Last night, David and I met my wonderful blog friend, Denise, and her husband, Gregg, at The Willows Restaurant in Honolulu. This was our second meeting since dining with them in Washington, DC, in August 2013. They are celebrating their 40th anniversary here and will be flying to Kauai after Christmas.
Gregg, Denise, me, and David:
Denise was born and raised in England. She met Gregg there when he was in the US Navy, and before you knew it, they got married and are now living in Virginia. If you would like to visit Denise’s delightful blog, do click on her name on my blog roll.
Suffice it to say, they simply love Hawaii. It’s their fifth trip here.
When I returned to Hawaii in 1975, after living abroad for seven years, it took me several years before I could get used to the slow rhythm of island life. Gone were the exciting concerts, musicals, ballet, and operas of New York City. Yes, Hawaii seemed so provincial.
It’s gotten better. David and I attend 12 symphony concerts and 3 operas per year. This is the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra:
Now, it’s 2015, forty years later, and I won’t consider living anywhere else. I love being able to step outside the house without a coat and gloves and not slipping on icy sidewalks.
This is my driveway, after the rain yesterday. Do you see us shoveling snow?
Above all, I enjoy spending time with my family. Friends are fine, but family is what makes life worth living. I wish our daughter, Lisa, would move back to Hawaii. Then our family would be complete.
This is a photo of my family, taken at The Willows Restaurant in 2012 before Lisa left for graduate school in Nevada (me, David, Lisa, Rylan, Maria, Julia, and Grant):
Ah, well, such is life. You take the good with the bad. It’s been windy and raining lately, but it’s still Hawaii, and many people would love to live here. They call it paradise, and I agree.
gigi-hawaii 
December 20, 2015 at 5:40 am |
Kids follow thir own paths. She may be back.
December 20, 2015 at 5:58 am |
It’s very definitely beautiful there, Gigi. I’m so glad you are enjoying Hawaii so much. I love my Pacific Northwest just as much! 🙂
December 20, 2015 at 8:16 am |
Good to see you and David with Dense and Gregg. I enjoyed meeting with both of you when you visited here. I doubt I will ever return to Hawaii. It was nice for a while, but I suffered from isand sickness although I stayed very busy.
While I lived there I saw a play or two including The Teahouse of the August Moon with James Shigata, visited many places including the Foster Botanical Gardens, Paradise Park, the Bishop Museum, and the Honolulu Art Museum. We attended a couple of Marine Corps Balls and did other military related things. We also went hiking a lot, once along the trail that runs on the mountain ridge above the Likilike Highway. I camped in the mountains on the windward side with fellow Girl Scout leaders and with my GS troop at Hunama Bay where I know you and David liked to Scuba dive.
We took the kids to the “interntional cultural center” where all the various Pacific Islander traditions were on display and also visited the Shinyo Temple on the windward side. We ate and ate our way around the island.
We saw Jack Lord one day (he was filming Hawaii-5-0) and watched the filming of Toro Toro, Toro, which was quite exciting as they reenected the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Later we drove up to Schofield airbase and saw the Zeros they used in the film. (I understand several bases and posts were closed under the BRAC Act.) We lived in base housing on Pearl Harbor and had a fabulous view of Hickham and the harbor so we saw the planes leaving with troops and returning with casualties from Vietnam. The flights went on day and night for months. (We lived there in 1968 and 1969. I visited again in 1970 when I met my husband on R&R)
We saw the USS Missouri when she visited on her way to Vietnam and the USS Enterprise when she limped into port after a fire. We saw the Hornet (?) bring the crew of Apollo 11 into port and unload them and many other things. bravo Pier was my favorite spot to visit. The shipd are wonderful.
My best friend over there was my GS co-leader, a Phillipina gal married to a native Hawaiian (Kamemeha school grads and as you know they are very rare.) We visited them and they us. I have a photo of her I might scan someday.
I could go on, but these are a few of the highlights. I enjoyed my time there, but like most places it has its pros and cons. I think the best place I ever lived was San Diego, CA but I’m prejudiced because my son lives there today.
December 20, 2015 at 8:35 am |
We had a wonderful time with you and David last night. This will be the highlight of our holiday and we look forward to the next time. The wind and rain is also part of our holiday. It stops long enough for our site-seeing and we are in our favorite vacation destination and feel right at home. Another wonderful post. I wish you both all good things in life and A Very Happy Holiday to you, David and your sweet family 🙂
December 20, 2015 at 10:39 am |
It is a pleasure to meet a blogger friend of Denise’s, whose blog I’ve been reading for a long time now. She and her husband are wonderful people, though I’ve yet to meet them in person. It is really something special when we have an opportunity to meet our fellow blogger friends in person! I was reading your “about” page just now and it would really be a small world if you know an old friend who moved to Hawaii in 1975 and never came back to California! He also has published some books, about Hawaii. Here is his link: http://www.companieswekeep.com/author.html In any case, Mele Kelikimaka to you and yours, and I am glad to have found a new blog to read.
December 20, 2015 at 3:21 pm |
I have visited Hawaii in the late 60’s and I did not want to return to San Diego California..I got to stay with a dear friend for about a month in between starting a new job..It was and I can only imagine paradise still..The culture and the people and the sea oh, my goodness sakes alive, it was very casual and silent and wonderful..I was on Maui at a home that to me was like a mansion, it was secluded and my friend and her family treated me like a queen,they treated all others like queens and kings..Oh, it has changed a lot but the people and the sea is the same..I think everyone should have family like the people from Hawaii, in the mainland it is all about money and greed and running around to get the money..We own our tiny home the people who live across the street are cold and materialistic they work all the time and never have anytime for their marriage and they have tons of dogs and cats to boot! They espouse religion but are unkind and uncaring and run after money, second marriage no less for each of them..The lady has a grown son I saw more of him and he was nice than both of the parents, his stepfather would always lament he couldn’t wait for the boy not his mind you to grow up get a job and leave his home!!!!!!!! What a fellow! Enjoy your paradise not all people think like you and your hubs do, I have always maintained that the blood you come from is thicker than money or possessions and so does my hubs of nearly 42 years!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
December 20, 2015 at 3:34 pm |
We’ll be glad to see our daughters and grandchildren this Christmas. They’ll be here on Monday and will stay until New Years. They all love Hawaii.
December 20, 2015 at 4:24 pm |
It’s a good thing when we are happy with where we live. i am too.
December 20, 2015 at 7:21 pm |
Hawaii IS paradise. So great you got together with your blog friend.
December 21, 2015 at 2:59 am |
I think the secret to life is to be happy with what you have and where you are.
December 21, 2015 at 12:19 pm |
Well, right now I’m as green as Hawaii, despite the gray skies out my window … only, I’m green with envy!
December 22, 2015 at 5:55 pm |
How wonderful when people connect, Gigi. We also have been fortunate to meet Denise and Gregg and they are lovely folks.