Hawaii 2025, Day 7

On our last day we drove to Kailua and had lunch at a very random but sweet Viet Thai restaurant that may already not exist. The food was pretty good, and it was just nice to eat somewhere where only locals would eat. 

It had one good sign -- the requisite storage-in-plain-sight situation that endeared me to the donut place in December (didn't take a photo, but they had all of their striped donut boxes piled as high as the ceiling in one corner).

On the way back from Kailua we stopped to take pictures of a sculpture I'd wanted to see. It resembles the Automium, but it is a sugar molecule. It sits on land that had once been a sugar plantation in Aiea.

For dinner we met with Miss T, whose parents lost their house in the Lahaina fires. As wildfires were happening back home at the time, and our insurer dropped us last year, we had much to learn from her experiences. Dinner was great, conversation was great. 

Ahhh.

Hawaii 2025, Day 6

On Day 6 we had breakfast in Manoa, at Waioli Kitchen & Bake Shop, which mrguy found. Breakfast was tasty, and we learned that everybody who works there pretty much is part of a rehab program. Good on them. The baked goods are gorgeous and even our parking space was pretty.

It felt great to identify a new breakfast joint to look forward to since Koko Head Cafe is just...over. Next time? Kaneohe Pancake House or Koa Pancake House and Waioli.

Moving on. Mrguy's oncologist had suggested the cat cafe on Kapahulu. It was great. The people were nice and they made an *amazing* Americano. And the kittens were so fun. These two enjoyed a little morning calisthenics. And mrguy found a kitten to match his favorite Cook Island aloha shirt and played with her for much time. It would have been possible (with a lot of effort) to bring her home, but someone would not go for it. She was adorable.

Mrguy made reservations for a sunset cruise. We'd done this years before and it was kinda gross, but also pleasurable? But this one was a complete pleasure. The music selections were great -- something for everyone -- and our fellow passengers were a nice group. I met some folks from Austin by way of Germany, and I have video of mrguy singing along to the song Brandy by Looking Glass. I have a love/hate relationship to the song because it's so singable but the point of view of the lyrics is of all the man who's not around, a sailor who gave her some shiny stuff and booked because he loves the sea more than her. F you, sailor. Ahem.

On the way home we stopped at the beach cafe and got some dinner. The entertainment was a guitar player and his wife who could barely walk but sometimes got up and danced. I impressed myself and exactly nobody else by knowing the melodies and often a few of the words to his hulas. Best quote of the day was him saying that he liked to play at this restaurant because you can play as loud as you like.

You go!

Hawaii 2025, Day 3

Day 3 was Kaimuki Day.

Kaimuki is awesome. In my mind it has been the Brooklyn to Honolulu's Manhattan. A little funky, with some remnants of 60s businesses and street profiles. I will try to see if I can find out the name of the artist who made this tile mural that appears on the Kaimuki Professional Building. It appears over two different entrances. Edward Sullam was the architect. He also designed the Diamond Head Apartments, close to our hotel, where our friends used to live.

We ate at the Koko Head Cafe, which has moved from its original location to what seems to have been a bank. I'm sure it's a more pleasant place to work now, but the makeover left its spirit behind. Verner Panton-style pinecone pendants, tall booths that isolate you from the other diners, less Hawaiiana...it lacks. Also my favorite dish, Eggs Hāloa, is no longer on the menu.

Mrguy wanted to eat at Koa Pancake House, and we shoulda.

The Goodwill is still there in Kaimuki. Many a treasured item has been procured there. I got a big old scarf, in dark purples and bright pinks, and tied it in a bow on my head. Made me very happy.

The Okumura Building is hanging in there. I've been photographing it for years. It is now building full of local craft stores and a fabric store. The car that matches it is a super bonus.

Back to the car. Couldn't resist taking a picture of mrguy in his Reyn Spooner shirt as he passed by this vibrant bus shelter.

Then we went to Kaka'ako, to Hungry Ear. It did not disappoint. I bought some Japanese records and a record by Leon and Malia. I can't resist a 70s-era record with lots of inserts. Plus they said it was their most important record, and who am I to dispute this fact? Haven't listened to it yet.

