This year, New Years Day fell on a Saturday. That meant a nice and quiet day at home. We postponed our normal weekly shopping trip to Safeway and opted for a take out dinner with Mr. Crab. I enjoyed their fried cat fish while Arlyn feasted on their dungeness crab platter with mussels and cajun seasoning. Amber also had the dungeness crab but kept it simple with no seasoning.

We had two more bedding areas that required some landscaping rock. After trying to order the rock from Hastie's Capitol Sand & Gravel since May 2021, the vendor finally had the right rock available. I ordered 1.5 yards of the 1 1/2 Lodi Brown, the same kind we have distributed around the house. The cost was $134.63 plus $71.00 for the delivery, making the total cost $221.57. The rock arrived at 6:45 AM and was literally dumped on our driveway. Arlyn, Amber and I tackled the rock pile at around 9:00 AM and got finished moving it at 1:30 PM. It was quite the workout.

It should be noted that the rock lacked the same kind of color contrast as we have observed from previous deliveries. The color tended to be more white and grey.

During our visit with Vine and Jim Smith during the Halloween party on October 30, 2021 (that is not a typo, the Halloween party was on October 30th), we made plans to do a group trip. We wanted to return back to McCloud's RV Resort. Jim and Vine would bring their trailor while the three of us (Arlyn, Amber and I) would rent one of their premium cabins. The plan was to occupy a trailor spot and cabin next to each other. We agreed on the weekend of January 27, 2022 for this little mini vacation.

Later, Jim and Vine realized the need to winterize their trailor for this trip. Instead of going through the trouble of winterizing, we decided to group up on the cabin. Thankfully, I rented a premium cabin which has a maximum occupancy of six individuals. This was not an issue.

Jim and Vine drove up Thursday morning and arrived early in the afternoon. I could not leave until 3:00 PM due to my commitment to work. Once I finished with work, I logged out of my systems and the three of us jumped in the Terrain and headed north on I-5.

On Friday, January 28, 2022, Vine and Arlyn prepared a typical Filipino breakfast of rice, eggs and tocino. We then headed into McCloud to fly my drone. Unfortunately, because I had a new iPad that was untested, I was unable to launch the drone and therefore, there are no videos from this trip. We tried to visit the McCloud Hotel but found the door locked. So we wandered the empty streets for a short while and then headed back to the cabin. I had prepared a Chicken Fettuccini Alfredo meal ahead of time and had to warm that up for lunch.

For dinner, we headed back into McCloud and dined at the Axe & Rose. We ran into Sarah Fraley who was our server for the night. I have to say that the Steak Sandwich was perfect. Arlyn had the fish & chips. Amber polished off a Ribeye Steak.

On the way back to the cabin, we stopped off at Reginatos Mini-Mart and picked up some ice cream.

On Saturday, while Jim and Vine headed off to do their weekend trek on some obscure mountain trail, Arlyn and I hooked up with Roger and Corinne Melton. Corinne and Roger were wonderful hosts as they prepared an awesome breakfast complete with sausages, eggs and burritos and coffee. The food was great and the company was awesome. We stayed and chatted for several hours.

Jeff and Randi Ogden drove up from Dunsmuir and joined us for dinner. Jim and Vine prepared some roasted pork with all the fixins'. It was a great dinner. Aftewards, we gathered around the fire pit that the Smiths brought up with them and finished the evening with Smores!!

Valentine's Day fell on a Monday this year. Knowing that locating a local establishment in Sacramento on Valentine's Day is a difficult task, I booked a table at The Firehouse Restaurant. I made the reservation on January 16, 2022. The only time available was at 4:30 PM. It was almost a full month before Valentine's Day and the only time available was 4:30.

Needless to say, Arlyn and I enjoyed a wonderful quiet dinner. They put us in a section of the restaurant I have never seen. There were these stairs that took us to a small, quiet meeting area. It was very romantic and the company was perfect.

After realizing that our plans to travel to the Philippines in May was becoming a risky venture, we postponed the Philippine trip to a later date. My vacation time was stacking up and had to be used. So, on January 17, 2022, I planned a trip to Waikiki, HI.

On March 5, 2022, we departed our home to go to Hawaii. Every trip is met with its challenges. And this trip did not disappoint. We did not make it out of our front door before we hit our first snag. My prearranged taxi was a no-show. Thank goodness I had built in some time to account for issues such as this. I contacted SITOA, the taxi company, and explained that we needed a taxi NOW. Seven minutes later, our new driver showed up. There was no explanation as to what happened.

