Dreams of Oahu

The accommodations were comfortable and clean. It wasn't a luxury hotel, but it had everything we needed: a nice room that fit three of us comfortably, a rooftop swimming pool, and convenient laundry facilities. Parking was available at the hotel for our rental car. The staff was very friendly. The location was great - very short walk to the beach and to restaurants and other Waikiki activities.

Well, I may be slightly prejudiced, because I am a big Don Ho fan. However, my traveling companions, who are not quite as obsessive as I am, absolutely loved the place, too. We ate there for dinner and/or lunch about four times over the course of the week. The prices were very reasonable, so we could afford to go there, and the food was FABULOUS!

They have steak, seafood, Hawaiian cuisine, and everything else you can think of. They managed to satisfy the cravings of two vegetarians and one confirmed carnivore. You can sit at a table on the harbor and watch the boats go by, as you sip the amazing Suck 'Em Up Mai Tai's. The Tiny Bubbles Bar (located within the restaurant) is a great place to drink after dinner.

The pictures of Don Ho scattered throughout the restaurant are enough to make any female over the age of 12 drool in admiration. And of course, there is the added excitement generated by the possibility that Don Ho himself might show up!

We packed up in the morning, washed the car again, and drove to the airport. I was as sorry to say goodbye to the Lincoln as to the Big Island. The flight to Oahu was thankfully short, since there was a very smelly man sitting right in front of Lori. We arrived in Honolulu without incident, but were stymied briefly when we couldn’t remember which airline our friend Linda was coming in on. It was Lori’s turn to rent the car, so she chose a Subaru 4WD, a poor replacement for the gallant Lincoln. We finally figured out that Linda was arriving via Hawaiian Air. We picked her up and drove to the Waikiki Parkside.

The hotel was clean and was undergoing renovations, which probably accounted for the good rate we got. It was a little early to check in, so we left our luggage in the hotel lobby and walked across the street to Waikiki Beach, where we sipped Mai Tai’s and had some lunch at a beachside restaurant. Lori, Linda and another girl, Karen, and I had roomed together in quad rooms the first two years at Dickinson College. I have remained close friends with all three of them, but they don’t have much contact with each other. So, it was very fun to have three of us together again.

The three of us checked in finally and then spent about an hour in the hotel pool, even though it was a little cloudy out and a tad chilly. We drove to Don Ho’s Island Grill at the Aloha Towers for dinner. Don was not there, but his food was exceptional, and I took great delight in showing Linda all the pictures of him on the walls. She agreed that he was quite handsome as a young man.

I am ashamed to admit that our loser trio was in bed and nearly asleep by 8:30 that night.

I was in charge of creating the itinerary for the Oahu leg of the trip, so naturally, Sunday had to be Don Ho Day. Lori and I were up early, but Linda was a little difficult to get out of bed. Linda is definitely not a morning person. In college on weekends, I frequently had to wait until noon or 1:00 PM, if I wanted to go to breakfast with Linda. But we finally got her up, and she decided to go for a run. Lori went for a walk. I waited patiently for them to return. We were doing enough walking over the course of the day, without wasting time walking nowhere in particular just for the sake of walking. We went to breakfast at the Wailana Coffee Shop around the corner. It has the atmosphere of a diner, with fast-moving waitresses who call you honey and serve you mouth-watering food at cheap prices. Lori and I had eaten there a few times last year, and it quickly became our breakfast routine on this trip.

After breakfast, we drove Linda around the island, stopping at places that we had seen last year: National Cemetery of the Pacific, the breathtaking views of Nuuanu, and the Na Pali Lookout. Oahu was everything that we had remembered and Linda was very impressed. We went shopping at Hilo Hattie’s (the Wal-Mart of Hawaii), and then Linda and I spent some time at the Ala Moana mall. I found a Hawaiian shirt at Hilo Hattie’s that I thought would be appropriate for the Don Ho show.

