Kennewick, Washington

      Sophia's next contract is with Trios Hospital in Kennewick, Washington because they were opening a new hospital and needed to staff both labs.  Kennewick is one of three cities (Pasco and Richland are the other two)called the Tri-Cities.  Located in the Yakima valley at the confluence of the Columbia, Snake and Yakima rivers, Kennewick lies on the western shore of the Columbia River.  The city is a large community of around 75,000 people.  We arrive in Kennewick in May, 2014 and the city is very reminiscent of Lubbock, Texas where I grew up.  It is rather flat except for a few hills and of course the Columbia river which is nothing like Lubbock.  In May it had started to get hot, especially after what we had seen in Portland. 

      Arriving in Kennewick we were put up in the Days Inn in one of their long term stay rooms until we could get more permanent accommodations.  The room had only one cup, a couple of plates and virtually no silverware or cooking utensils.  We called the desk for more utensils and dishes but were told that they had been taken and there was no more.  We had not received our packages we had shipped from Oahu yet so we worked toward getting a new place.  The problem was there were apartments available until June 6 in the Kennewick area.  We told the company that this was not good as we did not have very good accommodations at the Days Inn.  They then asked if we would like a two bedroom, two bath apartment instead.  It was large, clean and close to the hospitals.  We took it and they had the apartment stocked with furniture, dishes and cooking utensils.  I pick up the packages we sent from Oahu and unpack.  We have a lot of apartment for just the two of us, but it is a pleasure after our little place on North Shore. We were settled within a week of arriving. 

    

Columbia River Gorge

     We make it to the mainland arriving in Portland, Oregon.  We are provided a Ford Edge by the company with whom Sophia has her new contract which turns out to be a very nice small SUV.  We strike out to tour the Columbia River Gorge first thing.  The scenic tour starts in Troutdale, Oregon and winds it way above the Interstate 84 along the north bank of the Columbia River.  This is one of the most beautiful drives as it was the old original highway. Waterfalls, hiking trails, overlooks, Vista Pointe, Crown Point are sights to see along the route and culminates with the beautiful, magnificent Multnomah Falls.  It is a beautiful drive and we continue to head east not knowing what to expect with our next home.

 

 

Leaving Hawaii

     Sophia and I had been in Hawaii 10 years and leaving the islands was difficult physically and emotionally.  We had a great time on the North Shore of Oahu but felt isolated up there and our excursions into Mililani and Honolulu were all day events due to traffic.  The area was beautiful and we took advantage of the beaches.  That is until we almost got swept onto the rocks on Sunset Beach.  That scared us so much we did not venture out too much after that.  Moving from Hilo to Oahu had the advantage of loading up the car and taking a lot of belongings.  Moving to the mainland did not allow us to take with us anything more than what we were allowed on the plane.  Hawaiian Airlines makes a lot of money off of baggage fees so our options were limited.  We packed everything up and checked on prices to ship. The postal service looked to be the cheapest and the most convenient.  If we shipped it UPS we would have had to tae it downtown Honolulu and as we said that is a one day trip.  We had to leave our swimming noodles which was the biggest loss as it represented our beach trips.  We packed up the car with the boxes containing our computer printer, kitchen supplies, clothes, toiletries, everything that was heavy or could not fit (or get past TSA, they took my honey mustard for Nicholas in Hilo) in our luggage.  It amounted to one large bin and six heavy boxes.  We went to the Post office in Laia as the one in Kahuku has no parking and required carrying all the packages across a muddy field.  It was 1:00 pm and it was already closed for the day.  We went further down the road and ended up getting to a Post office around Kailua.  Panic was already settling in and continued for the next two days.  We shipped the packages, which they were surprised to see and ended up costing way more than their website calculator had quoted.  They were gone though and that was some relief. 
     The next day was our departure date and we had it all planned out.  We needed to drop off the car for shipping to the mainland and then take a cab to the airport for a 2:00 pm departure.  We left early in the morning allowing a good 6 hours to get this accomplished.  Traffic into the port was very light which surprised us and we arrived at the shipping dock within an hour.  We turned in the car and they went to check on the car.  The shipping agent came back in and said we had too much gas in the car.  We needed to have less than a quarter of a tank and the indicator said we had a half tank.  Usually the gas indicator drops quickly the last half a tank but this time it had not moved from us leaving the North Shore.  They suggested we run the engine for a while, which I did.  The indicator would not budge, so I picked up Sophia to drive around some and use up the gas quickly.  We checked about having someone syphon the gas out, or having some removed but could not find anyone or a container to do this. Why is it they steal our gas in Hilo and we cannot find anyone to take some of ours in the port part of town?  We drove around and around the Waikiki area, revved the engine and bought some sandwiches for our lunch because it was getting later and later.  It still was not going down and we were panicking.  We returned to the shippers and it was already after12 noon.  The agent came out, checked the gas gauge and said it was good.  Sophia called the cab and we unloaded the luggage to be picked up.  Charlie's Taxi, who had been very dependable, said it would be ten minutes.  Sophia waited and watched the cab pass the entrance.  She called again and they said it would be right there.  Well it turns out he went to the wrong pier and it was almost 1 before he got it all straightened out. We were beyond panic now. 
     The airport is not far from the pier and we got to the airport quickly but the driver heard about it all the way there.  Now we had to deal with checking in the bags and getting our tickets as we had shipped the computer printer the day before.  We had carefully weighed the boxes we shipped and the bags we were taking.  Sure enough one of the bags was overweight.  Hawaiian's scales must be off because we have encountered this many times including one time when Air New Zealand had one weight and Hawaiian had a higher weight for the same untouched bag.  Sophia began arguing about this but time was running out and we still had to get through security.  We got the bags repacked, checked in and into Ag and security checkpoint.  Sophia had pre approved security check in but I did not so she got in line but I had to go to another line.  It was agonizing as the time kept slipping by and there was very slow movement of the line.  I got through security with only a hand swipe instead of my usual grope that I enjoy due to my hip replacement.  We were at Gate 56 and looked at our boarding passes to see what gate we left from as they don't put that on the confirmations but do on the boarding passes.  It was Gate 24.  We took off walking as fast as we could as we had about 15 minutes until the plane departs.  We still had to go through the Ag checkpoint and that was a slight bump in our progress and headed off toward the mainland flights.  Luck at this point started to work in our favor.  Gate 24 was one of the first gates in the mainland flights building so we were able to arrive at the gate before the 2:00 pm departure.  We then stood in line to see if we could get two seats together because Sophia's ticket was purchased separate from mine.  We were given two excellent seats together.  We also found out the flight was delayed an hour.  This was great news.  We had a chance to get all of our carry on luggage rearranged, eat our sandwiches we bought trying to burn up gas and finally relax.  The plane trip was very nice and we arrived in Portland late, tired and totally spent but knowing that we had a good story about our leaving Hawaii.  An experience is not a great experience unless you get a good story out of it.

