Molly's Holi 2010

[steveg]

I've heard of Dim Sung, but I can't remember exactly what it is.

Dim Sum  is the name given to various small dishes served in chinese restaurants (usually at lunchtimes) and can almost be likened to Spasnish Tapas insofar as they are served in small porttions and may include a variety of different contents, meat, fish, vegetables etc  Ususally served in small steamer baskets and often with Chinese tea.

[Molly Mockford]

Thursday 4th March 2010

The plan for today was to drive up to the forested hillside above Mickey and Connie's house in St Louis Heights, and hike the trail there.  Mickey has, from when I first mentioned my wish to go hiking, been worried about safety, as the rocks are soft and crumbly and the going can be slippery, and there's hardly a month without some kind of catastrophic accident to one hiker or another.  But they are, after all, official trails, and I promised not to go off exploring near cliff edges (I couldn't anyway, with my vertigo) and to take every care.

Before setting out, though, it was a matter of booking my couple of days away on Big Island (officially Hawai'i itself, and also known as Hilo after one of its towns) to see the volcano.  The three of us sat down and listed all the commitments for the rest of my stay, and identified the only remaining slot where I could do the trip.  It involves a flight, a car hire, a hotel in Hilo for the first night and a hotel in Kona for the second night.  First of all, I needed to check that the car hire would be OK despite the fact that I forgot to bring any evidence of UKcar insurance (Mickey's daughter Hinda used to be a tour organiser, and expressed concern about this), so Connie and I identified the best value firm, which was Hertz, and I rang them up.  Sure, they said, no problem;  third-party insurance is included in the hire, and I can buy a damage waiver for the two days for $55 to cover any damage which might get done to the car itself.  (In the neighbourhood of a volcano, this seemed a pretty sensible idea.)  So then to book the flights - Connie checked for the best value and I identified from those the best timings, and started to book online.

They wouldn't take any bookings other than from the US, Canada or the Philippines.

So I rang them up, and in the course of a half-hour phone call where I was heavily patronised by a Latino gentleman who told me what a lovely name I had (yeucchh) I established that they wouldn't take my credit card over the phone either!  He said he would hold the flight booking for 48 hours and I should go to Honolulu Airport and pay there.

Nonsense, said Connie, and proceeded to take over and make the bookings on her credit card.  She shooed me and Mickey off (it was by now around 10:30, much later than he normally goes to the office, but he had had some work he had brought home) and also booked the hotels we had agreed upon.  Just like having my own personal travel agent!

So Mickey drove me up to the entrance to the forest trails, extracted yet another promise that I would be careful and wouldn't go diving off the edge of a cliff, and I set off, full of confidence, along the path.  It had rained for most of last night, and it took only a few minutes to realise that the path was indeed very slippery;  the reddish soil is, I suppose, some kind of clay despite the basic geology being volcanic;  and the tree roots, which normally provide a natural staircase, had been walked over so much that they had lost their bark, and were also very slippery.  I forged my way upwards about 200 feet according to the elevation readings on my GPS, vaguely wondering what it would be like coming back down.  Then the path suddenly dived downwards again.  I started along it, but after about a quarter of a mile it became pretty hairy;  much of the earth had been washed away, and there were bits where one had to jump, despite the slipperiness.  Mindful of the fact that I had promised sixteen times to be careful, I turned round and retraced my steps.

Back up at the point where the path had started downhill, there were a number of non-official trails, which were not so eroded and were much safer to walk, so I explored these.  Eventually I found a long trail which paralleled the way back to the car park, on the left;  a very pleasant walk.  Took a number of photos of the ironwood trees, large and small, and their strange seedpods which go through all the colours of the rainbow after falling to the ground.  Also saw some birds;  an all-red one had to be a cardinal, but another which initially looked like a magpie but was much more colourful defeated my limited knowledge of US avian life.  This path eventually joined up with the road at the car park, but I hadn't had enough yet;  so I sought out a path on the other side, and explored it.  It was great (and I met some feral chickens with baby chicks!) and gave me some wonderful views.  I kept an eye on my GPS, and when I realised that I was no longer on a path, but rather on a cleared strip where the telephone poles marched, I decided it was time to bear left and rejoin the road.

Easier said than done.  Promising paths veered off in other directions, or died out entirely.  Eventually I found myself, according to the GPS, only 50 feet from where I ought to be.  There was an uphill slope, and I headed up it - but, half-way up, it proved far too slippery, and despite my hiking pole my feet shot from under me, and I landed on my side, grabbing a two-inch tree as I did so.  The tree stopped me from descending the entire slope in one rush, and enabled me to pause and meditate on the situation.  Like the Grand Old Duke of York, I was neither up nor down.  Nor could I envisage any possibility of getting to my feet (I tried, while hanging on to the tree).  Eventually I let myself slide down, my passage slowed by handing over from tree to tree.  I was covered in red mud - ankles, calves, knees, thighs, hands, arms - and the seat of my shorts, which probably took most of it.

