Day #3: June 14th - Zion National Park

We woke up at 7:00, at least Art and I did.  I think mom got up at 4:00.  We ate breakfast in our room that we'd bought the evening before.  Fruit, muffins and juice were just right for us.

We drove about two hours from St. George to Zion.  We liked learning that Zion meant "Place of Quiet Sanctuary".  Art said the name alone made him like it so much he even bought a t-shirt there.

The park was PACKED!  We didn't expect that.  We had to park a distance away because the closer parking lot was full.  We walked to the Zion Visitor's Center where we boarded a shuttle bus that took us to different locations in the park.

We ate a hot dog lunch at the Zion Lodge Red Rock Grill.

The Emerald Pool 1.23 mile Trail was a little more challenging for mom than we expected, but mom pushed herself to enjoy the scenery.

The Emerald Pool was not exactly emerald, but it was cooler there with the light mist falling from above.

The Temple of Sinawava walk was paved and easier, but the sun was awfully hot.

There were columbines on the trail and rock squirrels which mom enjoyed seeing.

It was nice to sit next to the cool stream toward the narrow canyons before we headed back.  Mom said this was the best part of the trip.

When we got to the far parking lot, it was also now completely full.

At 3:30 we headed toward the Quality Inn in Springdale, Utah.  It was a great place.

They had a clean laundry facility and free breakfast.  There was also a little restaurant next door called the Whiptail Grill which ended up being our favorite dinner place for the entire trip.

Mom had a Mexican Tofu Pizza.  I had Grilled Prawn Tacos and Art had a Green Chili Burger.  We loved it!

Things were looking up!

Day #2: June 13th - Las Vegas to St. George, Utah

As soon as we got up, Art and I quietly discussed our plan of action.  We needed to focus forward and not dwell on our carry-on luggage loss because it would ruin the entire trip for mom.

We called the Las Vegas baggage claim who said they still hadn't located where our luggage was but had a lead on something.  What to do?  Wait?  Go shopping to replace what we needed?

We waited for a while in our room and then decided to be more pro-active.

We went to an Outlet Mall and bought underwear, socks and clothes for Art.  We also bought night wear for all of us.  Before making our purchases, we called the baggage claim again and learned that the lead they'd hoped for was a dud.

We went to Ross for another luggage.

The temperatures in Vegas were daunting!

We went to Fry's, Best Buy and Office Depot to locate chargers for our cell phones, Kindle, iPad and cameras. It was not easy!

Art and I have two different kinds of lithium batteries for our cameras and nobody carried replacements.  Finally, wonderful Phil at Office Depot showed us a universal charger that would work for both of our battery sizes.  Amazing!!!

We had a sandwich lunch at Fry's which was surprisingly good.

With the much later travel start to the Chalet Motel in St. George, Utah and having to get the new clothes washed before we could use them, we didn't get to bed until midnight.

We'd also stopped at the Walmart and bought a case of 35 bottles of water.  They cost 3 bottles for $2.00 in Las Vegas.  We bought the case of 35 bottles for $4.84 in St. George.  We thought we wouldn't be able to finish the case, but ended up having to buy another case later in the trip.

The temperatures in St. George were not any cooler than in Vegas.

It was an exhausting day!

Visiting the Canyons, Day #1

Yes, it's true.  We've been gone on another trip.  When we made plans to go to China in May, mom did not want to go with us.  It was a good thing because we realized later that it would have been too strenuous for her.

Therefore we decided to take her on a trip to the "Mainland" instead.  She'd never seen all the canyons in Utah and Arizona so we decided to take her there.

Day #1:  June 12, 2013 Wednesday

My cousin, Arnold drove us to the airport despite the early morning hour.  We went via Hawaiian Airlines.  However, just as we were boarding, the agent said there wasn't enough room in the overhead bins for our carry-on so we'd have to do a gate check-in.

Do you know Hawaiian Airlines still serves food?  It's great!  I brought that inflatable footrest for mom which she liked but she said her foot got cold.

