The Big Wahoo in Oahu.

(Pic) Mike and Etsuko about to demolish a huge order of sushi at Mitch's, Mike's newest favorite sushi place in Honolulu. Yeah, I helped the uni and ikura and.... It was all great, and flown in to this warm water island. Note to self - next time give the flounder sushi a pass. This meal almost surpassed the Hy's SteakHouse bonanza (remember to get the steak house picture from Etsuko...).

ALOHA! I went to Hawai'i last week. It's meant to be an annual trip I call "The Big Wahoo In Oahu". Some of you would refer to it as a "boondoggle". Call it what you want, but visiting the islands is good for the soul. Life slows down here. It's meant to be an annual thing, but due to various family emergencies, I haven't been really making the trip annually. Put that down in the category of "you never know..". But I always look forward to going back when I can. This year I made it!!!

I visit my friend Mike and his gracious wife Etsuko in their cosey apartment off of Waikiki. They used to rent but are now buying their place which bodes well for the future of the Big Wahoo.
Here's a view of the backside of Waikiki and Diamondhead in the distance from their lanai (veranda):



I left my family at home to fend for themselves and I got on a plane. They think that somehow I am going to visit "my girlfriend in Hawai'i". All I can say is that the only one I shared a bed with is Mike's ancient but genki cat Itchy-san (ak "Grover"). Grover is 17? years old and a story in herself...
(pic)


My excuse to make this trip is to celebrate Mike's birthday, golf and watch the Pro Bowl. I'll tell you up front though, that those are all peripheral events to the main focus which is drinking (a lot), eating (a lot, and only the best), tobacco'ing (in any form) and visiting the Harbor Pub until all hours. For Mike's birthday, I brought him a bunch of t-shirts, calendars, toys, books and trinkets which will probably just fill up his apartment with unnecessary stuff. Sorry, Mike. The golf this year was played at beautiful Ko'Olina on the west coast of Oahu and Makaha on the northwest coast. Makaha is in a beautiful valley that also looks out over the ocean. We had beautiful weather all week and it was like paradise. My golfing really really sucks, but I couldn't care less. I played on a sprained ankle so that was my alibi - but really, I just suck at golf and probably always will. We played with David F. who shot a legitimate 82 at Makaha, which is pretty much the best round of golf I've ever witnessed in person, so that helps me understand how the game is supposed to be played. He consistently made some amazing putts while I consistently came up a foot short on a 3 foot "tap in".
(pic) - Mike, me and David (Pana o ka mele) at Makaha golf course. David took our money, but not as much as we blew at the 19th Hole here. Note to self - the 'poke' is good eatin'.

We also witnessed possibly the worst college basketball game of the 2009 season as UH Rainbows blew out the Fresno State Bulldogs. The score was 14-1 after 5 minutes...

The Pro Bowl this year is a somber tale to tell. Alas, after 30 years this could be the last Pro Bowl in Hawaii ever, and the locals here are clearly bummed. Tons of tourist dollars will be lost, as will one of my excuses to make the trip to Honolulu... Next year the NFL plans to hold the Pro Bowl in Miami the week *before* the Super Bowl, also in Miami. Go figure! This was shocking news to me as I arrived, but made me realize that 'nothing lasts forever', and I'm really glad I made it out this year - possibly the last. So this year Mike and I decided to forego the regular tailgate extravaganza and take Etsuko with us on TheBus (da city bus) to the game. After all, it's possibly her last chance to see it, too! This was probably a good thing for our overall health as well - giving us a break before the final assault at the Harbor Pub.


(pic) Me, Etsuko, Mike, 4 rows from the top of Aloha Stadium at the 2009 Pro Bowl. These seats turned out to be perfect because they were in the shade, near an exit with no lines for beer, and in the end zone where the mascots and cheerleaders did all of their special performances. Nice!


(pic) A view from our seats of the halftime show. "To make an apple pie from scratch, first you must create The Universe." - Carl Sagan

But as I mentioned, the rest of the time Mike and I spent drinking Budweiser at the Harbor Pub or elsewhere. We shared banter which shouldn't be repeated even if we could remember them, and we argued about public stuff like A-Roid, low carb diets, and the culpability of the greedy wall street stock brokers. This year we did less golfing (yeah, my ankle was still swollen and Mike had a touch of gout) so there was gratefully not much re-capping of the golf game. Here's an appropriately blurry pic of the scene of the crime (Harbor Pub entrance), near the IliKai Hotel (soon to be condos?), across the street from the yacht harbor.



One of the owners/managers of the Harbor Pub, Gabe, is also calling it quits this year and is moving back to the mainland. New Jersey, I think, where most of the core Pub folks are from, including Paul (Mr. Baseball). I was also sorry not to get to hear Jeff the bartender drill us with trivia questions and his NJ memories because of his unfinished dental work. Surely the end of an era at the Pub as well (and yes, I'll stop calling me Shirley!).

One huge highlight: The semi-famous 49er Knuckleheads did show up on cue at the Pub one night and did two excellent numbers, including their newest: "Don't Take Our Pro Bowl Awaaay!" sung to the Simon n Garfunkle tune of "Don't Take My Kodachrome Away". [I videotaped it on my new cell phone and was psyched to post it on YouTube for John and Augie, but alas, the audio (garbled) and video (too dark) quality basically suck and not worth posting. Major sigh and major opportunity missed due to poor technology. Note to self - bring *real* camera/video next time.]

So this year it was nice to get back in the Oahu saddle (grass skirt?) again, but it may never be the same again. A big MAHALO to Mike, Etsuko and Itchy-san for putting me up and putting up with me. (How bad do I really snore?).

It was a great escape, but the return to reality in Santa Cruz has been, as always, somewhat of a struggle. Everything Changes and Nothing Lasts Forever. I guess so.

PS:

Pic- Above, a lei-strewn statue of surfing legend Duke Kahanamoku on Waikiki beach. Note the tourists are everywhere. I guess if they make a bronze statue of you, then you might last quite a bit longer, but not forever. And I overheard a Japanese tour guide try to explain the plaque beneath the statue but he got all his facts mixed up and pretty much explained a purely fictional history of the Duke: "The Duke introduced Surfing to the Olympics! The Duke was an actor who starred as The Sherriff of Honolulu!". Click on the pic below and read the real tribute... He got it all wrong. But the Japanese tourists all nodded and took pictures and took it all in anyway. I didn't have the heart to correct - and embarrass - the poor guide. But yeah, you never really know...