hockey_puck

From where? How much?

Or "no worries" Done Melbourne, Sydney, South Vic and next. Port Douglas! H.P.

Got that notice in the mail and had the update done today. On my second unit anyway, so we'll see what happens over time. H.P.

Two words. Block Heater. Used up here for decades. H.P.

The TSA wouldn't let it on the plane! H.P.

Back in the Great White North. Happy to see we are sharing some lovely winter temps with the eastern folks! Left one of those intelligent trickle chargers on the Journey and it started right away after sitting a month. First hockey game today, and no they didn't need to call the paramedics to revive me! Things are good. H.P.

Last day. Fly back tonight. Back to reality. More Hawaii notes: There is certainly a very different attitude to life VS the North American continent attitude. Hawaiian time does exist. Be patient folks. Chill. Their local TV news is a throwback to local TV from the early 80's on the continent. It exists, with actual media personalities. I suspect it is because the "corporate trend" in the media has just not made it across the Pacific, plus the isolation of the islands. There definitely are two cultures here. I'll call one, "the tourist" and the other, "the local". They charge for everything and the tourist pays a premium. Learn how to pronounce Hawaiian names/terms and you learn a lot, and hide that you are a tourist. It isn't too hard to find out where the locals shop to avoid the tourist prices. Example. Pay $7.50 for a gallon of milk at the tourist grocery store. Or pay under 4 bucks where the locals shop. It just might take a bit longer bus ride. Next time I hear people bitch about the roads at home, I'm going to swack them in the head. In some cases they ain't no better here and in many cases worse! And there is no freeze/thaw cycle. A lot of Hawaii's roads are very old, constructed to old standards, too small and narrow, and there is no where to widen and improve. Land is very expensive! The H1 freeway is a joke in old sections and daily bumper to bumper traffic is the norm. Amazingly courteous and patient drivers. They are constructing an elevated L.R.T. It is way over budget and costing BILLIONS. Won't be done for a few years. Sales taxes to pay for it extended into the late 20's There are 3 languages here. English, Hawaiian and Japanese. Speak all 3 and you can go far. Honolulu airport is real old. A redo underway, but seems to happen on Hawaii time. Lie on the beach and watch the big jets land and takeoff, one after another. Busy. Dandelions don't grow well here. I've seen one. We have windchill warnings. Hawaii has surf height warnings. Flying doesn't bother me. Sitting still for 5 or 6 hours to Vancouver does. You can own a black car here. Never gets dusty! But, expect to see the paint burned off the roof on a 3 year old car. Because it reflects sunlight, white is the most popular colour here by far. The cops ride bicycles on the sidewalks. Not supposed to. Honolulu Zoo is worth every penny. The Aquarium isn't. Good luck finding a favourite TV show on a cable channel. The 4 or 5 hr time difference means it's on in the late afternoon. Live sports gets weird too. Networks are delayed. Would I live here? Hell yes. But it would take a lottery win to pull it off. Mahalo H.P.

You forgot big fat paws getting in the way when turning a sharp turn. Guilty! H.P.

VERY WELL DONE! Post of the day/week. I am in shock that you had even heard of Manitoba. LOL And he finds the bloody hand puppet too! H.P.

*sigh* Last week. Have to head out to buy Macadamia nuts for the neighbours who shoveled my driveway.

Still alive.

I'm too old for that. But. Tomorrow is Mountain Biking day! Pics to come. If I survive. HP

Listen Boy. Save yer pennies. I suspect you'd have a heck of a time convincing anyone to leave these Islands for the backwoods of Bama!

We'll trade ya Quebec for Hawaii. Even trade! H.P.

Nawww, not when there is so much eye candy at the beach.... Largess is common among the people of Polynesian background (both sexes). I must say there is a large number of overstuffed folk here, and they appear to originate from the mainland. Easy to tell when they talk. Seems more noticeable on this trip. Might be because there are a lot less folk from non North America countries due to the strong US dollar. The trailer trash index is way up. Another thing I've recently noticed. This is the best place on the planet to own a black car. They stay clean! No dust. H.P.

Get your mind out the gutter Although I must say the native Hawaiian folk are the nicest people around. H.P.

