Shopping on Base

Oahu has a huge military presence. Each section of the island has some kind of military base/post/camp on it. When heading to the North Shore, we pass Schofield Barracks and Dillingham airfield. I've never been to Pearl Harbor for the tour. I need to do that soon. I have been on Hickam/Pearl Harbor and recently, the Marine Corps Base Hawaii.

A friend of mine is a Marine wife. I went with her to MCBH to help her with her baby and do some shopping at the Base Exchange. Not having much experience with the military, I noticed everything. With ID, we entered the base through the sentry gate. No one sped. No one was in a hurry, or they didn't show it at least. Single family homes on nicely paved subdivisions sat to the right of us in the car. Plenty of space on the roads for the number of cars and plenty of parking in the lot. We pulled into the lot and parked. When I got out of the car, I saw this sign... pregnant women get preferred parking! Look at the sign, it's in Marine Colors. Of course, as a Trojan, I thought of USC's Cardinal and Gold colors. I'm pretty sure there's no parking designated for pregnant women on USC's campus, though.

Inside the Base Exchange I was mesmerized by everything in one building. TV's on one side, Hallmark cards next to me, holiday decor in front of me, home items to the right and clothes for men, women and children/babies in the back. We wandered through the bath/home section. I love "one-stop" shopping and this building had it all. I could see every section from any other section. Shelves were clean and orderly. Leave it to the Marines to be organized and to make parking easier for pregnant women. Walmart on Keeaumoku Street, are you listening?

Colors of Paradise

Grey skies and rain greeted me again this morning. Lest you all think Hawaii is always green and sunny with blue skies, here's a photo looking over H-1 freeway in Honolulu.
I've included photos from last week, just to cheer me up. We had spectacular sunsets all week long. Let's hope for more gorgeous weather again soon.

Follow The Tourist Bus

We visited Punchbowl National Cemetery on Sunday. You'll recognize the statue of Lady Columbia from Hawaii Five-0's opening sequence. (Both the original and the new show.) She symbolizes all the grieving mothers.

Punchbowl is located in a dormant volcano crater. It's green and peaceful, even with the tourist bus driving around. The casualties from the attack on Pearl Harbor were the first people to be buried there, at least in modern times. I've been told it was a sacred place for Hawaiians in the past. I'm guessing they used it as a burial ground also. If anyone knows the story, please let me know.

It looks as if they are refurbishing/landscaping there. Wait a few weeks, then visit.

Tantalus Drive is at the entrance to Punchbowl, so we took it to where it joins up with Round Top Road. Our goal was to reach the lookout point in the park. I felt a little woozy driving up in altitude along the curvy lane. The lookout point is spectacular and worth the drive. Here are photos which show Diamond Head, University of Hawaii Manoa, Magic Island at Ala Moana and downtown office buildings.

The North Shore was our next stop, where we again saw a tourist bus. We visited our Honu (Sea Turtle) friends and learned they eat the seaweed found on this particular North Shore beach. After the Honu eat, they rest upon the sand and let the sun and water restore them.

Of course, we had to eat at some point as well. Off to Kua Aina Sandwich Shop in Haleiwa for dinner. Yum! Go there. You won't be disappointed.

Found on the Beach

Look who we found on the beach. Isn't he gorgeous? We sat and watched him for at least a half an hour. Hawaiian Sea Turtles are endangered, so we kept our distance. He opened and closed his eyes a few times, just to see if we were still there.

A few days later, while at another beach, we saw the branch sticking out of the sand. Someone had lost his key and the person who found it in the sand took the time to find a branch and hang the key from it. Fast forward a few days later and the key and branch were still there.

Honest and courteous people on Oahu. If you lost your car key in the sand, it may still be there.

Musical Surprises

Mark had to work today, so I took the car and ran errands all over the island. First stop was Blaisdell Center where I thought I'd buy concert tickets to Earth, Wind and Fire. Turns out the concert is already almost sold out; only a few tickets left and in not so good seats. We decided to put the money into an island hopping trip.

On my way back to the parking lot, I spotted Elvis. Yes, Elvis lives on the Blaisdell Center grounds. I stood in front of his flower-bedecked statue and remembered watching Elvis' Hawaii concert on TV when I was a kid. I was sitting on the floor of our family room in the Bay Area, with the boxy Zenith TV set upon the carpet. Elvis was sparkly and sweaty. I remember my father yelling to my mom who was washing dishes in the kitchen, "Come look how fat Elvis is." With dishtowel in hand, Mom entered the family room. "Must be drugs," was her answer. She shook her head and went back to the dishes.

I left the Elvis statue and continued on to other errands. Office Depot was very uneventful. The bank, however, is a story for another time.

Later that afternoon, while sitting in the car, I listened to KKOL 107.9, which plays mostly rock hits from the 60's,70's and 80's. I was on a two lane road, during a bright gorgeous Hawaii afternoon, the kind where the sky is really blue, the green trees and plants and hills are almost emerald in color and the flowers that grow on the tips of trees pop with orange, yellow and red. The DJ announced he was playing a set of songs from the only musical family to have a grandfather, son and grandson as superstars.

Surprisingly, the next minute I was singing out loud to Hank Williams Jr.'s, "Family Tradition." Country music guided me all through high school and college, especially Hank Williams Jr. I could feel better instantly singing one of his songs while driving to the then unspoiled ranch lands in Orange County. There was also a night in college spent at my sorority sister's cattle ranch, listening and dancing to country music under the oak trees and stars. Although it seemed weird to drive through a tropical landscape and hear a song from days I spent in California grasslands with farms and ranches nearby, I felt happy belting out the lyrics today. Thanks KKOL.

Music of all kinds can be found here. Earth, Wind and Fire, Elvis and Hank Jr. all in one day. Nice.