People had warned us that the Las Vegas terminal is very large and required a lot of walking.  I'd called ahead to ask for a wheelchair since mom's knees often bother her if she has to walk too long a distance.  Once we arrived in Vegas, it took a long while for wheelchairs to be brought for the many people needing that assistance.

When we got to the baggage claim, they had two of our check-in suitcases, but was missing our all important carry-on luggage that had all of our cameras, cell phone, iPad, Kindle chargers, our one day's emergency clothing, sleep wear and ALL of Art's travel clothes.  It also had my new Northface jacket for the cold morning we were expecting at the Grand Canyon.  The Las Vegas Baggage Claim had no idea where it went.

There was nothing we could do, but the baggage claim agents said they would keep us informed.  I was sure the bag was stolen.

This was not a great welcome for our return trip to Las Vegas after exactly 40 years when we moved to the mainland in 1973. We stepped out of the airport to catch a shuttle to Dollar car rental.  The BLAST of hot 102 degree Las Vegas heat was a shock to the system.  It really was like walking into an oven!

It was incredible to drive through the strip and see all the amazing buildings.  An Egyptian pyramid and the Sphinx?  The Eiffel Tower?  The Statue of Liberty?  Roman statues?

We checked into the California hotel because we'd heard that this was where all the people from Hawaii stayed.

Our cell phone battery was running low which was a worry since that's how baggage claim was going to reach us.

Art had to use one of my blouses since his sleep wear was in the missing baggage.  I admit that was the one thing that made us laugh.

While mom rested in the hotel room, Art and I walked the short distance to Freemont Street and saw a bit of what Vegas is famous for.

We went to bed worried and trying very hard not to show our dismay to mom.  I knew that it would upset her even more if she knew how stressed we were.

It was a terrible start to a trip that was supposed to be especially happy and exciting for mom.

How to Make Those Symbols with Your Keyboard

My friend, Myrtle just sent me a helpful hint that I really love.  I don't need most of these symbols, but there have been so many times that I needed the degree symbol and the cent sign but couldn't find it.

Woo hoo!  Now I know and now  you do too!  And now I need to find a place to put this where I can remember.

HOW TO MAKE SYMBOLS WITH KEYBOARD

(Use numbers on number pad, not on numbers

on the line below the function keys.)

– in case you didn’t know  ☼ 

                 

Alt + 0153..... ™... trademark symbol
Alt + 0169.... ©.... copyright symbol
Alt + 0174..... ®....registered ­ trademark symbol
Alt + 0176 ...°......degre­e symbol
Alt + 0177 ...±....plus-or­-minus sign
Alt + 0182 ...¶.....paragr­aph mark
Alt + 0190 ...¾....fractio­n, three-fourths
Alt + 0215 ....×.....multi­plication sign
Alt + 0162...¢....the ­ cent sign
Alt + 0161.....¡.....­.upside down exclamation point
Alt + 0191.....¿..... ­upside down question mark
Alt + 1.......☺....sm­iley face
Alt + 2 ......☻.....bla­ck smiley face
Alt + 15.....☼.....su­n
Alt + 12......♀.....f­emale sign
Alt + 11.....♂......m­ale sign
Alt + 6.......♠.....s­pade
Alt + 5.......♣...... ­Club
Alt + 3.......♥...... ­Heart
Alt + 4.......♦...... ­Diamond
Alt + 13......♪.....e­ighth note
Alt + 14......♫...... ­beamed eighth note
Alt + 8721.... ∑.... N-ary summation (auto sum)
Alt + 251.....√.....s­quare root check mark
Alt + 8236.....∞..... ­infinity
Alt + 24.......↑..... ­up arrow
Alt + 25......↓...... ­down arrow
Alt + 26.....→.....ri­ght arrow
Alt + 27......←.....l­eft arrow
Alt + 18.....↕......u­p/down arrow
Alt + 29......↔...lef­t right arrow

Laminated Tablecloths

Our daughter, Tiffany introduced us to laminated tablecloths.  We like having a tablecloth on our tables and usually chose a nice easy to clean vinyl.  Nowadays, the vinyl tablecloths I find here are thin and break easily or are rather inelegant.