Me become a Yankee? Ha! Not going to happen. Although I would support the return of an independent Hawaii to the Commonwealth of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, since the illegal 1893 overthrow of the King of Hawaii, and occupation by The United States. There was a lot of sneaky skull duggery back then. Somehow I don't see that movement going very far. How unfortunate. I will agree, the climate here in January gives a whole new definition to "winter" H.P.

Found a video made where I'll be riding a bike next week!

Staying on Oahu. Everything I want to see or need is here. I rent a condo with full kitchen and all facilities for the month. Saves a ton VS bordellos or sleazy hotels and eating in restaurants. Yes, I am in the ''good" part of town. I have no idea where the coffee plantations are. I do know where the best mountain biking is. Hell will freeze over before I'll go look at snow atop an extinct volcano with no trees and is barren rock. If I was that crazy I'd have dragged the hockey gear here as there is one rink in Honolulu, and they have pickup games. No black sand on this island. Do remember, it is considered bad form to take ANYTHING off the beach and remove it from the islands. Apparently you become "cursed" if you do that, and will have bad luck according to folklore. If you are ever going to visit a volcano, you don't wanna mess with Pele the volcano Godess. Hawaii ain't the only State in the Union with a meth issue. They all have one.

Now, imagine that in a bikini. YES that happened on my first week at the beach. I was almost blinded by that sight. Definitely a newly arrived mainlander. White as a sheet.

Aloha from the Islands in the middle of the Pacific. Happened to turn on the TV to see the wailing about a little snowfall to hit the east side of the mainland, and the chaos it's going to create, and I just wanted to say hi. Here's hoping Alabama gets some too! I look forward to the hours of laughter I'll have watching the snow-crash videos on youtube. I have seen a number of Journeys here, many older models, and because of the climate they are all in pristine condition. As well, cars here are all so clean all the time. Have had no rain in a week here so far and none predicted. There is no question that GM (Camaro) and Ford (Mustang) sell most of their convertibles here. Every fifth car seems to be one of them. Because of the "strong US dollar" far fewer folks from Oz, Canada, Japan and China are here visiting. The numbers of Mainlander's are up considerably. One can see this on the beach. For some reason, folks from the continent tend to be of a "larger size" or three. Dear America. You really need to eat less. Sadly, while having seen many land Orca's I have not seen any ocean Orca's. The locals here of native ancestry are really nice people. That has managed to bleed over to other locals too. There is a definite unique "Island attitude" and I notice it every time I return. This is my 5th time. Some notes for you. In Hawiian names, the letter i is pronounced eeee. As in eek Most patient drivers on the planet. They stop for pedestrians. But don't jaywalk. They ticket. Rarely hear a honk Best job in the world? TV weatherman. Great weather 95% of the time. Everyone loves you. Only tourists wear socks The state shoe should be the flip flop See someone walk down the street barefoot carrying a 10 foot surfboard? Completely normal. No motorcycle helmets. Shirtless in a convenience store? not a problem. Cars don't rust. The paint on the roof may burn off though. The Honda/Toyota/Mopar minivan is the taxi of choice. Not a Prius taxi in sight. Best bus system anywhere. Monthly pass 60 bucks. Thats 4 days of hotel parking. Lots of homeless. They NEVER ask for money or smokes. No one dresses up. T-shirts and shorts. Formal wear is a Hawaian shirt. No screens on windows. No bugs. Most businesses don't have doors when open. I think I've seen 3 flies. Total. All inclusive in Hawaii? Not a chance. Gasoline today? Around $2.50 / gallon. Aloha H.P.

For our cold climate I'd recommend you spend a few extra bucks and get lithium ion 2032 batteries. I found them at Wal-mart in the electronics dept. Aloha. H.P.

Bye bye Town & Country name, Hello again Pacifica. Will be interesting to see what happens to the Dodge Caravan in Canada. Outsells the Chrysler version minivan by a very large margin. http://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/detroit-auto-show/2016/01/11/2017-chrysler-pacifica-minivan-monumental-leap/78336620/ I suspect the front end is a sneak preview of the Journey replacement. H.P.

Recall done! First car in @ 7am, done and out by 0747. Took a peek in the showroom. Holy Cow! Prices are up. Loaded Cherokee Trail Hawk. 40k. OUCH. Loaded Renegade 39k And that don't include taxes,

That's 7 Celcius. For the Yankees and really old folks, around 40 F.