OK, I'm back at the bottom. But I need to be at the top.  How??  I had been towards the right-hand side of the path;  to the left there was some deadfall paralleling the path, and I decided to try that - with one foot either side of it, and plenty of trees to hold on to.  It was hairy, but I made it without further accident.

At the top, I saw ... a steep downward slope, followed by another steep upward slope!  Deep sigh.  But there was no alternative - so I headed up the slope very, very carefully, always making sure I had hold of a tree, if not two trees.  Finally, and very slowly, I reached the top of the second slope, and there, right on the other side, was the car park, with people picnicking and making merry.  I appeared over the ridge like something out of a horror movie - The Curse of the Red Mud Woman - and strolled nonchalantly past them to a rest-room which I knew was there, and which had a cold tap.

It took a long time to wash the mud off my skin, and it was of course impossible to get it off my shorts.  Ah well, what can't be cured must be endured.  I walked out of the exit road and started down the hill (300' elevation), deciding against returning to the house but instead to stick to original arrangements and meet Mickey at his office.  It was no more than two miles, and it seemed so childishly easy walking through the streets!  Instead of taking the quickest route to the University, I took a longer swing around, because that would take me past ... you guessed it ... YogurtLand!!  I was greeted like a very old friend, and I thoroughly relished my cardboard cup of deliciousness.  Thence to the University, to prove to Mickey I was alive, but to admit freely that he had been absolutely right in his warnings, and that although I had proved up to the task, nevertheless there hadn't been much leeway between the challenge and my ability to surmount it.

Back home, very hungry, for dinner - which was re-heated Chinese which was totally delicious, followed by a fruit tart, plus a glass or two of wine.  I sorted today's photos, read up on Big Island, and then we watched Jay Leno (at least the first half;  it gets boring when he introduces other people).  Just before going to bed, though, Mickey led me up to the top floor, tiptoeing because it is given over to lodgers, and opened the door to the roof for me to admire the gold and silver lights of Waikiki, which look even more impressive from an extra 15 feet up than they do from the livingroom balcony.  Every time I look at those lights I get freaked out by the beauty of them!

To bed now - it's nearly midnight, and tomorrow has to be a much earlier start than today was.

[Howard]

Chinese dumplings:  wonton?  Or possibly jiaozi?

[Howard]

Don't forget, Molly, to take greetings to the nēnēs from their relatives here in Sussex! 

[Molly Mockford]

Chinese dumplings:  wonton?  Or possibly jiaozi?

I've checked with Connie, and they were mana pua.  That's pidgin: Chinese/Hawaiian.  So it's hardly surprising nobody got it!

I haven't seen any nene yet, but I live in hope.

[Molly Mockford]

Friday 5th March 2010

We were all up in good time for breakfast, after which Mickey and I drove off - first to the hospital for one of his regular blood tests, then he dropped me at the Foster Botanical Gardens and went back to his office.  There are five botanical gardens in Honolulu;  Foster is the oldest, largest and the only one which charges an entrance fee - well worth every cent.  It has a superb collection of specimen trees from around the world, and while it was strange to happen across something as familiar as a juniper, I don't know where else I would have been able to encounter a skunk tree (and my goodness, it stank!) or a kapok tree.  At the entrance was a huge Bo tree, a descendant of the one under which Buddha sat and achieved enlightenment.  There was also a collection of epyphitic orchids, although none were in flower at this time of year (it is winter even in Hawai'i, even though it is like a really good summer in the UK).  In addition, there was a conservatory with more epiphytes and various other orchids.  It was a wonderful collection, and I spent a long time exploring the whole of the gardens.

From there, I progressed to Lili'uokalani Botanical Garden (named after the last Queen of Hawai'i - which is, of course, the only US state which was once a monarchy and still has a royal palace) which contains only native Hawaiian plants.  (Although it's a bit hard to decide what is really native, given than the islands are geologically so very recent, and that quite a range of plants would have been introduced by the very first Polynesian settlers!)  This garden was very peaceful, the sort of place where one could meditate happily if one chose.  Through the middle of it runs the Nuuanu Stream, which must sometimes have much more water in it, since there were tempting expanses of exposed rocks to either side of the watercourse.  However, there had been a notice at the entrance warning of leptospirosis in the water, so I didn't succumb to the temptation of scrambling over the rocks, not even to get closer to its lovely waterfall.  Instead, I sat in the shade and reflected.

A bit of shade is really essential, even though I was wearing my sun-hat.  I am astonished at how much colour I have picked up already, just walking around - and I normally take great care not to tan much.  And my hair is several shades lighter than when I arrived.  But the weather is so lovely!  Even though it rains most days, it isn't *wet* rain;  either it's fine, and evaporates almost as soon as it touches, or it is a heavier, but brief, shower.  Nobody uses umbrellas or raincoats;  no sooner have you got wet than you are dry again.  There are times when I am almost begging for a rain-shower to cool me down!

