DAY TWO - HONOLULU. by Rick Cotton

Transcription

1 DAY TWO - HONOLULU by Rick Cotton Eight loooooong hours later, we come down out of the clouds into Honolulu right over a Navy task force at sea, two large helicopter carriers and a couple of destroyers or frigates it s hard to tell from that height but oh, the color of the water. So incredibly blue, like a painting. Then the end of Oahu slides under us, and the water at the beaches changes to that coral color, and it is incredibly clear. We enter the pattern, and fly right down the edge of the island. It s breathtaking. There is Waikiki beach and Diamond Head. There s the airport And then, there s Pearl Harbor, spread out before me. I can see the East Loch, where the Kate torpedo plans ran down to torpedo Battleship Row. There s Ford Island, and the Missouri, and the Arizona Monument. I can see the channel that the Nevada made a break for, only to be damaged and beached to prevent blocking that very channel. It s flat-out amazing to think I am looking at the very view the Japanese pilots had so long ago on that fateful Sunday. I will be there again on Friday. I have a mission to fulfill. It s warm, as you might expect, but the humidity is nothing like Houston % makes a helluva difference when the temp is in the mid-80 s. It s partly cloudy, and the tops of the deep-green mountains are shrouded in rain clouds. I am clicking away like mad with the iphone camera, as my co-worker drives the busy highway. My 18 th floor room at the Oahu Hilton Aloha Waikiki has a nice view of the water at least what you can see of it between the many hi-rise hotels and condos that infest this part of Honolulu. The room is not big, but the bed is comfortable, and the complimentary juices and water are quite welcome after hauling my luggage up here. Drop everything, change into shorts and the loudest of my five Hawaiian shirts. I am now stylin!

2 The business culture in Hawaii is not tremendously different from the rest of the States, except in one major way the mode of dress. The Hawaiian shirt is the recognized business uniform here, because of the universally warm weather (mid 80 s most of the time in summer, but only 65% humidity). With shorts, with jeans, with slacks, with swimsuit, with thong (can be scary) it doesn t matter. I had one I got years ago for Eaglequest (all the Houston contingent wore Hawaiian shirts to the awards banquet we were a fashionable bunch), but I needed more. A quick trip to the Wallyworld last week netted me 3 spanking loud numbers for a measly 9 bucks each. I like to blend in with the locals. The winds blow constantly on the island. One of the results of this is a tree species that looks for all the world like a giant Bonsai tree, twisted and growing at all sorts of odd angles, but with heavy greenery on top. It s quite scenic, along with the palms and flowers growing everywhere.

3 Now, to the important stuff. We zipped down the highway, whose name I can never spell nor pronounce on the first try, to The Hobby Company, in a tiny little strip center-sort-of area of shops and dives. It s just the other side of Pearl Harbor from the hotel, about a ten-minute drive. The island is not that big, nearly everything is a ten-to-fifteen-minute drive, unless you are in downtown Honolulu. Traffic there can be a little busy think Austin on a quiet day.

4 The Hobby Company is a tiny little shop, filled with locals, and unmolested by air conditioning. It s mostly RC, but there is a small selection of plastic, air, cars, armor and ships, with a little Gundam thrown in for good measure. Prices are a bit higher than we would expect, but if you have ever bought anything here, it s ALL higher, due to the fact that it ALL has to be shipped in. There is a full rack of Vallejo paint, and ample supplies of other paints, too. The shop staff is quite friendly, and the manager has no problem with me taking a few photos. We discussed the club, and he told me that the local IPMS club meets at Pearl Harbor, on the Missouri! Man, would I like to go to one of those meetings! I suspect the Missouri will have more than one model on board when I get there.

5 At any rate, I selected an item that would fit in my suitcase, and budget, and whipped out the credit card I like to help the local guy, as I have said before. He thanked me warmly with a Mahalo, and wished us well. My co-worker Matt is a record hound you know, those big, black plastic round things that used to sell in places called what was it?... record shops? Part of our free day was a side trip to the other side of Pearl, nearer the hotel, to a very artsy-type neighborhood and the Hungry Ear record shop. Normally, while Matt is buying his records, I casually saunter around, and survey the wild album art, the collectables, the colorful locals and such. This time, however, I came across a box of clearance DVDs, for a buck each, and snagged a copy of Hell s Angels, the classic Howard Hughes WW1 epic, starring Jean Harlow. That got quickly bought, and goes to the Movie Night pile! I had breakfast before leaving Houston this morning, but because of the 8-hour flight, I had lunch on the plane, which was several hours ago. It s now 5pm local time, and I am hungry again, as is Matt. The hotel staff recommends the Cheeseburger Waikiki, which just happens to be easy walking distance from the hotel.

6 I can heartily recommend the Island Style burger shown above huge, gooey, cheesy, covered in Kahlua roasted pork (fantastic just by itself) and teriyaki sauce, and topped with grilled pineapple and onions. It has that damned touristy umbrella, just for fun. It s even better than it sounds, and better than the picture looks. Who knows what it, and that pile of fries did to my blood pressure, but it sure made my stomach happy. Hawaii food prices can be a bit steep, especially here in Honolulu, but this monstrosity only set the Big Food Company back for 25 bucks, with drink and tip. By local standards reasonable. Going to sleep now, after a VERY long day. Have to text Sweetie and tell her goodnight, and how much I miss her. Which I do. A lot. Stay tuned. Aloha!