Not too much to update at this point but I do ask a favor. If you're reading this, just leave me a comment so I know someone is checking in. By all the emails I received back so far, I do know that many, many, many people are praying for us and we can't thank you enough for that. It's by far the most important part. However, there are some details left, not too many. As I said before, the plane tickets are done, passports & visas done, being away from home details getting there. We've got a house sitter for our dog, Frazier, very important stuff. Our good friend Paul from church will stay the whole time there.
Kim's blackberry is a worldphone. We got a simcard and the plan changed to where she'll get voice calls, data, and the net on her BB as normal. The hospital says there's hs internet in our room. We're taking the laptop and hopefully will have skype up and running to be able to use it freely and with a webcam for those who have it. If you don't have skype yet, why the heck not? It's free video phone calls between skype users anywhere in the world. Just let me know and I'll give you my skype name and well, the rest is easy.
A few more details. Here's the hospital info. http://www.wockhardthospitals.net/
Wockhardt Hospitals, MumbaiMulund Goregaon Link Road, Mumbai 400078 Tel no: +91-22-67994444 / 25664488
They list an 800 # on the international portion of their website but I'm not sure that's for patient phone calls.
Mumbai is 10 1/2 hours ahead of Houston if that helps. 12 is easier for me to calculate which is close enough. Here's the handiest one I've found to help calculate the time.
http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/
One little blooper this morning was when I logged in to Continental.com and checked our flights our 2nd segment from Paris to Mumbai was suddenly gone, that's right gone. I called them and was on hold for about 20 minute when the kind lady came back on and told me they got it back. Whew! It's a long walk from Paris to Mumbai. The Lord is with us!
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
What Are You Thinking?
India, here we come! Kim's visa pic!The main heading is the reaction I've gotten from several close friends when they heard that Kim and I are headed to Mumbai for hip surgery. "What are you thinking?" Here's the thought process so far. Probably not in any order of priority except #1 Kim.
#1 Kim needs both hips redone, sooner than later. Unfortunately no one diagnosed a problem which is now several years advanced. She's been getting worse and worse and we can't wait, if we don't have to.
#2 Our insurance, Mega Life, if you could really call it that, is totally inadequate. This is the problem we had with her back surgery. The hospital called 3 days before that surgery to say, your insurance won't pay enough and the cash price, upfront, is $38,000. Please have that to us by Monday morning or no surgery. We begged borrowed and maxed out to get it done. Same deal this time. Hip replacement (1) here in Houston would be $42-47K, cash price. I called and got the price. She needs both. We did the math. $90K. The wait for an appointment is 1-2 months just to get in to see one of the best.
#3 With lots of research we wanted for her to have what's called "hip resurfacing." Only 1-2 surgeons here in Houston do it and they haven't done very many. The most experienced surgeons still do THR (total hip replacement) The most experienced two surgeons in the world for this procedure are in India. One, Dr Bose in Chennai, has done just over 1000. Dr Malhan, in Mumbai has done over 600. Need I say more?
#4 Maybe you could negotiate a better price here in Houston? Maybe we could but how much better? half? 2 for 1? unlikely not. The cost here is $90K. Its' going to be quite a stretch for us to manage the cost in India. $8K per hip, all inclusive for me and her. That sounds like a vacation instead of a hospital stay. That's why its called Medical tourism and its one of the fastest growing industries around.
#5 Maybe you could go to a teaching hospital? We are going to a teaching hospital. Dr Malhan has presented around the world about the work they are doing in hip resurfacing.
#6 Aren't you concerned about going to India? Yes, but we'd be concerned if we were going to the hospital on Fannin. Yeah, but Indian doctors? Truth is, about half the Drs in Baytown have Indian names, I think.
Well, that's all for now. I'll write more later. Feel free to leave comments.
And mostly, pray! de
Monday, October 08, 2007
Motivation is Everything!
Without a goal, a project, something to report right there in front of me, to be honest, I struggle, especially when when it comes to blogging blogging. I think for about a week I've had left over anethesia from a procedure I had done at the hospital. It's one of those things you're supposed to have done when your 50 so I did. They knock you out and look you up and when you wake up they tell you what they saw down there and show you pictures. Well everything came out good. One benign polyp and no cancer so praise the Lord. I still think I've got drug leftovers.
Enough of that. Back to the blog. Well, now that Kim and I have a great adventure ahead of us, it gives me something to blog about and so that you can keep up. If you didn't know, Kim and I are heading to Mumbai, India on Oct 18 for 24 days. We'll checkin to Wockhardt hospital upon arrival. Lord willing, while there, both of Kim's hips will get a surgery called "hip surfacing." Dr Malhan will do the surgery. Here's some info on him and a link to the hospital.