After the Lili'uokalani garden I had originally planned to walk a bit of some of the Pu'u Ohia trails around Round Top/Mount Tantalus, but I spent too long in the gardens;  so I took an exploratory walk back to the university campus, taking in some tiny little parks en route - parks which might contain just one single massive tree and a wee bit of lawn.  Oh, and I got a photo of the R.L.Stevenson Middle School!  Stevenson is a bit of a hero:  he was a strong supporter of a local Catholic priest, Father Damien, who spent his life working with lepers - and was canonised for it in 2009 - but he was somewhat scorned and sneered at by the Presbyterians until Stevenson leapt in and used his skill with words to show what a good man Damien had been.

On the way back, I encountered a dog in bootees.  I asked his owner if I could photograph him, and said I hoped that the reason for the bootees wasn't that the dog had sore feet.  The chap said no, but he lived in an apartment, and he didn't want the dog trekking dirt into the house;  so he wore the boots out of doors.  It is standard procedure in Hawai'i that one removes one's footwear when entering a private house (it doesn't apply to public places), and so the dog was only following the normal code of conduct!

Those who have been paying attention will not be surprised to discover that my route back to Mickey's office took me past YogurtLand.  Since it had been a hot, sticky, sweaty day I indulged in the most enormous helping - which was still well under $4!  I don't know anywhere else where one could get such good value.  After that, I once again encountered the injured feral cat;  this was our third meeting, and it let me get almost within arm's reach - maybe two feet away.  It's just a matter of moving very slowly, and talking steadily and quietly.  I was encouraged to see that he had not after all lost his right eye;  it was very swollen, but it was now open a crack, and I have hopes that the wee beast might recover.  However, he is very thin and scrawny indeed, and there's something wrong with his tail.  I suspect he may have been hit by a car.

And so to the office, where I caught up with webmail until Mickey was ready to leave.  Friday night, so we had candles and a brief ritual and sweet red wine;  and another of Connie's amazing four-course meals.  The broth that we started with would have been sufficient dinner for me in the normal way of things, it was so delicious and filling;  but then there was salad, and then fish with a stunning sauce, and a huge bowl of rice of which we probably ate only three spoonfuls between us!  And finally, a chocolate macadamia nut pie (I am totally hooked on the combination of macadamias and dark chocolate, and Connie is pandering to my appetite quite outrageously).

Later we sat down to watch a DVD of Rumpole, and once again I fell asleep (it's because the lights get switched out, I think) but I woke in time for Jay Leno, and then to bed.

Photos at http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/molly.mockford/HawaiiDay6?authkey=Gv1sRgCMLH8YbW8KvnsQE&feat=directlink.

[Windsong]

Interesting seed pods!  I bet they would make a wonderful dried arrangement.  I would definitely go to Hawaii for the flora and wildlife!

[Molly Mockford]

The flora are well worth seeing, but there is in fact very little in the way of fauna.  The only native mammal is a type of bat;  all others have been introduced, and few are wild rather than feral (although there are mongooses, which I would very much like to see - there are no snakes, so they have to eat rats and such, I believe).  Birds are few and far between;  there are Little Egrets, and Turtle Doves which are considered pests, and Cardinals, and Brazilian Cardinals, and maybe half-a-dozen species which I have seen.  The tropical rainforest parts could really do with some parrots!

Saturday 6th March 2010

Today was Mickey's birthday.  At his request, Connie prepared a cooked breakfast - sausages, eggs and hash browns.  I've often heard of hash browns but never eaten them;  I discovered that, bar a bit of onion, they are very much like rösti  In the morning Mickey's eldest daughter Hinda (the only one who lives in Hawai'i) came over with her two children, Kelvin and Jennie, who presented Mickey with some magic tricks and some home-made chocolate chip cookies.  The children are young and full of energy, wrestling on the floor and having to be reminded not to run around, but are very good-natured, and were clearly delighted to be celebrating their much-loved grandpa's birthday.

Apart from that it was a quiet day;  Connie was out shopping and doing errands (including secretly organising a birthday cake and lei for Mickey this evening), and Mickey and I sat and talked quietly, with was very pleasant indeed.  The forecast had been for rain, but it was mostly bright sunshine.  The occasional rain shower was, as they mostly are, almost surreal;  it can be raining here but not on the next block, the sunlight will be bright on the sea and on the high-rise (yuck) buildings of Waikiki - and of course there are rainbows.  Every day, rainbows.  Sometimes doubles, although I haven't yet seen a triple;  nor have I seen a moonbow, which apparently circles the moon in the right conditions.  I've stopped even trying to photograph every rainbow I see!  At home, I might be lucky to see three or four a year;  here, sometimes it's that many in a day.  It's no wonder that Hawaiian car registration plates carry a rainbow as the state symbol.

