Oahu 2000

August 28

We left Sacramento at 5:30 AM, much to the dismay of Jacob and Julie, who were both sure my obsessive nature was the only reason for such an early departure. We arrived at SFO at 9:00 AM. Traffic was typical Bay Area sludge. I'm tired after only having had about 11/2 hours of sleep. Jacob and his friends were celebrating his last night in Sacramento. They were quiet. 18-year-old quiet, not 42 year old quiet. I kept hearing what I thought was a pellet gun or a staple gun. I think now it was Caleb and Patrick performing feats of strength and karate chopping an object. I'm sure they are both asleep now.

The flight is almost half empty, yet our luck has us seated next to an interesting family. The mother looks like her doctor fell asleep and left the collagen injector in her lower lip. She is crabby and thinks that each person on the plane has it in for her. When the cabin attendant forgot to serve her nuts and a soda she whacked the attendant on the back and asked "Am I excluded!?" She has changed seats once because the man behind her has ordered several beers and the smell makes her sick. She is now seated in front of the guy’s wife. Her annoyance now is that the woman behind her keeps sneezing. It must be hard to be so important that everyone needs to spend their energy bringing you down. Lucky for me I am as insignificant as a sand flea.

The teaser films they show on the airplane were intriguing, but not so much so that I felt the need to cough up $3.00 for the headsets. The visual is enough. A Polynesian woman husking a coconut with her teeth, large men having a belly flop contest. Sound might move it all from intrigue to horror.

After the L-tryptophan laced airline meal Jacob and I both fell asleep and slept through what was to be the high point of the flight, Sherbet. The crabby woman managed to score a sherbet, but it sits, uneaten, in front of her. She must think the flight attendant she hit doped it with arsenic.

My Dad met us at the gate with flower leis. Well, not at the gate. My Dad managed to get access down the loading dock and met us at the door of the plane. Never the one to be held back on rules.

We're lucky that my Dad knows his way around Oahu. Jake and I are like deer in headlights. It is amazing to think that in 6 days I'll be leaving here and my son will stay. It is the farthest I've been from him since he was born.

High Point - No Nima Farahani (Jake), standing in the ocean (Laurie)

Low Point - Leaving Rachel (Jake), serious lack of access at HPU (Laurie)



August 29 - Move in

We headed for the dorms at 8:00 AM. Jake wanted to get moved in early. He asked that Phil and I make ourselves scarce during the move in process. We busied ourselves shopping for the things Jacob neglected to bring, and more. The room is organized, Jacob has a First Hawaii bank account, the phone is on its way, books are purchased, and I am tired. Have I mentioned the lack of access here in Hawaii?

Tonight is the parents’ reception at HPU. Should be surreal.

Tomorrow Jacob and I are taking the bus to Honolulu. Phil thinks this is foolish. He wants to drive us and save us the trouble. I want the trouble.

High Point - Seeing Jake moved in to the dorms (Phil), watching the Koolau Mountains during the Parent's reception (Laurie), knowing I actually have a place to live and talking to Rachel on the phone (Jake)

Low Point - aching legs (Laurie), carrying computer and monitor from the mailroom to the dorm (Jacob)


August 30 - Island birthday

Jake and I took busses to Honolulu and both made it easily. On the bus I had a nice conversation with some women from Kailua. One woman gave me the backhanded compliment "You don't act like you're from the mainland." My Mom and Ronna would have been happy to know that the "chemtrail" myth has hit Hawaii. Both women asked me about the nightly sprayings on the mainland.

Once in Honolulu, Jacob checked on financial aid, signed up for a phone, and checked out classroom locations. We had lunch in the food court at Windward mall. Although I was tempted by the special Hawaiian sushi, fried SPAM over a rice ball wrapped in seaweed, I opted for something more pedestrian. Jacob had to be back to the dorms by 2:00 for a surfing trip. While he was at the beach, Phil and I toured the USS Arizona memorial at Pearl Harbor and drove down to Makaha beach in hope of seeing the big waves.

We had a birthday dinner for Phil at Buzz's, a great restaurant here in Kailua. Big hunks of meat and a wonderful salad bar.


August 31 - Fish Food

I opted out of this morning's trip back over to Honolulu for a printer. Jacob and Phil returned from a successful hunt and we headed to Hanauma Bay to snorkel. We stopped at the Jack in the Box in Waimanalo, Akibono's hometown, where a not so lovely transvestite served us.

Hanauma Bay was crowed but worth the trip. Jake and I snorkeled and saw loads of fish. It is a beautiful area and the many people make for good people watching when I got tired of watching the fish. Jake and I were both tired after swimming and we headed home around 2:00.

Jacob ate at the dorm and Phil and I went exploring. We headed north east, around the island past the Waiahole Poi Factory, Kualoa Ranch, Chinaman's Hat, and Kaaawa. We had a wonderful dinner at the Crouching Lion Inn, near Crouchings surf beach. The view of the Pacific was wonderful.


