Kate and Mike – Kate and Mike's Adventures

Kaumana Caves in Hilo, Hawaii

Kate and I went on a little adventure in the Lava Tubes in Kaumana Caves park, just outside of Hilo. This is the first time I have ever really adventured into a cave with out a guide.

This was a guard chicken, guarding the caves. He was a bit cocky. I am pretty sure he was Irish. His name was McNuggets. To be honest he had good tastes … like Teriyaki.

A rather large entrance from one section to another.

We spent a couple of hours exploring the cave. There was stair case that descended down into the cave where it had previously collapsed. We explored both sides of the cave. The cave system was mostly easy going. There were many different types of formations. It was constantly dripping on us. Sometime the ceiling was 40 feet tall and times it was only a couple feet tall. I am guessing we went about a mile total. To the right, the cave looks to have been intentionally collapsed. We probably could have shimmied around and gotten past it, but this was our first time out spelunking and did not want to get in over our heads. To the left the cave comes to a skylight where you can climb out. We could have kept going, but again we had had enough for one day and decided to head back into town and get some lunch at the Hilo Burger Joint. We are considering doing some more spelunking in lava tubes. These lava tubes last had lava in them in the 1800s, which makes them relatively new. Some of the lava tubes on the islands are miles and miles long.

A narrow cave passage. You go first, I am too scared. Make sure there is nothing dangerous on the other side.

Kate posing in a large room. A lot of this cave was marked with graffiti.

Another part of the cave. An example of the type of what is left behind when the lava tube is eventually drained of lava.

Getting Snail Mail in Hawaii – Long term vacation mail forwarding in UK and Hawaii

One of the questions that I have received is how we are getting our mail.

We have used two separate methods.

Method One

While in the UK, we used a mail service called, US Global Mail. Basically we signed up for a virtual mailbox at their office in Texas. We then filled out an official USPS form which gave them permission to open and receive our mail. We filled out an online form at the US postal service website to set up a temporary forward to our new US Global Mail address. While we were in the UK, we’d get an email letting us know when they got mail, and they would scan the envelope so we could see what it was. For each piece of mail we could either: open it and have it scanned, throw it out, or package it up and have it sent to us. While in the UK, we had our mail bundled and sent to us monthly for a cost of about $35 bucks. If something was urgent we liked having the ability to have it scanned for immediate gratification. They charged us per page. The temporary mail forward weeded out a lot of junk mail. We had problem with the mail forward because we have last names. We each needed to put on a temporary mail forward. When we had about 10 days left in England we cancelled the mail forward and changed it to a mail hold. We did this on a day that there was no mail service to make sure they happened with out a delay. We had US global send all of our mail to our home address. All of our mail was waiting for us when we stopped home for 5 days in between the UK and Hawaii. Before we put all of this into motion we talked to our local mail carrier, who reassured us that there wouldn’t be any problem.

Method Two

For Hawaii, we took advantage of the fact we were still in the US and rented a PO box in Hilo. This would work just like US global mail except the temporary Mail Forward would go to our PO box instead of the US Global mail address. The main obstacle was that we could not get our PO Box address until we on the island. So we decided to an initial temporary mail forward to “General Delivery” to the Hilo Post office, and update it once we got our PO box. We found out that we could not update the address for our temporary mail forward even though it looked like we could. We ended up cancelling the first temporary mail forward and then creating a new one. This solution has worked out very well. We have been able to use Amazon prime to our PO Box in Hilo – they seem to prefer USPS when shipping to Hawaii. We do not get two day to Hawaii. It is more like 3-5 days, but still free. On December 25th (non-Mail delivery day) we will cancel the temporary forward and put a mail hold. When we close the PO Box in Hilo, if we are still getting forwarded mail, we will ask if we can forward the mail back to our home address. I am not sure it will work. We are pretty sure nothing will need to be forwarded. We have learned that mail is just a pain, and not much of it is important. It is nice that we were able to XMAS cards.

Snow in Hawaii

Yes we have had snow in Hawaii. The island of Hawaii, often referred to as the Big Island has two mountain (volcanoes) that are nearly 14,000 feet tall and it is cold enough most of the year to get snow.

