NM visitors - the Honolulu episode

Our friends from Albuquerque came to visit us a few weeks ago. They stayed with us here in Honolulu for a couple of nights and then we all went for a week on Maui. It was a true vacation—snorkeling, beach, sun, snorkeling, food, Mai Tais, and snorkeling. And snorkeling.

Wed July 26 – Once we had gotten the precise measurements of our friends’ suitcases, and had performed some advanced calculations, we decided we could pick them up at the airport in our Geo Micro. We drove to the airport, lei at the ready, to greet our friends with our best spirit of aloha. They arrived safely, as did their luggage. We brought them back to our apartment and toasted their arrival with champagne and some take-away tofu. Tired yet surprisingly game, they managed to stay up until 10-ish HST.

Thur July 27 – Although we did get up early for an epic visit to the Arizona Memorial (hence the above photo of the carrier Abraham Lincoln with those people in the foreground), as far as I was concerned, our evening activity was the highlight of the day. We went over to our Colombian friend’s apartment and she prepared a great meal for us. We of course ate too many of the lovely and delicious appetizers and couldn’t finish our servings of arroz con pollo—all so attractively presented, by the way—but our darling hostess sent us home with enough leftovers for another meal for four! One of the most interesting items on the menu for the evening was dessert: vanilla ice cream and tree tomatoes (tamarillos). These definitely support the argument for thinking of tomatoes as fruit—I mean, who would eat ice cream with vegetables?

Friday and Saturday (July 28, 29), we pretty much bummed around Honolulu, taking our friends to a couple of our usual beaches, watched a documentary about surfing. In short, we just tried to make them all-around jealous.

Friday we intended to go watch a body surfing competition but it turns out we were a day early. We nonetheless enjoyed watching serious body surfers, as well as a whole throng of cops ticketing surfers who were encroaching on the posted body surfing area. They even were out on the water with their bullhorn: You, on the green surfboard, proceed to shore! You, in the brown rashguard*, proceed to shore! (You see, it can be quite funny when it isn't you on the green surfboard or in the brown rashie.) The waves were getting bigger every day—probably a result of the remains of hurricane Daniel which thank goodness had fizzled out—and so the surfing was getting good. B had taken our visiting friend out body boarding the day before and they had a great time. By this day, however, the waves were getting a bit big for a novice, so B went in with another crazy body boarding friend of his that showed up. Being the good, self-sacrificing hostess I am, I stayed on the beach with our friends.

Saturday was B's birthday and he got up to go body board at dawn. He said it was just perfect and he had the waves almost to himself. I think for him it was a perfect way to start another year.


*a rashguard is the shirt that surfers (and others) wear to keep from being abraded by their boards and also for sun protection. We picked up the shortened form rashie from our Aussie pals. It sounds so much friendlier. And what is a rashie, if not your good friend? (see photo)