Hawaii 2008, Day 2

Sometimes it takes more than one try to get the room right and they hooked us up on day 2.

We have now moved in

and I am writing this while sneaking peaks at Diamond Head.

Our main goal yesterday was to get to the Vladimir Ossipoff exhibition at the Honolulu Academy of Arts.

We were not disappointed. It was a bit loud in the hall, which made it difficult to concentrate. The upside of this was that some of the conversations happening around us were between people who had known Ossipoff or lived in one of his homes. That was pretty neat. The IBM building (see Hawaii 2007, Day 2) was designed by him. The Pavilion Cafe was completely booked, but somehow fit us in.

In the late afternoon we went to see Auntie Genoa. Part of the experience of going to her Thursday gig is getting to see the 'ohana that comes together for the weekly ritual of her shows. Some people come every week to see Auntie and each other, to eat and dance the hula. She's not well, but is always great. The band leader, Alan Akaka, had some heavy lifting to do last night to keep it going.  Momi Bee Kawaiolaa (Auntie Genoa's 80-ish year old niece) held it down nicely on rhythm guitar and vocals.

Part of the 'ohana included our new lady friends who joined our table at the show. They invited us to the ukulele and hula classes this week, and we invited them to Aloha Sunday back home.

Hawaii 2008

Hawaii seems especially lush this year. 

I noticed it first from my table at the La Mariana Sailing Club.

At first I thought I was imagining it, in my enthusiasm to be here, but even Diamond Head looks green this year.

We made our pilgrimage to the beach, and played uke. 

I have a sweet spot for seeing the cruise boats at sunset.

Old habits die hard, so we ate at the restaurant we call "Mama, that's wasabi." Read day one of last year's Hawaii trip if you need that explained :)

Our preferred local programming was preempted by local sports. If we ever move here, we're never going to make any friends unless we embrace local sports.

Happy New Year 2008

Chin Ho Kelly here to save the day!

Around Day 6 of my time on the sofa, I developed a new obsession.

As mrguy was digitizing our 78's, I began to wonder whether Hilo Hattie really was part of Harry Owens' band. The answer was yes, but my research also led me to a Hawaii Five-O fan site which listed her as a guest star.

Why had it never occurred to me to watch Hawaii Five-O before? It's chock-full of what I like: 1960's Honolulu, eye-popping aloha wear, kitschy lingo, and the occasional local guest star, like Hilo Hattie or Carol Kai. This is perfect viewing for the guy family. The first three episodes and the pilot were really great, and there are 69 more episodes available on DVD (278 in all).

Ask me about Five-O fansites :)