Once again I’ve been lucky enough to find myself in Hawaii, although this time it’s only a short trip. Still, it’s great to be back, and aside from the huge redevelopment all over the place it’s just as cruisy and laid back as it always is.
Instead of splurging on an oceanfront hotel we went for a Kuhio Ave cheapie1 that turned out to be a bit of a dump. The room’s small, everything is at least fifteen years old, and the aircon sounds like a jet engine. Still, it’s only a place to sleep, and it functions quite well as a solution to the ever growing luggage storage problem. Also a rarity in cheap hotels is the bountiful free WiFi – we’re so used to stealing borrowing WiFi that it’s a nice change.
There’s the added bonus of an old hotel too; the window on our ninth floor room opens a good two feet, something you never get in newer buildings.
There was an unusual amount of haze around, and locals were soon explaining it away (perhaps they’ve been accused of smog) as a volcanic vent fuming sulpur on the big island. Depending on the wind our island gets a thick (but not unhealthy) haze that drops visibility to the mountains. There was one person who told us that, “the sulphur is giving me a headache, but they say sulphur is a rich source of antioxidants”. Welcome back to the USA.
Aside from the obligatory shopping we haven’t done a great deal, not for a lack of things to do but more so a lack of will to explore yet. CompUSA is noticeably gone, with the one near Ruth’s Chris completely empty, and the Waikele store reopened as Steve & Harry (or something) which has to be the most unsuitably large clothing store around now.
As I’m still trying to relearn typing on this borrowed EEE2 so I’ll quit while I’m ahead!
