Halloween Projects

I know I end every Halloween saying I won't be doing anymore Halloween projects for the yard but the reality is that every summer people start posting their projects and I can't help but get inspired. This year it was a vomiting skeleton. It's a quick project and I thought about a place to store it so I started in early September by looking on Facebook Marketplace for an oil drum. I was surprised at the selection available. I managed to find one that had never held liquids which just seemed easier than trying to to clean one out. A quick coat of black paint and some spray phone insulation and it was ready for green paint. Rust-Oleum has a glow in the dark green spray paint that was perfect. The next step was to find a skeleton. I had always planned on using a glow in the dark skeleton but it was initially sold out at Home Depot so I settled for one that was more realistic to the point of looking 'juicy'. At the last minute I found one at Canadian tire. Coupled with the one I had bought before this project, I added three more to the décor. I originally hooked up the water pump but I couldn't get the water to glow like I wanted so for now he's not a fountain.

The pumpkin patch is not quite the event that it was when the kids were younger. We still like Aldor Acres but things get busy and instead we end up at Port Kells which is a nursery just down the road. For what it is, it's enough of an experience that we can call it a pumpkin patch even though all the pumpkins are trucked in from other areas of their property. For some reason this year most of the pumpkins were quite green. I think the weather was wetter at key times so they didn't quite develop as nicely. carter decided to go with some big white ones which turned out really well. 

The yard decorations came together at the last minute. Some of my decorations aren't really designed for the rain so if the weather isn't looking good, I set up what I can the weekend before and then everything else comes out at the last minute. I think I need to start booking the entirety of Halloween off as it's on the verge of taking more than a day to set up. This year I'm serious when I say I'm not doing any more projects. (This is already not true.) What I've decided instead is that I'll start to improve on some of the items I have, starting with the pathway lights. I'll make some that are good year round that I can turn Halloween plus some stakes with bats to keep kids off the lawn. 

Thanksgiving Distress

This year we decided we would take a quick trip up to Oliver for Thanksgiving as we hadn't been able to visit for as long as the family wanted during the summer due to all the travel. Things started off a bit rocky with Oliver having some bowel distress the days before we left. He seemed okay and it was just a single event so we left on the Saturday afternoon. We had to leave later than normal as Carter had a basketball game in the morning on Saturday. Things quickly turned for Oliver when we got there as he seemed to be in a lot of pain. Kerry considered driving home that night but the roads weren't great and she decided to head to Kelowna instead.

It turned out to be a good thing that we went to Oliver as we got a new vet opinion on him. The emergency vet was incredibly helpful and did some of the testing including an ultrasound for a low fee as compared to what we pay in the lower mainland. She eased our fears on what to expect long term for Oliver and he's been fairly symptom free since that visit. We managed to salvage Thanksgiving including a quick picnic at Hester Creek. The weather was still very warm so we got to sit outside. 

PNE 2024

This year Carter was old enough to apply to work at the PNE at the end of August. He surprised us by doing the application on his own without any prompting from us. He was short listed and after a quick teams interview followed by an on site trial for a corporate event he was hired. He managed to get the position he was most interested in which was games attendant. The commute was a bit of work for Kerry and I as we took turns picking up and dropping him off with some help from one of his friends parents who was also working there. The only bad commute was when a dump truck overturned on Highway 1 and it took me four hours to get home.

He seemed to enjoy the experience though I don't think he actually had a chance to interact with anyone. He would show up each shift 30 minutes early, get assigned a different game and then he was on his own. Each shift was about 8 hours total. There were no complaints as far as we know and he managed Callie and I nicely when we went to visit him one evening. Callie and I also checked out the super dogs when we were there. This time they were in the old horse show building and not the Coliseum. I think the reason was that this year they needed the Coliseum for the evening shows as they are redoing the outdoor theatre which should be done by next year. 

Kauai 2024 - Day 7 - Beaches

Today was our last full day in Kauai so this is likely the last blog post for our trip unless something interesting happens tomorrow. We headed south as Carter wanted to check out the beach with the turtles again and we've discovered that the most cost effective location for macadamia related products is Costco. There were no turtles at the beach today but the weather was great and Kerry and Carter tried snorkeling as we had some equipment available with our condo. This isn't a great spot for snorkeling since the interesting locations are outside the reef and the life guards had to use the loud speaker to warn snorkelers to stay inside the bay every 15 minutes.

