Been gone a bit. I plan to make up for it. While I was gone I got watered in the lovely mists of too long neglected San Francisco, found the way to San Jose (thank you Garmin, Patron Saint of the Seriously Road Challenged) and then landed...in the red dirt and beautiful sunshine of O'ahu.
This is gonna be like "Memento"- I'm working my way backwards travel-wise.. In the words of the Dead- for whom I have developed a slightly worrisome affection (it's like a new freckle in an interesting place- it's ok that it's there you just don't want it to GROW) It was a long, strange trip- two weeks on the road with the end finding me on Halie'wa Beach and the closest I will come to heaven while still breathing air.
Syd wrote me a note today- "Are you back from your trip or are you still "working?". It did not take twenty years of friendship to hear the heavy sarcasm in that line. I did indeed go to Hawaii for work and the first time I set foot on Waikiki beach I was wearing a suit and suede pumps- for about a minute. No- I kept the suit on, but lost the shoes and scrunched my toes into the soft white sand. It was amazing. The first three days of my trip I worked from about 7 am to 7 pm but I was working in Hawaii- and for the girl from Brooklyn- that was heady.
O'ahu is ...well, take everything you have ever heard about Hawaii, multiply it by 8, then times it by about a thousand. It's just that gorgeous. The water stayed warm well into the evening when I finally cut loose from running to appointments and could walk along the edge of the Pacific at 10 o'clock at night watching the surf foam and lick at my toes. By the grace of Mark at the bell desk I got a room on the 4th floor of the Waikiki Sheraton facing the most glorious view of the ocean. I watched as the water changed color- blue gray at 5 am, sparkling turquoise in the noon sun, aquamarine at twilight and as the sun set- deep blue green and finally as night fell- midnight blue. I left the sliding doors open at night and slept with the sound of the surf whispering to me..."you're here...really here."
First Sunset
I reveled in the absolute funniness of it.. The Hawaiian alphabet consists of 15 letters, 5 of which are a,e,i,o,u. Add a few K's, L's and H's and that seemed more or less the name of every street, noun, verb, person, place or thing. The morning radio traffic reports left me in hysterics as the announcer (who I originally thought was a sort of lisping effeminate man and turned out to be a soccer mom turned traffic reporter) would say things like- "There's a 15 minute delay on the Havabanana Highway at the Idonwanna exit" And everywhere I went I acted as translator for my co-worker who asked repeatedly "Where's the next stop? KAMAKAZI? KALAWHATCHAMACALIT?" And I would reply with great self assurance from a night-long study of street maps- "No- it's just off Kuhio, which runs parallel to Kalakaua just before the Ala Wai canal- right near Seaside." Yeep. I even scared myself.
Statue of Duke at Waikiki
I had the gorgeous experience of standing in one office gazing down at the Iolani Palace- the only monarchal palace in the US and the home of the last King of Hawaii- Kalakaua and his sister- the last Queen, Lili'oukalani- imprisoned in the palace at the end of her reign with just one handmaiden as her only visitor. And seeing the Aloha Tower in the harbor- and knowing the tower had seen many ships come in and out long before Hawaii was part of the US.
The Iolani Palace
The Capitol Building Honolulu
The Aloha Tower
In one office someone pointed out the window at Punchbowl- my first volcano. But not my last. Before the trip was over I watched the sun rise seated at ALMOST the top of Diamondhead. I climbed it with my co-worker and VLH just before sunrise and sat breathless-first with the climb and then with the sheer amazement that my feet stood in a place right at the edge of the world and watched a day begin- with everything I needed- and then some, right beside me. And my co-worker TEXTING me from the summit that the view was worth the climb- and me texting him right back that I had EXACTLY the same view- just a different angle. My own.
Sunrise Diamondhead
Diamondhead tunnel
The Diamondhead hike
Business trips are usually one plate of fancy food or a quick sandwich on the run and in the first few days there was some of that. But along the way finding out the local tuna- Poke- was very yummy- and pronounced Poh-kee but unless I wanted to avoid the gentle smile of the locals I learned not to say "Poh-Kay"- unless I wanted my taco filled with feline. Teaching Queens-born VLH and the co-worker to say SHAVE ice- not SHAVED ice (you can take the boys out of Bayside but you cannot BEAT Bayside out of them with an outrigger canoe paddle- though at times I was sorely tempted to try)- and getting a rainbow colored mouthful of it at Matsumoto Shave Ice- reportedly the best in the world. I couldn't argue- like so much- it was a first. I had no basis for argument. I had to like Matsumoto's- they had over twenty Poh-Kay living in the backyard.
