Hawaiian Beach Wear

The middle-aged guy walking across the beach in colorful swim trunks and an aloha (tropical print) shirt, black dress shoes and a nice pair of black dress socks, pulled way up high on his calves made me remember the time, not so many years ago, that I brought several pairs of nylons to Hawaii. 

Now that, by far, was the stupidest thing I could have packed aside from maybe a pair of woolen gloves. Where I thought I would be wearing them, or how, with flip-flops, I don't know. I do chuckle when I read the travel journal notes from that trip that remind me: 'DON'T bring nylons again!'

But it is hard to not bring reminders of your real world and your lifestyle with you when you travel.

I've done a couple of interviews while on this trip for articles I am working on.  For each of them, I 'dressed up' - wearing my black flip-flops instead of the blue ones with palm trees.  And while I had to dig to the bottom of my purse, I finally found some lipstick - haven't seen that tube in days.

In Hawaii, clothes colors are as bright as the spirit. They don't need to coordinate either as most the time outfits are some combination of  floral and/or stripes, sometimes at the same time and worn in as sunglasses, hat, swimsuit, top, cover up, shorts, and beach towel 'wraps'.
I've come a long way since packing those nylons.  My near constant   look these days is a bright blue top which reminds me of the sea and sky, and a bright green hat the colors of palm fronds, and printed with white hibiscus blooms (hibiscus is the state flower of Hawaii). 

My wardrobe is brighter and more carefree; come to think of it, so is my outlook on life.

A Seaside Serendipity

She and I first nodded and mumbled a greeting as we passed in the exercise room at Marriott's Vacation Club Ko Olina.

The next time we passed, she said, "You look so familiar. Are you from Seattle?"

I responded that she also looked familiar in that 'sort of' kind of way.  By that point, Annette and I compared notes: I live in Kirkland and she lives in Bellevue, a couple miles down the road from me. We hadn't worked together. We hadn't volunteered together. Church? No. Civic group? No.Husbands know each other? No.

A perplexing situation.  Still there was something familiar. . .
And then we figured it out.  We had met on a cruise, some four years ago, as we sailed through the Mediterranean.  We had talked often on that ship.  We had hit if off to the point that I had encouraged them to look at a house up for sale on our cul de sac.

Now we laughed about bumping into each other in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. And we said we should get together 'back home' but neither had paper or pen to exchange phone numbers at any point we talked. . .

Their stay was over yesterday. . .Beach Boy and I were at the Farmer's Market up the road when I remembered I hadn't gotten her phone number.  So we are back to the serendipity of travel. . .bringing people together in the most unexpected of places. 

Wonder when Annette and I will bump into each other again. . .and where.

A Beach + A Book = Hawaiian Paradise

My new shoes are off - it's time to kick-back
j. smith photo (c) 2011

It's a kick-back Hawaiian Saturday . . .the kind where you do what you have to do early and then head to the beach with a book.

We try to read novels set in the locales we are visiting while on the road and we've been reading some great ones these last few weeks.  If you need a good beach book, try one of these:

Moloka'i by Alan Brennert (he also wrote Honolulu) who takes the reader back a century or so to experience a little known time and place, the Leper Colony on Moloka'i.  As the author's afterward indicates the research materials are vast and he's created characters based on historical accounts.  It's been a long time since a book has moved me to tears but the story he created of  Rachel Kalama was so beautifully told that I did cry at the ending.

Best South Sea Stories, edited by two University of Hawaii professors, was calling out from a shelf at Border's in downtown Waikiki.  The collection of short stories put together by  A. Grove Day and Carl Stroven are whisking me to South Sea islands aboard sailing vessels of all shapes and sizes in tales written by the likes of James A. Michener, W. Somerset Maugham, Herman Melville and Jack London, just to name a few.

And of course, a trip to Hawaii isn't complete without reading of the adventures of the rotund Chinese police detective, Charlie Chan.  This trip we've followed his work on a case in the last book of the series written by Earl Derr Biggers' Keeper of the Keys.

