Thoughts About Paul's Yacht

The road leading to my office was finally paved Tuesday after more than two weeks of construction to install a private propane line for Microsoft Co-founder, Paul Allen. Paul has been in town all week, as evidenced by his yacht in Kailua Bay. Many of my co-workers saw his helicopter buzzing around and we think he has been flying the chopper from his house behind our office out to his yacht which has been parked in the bay less than a 1/2 mile from his house. It sure beats taking a dingy out to his yacht and having to drive a block in Kona traffic to get to the boat ramp.

Last week I went on a Christmas caravan with the Realtors to look at houses on the market. One of our stops was a $9.4 million mansion at Kukio. (Yes, you read that correctly. Nine point four million dollars) Homes at Kukio are commonly purchased as second or third homes so the filthy rich have a place to call their own when they want to visit Hawaii. The home we saw was typical for the style- granite counters, pocket doors that open up to an ocean view and infinity pool, tropical hardwoods, pod style construction, giant, glass showers and Jacuzzi tubs in every bathroom. To be quite honest, it's really not that impressive. There's nothing in that house I need, and although it's professionally designed and decorated, the house was lacking in personality. It didn't feel like a home.

It made me reflect on my own home (which is rented) and I honestly didn't desire the Kukio mansion or any of the other 1+ million dollar estates I saw that day. OK, they were pretty nice, but my point is, I'm content with what I've got. Maybe the people who own them are quite happy, but so am I. There's love in our home. I am greeted by a happy husband every evening when I return from work. We grill a steak and enjoy each other's company and there's joy and I feel at home. I hope Paul Allen and the buyer of the $9.4 million home have that happiness, too.

Standing Between the Skylights

Here's a photo from another recent caving trip. We still haven't found the mile-long, stand-up cave we're looking for but we found one cave that went back about 100 feet and saw lots of interesting lava formations.

White Christmas

Like most of the nation, north and west facing shores of the Big Island enjoyed a white Christmas yesterday- our coastline is being slammed by waves and our island is bordered by white water as far as you can see. A pretty good size swell is predicted to continue through today. Chris took this picture of me watching the splashes at NELHA Christmas morning.

Got Gas?

Apparently, Microsoft's co-founder, Paul Allen, does not have gas but he desperately wants some. Mr. Allen owns a home behind my workplace and he is having a private pipeline installed that reaches about 1/2 mile from the local propane dealer down to his property. So for two weeks we get to listen to bulldozers tearing up the street and deal with driving through an intersection full of machinery and workers.

I can't help but think it's hilarious, and it appears that Mr. Allen has put about a dozen guys to work for two weeks, which is great in this economy. But I can't help wonder why a propane line is so important to him. Besides running a BBQ and lighting tiki torches, what could he need lots of propane for? If the line is simply for aesthetics (perhaps he doesn't want an ugly tank on his land) Chris suggested that it may be cheaper for him to purchase the house next door and hide the tank there. Listings in the adjacent subdivision start at $1.2 million, which is probably cheaper than paying to tear up the road.