Skyward -- Kauai

One more Kauai post after this one. I'm starting to get behind on other things. We got back from a little roadie to an awesome campground in the Cuyamaca mountains last week, so I have some photos from that and now we're leaving on another one in two days to the Santa Ynez Mountains. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining one little bit!


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Weekend Reflections -- The Lake

Reflections by other photographers at Weekend Reflections.

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"Real" Books versus E-Books - Part Two

Last January, I asked a question (and gave my answer) in a blog post about E-books vs. regular books. To see that post click here.

"What's the difference between Border's and Tower Records? The answer is simple, Tower Records is history! The big box book stores are soon to follow. There is simply no need for them anymore."

In 2010, Borders closed 30% of their stores. Yesterday, they filed for bankruptcy and announced plans to close all stores by September.  It would seem a valid assumption that Borders' primary competitor, Barnes and Noble would stand to greatly benefit from this news. Probably not!

Shortly before Borders announced the closing of 30% of their stores, Barnes and Noble was put up for sale. It's been almost a year and the sale has not even come close to taking place. I'm willing to bet that nobody is going to touch Barnes and Noble with a 10 foot pole.

Just one more nail in the coffin of our beloved hard copy books (unless you are willing to pay a premium). I suppose it could be said that we are already paying a premium.

What do you think about this?

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Poipu Beach -- Kauai

I'm trying to post this using an unsecured internet signal that isn't worth a darn. I hope I can get it finished before it goes away. We're at a camp ground on top of a mountain overlooking the Anza-Borrego Desert. Just about as different from the photos below as possible.
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If you look at any list of "The World's Best Beaches," Poipu Beach is sure to be on it. In some surveys it's rated as the best all around beach anywhere. It has two crescent shaped beachs separated by a small sandbar and protected by a barrier reef.  It was the most crowded place we saw on Kauai, but "crowded" is a relative term, because there really weren't very many people there. Somehow, I got there without my good camera and had to use my p&s. I think you can still see the beauty of the place.

View to the right

View to the left

View to the middle

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Derelict Japanese Cemetery - Kauai

Only a couple more posts from our trip to Kauai. In a couple of hours we'll be hitting the road again. This time not so far. We'll be RV camping (that may be an oxymoron) on top of a mountain about 100 miles from where we live. It's not nearly as scenic as Kauai, but I'm still hoping to get some good photos. I'm not sure if we'll have Internet or not.  In the meantime, here are some photos of an old abandoned Japanese cemetery. We found it off of another old dirt road in the area of the hidden glass beach.  A friend told us about both places. They aren't my best work, but I hope you'll find them interesting.

Looking back down the road that took us up to the cemetery.

Once again, we were reminded of the violent volcanic origins of Kauai.

Some of the grave stones were too buried in brush to get to.

We'll be trying to get some translations from my MIL.

Most of them seem to be from the 1800's

enlarge this one!

This one isn't Japanese, but the heart shaped tomb stone caught my eye.

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Koloa Town-- Kauai

Koloa was the town closest to where we stayed in Kauai. It's very small and there is really nothing new there. At one time a local sugar mill was the primary employer. These days, there is no sugar cane at all growing in the area and without tourists, the town would probably be gone. Of course, there are many chickens...

This is the main drag in Koloa. Almost all the businesses were on the other side of the street. I only posted this pic because I liked the tree.

Ditto for this tree. It's really pretty (enlarge to prove me right).

One of the few non-tourist related businesses in town is the Koloa Fish Market. It's been there for many years and is known as serving some of the best food in the entire state. No credit cards accepted and the doors close at 6:00 P.M.

Around the corner from the fish market, on a side street, was my favorite meal on the island. The Chalupas food truck served GREAT Mexican food. The owner, cook and only employee is a guy named Miguel. He's from Vera Cruz, Mexico, via Sacramento, California. Some day, he hopes to open his own restaurant on the island. Based on how delicious his food is, I hope his dream comes true. In case you were wondering, I know his name because most conversations I have with strangers, end up sounding like an interview.  He was a good guy and I hope he makes it big.

