First Car Wash, Retirement Anniversary, Ride-Along Golf

Note: This is another blog based on my weekly emails to my family on the mainland.]

6/1/24

 

Aloha Everyone -- 

Wow, June already! Our Memorial Day weekend was pretty quiet. I celebrated by giving my new car its first wash -- definitely a bonding experience,  I also took the extra step of applying a coat of "ceramic paint sealant," aka polish.  This is the latest and greatest type of finish protection, even for new cars -- at least that's the claim,  The particular product I used was lightweight compared to some, and it went on super-easy, with very little buffing required. Even though the new paint has something called "clear coat" on it, this ceramic coating is supposed to give the finish added protection.  We'll see. Of course, it only took a few days before I had to drive in the rain coming home from Makalei on Wednesday. The next washing won't won't be as much fun as the first, of course......

Speaking of Makalei, on Wednesday I went with Karen and mostly acted as her caddy and cart driver. I

Kind of Sad

decided I'm getting too serious about the game, so I'm backing off a bit.  I did play the last two holes -- ones we usually skip -- and did pretty good until I got into some tall grass and tried unsuccessfully to bush-whack my way out,  With all the rain lately the mowing crew is having a tough time keeping up. If our usual golf partner was available I wouldn't have gone along, but she and her husband both are recovering from Covid, which is definitely on the uptick here. We saw all three of the white peacocks, including one female with her baby -- not white, by the way.  The normal males are still displaying but are looking pretty bad. They don't seem to realize it, though -- sort of like the guys we see here at the beach with pot belly's strutting around in their Speedo's).  Anyway, Karen finished all 18 holes (!) and played consistently very, very well. 

Yesterday was a significant anniversary for us -- the last day of our contracts before retiring.  That was 24 years ago -- hard to believe! We didn't do anything special, other than joining some friends for Happy Hour at a beach side park. Each year we also celebrate the anniversary of our first day of retirement, which of course is today.  Neither of us has regrets, and we both agree that retiring while we were still young enough to enjoy it was the right thing to do.  We've been able to have enriching, rewarding, and enjoyable experiences that are getting increasingly difficult to come by, given that the world, especially our own country, appears to be coming apart at the seams.

Ok. Market and breakfast picnic.  Take care and stay the course.