Weekend in Waikiki

Sailing Sunny Seas
Waikiki, Hawaii

The golden sands I stood upon to snap this gorgeous photo were imported from the "poor" side of the island -- and so was I.

My favorite part of my weekend in Waikiki should have been the women's conference, but actually it was lunch with my friend. We picked an upscale restaurant with tables on the lanai and a salad to die for. We ordered. We chatted. We sipped our beverages. We asked the waiter questions. (1. Was the canoe being used as a buffet table ever an actual working boat? Yes, and it was hand carved. 2.) We just saw -- and heard -- you blowing that conch shell. Is it hard to learn? No. Are there any tricks to blowing it you could teach us? Not really. Keep your lips taut. Don't blow too hard. Blow in one long breath.) We asked him a couple more things -- then we asked him for the check. As he waited for me to sign the charge slip he said, "You two are locals aren't you?"

Maura and I were very surprised. We aren't locals. She's been here for just over a year. I have been here about six months. Just long enough for us both to clearly understand that we have years to go before we're considered "local". I answered cautiously, "We live on the island."

Our waiter nodded his head and smiled. "I thought so. I can always tell. You weren't all wide-eyed and gah gah. And neither of you said "aloha" or "mahalo" (words not said outside the tourist joints unless they are meant). And your questions didn't start with, how do I get to, or is it true that."

So, in the tourist district we are considered, locals, but in the neighborhoods, we're still haole (pronounced how-lee).

Greetings from Kailua-Kona

Kailua-Kona, Hawaii Island, Hawaii.

It is amazing how different one island is from another. Pretty much the same flowers and the same feral cats, but a whole different ambiance. There is much more land here. And fewer people. That makes the atmosphere more laid back and mellow.

OC and I took a sunset stroll through the Keauhou Beach Resort gardens. We came upon a small pond surrounded by vegetation. I was looking for flora to photograph when the water caught my attention. In lieu of a tripod, I braced the camera on OC's shoulder, and took a couple of pics. They pretty much sum up the perfection that was today.



Our stroll through the gardens brought us face to face (okay, ankle) with a mongoose, two geckos, several birds, a couple of cats, and a huge variety of exotic plants and flowers. The beauty is breath-taking.



Kalakaua Cottage, a replica of the beach house of King David Kalakaua, which was built on this site but destroyed in the late 1950s. King David used to fish and swim in the tide pools OC and I are hoping to get a chance to snorkel in tomorrow. I understand Keauhou Beach is a natural honu habitat. If I'm lucky I'll get a photo.

Aloha!

Hawaiian Roast Pig

Moist. Delicious. Smoky.

Traditional roast pig is a luau dish. The pig is wrapped in lualua (taro) leaves, lowered into a pit and slow barbecued for hours. Nowadays the pig is more often roasted in a crock pot for 6-8 hours, even so, it remains an island delight. It is traditionally served with long rice, poi, and/or sweet potatoes. Hawaiians don't believe in eating until they're full, they believe in eating until they are tired!

My first taste of Kalua Pig was heavenly and that was all I got -- a taste. One bite just isn't enough. I determined to research the recipe, but before I had a chance I wandered near a wedding party in the Kapolei Park and they offered me a plate of Kalua Pig for a small price. I paid.

It's a bit salty, but definately yummy. If you're in Hawaii this is a "must taste" item.

Local Flavor

Every Saturday morning the aroma drifts into my home from the neighbor's place. It's almost enough to make me want to go knock on their door and invite myself to breakfast. Fortunately, for the sake of my pride, I always keep a chub of Portuguese Brand Sausage in the freezer so that if my will power deserts me I don't have to go begging.

Despite its name, Portuguese Brand Sausage is made in Hawaii. It is also on the menu of many of the local restaurants, but don't get it in the restaurant. They'll only serve you three or four little slices. Go to the grocery store and pay about a $1.25 for a 5 ounce chub.


Portuguese Brand Sausage comes fully cooked with spicy ratings from mild, to medium, to hot. I buy the hot sausage because I have found that Hawaiian spices are much more mild then Mexican spices -- however, that doesn't mean their foods lack flavor or savor.

Try it. If you can't find any in your local supermarket pop on over to Hawaii and check the meat counter in most any store. It's certain to be on the shelf.


Btw, this is NOT a paid advertisement.

Spooktacular

The Honolulu Community Concert Band 2007 Fall Festival was a musical fright feast. The free concert was titled, Chillers & Thrillers: A Halloween Spooktacular. It was a melodious yet chilling treat performed in the Marion McCarrell Scott Auditorium of President William H. McKinley High School.

The musicians were invited to dress in costume. Most of them dressed as undertakers -- tasteful nondescript black suits and ties, however there were some brave and imaginative souls in the group. The conductor, Thomas Hesch, came as Darth Vader, much to the delight of the audience. He swept onto the stage, cape flaring, as the band played the very familiar, Emperor's Death March, from Star Wars.

