Hawai'i

April 19-20, 2009 O’ahu, Hawai’i

Aloha! Today we rode bikes and ended up at the beach by the Royal Hawaiian and Moana Surfrider Hotels. Paddling in the aqua Pacific Ocean, I heard a little blond boy blow a conch shell, true and clear. His tinier brother then helped push off a large catamaran and pull up the boarding ramp for a tour off Waikiki Beach. These little boys helping with the family business reminded me of our boys when they were small.
Yesterday I visited Korean Buddhist Mu Ryang Sa, Broken Ridge Temple in Honolulu. Of all the temples, it was the most peaceful I have experienced. After we were led in a chant by Abbot Dohyun Gwon, we went into a meeting room for a discussion concerning, “Is a Nonkilling World Possible?” We listened to Dr. Ha’aheo Guanson explain the meaning of aloha spirit and how she is working for justice and reconciliation in Hawai’i. Professor Glenn Paige and others from the Center for Global Nonkilling also spoke. They treated us as honored guests with important contributions to make.
We had a luau at Kapi’olani Park on Queen’s Surf Beach. Les bought an inexpensive grill, and we cooked a variety of hotdogs, corn on the cob, and had pineapple, taro chips and a coconut pudding cake. Some others brought food to add. Matthew carried two big suitcases of his equipment into the park and set up electronics for a MICE concert. Some students came, and Wendy and her hula dancers showed up after sunset to eat and perform their dance moves on the edge of the waves in the dark. We included a homeless woman in our hot dog roast, and several Hawaiian families were gathered nearby and stopped to listen to the music. Barrett had several caregivers, so he got to feed fish, build a sandcastle, watch acrobats practicing handstand maneuvers and tightrope walking, and play with some children.
Les and I rented bicycles the second day and toured around the shore area between Ala Moana and Diamond Head. (It was exactly one year since I tipped off my bike in Palmer, AK and broke my hip! I’m celebrating my recovery!) We stopped for lunch at “The House Without a Key” at the Halekulani Hotel. We remember staying there with Mom and Dad when the boys were small. We bicycled by beautiful groves of trees, and saw little nook beaches. I swam at a beach by the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, and we had a fruity drink there. We walked through the hotel where my mother had stayed when she sailed to Hawai’i at age nine. It is still a beautiful old hotel, but it is surrounded by high-rises. How to stay glorious it the midst of giants!
Finally, we shopped at the Ala Moana Center and got some crackers, cheese and nuts. We heard some Hawaiian music and watched dancers in long dresses do traditional hula. Two days was not enough time at one of our favorite American states!
Now we are out on the wide Pacific again, heading for Guatemala, our last port before home. We will be at sea for the next six days.