Mickey and I fixed lunch for ourselves, and after Connie came back a while later I downloaded my photos and wrote up yesterday's journal.  Then we went out at around 5pm to meet Mickey's best friend Ron Kent and his wife Myra for an early dinner before a musical concert.  (Ron and Myra are lovely people;  he is a very talented - and highly-regarded - artist in wood;  see www.ronkent.com.  Tomorrow, he's going to show me his studio, which I'm looking forward to tremendously.)

Before we went out, Connie and I hung leis on Mickey (I hadn't had any opportunity to organise the purchase of one without his knowledge, so I re-used the one they gave me on my arrival, which had been stored in the fridge ever since and was still perfectly fresh and full of scent), and when we met up with the Kents in the restaurant car park many photos were taken.  The meal was Italian, and very good indeed.  We had taken along the bottle of duty-free Bollinger which I had brought (and which caused such trouble at security when I changed flights) and it went down very well, being to everyone's taste (although Myra and I had the lion's share).  I had squid-ink and lobster ravioli which was delicious;  it was only ten minutes ago that I looked in the mirror and discovered a remnant of black squid-ink pasta in my teeth!  The birthday cake which Connie had organised, and handed to the restaurant staff to be produced at the appropriate time, was then brought to the table;  it was "grasshopper pie", a chocolate layer on top of a mint layer, and Connie had also bought two candles, a 7 and a 6.  Before the cake was brought out, one of the waiters came up to me and, whispering, asked whether the numbers should read 76 or 67 - which I later recounted to all assembled, as being a nice compliment to Mickey.

As with all our meals out, we ended up with large doggy-bags, from which we will feed for the next day or two!  Although I polished off all of my ravioli, I'm certainly looking forward to a share of the other dishes (although we did swap the food around a bit at the table).  Then we drove to the theatre, which was in fact a studio used by Hawaiian Public Radio.  The concert was an informal one by five or six musicians and had been billed as Balkan music;  in fact it was modern jazz based on Turkish or Armenian themes, and most of it left me cold.  It didn't help that none of us could see a thing, since there was no stage, and we were in the back row.  I don't know why seeing should make a difference to listening, but it certainly does.

Then back home for an hour's quiet talk before bedtime.  A very relaxing day;  both my leg muscles and my brain were glad of a day's rest, and I'll be raring to go again tomorrow - when we're off for, first, a visit to Ron's studio, and then a round-the-island drive which will take most of the day.

Photos at http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/molly.mockford/HawaiiDay7?authkey=Gv1sRgCKmH7LaK68_BXg&feat=directlink.

[Molly Mockford]

Sunday 7th March 2010

Despite the forecast, the day dawned clear and sunny for our drive around the island – this was a treat for me, and for the second day of Mickey's birthday weekend (so that we could both leap out and take photos whenever an unmissable shot present itself), so Connie drove, and was immensely patient with the multiple stops.

We started off at Ron Kent's studio, where he is working on a piece he calls Moby Richard (because it's big).  It is built up from plies of Norfolk Pine, finely sanded and varnished over and over.  He has an assistant to do the more tedious bits!  Whenever I see wood – whether living as a tree, or worked into a piece of art - I have to touch it, and Ron was in full agreement with the necessity for this – so I was able to handle all the lovely pieces sitting around his studio.  The earlier pieces are lathe-turned, and some of the bowls are so thin that they are translucent.  Myra then invited us into the house, where there are uncountable examples of Ron's work: quite mind-blowing.  He is a major artist, and his pieces are all over the world – e.g. in the Vatican.

We then drove off up the north-east cost of the island.  The clouds were low, squatting indelicately on the tops of the mountains (and making water here and there).  Unfortunately I can never take a photo which is anywhere near as impressive as seeing this effect for real!  But I got lots of other shots, including some very pretty Brazilian Cardinals which were tame enough that I could get quite close.  We paused at an old sugar-cane mill (large parts of the island used to grow sugar-cane and pineapples, but economics have reduced the demand and much of the land lies empty).

We stopped for lunch at a little roadside diner with charming staff (but everyone here is charming – it's very unlike England!) and, just as we had ordered and sat down at an outside table, the heavens opened and we had the heaviest rain I've yet seen here (although it does rain very heavily at night).  Such a dramatic downpour couldn't last long, of course, and when it stopped everything dried off very quickly.  Rainstorms like that are very localised, and two miles down the road there had hardly been a sprinkling of rain.

After lunch we continued on our circuit, stopping to photograph some irresistible signs, and beautiful figures at the entrance to the Polynesian Cultural Center;   we'll be visiting that later this week;  I gather it's a fully-day experience, and I'm looking forward to it.  One of Mickey's volunteer assistants works there part-time and will be organising us tickets.  Near to it was a very expensive-looking Mormon temple (I contemplated whether the words Mormon and Mammon were conceivably cognate), but I chose to photograph the approach, lined with regimented palm trees.

