The Clouds! They Burns Us!

Tricksey, false clouds! They burns the precious! You'd think I would have figured out that a Seattleite of British ancestry gets a sunburn anywhere he goes on a tropical island, even with SPF 30 sunblock. Twenty years ago I discovered that for the first time with a particularly bad burn. Today I spent some time walking on a beach and strolling around an outdoor mall before going to a baseball game at the University of Hawaii. (The Warriors beat San Jose State 6-0.) I didn't really think I was out in the sun that much but I've got a light sunburn as proof otherwise.

The beach was Ala Moana Park and it is just to the west of Waikiki. If it is not man-made then it is at least man-altered with a perfect half moon beach and a line of protective rocks that create a shallow without any waves. A jetty sticks out from one end and I went out there to sit and watch little crabs pick their way along some big black volcanic rocks. Crabs have an interesting social order. I noticed that the big ones seem to walk wherever they want and all the smaller ones move out of the way, creating a ripple effect as the other crabs adjust their positions, each reacting to the crab that's bigger than it. (Come to think of it, it's not all that different from humans.)

Tomorrow I go back to MARFORPAC headquarters and do some paperwork before heading back home on Wednesday. That will most likely not be as interesting as watching crabs.