Aloha from Hawaii

After a 4 a.m. alarm, a 15 min. drive to the airport, and a 5 hour flight, we arrived in Hawaii.  Luckily Sue woke up to the 4 a.m. buzzer alarm from the hotel clock and didn't need the back up alarm that went off ten minutes later.  She was in the shower when the roosters began crowing from my phone alarm.  Sue hates my roosters.  I changed the alarm to a soothing melody in case it is needed again.  No need to tempt fate.

 

Diamondhead Sunrise

We checked in to the Outrigger Reef Hotel on Waikiki Beach.  Our ocean front room overlooks Diamondhead, the Pacific Ocean, sea turtles, tourists, umbrellas, more tourists, sand, palm trees, and a few more tourists.  Did I mention the tourists?  While the population of all of Hawaii is 1.42 million people, only 238 folks are locals and the rest are tourists.

Native Hawaiians were tourists themselves not so long ago.  Historically, this chain of islands was mostly settled by Micronesians, Polynesians, and Amnesians.  The Micronesians are a small people, you wouldn't even know they are here.  The Polynesians are famous for their great complexions as they almost never wrinkle.  A quick spin cycle and they are young again. The Amnesians are an interesting group most notable for their expression, "forget about it".  The largest group inhabiting the islands are the Touresians who come here from Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan, Sweden, and Nebraska.  A final group of settlers to the Hawaiian islands are the Samoans.  These are not to be confused with the girl scout cookies with the similar sounding name.  The Samoans are a large heavily tattooed people.  Their name comes from the fact that, when offered food, they regularly answer that they want "some-more".

We learned the most common Hawaiian terms of Aloha and Mahalo.  The word Aloha loosely translated means, say goodby to your money because Hawaii is expensive.  Mahalo means thank you for taking my money.  The Hawaiians are nothing if not polite.

Outrigger Room

On our arrival in Hawaii we made it down to the Shore Bird bar and restaurant where we started our island vacation with a Mai Tai (or two) and nachos.  While the nachos are technically not "Hawaiian", they do help you drink more Mai Tai's and the next day they remind you of what you did the day before.  Mai Tai's are a Hawaiian drink responsible for more admissions to the local hospitals than any other beverage.  Not for their alcohol content but because of the tourists blinded when they forget to remove the little umbrellas.

Sue at Shorebird Bar

 The Mai Tai's at the Shorebird Bar couldn't hold an umbrella to the Mai Tai's at the world famous Mai Tai Bar at the Royal Hawaiian.  The difference was very notable, the Royal Hawaiian Mai Tai's were $15 each where the Shorebird Bar Mai Tai's were $5.00 a piece.  No comparison.  Same drink just not as famous.

This is a "famous" Mai Tai (translation $15.00)

Our introduction to Oahu was a day long photography tour.  It took us around the island to the north shore for the sunset.  We stopped off at numerous locations of unparalleled beauty.  While a couple of us "old timers" still toted the "big glass" synonymous with DSLR cameras, several on our tour had those fancy new smartphones.  It is easy to spot the old vs. the new photographers.  The old ones are hunched over and sore by the end of the day.  The younger cellphone  crowd is still smiling and ready to go out dancing.  The sad thing was that the cellphone folks still walked away with good pictures.  

Jack is Ready For His Photography Tour (pic by Sue)

Sue's Photo From Tour

Photo Tour

Photo Tour

Photo Tour

Photo Tour

Photo Tour

Photo Tour

Photo Tour

Our second day in Oahu was mostly spent drinking Mai Tai's to ease the pain of toting heavy camera gear the day before.  It ended with a luau where more Mai Tai's were consumed.  I'm not sure what the term luau means but I am told you shouldn't utter the word anywhere near a pig as it makes them very nervous.  A large bus picked us up from our hotel and drove us to a picturesque park.  Long tables were set up and the entertainment took place on a large stage.  It was here that girls in grass skirts danced to the delight of the male audience.  

Then large muscular men came out to dance and the men in the audience realized they were not in good shape.  The women in the audience just smiled.  Later some large Samoan men came out and the male audience felt a little better about themselves.

Male Dancer (Jack's Body before he discovered beer)

Our last day in Waikiki Beach was planned with a relaxing excursion to the Arizona Memorial.  This was a somber reminder of our entry into WWII.  Our bus picked us up across the street at the Trump Tower and drove us by the hospital where President Obama was born and the school he attended.  The irony of the proximity of the Trump Tower and the president's birthplace was not lost on us.   Tomorrow we board our cruise ship for our journey to the other islands. 

