Lee.org

Do you want to buy a Jetblue flight from me? I’ll give you a good exchange rate!

I’ve got $650 travel credit on Jetblue that expires in 4 months. I have to book the flight myself so it’s hard to sell to a stranger on ebay or whatever.

Realizing that Abigail was out of school and camp, Lee’s new job hadn’t started yet, Megan had recovered from her work-year, and Kilauea has been erupting lately, we went on an impromptu trip to Hawaii!

We ended up staying 8 days, seeing sights, swimming, having some resort-life, and… seeing a volcano erupt!

Here’s a few journal entries

Day One:

We woke up at 6:00 a.m. And took a 9:00 a.m. flight from San Francisco direct to Kona. Then we grabbed our rental car which was a free upgrade to a nice SUV and drove a nearby local farmers market. There. We explored many fruits and vegetables and bought a bunch of stuff. Then we drove north. Then we were hungry so we ate at a local Mexican restaurant and had chicken fajitas and a virgin frozen lava flow drink that had mango puree and strawberry puree and coconut ice cream all blended together and it was fantastic!

Back on the road. We looked for a grocery store. After passing some big name grocery stores like Walmart, we started looking for more local ones. We found two that were really just liquor stores with chips and a few small groceries which wasn’t good. So then we found a nice local grocery store and went shopping! We even bought spam and already cooked rice so we could make something delicious at home. We pulled off at the Magic Sands Beach so that we could put our toes in the sand and feel the beautiful ocean. We also saw a sea turtle swimming and the people were very nice and lots of kids were snorkeling and jumping in the waves. It was fun! Then we found the Black Sands Beach and had to pull off there too cuz it’s the Black Sands Beach. We saw two sea turtles up on the sand and they were having a turtle race. A very very slow race up the beach.

We had a long drive still ahead of us to get to our yurt in Volcano, Hawaii. So we didn’t really stop at the southernmost point of the United States. Although we noted the turn off for it. We also noted that there was a bakery which was the southernmost bakery in the whole United States but it was closed 3 minutes before we got there so we didn’t go.
Once we found the turn off for our Airbnb yurt, we started down a pitted unpaved road in the rain and darkness. We finally found our yurt and were happily surprised at how awesome it was. As we puttered around and made some scrambled eggs and sliced up a pineapple for snacks, we noted the very, very, very loud coqui frogs. Soon we were sleeping inside the yurt listening to the frogs and the incessant rain.

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Day 2

On Sunday, June 15th it was Father’s Day. We started the day with a delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs, cubed potatoes and sausages . Then we went to the Volcanoes National Park to see the volcano Kilauea that is currently active. We attended a talk by a park ranger and it was super interesting. We learned all about Pele’s Hair and ways that they anticipate or predict the next eruption such as the rise in the land and also how many earthquakes, like thousands or hundreds that happen right before and showed us some graphs. We also looked at some cool lava specimen rock specimens. That’s all. Lots of steam. Then we drove down the road a ways to see the steam vents and it was really neat and hot like a sauna. We also went to see the lava tube which was amazing. But what was more amazing was the plant life on the path leading up to and after the lava tube area. We saw all kinds of mosses and mushrooms and ferns and fiddleheads and flowers and all sorts of really cool things in the lush rainforest area. Then we walked a bit of the Devastation Trail and came across an astounding overlook of Kilauea Iki crater with its basin formed of lava that floated up and then back down again. Then we headed to the southernmost bakery in the United States per Abigail’s request. Along the way we stopped at a coffee plantation which was pretty disappointing, but we met some nice people there and we chatted for a very long time with them about their travels around the world and that was fun. Then we went to go see the southernmost point on the island and of the United States-sort-of-almost cuz the other parts are really restricted. But it’s the southernmost point that we’re allowed to go to and it was really cool and we were standing there and we were looking over the edge of the cliff and it was amazing and scary. And then two local boys showed up, kicked off their shoes and jumped in without hesitation as if they done it a hundred times before then. They went down there and swam around and had a lovely time. It was kind of cool. There’s lots of locals there too. Then we went to the bakery.

Then we went to the southernmost restaurant in the whole United States and it was quaint and surprisingly delicious. For Lee’s Father’s Day dinner we treated him to a pizza with lobster on it and shrimp and shrimp and pesto and cheese and it was delicious and Abigail had an amazing smashburger with local beef which was also amazing. Although none of us had a taste cuz she ate the whole thing so fast. Then we got a slice of macadamia pie and Abigail got a peanut butter s’more cookie and we drove home in the rain back to our yurt.