September 1 - Back door

We started the day with a trip to the Bishop museum. Interesting exhibits, including the T-Rex Sue. The museum has limited access, so a guard had to escort us through the library to get up to the 2nd floor. It was worth the detour to get to see the library and the Hawaiian sports hall of fame, which were both hidden from public view. I took the garden tour and learned fun facts about the plants in Hawaii. Did you know that it's against the law for coconut palms to have coconuts on them in Honolulu? For the second time now someone told me "You don't act like you're from the mainland." This time the guard at the Bishop museum was the person who bestowed the compliment. I'm not sure what I'm doing right.

Phil took me on a driving tour of Diamond Head and Waikiki beach. We stopped at Bailey's antique shop. They specialize in old aloha shirts. The ceiling is decorated with the high priced ($1,000 and up) shirts. Nicholas Cage had just purchased 5 shirts and was coming back for more.

We had a beverage at the Hale Koa and walked down Waikiki beach to the Halekulani Hotel and had dinner at The House Without a Key. Beautiful view of the beach and a great Hawaiian band.

On the way home we dropped of $$ for Jacob. He needs it to rent an ATV during tomorrow's HPU activities at the Wiamea Valley Adventure Park. I think the exact wording in the brochure was "Plow through the lush vegetation of Wiamea Valley."


September 2 - Taro

Jacob opted out of the group trip to Wiamea Valley and instead went with us. We had breakfast at Zippy's (Denny's gone bad) then headed across inland Oahu. We stopped at the Dole Pineapple Factory, skipped the world's largest maze, and tasted the pineapple soft serve ice cream, delicious.

Wiamea Valley Adventure Park is like Disneyland without the commitment to exceed expectations. The cliff diving was great, and worth the price of admission. The bathrooms (porta potties) had not been cleaned in a long time, and made me glad I couldn't smell. Even better than the cliff diving, was watching Jacob's reaction to eating a raw taro leaf. The grub eaters on Survivor made less of a fuss.

Although Wiamea Adventure Park has lift-equipped trams, they don't use them. "I guess we could start one up for you, but we'd have to find another driver..." Jacob helped me board and then hauled my chair up by hand. The workers looked on with approval as if this just proved that starting the lift bus was indeed a waste of energy.

If you have been to any Disney park and experienced the renewing of the park each day, do not expect this in Wiamea Park. My guess is the same excrement will fill the uncleaned porta potties when you arrive and the rust will have eaten away what was left of the trams when I arrived. There is no commitment to have the park look as good as, or be renewed. If you drop trash, there it rests, if something breaks, it stays broken. If Disney is Fantasy, Wiamea is real life.

We had dinner at Jameson's in Haleiwa. Wonderful food and a great view of the beach. The owner was about to leave for his vacation, a trip to Nebraska.


September 3 - Bye Jake

While Jake climbed Diamond Head, Phil and I went to Kailua Beach. I watched the wind surfer's, experienced and novice, playing in the water. One guy had rented the Class A rig. He had booties, gloves, and sling seat, a demo board and sail, everything you need to surf like a pro. Poor thing spent 4 hours never even coming close to getting on his board. Kids sailed off. Old women with Buddha bellies sailed off. Old fogies sailed off. Two young boys sailed off in tandem. This guy in the Class A rig bobbed close to shore and never managed to get on his board. He was insisting on getting on after he had his sail up (a technique I only saw 1 person use with success). Even after he had watched everyone else getting on the board first and then grabbing the sail, he refused to bend. After 4 hours he returned his board to the rental trailer.

Phil went house touring while I showered and napped. We met Jake at 5:00 and had dinner at Jason's Kailua, a wonderful place right here in Kailua. Jacob stopped by my place with Phil and I traded Jake some disposable razors, nail clippers and tweezers for the empty suitcases I need to bring back to the mainland. It was bittersweet to say good-bye to my son and watch him drive off with Phil. Jake is headed to Honolulu with friends tonight. He told me they plan to rent mopeds and drive them back to HPU. The rentals go for 24 hours, so that gives them all day tomorrow to play. Hopefully they wont kill themselves before class starts Tuesday.

I decided to take a walk after Jake and Phil left. I rolled down to the Kailua Beach Park and watched the sun set. I met an older woman with what I thought was her grandchild in a stroller. Turns out it was a Shitzu dog. Beautiful cool night (76 degrees), light trade winds blowing.


September 4 - Aloha

Phil picked me up for the trip back to Honolulu airport. It was cloudy and the islands were expecting rain. We took a detour down Nuupalu Road off the Pali highway, beautiful. The vines have grown completely across the road. The tunnel of vegetation echoes the areas of land just off the road.

Leaving Hawaii is more difficult than leaving another country. Two luggage check points, one for agriculture and the other a CTX machine. As it was explained to me, the CTX "checks for stuff that shouldn't otta' be in doze bags." Lucky for me all my stuff "otta be in dere."

At the airport I saw Miss South Carolina. From the look on her face she didn't do too well in the Miss America competition. Her sash was inside-out and hung over one shoulder instead of across her chest. Her father followed with a huge pile of luggage. She never spoke to him, but looked back occasionally, annoyed at whatever he was or was not doing, that he should or should not have done. Poor man was more beaten down than the 36th runner up, Miss SC.

It's a strange feeling knowing that I'm leaving my son behind. A new section of all of our lives. I hope we'll deal with whatever comes better than poor Miss South Carolina.