Here's the tablecloth she bought us about three years ago.  It's very easy to wipe up spills and is almost like having a vinyl tablecloth.

In fact, we liked it so much that we bought this lighter color tablecloth for the kitchen.  Unfortunately, we read the morning paper on it and the ink stained one side of the table.   I tried cleaning it, but the dark shadow is still there.

Therefore, we're planning to get another one.

I spotted this new pattern at Bed, Bath and Beyond so I'd like to use it to replace the one on the kitchen table.

No, it's not terribly cheap.  That's why I'm waiting for the 20% off coupon that they send every so often.

Art thinks we can use the old one longer, but well....maybe it's because it's spring, but I'd like a little change to our environment.  He should be happy I'm not moving the furniture around.  Don't you think?

Are Girls Easier to Raise Than Boys?

If you asked me this question, I would say yes.  Definitely!

Although there were times in Tiffany's young life where she tested the limits of our ground rules, she was pretty much the elder daughter.  We always expect the elder daughter to be the mature, organized, loving child.  We've always been proud of her determination, caring and independence.

Then there was Jon.

He's fallen on his chin and split it open, broken both arms, flipped right over his bicycle head first, broken a toe and probably a finger or two, caught malaria and probably had other misadventures that he's not told me about.  Unlike Tiffany who tested limits for a few young years and settled down, Jon never stopped. 

Make no mistake.  We're very proud of Jon's accomplishments.  However, he's still a cause for constant worry.  He climbs tall mountains and travels on a shoestring budget.  He worked as a firefighter at Los Alamos (where nuclear weapons were designed).  He's now in Bangladesh doing his practicum research in International Epidemilogy.

Whereas Tiffany was more of an expert in compromise and gentle coercion, Jon would argue us under the table.  We thought he would be a lawyer because he could take apart our ideas in a debate with glee.  And when we'd finally give up and agree with him, he'd take the other side and continue to argue with us just for the pleasure of it.

So yes, I think it's harder to raise boys than girls.  Then again, Jon's Sarah is also as adventurous as he is and also has a sharp, lawyer like mind.  And she also climbs tall mountains.

Ah well... what do you think?

More Helpful Food Tips

Here are a few more hints that Myrtle sent me.

I do use a salad spinner, but I didn't know about the paper towel.  I like to wash a bunch of lettuce at the same time so I don't have to keep washing them everyday.

I sure didn't know about this trick.  I've always kept them in the plastic bag I get at the supermarket.  I'll have to try this.

I'm really looking forward to trying this out.  Strawberries seem to go bad too quickly.  It's amazing to see all the uses for vinegar. 

Well, that's it for now until Myrtle sends me more ideas to pass on.

Helpful Food Tips

My dear friend, Myrtle sent me some wonderful food tips that I thought I'd try out.  This is forwarded mail and I hope it's OK to reproduce it here.

We rarely grate cheese anymore, but I'll have to remember this if I ever feel like using Parmesan again.

I know a few people who love to make guacamole.  I've encountered browning of the avocado so it's nice to know this trick to keep it green and appetizing.

I've done this and it really has kept the herbs fresher.  I do almost the same thing with asparagus but I don't use the rubber bands.  I put them in a little cup of water.

More ideas tomorrow.

Portable Travel Chair for Mom

Quite a while ago, Kay (another one) of An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel posted a photo of herself sitting on a travel cane-chair.  We'd been wondering what we could use for mom when we take her to Utah, Arizona and Nevada to check out all the canyons in the area.

Ever since I saw Denise of An English Girl Rambles' post about Antelope Canyon and showed it to Art, we've had it on our bucket list.  The only problem is that it's a rather long 2.5 hour tour.  We'll be in the cave for a couple of hours and we wanted to make sure mom wouldn't get too worn out.

Kay's idea of the cane-chair sounded like a wonderful solution.  We wanted something stable, strong and easy to sit on.  We looked around town and found this at Don Quijote.  It was $19.99 down to $10.99.

