Never say Never

We have only three days remaining of our month at RiverBend RV Resort. We have enjoyed a lovely winter respite here, near Fort Myers, FL. The resort is small enough that I am beginning to recognize people and remember some of their names! I play pickleball and Mr. Dreamy has played with RC cars at the race track. I sew with friends at "The Nature Center" (no one knows why it is called that) where I rented a storage space and can conveniently stash all of my sewing gear. Mr Dreamy and I have even become hooked on Bocce. We ride our bikes all over the place. The resort has pizza night, and burger night, and an incredible seafood lunch every other week. They have music events, and movies, and BUNCO and BINGO. What's not to like?
Early on, we Dreamers would comment about some of the pretty lots (all are privately owned. Many have beautiful landscaping). We would talk about about how nice it would be to own a lot.... but not for us. It would be too impractical to live in Colorado and drive so far for winter stays. The lots are expensive. The HOA fees add up. There are taxes to pay, costs while you stay (all of those pizza dinners add up!!) and it just wouldn't work. Would it???

Well, certainly not. 

Not if we only came here one or two months of the year. It would be far cheaper to rent.

Well, certainly not. 

Not only would we pay taxes in Colorado, but we'd have to pay taxes here.

Well, certainly not.

We surely could find something like this closer to home.

Well, certainly not.

We'd be too far from our kids.

But....

We like it here!

But....

What if THIS became our "home"?

• There is no State income tax in Florida. 
• The difference in the personal property tax on our motorhome alone would pay most of the HOA fees at the resort.
• The Fort Myers airport is 38 minutes away. The Miami airport is one hour and 16 minutes away. 
• We were preparing to move out of Colorado anyway, as Mr. Dreamy has been having difficulties breathing at high altitudes. Now we can live in Florida and explore our beautiful country to determine where we want to establish a home base. 

Today we are putting in a bid on one of the lots. If that one doesn't work, there are others we like. We have reservations at another RV resort until March 10, and we are going to an RV Rally at Lake Okeechobee beginning on April 2. We were wondering what we should do between those dates. Perhaps we will be enjoying time on our own little piece of Florida swampland as we do all of the things we need to do to establish Florida residency.

Interesting times ahead!

Raise the Roof

If you don't own a Tiffin motorhome then you might not understand "Red Bay". Red Bay is Tiffin's service center. They accommodate many RV's and conduct repairs of all sorts in their 50+ service bays. Mr. Dreamy feels that if something needs to be done, we are better off heading to Red Bay where there are warehouses of parts, technicians that work on nothing but Tiffin motorhomes, and engineers just down the road at the factory.

Generally when one arrives at Red Bay you are assigned a number and you wait, sometimes 3 or more weeks, for your number to come up. So, it was quite a shock to arrive at Red Bay on the afternoon of Dec. 21 and to be in the service bay at 7 AM the next morning. Even more of a shock, we had 4 teams of technicians working on our motorhome. It seems that most people had given up and gone on to wherever it is they were going for Christmas, and there were more technician teams than there were motorhomes that needed to be serviced.

One team addressed an issue we had with the blinds on our passenger side window. 

A technician worked on caulking in our sink. 

Another team addressed issues we had with the cruise control.

And, one team raised the roof. 

Literally!

We had trouble with the bathroom door flying open as we motored down the road.

It turns out that there was a gap between the door and the wall.

A gap that got larger as you looked down the wall.

As we trundled down the road, bumps would cause the latch to disengage,

thus allowing the door to open and smash into the refrigerator.

The back wall had moved, or more likely, had never been in the right location.

The fix?

Jack the roof up, and push the wall forward!

The holes in the floor are where the wall had originally been anchored to the floor. 

The holes were covered by a piece of trim,

and now everything works wonderfully!

I Only Have Eyes For You

Elizabeth Scott Pride

Nathaniel Tru Bartholomaei

On the occasion of their 31st anniversary.

