Liz Here

Today Mike looked so relieved when I told him that Diane Buffalin, our friend who is also a psychologist and world traveler asked how she would keep up with Me on our trip.

Mike agreed that I would inject, Liz here to let the reader know that I was talking and that I would not add to Mike's text. This morning I just added to Mike's text on the PCC (Polynesian Cultural Center) and said things he would not have said and really did not want ascribed to him. For example I added on how it was run by Brigham Young and he'd preferred to skip that part.

Another thought I had on Polynesian Culture is that when a couple is married they do not say "Yes" or "I do". Polynesians answer "No". Their question is not, "Will you take this partner?" but "Will you ever leave this partner?".

You may wonder or not wonder where I've been all this time since Mike started the Blog the week before we retired in Aug. which is almost 8 weeks ago. Mike asks me to read the blog before he hits the publish button. Really I was so relieved that Mike had started a narrative and the pictures he adds are a huge plus. Our friends liked Mike's writing style and light humor. My mother is so pleased with Mike's appreciation and respect towards me. Hopefully I won't disappoint or just skip Liz here. We want it entertaining.

Meanwhile I scrambled to tie up loose ends to empty out apartment and to find an appropriate place for everything. No call to Salvation Army by me when I might hand things to a person in person. My mother's maiden name is Housman so not having a house is an unusual and temporary state albeit a state that may go on for 5 years or more. I do rent out a house in Kentucky that has needed some business attention as of late so we are not exactly homeless but owning a home and having a home with our stuff in it are 2 different states.

While in Las Vegas 3 nights we were at The Luxor and 2 unexpected things occured. We bought a time share and I caught a cold. I have traded my timeshare that was gifted to me by a dear friend every year for 16 years. One year I skipped and then got 2 units the following year. Mike agreed this

looked like a pretty good deal. We bought one under construction that came with 2 extra sets of points. We will convert our timeshare into points too. we fell for the advantage of flexibility. We really will look into booking in Asia in 2012 since the best deals are 2 - 45 days in advance. We bought more points at a time when we are heavy into travel. In 2017 we will go to Europe, the Middle East and South Africa. We can bank points for that trip and also borrow from future years. Mike encouraged the purchase as a tribute to my trip booking efforts at a time when a lot of our stays were very fuzzy.

I am writing now with a lot more confidence. Our trip is moving along smoothly and affordably. We booked our Hawaiian inter-island flights so that created the structure for all our other hawaiian bookings.

So I caught a cold. I unpacked our Airbourne tablets in Hawaii after it was too late; my nose was stuffed up. The Luxor gave us a 1st floor smoking room which Mike relished as he wrote blog. Where else but in Las Vegas are you allowed to smoke in your room? Arriving in Las Vegas was a low point since Grand View Resorts Check-in desk was closed so I was not sure we would be compensated for our room after all. I was not sure that we had a room but Mike forged ahead and got us in. Meanwhile I was not sure our trip to Las Vegas was worth the arbitrary stop over, my idea of a good way to break up extreme jet lag. But Mike and I love Zion Canyon. Seeing that place reassures him of our future in a motor home beginning next May. I will execute his dream life in a motor home and share it happily same as he is living my dream trip to go to these far away places in the Pacific while we are younger and fitter than we'll ever be. But I caught a cold and was ashamed to admit it to our hosts, Brian and Merv. I really don't want to infect others. And really drinking enough water in Hawaii is a real mission. Mike understands that and carries a "Camelback" full of water everywhere we go. But Mike couldn't help but wonder what part of my drinking problem is psychological. We played golf with an African American urologist at Rackham in Hunting Woods just before we left and I asked him about it. He said, "You got 2 hours for a talk? " He said he restricts water intake on certain patients and that one can drink too much water. Anyway eventualy I drank almost a whole bottle of liquid Mucinex and took lots of Advil and got over the cold.

Now we have the flights we need except inside New Zealand. It is hard to not want to get to Queenstown to see their uniquely beautiful Fjords. We booked hostels in Australia for Alice Springs and during Christmas when we're in Cairnes. Rooms to book are still New Years Week in New Zealand. But that is far enough away that I am not anxious.

Tomorrow is Saturday and a big day for "Occupy Wallstreet". What better place to support the cause than downtown Honolulu?