Snow covered Mauna Kea as seen from Honomu, HI, near Akaka Falls

There was quite a bad storm, that dump a lot of rain where we were, about 8 inches in 36 hours. Some places near us got 20+ inches of rain. What that translated was 20-30 inches of snow on the top of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa.

Mauna Kea is most known for the number of observatories on top it. There is a road that goes all the way to the top. It is a spectacular place to view the sunset and to look up at the stars. There is 40% less atmosphere to block out the light of the stars. It is a spectacular sight. Mauna Kea is a dormant volcano, and has not erupting in a long time.

Mauna Loa is still an active volcano. It was threatening to destroy Hilo back in the 1980s. Mauna Loa can be driven to the top with a 4×4. Only the locals dive up. At about 11,000 feet there is NOAA weather station that has been contributing the longest running climate change experiment.

Both mountains are very important to the native Hawaiians and their culture.

Taking a my Cat Max to Hawaii

Max our not very bright, but very enthusiastic cat made it to Hawaii.

Max just rolling around in the closet in the LA Hotel.

Just to re-cap. We went from Syracuse, NY to Hawaii with our Cat. We prepared for about 8 months to do that. Max first needed to Micro-chipped, then have a rabies vaccine. Then have another rabies vaccine, then be tested to verify that vaccine was effective. We were doing the Hawaii Kona Direct Release program, so we needed to contact a specified vet, share our paper work. Pay her. Get pre-approved for Max to come. Pre-approved is nice, and I would prefer that over the Honolulu plan. Then on travel day he would be checked over for “bad stuff”, by the vet that met Max and our plane. and directly released to us in a matter of 10-15 mins. Max was done as soon as our baggage was done.

The whole thing was pretty easy. Lots of steps and there is a timeline you have to keep. Not too early and not too late. The vet was awesome. She really loves animals and treated Max very well and made sure he was ok after the flight. VERY COOL! She is in it for the animals not just the money.

We used united Cargo. They needed our Hawaii paperwork when we dropped Max off to be shipped. This all with originals. Very scary. We decided to break up the journey, and stop in Los Angeles. We checked Max’s big pet crate as luggage. Syracuse Airport was nice enough to let it go even though it was a bit big. Max rode in the cabin. He was a perfect gentlemen the whole time. We spent two days in LA, to make sure his crate arrived and was not lost. We could take not chances. We did some site seeing in LA and went to Universal Hollywood. It was a pretty good day.

img_0515-2 — Kate with a Home Simpson sized Doughnut. It was light and easily eaten by two people.

Max then went via United Cargo, AKA PetSafe. The women that helped us at LAX was awesome. She also really did a thorough job. She took her time and really set the bar quite high. She really took care of us and made us feel comfortable leaving our cat with her. Kudos to United. I do not say that much.

On the trip back, we do the exact reverse of it. Other carriers allow pets leaving Hawaii in the cabin, but not United. So he has to go cargo back to LA. We will only spend overnight in LA. Max will ride with us in the cabin from LA to Syracuse. Max has shown he can hold it for 15 hours. He is quite a good trooper.

Coming home and a lost wallet in Heathrow Airport.

I lost my wallet in England. What a hassle that was. Somewhere over the northern Atlantic I awoke from my crooked sleeping position in economy plus and thought oh crap, I have not seen my wallet. You know I was thinking about doing some shopping on the plane later. I went and did a frantic search before I mentally retraced my steps and realized I think I left it at security. It was a bit of a rush in security. I got some extra special attention for have two computers, three tablets and load of neatly coiled up cords that apparently look like a bomb. In the US, I have TSA Pre and just waltz through security keeping all my computer stuff packed up and it just slides through. Oh yeah the cat litter that we were carry for Max was an item of suspicion. Cat litter and not carrying a cat. He was already cargo at that point. I am glad I kept the joke about there being land mines (cat crap) in the cat bags of litter as they were searching through it.