(Mr. Dreamy's mom and step-dad)

A Pearl of a Different Sort

We Dreamers visited Pearl Harbor while we were on Oahu. I didn't expect to be moved to the extent that I was. The entire day was haunting. The sound of airplanes and the rat-a-tat-tat strafing of gunfire surrounds visitors as they enter the visitor center, taking them on a swift trip back in time to that horrific day, December 7, 1941. I meandered through the center, catching snippets of videos, reading displays and trying to take in a bunch of information before viewing an excellent video setting the stage for our visit to the USS Arizona memorial. The Arizona took a hit to its magazine causing a massive explosion and rapidly sinking the battleship, killing over 1100 men. The ship was not salvageable so it remains as a memorial on the floor of the harbor. Visitors take a short boat ride out to the structure that was constructed over the sunken battleship. Parts of the ship can be seen from the memorial. A somber visit as one looks at the visible portions of the ship lurking just under the water, while standing in the shadow of a massive wall listing the names of those whose remains are interred in the ship. Oil from the ship rises to the surface of the water after all these years, making me think of tears. The droplets rise to the surface of the water and spread slowly in the ripples of the harbor, moving off to make way for another droplet. Drop after drop. Day after day. Year after year.

Oil slowly spreads across the water above the USS Arizona

I am glad that our tour included the USS Bowfin submarine and the related museum as well as the air museum where the airfield and buildings still bear witness to the attack.  A tour of the USS Missouri,  the site of the treaty signing that ended the war, ended our time travels.

Pearls

All over the Hawaiian islands we saw jewelry stores advertising pearl oysters. For only $15.95 you could select an oyster. It would be opened, and you would get the pearl. The oysters most likely come from China, and the origin of the pearl is debatable. It could be that the pearls are fresh water pearls that are inserted into the oyster, which closes as a result of a chemical, and is then preserved, or possibly they truly are cultured pearls from that oyster.

The ship had a pearl in the oyster deal as well. They had a nifty chart showing how cultured pearls are created. A round bead made from a mollusk shell is inserted into an oyster, along with a piece of mantle from another mollusk that stimulates the oyster to produce mother of pearl. This coats the bead and it grows in size with layer after layer of "pearl".

Mr. Dreamy found a Koa wood ring on the ship that he wanted to buy. Koa wood is an Hawaiian wood. The ship had a special deal. Oh... such a deal! If you bought a piece of jewelry above a certain price, then you could pick an oyster and get a pearl. Mr. Dreamy let me pick the oyster. We had to perform some mumbo-jumbo as part of the ritual of "birthing a pearl". Then, the oyster shell was opened.

The oyster was poked and prodded to give up its pearl. 

The pearl is rubbed in salt to clean it, and dried off.

My pearl was blue. I want to think it is special, but in reality, it probably was cultured by a fresh water oyster, influenced by some sort of chemical. But, that's OK. I like my blue pearl. 

So, what is one to do with a pearl? 

Well, buy a setting for it, naturally!

I chose a sea turtle pendant that encases the pearl.

And, since I bought a piece of jewelry over a certain price,

guess what?

I get to pick another oyster!!

This time I "birthed" twins.

I have always wanted pearl earrings....

(The pearls are stabilized after being drilled and glued on a post on the earrings.
The tape was removed the next day.)

And, since I bought a piece of jewelry over a certain price....

guess what?

I get to pick another oyster!!

This could go on all night! 

I did pick an oyster and birthed a pink pearl.

It is sitting in a little plastic bag.

Enough is enough, said Dreaming!

La La Lava

Our cruise took us to the "Big Island" (Hawaii) where we planned to take a helicopter ride to see the lava flowing from Kilauea. It was raining and our flight was cancelled. Flights later in the day were "iffy". So, we did the next best thing; we rented a car and drove up to Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. We stopped and had lunch on the rim of the volcano. This was the view from our table. The size of the caldera, the crater area that looks like a barren plain, is 2-3 miles in diameter. Inside the caldera is an active area called the lava lake.

This picture (borrowed from the Park Service site)

shows the lava lake from the Jaggar Museum.

To give you an idea of the size, the lava is spewing up 10 - 12 meters.

At some point in the future, the lava lake may look like this rippled lava found at the Craters of the Moon National Preserve in Idaho. We Dreamers stopped there on a trip in 2013, and unbelievably I never put up a post about the visit. 

The name of the park is apt. The scenery does look like something out of this world. It is estimated that lava last flowed here 2000 years ago. Whoa... it obviously takes a long time for vegetation to get going again. 

Both sites had a lot of information about lava. Lava isn't all the same. The form it takes is determined by what the magma, the molten lava, is doing and how it is cooled. Here are just a few examples:

Spatter

Molten lava that cools when it is ejected.