Here is the sugar mill that employed most of the folks around Koloa. We were surprised to find out that this town was first settled by Japanese. This sugar mill and a good portion of the island was owned (much still is) by the McBryde family. In another of the amazing coincidences that make up my life. The receptionist at our dentist is one of the great nieces of the man who owned it all.

The mill isn't open for tourists so we had to do some snooping around. I really wish I could have gotten onto the property. We saw three of these huge sugar mills (all wrecked) on different parts of the island.

enlarge this one to see the "gardener" behind the gate.

Savage Shrimp! Although we didn't eat there, this truck is also a long time famous place to eat. It may not look too good, but there are positive reviews all over the Internet.

Sorry, but I just had to include at least one more photo of our friend "Roosty." He was such a handsome boy!  Enlarge this one to fully enjoy his good looks...

I'll finish the Kauai posts up soon. We're going on a road trip this week, so new material is on it's way.

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Weekend Reflections -- Monterey Bay

enlarge for best viewing

Reflections by other photographers at Weekend Reflections.

Other Than The Fire, It Was A Great Day

The Fourth of July is always a very long day at our house...

It starts with a parade (and/or race) at 9:00 AM. We live on a double cul-de-sac street. Kids, who have decorated their bikes, scooters, etc., start in one cul-de-sac and go to the other. 

Waiting for the kids at the other end is a home-spun carnival. Several game areas are set up for them.

My sister-in-law (with the dual hats) and wife volunteered to do nail painting in patriotic colors.

My wife in action on one of our neighbors. Of course, most of you recognize my smiling granddaughter, because her photos have made more appearances on my blog than anybody else.  Love that girl!  The carnival goes on for a couple of hours.  Then it's time for...

The Water War!

The two cul-de-sacs battle it out. The far CDS fills up pickup trucks with with water (using tarps) for water cannons. They also fill up vehicles with scads of water balloons.

To get to our end, they have to run a gauntlet consisting of water hoses, showers of water balloons and even a water hydrant. When the war is over, everybody pitches in and picks up all the broken balloons.  Next on the day's agenda is...

Salud!

We always have a party at our house on that day. Not so big this year, but most years it is.

After the water fight, we start preparing food. I spent a good portion of the afternoon at the grill, cooking and possibly drinking an adult beverage or two (or twenty, who knows?). They didn't all involve tequila, I promise.  There doesn't seem to be any photos of the food. Pollo Asada, home made spanish fried rice, etc. My wife does most of the work, I just chop and grill.  Finally at 9:00, it was time for...

 Fireworks!

Because of where we live, home fireworks are illegal. There is a lake at the bottom of our hill and they put on a good show there. We have a great view from our back yard. I have more photos of them, but a), I won't bore you with them and b), they all suck as bad as this one does. I don't own a tripod and it was at the end of a long day.  This is where it started to get exciting...

As in six acres of brush fire exciting. This is the view from our back yard. They ended up evacuating some of the houses to be safe. The don't think the fire was caused by the show, but by some idiots ignoring the law. All in all, it was a great day! A long day, but still great.  I hope everyone reading this also had a great weekend (and holiday to those of you in the U.S.)

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Grass fire breaks out during fireworks show at Laguna Niguel Regional Park

Daily News Wire Services

Posted: 07/05/2011 08:25:05 AM PDT

Updated: 07/05/2011 08:28:49 AM PDT

LAGUNA NIGUEL - It took firefighters about an hour to put out a grass fire that broke out during a fireworks show at Laguna Niguel Regional Park and scorched six acres. Sheriff's deputies evacuated some 16 homes in the area because of Monday night's fire, said Orange County sheriff's Lt. Jerry Carlsen said. Residents returned to their homes about 10:35 p.m., he said. No structures were damaged.



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