Before we went back to our yurt, we drove in the dark to the Volcano National Park again, went to the overlook and watched it steam a little bit in the dark. It was kind of hard to see but we also saw amazing billions of stars in the sky. Then we went home and fell asleep very quickly because we are all exhausted.

But before filing asleep, we went outside our yurt in the rain and extricated our friendly frog neighbor.

On Monday I got to play 2 good boardgames, Aquire and Red Rising.

Aquire is all about merging companies. It took me a while to figure out how to win, reminding me of the pain of my recent IRA mis-contributions. But hey, a good game none-the-less.

Red Rising has cards with characters, in a mix of a trick taking game with multiple stacks of cards to take. The art is nice too. I liked it and would play again!

Watch as Marula Eugster Rigolo delivers a jaw-dropping sanddorn balance act that leaves everyone in awe on Italia’s Got Talent. With incredible precision, she balances multiple objects in a mesmerizing display of skill and artistry, stunning both the judges and audience. This performance is truly one of a kind, showcasing her unmatched talent and taking the stage by storm!

Do you get my blog by email? Leave me a comment or I’ll consider shutting down this service.

There’s a big “Subscribe: Get blog updates by email” button on the Lee.org website. Right now, I’ve got 2,507 email subscribers but I suspect that 0.0% are actually real people.
The button is weirdly misshapen right now and I’m having trouble fixing it. I might just remove it.

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Ms. Charbonneau,

Some 12 years ago you received a gift that had been beloved in our family for some 26 years. I went with my dad to pick up the Packard from a person who was selling it in 1986. It was originally black, but it received a magnificent and factory-standard Packard cream paint job. I waited with him over several months to find and re-chrome the letters on the front and side. I watched the car come together to perfection over a few years. Once the car was perfect, he loved to take it out and just drive wherever. I remember being in the passenger seat with him, seeing him laugh, enjoying the gentle thrill of bringing it to rest at each Stop sign with those original-style drum brakes! He loved driving it whenever he could. He brought it to the Hildene Car Show in Manchester, Vermont once… maybe twice which was enjoyable. But what he really loved was driving it around town.

My dad loved the car for the personal history and aspirations that it represented. When he was young, he admired that model but couldn’t afford it. Thirty years later, he could! There are other reasons he loved it. Some of those reasons he told me and I’ve forgotten, and some, I’m sure, were impossible to articulate in the first place.

After more than 25 years of caring for the Packard, he was, of course, melancholy at selling it. But it was time. He had fewer opportunities to take it out because he and my mom were splitting their time between living in New Jersey and Florida. And even when he was in New Jersey, where the car was garaged, it only came out on special occasions. And there was the nuisance that he was about to lose the garage due to some upcoming HOA rules changes.

He loved that car!

The background image on his computer for some ten years was of my sister, his granddaughter, and I washing the car in our driveway on a summer day. I’d ask him every now and then if he wanted to update the photo and he’d laugh, pause a moment and say, “Nah! Leave it there. I like it!”

I don’t know you at all but my dad told me that the ’51 Packard had been your dream car for a long time. I’m glad, and my dad was glad that you appreciated the car.

I’m writing to tell you that my dad passed away last April. I don’t know what that might even mean to you but I thought you should know.

I want to thank you for your appreciation. We all know that the car is just a thing, but what it represents in each of our hearts runs deep and true.

Best regards,
Lee C. Sonko

In the search for Chantal Charbonneau the 3rd owner of what used to be my dad’s 1951 Packard, my friend Shara pointed out this great article about her and her relationship with the car.

Montreal woman buys a ’51 Packard for her 51st birthday
Montreal woman has had a life-long love affair with Packards
by Alyn Edwards
Published Nov 10, 2014 • Last updated May 19, 2021 • 4 minute read

For the past 23 years, Chantal Charbonneau has been editor of the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, an institution that celebrates its 50th anniversary this year in the heart of Montreal’s Quartier des Spectacles. She has produced hundreds of publications and videos, some of which have earned the Musée distinguished awards.

