Missing Hawaii

I have been to Hawaii twice in my life. The first time was in 1980 when I was 3 months pregnant with Nikki. Stan and I visited San Francisco and Honolulu. Honolulu was great but I couldn’t eat sushi because of the pregnancy so I missed out on all that good fish. It was also during the US Open and I was addicted to tennis. The beautiful Kahala Hilton had a TV out by the pool and beach and I parked myself there. Poor Stan…besides the Open, I was also so tired all the time. But we did all the tourist stuff…Pearl Harbor, Dole Pineapple Factory and Don Ho as seen below.

In San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf, people would be flying colorful kites on the grass and Stan was intrigued and purchased one. The Hawaiian resort was on the outskirts of the city and we had rented a car. We had to pass a gorgeous park each time going to and from the hotel to “town”. He wanted to fly the kite in the park but tennis was on so he went off on his own. Much to my surprise. he returned half n’ hour later. Apparently on the first try, his kite flew into a tree and was stuck there. That was that. Think Charlie Brown.

The second visit was with Nikki in 1997. We flew into Honolulu for a few days and then went onto Maui. It was a great trip. We both learned how to make leis in Maui and excitedly purchased the supplies to make them at home. Suffice it to say, we never made another lei ever again!

Nikki wearing her handmade lei

Having never traveled to Asia, Hawaii was the only destination that I have ever been to, that the locals thought I was a native. It was so strange to just automatically “belong”. When I was buying tickets for the zoo, the clerk asked to see my driver’s license which I thought was odd. But he said this way I could get a resident discount! Then at a supermarket where I was purchasing cold cuts for lunch, the counter man asked me if I was taking a day off from work or did I get out early for the day! It was quite amusing.

I love Hawaii…I love how in Honolulu, one side of the street is like being on Fifth Avenue and right across the street is the beach. What a sight. All really fabulous.

But my title of this piece doesn’t really have to do with all I have just written because as much as I love Hawaii…I don’t have any real ties there. No….“Missing Hawaii” refers to my last quarter for my collection!
Anyone have one???