but not necessarily justification for Alaska's appetite for largess.

During WWII and particularly the Cold War, Alaska was the front line of defense for the United States. During WWII, the Aleutians became the only "mainland" U.S. to actually be invaded by Japanese troops. During the Cold War, Alaska was the pre-eminent location for U.S. nuclear missiles aimed at the Soviet Union. Conversely, Alaska was the first and closest target for Soviet nuclear weapons should war occur due to our silos and Alaska's rich oil reserves. Finally, the vast majority of land mass of Alaska is owned by the Federal Government and regulated/controlled/restricted from development of most kinds that would enable greater economic expansion and possible diversification to make the State more self-sustained.

In other words, Alaska has much more in common with some of the South Pacific territories that per capita are just as subsidized - if not more so - than Alaskans. And like Alaska(ns), the South Pacific territories are shaping up to be (again) highly exploited by the U.S. military to project sea and air power into Asia if China becomes more belligerent.

Prof. Reynolds is barraged by email everyday, so I don't know that he'll respond. I just thought the above context was worth mentioning.

WAL-MART

One of the reasons I've been so busy is that one of the projects I have been working on includes the economic and fiscal impacts of Wal-Mart superstores when they propose to open a store, specifically in Washington state. Because of my findings, my analysis and testimony typically support Wal-Mart in their site planning applications. But as most people know, Wal-Mart is highly controversial and so it's not a simple matter.

The application of proposed store in Yelm, Washington was legally upheld recently that included some of my analysis and public testimony.

At that website, if you scroll down, Exhibits 102 and 103 are my resume and analysis, specifically, in case you're interested. The following is the text of the legal decision. In case you're interested, the issue of my testimony, economic impacts of Wal-Mart and blight, begins in the .pdf decision document on Page 21 (extreme bottom of the page) and continues through Page 26.

GABRIEL DOING WELL AND HALLOWEEN PHOTOS PENDING

Gabriel is now pretty well recovered from his recent ailments and full of the P&V. On Halloween, he dressed up like a little scarecrow, homemade costume courtesy of his Gramma Dianne. He was very cute and I promise photos are forthcoming.

RETURN OF THE GRAMMAS

After a multi-week hiatus, both Grammas are now back in town to spoil the you know what out of our lad. Gramma Dianne was on the road for a couple of weeks, but returned recently in time for Halloween. Gramma Judy flew in last night from Connecticut where she was enjoying a three-week visit with her sisters Sandy and Diana. Welcome Home!

TOM'S CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

Tom is exploring a number of legal career opportunities right now, particularly in probate law. He's starting up his own practice to provide legal advisement on trusts, wills and other matters for people, hopefully in California and Oregon. He'll soon be attending a training on the matter in Portland. He also met with an established attorney in Sacramento for whom he might work to learn the ropes. But he's already signed onto a month-to-month lease of an office for his own practice so he's got some decidin' to do.

A revelation about the attorney he met with yesterday may be a deciding factor: her office is 50 footsteps from an In N Out Burger!

ROSEOLA AND AN EAR INFECTION

As if high fever and general ickyness weren't bad enough for Gabriel while we were in Sacramento over the weekend, the doctor confirmed last night that he now has an ear infection and prescribed antibiotics.

Poor little guy. Jill became alarmed when after his fever broke the day before yesterday, he developed a rash all over yesterda and he was very fussy and restless. The rash is the last stage of roseola I have now learned, but the ear infection is independent of that and needs to run its course, medicated naturally.

SACRAMENTO A SICKFEST

Poor Gabriel came down with his fever Saturday morning and suffered from illness the whole time we were there. Needless to say, the visit wasn't what we all had intended, but we did lay low and let him rest.

In the meantime, we enjoyed several visits to In and Out Burger (3x3 Animal Style!), the Borders Books Educators Weekend Sale, Java Cafe, and I got to see where Tom's new office is going to be as he starts up his own legal practice. (link promised in the future).

Tom and Kate have a very nice house with a huge lot, big pool and hot tub, waterfall, and great privacy with the landscaping that's in place. They admit they have much work to do outside - the previous owners let things go. But we were impressed with the amount of work they had done so far in such a short time.

We also got to see Kate's sister and her newlywed husband on Friday night. Then on Saturday, Kate's parents Ron and Cloris (sp?) visited to see Gabriel. They live not too far away and were busy with their own improvement project for their deck.

All in all, it was a pleasant visit, though Gabriel had a bad time due to illness. We visited two doctors while there just to be safe. That was an ordeal in and of itself. But all is well.