We visited Arden Restaurant for happy hour and dinner. It was the easy thing to do, and it was delicious. The leftovers kept us going at a few points later on. I engaged mrguy in an exercise of "Where would you have a time machine take you if you could?" and when I said I'd like to go to Grossingers in the 50s, he said "You wouldn't want to be Hitler's girlfriend so you could off him?"

Why do I have to do the hard stuff?

Hawaii 2025, Day 2

Day 2 was an epic day of achievement. Except for the beach. Our beloved beach has wild surf right now. I think it's too windy for me to get in the water. I want to be safe. I'm kinda disappointed but trying to keep it positive. Here's our beach that we love so much, nestled behind Michel's at the Colony Surf:

We went to Ala Moana, cause what would a trip to Hawaii be if we didn't go to Macy's? Mrguy got a new pair of shorts that fit his slimmer hips. I found a great shade hat that was misfiled in the men's sock section. It is perfect except for a dumb patch on it which I will replace, pronto. 

Mrguy also bought two pair of sunglasses at Sunglass Hut in Macy's. Rick, of Sunglass Hut, was soooo nice. From Fresno, Giants fan. He and mrguy talked about the upcoming season's prospects, as you do. And now mrguy has his first sunglasses ever that have no prescription in them because he doesn't need it. Wild. 

My excitement was the Hoka store, where I could try things on in person. I just sent back a pair of Hokas last week that didn't fit. When they do, it's superduper. At the mall I tried on some Bondi 8s, and they didn't fit even though that's what I'm wearing right now. Ended up buying a pair of Men's Bondi 8s. I learned from the salesguy that some styles in different colors end up fitting differently. That seems darned inconvenient.

All missions accomplished, we trudged toward the parking lot. Went to California Pizza Kitchen (a family first), had lunch, talked about the reasons mrguy hates aspects of the Beach Boys and brought home a pizza for dinner.

We sat on the lanai and watched the stories that happen in the park across the street. The green parakeets who screech and flit between the trees around here. I swear that there used to be green, blue and the occasional pink, but I've only seen green. And there was good dog watching. and two boys trying to take advantage of the still-abundant wind to fly kites. But they were running in the wrong direction. One kid ran the other way and got good purchase, but the other kid wasn't as successful and, frankly, didn't seem to try as hard. I hope he comes back. In the meantime, mrguy and I were talking about him making kites, and our shared memory of the local power company's comic book about kite safety. It was part of a presentation given to children every year in certain grades. Deciding to find one on ebay, I instead came across Hi-Flier kites, and their slogan "Playmates of the Clouds". Eventually I found a bunch of the comic books. The aspects I remember in mine were Smokey the Bear, the story of Ben Franklin, and how you could die if your plane touches a power line. Also Reddy Kilowatt and a cartoon character. It was horizontal in orientation. We think that mrguy's era had a different character than my era. Here's one that I might be remembering. Sorry that the link to it will not last into the future...

Another day in Paradise.

Hawaii 2025, Day 1

Sorry but this is gonna be kinda boring. Our Lyft was mercifully uneventful. On so many other occasions there was drama. Like the taxi driver who accelerated down our steep hill and the taxi ride where I looked down to see I was stepping on the remains of a soft pretzel (with mustard). Or the Airporter driver who was a hoarder and wouldn't pull over to the curb at our house. When we looked in the back of his van it was filled with piles of paperwork and he ranted about Richard Nixon.

Our Lyft was not like that.

We went first class, on miles. Every time I take the cats to the vet and pay with my Hawaiian card I remind myself I'm just that much closer to Hawaii. I did some sewing on the rid and watched German Love is Blind.

We were stumped a bit at first. Our usual lunch stop, La Mariana Sailing Club, is closed on Mondays. Hau Tree was closed for shift change. I really didn't want to walk anywhere, but we did and Barefoot Beach Cafe provided the eats. I like their weird curry rice burger thing. I didn't like the Hawaiian Christmas music. A guy named Sam did not pick up his order. Eventually they started taunting him on the overhead "Sam, your plate is getting warm."

On the way back to the hotel we went shopping for breakfast and took a nap.

For dinner we went to Diamond Head Grill instead. It did not disappoint. Love the 'ahi wasabi shoyu plate. Never disappoints. We usually walk across Kapi'olani Park and then up the hill, but it is really nice to just drive there, which we did.