We found Love Finds You in Lahaina, Hawaii at our nearby Costco.  The title would have normally turned me off, had it not been written by Bodie Thoene of the husband and wife writing, research team Bodie and Brock Thoene (pronounced Tay-nee), I am eager to start it before we leave.  The duo introduced me to Prague and Vienna in another series of historical novels they wrote.  They have spent each spring for most of their adult lives writing and teaching in Hawaii.

Hula Babe, Beach Boy and Honu

We'd been hoping this year to see Honu, as we've named the sea turtle who we watched swimming in a nearby lagoon last year. Honu is the Hawaiian word for turtle, by the way, not just some clever name we gave the big guy.  And our recent stormy weather has kept the wave action so high that we'd about given up on seeing our old friend.

Wednesday morning we had a calm - before the storm - in a manner of speaking and we set off to explore a new-to-us lagoon a bit further down the road.  Our new discovery was reached by a sandy beach access path between the private Campbell Estate and Paradise Cove luau headquarters at Ko Olina, on O'ahu's west coast.

The lagoon is one of three natural lagoons on the property - we'd just never gotten to it on earlier visits.The crescent sand beach was nearly empty - only two other couples and a family of four - all of whom were busy watching Honu! 

Honu came up to meet Beach Boy
j.smith photo, (c) 2010

It may have been our same Honu or a distant cousin - whatever the case he was a 3-legged honu, unlike the turtle we watched last year. I am happy to report that all we tourists obeyed the rules posted on beach to stay back and not bother the turtles. 

Honu hadn't read the signs:  he swam right up to us . . .sending children screaming from the water and keeping the rest of us entertained by his curiosity.

A Sea Foam Saturday

Okay, so I admit it, we haven't yet toured Pearl Harbor and I haven't been to the Polynesian Cultural Center since 1979 when my girlfriend and I rode TheBus around the island and made a stop there.

With the laid-back pace and so many things calling out to do, it just seems we can't get it all fit into the schedule while on O'ahu. 

Sometimes hours can slip away during what started as a quick stop at the beach. Like Saturday. We stopped to admire the waves breaking against the shore on Yokohama Beach.  It has been somewhat stormy in this part of the world so the waves were spectacular.

The next thing we knew, we were barefoot and walking the beach letting sea foam bathe both our feet and our souls.

Ever spent time like that?  It is amazing.



 

Sea foam at Yokohama Beach Park - O'ahu
j. smith photo (c) 2011



Songs of Sunrise and Sunset

We have a symphony playing each day precisely at 6:30 a.m. and again at 6:30 p.m.  It heralds in the pink sky of morning and the blaze of the sun as it sets out over the Pacific.



Ko Olina sunset
J. Smith photo (c) 2011

 It is the symphony of Mina birds who flock by the dozens to two 'garbage trees' (named so by the groundskeepers because of the leaves that perpetually fall from them) in the gardens outside our Marriott Vacation Club at Ko Olina.

While on a horticultural tour we learned that Marriott had once tried devices in the trees to discourage the birds from singing their songs, so they wouldn't disturb the guests. . .the tour participants were aghast. 

Can you imagine being in the tropics and not hearing the songs of the birds?

Going 'Glamping' - Hawaiian style

Waikiki
J.Smith photo, (c) 2011

You know 'glamping' - it's the new buzz for glamorous camping.  Pampered tent camping or slightly 'roughing it' (in the loosest sense of the word) in other types of digs.

Hula Babe and Beach Boy have been 'glamping' since our arrival in Hawaii. . .not the rugged sleep on the beach in a tent stuff or tree house in the mountains, but still 'glamping' - taking ourselves out of the well-stocked routine of home and put into situations that call for a bit of resourcefulness. 

Our time in the tropics began in a two room suite with kitchenette at the Courtyard by Marriott in Waikiki (formerly the Wyland Hotel).  The place was incredibly spacious with a deck large enough to host 12, a living room, bedroom, bath, and kitchenette.  I called the week prior to our arrival just to make sure the kitchenette was stocked with plates, flatware and such. . .it was good that I had called, it seemed. 