Besides, how bad can it be when Avis gives you a free upgrade to this:

WE'RE BACK

I hope to write more about our final week in the coming day or so. But in the meantime, the following photo, I think, says it all.



HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO US

Today is Jill's and my 8th wedding anniversary. It's been a happy eight years, particularly the last 14 months. I love you, sweety!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MOM

Today is also Mom's birthday, though I won't say how many times she's celebrated her 39th birthday. Happy Birthday!

A WEEK ON THE NORTH COAST

It’s Tuesday and we’re now on the north coast in a rental home at Anini Beach.



Anini is located halfway between Princeville, a resort area, and Kiluea, the location of a picturesque lighthouse. The difference between the north coast and the south coast is very much like the difference between the west side of the Cascade Mountains and the east side. The north coast is lush, wetter and cooler. The south coast is sunnier, but definitely has more arid vegetation.

The north side, in my opinion, is prettier due to the wetter climate. Mountains are more dramatically carved by erosion, the jungle is more dense, and the agriculture is more varied. Hanalei is the site of a famously beautiful valley full of taro.



Geologically, the north coast has far more coral reefs off the shore, creating calmer waters for swimming and other fun. When we went for our first swim last night, Jill commented that Anini is like a giant swimming pool because there really were no waves. Gabriel loved it.

AVOID KOLOA LANDING COTTAGES

I seriously doubt anyone looking for accommodation on the south coast will bump into this website when they Google “Koloa Landing Cottages.” But just in case they do, they should read the following review I submitted to Fodors.com (and I'm not alone):

It was the filthiest, noisiest and most regrettable $150 per night we've ever spent anywhere (Sept. 2005).
The establishment has new owners that are not the same as the ones that get rave reviews elsewhere on the web - including Fodor's. The current owners are unresponsive and irresponsible in our finding.
The unit was FILTHY. Huge stains on the floor. Screens, shades and fans completely dirty. My wife had allergy issues while we were there as a result - with trade winds blowing through window screens it was still that bad. Hair left in the shower/bathroom. Mosquitos/blood killed and smeared on the walls at our arrival. Ants and cockroaches everywhere at night or day. Our second rental elsewhere at same price has been spotless.
The stove/range was completely inoperable and it took them until our third night to get a two-burner hot plate in the kitchen.
Pots and pans that were in terrible state and not safe to cook with. I won't even go into the grime and cockroach dust/filth I saw when standing on a chair cleaning up an ant trail on the wall.
Full payment is made upon arrival, so no recourse. We didn't see the female owner until we checked out. At check out, she asked what would be a fair discount/refund. She ignored the cost of having to eat out all the time and offered us minimal refund.
Having no recourse, we had to take it. She then had the gall to say that they would be buying a new stove AFTER we left (!) and then intimated that we just didn't do as good a job as she does of living cheaply as her. Traveling with a small child and at such short notice, finding an immediate alternate rental was not an option.
Until ownership again changes hands, I cannot more strongly recommend that people AVOID Koloa Landing Cottages at all costs. I have never felt more cheated by a lodging establishment than I do about this dump.

SECOND RENTAL INCREDIBLE

Our arrival at our second rental proved to be shocking: it is far cleaner and more beautiful than we could have hoped, particularly after the preceding week's accommodation.

Don't get me wrong: we had much fun on the south side swimming at Poipu beach and Baby beach, hiking, going to the market, sightseeing and enjoying the National Tropical Botanical Gardnens - Allerton and McBryde. In fact, we managed to go on a second hike, the Kukui Trail, that took us down a mile into the canyon for some unbelievable views. Gabriel had a great time going down, but coming back up he was a bit fussy if he couldn't see his Mama.

Despite all the fun, our expectations for our second rental were quite low. Well, we have been shocked ("This whole thing is ours?") It's been quite a treat the night we've been here so far and we look forward to having this as a home base for a week. Anini Beach is literally across the street. Gabriel could walk there himself, but he'd have to cross a semi-busy street. It's fantastic.

And speaking of Gabriel, he's up from his nap and we're off to the beach!

RAIN

It’s Friday, Day 5 of our Kaua’i trip, and the past three have been somewhat soggy. In Waimea last night, we heard from the local pizza joint that there are two storms off the coast of the Big Island. The result has been off-and-on showers and strong winds all over Kaua’i.

Poipu (The Sunny Side of Paradise!), our home base for the first week, has not been spared. Located on the south side of the island, it has a track record of typically-drier weather. Not so right now. There have been flash flood warnings all around and even the Allerton Garden had to close yesterday afternoon due to damage caused by water and wind. For us, vacation and rain go hand in hand.