With a master’s degree in art history from the University of Montreal, Chantal has always had a keen interest in items from the past including a fondness for “rolling sculptures of yesteryear.” She refers to these as beautés mobiles as she has a long-standing personal connection with antique vehicles.

She was barely three months old in 1962 when her father went out shopping for food and came home with an unexpected item: a massive black 1940 Packard Super Eight, to her mom’s astonishment. The man loved classic cars and would own more than a dozen Packard cars in subsequent years, several of which he restored himself.

Chantal Charbonneau’s 1951 Packard 250 convertible acquired as a present to herself for her 51st birthday.

Chantal grew up taking Sunday drives in her dad’s old Packard classics. With her parents and siblings, she attended many car shows in Canada and the U.S. At age 17, she learned to drive on their 1951 Packard Patrician 400, an elegant sedan painted Argentine Gray. She vowed to have her own Packard someday.

Last year, she and companion Michel were attending the famous Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance when an e-alert from Trovit popped up on her computer. The sight of a hot 1951 Packard 250 Convertible advertised for sale in New Jersey got her excited. It was painted period-correct Corona Cream, her favourite colour for that model.

“Where I live on the South Shore of Montreal is seven hours from where the vehicle was in New Jersey. But to make things more complicated, we were much farther away, in California at the time,” she recalls.

Article content
After learning from the seller on the phone that his Packard showing just 37,000 original miles on the odometer had been thoroughly restored in 1988 as a barn find near Buffalo, New York, Chantal and Michel rushed to the local post office in Carmel to mail a deposit, hoping to lock in the deal.

Chantal Charbonneau drives her 1951 Packard 250 convertible.

Although the Packard Motor Car Company grew to produce one of the most luxurious marques in the U.S., the company’s fortunes declined following World War II. By 1950, Packard sales had become moribund because of a stale 1940s design. But a complete redrawing for the sleek new 1951 models, known as Series 24, made them more stylish and contemporary, resulting in a phenomenal, albeit temporary, sales rebound.

Production of only 42,000 cars in 1950 was trumped by more than 100,000 units flooding out of Packard dealerships in 1951. Once a vehicle for celebrities and the wealthy during the ’20s and ’30s, the marque was made famous by its advertising slogan: Ask the man who owns one.

Chantal’s Packard 250 convertible is one of fewer than 2,400 such rag tops built in 1951, representing just 4% of the company’s production that year. It is equipped with a 155-horsepower flathead straight-eight engine, Ultramatic transmission and power everything: steering, brakes, aerial, seat, windows and top. The ivory and deep red interior is sporty and inviting.

Chantal Charbonneau with the 1951 Packard 250 convertible purchased to celebrate her 51st birthday.

Packard experts and friends John and BarbaraAnna Kefalonitis, who live in New Jersey, generously offered to trailer Chantal’s “new” car to Plattsburgh, N.Y., just south of the Quebec border, following its purchase in August 2013. Ironically, this was soon after Chantal’s 51st birthday and exactly 51 years after her father had bought his first Packard.

As the third owner of this rare model, Chantal got behind the wheel, drove it through Canada Customs at night and then home to the Montreal suburb of Saint-Lambert. “I felt as comfortable doing this as I would sitting on a plush sofa in my living room,” she says.

Typically, when she arrives home from work on a Friday night when weather permits, she takes the Packard out for a spin to the local shopping centre. She loves driving her car as opposed to letting it sit idle like a big fancy trinket.

Her passion has led to a lot of reading, research and publishing on the subject, as well as becoming one of only a handful of female judges at several Concours d’Elegance shows of prized classics in Canada and the U.S.

Chantal Charbonneau with their 1930 Packard Phaeton Touring in 1980.

Some time ago, she stumbled upon her family’s 1951 Packard Patrician 400 that she had learned to drive on 35 years ago. It is stored in a barn north of Montreal. Although it is in poor condition, she hopes to bring it back to life someday.

On her bucket list of must-do events for next year is the Euro Packard Meeting in Studen, Switzerland, where she has been invited by the Chairman of the organizing committee.

Her role model is car collector friend, business woman and philanthropist Margaret Dunning of Plymouth, Michigan. At 104 years of age, the “Belle of the Concours”, as she is known, still drives her 1930 Packard Straight Eight 740 convertible. The two recently spent time together at the 2014 Cobble Beach Concours d’Elegance near Owen Sound, Ont., trading notes about their Packard cars.