It's very light and relatively easy to carry.  Mom sat on it and pronounced it comfortable so we're relieved.  It's not a cane, but mom doesn't really need a cane so we think this should work out well.  The plastic seat is made of plastic that I have a feeling won't last all that long, but it is sturdy enough.

Well... we'll see how it works out on our travel since we're not bringing the wheelchair this time.

Leg Crossing, Toilet Stall and Pillow Advice

I like reading my AARP magazine.  There's a lot of helpful hints .  Here's a few that I thought was worth passing on.

I've heard this before, but it's hard for me to change.  They say you should uncross your legs when you're sitting.  Crossing them at your knees raises your blood pressure.  It's especially bad for people who have diabetes.  Crossing at the knees is bad even for people with normal blood pressure readings.  Doggone it!  On the other hand, crossing your legs at the ankle is fine (though not as satisfying for me).

Another advice is to use the first bathroom stall.  I don't know why, but I always use the second one.  This must be like always choosing B in multiple choice questions.  According to AARP most people seek privacy by choosing the faraway stalls.  The first one is used the least and contain the least amount of germs.  They also suggest keeping your bags OFF the floor because it contains more fecal bacteria than any place else in the bathroom.

Pillows are supposed to be tossed every 18 months.  Seriously?  I don't think we throw pillows away much at all.  A British study found 16 species of fungi in a pillow.  If you can't remember how old your pillow is you can fold it in half, squeeze out the air and if the pillow doesn't spring back, it's time to buy a new one.  I've seen instructions saying you could wash it but I've never tried that.  Have you?

Is Timbuktu a Real Place?

When I saw this Pickles comic strip I had to laugh because it reminded me of when our son first told us that he was going to be a Peace Corps Volunteer in Mali, West Africa.

© 2013 Brian Crane, used by permission

I'm sorry to say I didn't even know where Mali was.  When we looked it up on the map we saw that Timbuktu is in Mali.  (Malians spell it in French as Tombouctou.)

Jon did spend more than two years in Mali and even spent time traveling to Timbuktu and sent us this postcard.  He said it was a rather dusty, weather beaten town but he found it interesting anyway.

I loved it when people asked me where Jon was and I could tell them, "Someplace out in Timbuktu."

All this had Art wondering where he'd saved the files he'd created when he typed out all of Jon's Traveling Through Africa journals and added photos and maps to illustrate his son's adventures. 

Art had printed hard copies with a lot of editing that he planned to finish... some day with Jon.

However, when we moved to Hawaii he saved a bunch of his files on disks and someplace on the computer (maybe the laptop that died?) and he couldn't find them.... which brings me to the subject of organizing your files so you can easily find them. We even called Jon in Baltimore to ask him if he might have a copy of the files on a disk.  Nope.  Jon only had the hard copies that he was going to edit someday too.

I know how I think, but it was a trick to figure out how Art organizes and saves things because well.... let's not go there.

It took me several hours, but incredibly I found them!!!  It was like finding a needle in a haystack, but I did!

Art was so upset at the loss of all his work that the relief he felt when I found the missing files was palpable. 

He was so happy that he felt I should get a lovely reward...

and I enjoyed every bite!

New Life for Old Jeans

My dear friend, Gerri gave me these Gloria Vanderbuilt jeans about 5 years ago before I left Illinois.

They are very comfortable though perhaps not fashionable these days because the waist line is above my belly button where I like it.

I also don't like to wear jeans in Hawaii because I feel too hot in them.

I considered donating them, but I hate giving up something that reminds me of Gerri.  So I decided to shorten them.

Shorts are out.  I already wrote about my saggy knees.  Tsk...

That left capris which are popular in Hawaii.

I tried several lengths and then marked it with a dressmaker's marking pencil.  I allowed a 1.5 inch hem to fold under.

The cut off the excess material.  That's the point of no return.

I decided this time to put a little orange duct tape to help me keep my hem straight.  Yes, I know there are lines on the sewing machine, but I can never seem to keep the hem aligned to the thin engravings on the machine.