And then we reached the famous north shore, where all the surfing competitions are held.  There was plenty of surf, and plenty of surfers bobbing about in the sea waiting for the ultimate wave.  By contrast we also spent some photography time at a quiet little cove, where nobody could surf except in one corner, but people hired paddle-surf equipment (you stand on the surfboard and use a long paddle to canoe it along).  Interesting chat with the man who runs the board hire.

In Hawai'i people eat early.  We arrived at our planned dinner restaurant (Jameson's) at around 5pm, and were by no means the first diners – but we were in time to get one of the coveted outside tables, facing the sunset.  It was a delicious meal – everything I have eaten here has been wonderful! - but of course far too large, so once again we accumulated a collection of leftovers.  But Connie has such a superb way with leftovers that I look forward to them as much as to a from-scratch meal!  Since it was still Mickey's birthday weekend, they brought out a complimentary hunk of birthday cake at the end of the meal, and despite the fact that we all claimed to be full, we managed to demolish it between us.

The sun set, and we drove back cross-country in the dark – except that all the roads have street lights, whether or not they are in built-up areas.  There isn't really that much in the way of mileage of roads, so they just light them all, it seems.  A couple at the next table, on learning that I was from the UK, declared their addiction to Hyacinth Bucket of "Keeping Up Appearances", and told us that on PBS tonight there was a special on British comic actresses;  we were home in good time for it, and it was followed by an excellent documentary on Roy Orbison.  I downloaded my photos, and then it was bedtime.

Picasa Web Album at http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/molly.mockford/HawaiiDay8?authkey=Gv1sRgCIHZhrLZwLWFDA&feat=directlink.

[Molly Mockford]

Monday 8th March 2010

Today was not, I suppose, the way in which most people would choose to spend part of their holiday, especially in a paradise island like this.  However, it suited me just fine.  I accompanied Mickey to his office where I spent most of the morning going through his filing system and helping myself to copies of many of the papers he has published and which are not yet included on his web site at http://hawaii.edu/PCSS.  The resulting stack is over three inches high, and it will probably take me the best part of a year to get them all scanned, OCRed and coded up into HTML – but it will be very well worth it.  I am very proud of that web site, and how it enables researchers and lay-people from around the world to access Mickey's work;  and the compliments about the site flow in regularly from all over the place, though I sez it as shouldn't!

I shall have to make sure, however, that I weigh my luggage carefully before leaving – what with those papers, and a wonderful but hard-back Hawaiian cookbook which Connie has presented me with, I may be approaching the weight limit!  But I can always put the heaviest pieces in my hand luggage.

From late morning onwards, I was working on creating an off-site backup for Mickey's e-mail, which lives on the University's mail servers and which regularly butts up against the maximum size limit.  By late afternoon it was all archived on Gmail, with appropriate labels set to parallel the folder names in the original, and huge quantities of old mail deleted from the University's servers, such that all should run smoothly for quite a while.  I had spent quite some time researching the best way to set up this backup, particularly how to extract the mail from the University's idiosyncratic mail system without losing any of its attached classifications, and I feel pleased with the results.  I can appreciate that most people wouldn't see this as a typical holiday day - but it made me feel good!!

However, common-or-garden holiday mode switched on after I finished, because Mickey took me out for "Shave Ice" at the best outlet in Honolulu.  Shave Ice is a Hawaiian delicacy (and, I think, probably throughout Polynesia).  You start with a large cup of not crushed but shaved ice, and then you add flavoured and coloured syrup to it – typically two flavours at a time, though you could have more, or just one.  I had chocolate and banana, and Mickey had chocolate and vanilla;  the vanilla was a very startling blue!  It doesn't sound a very exciting snack, but in fact it was tasty and refreshing.  When I got to the bottom, the small quantity of ice which the syrup hadn't reached was exactly like eating snow.  I want more!  For what other people think of this tiny but wonderful place, see http://www.yelp.com/biz/waiola-shave-ice-honolulu.

Back to the office for Mickey to do some more work on his current paper, and me to add some bells and whistles in the way of automatic filters to his Gmail account (to send automatically-forwarded e-mails to the right places), and we headed for home at about 5:45.  Dinner was a wonderful assortment of leftovers, and I had two helpings (and a large glass of wine which I reckoned I had earned).  While we were in the middle of eating, someone arrived at the door;  it was Mickey's foster son, whom he had not seen for about 25 years but who has arrived back in Hawai'i.  He joined us at the table (there was plenty of food!) and later settled down on the covered balcony to sleep (since I'm in the only guest room).

After being shown some of the collection of erotic paintings and carvings which I hadn't yet seen (particularly some wonderful Chinese, Japanese and Indian prints – these things are presented to Mickey by people from all over the world) and an hour or so's quiet chat, I came to my room to write up this journal.  There aren't many photos today – the office doesn't really lend itself to that! - but I took a couple at the shave ice cafe, and so did Mickey, so I can download those and add them tomorrow.

[Windsong]

Shaved ice sounds delightful!  Just the thing on a warm afternoon!  Sounds like you are having a grand time!