Arizona Memorial

That is if we decide to leave Waikiki as Sue just informed me that paddleboarders were gliding by our balcony on boards that were lit underneath with led lighting.  The pictures were great.  Too soon for sharing but wait,  Sue had great shots that required grabbing...., here is one....,

Sue's shot from our balcony of paddleboarders

 

Pacifica

Before leaving San Francisco we thought we would look for Tony Bennett's heart. We tried Boudin's Bakery and BevMo.  Alas, we didn't find Tony's heart but we did find some good bread and wine.  A tip of the hat to Tom at BevMo for his recommendations.  Not a bad grape in the batch.

We left our friends in San Francisco and headed 20 minutes south to sleepy Pacifica.  Well, it used to be a sleepy little place.  Somebody woke it up.  Sue and I have been coming here for well over 20 years.  I guess we told too many folks how wonderful it was because now it is really crowded.  Actually the whole of California is getting crazy and I'm not just talking about the usual Golden State mental state.  We did unknowingly time our visit here for the Columbus Day weekend, Fleet Week and exhibitions by the Blue Angles.  I will say the Blue Angels contributed a few contrails to the sky.  Normally contrails are a photographers nemesis.  Luckily high winds dissipated the smoky trails and they perhaps added to the sunsets.

Blue Angel

Our friends Judy and Donna joined us in Pacifica for wine and appetizers at A Grape in the Fog.  It also occurred to me that the cheese we bought was called Foggy Morning.  The fog references were a reminder that the California coast is known for its fog.  We however, had arrived during their Indian Summer which provides a brief respite from the usual blanket of white.   In fact, some areas of the coast have fog so thick for up to ten or eleven months of the year that the lifting of the fog in October is cause for excitement and confusion.  You see it is during this "clearing of the fog" that people find out that for much of the last year they have been sleeping with their neighbor, or worse yet, are wearing socks that don't match.

Pacifica Sunset Without Fog

  Our waitress, Ana, at A Grape in the Fog, filled a napkin with recommendations for local jaunts for scenery.  We followed several and were rewarded with walks through tall redwoods and large cypress, coastal overlooks, and pleasant drives.  Locals know the best places, thanks Ana.  Your wine recommendations were appreciated as well.

Fitzgerald Marine Reserve Cypress Grove

   

Sue in Purisima Creek Redwood Forest

Jack on Bench at Fitzgerald Marine Reserve

Scene Top of Ridge Fitzgerald Marine Reserve

Saturday night we tried to just walk in to Nicks across from our hotel, it was an hour wait for a table.  I don't know about you but, I don't go out to dinner an hour before I think I might be hungry.  I go out when I'm ready to eat.  We crossed back to our side of the cul de sac and got a nice ocean view table at Moonraker's.

3,113.6 Miles Away

We made our 3,113.6 mile getaway without incident.  Well, we did have one little thing happen.  Our stay in Hollywood (Florida) was at a Hampton Inn.  We had to get up at 3:30 a.m. to catch our early flight.  I walked bleary eyed over to the sink to shave and turned on the hot water.  I heard hot water but did not see water, hot or cold.  I turned the knob off and back on again and heard but did not see the water.  I then glanced over to the shower to see if, like a movie comedy, someone had rerouted the plumbing.  Not one drop dripped from the shower head.  One more turn and my feet found the water.  It was coming from a ruptured line to the faucet.  Water was now all over the floor.  I shaved and brushed my teeth using the bathtub faucet.  The vacation has begun.  

Hampton Inn Bathroom

We watched the hotel TV to see that our friend Matthew had decided to ignore the meteorologists and to turn toward the SE Florida coast.  You can almost hear the weather gods laughing.  The Weather Channel has declared a state of emergency, they are running out of crayons.

We made it to San Francisco, rented a red Mustang convertible, and drove to stay a couple of days with our friends Donna & Keith.  The Mustang turned out to be a real chick magnet as you can see from the picture below.

Actually, that's me with Donna, our tour guide.  We spent two days touring with Donna.


We stopped to visit another friend, Judy who lives just blocks from Donna & Kieth.  Judy has a beautiful home overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge.  The view from her house is stunning.  Just look at a picture I took at her dining room table.

Judy's dining room

We then found out how clever Californians are.  Everyone knows about California's "wine country".  What goes with wine?  Why, cheese of course.  So now, mixed in and near wine country, is cheese country.  They have cheese farms all along a "cheese trail" just north of San Francisco.  I always wondered what sort of tree grows those little Babybel cheeses.

The "Cheese Trail" took us through dairy farms and patches of giant coastal redwoods.  It was a great drive through the rolling hills down curvy roads with the top down, sunny skies, and 70 degree weather.   The scenery was beautiful.  Below is a small church that was across from a cheese farm store.  I think that is a Babybel tree on the right.