Dr. Kaushal C. Malhan Orthopaedic SurgeonJoint Replacement and Resurfacing/Sport SurgeryWockhardt Hospitals Ltd. Mulund Goregaon Link Road, Mumbai (formerly Bombay)
Website: http://www.wockhardthospitals.com/index_bone.html
http://www.wockhardthospitals.net/general/abt_surgeon.asp
Anyway, the Dr has done more than 600 hip resurfacing surgeries. I could only find one other surgeon who has done more and he's also india from Chennai where Continental doesn't fly. That was really the difference for us.
Well, I'd tell you more but I'm tired. Spent the day in Houston and came home with both our visas. It's set. Tickets are bought, visa's are got. Now all I got to do is find the $$$. The Lord will provide.
Keep reading and I'll keep blogging, all along the way.
de
Enough of that. Back to the blog. Well, now that Kim and I have a great adventure ahead of us, it gives me something to blog about and so that you can keep up. If you didn't know, Kim and I are heading to Mumbai, India on Oct 18 for 24 days. We'll checkin to Wockhardt hospital upon arrival. Lord willing, while there, both of Kim's hips will get a surgery called "hip surfacing." Dr Malhan will do the surgery. Here's some info on him and a link to the hospital.
Dr. Kaushal C. Malhan Orthopaedic SurgeonJoint Replacement and Resurfacing/Sport SurgeryWockhardt Hospitals Ltd. Mulund Goregaon Link Road, Mumbai (formerly Bombay)
Website: http://www.wockhardthospitals.com/index_bone.html
http://www.wockhardthospitals.net/general/abt_surgeon.asp
Anyway, the Dr has done more than 600 hip resurfacing surgeries. I could only find one other surgeon who has done more and he's also india from Chennai where Continental doesn't fly. That was really the difference for us.
Well, I'd tell you more but I'm tired. Spent the day in Houston and came home with both our visas. It's set. Tickets are bought, visa's are got. Now all I got to do is find the $$$. The Lord will provide.
Keep reading and I'll keep blogging, all along the way.
de
Monday, September 10, 2007
Maybe someone will read!`
Yesterday was a really long day to end a great week!!!!!!! I travelled with the bride this week as she worked. We went first to upstate NY where we got to spend a couple days close to K & J in Cooperstown. Great weather, like fall here. Really enjoyed the time. Then on to OKC where the bride worked another couple days. While she worked I went to Duncan to see the folks and piddle around the yard at their house. Back to OKC on Friday and then got to watch OU pummel Miami, yeah! It was grandson noah's first game and very exciting but a full day. We finished the day with dinner at the Cheesecake Factory.
Tried to go to bed early Saturday. Watched the alarm clock much of Sat night to make sure I was awake. Got up at 4:40, load, drive to airport, drop off the car, long security line. Airport was nuts. 737 at 6:30 full of weary OU and Miami fans. Flew to Houston. Sent the bride home then flew on to Corpus. Made it by 9:30am. Some guy picked me up & we stopped at Whataburger for 1st something to eat since Cheesecake factory. I was tired through worship. Ate a good Pot luck lunch and the STB sung at 2. It was good. Small church only 60 people or so for the singing. Then it was back to the airport, wait 2 1/2 hrs to fly 33 min home. Arrived home at 9 pm pretty much wiped. CD is really finished. Had 100 copies of the finished product at the singing. How bout those Texans, huh? Pretty exciting. More sooner than later.
de
Tried to go to bed early Saturday. Watched the alarm clock much of Sat night to make sure I was awake. Got up at 4:40, load, drive to airport, drop off the car, long security line. Airport was nuts. 737 at 6:30 full of weary OU and Miami fans. Flew to Houston. Sent the bride home then flew on to Corpus. Made it by 9:30am. Some guy picked me up & we stopped at Whataburger for 1st something to eat since Cheesecake factory. I was tired through worship. Ate a good Pot luck lunch and the STB sung at 2. It was good. Small church only 60 people or so for the singing. Then it was back to the airport, wait 2 1/2 hrs to fly 33 min home. Arrived home at 9 pm pretty much wiped. CD is really finished. Had 100 copies of the finished product at the singing. How bout those Texans, huh? Pretty exciting. More sooner than later.
de
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Finally Finished!
