The Week (or so) In Review

The Week (or so) In Review was Originally Posted on August 11, 2013 by lavarock

Just before the hurricane didn’t hit, I found my garage canopy had shredded. The side panels were fine, however the top just opened like the Grand Canyon. COSTCO said to just bring it back fro a refund. My problem was that it is difficult to pack the thing in the same box it came in.

I am still weeding the farm and that looks like a lifelong project.

My friend (and ex-coworker) Gary put in a bid on a farm here that was in foreclosure. His bid at almost twice the asking price won, but there was another bidder on his heels. Still, he got a very good deal which is a 5 acre farm in Hawaii, a view of the Pacific, an 1100 square foot house that seems pretty well built and there are already some fruit and coffee trees planted. He is relied upon myself and his real estate agent to inspect the house as he is buying it with no visit (just looking at photos). I think he will be fine with it.

When will leave his wife on the mainland as he and a friend ready the house. It appears his friend will move out here with them to start a new life. I already have the friend (a handyman) scheduled to do work on my property, so he already has a prospect for paying work and some other possibilities.I will finally be able to get the kitchen, bathrooms, downstairs room and roof the way I want them, hopefully at a reasonable cost.

Unlike me, Gary and his wife are ahead of the curve because I already have done the same thing, moving to Hawaii and starting a farm. We will use my experiences to make their transition a bit easier. He will need to come up with a business plan, show the lessor how he intends to use the farm and so on. I will get his set up on a VOIP telephone line. We have already determined who his internet provider will be. He will join the coffee and the fruit farmers organizations and attend some of the free seminars. I can create a farm website for him and get him set up with a business license.

My second cousin Ryan and Katelynne are here from the mainland for a friends wedding. I assume it is a friend, because why would they travel 1/4 way around the world to attend a strangers wedding? They visited the farm today, I took them down to the Place of Refuge National Park and we hiked a bit, then they went snorkeling at two-step. Afterwards we all headed into town to the Big Island Grill for dinner. They enjoyed the meal and also decided they may head back to Two Step tomorrow. Tomorrow night they are scheduled to tour the Kona Brewing Company facilities and then stay for pizza and beer. Sunday night is live entertainment too. I may have to help them sample the locally brewed beer. KBC beer is available on the mainland (konabrewingcompany.com has info on how to find it in your town). You should know that the bottled beer is brewed on the mainland because Kona does not have a bottling plant. Still, it is a nice drink whichever variety you decide upon.

While we were up in town, I showed them the Konaweb webcam and we stood there while our images were shown around the world (and all the ships at sea). Ryan used his Ipod to capture the photo and save it.

They tried some “exotic” fruit I’m growing, which they don’t have on the mainland and I showed them my meager pulping and processing area.

I am working on a plumbing issue and trying to finish some projects.

I forgot to mention the big news of the week. I got a phone call on my toll free number, which is usually a coffee purchase question. I missed the first part of what the caller said, but I hear “call” and “K”. Living west of the Mississippi and being a Ham Radio Operator, I know most hams out here have a call that starts with “K”. The guy asked me about my experience with Lava rocks and so on. It finally dawned on me, I was being asked if I could be interviewed for a news item on a Honolulu TV station. The interview, which I assume would include a few people they could video locally and me on the phone, would ask if Madam Pele is real, if taking lava rocks from the islands really brings a curse or is it a fairy tale. If you read my story, I think you will see that my story might have been the last one in the interview because I answer that question in a way many people would not expect. http://home.mindspring.com/~lavarock/badluck.htm