Church in Cheese Country

Today is Thursday and we are due to leave Donna & Kieth's to head down to Pacifica for the next 5 days.  More later.

Land of Ukuleles

The traveling duo of Jack & Sue are, to quote Willie Nelson, “On the road again”.  Our final destination is the Aloha State, by way of San Francisco.  The first problem however, is to get out of Florida.  You see, just days before our scheduled departure, a neighbor decided to pay us a visit.  At least he threatened to stop by.  His name is Matthew and he is mean, unpredictable, wobbles like a drunken sailor, and is just not a good guest.  I refer of course to Hurricane Matthew as he approaches our latitude with attitude.

Cone of Uncertainty

We were forced to take a day out of our busy schedule of preparations to close up our hurricane shutters so Matthew won’t know we’re home.  Actually, we won’t be home but he doesn’t have to know that.  We should be 3,113.6 miles away in San Francisco when Matthew swings by the Florida coast.  That extra point six miles is our safety buffer.  You can’t be too careful. 

We are basing all of this according to the weather forecasters who are known for their uncanny ability to make accurate prognostications.  Just look at the picture below.  This guy is being paid to use his weather smarts to predict on a map just where a hurricane will go.  Hell, a 3 year old with a box of Crayola’s could have done at least that good.  I suggest that he stick to predicting meteors based on his degree in meteorology.

The Crayola Man

You will be hearing from us as time permits and as incidents worth retelling happen.  When we travel it’s almost a given that something unusual will happen.  As someone once said, “life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get down the front of your shirt.”  At least I think that’s how it went.

For now, we are still in Miami, living in the cocoon that is a house with all its shutters closed.  My security cameras are my only knowledge of the outside world.  Having the shutters closed cuts us off from the menagerie that is our south Florida yard.  Why, just yesterday, Sue called me to her office and pointed to a spot outside her window.  There was an excited mockingbird bouncing around on the ground and flapping his wings.  It took an extra second to see that he was excited about a snake coiled up in a defensive striking pose just a couple feet away.  The mockingbird ruled the day and the snake slithered away into a garden bed.  The Miami Dolphins could use that bird.  However, knowing them, they would have signed the snake.

Dolphins Look Good

At this writing, I have packed and re-packed my three bags at least a dozen times.  Temperatures in San Francisco are now in the 50’s and 60’s while the Hawaiian Islands are in the 70’s and 80’s.  Planning clothing for a thirty-degree temperature swing adds to the delight of wardrobe selection.  My packing observations are that women have it just as bad as the men, but in different ways.  Women coordinate “outfits” so that color schemes work for every occasion.  For me it is a matter of, after I pack a second pair of my gigantic shoes that take up half of a checked bag, do I have enough room in the remaining space for a change of underwear?  Drum-roll here, the answer was yes, but just barely.  You see, the underwear is big too.  Guys are penalized by the size of everything.  Women are penalized by the mere fact that they can actually see and differentiate colors.

Sue has an official packing list.  She has been coordinating outfits for weeks.  She has strategically grouped the items into geographic areas of her luggage by geographic destination.  One side of her suitcase holds San Francisco clothing and the other side is for Hawaiian clothing.  She has another printed sheet that tells her where everything is located.  I, on the other hand, put a piece of green day-glow gaffers tape on my packing cubes and vacuum bags with a list what's inside.  Different strokes for different sexes.

The question now is, how do you get this....

Stuff

.....into this.......?

I also have a roll-aboard and a messenger bag for electronics and camera gear.  You would think I was on a safari for National Geographic and planned to briefly stop off at an electronics convention to show off my new line.  My bathroom scale has accurately informed me that I am within just one or two pounds of the airline restrictions for each bag.  I am now diligently searching for an extra pound or two of “stuff” that I have set aside on that table of things I probably won’t need.  The caveat here is that I won’t need them unless I don’t have them.  Then the question will be, If only I had grabbed that HDMI to mico-USB connector to hook my laptop to the in-room HD TV, I could…..?

National Geographic Camera Gear

My life is more complicated than it needs to be.  I envy the folks who just grab a bag, throw in some clothes, and hop on a flight at the last minute.  Their vacations must be fun too.  The Griswold’s didn’t plan much and look how much fun they had.

That’s all for the first installment.  More when we hit the road and have access to the Internet.  I will try to post links to Facebook and I plan to send out links by email.  If you are reading this you should be able to return periodically to this same spot and check the entries in the right hand column labeled Blog Archive.  The dates of postings should be listed.