Anyways I narrowed it down that either it was at security, or Hertz, or possibly at the gate in Heathrow is where I most likely lost my wallet. We landed in Newark Airport (Aka know as crappy place United lands planes) and I am concerned about getting the rental car with out a physical license, but I think it might be ok. I am all signed up with Hertz, they have my credit card info, insurance info, license info, car preference, fuel preference, as well as my shoe size, and favorite color. I normally just show them ID and go. I do not stop at the counter. I do fill out paper work. I do not get the sales pitch about gas or insurance. I go directly to the car and leave. I do not pass go. I do not collect $200. I was thinking that it all might work with just my passport. NOPE!. Going directly to jail was closer to what my future was going to be. As I am leaving the garage, I need a drivers license as ID. I ditch the car and head back to Kate. I left, her Max and mountain of luggage. I figured it would have been easier to go back and get them.

On the way back I talked to hertz “gold” desk. Nothing golden about it, in case you were wondering. After a bit of a fight we came to the heart of the matter – I was not getting out there without a license. The first suggestion was getting a Cab. WTF – for real. The fact I had a license, just that it was lost did not matter. They agreed to move the reservation over to Kate as long as Kate had a credit card and a license. WTF, you have to say that after arrguing about my license for 15 mins. You think I was going to bring someone else with out a license. Wow. This was going to be a pain. I wanted Kate to go back to Hertz alone, mainly because of the restraining order against me after fighting with the Hertz lady, but also did not want to move Max and the mountain of luggage. Kate wanted me to go. We had six suitcases, and a large cat carrier which all did not fit on a single cart, and it required us getting on the “air train”, and we all could not fit in the elevator – so it was multiple trips up and down elevator to and from the air train.

They in the end rented a car to Kate and kept it on my account and I got points for it. I was expressly told not to drive. OF COURSE I DID NOT. Or did I? I can’t remember now.

It was a crappy drive. Rainy. Foggy. Rainy and Foggy. Crappy, Rainy, and Foggy. We drove home straight. We originally were going to stay the night in Newark and give Max a break. We drove (Kate drove – Maybe, I can’t remember) all the way home from Newark, New Jersey. We needed to get home to start the process taking care of my missing wallet.

After losing my wallet for 24 hours, no fraudulent activity, which was good. I found that Heathrow had a lost and found website. I put in a claim. I called United. I called Hertz. I called all my credit card companies. I called Ghostbusters just to be sure.

I went to the DMV and ordered a new license, and got a new picture taken. I had them send it to a post office near where we were staying to General delivery. It never made it. I have since reordered and have had it sent to my PO box in Hawaii. It still has not arrived. I did leave with a temporary paper license – and I checked Hertz would allow me to rent with it.

Heathrow lost and found did find my wallet. I sure wish they found it about 24 hours sooner and saved me the hassle of this. They sent it over night and it was going to make it time, for the cost of $120. It did not make it in time, and it was supposed to be signature required, and it was left at my house. So I had already left, no wallet. Some very nice friends retrieved it from my house and opened it to verify it was mine. They had a good laugh at my haircut from when I was 17 years old. Yes I did need a new picture. They mailed my wallet to my friends who were coming to Hawaii in a week to visit me and my wallet was reunited with me after 2.5 weeks.

Oh this is not the end. They refused to ship the cash in the wallet. So the money left in the wallet, was still in there when it was found. (I think it was left at Security – I will never know). They sent me a UK bank check (Minus a 20 pound fee) for 10 pounds, that I can’t cash. NICE.

The lesson – don’t put so much crap in your computer bag that it looks like a bomb.

And We are Back ….

We have not posted anything lately. We are going to be posting regularly until things get caught up. Stay Tuned!

There will be something tomorrow morning.

Flying back home

We are flying back today. We are at Heathrow at tad bit early because we had to drop off Max 4 hours before we take off. Poor guy is going to have to cross his legs for over 12 hours.

Luckily we have Lounge access. The lady that checked us in suggested that United lounge in Heathrow was better that the Luftsansa lounge. No — I do not think so. It is ok, and better than most, but the premium Luftanasa lounge is a bit better.

We will land in EWR mid afternoon, and then either crash in hotel near EWR or if I am awake start driving home. The hotel we have booked will allow us to cancel up until 6pm (11pm UK time). So we have flexibility.

We leave for Los Angeles and then on to Hawaii on Wednesday Oct 26th.

