It's a special day today as my good friend Willow has come to visit for a while. 🐶
If the rain holds off we'll head to the beach.
Depending on rain, wind and tides, the river sometimes carves deep into the sand at the mouth. Then chunks are rather splendidly and randomly carved off.
I was slow to get into this book, but then I was hooked and reading solidly: Death by the Riverside (Micky Knight Mysteries Book 1) by J.M. Redmann. 📚
It's so refreshing and rare to have an actual lesbian protagonist. Some parts are definitely NSFW. Micky is a survivor to be sure!
When we went to Samoa I totally wanted to avoid any Roaming fees so turned off all kinds of stuff on my Phone. I regret it now, when somehow iMessages are only turning up on my Phone not my Mac, and a phone call I actually wanted just failed to connect with me. Grrr.
Now fiddling with Settings…
Ohhhh, I just caught up with Star Trek: Strange New Worlds S02E09 — the musical episode. I loved it! Just brilliant! 🖖🏼
People round here go to some lengths to get their vehicles onto the beach (legally a 'road'). The river loops back on itself just now so there's nowhere for most vehicles to go.
Locals dug a channel between the two streams to send the river straight out to sea.
Didn't work so some chance it…
Another good read: Killing Grounds (A Kate Shugak Investigation Book 8) by Dana Stabenow. The 4th of July hijinks were fun too. 📚
Cal Meany is a cheat, a poacher, an abusive father and an adulterous husband. So nobody is that surprised when Kate Shugak finds his body floating in the bay.
Erratum: that seal photo I posted yesterday — apparently it wasn't a Kekeno | New Zealand fur seal:
It appears it was a Subantarctic Fur Seal, and DOC were quite excited as they do not normally come this far north. Reports are that after a nice day on the beach it has headed out to sea again.
It's the season (August to October) when some of the driftwood on the beach turns out on closer inspection to in fact be a Kekeno | New Zealand fur seal, come ashore to rest.
Update, 14 August 2023: apparently this isn't a Kekeno:
It appears it was a Subantarctic Fur Seal, and DOC were quite excited as they do not normally come this far north. Reports are that after a nice day on the beach it has headed out to sea again.
One of the things I loved about our Traditional Garden View Villa
at Sinalei Resort was the almost or fully outdoor bathroom. Here was the shower. 🇼🇸
On the plane to Samoa one of the bathrooms was painted to resemble shelves full of books. Titles included:
- The Importance of Aiming
- Origami Guide for Toilet Paper
- Race to the Outhouse by Willie Maykit
- The Porcelain Polishers Guide
- Designing for Small Spaces
- Aerial Hitchhiking
🤣
And, 12 hours after leaving the resort in Samoa, at a pleasant 28C, we’re finally home where it’s 0C. 🥶🇼🇸
On the AIRNZ flight it took forever to get a cup of hot water I could put my green teabag in. Eventually it arrived. For a second cup I just had them fill it with cold water. That sort of worked. Kinda.
Samoa’s airport scanners must be on the older side. Had to remove shoes, and even my watch. Meanwhile the plane is delayed 45 minutes, so now we wait. There’s a big array of solar panels right next door too. 🇼🇸
Today we leave Sinalei Resort in Samoa and make our way home. That involves about 5.5 hours in the air, a couple of hours driving, and of course lots of waiting around in airports. 🇼🇸
Sometimes members of staff entertain us with singing at breakfast.
Samoa today: 24–28C; home 3–11C. Brrr.
Just had the best lunch ever at a surprising cafe in Apia called Rivaiv. It was like a Wellington cafe. Utterly delicious Teriyaki bowl with chicken. 🇼🇸
There are worse places to sit and read. 🇼🇸
That earthquake I felt this morning was listed at M 5.9 - Tonga. It was some distance away and moderately deep, so for me, sitting in bed, it was just a gentle shake. Deb was standing up and didn't even feel it. 〰️ 🇼🇸
Pretty happy with this handheld shot on my iPhone of the Milky Way just by the tail of Scorpius. 🇼🇸
Stellarium screenshot.
This 10 minute video will interest many I think: This town banned cars (except tiny electric ones):
Zermatt, in Switzerland, bans all private cars and all gasoline cars. But if you run a business, you might be able to buy one of the special, tiny ones that are built right there.
