22nd March, 2016

OK, not another sitcom based in wartime France, just part 2 of our sojourn in Hawaii.

A few general comments on Hawaii (and the USA) might be good here:

• It is warm and sunny, but not too warm and not always sunny
• Huge numbers of tourists, many of them Japanese
• It is expensive! Lots of very high-end shops. Meals can be pricey unless you go down the more fast food route
• Surfing is very serious stuff here
• Food has been a bit so-so in our opinion and has not lived up to the hype you read about (maybe we have been just unlucky?)
• Tourist info has not always been as clear as it could be
• Why are all their banknotes the same size??
• And why are 10 cent coins smaller than 5 cent coins?
• Tipping!!! Is this just an excuse for not paying your workers enough? The ‘suggested rate’ can be 15 to 20% on your bill (they very kindly give you how much each might be). And the expectation is to tip virtually everyone – even shop assistants! I expect good service as part of the contract I have entered into, I don’t expect to pay more to get it. OK, I will stop now, but I might do a complete blog to get this one off my chest. You have been warned!
• Why can’t the sales tax be included in the price instead of being an annoying extra on the bill for everything?
• I know jaywalking can be dangerous, but it feels as though we have stood for hours in total waiting for permission to cross what are effectively empty roads.
• Very friendly people (though more than their fair share of ‘the nutter on the bus’ (look up Jasper Carrot on Google for that one))

OK, thanks for that, I feel better already… Back to the blog!

Not a lot to report for today – we went shopping, mostly for windows (if you see what I mean). We did manage to stop over at the Cheesecake Factory for lunch. Luckily it serves more than cheesecake, but we did manage to finish off the meal with one between us. As you can see we were happy with the result!

The day may have been a bit mundane, but the evening was superb. We booked dinner and a show at the Blue Note, Hawaii. The Blue Note is most famous for the one in New York and this is an offshoot, but it is wonderfully intimate and you are really close to the stage. The show was The Blind Boys of Alabama, essentially a gospel group, though they cover a lot of more contemporary songs as well. They started as a group in Alabama in 1944 though the original members sang together at the Alabama Institute for the Negro Blind in the late 1930s when they were 9. There are two members still performing (though one could not tour due to ill health). Among many awards, they also have 5 Grammys. One of the original members, Jimmy Carter (no, not that one, obviously) was the leader for our concert and is a decidedly irreverent 90-something year old who very much enjoyed what he was doing. The musicians on the instruments are sighted and look after the 4 blind singers by making sure, for example, that they land back on their chair when they sit down and don’t walk into the microphones. I liked a quotation from one of them:  “Our disability doesn’t have to be a handicap. It’s not about what you can’t do. It’s about what you do. And what we do is sing good gospel music.” And that is exactly what they did – totally uplifting, including a ‘walkabout’ by our Jimmy among the audience! Here is a link (not the greatest quality, but not bad) if you want to get a feel for them – including Jimmy’s wonderful audience control.

A few pics of our particular concert…..

We finished the evening off with what seems to be a particularly Hawaiian delicacy – shave ice (or shaved ice). Brain freeze food!!

23rd March, 2016

Happy birthday, Claire Benn!!! And can I just mention here that some of the photos in the blogs from Malaysia were in fact taken by Claire, so credit due, etc.

Today we did get out a bit more by booking ourselves on a boat tour. This included sailing on a catamaran off Waikiki Beach to go snorkeling with the turtles that congregate there as there seems to be a particular shoal of fish that like to eat the barnacles and other debris that sticks to the turtles – a sort of car wash for turtles. The crew were fantastic and included in the fee were cocktails so we and our fellow shipmates had a very jolly time. The snorkeling was brilliant and I just wish I had invested in an underwater camera. Val is not a snorkeler, but did join us in the water and one of the turtles did the decent thing and rose to the surface close to her. She did suffer a bit on board though as poor Val could probably get seasick in a rowing boat on the Serpentine – and it had nothing to do with the cocktails, I would add (I had her share!).

Ok, this might be the bit that my nearest and dearest were dreading, but I feel it is time for the ever popular SUNSET shots!!! Oh come on, you have only had two other ones in 2 and a half months of travel, so you are well overdue for another one. I will try and keep it short…..

Ok, that probably does it for this post. More soon.