Back to the Beach, Salsa in the Sand
Well known for its sunny and warm climate, Hawaii is the perfect place to hit the beach and lounge around reading a book with intermittent frolicking in the ocean. Thus, a trip to the beach was required to help fade my whiteness to brown. As to whether I was successful at that is still to be determined.
Waikiki Beach is probably the most well known beach in Hawaii with a flourish of tourists. Many do not understand the art of getting a good tan and not inviting skin cancer earlier than will most likely occur with this much sun. Tourists flock to the beach to get immediate gratification--also known as "sun burn." When not on the beach many frequent Red Lobster and the locals refer to that place as "not what they serve, but who they serve." Most of the tourists don't realize that long enough in the sun for many who never see it is about one hour with SPF 50 at 4pm. However, thinking they have to get tan in a day, they sit out with SPF 8 from 9am to 6pm and turn a shade of red even Crayola hasn't thought up a name for yet. (I was thinking burnt orange mixed with fuschia.) My friend, Erin, has been stationed in Hawaii for a couple years now finishing up his ROTC post-graduate responsibilities. He came as white as an Oregonian can and now can proudly hold his head up high, tanner than me, a local girl. Yes, I envy him, I do.
When you finish baking at 450°F on the beach, packing up and heading to Waiola Bakery on Kapahulu Avenue for shave ice (think of a really nice snow cone) is a perfect way to cap off your day before you hit the clubs. Shave ice is one of those purely Hawaiian things that has put a smile on my face since I was a kid and wanted mine "rainbow." Since then, they have come up with a slew of flavors like haupia (coconut custard), li hung, mango, lychee and can be topped like ice cream with such sweeties as condensed milk.
My friend, Jano, is always asking me about what it looks like where I live and would fault my character for not showing some pictures of my neighborhood. I didn't attend Punahou School but do live on Punahou Street. Just past Central Union Church and Kapiolani Medical Center (where just about everyone I know was born), is my small neighborhood. I lived across the street from my high school, Maryknoll, and only a few blocks from my grade school of the same name. It is a quiet place with a view of the Ko'olau Mountains (and Richard Chamberlain's mansion). Not Kahala or Hawaii Loa Ridge, I grew up in a small condominium sharing a room with my brother. It may explain why I like living alone now--having your own personal space is so nice. My school is so small, our basketball courts actually also double as faculty parking. We have no cafeteria or gymnasium mostly because we're a tiny campus and utilize the free gym--also known as a nearby park or the great outdoors. I went to a school with about 500 students total and a class of about 140. It means everyone knows you and with a mouth as big as mine, everyone probably heard me at least.
The past few days it has been "storming" here which just means rain with the occassional lightning. The problems with that is flooding in Hawaii which then results in mud- and rockslides on certain parts of the island including the North Shore. If you aren't careful, the Kamehameha Highway on the North Shore will flood and you're stuck out there in your little Honda trying to figure out if you can paddle home on your surf board. What does it look like? It means we have blue-gray days because the skies are almost never completely clouded over. You can always find the sun peeking out behind the clouds, clearing a space for a burst of blue.
When it finally stopped raining last night, I headed to Waikiki with Erin and my girls for some salsa dancing at Esprit in the Sheraton Waikiki. Waikiki still has all those amazing places to visit like the International Market Place where you can purchase trinkets that may remind you of Hawaii. It is like Times Square and is fun to go visit, but like many locals, not a place to hang out--too crowded. You are also bound to see an aquarium here or there with tropical fish. There was one across Kalakaua Avenue from the Sheraton with sting rays and lots of tropical fish you might be able to find at your local pet store. They build these escalators and stairways for tourists to walk on to feel like they are swimming with the fish. As much as I should be used to these things, I never cease to be amazed by ocean life. Sometimes I think I should have gone into marine biology or the environmental sciences the way I'm so enamored with the ocean.
Once I was satisfied looking at the fishes, Erin and I headed over to the Sheraton. I've known Erin since he was first learning to social dance with me at Stanford University. After 8 years, he's become the dancing king. Whenever I am home, I know I'll be out dancing at some point with Erin--swing, salsa, waltz, polka, lindy hop, tango. While I am a most pathetic follow (that's me being the control freak), I enjoy being spun around the dance floor and Erin is an excellent lead. He entertained me and my 3 friends, but I'm sure it was a pain he could suffer through.
I have about a week left and need to carve out a day with enough sun to go surfing. Erin, now the real local boy, has graciously offered to teach me and Lacey how to surf. We're excited about this and hope not to get our heads knocked in too much by our longboards. Hopefully this rain won't keep up and we can head out one of these days. On the agenda--malasadas, Ono Hawaiian Food, shopping, and renewing my driver's license. Oy geez--after not driving all year in New York, I have to take a written test about the road rules in Hawaii. In New York, the rules seems to be "don't get hit and don't hit anyone; if you can squeeze by, it is a lane; right of way is a relative term."