When we got back to the hotel Mrguy just said "I'm going to rest up and then brush my teeth."

Hawaii 2022 Day 7

Our last day of vacation was super. We went swimming at Sea Bear Beach, then went to breakfast next door at Hau Tree. 

The benedict was fantastic and it was super chill (until babies arrived).

They have these really cool concrete benches out front that remind me of how we used to make lacy homemade candles using melted candle wax, crushed ice, a wick and a milk carton as the form.

I have no recollection of what we did for the rest of the day but our big finish was dinner with our friend. Her loco moco was vast (notebook for size comparison). Behind her were crates of super smelly pineapples that were dizzyingly fragrant. Hoo! 

We walked back to our hotel, past the Honolulu Aquarium. She asked us if it was any good, and mentioned that the last time she went to the aquarium she spent most of her time rating the fish for tastiness. "Ooh! You're ono. I use the purple ones as bait..." She and her dad do a lot of fishing together. Somehow he, raised in Hawaii, is a die-hard Cowboys fan, as is she. And that is everything I know about my friend's dad. 

Better luck next year, Pops!

And so ends Hawaii 2022! Sorry it took so long, but we came home, did Thanksgiving, Mom fell, went out of town to see sumo, Christmas, depression, now. It's past Groundhog Day and I still haven't taken down the Covid tree.

Hawaii 2022 Day 6

Monday is a great day for misanthropes visiting Hawaii. Fewer people (i.e. children) at the beach. Fewer people on the road. We headed out to Hungry Ear records, stopping first for lunch at Highway Inn. We put our name on the list and sat outside, as the signs instruct you to do. It was a beautiful day. Or I at least think it was. When our table was ready, the nice man who seated us thanked us profusely for following instructions. 

One of the many great things about Highway Inn is that poi is on the menu every day, just there for you whenever you want it. So I had an ahi salad and poi. Fantastic lunch, and we didn't feel out of place. 

At Hungry Ear, mrguy and I retreated to our corners. He is more omnivorous in his musical appreciation and taste. Me? I go straight for local music and International music. This is vinyl, by the way. I sometimes traffic in the odd cassette tape, but not often.

Record shopping in Hawaii has changed so much since we first started visiting in 2006. Usedtawas that there were a number of stores. Jelly's had several locations, and they had lots of used books, to boot. There were records to be found at the thrift stores. And Hungry Ear was in Kailua. The record stores had listening stations! But that was before we all had smartphones and could look up music on youtube and see if we like it before buying. These days I find that impolite and I just buy stuff. I will use my phone to remind myself of the name of the arranger that I like, because I will buy anything he has worked on (that's Benny Sax, by the way).

Anyhoo, this was a very special day, because I looked through every record, starting with the As, and when I got to the Ps, I found my holy grail: Pacific Musicale, by The Coconuts.

In 1993, when we visited New Zealand, we went on holiday with our friends who lived in Auckland. Somehow we managed to have two flat tires before even leaving town, which gave me hours in which to review in detail the contents of a gas station mini mart. I learned that corned lambs tongues in a can were a thing that you could at least find in two city gas stations. Anyhoo, our amazing friends took us to the Coromandel, and specifically to Thames, where two amazing things happened:

1) Mrguy bought his first pair of shorts. We went to New Zealand at the end of their summer and *someone* staunchly refused to buy short pants. Levis 505s and Converse or Docs it was. Until we got to Thames and it was sweltering and he bought some shorts. 

2) Our friends bought Pacific Musicale at a thrift store. When we got home a few days later they put it on the stereo and we were all amazed. That was really a catch. Mrguy made a cassette of it while we were there, and decades later made me a set of digital tracks of it. Still, we always wished we could find our own copy and maybe learn more about the artists. All we knew, years later, was that they were from the Cook Islands. Recently, before we went to Hawaii this time, I had found a copy of the record listed on Discogs, but it wasn't for sale. Years before that, I remember asking which of our friends got the Coconuts record in the record tribunal at the end of their relationship. It went to the man, and on one of his visits here, when I asked if he still had it and could he please take a photo of the cover he said that the record sleeved had turned to mush when his basement flooded.

So we're at Hungry Ear and I find it. I am gobsmacked. I put it behind my back. I walked over to mrguy and asked for his attention. 