We arrived at the Sacramento International Airport with no issues. We got checked in and had our COVID-19 vaccination records prescreened through Hawaii's Safe Travels website. We got to the Hawaiian airlines gate and took Hawaiian Airlines 59 to Kahului, Maui. The flight took 5 hours 40 minutes. We grabbed a quick California Pizza Kitchen pizza at the airport since we had a 1 hour and 20-minute layover. Our next flight took off on time at 2:39 PM (HT) and arrived in Honolulu, HI at 3:20 PM. The flight only took 41 minutes.

After arriving at the Honolulu airport, we encountered our next challenge. The prearranged shuttle was a no-show (I am sensing a pattern here). I called the shuttle company, Speedi Shuttle, and asked for a status on our ride to the hotel. They gave me directions on where to go (LOL) and to wait. After gathering our luggage, we went to the area and found our driver.

The shared-shuttle ride took a while to get us to the Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach Resort and Spa. There was some unusually high amount of traffic. But the driver was very accommodating and finally got Arlyn and I to our destination.

The Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach Resort is a wonderful resort. It has two 40-floor towers with immaculate views of the mountains and ocean. We got the mountain view as we enjoy looking at the green mountains and evening lights. The room is spacious and luxurious. The check-in process was painless.

Since it was about 5:00 PM when we arrived, we decided to have dinner at the hotel. There is a restaurant located at the hotel called SHOR. We had a very nice on dinner on the open-air patio while a local artisan played a guitar and sang romantic songs. After dinner, the sun was setting. We followed the throng of people heading to the beach. Many of the people whipped out their cell phones and took pictures of the picturesque scene playing out in front of us. I just leaned against a palm tree and enjoyed it all. After the sun set, the people, almost on que, turned and headed away from the beach and began their walks back to the respective lodgings. We found an ABC store at the hotel and picked-up some water, Coke Zero and snacks.

Oahu Day 1: Arrival (Youtube Video)

On Sunday, March 6th, we designated this day as our day of rest. This was a good thing because we found ourselves very jet lagged.

After grabbing breakfast at the SHOR, we walked around the downtown section of Waikiki. We had dinner plans scheduled to start at 5:00 PM, but the location was not clear. So, we hiked around and found the event's location at the International Market Place. We then headed back to the hotel, grabbing some poke and salad on the way and holed up in the hotel room.

We left the hotel at 4:15 PM and returned to the event's location. The vent was Queen Waikiki Laua. The event included dinner, Polynesian dancing, fire dancing and drinks. Both Arlyn and I had a great time as the event was fun and exciting. It ended at around 8:00 PM.

We took our time returning back to the hotel. We returned back to the ABC store and picked up some food for our breakfast the next day.

Oahu Day 2: Rest/Luau (Youtube Video)

On Monday, March 7th, I had prearranged an island tour with Roberts Hawaii. We boarded our coach at the hotel at around 7:15 AM and started the drive around Oahu. Our tour included quick stops at the following locations:

• Halana 'Blow Hole' Lookout
• Nuuanu Pali Lookout
• Dole Plantation
• Kualou Ranch
• Tropical Farms Macadamia Nut Farm
• Byodo-In Temple Ranch

We returned back to the hotel at around 4:45 PM. The coach driver was very professional and knowledgeable. I would recommend this tour.

Oahu Day 3: Oahu Island Tour (Youtube Video)

On Tuesday, March 8th, we travelled to the Polynesian Cultural Center.

Oahu Day 4: Polynesian Cultural Center (Youtube Video)

Wednesday, March 9th, is a beach day and a day of rest.

Oahu Day 5: Beach Day (Youtube Video)

Thursday, March 10th, was our day to tour downtown Honolulu and Pearl Harbor.

Oahu Day 6: Pearl Harbor (Youtube Video)

Friday, March 11th, is a beach day (with a drone) and a day of rest.

Oahu Day 7: Beach Day with a Drone (Youtube Video)

From Thursday, April 7th to 10th, we hung out at an Airbnb located at Tahoma, CA at Lake Tahoe.

Youtube Video

On Saturday, April 16th, 2022, Arlyn planned a birthday party for Rodney's 60th birthday party. Over 23 people attended the party. This party represented the first large party we have hosted since the begining of the COVID-19 pandamic. The last part occurred in February 2020.

Youtube Video