The excitement mounted as we drove to the Waikiki Beachcomber for the Don Ho show. We all had our picture taken with Don after the meal, before the show started. I requested that he sing Kanaka Wai Wai, my favorite song, and he agreed. The show was wonderful. Linda was entranced by Don as well, and Lori thought we were both nuts. At the end of the show, I bought more CD’s, including one for my three-year-old niece Courtney, whom I have converted into a Don Ho fan. We stood in the autograph line, letting other people get ahead of us, so we would be last in line to see him. Poor Don had the flu, so there were no kisses this year – only hugs. He seemed to like Linda a lot (maybe I won’t let her come next year!) and she joked with him. I got a long hug, and a "Love you, honey" from him, which will have to last me until next year. Linda and I floated back to the hotel, with Lori in tow, scoffing at us.

This was Polynesian Day. Linda slept until 8:30am, and Lori and I went to Wailana’s without her. We returned and got her out of bed. Then Linda ran, while Lori walked, and I gave my fingers an extensive workout by checking my e-mail. We did a very brief drive-by of Senator Fong’s plantation. That is to say, Linda and I did the drive-by, while Lori wandered through the parking lot on a conference call. I don’t think I’ve mentioned how Lori didn’t actually leave her work at home, did I? The work calls for her frequently started before 6am, and continued off and on throughout the day until about 2 or 3pm.

We drove on to Laie and got to the Polynesian Cultural Center just as it was opening at 11am. We attended many of the same cultural demonstrations and presentations that we saw last year. We all got tattoos (temporary, of course!) at one of the villages and GOOD NEWS – the cute Samoan we had remembered from last year was still there! Linda and I began to realize that after all these years, maybe we did have similar tastes in men! We ate a buffet dinner there, and I began to curse the Mormons who own and operate the whole center – there was no caffeine. What is the point of drinking Coke if there is no caffeine? We went to an IMAX film, and then the big evening show, and exhausted, I fell asleep during both. Naturally, I awoke in time to see the Samoan perform the fire dance. The word "hot" came to mind in several different contexts.

We began the day, as the others: trying to get Linda out of bed at a decent hour, followed by Linda and Lori engaging in physical exercise, then breakfast at Wailana’s. I can still taste the pancakes with the coconut syrup. Yum.

Then we began Patriot’s Day and drove to Pearl Harbor. Linda wasn’t really thrilled about the prospect – she was more interested in beach time and relaxation. Lori and I told her that we had scheduled in free time for her between 2 and 3am each morning. If she chose to sleep at that time, that was certainly her prerogative. I told her it was her duty as an American to see Pearl Harbor, and that she could not leave Hawaii until she had. I wonder if Linda will want to travel with us next year.

But naturally, I was right. Linda was very impressed with the whole Pearl Harbor experience. There weren’t as many survivors there this year, as there had been last year, when we visited on the day after the 60th anniversary. However, there was one Pearl Harbor survivor there who was a patient in the hospital when the attack started. He took an immediate shine to Linda, and Lori and I snickered at his attempts to get somewhere with her.

Lori and I had bought leis for the three of us on the Saturday that Linda arrived, and we had kept them in the hotel in the little refrigerator since. At Lori’s suggestion, we took the leis with us to the Arizona Memorial and dropped the flowers one by one into the harbor.

After Pearl Harbor, we drove to the Halona Blow Hole, a hole in the rock ledge of a beach that emits flumes of seawater like a volcano. It wasn’t as impressive as last year, since the weather was better this time. Then we spent a whole hour at Sandy Beach, before returning to the hotel to get ready for the Ali’i Kai Catamaran Dinner Cruise. The dinner cruise was a little tamer than Captain Bean’s on the Big Island, but the views were great and the entertainment wasn’t bad. We drank Mai Tai’s out of big pineapples, then returned to the hotel.

This was Linda’s last day, and Lori and I didn’t want her to miss any of her remaining time in Hawaii. In a fit of brilliance, Lori turned the alarm clock ahead one hour. Instead of 7am, the clock read 8am. It worked like a charm. We woke Linda and simply pointed at the clock. She jumped out of bed with a big smile. She and Lori went for their morning walk/run, and she commented to Lori about how it seemed darker that morning! Lori responded with a nonsensical remark about tropical climates. Linda was oblivious. We went out to breakfast, then returned to the hotel and discussed our plans for the morning. It was then that we broke the news to Linda that we had an extra hour that day. She laughed almost as hard as we did.