Fnished what you say? The South Texas Boys are hopefully finally finished recording our first CD. We had one last song, I suppose the most difficult of the 12 songs we do so we went back to the studio on Tuesday to knock it out. After almost four hours of work, we got it done. Does that mean we're completely finished? Maybe not. Chris, the studio guy will make us all a raw cd for us to listen to and if we find anything glaring or that can't be fixed on the board by Chris, then we may have to go back, but hopefully we're done. He's totally booked in the studio for the next two weeks so he can't begin the editing process for at least two weeks. Then there's the editing, then the mix down, whatever that is, and then I guess its ready for the duplication process. So all in all it should be out some time in 2008. lol
Between now and then there's the copyright stuff and art for the cover. Anybody know anything about any of that stuff? Let me know. Hopefully, "Step Into the Water" will be ready in a couple of months. All in all we spent almost 40 hours in the studio. I don't know how many more hours of studio time it will take to get it right ut we want it right. I'm pretty pumped about it. Can't wait for the next one, hopefully a cd of classic hymns or oldies. I'd personally prefer newer songs and we'll hopefully get to those but we're looking to get out a couple of cd's pretty quickly to help finance the rest. Oldies will sell well where we go and sing if you know what I mean. I'm looking to put together a list of say 15 classic/oldie favorite church songs so be thinking and if you got suggestions, let me know.
de
Between now and then there's the copyright stuff and art for the cover. Anybody know anything about any of that stuff? Let me know. Hopefully, "Step Into the Water" will be ready in a couple of months. All in all we spent almost 40 hours in the studio. I don't know how many more hours of studio time it will take to get it right ut we want it right. I'm pretty pumped about it. Can't wait for the next one, hopefully a cd of classic hymns or oldies. I'd personally prefer newer songs and we'll hopefully get to those but we're looking to get out a couple of cd's pretty quickly to help finance the rest. Oldies will sell well where we go and sing if you know what I mean. I'm looking to put together a list of say 15 classic/oldie favorite church songs so be thinking and if you got suggestions, let me know.
de
Monday, May 28, 2007
Back in H-town
Home! Need I say more? After getting off the ship we headed to the airport to go ahead and check our bags so we didn't have to lug them around all day. We rented a car and drove to Waikiki and around Diamond head. It was bonkers with people so we didn't stop much except for coffee. We drove on up the east coast for a beautiful drive stopping at some awesome beaches, bays, and just to look around. Then we drove back to Honolulu and stopped for the last tour of the day at Pearl Harbor. Really glad we did that. They have a 20 minute movie about the events surrounding Dec 7, 1941 and the declaration of war to follow. Then you board a boat which takes you out to the momunent on the water over the USS Arizona. Very somber knowing the history and all those who died, most of whom are still there in those ships.
Back to the aiport for an 8:45 flight to LAX, a layover and another flight to IAH. Arrived about 11:30 this am to rain, rain, and more rain. Then to the car where the bride repacked her bag to go to North Carolina. If she's as tired as I was, going on to another flight was not what you wanted to do. Say a prayer for her the next couple of days. I'll try to post some more pics in the coming days. It was a great trip, a great way to see all the islands. NCL was not the best cruise line in the world but pretty much the only game in town if you want to cruise Hawaii. But its always best to get home, back in H-town. Thanks for reading.
de
Back to the aiport for an 8:45 flight to LAX, a layover and another flight to IAH. Arrived about 11:30 this am to rain, rain, and more rain. Then to the car where the bride repacked her bag to go to North Carolina. If she's as tired as I was, going on to another flight was not what you wanted to do. Say a prayer for her the next couple of days. I'll try to post some more pics in the coming days. It was a great trip, a great way to see all the islands. NCL was not the best cruise line in the world but pretty much the only game in town if you want to cruise Hawaii. But its always best to get home, back in H-town. Thanks for reading.
de
More Maui
3 new pics in previous post.
Actually most of what I wrote was Day 1 in Maui. On day two we started by taking another helicopter ride. Probably should've just cancelled because it was going to be hard to top flying right over an active volcano. Sure enough it wasn't to be topped. Enjoyed flying right into the west Maui Mts for an upclose view of places you can only go by helicopter. Then we flew all the way across the island up to Haleakala crater. Pretty cool view of the crater which is 37 square miles. Then we flew not quite above the road to Hana. The pilot ripped off about a dozen high profile celebrities who lived along the road who like their privacy. Because of that the copters are not allowed to fly over the road to Hana.
From the airport we headed down towards the Big Beach area to Kihei and Wailea. Being Memorial day weekend the traffic really picked up. Lots of people on the beach. WE followed the road all the way down to almost the very end of the island to a National reserve. It was right at the end of an incredible lava flow that made a black sand beach and some incredible snorkeling and surfing, I hear. It was too long a hike for the bride so I walked and looked on my own. Then we went back up the road just a bit where the road was right by the beach and parked there. I hiked around on the rocks and watched some large fish from up on the rocks. Very cool. Then it was back through town, a drive by the Wailea Marriott. We didn't stop but it looked nice. Back to the ship, drop off the bride, by Kmart, and drop off the rental car. One last dinner at the sit down restaurant, a brief take of "crew talent night." Some even had some. Back up to pack the bags which have to be out by midnight. Then a sit out on the balcony as we leave Maui for Oahu.
