The Aloha Spirit-Part 2

We returned last week from our most recent vacation in Hawaii. This time, we went back to Waikiki, a place I’ve always loved.

We flew Hawaiian Air Lines, and thoroughly enjoyed the flight. Just like in the old days, the upholstery reflects a Hawaiian aesthetic, as did the flight attendants’ uniforms. Hawaiian music filled the cabin while videos of the islands played on the personal TV screens.

On the trip over, we were served lunch. (Unfortunately, I was unable to enjoy any of it since everything contained either cabbage or nuts, neither of which I can eat. Fortunately, I took a protein bar with me, so I had something I could enjoy.) This is one of the few airlines which still serves a meal. On the trip home, I enjoyed the meal.

Once we arrived in Honolulu, we picked up our rental van and then drove into town where we checked into the timeshare our friends had arranged for.

This place had a very strange layout and seemed a bit cramped for four adults. They advertised the maximum capacity as six. We couldn’t begin to figure out how that many would fit!

We slept on the Murphy bed, which dropped down from the wall after much of the furniture was moved out of the way. It was actually quite comfortable—surely much more so than the sofa bed. We’ve slept on those many times and have never found any to accommodate the human body.

However, we never worry too much about space in our room as we spend little time there.

Waikiki itself was a surprise.

Since our last visit, the International Marketplace and all the funky little shops I used to love are gone. Instead, Kalakaua now resembles a Polynesian version of Rodeo Drive loaded chockablock with high-end stores only the Asian tourists seem to be able to afford.

Chanel, Gucci, Coach, Prada, Tiffany, Harry Winston, and virtually every other upscale retailer can be found here. But nearly all of the quirky and uniquely Hawaiian shops and stores are gone.

The large banyan tree, which formed the centerpiece of the International Marketplace, is all that remains. The architectural renderings of the new construction indicate more of the same style stores which already dominate the area.

Visitors to most of these establishments are met with sales people dressed formally in dark suits. They all but ignore American tourists in our shorts and t-shirts.

“Aloha” and “Mahalo” nearly disappeared from the local vocabulary as soon as we deplaned. The warm greetings we used to enjoy—as well as Hawaiian faces—are mostly memories.

Fortunately, the first floor of the building in which we stayed contained a Denny’s restaurant with a terrific local staff. Their selections also reflected the locality with fresh papaya and pineapple on the menu. Another of our favorite locales, the Shorebird Broiler in the Outrigger Hotel, continues to serve a great buffet accompanied by spectacular ocean views. And our favorite special occasion restaurant, Duke’s, still prepares terrific seafood accompanied by a great salad bar.

Each time we plan a trip, we select places we’ve never visited before. This time, we decided to finally visit the Honolulu Art Museum as well as the State of Hawaii Art Museum. Excellent choices.

The highlight of the trip was the special exhibit of Hawaiian Deco at the Honolulu Museum. The show included artwork created between the world wars, including the iconic menu covers from the Matson Line steamships. Several groups of large paintings by specific individual artists were united for the first time. One set had been commissioned for the ships, but when completed, were too large. They were sold to private collectors and corporations. All were loaned to the museum for this show.

We discovered a fabulous Armenian artist, born in Turkey, who studied art in New York and then moved to Hawaii—Arman Manookian. http://www.johnseed.com/2011/01/arman-manookian-fragile-paradise.html  His vivid images, reminiscent of Gaugin, are striking. He committed suicide at the age of twenty-seven. Only thirty-one of his paintings are known to exist, so being able to see a number of these in one show was a real treat.

We visited several familiar places, including the North Shore, and some continue to be a joy. But the overall feeling of Waikiki has changed drastically.

Would we return? Probably. We still love those few old landmarks which remain as well as the ocean. Are we likely to return to Honolulu soon? Probably not. Much of Maui, Kauai, the Big Island, and Molokai are more reminiscent of the Hawaii we first saw and remember so fondly.

Have you visited Hawaii? What did you like best? What least? How has it changed since your first memories?

The Aloha Spirit

Many years ago, we visited Hawaii for the first time. I worked for a year and saved every extra cent to pay for the eighteen-day trip. As a surfer, Larry had always wanted to go. So we contacted a travel agent (remember those?) and planned our dream trip: five islands, eight plane flights, and thirteen hotels. We wanted to see everything.


Our sense of the Hawaiian began as soon as we boarded the plane. We flew Continental Airlines. At the time, the upholstery on the seats featured a floral print, and the flight attendants wore long Hawaiian-print dresses or shirts. Ukulele music wafted from the speakers. We were greeted with, "Aloha," and thanked with, "Mahalo." Before ever reaching the islands, we were surrounded by aloha spirit.

We arrived in the Hilo airport. As soon as the doors opened, the scents of flowers and fruit assaulted us. I will always remember this as the fragrance of Hawaii.

As we walked through the open-air facility, we heard the gentle sound of tricking water and realized it ran down chains suspended from the eaves into rock-lined pools at the ground. We liked it so much that we now have a chain to channel rainwater from our gutters to the ground. Unfortunately, we rarely have enough rain to hear the lovely sound.


Everywhere we went, all the service people used "Aloha" and "Mahalo." Most wore Hawaiian resort wear: fitted muumuus, and Hawaiian-print shirts. For the most part, everyone we met was friendly and welcoming.


At that time, you could drive all the way around the Big Island, and we did. We went to places which no longer exist, like the Queen's Bath and the big Black Sand Beach.

During that trip, we made our first visit to Kalaupapa, the 'leper colony' on Molokai. (A treatment for what is now called Hansen's disease was discovered in the 1940s. It doesn't cure the disease but it stops the progression. People today who contract it simply undertake a regimen of medications for the rest of their lives. They can now live normally within society.)

When the treatment was begun, those patients who lived at Kalaupapa were allowed to move away if they chose. However, since many of them were deformed and had family and friends on the small peninsula, they were allowed to remain for their lifetime. When we first visited, about 150 patients resided there.

A couple of years later, we went back with our daughter. Several people we had met on the first trip had died, but many were still there, including the same patient/tour guide we'd had on our first visit, 'Primo' Pete. The population at that time was about 125.

Several years after that, we returned with friends. The hospital had burned down, and Pete was dying. The population today is about 90, as of last year.

Richard Marks, a former patient (who called his disease 'leprosy') ran Damien Tours, the group through which we visited. We flew to the peninsula every time rather than taking the mule ride down the pali. On our last visit, he was lobbying the US government to make Kaluapapa a national park. We, along with many of those who loved the place and believed it should be preserved, wrote our congressional representatives in his support.

In 1980, the National Park Service took over the management of the place, guaranteeing lifetime residency to all the remaining patients and forever preserving the historical town and its surroundings from development for future generations.

Even in this isolated area of Hawaii, aloha spirit prevailed. We were welcomed and shown terrific hospitality. On our last visit, we helped harvest papayas from one of the yards and were given four to take back to our hotel with us. These were the sweetest and best-tasting papaya I have ever eaten.

From the Big Island to Molokai to Kauai to Maui to Oahu, wherever we went, people were friendly. The pace slowed down, the fresh fruit tasted amazing, and the days seemed much longer, ending in glorious sunsets.

Sitting in the Honolulu airport waiting for our flight back to California, I started to cry. I wanted to stay there, far away from the fast-paced work world I would find at home.

We have returned many times since, including this week. I have invited a friend to guest blog next week, but the following week, I will describe our latest adventure in Paradise, and it isn't the same as our first.