For our Farewell to Linda day, we did a drive-by of Diamond Head and a drive-by of Hanauma Bay. Then we took Linda to the airport and said our farewells. But it was only noon, so Lori and I finally did what Linda had wanted to do all week: relax. We went to the Ko’olina Beach, and stayed for over an hour. It was beautiful. We then drove to the Ala Moana mall and ate dinner at Señor Pepe’s in the food court. By the way, the Ala Moana mall has the most amazing food court I've ever seen. More food concepts than I can count, a bar, and wonderful, inexpensive food.

We did a little shopping, then returned to the hotel by 7pm, to rest up from Linda’s exhausting visit!

Lori and I were nearing the end of our vacation, the end of my money, and the end of our energy, so we christened this Slug Day. We ate breakfast and lunch at McDonald’s. In the morning, we drove to Waimea Falls Adventure Park, and walked around enjoying the flora and fauna. Lori thought the place was too manufactured and commercialized, but it was nothing like the Hilton Waikaloa (on the Big Island), so I don’t know what she was thinking! The park had a reconstruction of an ancient Hawaiian village, and it was there that I learned the ancient Hawaiians liked to eat young dog. Very disconcerting, but I’m sure that item was not on the menu at Don Ho’s Island Grill. From there, we took the long way back to Waikiki, doing a literal drive-by (pause for a picture only) of the Mormon Temple at Laie. I tried to catch a glimpse of our Samoan friend when we drove by the Polynesian Cultural Center, but no luck. We stopped by chance at the Ka’a’awa Beach Park, and decided that it was the best beach in the universe. The weather was perfect, the beach was empty, and we stayed for two glorious hours.

It rained off and on throughout the day, and by the time we returned to the hotel, I was frightened of my own appearance. I walked back out and stopped in a hair salon around the corner. The hairdresser was named Max Bravo, and he was everything that the name implied. He had a little Maltese named Milo who took a great liking to me and my leg. Max was full of hair wisdom, such as: You should put conditioner on your hair while it is dry, before you get in the shower and before you add shampoo — "because ‘C’ comes before ‘S.’" The top layer should be heavier than the lower layers, because otherwise you "get that Poodle look." Bangs should be cut in an upward angle at either side. That way, "even if you are not smiling, your hair is." I was willing to accept most of that, but I assuredly did not want my hair to smile. Nevertheless, two hours and $40 later, I walked out with my hair smiling.

While I was getting my haircut, Lori bought some champagne, and we drank it with take-out food in the hotel that night.

Friday was our Farewell to Lori Day. We had breakfast at Wailana’s so she could have coconut syrup for the last time. Lori wanted to go back to the perfect beach, but the weather was not great. It rained most of the day. And besides, there were still places we hadn’t been.

At my insistence, we returned to Pearl Harbor and toured the U.S.S. Bowfin, a submarine with quarters so cramped, that I’m sure neither Lori nor I could live in it without killing someone. After that, we visited the Battleship Missouri, where the Japanese surrender was signed. It was pretty impressive. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. The only thing better than watching a Harry Potter movie is watching it in Hawaii. We both loved it!

Lori’s plane wasn’t scheduled to leave until that night, so on her way to the airport, she dropped me off at Don Ho’s Island Grill and I had dinner by myself. I kept watching for Don to come in, but he did not. I took a taxi back to the hotel and began to contemplate life back in dismal Pennsylvania.

Pool Day. I ate breakfast by myself at Wailana’s, got the rest of my film developed, washed clothes and read a Nelson DeMille book at the hotel pool. I managed to acquire a little bit of a tan without getting fried, and my last day in Hawaii passed quickly and quietly. I took the limousine service to the airport, and tried not to cry out in agony when I got on the plane. We took off and I watched the shoreline of Oahu get smaller and smaller as we soared through a perfect sunset. I was blessed with no one in the seat next to me, and managed to sleep for about an hour or so. Nine hours later, we landed in Chicago in 20-degree weather and on snow-covered runways, and I’ve been freezing cold ever since!