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.

 

A very long lost friend

Today was long awaited, as we had Marcus and his wife Angela and son Oliver come over.  She is from the USA also, and Marcus used to work with Rhodri long long ago when Rhods was working on the Western Legend seismic ship back in the 1990s!

We had a brilliant afternoon and evening with them.

Ironing lessons

Today Tryfs had yet another ironing lesson ahead of going to a party tonight. It was sweet watching Rhodri show Tryfan the tricks.

Tryfs didn't look too excited about it but he will be glad to look back at some point.

Evvieee

 I went into London today and was able to see Evie in her new student housing over near Farringdon station.  It was sooo nice to see her. I felt closer to Rhiannon after having a little lunch catch up with Evie, and that was such a nice treat for this beautiful September day.

Rhods Birthday part 2

Today was the second part of Rhodri's birthday, but it started early with me going down to Seaford for the annual RNLI charity dip to raise money for the Life Guards of the south coast in the Seaford-Newhaven area.  A big storm was forecast to hit later in the day, and the sky was spectacular although the sea was really calm.  

In the middle of the afternoon, Heather and I each drove a carful of men to Middle Farm to enjoy the Cidery followed by some chocolate birthday cake.

We stayed until they kicked us out at 5:30 pm, and although the storm was threatening all day, we enjoyed sunshine and lovely afternoon temperatures for Rhodri's birthday.

Rhods' Birthday

Happy Birthday Rhods! 

Today we started the day with some presents in bed and then we joined the Perring family for a joint birthday dinner at Pampa in Cuckfield.

It was fun having a birthday to celebrate on a Friday.  And it was really fun to go out to this really delicious Argentine restaurant that is fairly close to us.

What a pair!

Look at this girl and her new car!  She is so stoked.  Apparently the car's name is Bartholomew ("Bart"), and I'm sure she is treating him really well.  May he keep her safe and sound when they are out together on the road, and be the vehicle on many adventures!  Welcome, Bart!

Tide Mills, back in the day

 Tide Mills is the name of the place that my friends and I go sea swimming on Saturdays during the winter months.  Of course, it is a lovely place to swim any time of year but we are hardy so we tend to not prioritise our Saturday ritual during the summer since it can get really crowded here on a hot day and in the summer the sun rises too early to bring the same feeling of starting the day together at the sea!  Our friend Sally somehow found this historical photo of the place back in its hey day and also a written description of the place.  

Today its all chert ruins overgrown with vine plants, which has an ancient beauty about it and why I love this glimpse at the hey day Tide Mills must have been like.

Another beautiful Sunday

 What a gorgeous September morning it was today, and upon opening the curtains I was delighted to see not only a morning cloud inversion over the valleys of the South Downs, but also a red hot air balloon drifting peacefully over the land.  Meanwhile Tryfan and Rhodri had another game somewhere, which I didn't see but was glad to hear about afterwards!

What a week!

September has really kicked off in a big way.  I went up to Aberdeen for a breakfast event on Tuesday this week (flew up on Monday afternoon, back on Tuesday afternoon).  That was pretty exciting in itself because I got to see some familiar faces and stay at the very nice Malmaison hotel which is very near to the Net Zero Technology Center, which is where my event was. All good!

In the meantime, over in Santa Barbara, our girl's new car arrived (new to her, not an actual new car).  This was the result of soooo many hours of discussion, phonecalls, internet research, angst, worry, and finally, delivery!  We bought this car for her so she could stop using Grandma's car, and so that she could drive herself to work at GVAC health club.  It was slightly above the budget we had set, but we feel good that she is driving around in a solid, reliable car.  Sounds like it was a bit of a drama actually having it delivered to her work setting, since they left it on the street rather than in the parking lot, and there was so much muck on the windshield that she couldn't actually see through the windshield to be able to drive it into the parking lot from the road.  However, she made all the right decisions in that moment and was able to get her colleague to bring window cleaner from inside the club before she got behind the wheel to move it.  What a girl.

Then back on the other side of the pond this weekend, Rhodri and I decided on Friday night that we would drive over to Folkstone and catch up with our long, lost friends Cristiano and Rachel.  Wow, has time passed us by there.  We were so, so happy to see them and hear about their lives, catch up with the decade that has just passed since we last saw them.

And now it is Sunday and time to rest and get ready for the next week ahead!

Rugby season kicks off

 Its rugby season again and Rhodri is one of the coaches again with Tryfan's team. Can you find them both in this photo?

My gorgeous girl

Oh Rhiannon, you are so special.  

You know what this girl did before she left in July for California? She gave me a box of letters to pull out as and when I need a little lift from her, and some instructions for use.  Isn't this the most gorgeous and thoughtful gift anyone could receive from their child? I am so blessed. 

Today I allowed myself to open one and I felt so loved.  Even writing this blog post (some weeks later), it brings tears of gratitude to my eyes.  She is such a special person.

Late summer dog paddling

Ahh, it is just beautiful right now. The summer sun is finally here and the forest near the Vachery lakes is just so tranquil.  Annie and I went out for our Sunday walk, though Emma and Una couldn't join us today as they normally do.  In fact, Annie was doing very impressive jumps into the water to go fetch sticks, which is new for her.