[Molly Mockford]

I'd gone to bed, because I have to be up at 5am tomorrow to fly to Big Island where the volcanoes are - and then I remembered I hadn't posted this!

Tuesday 9th March 2010

Another typical Honolulu day of sunshine and showers, but a bit windy.  It started sadly because we had to take Mickey's adult foster-son to the hospital emergency room;  this gave me a refresher course in driving in the US, because while the two of them went into the hospital I had to take the car and park it.  I drove three times round that blasted multi-storey car park;  there were many empty spaces which were for Valet Parking, and others Reserved For Physician, but eventually I found one.  And in all that manouvering up and down ramps, and into the space, in a car twice as long as my own and nearly twice as wide (it's not that Mickey's car is big, it's just that mine is tiny) I never hit anything.  So I should be just fine with the car I am hiring when I get to Big Island.

After that we headed to the office, where Linda, one of Mickey's volunteer assistants, was already there.  She has visual problems, so I typed up some material at her dictation.  At lunchtime, Mickey drove me to a hill called Round Top;  there is a wonderful lookout point (overlook) from which one can see almost all of Honolulu.  He dropped me at the start of one of the many trails, and I set out on a hike.  It was very enjoyable, through mixed woodland;  I started at an elevation of over 1000 feet, and gradually descended to a valley with a stream running through it.  There were many informational signs along the way, and I got plenty of photos.  Of course, it was then a matter of climbing up those 1000 feet again – but there was a wonderful staircase of tree roots, which made the ascent very much easier than if I had been scrambling over rocks – or even walking over bare earth, because there were three separate rain showers.

My intention was originally to do the hike, and then to walk back to the house;  however, what with the steepness of the trail, and my frequent stops to take photos, a four-mile hike took me over three hours.  Plan B was to meet Mickey at his office before he set off for an academic function;  no way was I going to get there in time.  Plan C was to meet him after the function, so I phoned both him and Connie to let them know what I would be doing.  However, the function finished much earlier than expected, so Mickey came to fetch me in the car:  by now I had completed my circuit, and was walking down the corkscrewing road back down to sea level – in one afternoon, down 1000 feet, up 1000 feet and down 1000 feet again!

Every month Connie (who is a counsellor) holds a party for her clients,who are mainly male-to-female trans people.  There are also some F2M but none of them turned up last night.  Mickey and I got home just as the first guests were arriving (having picked up one on the way), and I dashed downstairs to wash off the mud and sweat and render myself semi-respectable.  It was a thoroughly enjoyable party,and I learned a lot – both about the social structure inhabit by transwomen in Hawai'i (who call themselves “queens”, despite the different usage of the term in both mainland US and the UK), and about all kinds of other stuff such as a Republican view of Obama's healthcare proposals.  Yes, folks, I spent quite a long time in conversation with a real live Republican – which was a first for me!

These parties are on a pot luck basis, which doesn't mean what it does in the UK;  it means that everybody brings along something to eat.  However, Connie being Connie, she cooks up enough for everybody even if nobody brought a thing!  The table was groaning with food and I over-indulged happily.  I also consumed more than my fair share of wine.

After the guests had gone, Connie insisted on clearing up alone, declaring it was easier to do it that way.  So Mickey got out his guitar, which he hasn't played for a long time, and we worked our way through all the American folk songs of the Sixties which neither of us could remember, nor sing in tune if we could!  The day ended at around midnight, although I sat up until 1am working on journal entries.

No photos at the moment, I haven't uploaded them yet.  I'll catch up soon!

[Howard]

adult foster-son to the hospital emergency room

What an awful thing.  How is he?  What happened?

[Molly Mockford]

Wednesday 10th March 2010

The day once again started in Mickey's office -  helping myself to more copies of his papers, this time the earlier ones (which originally he had said not to bother with, and then received an e-mail from somebody asking about one!).  I also sorted out the various Bibliography entries for items in the various editions of the Corsini Encyclopedia, which were in a fearful muddle.  Meanwhile, Mickey was preparing slides for the talk he had been invited to give at lunchtime to a group of psychiatrists.

When we arrived at the venue (in Queen's Hospital) the previous lot were late in vacating the room, so we didn't have much time to set up;  and the Keynote slideshow which he had copied onto his Mac laptop refused to run, although all the PowerPoint slideshows on it worked fine.  It was probably an iWorks problem, but there wasn't time to sort it out.  So he started out using a few slides from one of the other slideshows, and eventually resorted to writing on the whiteboard in the good old-fashioned way.

The psychiatrists (a dozen or so of them) learned not only about the requested subject of the talk, but also about more of the spectrum, ranging from cross-dressing to transgender to intersex – basically, anything that is not a plain vanilla male-and-female heterosexual set-up.  I filmed the whole presentation, but missed some informal questions at the end, because I thought that everyone had finished – but they started asking more questions as I was putting my equipment away!