Me: I found it.

Him: You FOUND it? You mean you found the single of Alan Akaka singing "At the Coco Palms"?

Me: No. I found IT.

Him: You found IT? The Coconuts record?

So happy. There was information aplenty on the record sleeve. The rhythm of the drumming is so unusual and sometimes unfollowable, but fantastic. We figured they were all drinking kava while playing. Maybe, maybe not, but I howled when I found out that these folks are of Norwegian (and Cook Island) descent. Jonassen is the name. Their ancestor was a Norwegian sailor (natch) who was shipwrecked off Tahiti and then made his way to the Cook Islands.

Our copy of the record is really clean, and it feels really great to find something that you have literally looked for assiduously for 30 years. Whoa. 

Hawaii 2022 Day 5

When nerds go on vacation they swim, eat, go to the library and look at newspapers on microfilm for 6 hours. If you're us, anyway.

During the beginning of the pandemic, a friend who grew up in Hawaii told me that his grandmother had written a column for a newspaper called the Pali Press. He didn't have copies of her work. I was dying to help. I looked up Pali Press on Worldcat and it turns out that the only library with holdings is the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Two of my favorite things are Hawaii and research, and we didn't go to Hawaii for almost three years. It was so frustrating! So when people asked what I was looking forward to doing in Hawaii they laughed when I said that my very specific plan was to go to the UH Manoa library.

The campus has some really cool sculptures and 60's and 70's architecture. And on a Sunday, the week before Thanksgiving, I would definitely go there *just* to hang out.

The library staff were suuuper helpful, and mrguy's has a keenly honed sense of where to find things that are eluding us in a library setting helped us home in on the right microfilm. Recall that although I went to library school, he's the only one of us that has actually *worked* in a library.

For the first few hours we were having a good time looking at vintage newspapers but not finding grandma's column. And we were going to starve, so we went to find some lunch. We had some yummy Mexican food at an outdoor spot near campus, where we were treated to some bawdy gossip by nearby elderly white ladies -- "You put it down and it goes 'wah, wah, wah'...You couldn't insert it if you tried, or at least I can't!" 

Oh. Vibrator talk! 

We went back to the library. I was looking at newspaper issues from the 1970s, and mrguy was in the 1960s. Just as we were ready to throw in the towel, he found grandma's first column! Now that we knew the years in which she wrote, we went to work and found a ton of them for our friend. Microfilm readers are so much fancier now, btw! You can email images to yourself. We were very happy to provide our friend with 40+ articles. That was so much fun.

In the meantime, things were blowing up at the forklift factory. The top guy toppled, and I got a text from a friend telling me the news. I texted her back: "Current view" (microfilm reader).

What a day! We scratched that itch, and went home. On the way out, the lights were on in Keller Hall, illuminating the stained glass from within. Love that font, too.

Hawaii 2022 Day 3

The previous post was a combo of day 1 and 2. 

On Day 3 we went swimming in the morning. Then we headed out to do some sculpture hunting. One of my ideas for this trip was to go in search of some of the sculpture listed in a book called Sculpture in the Sun: Hawaii's Art in Public Places. This book, which I'd bought about ten years ago, documents some of Hawaii's artists and artwork funded by the state's public art program. And my thought for the trip was that we could go find some of the art in person, which would lead us to go places we hadn't been before.

So we headed up to Leeward Community College, in Kaneohe. But before we could get to the freeway our path took us past Haili's Hawaiian Food, which is a favorite spot to pick up poi and other taste treats. We stopped and had a sit. They chopped up some dried aku for us, and packed up poi and served us chilled water while we chatted about how they'd fared during the hardest parts of the pandemic. They were a little surprised that out of towners made plans to visit them, but we're kinda used to surprising people.

On the way to Kaneohe we got the idea that all is no well when it comes to man and automobile:

Shiro's Saimin Haven

It doesn't take long to get to Kaneohe from town, and we were hungry so we stopped at a very old strip mall that we'd passed many times before. 

Our bellies full, we went across the freeway to Goodwill. I was still recovering from Covid and seemed to have an allergic reaction to something in the store that drove me out into the parking lot with a need for 800 kleenex and some cough drops. I recovered pretty quickly but WOW that was intense.

