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Aloha all you very special people.

Did you know that Aloha means in the presence of God’s breath or God’s essence? This is what Hawaiians say when they meet you. What an honor! It’s something to think about every time you meet someone and the world would be a much better place.

I just got back from Oahu this morning (Friday) after getting there on Sunday and spending 4 days on business. So which crazy person spends only 4 days in Hawaii when it’s their first visit…, yep me. I know I cannot come near to Devi’s blog on her Great Wall hike but I thought I’d try anyway.

The Plane The Plane…

No, Tatu did not see my United flight as it flew over Oahu. That’s left for other fantasy Islands (perhaps Maui but I am not sure since the only Island I got to was Oahu). As a United frequent flier, I was upgraded to first class, so I started the trip in style with a Mai Tai with the umbrella and pineapple (from Hawaii I’m sure) and stuffed myself silly to pass the 12 hours on the plane. I flew from BWI to Denver to Honolulu. The airline had a game for passengers to guess the Hawaiian Standard time we would be at the midpoint to Hawaii from Denver. Everyone was given the speed and tailwind and time of departure. I guessed 11:20a.m. The correct answer was 11:14 a.m. There was a 3 way tie so the all received gifts for guessing right. The airline thought they would give the newlywed couple who won, an extra gift of champagne. Later, the flight attendant had to say that the couple didn’t drink.. so they wanted to give it to the couple married longest. Can you believe there was a 3 way tie for more than 50 years!. They had to decide by months. I guess Hawaii is for newly and old weds.

Battlestar Galactica

I stuffed myself silly because of all the cylons on the plane…they didn’t seem to be from God’s breath. (Just kidding). The redeeming feature of the 12 hour flight was the recap of Battlestar Galactica over the last several seasons. Thus the season opener that dad and I watched made a whole lot more sense to me now! It did get repetitive as it was shown four times during my round trip flight.

Ko Alina

This means a place of joy. This is the resort area where I stayed (in a friend’s 3 bedroom condo off of the Ko Alina Golf Course) and is probably the less crowded beautiful area on Oahu. The Marriott timeshares are located here and there are five beautiful lagoons off of the very blue ocean and beach with palm trees. The grass is amazing…soft as carpet. I could see beautiful outdoor weddings here. The Mimosa trees are very nice. I thought Mimosas were orange juice and Champagne:-0. The other nice area is Waikiki beach which is more crowded with hotels and shops right off the beaches.

One evening, we decided to walk the five mile lagoon area which was fun. I stopped at the Marriott Timeshare and crashed the Luau on Tuesday evening. You need reservations to be in it. But I sat just outside on the grass. About an hour later, I was told that it was reservation only and I could watch it form the balcony in the timeshare, I had seen most of it by then so instead I went and used the pool and hot tub at the timeshare. I guess the key is to look like you belong. I did enjoy beach time and read 2 novels that were in the condo (Digital Fortress was one).

Waimea Beach

Surf Surf, Surfin USA. I never knew that the Beach Boys sang of Waimea Beach. I will have to listen more closely. Obviously, they were surfers. I took the time to drive completely around the Island with a wonderful, hospitable friend after a business meeting. We drove the North Shore where the currents are strong making for great surfing. We watched the surfers on the beach and apparently any surf pictures in Hawaii are taken in this area. We drove by the shrimp farms and stopped at one of the shrimp trucks for a shrimp appetizer. We went to a town that used to be the 1920’s resort area and had Ahi for dinner. I missed the Dole plantation because they were closed but I did get to enjoy fresh pineapple. The ones from Guyana were better. Before I went to my meeting we drove the Easter part of the island and saw Hanauma Bay and the million dollar houses along the beach. Saw divers and snorkelers. One unusual thing is that a lot of people live in tents on the beach in some parts and have broken down vehicles with storage. They move a few feet after a while to keep up with laws that restrict how long you can stay. The housing costs are so high that affordable housing is difficult. Total travel time around the island is 2 hours on a two lane road.

Carry On

Of course Oahu is home to many military bases for reaching out to the Pacific. I did not visit Pearl harbor although I was nearby. I did do some shopping near Waikiki and bought a hand painted shirt, coffee for dad and macadamia nuts. This mean t my carry on bag got heavier. I decided it was a long trip back and I would check it in which I never do! Well, it did not return home with me. The good thing was that I was home. It was delivered later at 11:30pm, after dad was in bed and I had to decide whether to open the door to a strange man.

Mahalo!