Love a parade!

I just happen to be in downtown Honolulu (goofing off) and had a wonderful surprise...

Winning Float

Aloha Festivals Floral Parade was just getting started.



Of course, I had to stay and watch. So glad that I did.

Queen

Each island was represented by a beautiful Queen and her Princesses riding their horses.

All lavishly gowned and adorned with lei's and wreaths - so colorful.

My pictures don't do it justice.

Pooper Scoopers

Beautiful Hula

My favorite -

Every island had their own Pooper Scoopers following the Queen's procession!

All original and decorated - and functional.

The young kids had a great time entertaining the crowds.

Gotta have a marching band

And lots of marching bands, hula dancers, cheerleaders, old cars, and so much more.

Can you smell those flowers?

Seems like there is always something happening downtown.  

Good thing I was goofing off - what a treat!

Back to reality...

And  back to boat projects!

Who needs life lines?

Well, we have been goofing off (a lot), but we have got a few boat projects in the works.

Of course, we have found a few more!

To prevent leaks and to guarantee support, Doug is re-bedding the stanchions.

At the same time - replacing our life lines with Spectra.

It is new technology - supposed to be stronger than steel.  We shall see...

Broken Gooseneck - not good

In the process of removing our sails (5-year checkup), Doug found some problems with our Gooseneck.

The gooseneck weld was busted, plus connection to the boom was bent.

Replacement parts - a Boat Buck!

At least it is a good time to replace them.

Plus, new technology seems to have improved the design.

We shall see.

Hopefully Doug can resuscitate

 Our dinghy engine died the day before we left French Polynesia.

So far, Doug has tried replacing all the important parts, but no luck fixing it.

Hopefully, it is fixable. If not, that's 2 more Boat Bucks!

Messing up the place

If you don't live on a boat, you will have problems comprehending the absolute mess that can happen when you are working on projects

It is amazing, but at least it all goes back together quickly!

Time to relax and enjoy the view!

But, at the end of the day, we still have a wonderful group of friends to commiserate with and enjoy our surroundings. Love it.

Thanks to Kathy and Debbie for sharing their beautiful picture of the Ko Olina lagoons - amazing!