Voila!

Here it is! I can't wait to wear them next time we go into Honolulu.

Yae!

Thank you for my (sort of) new capris, Gerri!

Father and Daughter

I know Art hoped for a son when I learned that we would be welcoming our first child.  However, from the moment Art saw his daughter he was entranced.

We both were.

We could hardly believe this little person, this little miraculous creation was ours.

Granted, the ordeal of that birth left Tiffany very red and swollen so she wasn't pretty to look at.

This photo was taken when she was about two months old.

By the time Tiffany was about 9 months old she had us wrapped around her finger.  Tiffany was the first grandchild on both sides of the family and we were taking her to Hawaii to meet all her relatives.  Art's dad would proudly carry his granddaughter up and down the main street of Honokaa to show her off.

There wasn't anything that Art would not do for his little girl.  Every smile was a blessing, every tear a stab to the heart.

The years do fly by though and we couldn't keep her to ourselves.

Giving her away was probably one of the hardest things Art had to do.

I was looking through old photos and came across this one.  It was that unexpected moment of seeing father and daughter coming down the aisle when suddenly emotion crashed down on me and tears started to stream down my face.  My friends were looking back at me to share the joy and were surprised to realize what had happened.  I had no tissue on me so they all rummaged through their purses to send them up to mop my face.

Although it wasn't easy to understand that Tiffany was on her own path now, something happened to brighten our days.

Several years later KC was born.

And Art was entranced.

More Scary Stuff to Think About

 My friend, Myrtle sent me a "Forwarded" e-mail which had some security safety information in it that got me thinking and a bit worried.

1. Some people left their car in the long-term parking at San Jose while away, and someone broke into the car. Using the information on the car's registration in the glove compartment, they drove the car to the people's home in Pebble Beach and robbed it. So I guess if we are going to leave the car in long-term parking, we should NOT leave the registration/insurance cards in it, nor your remote garage door opener.

This gives us something to think about with all our new electronic technology.

(Then again, Art says that in Hawaii you have to keep the insurance papers in the car so there's not much hope there.)

2. GPS.

Someone had their car broken into while they were at a football game. Their car was parked on the green which was adjacent to the football stadium and specially allotted to football fans. Things stolen from the car included a garage door remote control, some money and a GPS which had been prominently mounted on the dashboard. When the victims got home, they found that their house had been ransacked and just about everything worth anything had been stolen. The thieves had used the GPS to guide them to the house. They then used the garage remote control to open the garage door and gain entry to the house. The thieves knew the owners were at the football game, they knew what time the game was scheduled to finish and so they knew how much time they had to clean out the house. It would appear that they had brought a truck to empty the house of its contents.

Something to consider if you have a GPS - don't put your home address in it... Put a nearby address (like a store or gas station) so you can still find your way home if you need to, but no one else would know where you live if your GPS were stolen.

(This is something I can do right now!  I'm taking away Home from the GPS.)

3. CELL PHONES

This lady has now changed her habit of how she lists her names on her cell phone after her handbag was stolen. Her handbag, which contained her cell phone, credit card, wallet, etc., was stolen. 20 minutes later when she called her hubby, from a pay phone telling him what had happened, hubby says 'I received your text asking about our Pin number and I've replied a little while ago.' When they rushed down to the bank, the bank staff told them all the money was already withdrawn. The thief had actually used the stolen cell phone to text 'hubby' in the contact list and got hold of the pin number. Within 20 minutes he had withdrawn all the money from their bank account.

Moral of the lesson:

a. Do not disclose the relationship between you and the people in your contact list. Avoid using names like Home, Honey, Hubby, Sweetheart, Dad, Mom, etc....

b. And very importantly, when sensitive info is being asked through texts, CONFIRM by calling back.

c. Also, when you're being texted by friends or family to meet them somewhere, be sure to call back to confirm that the message came from them. If you don't reach them, be very careful about going places to meet 'family and friends' who text you.

As if I didn't have enough scary things to think about with the current technology, I've got this.  Arrghhh...