Earliest vacation memory of this trip: Walking down the temporary ramp linking airport to the plane to board for Hawaii on Saturday morning, there was a sign posted about 7 feet up the wall inside the tunnel ramp thing. I looked up to read the sign and consequently, tripped. The sign said “Caution: Step carefully when inside the JetBridge. Floor surface is uneven.”
Weather in Oahu: Saturday through Tuesday was sunny with the occasional rain drizzle. Wednesday and Thursday poured so much that it caused mudslides, one of which trapped an SUV and caused the closure of a major freeway. Friday, Saturday and Sunday were beautiful, sunny, and humid. Surf conditions were pretty rough, altho there were beautiful aquamarine barrel waves in the northeastern part of the island, and surf contests were in full swing. Snorkeling conditions were poor as the rain and rough waves churned up enough sand to cause uncharacteristic murkiness of the waters for this time of year. The water, however, was usually a comfortable high 70s Fahrenheit.
Most noticeable difference between Oahu locals and California locals: the driving. Hawaiians don’t cut you off, don’t tailgate you, and when you signal, they wave you in. When you let someone in your lane, they wave in gratitude. I do that here, but it generally goes unacknowledged, and when the occasional driver waves his thanks, it nearly moves me to tears. (An example of Californians: The week before I left for Hawaii, I was signaling for minutes to go into a lane to my right the freeway in stop-and-go traffic, and finally a big cargo truck backed off and let me in. I waved my thanks, and still signaling, started my merge into his lane. Suddenly, this stupid white trashy Corolla came out from the other side of the truck and stole my lane, nearly side-swiping my car, never signaling, and I honked to keep her from hitting my car. In front of me, she flipped me off. WTF, you stole my lane, nearly hit my car, cut me off, and then you flip me off?! I honked again. She flipped me off again as she changed another lane to the left. I SO wished I had something to throw at the bitch.)
Bonding quality: Extremely high with my jujitsu buddies. We laughed and joked and hung out and battled each other. I didn’t know some of my classmates were so damn funny. Several comments had hit my funny bone and even now I chuckle as I think of them. I’d write about them, but they’re those you-had-to-be-there things. Some of my favorite people in the world were on that island.
Celeb sighting: Wally Amos of Famous Amos Cookies. He didn’t even identify himself to us! We walked by a cookie shop called Chip n Cookie that looked really good, and there were 2 guys standing behind the counter but the sign said “Closed.” We figured they were still setting up to open. But they waved us in, and we told them their sign said closed and Wally said, “No wonder we were standing in here with the door wide open and nobody was coming in! You guys must be readers!” We chatted awhile, Wally directed the younger guy to give us free samples, and Wally popped a few of the little cookies in his mouth as he was taking them out of the oven. I asked how he stays so fit working so close to cookies, and he said, “A lifetime of the cookie diet.” He also told us you can buy their cookie dough from Costco now. I told them how my high school economics class showed a video of the Famous Amos success story, and they pointed out Amos’ book. And then we left. Later on in the hotel room, a children’s program came on TV, Reading with Wally Amos. And it was him!! I had seen the “reading with your children” sign at the back of the shop, too!
Injury count: various bruises from a 7-hour long martial arts clinic day; tweaked neck that’s getting better; 5 hugely swollen and itchy, rashy mosquito bites obtained from the Polynesian Culture Center; no sunburn! (altho a distinctive attractive flip flop strap tan and a bikini tan)
Photos: forthcoming.
What I learned: people can be really nice; friends can feel like your family; coconuts are really hard; Mr. W is a romantic gentleman; it takes a 4-year-old boy 17 minutes to break open a ceremonial coconut with a rock; a rolled up magazine can break cement bricks; pineapples are expensive; hotel guest parking is a rip-off ($15/day); Tahitian pearls are ridiculously cheap with vendors; swap meet style vendors don’t bargain as much as you think they would; marijuana smells like rotting vegetables in a dumpster (and I would know about the dumpster smell); sand finds and hides in every crevice on your body imaginable, even if that part of your body never made contact with any sandy surface.
Time of return to home: 3 a.m. this morning
Current location: work, feeling funny in heels instead of flip flops. *sigh*
How I feel now: rested re-energized pooped.