Visiting Prince William at Buckingham Palace and Leaving Settle

We left Settle, UK a couple of days early than we originally planned because we received invitations to Buckingham place to meet Prince William. Although we knew about this over a year in advance, my invitation was not guaranteed. My invitation only came about a month ahead of time. We received the invitations because of Kate’s involvement in the Kennedy trust. The Kennedy trust is an organization setup by the British people after the death of President John F Kennedy. I feel lucky just to have gotten an invite as the were very limited spots.

Rainbow over the Carlisle Settle railway at the Settle Station on our way to leeds to get a rental car.

First about Max. Max went to the vet on Wednesday. He needed to get check up and a “fit to fly letter”. He passed with flying colors and did not need to get violated. He will need another fit to fly letter when arrive back in the States so can fly to Hawaii. While at the Vet in Settle we also picked up some “Milk Protein” capsules that are supposed to help keep him calm. It is supposed to work like a warm glass of milk. We also bought a scented spray (that is quite vile) to spray in his carrier. We tried both for our trip down to London, and boy does that spray stink. However it all seemed to work quite well he was very quiet on the trip down from London (5 hour car ride).

Getting Ready to go to Buckingham Palace.

We checked in the Novatel in Hammersmith, about 15-20 mins from the Palace. Kate got us upgraded because she told the front desk staff that we were going to the Palace to visit the Prince. The locals know that the palace is closed this time of year and it only open for invited guests. We got ready and put on our finest clothes to go meet the Prince.

Originally it was going to be the Queen and not prince William, but it seems as though the prince is taking over some of her work load. We set off to the Palace. There were strict rules about having our entry passes, and a special pass to allow the black Cab into the Palace yard. We saw a line of black cabs out front of the hotel and thought it would be easy. When we got there, they were all off duty and empty. We went to front desk to call a black cab an it was going to take 10 mins. 15 mins later the cab had not shown up but luckily we saw a random black cab driver pass by, so we took his cab and left the other one to wonder what happened to us. We were now a bit late, although if traffic cooperated we would still make it before the Prince arrived. The traffic did not cooperate. It is disheartening to see people walking faster than the cab. We eventually arrived in front of the palace, and they removed the barriers to let us on the road in front of the palace, and then to front gate. At the front gate (as far as most people can get) the Taxi driver was asked to leave the cab, and the cab was searched. They checked under the bonnet (hood), they searched the boot (trunk). They used mirrors to look under the car. We had to show ID and our special purple passes. It was quite thorough but very efficient. After we were all cleared we drove into the Palace, past the the Queen’s guards. We were dropped off at the front The entrance to Buckingham Palace entrance. There were lots of “attendents” to make sure we did not wonder off. We had to leave our phones and other accessories behind. The reception was in the Picture Gallery (part of the normal summer time tour). It has some very nice art work. All of the corridors were nicely decorated. We got to see parts of the palace that the public never gets to see.

The opposite photo that most people . Most people take the photo from the other side of the fence.

The reception was nice. The canapés and hor dourves were all unique and delicious. They also had real Champagne and it was free flowing. Sadly the prince had limited time and we did not actually get chat with him, but he walked right past us. He was getting escorted around the room. I have to say, I was quite impressed with him. I believe he will be good King. I think that he will continue to transform the Crown to be for the people of the United Kingdom. He is very humble, down to earth, and a big heart. I think he has a lot of his mom in him. He gave a nice speech on behalf of his grandma (his words not mine) and then took his leave to go home to be with Kate and the kids. His Kate, not mine. However, some reports suggest that Kate (my Kate) had one too many glasses of Champagne. This of course was not her first time having a bit too much

In the courtyard of Buckingham Palace, withe Palace's front doors behind us. — In the courtyard of Buckingham Palace, wit the Palace’s front doors behind us.

champagne at Buckingham Palace in the presence of royalty. She has also met the Queen. Just kidding about Kate having too much Champagne, but this was real, proper Champagne and it was quite nice and even the best of us could have easily gotten out of hand. There was no attempt at rationing it.

It was an experience of a lifetime. It was a bit overwhelming. There was a lot to take in. We are now in London at a nicely priced Air BnB place a couple of blocks from Kate’s parents. Max is doing fine, in his third new place this week. He seems to adapt quicker and quicker each time. He seems to figure it all out very quickly. We do wonder what his two brain cells (the left one and the right one) think about it all. Through it all he is the same old energetic, lovable Max, that still likes to get up at 4am regardless of where he is in the world.