The forecast calls for decreasing and isolated showers over the next couple of days. Then next week, when we are on the north side, it’s supposed to be much more typical this time of year - drier and sunny.

GABRIEL BECOMING A BEACH BUM

We’ve only managed to make it to the beach a few times so far: Tuesday at Baby Beach here in Poipu; last night (Thursday) at the beach in Waimea for a walk; and then this morning at Baby Beach again.

Gabriel wasn’t keen on the motion and noise of the waves when he first tried the water. He’d happily walk along the shoreline where the sand was modestly wet. Then we carried him out to waist-deep water and let him get in a bit more. He learned to relax in it, so long as he wasn’t right near a wave as it hit the beach. Towards the end of our two-hour stay, he learned to enjoy the water.

Baby Beach, hidden from most tourist traffic, is so named because of the many lava rocks out in the deeper water that do a good job of breaking up the waves.

Baby Beach


By the time they reach the shore, the waves are weak with very little current at all. The water is not deep and the sand doesn’t stretch out under the water too far, so swimming for an adult is not great without water socks. But for a little one like Gabriel, it’s fantastic. There’s even a small area of tidepools nearby, so he’s seen little fishes, crabs, and even a sea urchin.

At Waimea last night at dusk, we walked along the beach and watched the large, crashing waves. It was quite dramatic to see the large waves carry big, fluffy white foam across that beach’s black sand. Gabriel enjoyed walking through the foam with his little bare feet, leaving little foot prints all over the place.

This morning, we went to Baby Beach again and he really enjoyed himself. He held mommy’s hands and marched right down to the water to walk around in it, even with the waves. He soaked a while, then walked back out and around to the tidepools to walk on the rocks and enjoy the water. This morning he talked and giggled a lot, so he clearly has gotten the hang of the ocean.

WAIMEA CANYON AND HIKING

Wednesday, in a mostly successful attempt to avoid the rain, we headed to Waimea Canyon and Koke’e State Park to go for a hike.

Waimea Canyon


We didn’t get there until a little later, but the winding drive was worth it. At the Kalalau Viewpoint – the end of the road - we got an unbelievably clear view of the Kalalau Valley of the Na Pali Coast. The last time we were here, the valley was socked in by clouds and one couldn’t see a thing.

Kalalau Valley


On the way back, we stopped at Koke’e State Park to hike the Berry Flat Trail. It was roughly two miles and was not, unfortunately, very impressive. The vegetation was the most remarkable thing for us: groves of spindly guava trees, much passionflower overgrowth, banks of tall kahili and aromatic white ginger, and a nice assortment of coniferous trees. There were actually groves of California Redwoods that were planted in the 30s, for whatever reason – erosion prevention maybe.

We enjoyed the hike, but our theory is that for the typical Hawaiian, the vegetation is novel – conifers, blackberries and strawberries, etc. It was very much a temperate forest, in some ways like we have at home. But given other hikes that have better views of the canyon, we know we can do better next time.

POIPU: THE VERDICT

We’re having a good time visiting the south and west sides of the island. The west side has been good in particular due to its drier climate in the island’s rain shadow. Yesterday, avoiding the rain less successfully, we got to go to the farmers’ market in Hanapepe to buy tropical fruits and vegetables. And, Gabriel got to try shave ice (cold sugar water – yum!).

But in general, we find Poipu itself to be a less enjoyable location than we would have expected. Unless you’re able to afford $250+ per night at the nearby resorts, traveling independently here is difficult. Everything is spread out forcing you to drive a ways for everything including shopping, restaurants, going to the beach, or anything else, really. Nothing is really a short walk. That’s very different from other places we’ve been lucky enough to visit, like Playa del Carmen in Quintana Roo, Mexico or other places in Hawaii – like Waimea. This developed first as a resort area and it lacks the charm that a town would have. Koloa Town is more like what I’m talking about; and at least five minutes’ drive from here.

KOLOA LANDING COTTAGES: THE VERDICT

What a difference it makes to have a child. I think that now with Gabriel, we are far more concerned about certain issues of cleanliness and safety than we were before. Having said that, we haven’t been too impressed with our accommodations. Although we realize this is a rental home after all, the place is still too grimy (what exactly do they do with the cleaning fee at departure, anyway? Off Track Betting?) The gardens outside are lovely and they even have a variegated ginger plant that Jill covets. But unfortunately, we’re not renting the grounds, we’re renting the house.