And then on to Leeward CC! Not sure why, but the campus was empty. The day was gorgeous. 

The brutalist design of the buildings was so lovely. We wandered around in search of architecture but there was none to be found. But when you turned around you realized that you were right there on the water with big big ships in the harbor.

Still on the hunt for sculpture we went back to the art department. Front doors weren't open, but I walked  around the back of the building and found some people sculpting outdoors. "Excuse me -- I'm looking for some public sculpture..." One person spoke up "I think it's outside the library. And inside the library."

Sure enough, the Satoru Abe sculpture we were looking for was outside the library. Thanks, sculptors! It was kinda awkwardly placed, and oddly monumental but tiny. But you could see how it was very cool at one time. None of my photos did it any justice. And I now see that we missed an exhibition by Tadashi Sato that was on at the time. Argh.

Outside the library was a lovely oculus, lined with mosaic, showing off the brilliant sky and a lone cloud:

Inside the library was some cool artwork by Kahi Ching.

A nice sunset awaited at the hotel.

We wrapped up our day at Stand Up Honolulu, a fairly new club on Cooke St. We met up with our old forklift friend, Ms T. One of the fun things about coming to Honolulu is that Ms T. lives here but she and we have none of the same points of reference. So we can take her to places she's never been. And she's up for everything and it's always a blast. So she met us at the club. She texted that she was scared to get out of her car, which was adorable. Anyhoo, we met in the parking lot and went up to the club. 

I like their bathroom keys!

We saw Andy Bumatai, who was fabulous. And it was a local crowd, but he didn't single us out like he did when we saw him back home. There was, however, a bit of a thing with a wiry guy in fatigues who came in late. He seemed to be altered, wiggly, and Andy couldn't resist dragging him into the act a bit since everyone had seen this guy enter the small club in the middle of his set. He was definitely walking the knife's edge a bit with this guy, and at more than one point I thought "This guy probably has a gun and we're going to die." But that didn't happen and we all had a good time. Except maybe for that one guy. 

I hope he's ok.

It Happened -- Hawaii 2022

Travel was unexpectedly uneventful. Our Lyft was cushy. Three years of miles accrual meant that we went first class, which was fine. I got to watch Everything Everywhere all at Once, which was super weird and neat. We went to La Mariana for lunch and had our first taste of the 2022 holidays:

Our local market has what we need, so we just ate out of the refrigerator case, bought some bottled mai tais and sat on the lanai. Mrguy, recovering from a migraine, had some hypervigilent moments. They only bother him.

On my birthday we went to Sea Bear Beach (what we call it), which you get to by snaking through the parking lot. The area where you can swim is a little smaller than before, but you have a shaded beach with very few people on it. I have felt sooo unlaxed since I got here. It's amazing to realize that dealing with my mom has a physical component. I felt my stomach drop in a good way immediately.

Then off to the museum, which had some of the best traveling exhibitions I've seen there in years. The theme was flowers, and there were paintings from their own collection, like this Paul Wonner:

Also I'm totally in love with the butt grain parquet in the gallery and had to take a photo:

We saw a really cool show by Noah Harders.

And a fantastic piece: Soundsuit 8:46 by Nick Cave:

and then we stepped into Rebecca Louise Law's Awakening, an immersive exhibit that was filled with local and non-local dried vegetation strung on wire and crafted into ;aths within space. The interplay of the objects, shapes and depth of field was tremendous.

I have no idea whether I can load this video into the blog, but this is what it was like to experience the piece:

After touring the galleries, we had lunch at the cafe, and then took in the Sundance Indigenous Short Film Program.

It all went to plan.

While I was rolling around in my bed with Covid I planned out some things for my birthday, including finding a restaurant, Senia, where we could have a great meal. We usually don't do this (eat a fancy dinner) but this sounded really special. And while I was too sick to get out of bed, I'd think "Maybe tomorrow I could get up the stairs by myself so I can grab my credit card and make reservations". Eventually my wish came true.

Dinner was delicious. We had an appetizer that came under a smoke-filled dome. We ate the world's richest risotto. We had scallops that were so good that mrguy decided that he might even *enjoy* scallops.

It was just a great great day, and a good way to usher in a new decade of life (depending on how you count it).

Sorry if the video doesn't load. This has been an experiment.