The exit from the courtyard to the area in front of the palace that most people see.

Kate, Max and Mike after Buckingham Palace. Maybe I am the one that had too much Champagne.

Amsterdam Via Ferry

We recently headed over to Amsterdam. The city of tulips, canals, dykes, windmills, weed, and prostitutes. We took an overnight ferry from New Castle to the port city of Ijumuiden and then a bus into the heart of Amsterdam in the Canal district.

We took a 3-4 hour train ride over to Newcastle. Which is always pretty relaxing.

The Ferry ride over was quite pleasant. It was a fifteen hour journey. We had a simple cabin with an ensuite bathroom and shower on DFDS ferry. We were able to experience both of their ships. It was like a mini cruise almost. There was live entertainment. The restaurants and service were great. We had dinner and breakfast on board and a few cocktails. It was quite civilized way to travel. It was cheaper than flying and no hassle at the airport. In the future I would consider adding and overnight ferry again to a trip.

Windmills off the coast of the Netherlands.

The city was pretty amazing. The canals made the city feel less dense. We did not part take in any of the debauchery that goes on but we did walk through the red light district. The highlight was visiting the Van Gogh museum. Thankfully we got there before it got busy and the queue (line) spilled out the door. We were able to enjoy about half of the museum in relative peace and quiet.

The Waag – Part of the Original city wall and defense

On the way back into the UK, we were stopped for the second time entering the UK and they really put through the paces. Something that we are saying is raising a red flag. On the way back from Athens and now Amsterdam we were really put through the paces. We were not prepared for it. Seems like it would be a good idea to travel with all of my bank statement and copies of my entire journey. Both times the Border Force Agent took extensive notes as to what I was telling her. Although I was let in, it left us with an uneasy feeling. In the future I will be traveling with more documentation. We think it is combination of the duration of my stay, the fact that I am associated with UK national and have no legal status in the country. Seems as though it raises a red flag about whether I will leave or not. It might also have been an issue, that as we got off the boat in the Netherlands, they were not checking passports. They started just after me. There was no record of me leaving. Port security, Immigration and customs was pretty light compared to an airport.

Central Station – The main train station in central Amsterdam

Typical Canal Street. Notice the building are not quite straight.

Skipton

We recently visited the town of Skipton, UK. It is the largest major town in the area we are staying. In other words it is the closest McDonalds to us. It is about at $25 cab ride each way or about $10 round trip on the train. There are about eight or nine trains per day and about the same number of busses in each direction. Having good public transportation is a very odd thing for having grown up in the USA. Right now we are solely relying on it. We are about 2-3 mins from the bus stop and about 4-5 mins to train station. The station is part of the pretty famous, historic Settle to Carlisle rail, with Settle, UK being where we are located.

Settle Station Up (to Leeds) platform. Tuesday 18th December 2007 — Settle Station

And there is a bridge that connects the North and South bound platforms.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA — Settle Pedestrian Bridge

The Settle Carlisle Rail iwas an engineering marvel in its day including the Ribblehead viaduct locate in Ribblehead, UK.

While in Skipton is a very cute and quaint town. We walked around the Skipton castle. The wind is pretty strong in this part of the country and on top of the viaduct it has been known to stop steam locomotives.

https://youtu.be/P3da6__UB4A

We explored the Leeds to Liverpool Canal system that was very important like the Erie canal was in Central New York. The canal has many old features including a manually operated “draw bridge” that is manually operated by the passengers on the canal boats.

It was quite fascinating to watch many boats pass through the through the bridges. The “narrow boats” as they are called are able to be rented (hired) by the day or by the week for a vacation (holiday).

On a separate trip to Skipton we stayed overnight there, because there was no train back to settle after we had Dinner in Leeds. We decided to walk back from Skipton to Long Preston and then catch the bus back to Settle. It was a long day, and we got to Long Preston just before it really started to pour. It was a 14 mile walk across beautiful Yorkshire countryside. We wandered through a few very small towns along the way.