Dim Sum

This time Laura went walking with Auntie Annette and I lounged around. We were waiting for my cousin Scott who had called the night before. He has been in Hawaii for a couple of months and has been meaning to visit, so this was a good excuse to finally stop by. Every time I think of Scott, I smile. He was a big friendly open-hearted doofus as a kid. When he walked in the door, we could see right away that he was still the same person as a grown man. Sweet, sometimes unlucky, but basically a glass-full guy, which is the opposite of his youngest brother.

Scott, Laura, Annette, Hana

We had planned to go to Punchbowl (the National Cemetery of the Pacific, analogous to Arlington Cemetery) in the morning, so we said goodbye to Scotty and set off. On our way there, he called me and said he was going that way to pick up a ladder in Manoa anyway, and could he come with us. Of course! My slow brain had completely forgotten that we were going to visit this father's grave. Auntie Annette knew where the graves were, so we went directly first to Aquim (our cousin who died when he was 17) and then to Vern and Sue (Scott's parents). Punchbowl is a beautiful memorial park inside of a crater, with a view of Honolulu and a fascinating memorial made up of a series of mosaic panels that tell the story of the battles of the Pacific. Jon and I go there just about every time we come to Hawaii. Many years ago we attended the funeral of my great-uncle Raymond there and saw a 21 gun salute for the first time. (It is 7 guns fired absolutely simultaneously, three times. Does everyone else know that already?)

The headstones are all flat to the ground which preserves the contours of the crater. (Laura Cooper)

The first (of, maybe 16) mosaic gives an overview of the whole WW II Pacific campaign, with the rest giving an detail of important battles of both WW II and Korea. (LC)

Next stop, the appointment that the entire day was built around, was Dim Sum lunch in Chinatown with Babe and Arlene. We arrived right on time, found Babe sitting at a big round table in the corner with Uncle Freddy and two old friends. He kept telling the servers that we would wait until Auntie Arlene came (she was shopping) and when she arrived, it was obvious that there was no other way. She made choices and declined offers without a moment's hesitation, filling the table with an array of dumplings that she thought we would like. When my mother comes in a few weeks, the table will be filled with far more adventurous choices. Jon was very happy to learn about another way to make an Asian salad dressing that was on their favorite cucumber dish. Future potlucks will benefit. We ate everything, eventually. So delicious. We bemoaned the loss of good Chinese restaurants in our area -- Arlene said this is Hong Kong style and it takes a population of Hong Kong Chinese to support restaurants like this.

Hana, Babe, Annette, Ralph. (LC)

Freddie, Arlene, server, Juju. (LC)

After lunch, Annette came with Laura and Jon and me on our afternoon drive around a part of the island. We went up the Pali Highway and stopped at the overlook (another of my favorites, looking down over the windward side, Kaneohe Bay) and read the signs again about how Kamehameha united the islands under one ruler with the battle that happened on this cliff. I finally, finally understood that the defending army was pushed over the cliff from the top side. For years I had been imagining warriors climbing up that sheer mountainside with spears in their teeth, being pummeled by cannon balls. This makes much more sense now. We also speculated about how President Obama spends his time on the island and how disruptive it might be to this traffic-clogged place, and we decided he must spend most of the time golfing right near the base, away from the tourist centers.

It is a short trip down the mountain to the windward coast and we quickly were in Waimanalo, which is still considered "the country" -- horse ranches, banana plantations, farmland tucked up against the mountain. And the beach has white sand, nice small waves and not many people. This was our kids' favorite beach because it has both sand and waves and nothing icky under the surface of the water. 

Waimanalo Beach. This is Hawaii. (LC)

Those who haven't been to Hawaii might not have experienced the easy access to beaches that exists here. Beaches have bathrooms, changing rooms and showers all open to the public. They are concrete structures, open air. It is so civilized. You don't have to live anywhere near the beach to "go beach." You don't have to spend the day in your swim suit. The showers are outside, four heads, very simple plumbing (often just a pipe without a shower head) on a piece of concrete. And there are picnic tables! Again, I am spoiled for life. A beach without those amenities is not much of a beach to me.

We played in the waves and then we went for shave ice. We go to Kennecke's out of loyalty but not because that's the best. It's got some serious longevity, that place, even though it is right on the road and there are always flies. I do hate flies.

Lychee. (LC)

Shave Ice can be a picnic. (LC)

Jon really likes big waves so we went back to Sandy Beach to watch people and watch the guys boogie boarding. I took a nap in the car while the others sat on the beach and studied the surfing techniques. Like everything else, that takes hours and hours of practice. Plus no fear. My days of playing in those waves are over, but Jon is determined to go back in the water. I didn't let him go in when we had little kids but now I don't have that leverage any more. He and Laura decided, after a half an hour of watching closely, that they could imagine playing in those waves. Not the ones by the rocks but the ones closer to shore.

Sandy Beach. Next time we'll go in.

We had leftovers for dinner because the refrigerator is overflowing. I don't think they usually do it the way Laura and I set it up (took everything out and put it on the table for easy selection) -- Auntie Annette looked a little taken aback by the amount of food on the table. Most of it had accumulated since we arrived...

It was a Dim Sum day, picking and choosing from an array of excellent options. The weather was perfect. We had family time, delicious food, visits to areas of regional interest, shave ice and two beaches. A little bit greedy but so good.