Several other costumes brightened the stage. One was a young lady dressed as a single slice of watermelon. Another was a bright yellow fish. There were two pirates and a couple of witches. The percussion section all wore hockey masks ala Jason and/or Michael Meyers from Friday the Thirteenth (et al). There was a witch in purple satin, a fellow wearing pigtails and a short skirt, and another dressed as Willy Wonka. OC went as Wiz, from the Shoe cartoon by Chris Cassatt.

HCCB was founded in 1973. It is a non-profit organization with 60 volunteer musicians from all walks of life. They have presented live performances in Hawaii and throughout the world, including a 2006 performance in the Sydney, Australia Opera House.

Visit the HCCB website for a list of the band members, future concert dates, video and audio clips of their latest performances, their history and other features.

Celebrating 70 Years of Aloha

Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday dear Spam,
Happy birthday to you!

Yep, you heard me correctly. Today is the 70th Birthday of Spam canned luncheon meat. OC called me from work to tell me he'd read about it on the front page of the paper during his morning commute. I teased him a bit and promised him I would go to the store and get him some Spam for dinner. He demurred, but encouraged me to read his post.

Me being me -- upon being told the tribute to Spam never made it online -- I of course had to check. I did not find the birthday tribute, but I did discover that Hawaii leads the nation in per capita Spam consumption! Well, that did it. I had to go to the store and buy a can of Spam. I haven't had the stuff since I was a teen, maybe in the last several (okay, several dozen) years or so, it has gotten tastier.

Once in the store I was shocked to discover that Spam is no longer a single entity, but has grown into a whole family of products! The second shock was the number of people crammed into the canned lunch-meat isle. They were all buying Spam. One woman told me she was making Spam Chili. Another woman -- this one in line with me at the check-out counter -- told me that the 25% less sodium Spam, which I was purchasing, had 75% less taste. She said that once she took a can of it home and neither her husband nor the dog would eat it.

Since I have neither husband nor dog, I haven't quite decided what I am doing with the can of Spam sitting on my kitchen counter. Perhaps I will do what another shopper in the cash register line said she was going to do and put the Spam in my cupboard to save it for the 100 year anniversary. "By then," she said, "I might be senile enough to actually eat it."

The Oahu Civic Orchestra

The Oahu Civic Orchestra is a volunteer orchestra comprised of both professional and amateur musicians from all parts of the island and all walks of life. To join the OCO a musician must play an instrument with advanced techniques, agree to attend rehearsals regularly, and perform in the scheduled concerts. Rehearsals are Monday evenings from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Chaminade University in the Eiben Hall multipurpose room.


The most recent OCO concert was this past Friday evening at a Honolulu retirement home*.


The next performance is this coming Sunday, October 7th, 2007 at 4 p.m. at Center Stage in the Ala Moana Shopping Center.


The concert selections include Pop, Classical, Broadway and Jazz selections. My two favorites were the theme song from, Pirates of the Caribbean: Deadman's Chest, and the Duke Ellington Medley.


OCO concerts are open to the public and they do not charge admission. All members of the orchestra are volunteers who practice and perform to express their love of music and perfect their art.

PROGRAM:

John Barry ................................... Somewhere in Time
Duke Ellington ............................. Duke Ellington Medley
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart ............... Magic Flute Overture
Richard Rodgers......................A Salute to Richard Rodgers
Johann Strauss ......................... Die Fledermaus Overture
Hans Zimmer .....Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

*Name and weblink omitted at the express request of the retirement home's management.

Defining Aloha

Most likely you have been told that aloha means both hello and good-bye. That is a culturally limited misconception, and whomever started it robbed the word of much of it's depth and splendor. Aloha cannot be translated with words. As a haole (foreigner), I really have no business trying to convey this word, either; but I think I can do a better job of it then white-European history did.

My suspicion that aloha meant more then hello and good-bye was born on the flight to Hawaii. I was reading the airline magazine (hey, it's a long flight!) and there was an article on adoption Hawaiian- or aloha-style. The woman in the article said that she raised her adopted son "with aloha". That made no sense in light of what I thought I knew of the word. I kept reading.

From what I could gather from the article, the word aloha conveys love, acceptance, honor, eternal welcome .... and more. I came to realize that aloha is not a casual word, but one with great emotional significance. Still, I had only clues, and no real definition.

Over the next several days I heard "the spirit of aloha" referred to in many different, welcoming contexts. A commercial promised, "you will find aloha here." I have yet to visit the establishment which made the promise so I don't know if their statement is true, but somehow I doubt it. From what I have gathered, aloha is a feeling that emanates from one's heart. It is an expression of love, acceptance and belonging. It is personal, and cannot be packaged for sale and that means -- no matter what language we speak -- it is impossible to translate with words.

Further resources:

The Coconut Boyz Hawaiian (online) Dictionary

KaLeoAloha