Aloha adventure - part 1

I got selected to go to the "Geothermal Rising" conference in Waikaloa, Hawaii this year and because it is such a large distance to travel, I went a few days early and stayed with Aunt Dawnie and Uncle Ben, who conveniently live only about 40 minutes drive from the conference venue!  I flew out on Wed Oct 23 and had low expectations for the journey itself, but this ended up being really nice actually, with a row to myself, a gorgeous view across Greenland, and then the discovery of a yoga room at SFO airport (near Gate D6).

 

Then once I landed in Kailua-Kona, I was picked up by Dawnie and Ben and had a blissful time with them at their peaceful sanctuary of a home in the hills above the northeast coast near Hawi.

I met their friend Hap and we went on a hike out to a beautiful cliff overlook of the beach.  It was an adventure just getting there since we went "the shortcut way" through some tall grass, climbing fences and going along an old track.

In fact, over the next couple of days I was treated to other fun moments, including swimming in the sea (unfortunately got stung by an urchin!), going out to dinner a couple of times, watching the Ironmen cycle around the midpoint of the Ironman triathlon (which happened to be this weekend), and riding up to Pololu point on the back of Hap's motorcycle!

I loved experiencing the "aloha spirit", and seeing people give each other the "hang loose" hand gesture in real life.  I totally savored this stretch of days with Dawn, Ben and Hap.  Then on Sunday afternoon they dropped me off at the Waikoloa Hilton hotel for the beginning of the conference that evening.

Tryfan turns 17

Can't believe that our baby boy is 17 today.  Yikes. And now he has his provisional "learner's license", which means that he is allowed to be behind the wheel of an automobile while he learns to drive.

He had a pretty good day by all accounts, with a skeet shooting session in the afternoon that Tryfs invited his friend Theo to join him on, and then for his birthday dinner tonight, we went to Pampa Argentine restaurant in Cuckfield and he brough Andy along.  

At a full 17 years of age, our boy is a engaging, chatty, easy-going, fun to be with, a little bit funny and random, and generally good value wherever he goes.  We like him.  He is a satisfactory son.  Happy birthday, Tryfs! 

Quiz night at the Club

Rachel and Johnny put on another quiz night tonight at the Club, and all three of us went along.  There were 6 people to a team, and Rhodri and I had Tim, Heather, Marc, and Mac on our team.  Trys was on the Denslow's team with Cormac and Mel.  It happened to be Tim's birthday today too, so that made it extra fun. We actually ended up winning!

New work area

 This photo has my two smiling colleagues (Jorge and Adeline) who have moved to the area to work with me, and we were able to get our own dedicated space in the office, which doesn't sound like much but it kind of is!  We have desks in a little pod area and our own giant whiteboard, and the desks go up and down so one can either stand or sit.  This is what Rhodri and I have at home, and it is really nice.  Now the three of us just have to agree what days we will come in together.  After the past couple of years where I have been based here working alone, its nice to have colleagues to talk with about work stuff.

Tent display

 Rhodri set up this Barents Tent on the back deck so that he could check that all the parts were there. Luckily, it was a beautiful day!

First commercial

 Our girl was featured on an advertisement for a nutritional granola bar.  This is new!

Rugby game

Today I actually got to see Tryfan play rugby, which was quite novel.  He played really well and their team won by quite a large margin.  

Denbie's vineyard

Today I went for a geology field trip (sort of) to the Denbie's Vineyard and estate.  This was organized by the London chapter of the geological society and it consisted of a lecture by a sort of famous guy in this circle of English wines and geology, followed by a movie, tasting and tour.  I was pretty impressed with this place actually and I'd like to come back one day with Rhodri and maybe other people.