Got a pretty good nights sleep and got ready to disembark the ship. All systems go. Went up to get breakfast which was bonkers. Grabbed some and went back to the room. Went down and left the ship only to realize when I sat down on the bus, I'd left my camera bag somewhere. Terrible awful of me. Left the bride on the bus, hoping she doesn't have to get off the bus with the bags without me and ran back aboard the ship, which they're not real excited to let you do.
Frantically retraced my steps, not at the internet place where I tried to check in for our flight. Back to the room. Not there. Back to the front where we left the wheelchair we'd used to get the bride from the back to the front of the ship to save some steps. And there it was, still strapped to the back of the wheelchair where I left it. Whew!
Back off the ship where the bus was waiting for me. Unfortuately I was now sweating pretty good. Not all that great for having a whole day in Oahu, then an all night flight and get home at noon Monday.
More on our day in Oahu when we layover in LA in the morning.
de & ke
Actually most of what I wrote was Day 1 in Maui. On day two we started by taking another helicopter ride. Probably should've just cancelled because it was going to be hard to top flying right over an active volcano. Sure enough it wasn't to be topped. Enjoyed flying right into the west Maui Mts for an upclose view of places you can only go by helicopter. Then we flew all the way across the island up to Haleakala crater. Pretty cool view of the crater which is 37 square miles. Then we flew not quite above the road to Hana. The pilot ripped off about a dozen high profile celebrities who lived along the road who like their privacy. Because of that the copters are not allowed to fly over the road to Hana.
From the airport we headed down towards the Big Beach area to Kihei and Wailea. Being Memorial day weekend the traffic really picked up. Lots of people on the beach. WE followed the road all the way down to almost the very end of the island to a National reserve. It was right at the end of an incredible lava flow that made a black sand beach and some incredible snorkeling and surfing, I hear. It was too long a hike for the bride so I walked and looked on my own. Then we went back up the road just a bit where the road was right by the beach and parked there. I hiked around on the rocks and watched some large fish from up on the rocks. Very cool. Then it was back through town, a drive by the Wailea Marriott. We didn't stop but it looked nice. Back to the ship, drop off the bride, by Kmart, and drop off the rental car. One last dinner at the sit down restaurant, a brief take of "crew talent night." Some even had some. Back up to pack the bags which have to be out by midnight. Then a sit out on the balcony as we leave Maui for Oahu.
Got a pretty good nights sleep and got ready to disembark the ship. All systems go. Went up to get breakfast which was bonkers. Grabbed some and went back to the room. Went down and left the ship only to realize when I sat down on the bus, I'd left my camera bag somewhere. Terrible awful of me. Left the bride on the bus, hoping she doesn't have to get off the bus with the bags without me and ran back aboard the ship, which they're not real excited to let you do.
Frantically retraced my steps, not at the internet place where I tried to check in for our flight. Back to the room. Not there. Back to the front where we left the wheelchair we'd used to get the bride from the back to the front of the ship to save some steps. And there it was, still strapped to the back of the wheelchair where I left it. Whew!
Back off the ship where the bus was waiting for me. Unfortuately I was now sweating pretty good. Not all that great for having a whole day in Oahu, then an all night flight and get home at noon Monday.
More on our day in Oahu when we layover in LA in the morning.
de & ke
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Maui Day 2
It's been a busy couple of days on the island of Maui. We started yesterday at the rental car place with a hundred other folks. After we got there I realized I'd left both wallets in the safe back on the ship. Back on the shuttle, back to the room, back to get the car. Can't rent a car without your wallet. Then we headed to the Haleakala crater and the national park. You leave sea level and head up to 10,000 feet. A couple of beautiful mt side towns, about 60 switchbacks, the park entrance, and keep going up. We had to stop and put the top up cause it got cold. Finally we both put on our jackets we'd brought. Yes, we brought jackets in case we went up one of the Mts. Time we got to the summit the wind was blowing about 40 mph and the temp couldn't have been much more than 40 degrees in the bright sunshine. Whew! Cold in Hawaii!
Took a look over the crater that's about 37 square miles. Took a fewpics while freezing and then headed back down the Mt the same way. 1 way up same way down.