After the beach we stopped in at Kauai Coffee again so that Callie could get some crushed pennies. After that we stopped in at a local pie shop. It wasn't in a great location so I don't think they as much foot traffic as some of the other shopping areas so I found my piece of Island Lime a bit stale. Callie and Kerry really like their coconut cream pie and Carter enjoyed his mango. There are a ton of local shops on this island and it would take a while to visit and rate them all. 

We made our way back to Costco where we finally found what we thought would be easy to find. An egg. At first the theory was that it was just someone's egg they bought at Costco but it was a bit small and dirty. Most chickens lay eggs daily but we're not sure what happens when they suddenly become wild chickens. Do they still lay daily? Are all the eggs fertilized with all the roosters around? More research required. 

We really enjoyed our trip to Kauai, even with all the roosters and chickens waking us up every morning. The weather was very unpredictable but didn't stop us from doing anything. Even when it rained it seemed to rain for less than 5 minutes at a time. The beaches were great, the shops and restaurants were great and I didn't run into any locals that wanted to beat me up. (Ever since watching Forgetting Sarah Marshal I live in fear of accidentally ending up on the turf of Hawaiian locals.) 

 

Kauai 2024 - Day 6 - Mud Hike

We had another hike on the agenda for today. For this one, the entrance was in a residential area and the local courtesy was to not arrive until after 8:00a. There was no official parking so you just had to find a spot that hadn't been marked as "No Parking" which meant the side of the road where the family had to crawl out the left hand side doors. There was no official entrance sign and there were actually several different spots where you could enter. In hind sight, the lack of direction has lead to several different paths through the jungle. If they made it an official trail they could probably control some of the damage.

The trail itself was for the most part not too challenging but there were a few things that made it tricky. The first issue was the mud. Being on the east side of the island vs the south, it gets more rain so instead of a dusty trail, you had a very muddy trail. The other issue was that as you got closer to the water fall there were some very steep parts that required you to hold on to tree roots and effectively climb down to the waterfall.  I think if this had been an officially supported trail, someone would have put in some stairs or even a ladder. The falls were great though we knew not to swim in them as up stream are several septic systems.

Once we made our way out, our shoes were all thrown into a plastic bag as I don't think we'll get our deposit back on the Jeep if we get too much of this mud on the seats and floor. We stopped in quickly at a local McDonalds to get a coffee and use the bathroom before driving to another waterfall. This one was not a hike at all but still had it's challenges. You drove to the top of the canyon and had to just park on the side of the road which meant the road ended up being one way, making it alternatively difficult to get in and out. This waterfall was definitely worth it though. 

We made one last stop at a newer shopping mall that didn't have quite the personality that the older shopping malls have. Cramped conditions seem more authentic regardless of where you go. We went back to the condo where Kerry enjoyed cleaning our clothes and shoes of the mud. Carter's white shoes were of course the biggest challenge. She was successful and we are forever grateful. For the evening Callie signed up for a yoga class and on our way to pick her up for dinner we managed to pull over to a spot that we pass every day to take some pictures of the valley and ocean. 

As great as the views of the mountains are I'm noticing for the first time how social media impacts your perception of a place. Everything is beautifully green here but seems slightly dull. I'm realizing now that it's because people enhance their pictures with filters when they post, making the greens greener. I'll have to avoid looking at too many pictures in advance of our future trips. Dinner was at a local restaurant called Kalypso. There was a chicken in the rafters above the table next to us. Food was very good and it was packed. 

Kauai 2024 - Day 5 - Farmer's Markets

It's Saturday and we'd seen several advertisements for Farmer's Markets so that was the plan for the day. The first one was in Princeville where our condo is. I'm still not entirely sure what Princeville actually is. I think it's kind of like "The Villages" in Florida where it's just a number of individual condo associations. There is a small shopping area a few minutes from us but other than that there doesn't appear to be any organized town center. The first market was our favorite and we got lucky with parking. Kerry picked up some gifts for people back home and Carter found Mango Granny as he calls her and got a good deal on three Mangos.