It looks like bubbles.

Pele's Hair 

Pele is the fire goddess. She is the creator of fire, lightning, wind and volcanoes.

Fine strands of glass that are created when lava is thrown into the air

Pele's Tears

Small droplets of lava

Cinders

Frothy pieces of lava rock

As lava flows the top begins to cool and ripples solidify.

A lava tube forms as the exterior solidifies and the interior continues to flow.

One the tube is formed, lava from later eruptions may find its way through the tube. The line on the wall of the tube shows the height of a later flow.

Kilauea's lava erupted from a vent in May, 2016 and slowly made its way to the ocean, 16 miles away. The lava began to enter the ocean in late July. Lava tubes have formed in some areas and molten lava can be seen through "skylights", as seen here. 

Photo courtesy of atlantic.com "The Atlantic Photo" site

This is a shot I took with my cell phone as the cruise ship went by Kamokuna, showing the lava and the cloud of water vapor mixed with sulfur dioxide and hydrochloric acid. 

This photo from the Atlantic.com "The Atlantic Photo" site shows the lava coming over the cliff to the ocean as seen from a tour boat.

The lava has covered sections of the road that used to run along this side of the island. Visitors may hike to Kamokuna to see the lava fields, however we Dreamers didn't have the time. To be honest, we likely would not have had the energy to make the trek. The hike is almost 8 miles over rough lava each way. But, oh, to see it up close. It certainly would be truly awesome!

Another photo courtesy of atlantic.com "The Atlantic Photo" site

For more pictures and information about the volcano visit:

A Photo

National Park Service

Olé, Olé

While we were on our cruise around Hawaii we Dreamers attended a class on ribbon lei making. I was enamored with the ribbon lei* that many of the crew members wore, and enjoyed learning how to make the simplest version.

Lei were introduced to Hawaiians by early Polynesians, who adorned themselves with necklaces of flowers, seeds, shells or bones. The lei soon came to signify peace among opposing chiefs.With the advent of tourism, lei became a symbol of welcome. I received a flower lei as I boarded the ship. Each night the cabin steward would adorn the towel creation with my wilting lei.

The instructor of our class explained that lei are given to friends and are proffered for special occasions. She told a story about engaging fellow airplane passengers in making ribbon lei on a trip to the east coast to attend her daughter's graduation. Passengers round her helped and by the time she landed she had ribbon lei in school colors for all of the graduates.

This is the first lei that I made.

After learning how to make lei I decided I wanted to make more. When we docked in Hilo the next day we made a quick stop at a craft shop. I was amazed by the ribbon aisle. I'm used to seeing a variety of ribbons, usually on spools that are 3 to 4 inches in diameter. The craft stores at home have a long aisle of ribbons in great variety of widths, colors, fabrics and styles. This craft store had that aisle, then it had another with nothing but large spools of 3/8" grosgrain ribbon in many colors, all on 7" spools, each spool holding 100 yards of ribbon! I guess that says something about how popular ribbon lei are in Hawaii!

For the next few days, until we met the rest of the family, I experimented with making lei in different color combinations and with slight variations to how I folded the ribbon. I incorporated silver ribbon and a gauzy ribbon. By the time we caught up with the family, I had more than enough for everyone.

The ship also had classes in making lei using Kukui nuts. I didn't have the opportunity to take the class, but I purchased several different styles of nuts and shells. We Dreamers made a few lei with the nuts. Here the little one reluctantly wears a Kukui nut lei with her grass skirt.

Items made from Kukui nuts have spiritual significance. Kukia nuts are said to "enlighten" the wearer. The nuts from Hawaii's State tree, also called the candlenut tree, have dense oil that was once used for lamps. The original oil lights consisted of the Kukui nut meats themselves. A number of nut meats were pushed down on small wood spindle forming a candle. The top most nut would be lit afire. As the nut was slowly consumed by fire, the next nut would catch fire.

Samples of lei displayed on the ship

It is said that if you toss your lei in the water, you are guaranteed to return to the islands. This is the other grandmother's lei.

I didn't toss mine. When my lei had met its end I didn't think about the legend. Perhaps if one's lei is buried in a landfill in Hawaii, the same can be said?!

* There is no plural form of words in Hawaii. Therefore, "lei" could be singular or plural.