Back to Kahalui, where the dock is and then over to West Maui. We drove all the way past Lahaina past Kapalua to a public beach on the other side. Not very crowded, beautiful place. Got out and enjoyed the beach for awhile. Drove back by Kapalua and checked out the golf course. Wow. No wonder the pros come and play here. Not to mention the winner gets a million bucks. Stopped at Kaapalani to check out the west Ocean Marriott resort. Got out, took a brief tour, even got a price list on the timeshare weeks. Expensive. They are building on to either side with more 2/3 bedroom rooms. Most popular, and most expensive weeks in the system. No wonder either. No we didn't buy a week. Congrats to all, or sorry kids:(
Then on the the Old Lahaina Luau. Parked there a bit early so we went across the street and got the bride a double chocolate chip frappa something at Starbucks. They got it all in Lahaina. Cooled off in the mall and then on to the Luau. Supposed to be the most authentic in all the islands. Watched a guy make poi. He said it wasn't poi, but ipuke. That's kinda what it looked like too. He said it was much better than poi. He pounded it and talked about it and added water and pounded it into almost a taffy like consistency. Then he offered all those around a sample of this purple ipuke.(sp) We both tried it. Not bad. Never tasted anything quite like it.
Then they uncovered the pig (imu) that had been cooking in this under the beach steam pit. Saw it on the discovery channel a couple of weeks ago. Watch it some time. Pretty cool. Lots of food, island juices and drinks, and island food. Ate too much. Really neat show right on the beach as the sun sets over the Pacific ocean. Our first luau. Very enjoyable.
Well, its time for dinner on our last night aboard. Much more to say. Internet time running out on the ship. More later I hope.
de
Took a look over the crater that's about 37 square miles. Took a fewpics while freezing and then headed back down the Mt the same way. 1 way up same way down.
Back to Kahalui, where the dock is and then over to West Maui. We drove all the way past Lahaina past Kapalua to a public beach on the other side. Not very crowded, beautiful place. Got out and enjoyed the beach for awhile. Drove back by Kapalua and checked out the golf course. Wow. No wonder the pros come and play here. Not to mention the winner gets a million bucks. Stopped at Kaapalani to check out the west Ocean Marriott resort. Got out, took a brief tour, even got a price list on the timeshare weeks. Expensive. They are building on to either side with more 2/3 bedroom rooms. Most popular, and most expensive weeks in the system. No wonder either. No we didn't buy a week. Congrats to all, or sorry kids:(
Then on the the Old Lahaina Luau. Parked there a bit early so we went across the street and got the bride a double chocolate chip frappa something at Starbucks. They got it all in Lahaina. Cooled off in the mall and then on to the Luau. Supposed to be the most authentic in all the islands. Watched a guy make poi. He said it wasn't poi, but ipuke. That's kinda what it looked like too. He said it was much better than poi. He pounded it and talked about it and added water and pounded it into almost a taffy like consistency. Then he offered all those around a sample of this purple ipuke.(sp) We both tried it. Not bad. Never tasted anything quite like it.
Then they uncovered the pig (imu) that had been cooking in this under the beach steam pit. Saw it on the discovery channel a couple of weeks ago. Watch it some time. Pretty cool. Lots of food, island juices and drinks, and island food. Ate too much. Really neat show right on the beach as the sun sets over the Pacific ocean. Our first luau. Very enjoyable.
Well, its time for dinner on our last night aboard. Much more to say. Internet time running out on the ship. More later I hope.
de
Friday, May 25, 2007
Maui Day 1
Saw on CNN that the volcano had a major eruption just after we left for Kona. Big river of lava. I'm sure they have something about it on the website or on Volcano National Park site. Just missed a big blow.
Off to the West side of Maui today, maybe Big beach, and some of the other beaches. Maybe Haleakala, not sure. Then to Kapalua and finish the day at Lahaina for a Luau tonight. I'll try to blog and put up some pics tonight. de
Off to the West side of Maui today, maybe Big beach, and some of the other beaches. Maybe Haleakala, not sure. Then to Kapalua and finish the day at Lahaina for a Luau tonight. I'll try to blog and put up some pics tonight. de
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Rest day today!
Originally had a full day scheduled for Kona today. We're both kinda pooped and decided to take a rest day so we can fully enjoy the two days we've got coming up in Maui. Hang out by the pool or maybe do a couple of miles on the treadmill and work off some of these pounds they begin installing the moment you step foot on the ship. Maybe I'll take a look at the rest of the pics and post some more this afternoon. Beats trying to keep up with the Astros!
May the Lord bless all our days!
de & ke
May the Lord bless all our days!
de & ke
Day Something
Night lava, Ninini Point Lighthouse,Lava coast, real live lava, me standing on old lava flow 300' wide,
You know its truly vacation when you're not sure what day it is. I did finally figure out it's Wednesday, yeah. Time sure flies, you know? Today was our day in Hilo on the big island of Hawaii. Kinda a short day as our daysgo on the islands but hey, the upside is you get to see several islands. The downside is,you never really get to see that much of the island.