North Shore, Oahu

Sophia and I have started our adventure moving to the North Shore area of the Island of Oahu.  Sophia has finished her first week as a traveling Laboratory Specialist (Med Tech in the older vernacular)at Kuhuku Medical Center.  Kuhuku Medical Center is a small (28 bed) Hospital located "out in the country" on the island of Oahu (Honolulu is located on the south side of the island).  She works three days and off four but the three days she works she stays at the hospital.  The four days together we will be able to explore the island and the beaches.  That is the beauty of living up here on the North Shore.  The North Shore is famous for its beaches and huge waves during the winter months.  We live on a hill above one of the most famous beaches in the world, "Pipeline".  Beautiful place, quiet and a great place to start our sojourn.

Changes coming on!

I am going to retire in February.  Sophia is going to become a Traveling Med-Tech so we will be traveling all over the United States spending 3-4 months in each location.  I will be doing reviews of cities, restaurants, attractions, activities wherever we go.  Look forward to this site.

"What else can I be" returned Scrooge, "when I live in such a world of fools as this? Merry Christmas! Out upon merry Christmas! What's Christmas time to you but a time for paying bills without money; a time for finding yourself a year older and not an hour richer; a time for balancing your books and having every item in 'em through a round dozen of months presented dead against you? If I could work my will," said Scrooge, indignantly, "every idiot who goes about with "Merry Christmas," on his lips, should be boiled with his own pudding, and buried with a stake of holly through his heart. He should!"
"Uncle" pleaded Scrooge's nephew (Bob Cratchit)
"There are many things from which I might have derived good, by which I have not profited, I dare say," returned the nephew. "Christmas among the rest. But I am sure I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round- apart from the veneration due to its sacred name and origin, if anything belonging to it can be apart from that- as a good time: a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time: the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open up their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys. And therefore, uncle, though it has never put a scrap of gold or silver in my pocket, I believe it has done me good, and will do me good:and I say, God bless it"
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Paraprosdokian sentences

Paraprosdokian sentences
A "paraprosdokian" is a figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected in a way that causes the reader or listener to reframe or reinterpret the first part. It is frequently used for humorous or dramatic effect.
1.)Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.
2.)I want to die peacefully in my sleep, like my grandfather. Not screaming and yelling like the passengers in his car.
3.)The last thing I want to do is hurt you. But it's still on the list.
4.)Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.
5.)If I agreed with you, we'd both be wrong.
6.)We never really grow up; we only learn how to act in public.
7.)War does not determine who is right -- only who is left.
8.)Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
9.)The early bird might get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.
10.)Evening news is where they begin with "Good evening," and then proceed to tell you why it isn't.
11.)To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism. To steal from many is research.
12.)A bus station is where a bus stops. A train station is where a train stops. My desk is a work station.
13.)How is it one careless match can start a forest fire, but it takes a whole box to start a campfire?
14.)Dolphins are so smart that within a few weeks of captivity, they can train people to stand on the very edge of the pool and throw them fish.
15.)I thought I wanted a career; turns out I just wanted pay checks.
16.)A bank is a place that will lend you money if you can prove that you don't need it.
17.)Whenever I fill out an application, in the part that says "If an emergency, notify:" I put "DOCTOR."
18.)I didn't say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you.
19.)Why does someone believe you when you say there are four billion stars, but check when you say the paint is wet?
20.)Why do Americans choose from just two people to run for president and 50 for Miss America?
21.)Behind every successful man is his woman. Behind the fall of a successful man is usually another woman.
22.)A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.
23.)You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice.
24.)The voices in my head may not be real, but they have some good ideas!
25.)Always borrow money from a pessimist. He won't expect it back.
26.)A diplomat is someone who can tell you to go to hell in such a way that you will look forward to the trip.
27.)Hospitality: making your guests feel like they're at home, even if you wish they were.
28.)Money can't buy happiness, but it sure makes misery easier to live with.
29.)I discovered I scream the same way whether I'm about to be devoured by a great white shark or if a piece of seaweed touches my foot.
30.)Some cause happiness wherever they go. Others whenever they go.
31.)There's a fine line between cuddling and holding someone down so they can't get away.
32.)I used to be indecisive. Now I'm not sure.
33.)When tempted to fight fire with fire, remember that the Fire Department usually uses water.
34.)You're never too old to learn something stupid.
35.)Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.
36.)A bus is a vehicle that runs twice as fast when you are after it as when you are in it.
37.)If you are supposed to learn from your mistakes, why do some people have more than one child?
38.)Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.