Kim Smith

Darn!  I sure wish that I could have recorded my final day.  Being on Hawaii time keeps getting me, as I miss the Pacific time window.  Either way, I ended the EcoChallenge with a bang, with extensive walking and lots of bus travel around Honolulu, so that I could buy seeds at the University of Hawaii for our community garden, explore a museum, and join my partner after work.  It was a lot of fun to feel more confident with the public bus here and know that I can navigate this large city.

We had a really big storm yesterday, so I stayed close to home.  Alas, I actually got injured when I was trying to secure things on our porch, so I had little motivation to leave home today.  Thank goodness for being able to telecommute.  One last day tomorrow to work on my walking and public transportation goal.

I finally figured out the Honolulu bus system!  I can't believe that I could actually go door-to-door from the airport to my apartment.  That certainly made the challenge much less daunting, plus it offered a significant financial discount, with a $2.50 bus ticket.

This is a big conference - with three locations - so maybe I hit 2 miles.

I didn't realize that the Riverwalk is 15 miles long!  I didn't make it the whole way, but it was fun to explore the parks and multicultural centers along the way.

I need to count my steps to see if it really added up to 2 miles.  I walked a lot, meandering the conference center and through the streets.  The broader issue in terms of health is that I want to walk to burn off calories, yet there is sooo much food served in Texas.  So, I do not believe that I am net zero.

Whoo hoo!  I met my public transportation challenge today.  I love trying out new transportation systems in different cities.  Today's adventure took me through the heart of San Antonio, from the airport to downtown.  Have any of you ever been here?  Boy, the Riverwalk sure is pretty!  That's how to get some walking steps in.  https://www.thesanantonioriverwalk.com/

I am flying to a conference tonight.  Knowing that, I purchased carbon credits in advance.  It was interesting to do the calculation and find out the volume of carbon produced from a 5,000 mile flight.  If you ever want to do so, I used this calculator: https://www.carbonfootprint.com/calculator.aspx

Hi, all.  We are off!  I hope that everyone has a great EcoChallenge experience.

It is interesting not having a car and having to navigate alternative means of transportation, including walking everywhere.  I thought that I would take the bus more, so it is unlikely that I will do public transportation daily, but I have done some research on the public busses in Honolulu.  I will take it a number of times while here and will take more public transportation when I am off to a conference.