We found out that the owner has been out of town and will be back today, Friday. I guess we’ll see if management will be a bit more responsive with her return. It took them three days – at $150 per night, mind you – to get a two-burner hot plate put into our kitchen so that we can prepare our own meals. The second night, they provided us with two camp-style stoves that expressly warn against using indoors. Most of the pots and pans they provide are Teflon with much of the coating scratched off or dangling, so it’s not safe to use most of them.

I suppose that given what we’ve been able to buy in accommodations elsewhere for $150 per night, including a Victoria Harbor-view room at the Hong Kong Sheraton (check out the rooftop pool and view.. it's really cool), this rental has honestly been a bit underwhelming – so far. But the view out the window is pleasant and we all are definitely enjoying our vacation, despite the weather and the stove problem. And, we hear that some sort of refund/credit offer will be likely for the inconvenience of an inoperable kitchen. We shall see.

GASOLINE PRICES – YOU THINK YOU HAVE IT BAD?

Kaua’i is presently sporting an average gas price at roughly $3.80 per gallon of regular. That’s right, nearly $4.00 per gallon. I won’t even say what I spent last night to fill up the Trailblazer we rented. Oh, and let’s not forget the $5.00 loaves of whole wheat bread.

Alternatively, Hawaiian Host Caramacs at the Lihue Wal-Mart are half the price we pay at home. Huzzah!

BEST FLIER AWARD GOES TO...

Gabriel Francis, of course. Two flights and nearly 7 hours by plane didn't seem to greatly phase him, even with a somewhat rough landing in Honololu. I arrived feeling sluggish and with a headache; Jill had the same but with a bout of nausea thrown in.

We actually arrived into Kaua'i on an earlier flight that scheduled because we remembered to check with the help desk for seats on the soonest flight after arrival. You can easily change your tickets to leave on any flight between islands... usually. That wasn't our experience last time, of course.

So now we're in our rental home in Poipu. Not all is pleasant here, yet anyway. The stove doesn't work and we haven't yet heard back from them about whether or not they can fix it. The whole point of staying in the rental home was for Jill to be able to cook things without wheat (even soy sauce has it! - not easy to avoid in Hawaii) and fix Gabriel things whenever he gets hungry. So, feeling ill and tired and having the realization that the rental house is defective, it wasn't a pleasant day yesterday.

Ah, but Gabriel is a trooper... literally. He's trooping all over the house on his own, even holding objects in one hand and both. He's really taking to walking very quickly and happily. He still falls on his behind frequently, and he still will wall-walk and crawl, but his bipedal wanderings are longer and more ambitious each time.

It'll take a while for all of us to get used to the time and daylight difference. We're three hours behind Pacific time. We were all basically awake by 4:30am local time this morning/7:30am Pacific. All in good time, I suppose.

Well, we have arrived safely and we're looking forward to daily adventures. We'll keep things updated as time allows. Gotta run.. Gabriel got his head caught in the backpack.

Okay, back. Here's a message from Gabriel:

ug thyvj nbvhy`dub` n hghtyhgbv cdc``n j8h87

Aloha!

GABR-GABR-GABR

Little Boy has slowly been learning to say his own name. His babbling started out as gobba-gobba-gobba.. sounding a little bit like a gobbling turkey. But recently, he's added a distinct "r" sound to the end and he's clearly saying gabr-gabr-gabr.

A skeptic might say he's just babbling random sounds. But what a coincidence that his babbling should be growing in complexity and similarity to his own name, a word he hears us say very regularly. We don't think it's coincidence.. he's clearly mimicking the syllables of his name.

Speaking of mimicking, here's a shot of Gabriel growling back at me and showing off his teeth.



He also now has 11 teeth, can stand on his own without assistance from object or person and is taking a few steps in between furniture. He's learned how to make the Indian tremolo sound with his hand and mouth.

UNCLE TOM & AUNT KATE VISIT

Gabriel got to visit with his favorite aunt and uncle, Kate and Tom. They flew up from Sacramento to visit for a long weekend. Activities were a bit limited with Gabriel's nap schedule and the fact that Kate unfortunately caught the cold that was passing around up here. I was knocked out by it and didn't make it to my company's summer barbecue as a result.

But when they were here, Gabriel quickly reacquainted with Tom & Kate and had a great time playing with them. We had smoked red (sockeye) salmon on the grill before they left, so the weekend wasn't lost.

Thanks for coming up!

FUNDRAISER UPDATE

We recently received another $300 donation and a $35 donation, bringing the grand total up to $1,835.

Thank you everyone for your generosity. We greatly appreciate it. We urge you to also give to charities helping with Hurricane Katrina aftermath.