The we had a long, long trek to the Emergency Room of the hospital, only to find that the foster son had been discharged that morning.  And another long, long trek back to the car park, including going round in circles.  But everybody whom we asked was very helpful indeed, and one man walked with us for ten minutes because he said it was easier to show us than to describe the route.  Everyone seemed to agree that "I wouldn't start from here if I were you".

The original plan had been to go snorkelling in the afternoon, after the talk;  but it wasn't the sort of day for it.  It was cloudy and overcast, and would have been far too cold for Mickey.  So I thought we would go straight back to the office, but instead he drove me on a mini-tour of Punchbowl Military Cemetery.  This is in the caldera of an extinct volcano, and is a very calm and dignified place.  At the top is the nearest overlook to town – very impressive.

Then we went to Waiola for shave ice again (in the rain! But there was still a queue).  I had chocolate and coffee, and Mickey encouraged me to try Azuri (?Azuki? not sure) beans with it – they were unlike anything I've tasted before, sweet and starchy and rather good.  The coffee syrup was particularly good.

Back at the office, an Israeli aquaculturalist called Benny appeared and talked at high speed about his web site (run by a Scottish volunteer!) which even links to an iPhone app;  and (very usefully) showed me how to access the university's on-line libraries, which will save me a certain amount of scanning and OCRing of Mickey's papers.

We were late back for dinner ("late" here being gone 6pm), which was, of course, a superb array of leftovers.  Then I downloaded my photos (I had thought that I had lost the memory stick to which I download them – I was sure I must have dropped it on my hike – but I found it on the back seat of Mickey's car, where I'd flung my backpack rather carelessly), packed my bag for Big Island, and got to bed at 10pm.  I had got pretty badly bitten on my Round Top hike, and Connie lent me some antihistamine cream, which I had to apply in the night because my ankles were itching unbearably, but I eventually got to sleep – knowing I had to be awake at 5am the next day.

There are photos, but I haven't uploaded them yet!

[Molly Mockford]

Thursday 11th March 2010

There are times when I think I probably shouldn't be let out alone.  Especially 8000 miles from home.  However, like Blanche Dubois in "A Streetcar Named Desire", I generally find that I can rely upon the kindness of strangers.  Read on...

The alarm went off at 5am (and Connie and Mickey also awoke at that time).  Into the bathroom for a quick shower – during which the alarm went off again!  I had to dash back into my bedroom, soaking wet, to switch it off because it clearly wasn't going to stop on its own.  I chucked the last bits and pieces into my bag, ate a hasty breakfast (the others had more time for breakfast because they didn't have to shower until later!) and we all piled into the car and drove off to the airport for my flight to Big Island (whose proper name is Hawai'i, but it gets confusing between the island and the state, so most people seem to call it Big Island).  All went smoothly;  on landing at Hilo (pronounced HeeLo) Airport, I located the Hertz office and picked up my rental car (a medium-size Toyota, which is was they consider a "compact" car over here, even though one could fit two Smart cars into it!), drove to my hotel and checked in, and then set off for the Volcano National Park.

There was a very useful presentation by a tour guide when I arrived;  amongst other things, she mentioned that a particular feature needed a torch (flashlight) because it was unlit.  I promptly bought a cheap torch in the Visitor Centre, along with some trail mix and dried mango.  I considered whether to buy a bottle of water, but reckoned that the bottle I already had would be sufficient.  I set off down the volcano trail, starting with some steam vents;  it was chucking it down with rain, which appeared set in for the day, but miraculously it cleared up suddenly!  I returned to the steam vents to get another shot without the raindrops on the lens.

It was a slow drive around the Park because over and over again I had to stop and get out and marvel at the lava fields – so many different styles of flow, from bubbles like an Aero bar to crinkly wrinkly surfaces to underground tubes which one could just peep into, to huge accumulations of basalt debris.

The torch was needed for a huge lava tunnel which one can walk through.  The first half is lit, but the second isn't.  I was incredibly lucky;  as I went in, a couple coming out said there were two more people behind them, but nobody else.  After the other two passed me, I had the place to myself.  Totally alone, totally quiet, in total darkness apart from the weak (but sufficient) light of my little torch.  The going underfoot was good, not at all treacherous, although there were puddles here and there;  water dripped constantly from the roof, and in places yard-long tree roots hung from the ceiling.  At the end there was a sudden drop-off;  it would have been nasty if one hadn't seen it in advance, but of course nobody could possibly have got that far without a torch.  From there, I retraced my steps – and just as I reached the end, a cheerfully-chattering party of Japanese arrived.  I thought again how fortunate I was to have experienced the tunnel in solitude and silence.

Onwards, through more and more lava fields left by eruptions in the 1970s.  Checked out each one for its different types of lava, and eventually found a couple of pieces of pumice which appear suitable for use on the hard skin on my heels!  One of the most impressive lava fields had swallowed up a previous road;  only two short stretches were visible, surrounded by black rock.  I spent quite some time on them, photographing and filming.

