Christmas 2019

Aloha Menehunes and Friends of Menehunes

‘Twas an adventurous year for Mary and Vic with multiple visits from family, both facetime and real time.

Vic continued to fly, climb mountains, pump iron and challenge the ocean. This year’s race in Waimea Bay had 2 super- happy outcomes. One was a visit by a tribe of friendly dolphins who appeared in the open ocean about halfway through the 1.2 mile race and put on a most inspiring show for the human visitors swimming in their domain. Although Vic spent plenty of time admiring the dolphins and envying their aquatic prowess, the second happy outcome was finishing the race with an even better time than last year: 1.2 miles in 61 minutes and 30 seconds.

In addition, Vic ran his lifeguard score up to 14 saves. Gotta keep folks safe in the pool!

Flying has been both satisfying and remunerative. Vic was offered an opportunity to fly and teach academics which expanded his aeronautical horizons and augmented the pocketbook. Total flight time went over 8,500 hours, and he has still never failed a flight student. Many of his students are now flying for the Air Force and the Army and the Airlines.

Mary has devoted herself to home improvements and encouraging visitors, and she has been wildly successful. Sarah and Jacques, and grandsons Jon, Joseph, and Peter, enjoyed a month with us last July and are planning a Christmas re-run where they will be joined by Nathan and Sundi and granddaughter Valor. In addition, Mary’s sister, Karen, spent three weeks with her. An unexpected bonus was that during her first week, Karen’s son and his wife were on their own Honolulu adventure, celebrating their anniversary, and were able to meet us at Bellows for two fun overnights on our favorite Waimanalo Bay beach! We also enjoyed a perfect luau together at Paradise Cove out on the west side of the island.

Of much interest and pride to us are the truly impressive accomplishments of grandson Jon, who maxed out his Cub Scout promotions and arrow points. In addition, he was elected as class representative for the Student Council and totally smoked his Revolutionary War history exam with a sterling grade of 100%. He has expanded his music lessons for ukulele to include the percussion group at school, and his artwork has provided 50+ hand-rendered drawings for his Cub Scout pack’s project to thank our military veterans.

We’re both looking forward to a happy Christmas with lots of hiking and ocean adventures. Best wishes to all for a happy and holy Christmas and a safe and prosperous New Year.

Vic and Mary