"You have a microwave, refrigerator and coffee pot and cups. . .and nothing else" began the pleasant front desk clerk, who concluded the conversation with, "bring paper plates."

I followed her advice to a point - we brought plastic, cups, bowls, plates and flatware (I always carry a paring knife in my checked baggage as well as a bottle opener - those two will get us through in a pinch). After settling in, we saw a note in the kitchenette to call housekeeping for any kitchen items we might need - but since we'd hauled the stuff along, we used our own and 'glamped' in room for daily breakfasts and lunches. (Great on the pocketbook and in keeping the Diet to Go on track).

Now we are in the small side of our timeshare at Ko Olina; commonly called the 'lock-off' as it is an over sized luxurious bedroom suite with kitchenette, wet bar type sink, microwave and tiny refrigerator, table service and flatware for two. Here we have a toaster and just yesterday housekeeping delivered a salad bowl within minutes of my request (it is glamping after all).

Banks of communal barbecues stand under a bank of palm trees near the pool, and gathering at them to cook gives the feel of being around a campfire somewhere - but here the propane is lit, the tools are provided and you simply bring your food, BBQ it, and visit with fellow vacationers. We had a salad from the deli down the street as we don't have the dishware or storage space to make our own, but served it in that nice salad bowl from housekeeping.

This form of glamping is just a matter of breaking routine and making do with less, an exercise we've come to enjoy.

It is still a juggling act to cook and often we are reminded of our cooking in Pacific Northwest campsites.  While not always convenient, it requires creativity. . .which turns out to be surprising fun.  As I gaze out over the tops of palm trees and watch the waves break against the shore, I am certain that this form of 'glamping' can't be beat!

Pro Bowl: Big Bucks and Barricades

Sidewalk barricade at the Ihilani
J.Smith photo (c) 2011

The barricades were down on Monday.
That's the good news out at Ko Olina, the sprawling resort on Hawaii's western shore where we have settled in for a spell.

Those barricades and security checkpoints go up prior to Pro Bowl as the players, their families and friends begin arriving at the J.W. Marriott Ihilani, that shares a portion of the Ko Olina landscape.  The NFL - according to the local paper - takes over the entire hotel out here. A practice field is set up next door to it (you can see a goal post from the roadway). The game was played Sunday for those of you who missed it.

The barricades, I guess, are to keep players from being pestered by fans.  I'm one of the first to admit I wouldn't know a player without helmet and pads if I were to walk into him - they look pretty normal out of uniform.

Anyway, the barricades came down so we 'other' guests are now allowed access along the entire beachwalk and into the Ihilani ;you aren't allowed in the secure area without a reservation for a restaurant or spa treatment while they are there.

Barricades are just one impact of the game.  Since we are here, I thought I'd tell you a bit more about its impact -- this information comes from a week's worth of reports in the local paper The Star Advertiser

Pro Bowl is big bucks over here. Hawaii pays the NFL $4 million to come to Honolulu for the game and its related hoopla.

• In 2009 - the last time it was played here - it brought 18,000 visitors who pumped more than $30 million into the economy and tax coffers; so maybe $4 million was a small price to pay.
• The week prior to ProBowl is chockablock full of autograph signings, appearances by players, parades, block parties, charity visits -- and this year ticket giveaways.
• The players and their families and friends rent high end accommodations while here, so last year's absence was a costly one according to news reports.  The NFL reportedly takes over the entire Ihilani (one article reported that Michael Vick was in the Penthouse).
• Several high end beach home rental companies say the increased rentals are up this year. High end resorts in downtown Honolulu reported boosts as well.

So back to the barricades.  The general manager at the Ihilani was quoted in Sunday's paper as saying that the NFL is a great customer and uses all areas of the resort as well as the timeshare neighbor Marriott Vacation Villas, (that would be where we are) so I wonder if they are using all areas of Ko Olina including areas outside security, are those barricades more pomp than circumstance? Go figure. Go team.