The big island is really big. We were a little slow getting off this morning which made for an even shorter day. Got to the rental car and headed out for Volcanoes National Park. Bout 30 milesor so from Hilo. Pretty much straight up the whole way, from sea level to over 4000' at Mt Kilauea. Right in front of you the whole way is Mauna Loa or 'long mountain' which rises to over 13,500. All in all pretty impressive. An hours drive around the crater rim drive to overlook the crater. No active lava here. That's later. Just volcano leftovers and there are plenty everywhere you look after major eruptions in the 70's & 80's.
Back down to town, a bite, and back to the airport to check in for our helicopter ride out to the active part of the volcano.Sometimes you see real lava, sometimes not. It's seldom like the pictures of when it first started erupting in the 80's but its still going. We got to see it from an hours copter ride. One of the things I truly wanted to do on this trip. Cars can't go there. The road got destroyed in the big eruption and has never been rebuilt. Technically, its a National Park and you can hike there and some do but it's not stable. Helicopter's the way to go. Awesome! God did some really special things here and He's still doing them!
Back to the ship for a shower and some dinner now. Explore the ship some. Back to the room for when the ship passes the lava flowing into the sea at 10 pm. Wow! Pretty unbelievable during the day, even better in the dark. Pictures weren't much but I'll try to post a couple anyway.
On to the other side of the big island tomorrow, to Kona. Not sure what's up with that. Will try to blog something anyway.
lata. de & ke
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Day 1 or Day 2? or Day 3?
I'm not for sure what day it is. I guess that's what you want when you go on vacation. Not really sure where you are or precisely what day it is. Day 1 was really a blur. We got up pretty early, loaded the bags and headed for the airport. The goal was to go ahead and check the bagscause we were cutting it pretty close time wise later on. Arrived at IAH at about 8 am to findit pretty busy. Glad we came. Got the bags checked and headed back to B-town for bible classand worship. Led the first part of the song service, headed home to change and then to IAH.
Boarded and took off right on time at 1:20 for a smooth 8 hour flight to Honolulu. Arrived 8 hours laterat 3:45 pm or so. Thru the airport, board the shuttle for a $5 trip to the cruise terminal. Not bad!!Smooth boarding process about the Pride of Aloha to room 10056. Bags got there in good time. We attendedthe always mandatory and terribly exciting try on your life jacket, in case of emergency and the ship sinksmeeting. Boy I wish they made you wear those things all the time.
Up to the pool deck for dinner of gourmet burgers, steaks, and baked potatoes, while some guysang hawaiian music and some bulky girls danced the hula. Pretty tired by now @ 8:30 H-time, 1 am body time.Hit the rack for some good hard sleeping. Wake up 10 hours later, down the ships plank and out to the rental car shuttle to Dollar and our Sebring convertible for the day.
We headed out first around the west side of Kauai to Waimea Canyon. Well, first we stopped bythe Drug store for H2o and some snacks for the day. Heade around the coast about 35 milesto the Grand Canyon of the Hawaiian islands. I think I've got that pic to post. Pretty cool place.Even better was the overlook at the end of the road. Kalalua Lookout. This is where they filmed the opening of Jurassic park. There were helicopters flying in and out of it pretty much the whole time.
Then an hour drive back down the canyon and back through Lihue, port and airport town and around to the otherside of the island where the best beaches are. We drove past some pounding surf, full of people trying their skills.The farther we got around to the other side the narrower the road got. We passed over 8 or 10 one lane bridges where you went if you were first, if not you waited for the folks on the other side to go.After a number of small towns and villages we got to the other end of the road completely on the other side of the same cliff at Kalalua lookout. The road would cost to much and be impossible to build to connectthe two sides.
At the end of the road was Ke'e beach where we stayed for awhile. The giant bluff went straight up 1000's of feetright behind the beach. Awesome site. In the water, then out, shower and back towards town. Stopped for a snackin Hanalei Village. Another stop at Kilauea Point for a lighthouse and quite a picture place.
We ended the evening back around the port for a closer inspection of the Kauai Marriott to seeif we might want to come back. Impressive place. Marriott bought and refurbished an older hotel and made it oneof their timeshare properties. After a brief drive by we headed up behind the Marriott to get a closerlook at the golfcourse. We followed this road around behind and out on this point to where we could see the lighthouseand Ninini Point. One of the golf holes went almost out to it. We kept following the roadand when the road continued on beyond the golf course we kept going with no one in sight.
Off the paved road we hit a dirt and gravel road and kept going. The bride got kinda nervous cause there was no one around anywhere. We kept following until the road let right out to the lighthouse. Very awesome point. We stayedfor a few minutes and watch the surf pound the rocks. There's not a soul anywhere and dusk is coming pretty fast so we headed back in. By the time we get back to the golf course there's a chain over the road. Lucky for us theSebring is pretty low riding. The bride gets out, holds the chain up as high as it will go and we clear it by like 2 inches. Back around the golf course down to the Marriott and there's the guy pulling up another chain across the road. "Where did you guys come from," he says. Uh, well, we were back there. Whew! We smiled and then laughed out loud as we crossed the chain again and headed back to turn in our rental car and take the last shuttle to the ship at 8 p.m.
