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| Pineapple preserves. Yum! |
The rest of my morning consisted of straightening up my pile of paperwork and making plans for Monday, with the occasional interlude of texting with The Hubby. He sent me photos, each a shot of the Jeep further deconstructed that the previous shot. The Jeep looks weird with no seats or anything in it!
Too lazy to go out for lunch, I boiled some ramen noodles. I added hot sauce, which sloughed off the noodles and mixed in with what little broth I had at the bottom of the bowl. I know this is what happened because I slurped up the broth when the noodles were gone and it was like a kamikaze shot of almost pure hot sauce. The Hubby would have enjoyed watching my reaction, I'm sure.
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| Ramen - it's what's for lunch |
The afternoon I reserved for becoming more acquainted with my hot pink cruiser. The first thing to do required some research. The Hubby bought me a u-lock for my bike and I needed to learn how to use it correctly. Off to YouTube! As I watched videos on the proper way to lock up a bike, I reflected back on the crazy simple plastic-sheathed chain with a combination lock on it that everyone had when I was a kid. Of course, I also remembered someone stealing my brother's bicycle right out of our garage, so I watched a few more videos.
After I felt like I might be able to lock up the bike, I wanted to go ride. The bike lock came with a mounting bracket but I didn't like the only spot on the bike it would fit. Instead, I threw it in my backpack and then wheeled my new ride out the door. As I got going, I realized I did not feel comfortable enough to venture out on real streets, with actual traffic. I rode three laps around the apartment complex, which was actually enough to make my legs protest a bit!
As I walked back up to the apartment, I glanced at the post holding up the stairs providing access to the second floor. This seemed like a great place to put my newly learned skills of locking up a bicycle to the test. After I finished with everything, I took a picture and sent it to The Hubby. I apparently didn't learn quite enough from those videos. In my defense, however, the pole was just too big for the u-lock to fit around. I am fairly certain I'd have gotten it right were the pole not so big. Mental note: do NOT lock up the pink cruiser to a pole this big...or a tree...or a light pole...
With my first bike ride out of the way, I started thinking about getting in at least a mile walk for the day. I craved a cookie, so I headed for the market. In the bakery area, I found a 4-pack of fresh cookies - Country Cookies. Having never heard of Country Cookies, I decided to give them a try. I also grabbed the smallest container of milk I could get, a 16 oz. bottle.
Side note: I knew dairy was expensive but I just paid for 16 oz. what I would have paid for a gallon back in Vegas. Glad I drink coconut milk or almond milk these days instead of cow juice!
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| Bike dog! |
Seeing all that great ink reminded me that I wanted to stop by the shop of the guy who did my honu tattoo last summer to see if he was hiring a receptionist or scheduler or whatever. I needed to add that to my list of things to do tomorrow.
I headed home. As I neared the Starbucks, which always has a few tables and chairs sitting out on the walkway for people to take in the morning sun while they enjoy their lattes and frappuccinos, I heard music. To my delight, I found a group of beach-bum type musicians all hanging out collectively practicing on their various noisemakers. I saw tamourines, steel drums, bongos, guitars, at least one ukulele, and who knows what else. How cool! I was so mesmerized I forgot to ask if they minded me taking a picture until I was already a couple blocks down the street. Sorry, everyone. Maybe next time.
Almost home, I passed a cute little ocean-front bungalow with a for-sale sign. I noted the address and text The Hubby to look it up on Zillow. I told The Hubby my guess what $600,000. I nearly choked when he told me what he found. At 700 sq ft, no larger than most apartments, it listed for nearly $3 million!
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| Play checkers right by the ocean! |
Walking along the sea wall, I remembered I wanted to check out a spot where I frequently saw people sitting. I wondered why people always sat in that spot. I found, painted on top the sea wall, a checkerboard. How cool, I thought, to be able to see next to the ocean and plays checkers or chess. I need to learn chess, apparently!
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| Kayaking on the ocean. Looks fun! |
Speaking of cool things I want to do, as I started to walk away I noticed a kayak out on the ocean. It looked like it was piloted by a man and his 2 little boys, and stocked with fishing gear. I think it would be great to be able to kayak out in the ocean and catch dinner for that night!
I finally made it back to the apartment so I could try out the Country Cookies. It was love at first bite - chocolate chip but I tasted other things like peanut butter or something as well. The Hubby would be a fan. I somehow managed to only eat 2 of the cookies and put 2 aside for another time.
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| Country cookies (dangerously delicious) |
Sweet tooth satisfied, I took to Etsy looking for a bag. Since arriving on island, I've searched for a specific type of bag - a long-strapped, cross-body bag - but have had no luck yet finding one. As I was browsing the Etsy shops, it occurred to me that I should look up bicycle baskets too. I came across these adorable bike basket liners and instantly knew I needed only a simple wire basket for my bike. I shot off an email to the Mother-in-law, who sews so well - she sewed a custom dog cushion for the pups to ride on in the Jeep! - and asked if she would make a liner using the pattern I found so that it would match my pink cruiser.
With her working on that, I needed a basket. I found one on Amazon that was Prime eligible - in Hawaii, we don't order things unless they're Prime eligible because shipping is expensive! - but they were out of stock. The Hubby suggested I buy a basket here on island, so I wheeled the pink cruiser out the door and rode to the closest bike shop, Boss Frogs.
At Boss Frogs, I found a nice basket but it was black. Having my heart set on white, I hesitated. The guy in the shop told me that the white baskets tended to get ugly fairly quickly in the salty sea air and would sometimes turn a different color while black stayed black. I bought the black basket. After explaining that I had no tools at home, the shop guy kindly installed it on my bike for we while I waited. He even adjusted my seat to the right height, making it a lot more comfortable!
My ride home was uneventful, though I admit to still being nervous on the streets outside the apartment complex. The basket came in handy, allowing me to put the lock in the basket instead of carrying it in a backpack. That thing is heavy!
The final tweaks, for now, on the bike got taken care of a short time after I returned home. Earlier in the day, before my first ride, I had called the gentleman who helps my landlady out around the apartment. He showed up with some tools and attached the other other accessories I had bought like the lights and cup holder. The pink cruiser is all set now.
Dinner was another Tony's pizza in the toaster oven. I still can't get over the fact I never had a toaster oven.
The Hubby told me of a spot in Lahaina town that I might want to check out for locking up the bike when I ride it into town. He came across it as part of this fun slideshow he found called
Bikes of Lahaina, Maui. Maybe someday I'll be a part of that show!
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