The second market was picturesque as we were walking up to it as it was near the base of some mountains but the market itself wasn't quite as nice. The parking log area was a bit muddy and it didn't have as many stalls. Callie did manage to get one of her bucket list items for the trip, a drink in a coconut. She brought the coconut back to the condo and frightened us when she started trying to use a knife to open it up to get some fresh coconut. She solved her own problem though by taking it out to the deck and smashing it on the concrete. Not sure what she's going to do with it but it was safer than the knife.

Once we were done with the markets our destination was the local ABC store. We've been to Maui twice and the big island twice and each time we find an ABC store to get souvenirs. This one was very clean but almost too nice. I think they've standardized the items they have because everything was generic Hawaii and nothing was Kauai specific. We picked up some chocolate macadamia related items and I started a new collection of mint tins since spoons don't seem to be a collectable anymore. Kerry didn't find a Kauai shot glass so we'll have to continue to search for that.

It was lunch time and we intended to check out a local food truck lot we had seen from the road but Kauai has some funny hours for stores. The place we went kayaking was closed on Saturday's and it seems most of the food trucks were as well. I can't find anything online that explains this but I think it's mainly just a lack of employees. The island only has 75,000 permanent residents and there are lots of signs saying they are short staffed so Saturday/Sunday are days off. Carter and I found food at Chicken in a Barrel and Kerry and Callie did manage to find a Thai food truck that was still open.

Another site on the Kauai list was the Kilauea Light House. We found it okay but we weren't able to get very close. It's part of some sort of nature reserve and you can go in but you need reservations in advance. There was a sign indicating cell service is bad in the area so it would have taken some time to go back out and get our reservations in place. We might go back later because it looked like a nice little walk out to the light house and I'd like to see what the nature reserve is all about. 

We went back to our condo for dinner and then headed out again to the Hanalei pier to try to watch the sunset. Based on where it appeared the sun was setting it would have been a great vantage point. It would have set right between the two mountains that line the bay. Unfortunately it was cloudy out with more random bouts of rain. We got to see a bit of light coming through the clouds but it wasn't a full Hawaii sunset. The weather forecast isn't looking good for the remaining days so I don't think we'll see one unless we get a break in the clouds. 

Kauai 2024 - Day 4 - Inland Kayaking

Today's adventure was inland kayaking. There is a place just a few minutes from our condo that offers kayaking on a local river and they have their own little channel that provides direct access. The original plan was for us to get two doubles but Carter and I were both a bit worried about the other and felt there was a high chance of capsizing so we decided to get our own singles. We didn't really need to worry though as the kayak's were very stable and they have a dock that allows for you to easily get in. Kerry and Callie didn't have any problems in their double. I was glad I got a single though as it allowed me to explore a few spots that would have been hard in a double.

When you first go out of the channel and into the main part of the river it feels like there is a lot of current but I think it was an illusion. If you stopped paddling it would take several seconds before you started going in the opposite direction and on our way back it felt almost the same as when we paddled out. I think the wind had more of an impact. The scenery was nice, though I was expecting more from the wildlife refuge and had hoped we'd be able to get out of the kayak. You just paddle up river till you hit a red pipe and then you turn around. I'm still glad we did it. It was a good couple of hours of exercise.

On our way back from paddling we stopped for fish & chips and fish tacos and then went to Hanalei Pier. It's a beautiful beach surrounded by mountains and there is a pier that juts out where you can jump off. The water is fairly shallow as Carter indicated he could touch almost all the way to the end of the pier. I went back to the Jeep for a short nap and was awoken to rain coming in the windows. It quickly became an absolute down pour with the rest of the family getting soaked on their way back. The rain in Kauai comes on sudden but ends just as quickly. You need to get to cover fast when it does.

When we got back to our hotel the family of chickens was back and we caved and decided to feed them. They aren't natural inhabitants anyways and it's obvious they get fed by some of the units. We had some stale bread which they loved and it was fun watching the mama chicken break the big pieces up and let her kids eat first. It was only when they got bored that she would eat anything herself. When the babies were done they took a break underneath her. The roosters are not as kind and are quite greedy so we're trying not to feed them.