And on my return to my car, I had a flat tyre.

About 20 minutes before, in a narrow part of the road, my wheels had dropped a few inches off the tarmac;  I guess that beneath the tarmac is lava hardcore, and it must have ripped at the inside of the tyre.  I guess that while the car was moving along, the puncture didn't bulge open too much, but once the car was sitting idle, the air escaped with a will.

Rang Hertz.  They said they would send someone to change the tyre within an hour.  The insurance I'd bought covered the cost of the tyre, but not the man's time;  fair enough.  Then I had a phone call from the AAA – who said they would be there in two and a half hours!  I was horrified.  The AAA call was an automated message;  it said to press zero for a human, so I did – and hung on, and on, until my phone's battery suddenly ran out...  I settled down to wait, with the only reading matter I had with me – a couple of tourist brochures and the rental car's handbook.  Even the radio couldn't pick up any stations from where I was.  It was a hot day, I was parked in full sun, the lava fields were radiating heat like billy-o, I had only about 200ml of water left to last me for two and a half hours, and I had no phone.  I wondered what Mickey, always so solicitous of my safety, would say about my getting myself into a scrape like this!

Suddenly, one of the passing cars stopped, and asked if I needed help!  I accepted very gratefully;  thanks to my reading of the handbook, I knew where the spare was, where the jack ought to be placed, etc. - I just didn't have the capability of doing it myself.  The couple were Canadian, Bunny and Michael, and Michael (a kidney doctor) set to and wrestled the recalcitrant jack to defeat.  Just as he was finishing, somebody else stopped and offered help – and was also Canadian!

So the emergency tyre was now on the car.  However, I had to cancel the AAA man, or I would have ended up paying nearly $100 for his call-out.  My phone battery was flat;  Michael's phone was Canadian and wouldn't work;  the other Canadians had all left their phones back at the hotel;  but up drew another car, and although the father's phone couldn't get a signal, the young son's phone could.  So I rang Hertz, told them to cancel the AA, and – after handing out effusive thanks and giving my e-mail address to Bunny to enable us to discuss a donation to charity, I drove briefly to the end of the road (where it is blocked by the most recent lava flow) and then retraced my journey back to Hilo.  I noticed that, despite the change of tyre, the tyre inflation warning light was on;  so I returned to the airport and asked the Hertz office there to put a bit of air in it.  They were prepared to do more than that;  while I filled out an incident report form, they organised me a replacement car!  (The only downside being that I had only just located and tuned into a decent radio station on the original car.)  The new car is even larger than the first one, and very much snazzier;  before I drove off, I had to spent some time consulting the handbook to figure out how to move my seat into position, and even how to find the handbrake!  Turns out it isn't a handbrake;  it's called a Parking Brake, but it's a foot-pedal way over on the left.  I've never come across one of those before!  I wonder what other surprises will await me on tomorrow's drive?

From the airport, back to the hotel, where I had a quick wash and change.  I've become accustomed to the early hours of Hawai'i, and it was already gone 6:30 and most certainly time for dinner.  I had established when I checked in that I didn't need to reserve a table in the restaurant, I could just walk in;  however, when I tried to do so, I discovered it was closed for a private function!  Annoyed, I complained to reception about the misleading information, and asked where I could get a meal.  They directed me to another hotel about half a mile away, so I set off for it, rather sulkily.  Then I thought to myself that it really didn't matter where I ate, that it wasn't raining, and that I could eat all the more since I was going to be walking back afterwards!

The restaurant in the other hotel had a Seafood Special – what could be more agreeable?  Some mahimahi (whose name, I gather, translates more or less as "very very tasty"), some grilled shrimps and a couple of long spidery crab claws, with appropriate sauces and a couple of scoops of rice.  And "mixed vegetables" – which amused me, because they consisted of carrots, broccoli and courgettes (zucchini)!  Exactly what would have been served up as mixed vegetables at home!  Anyway, I polished off the lot, with a glass of a very interesting wine – a Riesling made in Germany by a Hawaiian winemaker, and designed to go with Anglo/Asian food.  It was sweeter than the modern German fashion for wine (in fact, it reminded me of some of the glorious German Rieslings of the 1970s, before the fashion for Trocken set in), and light, and very drinkable.  I had a second glass with my dessert.

I ought not to mention the dessert, because it is a matter of shame.  A tall cylinder of a chocolate brownie fondant, with three scoops of macadamia nut icecream, various splodges of whipped cream, strawberry coulis and loads of chocolate fudge sauce.  And I have to confess that I could not finish it!

So I was glad of the walk back.  I had left my phone charging in my room, and when it was finished I plugged in my laptop and wrote up yesterday's and today's journals, and processed all the photos I downloaded yesterday.  There is no WiFi in the rooms, but there is in the lobby (at a cost), so I'll take the laptop down there and do the necessary.

And then I think I'll go to bed.  It's been a long day!