There is no doubt that Miss Charbonneau plans to dedicate the rest of her driving days singing the praises of her iconic Packard: “A trip in a ’50s car such as this provides a voyage in time with every ride, not to mention a special link with my own family history,” she says. “You get a lot of interesting comments, but people always seem stunned to see a woman at the wheel of a vintage automobile, which amuses me no end.”

If this sounds like a lot of fun, ask the woman who owns one!

Alyn Edwards is a classic car enthusiast and partner in Peak Communicators, a Vancouver-based public relations company. aedwards@peakco.com

Woo hoo, I did that!

(previously)

In the San Francisco Standard
Burning Man ticket resale overcharging issue has buyers irate
The event’s official platform overcharged buyers, sparking fury and an eventual refund.

…When STEP opened in mid-May, Tixel’s resale fees included a 9% “Live Entertainment” tax required by the state of Nevada. For tickets originally purchased for $750 with fees, that amounted to nearly $70. However, the original ticket sale also charged the 9%, meaning a buyer was being taxed twice.

After inquiries from The Standard, the Burning Man organization confirmed that Tixel had “accidentally charged” the tax and “is in the process of refunding” it to buyers….

I’m trying to get rid of 2 extra tickets I have for Burning Man. I was trying to sell them using the official Burning Man reseller program called STEP and I noticed the fees charged by the middleman, Tixel.com were quite steep. Most notably, Tixel was adding an $80 Nevada Live Entertainment Tax (LET) to the price of the ticket. Since I already paid that tax when buying it, it seemed wrong that they were adding it again!

I’ve been leaning in and it gets complicated.

The current law and Nevada SB 431 either requires or doesn’t require that the LET be charged by the initial seller AND all resellers. Are you a legislative lawyer that wants to help out the Burner community? Figure out how much Tixel.com needs to charge!

In the meantime, Tixel removed the LET fee… in apparent response to my emailing them about it!!

The checkout screen from yesterday

The checkout screen today

In a related issue, they were charging the 9% Nevada Live Entertainment Tax on the entire $895 listing price even though that $895 includes several fees that are not part of the ticket price. The ticket cost me $750 + $30 delivery fee + $135 Nevada Live Entertainment Tax + $67 credit card processing. Those fees aren’t supposed to get double-taxed-again on the second resell. So that’s got to get figured out.

Do you want to buy my Burning Man Tickets? Buy them on Tixel here or message me and we’ll figure out to trust one another on the internet and save $214 $130 per ticket.

I’m happy I get to update my original listing for my ticket!

Selling 2 $750 tickets at our cost.

In our panic to get tickets, my wife and I both bought tickets to that thing in the desert. Please buy our extras. 2 tickets at the $750 level, selling for what we paid, $870.48 each. No car pass, sorry.

Here’s my Tixel listing but don’t buy from those bastards! The listing shows how I listed at $895.68 (I aimed for us to split the Tixel $50 listing fee) but a few clicks later you’ll be paying $1084.81 for the ticket https://tixel.com/u/3693633 . Screw those guys!

PM me. We can figure out how to trust one another on the phone to save $214 $130 per ticket.

My GoConfirm code: L72T

Michael Geier’s post on the topic

“…Important Update for Burning Man Ticket Buyers via Tixel / STEP ????

It looks like Tixel has quietly removed the 9% Nevada Live Entertainment Tax (LET) from current Burning Man ticket resales….”

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and my response on FB:

Holy shit! That was me! I’ve been talking to them over the last few days about being double-taxed with the Nevada Live Entertainment Tax! They didn’t reach out to me specifically about removing the LET but my messages, apparently, got them thinking!
I’m continuing to research it right now and I’m gonna tell you, reading the existing and proposed law is hard and MIND NUMBING (and not in a good way!) My first thought is that it’s important to not be too harsh on Tixel, but we’ve got to figure out the law together. As I’ve been reading the current and proposed law this morning, I’ve flip-flopped several times, alternately thinking that the current law says that any reseller is required to charge the excise tax (which is an insane, state mandated double-tax), or maybe not.
It would be great if a Burner legislative lawyer-type could look over this and offer guidance! Here’s a proposed bill that has the text of the current law baked into it: https://www.leg.state.nv.us/Session/83rd2025/Bills/SB/SB431_R1.pdf