I spent 7 years on Oahu, most of them in Waikiki (someone’s got to live there!), and nearly married a Portagee Kaneohe boy. I still miss the place (I left 8 years ago nearly), but I can afford it here. If you stop by the bell tower at St. Andrew’s Cathedral when they’re practicing, tell them Howorth said hello and will make it back one of these years.
Osiris, is there still a vacant lot on Liliuokalani Avenue where they tore down cheap apartments during the Waikiki building ban? I was involved with Waikiki Tenants United at the time, and before I left, I really wanted to hang a sign on it reading “Fasi Park” in honor of our mayor. Also, are there still a couple of 2 story modified shacks on Ohua and Ala Wai? I used to live in one of them.
Yup, and it’s there. A couple of years ago they brought in the pile driver drove in about 30 piles and stopped. Sigh. The one just a little west of that we just got a notice that sometime within the next 6 years they want to build a parking lot there.
But that’s not the worst of it. For the past 4 years we’ve been hearing about cleaning up the canal. They were going to do it in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002. Nothing has come of it yet. They ran some environmental tests early last year that’s the last I heard of that. They bought some boat/crane to dredge it but the job requirements were rediculous, how many Engineer, Water something or other double majors are there? Not many, it’s never been used. They were going to close down the Ala Wai Golf Course, which I’m all for. I thought they should go further, make 1/2 half a park, move the zoo onto another 1/4 and make the last 1/4 wetlands, dig out the rest of the canal as planned 70 years ago so it will stay clean. But that’s the last we heard of that. Golfers are against it and the rest of the people too complacent. But they have done tons of stuff beach side. They gave 1 lane of Kalakaua to the beach, put up rock structures, and ponds and fountains. They run a nightly hula show on the beach. Friday and Saturday they have a Sunset on the Beach celebration where they show a movie and have food and stuff. The military REALLy did up Fort DeRussy real nice. Huge open spaces fo nice green grass. But at the corner of Saratoga and Kalakaua they’ve bulldozed the quaint little space there and are building … wait for it … another shopping center. Sigh.
The two Starbuckses in Ward seem to rely entirely on local clientele. Amazing, isn’t it? It seems to be most popular with college/older high school kids who want someplace to study :cough cough: and socialize. There are very few tourists in the area, and the ones I do see aren’t Japanese.
For those who haven’t been back in a while:
There’s a Pier 1 at Ward (which sports a neato 16-plex theaters complex), and Macy’s has taken over Liberty House. Neiman Marcus is in town. And did I mention that Ala Moana has 3 levels now? They’ve got a Bubba Gump’s and California Pizza Kitchen up there, Lenscrafters… Eddie Bauer, Abercrombie’s Bitch, and a three-story Gap. Ward has Buca di Beppo, Dave & Busters, Gaucho Grill, Jamba Juice… I think that’s it.
Figures. It was while they were razing the site that I wound up on the evening news with a guitar around my neck singing a protest song (tune is the ubiquitous Battle Hymn of the Republic:
Forget Jelly’s – how’s Zippy’s doing? Can you still get spaghetti plate lunch wit 2 scoops rice? Also, I can’t remember the name of it now, but it was in one of Hawaii’s weekly independent newspapers that I first came across The Straight Dope. I missed the column when I moved, which lead to buying the books, which lead to finding the website, which lead to coming to these boards which has lead to all sorts of interesting vices.
CJ
Rule of thumb from tourism (applies to figuring out discounts): If you can say “kama’aina”, you are one. If you know you’re supposed to say it but can’t pronounce it, you’re military. If you don’t know about it, you’re tourist. If you say “local”, why are you calling a dinner cruise company?
Zippy’s is doing fine. And yes, you can get rice with spaghetti. I still don’t know why one would do so, though I know for a fact that AudreyK has the mentality down.
On a side note, packing sucks. Trying to get rid of random crap is worse. Anybody want to buy books, CDs, Sony MiniDisc players, an N64, porn, wind chimes, tower speakers, or various knickknacks, just let me know… :sigh:
Oooh, goood. (The major thing I have against Starbucks is that they charge too much for their stuff. I make better coffee/espresso at home, and it’s a lot cheaper and faster…)
reads over list of new things
reads again
How on earth is the economy supporting all that?
(to KK)
MiniDisc players? Ooo! Which ones? (I’m thinking about upgrading from the one I have…)
Ooh, my favorite is the chili spaghetti with two scoops rice. I eat the chili and rice, then scarf the spaghetti down with whatever sauce is left. Don’t forget there is a scoop of mac salad with that.
KK, serious? Books? Are you and AudreyK going to have a garage sale?
I used to live in Hawaii as a kid (a lot of my dad’s family live there his grandparents having immigrated from Okinawa lo’ these many years ago). Went to Maukalani elementary school on Oahu until I was in third grade before this hapa haole moved to the mainland.
<sigh> It’s been a long time since I’ve been back. They still sell those tasty Hot Malasadas?
Yup, but they’ve improved them. You can now by malasadas with stuff inside them like chocolate pudding and other things. Actually I just like the plain malasadas best.
mmmmmmm… malasadas…
And they have haupia filled malasadas as well as chocolate… I could just eat them till I explode…
Don’t even get me started on Ted’s haupia chocolate macadamia pies…drool
Oh, God, now we’re getting into food. . . I can’t find decent lau-lau to save my life on the mainland (there’s frozen stuff at asian groceries, but it’s so bad that my pork-worshipping husband didn’t LIKE it) and I can’t convince anyone that the loco moco is the perfect food. And no one knows what the hell I’m talking about when I ask if they’ve ever seen guava-cake around. And fresh lychee, man. I miss shave-ice. I miss decent bento.
Now it is May Day and it doesn’t mean anything in Santa Barbara and I am homesick in an odd way. Maybe I need a drink. . .
She’s not, but I am, me being very much a stuff accumulation whore. Email me if you want to take a look sometime between now and the ninth (today’s date is what?!? :eek: ).
Where is this? Leonards? 'Cause they sure didn’t have them at the Punahou carnival…
Oh, and I’m down for a (the first, correct?) Hawaii DopeFest, if it’s at all possible. And me being the chauffeur, I can guarantee that AudreyK makes it too.
Yup, but there not as good as you may think. Unless the fact I was underwhelmed is that I had already eaten a half dozen. But there are other varieties.
I’ll also go. I guess whatever was thought of isn’t too bad. The A bus goes pretty quickly. I just can’t stay too late. My e-mail is public so let’s do it!
