Aloha and Mahalo,

This was saved as a draft and I have not been to the blog for sometime. I just read what I had to say and decided to publish it pretty much as it is (in otherwords I decided to at least attempt to spell check)

Not sure how to start this so I will just jump in........



I can't say enough about the wonderful people I have met here in Hawaii. I am trying to figure out how in the world I missed this place. With all the places in the world I have been including here two times, how could I have missed what Oahu has to offer or has something changed? Me or it.... Both previous experiences all I wanted to do was leave, now all I want to do is stay. By my previous post you know we are not staying in Waikiki, we are in Diamond Head. Waikiki is actually nice, I know the locals hate it and call it the concrete jungle etc., etc., but frankly I like it. Maybe I would not like it as much if I were actually staying in the middle of it but I remember it from previous times, and concrete jungle was very accurate then. Now it is green, charming, still some local color, it is not all Fende, Prada and Gucci. There are still ABC Stores and Aloha Sushi (This is a fabulous concept, fast food sushi, fresh and cheap) The Tiki Torches (gas now) going at night, palm trees, green grass and a warm welcoming atmosphere. Whats not to love? Expensive? No not really.

We did go to the Big Island, nice......maybe a bit boring. Except Hilo, it was a wonderful small city on the "rainy coast" but charming and real. Kona, not so much charming or real. Kona is more like a generic suburb you would find in Atlanta, Jacksonville, Dallas, Chicago, Minneapolis....on and on and on. Kona is fine if you want to scuba, snorkel and rest. We visited Mauna Kea at 13,500 feet to see the observatories, now that was very cool or should I say cold. There was a bit of snow on the ground the temperature was 30F. We also visited the Volcanoes national park, not too much see, at least not much more than what you would see in Yellowstone. Some steam coming out of the ground and more lava fields, well most of the island is raw lava fields so you don't need to go to the park to see it. We were told to see flowing magma you had to rent a helicopter in Hilo. I would love to see magma flowing into the sea but my limited experience in helicopters was enough for me to have zero interest in that idea. In the end, two days was enough of the Big Island.

Aloha is a strange word and it has so many different meanings but they are all good, Hello, Goodbye it was fun and I look forward to seeing you again, Sure let me get that for you, Sure I will let you in this line ahead of me, I am happy to wait for you to cross the street, Sure I will give you room to change lanes in this bumper to bumper traffic, Have a wonderful day, Is there anything else I can get you, it goes on and on and on but again it is all good. People here say, "where is your Aloha?" when someone is rude or impatient. I wish I could clone this attitude back home. In Minneapolis it is hey a-holA way too much, well I will take the Aloha back home with me, maybe it will spread even just a bit.

There is a catch: The traffic here is horrendous, going 4 miles in rush hour (7:00 AM - 9:30 AM and again 3:00 PM to 6:30 PM) can easily take over an hour, how is this possible? This is what Bangkok is like. How can the stewards of a place that is so incredibly wonderful have messed this part of this place up so royally? Truly, I can't find anything else to complain about here except it is an 8 hour flight from Minneapolis.

UGH.............. 8 hours to Minneapolis, I get to do this one more time. This is Sunday night and Wednesday I have to board that plane back half way across the Pacific and half way across the US to Minneapolis. I am told there has been a little snow, maybe none of it stayed but you know it had to be cold for it to happen at all. I am not sure I am ready to go yet, but then maybe I never will be. We can't live in Paradise right? If we did it would no longer be paradise, it would then be home and for some reason the two cannot be the same right, or can it?


We are going for a nice walk in the balmy night to contemplate the culture shock of going home and to work.