Straight to the buffett line for a light dinner, then to a show for a Las Vegas singer type who was 60+ and outstanding. Backto the room for a shower and hit the rack. More later. de & ke
Boarded and took off right on time at 1:20 for a smooth 8 hour flight to Honolulu. Arrived 8 hours laterat 3:45 pm or so. Thru the airport, board the shuttle for a $5 trip to the cruise terminal. Not bad!!Smooth boarding process about the Pride of Aloha to room 10056. Bags got there in good time. We attendedthe always mandatory and terribly exciting try on your life jacket, in case of emergency and the ship sinksmeeting. Boy I wish they made you wear those things all the time.
Up to the pool deck for dinner of gourmet burgers, steaks, and baked potatoes, while some guysang hawaiian music and some bulky girls danced the hula. Pretty tired by now @ 8:30 H-time, 1 am body time.Hit the rack for some good hard sleeping. Wake up 10 hours later, down the ships plank and out to the rental car shuttle to Dollar and our Sebring convertible for the day.
We headed out first around the west side of Kauai to Waimea Canyon. Well, first we stopped bythe Drug store for H2o and some snacks for the day. Heade around the coast about 35 milesto the Grand Canyon of the Hawaiian islands. I think I've got that pic to post. Pretty cool place.Even better was the overlook at the end of the road. Kalalua Lookout. This is where they filmed the opening of Jurassic park. There were helicopters flying in and out of it pretty much the whole time.
Then an hour drive back down the canyon and back through Lihue, port and airport town and around to the otherside of the island where the best beaches are. We drove past some pounding surf, full of people trying their skills.The farther we got around to the other side the narrower the road got. We passed over 8 or 10 one lane bridges where you went if you were first, if not you waited for the folks on the other side to go.After a number of small towns and villages we got to the other end of the road completely on the other side of the same cliff at Kalalua lookout. The road would cost to much and be impossible to build to connectthe two sides.
At the end of the road was Ke'e beach where we stayed for awhile. The giant bluff went straight up 1000's of feetright behind the beach. Awesome site. In the water, then out, shower and back towards town. Stopped for a snackin Hanalei Village. Another stop at Kilauea Point for a lighthouse and quite a picture place.
We ended the evening back around the port for a closer inspection of the Kauai Marriott to seeif we might want to come back. Impressive place. Marriott bought and refurbished an older hotel and made it oneof their timeshare properties. After a brief drive by we headed up behind the Marriott to get a closerlook at the golfcourse. We followed this road around behind and out on this point to where we could see the lighthouseand Ninini Point. One of the golf holes went almost out to it. We kept following the roadand when the road continued on beyond the golf course we kept going with no one in sight.
Off the paved road we hit a dirt and gravel road and kept going. The bride got kinda nervous cause there was no one around anywhere. We kept following until the road let right out to the lighthouse. Very awesome point. We stayedfor a few minutes and watch the surf pound the rocks. There's not a soul anywhere and dusk is coming pretty fast so we headed back in. By the time we get back to the golf course there's a chain over the road. Lucky for us theSebring is pretty low riding. The bride gets out, holds the chain up as high as it will go and we clear it by like 2 inches. Back around the golf course down to the Marriott and there's the guy pulling up another chain across the road. "Where did you guys come from," he says. Uh, well, we were back there. Whew! We smiled and then laughed out loud as we crossed the chain again and headed back to turn in our rental car and take the last shuttle to the ship at 8 p.m.
Straight to the buffett line for a light dinner, then to a show for a Las Vegas singer type who was 60+ and outstanding. Backto the room for a shower and hit the rack. More later. de & ke
Sunday, May 20, 2007
New H-town this week!
Well, its on to a brand new H-town this week, Hawaii-town. Yeah, I know it doesn't make a lot of sense but neither does planning for this kind of trip, some place we've both wanted to go our whole lives. Direct flight right after church this morning. 7 day cruise to the Big island, Oahu, Kauai, and Maui. It's going to be great fun. I'll try to blog most everyday if I can. We brought the computer, camera, etc. Maybe there will even be some pics. TTYL from H-town.
de & ke
de & ke
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Baghdad blog
Just came across Mark Goode's blog. He's from our church and fighting in the war in Baghdad. Thought you might want to check it out. http://mpfreedomfighter.blogspot.com/
Blogging again!