Where's Minnie Mouse in a Grass Skirt?

I love Disneyland, but the thought of Disney opening a resort in Hawaii left me cringing. I thought it would be cheesy and a tacky rendition of the Tiki Room. (Yes, the Tiki Room is tacky, but it's make-believe and I thoroughly enjoy it.)

Disney Aulani Resort's Grand Opening is this week. We didn't know that as we drove up to their entrance in Ko'Olina. Apparently, media is already on site and the hotel is prepping in a big way. Colored search lights lit up the sky once it was dark. The beach has a stage set up with big lights; the type found on a film set. We stood above on the hotel grounds as hula dancers rehearsed under the watch of Disney choreographers. We were told Good Morning America is showcasing the grand opening later this week.

The property is nice, not cheesy at all. Disney really did their research. We ate dinner at Ama Ama restaurant, where Liane, our waitress, told us how Disney had a difficult time creating Aulani. This wasn't a made up Disney, Cinderella-type story. Disney had to exemplify a real story, the Hawaiian story. Other than Chip and Dale playing games with the kids and the rock formation around the pool, not much that looks like Disney is visible. Hawaiian images of kapa cloth patterns, Pele on a building, torches designed to look like kukui nuts were visible. I missed the small details at first and I wondered who would drive all the way out here for a Disney escape. Halfway through dinner, I told Mark, "I feel like we're on vacation." Disney had done it. They had transported me to vacation mode while only a few miles from home.

A side note, our dinner at Ama Ama was excellent. Great flavors blended together in everything we tried. I had a delicious Burrata and tomato salad with sweet white corn dressing and tender smooth beef filet.

Okay, enough from me. I'll be quiet now and let you enjoy the photos.

Aloha Festival

After watching the USC football game at Jimmy Buffett's in Waikiki, we wandered onto Kalakaua Avenue for the start of Hoolaulea, part of Aloha Festival. Tented booths lined the mauka (mountain) side of Kalakaua Ave. Cars were blocked from the street and only walkers and strollers wandered down the avenue. It was so quiet without the cars, we could hear birds in the banyan tree near the Duke Kahanamoku statue. The first stand I saw was selling poi mochi. I swear, there's a way to put poi in everything.

The man at the lei stand started talking to me about the dancer with a sign asking for money for "Chronics of Narnia". (Whatever that is.) The lei man and I laughed about his drug induced dancing ability.

We watched tourists line Waikiki beach waiting for sunset.

Our return walk held the interesting discovery. Just before the Honolulu Police Department's Waikiki sub-station is a fenced off area with four large rocks. These rocks were placed in honor of four Tahitian healers who wandered the island with miraculous healing abilities during the 1500's. When it was time to return to their island of Raiatea, they asked that four large stones be placed near their residence. They gave their spirit power to the stones before their departure.

I've walked Waikiki along the beach many times and this is the first time I've seen this healing space. It's also the first time I've walked Kalakaua Ave without cars. The tradewinds were blowing slightly, just enough to keep the festival goers cool. Bandstand areas were preparing for tonight's music. The Brothers Cazimero were playing at a later time. It looked to be a perfect evening to enjoy a concert, good food and artist wares.

There's Silver in Them Thar Hills

It was a dark and stormy….okay, I’m not Snoopy sitting on my doghouse with a typewriter trying to write the great American novel, but it was gloomy and gray today.

Low clouds hung over town as I watched the fuzzy bands of rain move across the windows of our apartment. I moped about the weather at first, thinking of the San Francisco days of fog for weeks on end and how the gloom could bring me down. Then I thought about the past few days and how great the weather has been, after all, we went to the beach late afternoon yesterday and watched the dogs sprint across the waves, happy to be on their evening walks. A couple, visiting from somewhere, took photos of themselves on the beach with the sea-blue ocean behind them. Then they kissed and hugged, obviously happy and in love.

Every time Mark and I go to the beach, I’m instantly in a better mood, and yesterday was no exception. The water temperature was 82 degrees. It was like stepping into a saltwater bathtub, but with kids, surfers and dogs sharing the big tub with me.

So this morning, I realized it can’t be perfect weather all the time and I resigned myself to today being a gloomy day, which will remind me to appreciate the nice days.
But I forgot, I’m in Hawaii.....(nature always has a surprise)

I had to drive around the island for a few meetings today. With windshield wipers on, I first gazed out at the cloudy grayness in front of my car. Then I looked up the mountains. The rain had created ribbons of silver, rustling streams of water, falling between the lush greenness of the mountain peaks. Waterfalls were everywhere!

(Sorry, no photo, since I was driving.)


After appreciating the scenic drive, I had to stop at Queen’s Hospital for a test. It’s like driving up to a hotel. Queen’s is the main hospital in Honolulu, yet it doesn’t seem very big. I guess I’m comparing it to San Francisco Hospitals and Stanford Hospital. The landscaping is kept up with native Hawaiian plants. The parking lot was full, so I had to go to valet parking at the entrance. People were crowded around the drop-off area and not one person honked or yelled. Everyone quietly sat and waited and appreciated the moment, even in a stressful place like a hospital.

I asked for directions and only one person knew where I needed to go. I asked for a certain wing, but apparently no one uses its name. There’s very little signage in Hawaii. Street signs are tough to find and addresses are almost non-existent. Once I told them what department I needed, everyone told me, "Go down the hall to the elevators and get off on the third floor."

As I wandered the hospital hallways, I was struck by how clean it was. There was no run down furniture, no gum on the floor or cigarette butt smashed into the pavement outside, maybe that’s because outside is not pavement. Nope, it’s stone.

A beautiful hospital, surrounded by tropical vegetation, with clean surroundings and calm, smiling people; is this why people live so long in Hawaii?