Matsumoto Shave Ice
The back yard at Matsumoto's
Coconut Shrimp
"Great Ball of Fire" at Rum Fire- Mango and Lichee sorbet covered in meringue and flamed with 151 proof rum
Margaret at Dave's
Poke Tacos
The local delicacies were the best of all possible treats- luscious sweet bread french toast and goopy egg sandwiches at Andy's in Manoa where Mrs. Andy recommended mayo on my eggs and called me sweetheart at least six times. Being waited on by her son-in-law John who encouraged us to try the buttery cinnamon-crusted apple turnovers and to "hang loose". We tried the crispy wonderfulness and thanked Andy- who was baking bread and turnovers just beyond the service counter. We tried the native Gummi Bears covered in LiHui powder- a powder made from mangoes and according to my co-workers when I returned- they are an acquired taste. Not one most CARED to acquire.
Andy's
The Foster Botanical Garden- I stood under the "Bo" tree. A direct descendant of the Boddhisatva tree that the Buddha sat under when he gained enlightenment. Of all the things I brought home- the leaf from that tree that was a gift from the botanist met on the plane to O'ahu is something I will treasure. And the Cannonball tree- we loved that- it grows round fruit that when ripe will fall on unsuspecting heads without warning. These brown fruit break open to reveal a white custardy filling that ferments in less than 6 hours and smells like...well, barf. Pretty cool, huh? And the seed from the Coco-de-Mer- the largest seed in the world- we had our picture taken together, the seed and me.
The Seed
The Cannonball Tree and an unsuspecting VLH
And the W&M BBQ Burger. Named for the owners Wilfred and Mary Kamemura. The LEAST hospitable restaurant in Oahu. No parking- a street sign the size of a license plate and a lunch counter barely 18" long and 4" wide. They don't mind if you eat but you can't do it here. They don't have to be hospitable- they make the best damned hamburger I ever ate. If you get the Hal's special you get hamburger, teriyaki steak, cheese and onions mayo, ketchup and a really messy shirt front. Come to think of it I probably should have saved the brown paper the burger came in as I am pretty sure, remembering the look on VLH's face- that under that paper is where HE found enlightenment.
"Hal's Special" at W & M
After days of running my co-worker took the plane back to the mainland and I began to feel my feet sink a bit into the Oahu red dirt. Saturday was for the North shore of Oahu- Halie'wa and beaches that stretched out inviting only surfers, small children and the occasional dog. Despite a perfect day- we shared the shore with only about fifteen other souls, and the dog.
Surf Dog at Halie'wa
Ths shadows lengthened and we made our way into Halie'wa and the little town yielded up a church barbecue with grilled chicken and shrimp glazed and charred to perfection coated with the local pineapple teriyaki sauce- Huli-Huli... I think that's Hawaiian for yummy. Topped off with Kona and Macadamia Nut ice cream from Aoki's and eaten on plastic tablecloth covered picnic tables. Even the rooster pecking just to the side of the tables seemed content- I know we were.
There was so much more. We drove the edges of the island past shrimp farms and tiny houses. The mountains rose like a curtain ahead of us and the water lapped the shore just outside the car window as we drove. The car windows were open and reggae music played on KINE FM. Folks fished off the beaches and set up tents and slept in the night air.
Baby Surfer
Halie'wa Beach
We headed for the airport and I thought about Hawaii. Hula girls and fire boys- ukeleles and the humuhumunukanuka apua'a and aloha shirts and shorts- the uniform of the island- like American Express, accepted everywhere. Before I came here it was novelty-kitsch- just this side of comic. Then I met the people. Was invited surfing, and to dinner by strangers. The aloha spirit is one of unbridled generosity and joy. The flowers on Oahu look just like they do on the shirts and are worn with pride. Flip flops are the only sensible shoe- it would be madness to shut your feet away from the sun, sand and gentle breezes. To live here is to live in joy. And wear it with pride.
Fiji Dancers
I must have made dozens of lei jokes. Then I got one, and another and another. Everyone who heard I was visiting for the first time ran to find me one. When a lei is presented you are given a kiss by the giver and asked to make a wish. I only had one.
To come back again.
Aloha.