I'm not one of those religious-type bloggers whose habit it is to blog eveyday. Duh! you say. You're not even weekly or monthly. Well, you'd be right about that. Hopefully, I'm back to blogging on a more regular basis. I do spend enough time each day on the computer that blogging should be easy enough. Maybe I'm just not that organized or disciplined. Maybe its too much TV at night. I did get way behind on my regular shows when the STB were recording almost every night two weeks ago, during sweeps week. Maybe I've spent all my spare time over the past six weeks digging in the dirt in and around my house when I could've been blogging. I do love my yard and the flower beds and am even picking tomatoes every day right now. Gave a bunch of em away to our LIfe group this past Sunday night. They snatched em up when I offered. I guess bottom line is, I've gotta have a reason to blog. It can't be just mindless stuff. Well what do you think this is that you're doing now?
Here's the scoop for those who are interested. This Sunday, Lord willing, the bride and I will be flying to Honolulu for a 7 day cruise around the islands. I'll try to blog every day about our journey and even include some pictures and maybe video. I did manage to put a video on my myspace account yesterday. Yes, I now have a myspace page. Here's the link. There's not much there but I'm just getting started. http://www.myspace.com/davidel57
STB recording update. We spent a full Saturday this past Sat. It was slow. We've got one more song to go, not counting all the editing, then the mixdown, mastering, and duplication. Well, more later. I promise.
Here's the scoop for those who are interested. This Sunday, Lord willing, the bride and I will be flying to Honolulu for a 7 day cruise around the islands. I'll try to blog every day about our journey and even include some pictures and maybe video. I did manage to put a video on my myspace account yesterday. Yes, I now have a myspace page. Here's the link. There's not much there but I'm just getting started. http://www.myspace.com/davidel57
STB recording update. We spent a full Saturday this past Sat. It was slow. We've got one more song to go, not counting all the editing, then the mixdown, mastering, and duplication. Well, more later. I promise.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
STB Recording
I sing in a southern gospel quartet called the South Texas Boys. The group reformed a couple of years ago with three members from their former quartet, The Master's Brothers, who lost its lead singer and me as the new tenor. That rocked along for a few months when the high tenor retired from school teaching and moved and the lead singer quit. That left me and Wyatt the original member, the bass, and me. I moved to lead and Wyatt recruited one former member from years ago, John, and a former member's son, Forrest. That's where we are for about the last year.
This past week we spent four days recording our first CD. Back while I was in preacher's school in 1988, the school grabbed four of us and put together a quartet which travelled and sang to promote the school for a time and we recorded a cassette. Actually, looking back, it wasn't too bad for no more time than we spent doing it. As I recall we only spent a few hours recording the whole thing. I gotta find one of those tapes and make it into a CD for me. Anyway, that was nothing compared to this past week. When we were done Saturday, not done completed but out of time for the week, we had put in 20 hours in the studio. That's not counting the time it took to get there and back, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, nights, and Saturday. All told about 30 hours last week recording.
Hopefully, we'll finish this Saturday with another 6 or 7 hours. We'll finish our recording part. Then there's editing, mixing, and such. It may be 50 hours or more studio time before we're done. Maybe more on that later.
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This past week we spent four days recording our first CD. Back while I was in preacher's school in 1988, the school grabbed four of us and put together a quartet which travelled and sang to promote the school for a time and we recorded a cassette. Actually, looking back, it wasn't too bad for no more time than we spent doing it. As I recall we only spent a few hours recording the whole thing. I gotta find one of those tapes and make it into a CD for me. Anyway, that was nothing compared to this past week. When we were done Saturday, not done completed but out of time for the week, we had put in 20 hours in the studio. That's not counting the time it took to get there and back, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, nights, and Saturday. All told about 30 hours last week recording.
Hopefully, we'll finish this Saturday with another 6 or 7 hours. We'll finish our recording part. Then there's editing, mixing, and such. It may be 50 hours or more studio time before we're done. Maybe more on that later.
">Link
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Back to the Blog
Well, here goes my blog again. After catching up on some other bloggers and finding some new ones, like Mark in Irag, and Holly in Chicago, I figured I better get back to blogging myself. The last time I tried was after they were switching to the new blogger. I tried 2 or 3 times and it just wasnt' working so I quit. Now I'm back. Can't promise much except to check in from time to time. Maybe I'll put up some pics of my grandson or my daughter being in town this weekend or the bride and mines upcoming trip to the islands or our STB in the recording studio. That was worth a blog or two. I did record an album one time in preachers school but not like this time. It was very cool. Well, whatever it is hopefully I'll be back soon. Or maybe a Rockets shout out if they win on Thursday. It wouldn't be for the slumping Astros. How bout those Mavs, back from the brink. Gotta work now.
de
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