What I'm reading: "Love in the Time of Cholera" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
What I watched: "Cold Mountain" & "Love Actually" & "Seabiscuit"
What I'm listening: I-94 (93.9 FM) & Krater 96 (96.3 FM) & KPOI: The Rock You Live On (97.5 FM) Hawaii
Waikiki Beach is probably the most well known beach in Hawaii with a flourish of tourists. Many do not understand the art of getting a good tan and not inviting skin cancer earlier than will most likely occur with this much sun. Tourists flock to the beach to get immediate gratification--also known as "sun burn." When not on the beach many frequent Red Lobster and the locals refer to that place as "not what they serve, but who they serve." Most of the tourists don't realize that long enough in the sun for many who never see it is about one hour with SPF 50 at 4pm. However, thinking they have to get tan in a day, they sit out with SPF 8 from 9am to 6pm and turn a shade of red even Crayola hasn't thought up a name for yet. (I was thinking burnt orange mixed with fuschia.) My friend, Erin, has been stationed in Hawaii for a couple years now finishing up his ROTC post-graduate responsibilities. He came as white as an Oregonian can and now can proudly hold his head up high, tanner than me, a local girl. Yes, I envy him, I do.
When you finish baking at 450°F on the beach, packing up and heading to Waiola Bakery on Kapahulu Avenue for shave ice (think of a really nice snow cone) is a perfect way to cap off your day before you hit the clubs. Shave ice is one of those purely Hawaiian things that has put a smile on my face since I was a kid and wanted mine "rainbow." Since then, they have come up with a slew of flavors like haupia (coconut custard), li hung, mango, lychee and can be topped like ice cream with such sweeties as condensed milk.
My friend, Jano, is always asking me about what it looks like where I live and would fault my character for not showing some pictures of my neighborhood. I didn't attend Punahou School but do live on Punahou Street. Just past Central Union Church and Kapiolani Medical Center (where just about everyone I know was born), is my small neighborhood. I lived across the street from my high school, Maryknoll, and only a few blocks from my grade school of the same name. It is a quiet place with a view of the Ko'olau Mountains (and Richard Chamberlain's mansion). Not Kahala or Hawaii Loa Ridge, I grew up in a small condominium sharing a room with my brother. It may explain why I like living alone now--having your own personal space is so nice. My school is so small, our basketball courts actually also double as faculty parking. We have no cafeteria or gymnasium mostly because we're a tiny campus and utilize the free gym--also known as a nearby park or the great outdoors. I went to a school with about 500 students total and a class of about 140. It means everyone knows you and with a mouth as big as mine, everyone probably heard me at least.
The past few days it has been "storming" here which just means rain with the occassional lightning. The problems with that is flooding in Hawaii which then results in mud- and rockslides on certain parts of the island including the North Shore. If you aren't careful, the Kamehameha Highway on the North Shore will flood and you're stuck out there in your little Honda trying to figure out if you can paddle home on your surf board. What does it look like? It means we have blue-gray days because the skies are almost never completely clouded over. You can always find the sun peeking out behind the clouds, clearing a space for a burst of blue.
When it finally stopped raining last night, I headed to Waikiki with Erin and my girls for some salsa dancing at Esprit in the Sheraton Waikiki. Waikiki still has all those amazing places to visit like the International Market Place where you can purchase trinkets that may remind you of Hawaii. It is like Times Square and is fun to go visit, but like many locals, not a place to hang out--too crowded. You are also bound to see an aquarium here or there with tropical fish. There was one across Kalakaua Avenue from the Sheraton with sting rays and lots of tropical fish you might be able to find at your local pet store. They build these escalators and stairways for tourists to walk on to feel like they are swimming with the fish. As much as I should be used to these things, I never cease to be amazed by ocean life. Sometimes I think I should have gone into marine biology or the environmental sciences the way I'm so enamored with the ocean.
Once I was satisfied looking at the fishes, Erin and I headed over to the Sheraton. I've known Erin since he was first learning to social dance with me at Stanford University. After 8 years, he's become the dancing king. Whenever I am home, I know I'll be out dancing at some point with Erin--swing, salsa, waltz, polka, lindy hop, tango. While I am a most pathetic follow (that's me being the control freak), I enjoy being spun around the dance floor and Erin is an excellent lead. He entertained me and my 3 friends, but I'm sure it was a pain he could suffer through.
I have about a week left and need to carve out a day with enough sun to go surfing. Erin, now the real local boy, has graciously offered to teach me and Lacey how to surf. We're excited about this and hope not to get our heads knocked in too much by our longboards. Hopefully this rain won't keep up and we can head out one of these days. On the agenda--malasadas, Ono Hawaiian Food, shopping, and renewing my driver's license. Oy geez--after not driving all year in New York, I have to take a written test about the road rules in Hawaii. In New York, the rules seems to be "don't get hit and don't hit anyone; if you can squeeze by, it is a lane; right of way is a relative term."
What I'm reading: "Love in the Time of Cholera" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
What I watched: "Cold Mountain" & "Love Actually" & "Seabiscuit"
What I'm listening: I-94 (93.9 FM) & Krater 96 (96.3 FM) & KPOI: The Rock You Live On (97.5 FM) Hawaii
<< Home