I’m trying to arrange ukulele lessons while in Waikiki, but it is really difficult with all of the covid restrictions. I had arranged some lessons with Roy Sakuma Studios, but they were canceled because of Covid. Yesterday, I approached The Ukulele Store in Waikiki because they advertise free lessons. However, they have discontinued them due to covid. The shop owner was very appologetic and directed me to Ukulele Hale in Kaimuki. I am waiting on a call-back from them, but due t the caution that is so evident in Hawaii, I am not holding onto much hope. I actually have a nagging fear that the Kahumoku workshop at the end of this month will be canceled. I hope that’s not so, but I can’t shake the fear.
I do applaud the Hawaiian’s attempts to mitigate the virus. You cannot go into any indoor public space without a mask. We cannot leave our condo without a mask. I carry a mask with me on my morning walks and put it on whenever I approach someone else on the street, just as I did in the early days of the pandemic. Most people on the streets are also wearing masks. Mask-wearers can even be found on the beaches. The state has made great efforts to educate people about masks and covid with signs everywhere, even painted on sidewalks. Hawaii has a lot to lose, so they need to cautious. There would be no place to send sick people if the hospitals fill up. Because of the efforts, the infection rate is less than half of Texas’s. I am going to hate to go bak to Texas when this trip is over. By September, I expect the virus to be burning through Texas like a California wildfire.
Music: We have tickets for two performances at the Blue Note. On Sunday, they are having a slack-key guitar festival with some top Hawaiian performers. The week after will be ukulele virtuoso Taimane. Yesterday evening we caught Blaine Kia & Kalei Kahalewai known as KAMANAWA performing free at Waikiki Beachwalk. Also performing hula were members of Blaine’s family.
Kaimana Beach, near our condo, is home to a monk seal who has taken up residence there. She shows up every morning before six and leaves about sunset to hunt and forage. She gave birth to a pup a few months ago. The pup has now left on his own. This same seal has shown up here for several years. Monk seals re protected, so whenever she shows (whenever any seal shops up on any beach) an alert is sent out and volunteers appear to rope off the sand for her and shoo people away. I heard a story that a honeymoon couple recently came across a seal. The bride went to pet it and the seal became aggressive. I think the bride might have slapped the seal. The groom got it all on video and, stupidly, posted it to social media. Now the honeymooners are facing tens of thousands of dollars in fines. Nice way to start off a marriage.
We got ourselves bus passes. The wait was nearly two hours because so many people wanted to purchase them. The passes cost $6 each and are good for a month. Now that we have them, we can go anywhere on Oahu.
I had forgotten how easy it is to get anywhere by walking in Honolulu. This morning, I walked the length of the. Ala Wai Canal to McCully street, which took me out of Waikiki. From there, I walked up to King Street through the Mo’ili’ili area. The small homes there looked just as I remembered from forty years ago. The only change is the market at King and Algoroba is gone. Bob Heath’s Nomos Institute was located in a tiny office above the market when I worked for him as a graduate assistant from ‘77 to ‘79. The University Federal Credit Union next door to where the market was has had a facelift as has the Jack In The Box on the corner, but nothing else has changed. From there I walked to University and King Streets, where Kinko’s was located as was Moose Magillycuddy’s where we hung out after classes at UH. The Moose has moved to Lewers St. in Waikiki. I don’t know where Kinko’s moved to. From there, I walked down University to Iolani School, around the school on a nice jogging path that took me to Kapahulu and back to Kapiolani Park. Total distance: 7 miles, time: about 2 hours.
Saw this sign on a restaurant on King Street and am really curious what they serve. Tempura BBQ?:
Out condo is next door to the Outrigger Canoe Club. Most people recognize the Outrigger as the Kamehameha Club run by Larry Mannetti on the old Magnum PI. From our window we can look down on the club’s sand volleyball courts. The club shares a beach with our condo. Yesterday we were on the beach and met Kawika and Eric Shoji, two members of the US men’s volleyball team who had just returned from Japan. They, of course, are buddies with our nephew Murphy, who won bronze with the team in Rio.
Hawaiian Noir 