Hawaii, episode 2. In which strong and content I scan.

Before we get to the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet and the cruising and the luau and the heavenly lilikoi shave ice, we must be sure to return the tiki idol to the ancient burial ground. Okay, maybe our first trip to Hawaii did have its roots, like some of our fleamarketing travel adventures, in a familiar, favorite, yet faded television memory from Mari's and my collective childhood past. While the Brady Bunch was looking for ratings by heading to Honolulu at the beginning of its fourth season, we went in search of the legendary natural beauty (and moderate climate) about which so many visitors to the Hawaiian islands boast upon their return.

Since our first trip in 2004, Mari and I have counted ourselves among those sunburned boasters and have continually hoped for a revisit. While much of that first visit involved some APA convention duties for Mari, we did make a little time to explore before the annual meeting opened the last weekend of July.

Looking through old photos for this episode was a little more involved than usual since I didn't embrace digital technology until my 40th birthday visit to London back in 2007. Along with a few photo albums and scrapbooks, I still have boxes of photos stored in envelopes. Luckily, I'm pretty (obsessively) organized, so finding photos wasn't a problem.

That's when the scanning started and my love/hate relationship with technology resurfaced like last night's late-night drive-thru tacos.

Here I am somewhere along the North Shore of Oahu. I don't remember exactly what stop this was on our day tour, but I do remember the exact date, thanks to the indelibly inscribed digital date emblazoned on our souvenir photos in electric teal.

I love the photo of Mari above (only I wish that were the view from our back yard).

Like many of you, dear readers, I have always been in love with the beach.

There are fond memories (and deteriorating albumed photos) of annual summer visits to the Jersey shore (before MTV ruined that utopia for everyone), local beaches in the tri-state (NY-NJ-CT) area, as well as less frequent family visits to Portugal, where, if you recall, my parents grew up in a small farming community that was itself just over five miles from beautiful Vagueira Beach on the Atlantic Ocean.

At left are a few quick glimpses into one of my oldest and most treasured collections.

Yes, folks, I am a Sandman.

When I was in high school, I began "collecting" sand from trips to the beach near and far as a way of remembering those visits and today I bring my beloved bottles out of long-term storage every summer and transform the fireplace mantel in the dining room into a sentimental maritime microcosm. Labor Day weekend is the weekend I usually pack up my little bottles of granular memories to make way for Mari's fall decor, but I think they deserve an extra day or two of freedom after their photo shoot. Aside from sandy sentimental journeys, my bottled and artfully labeled (thanks, Mari!) souvenirs inspire a colorful display every summer season, each bottle glistening and hinting at its own personal blend of colors, minerals, and textures.

Here's a view of the whole collection.










As a way out of my sandy reverie, you can see Maui and Waikiki sand at the far right of the second photo. While our first visit to Hawaii was limited to Waikiki beaches, Mari and I did our best to make the most of that tropical time with a day trip to the North Shore which included beautifully scenic stops as well as a few touristy stops like our visit to the Dole Plantation in Wahiawa where I may have overindulged in fresh pineapple juice.

Because it was just. so. good.


Like the Bradys three decades prior, we made sure to learn some history and pay our respects to the sailors and Marines killed at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

The USS Arizona Memorial is probably Hawaii's most visited landmark and is located just about ten miles from Waikiki beaches.

During our recent visit, the memorial was closed to visitors due to loading dock repairs, but there is still much to see until access to the memorial itself is available again later this fall.

Be sure to visit the informative
site to plan your visit.

https://www.nps.gov/valr/index.htm

The site also includes a wealth of educational resources including a video archive of interviews with survivors of the attack.

However obsessively planned your travel itinerary, it is always immeasurably rewarding to find a place to share a moment of reflection with those you love and to reflect on those who have allowed us to "travel the open road... strong and content."

Until next time, aloha.

Mahalo once more to Walt Whitman for his poetic reflections and celebration of life.

Read one of my favorites at the following site.

poets.org/poetsorg/poem/song-open-road-i