Returning to the Ninth Island of Hawaii

---

Although we faced dreadful heat and humidity, and our timeshare had no air conditioning, after four nights here it makes perfect sense. Only that first day and night was a problem, and we later learned that the timeshare owners preferred to keep their maintenance costs low and not have heating or air conditioning, knowing that it might cause some comfort issues three or four days per year. How lucky we were to hit one of those days! The normal trade winds keep things pleasant year-round. On the way to dinner the night before we got to see some of the surrounding area, very rural and very laid back. We crossed a one-lane bridge, and the sign advised that five to seven cars should cross in one direction, before changing for cars to go the other way, no lights or signal person, just common courtesy.

On our stay in Hawaii we learned that Hawaii comprises approximately 152 islands. The nine major islands are: Hawai’i (The Big Island), Maui (The Valley Isle), Kaho’olawe (The Target Isle), Lāna’i (The Pineapple Isle), O’ahu (The Gathering Place), Molaka’i (The Friendly Isle), Kaua’i (The Garden Isle or Green Island), Ni’hau (The Forbidden Isle) and Las Vegas (The Fantasy Isle). It seems that everywhere we went (and this happened on each island we visited) when we would answer Las Vegas for where we were from, they’d inevitably acknowledge approvingly, “Aah, the ninth Island of Hawaii.” The reason is that people from Hawaii in high numbers will choose Las Vegas as a place to vacation or a place to retire. My mother recently moved into what we jokingly call “The Home”, and we were surprised that there were a notable number of residents there from Hawaii. When she moved in, her neighbor was from Hawaii. Sharon also says there are quite a few Hawaiians who attend the church she goes to. Where would you suppose that Hawaii was listed, in a list of states with the most coastline miles? I’ll give you a hint: Alaska’s number one, followed by Florida and then California! That’s right, Hawaii is number four! And the Hawaiian alphabet has thirteen characters: five vowels, seven consonants, and the okina character. The okina (’) is used usually between vowels, and designates an audible pause between the letters. Can you figure out what the consonants are (the list of islands will give you all but one letter… but don’t consider that ninth island).

We were both sorry to be leaving Hawaii, a place one could easily spend more time; but, we were also happy to be going home. We didn’t need to rush to get to the airport, and we tidied up the timeshare, did the dishes, and took the garbage to the outdoor bins. And yes, I had to lug all that luggage down all those stairs; but, it was better than going up.

We topped the tank up with gas on the way to drop off the rental car. At this check-in the agent took detailed video of the car from many angles, and actually gave me a receipt. We were quite a bit early at the airport. After getting our bags checked by US Department of Agricultural for travelers to the US Mainland, getting their green tag of approval, then getting the airline tag, and going through the TSA-preCheck line we found ourselves with over two hours to kill. Sharon had checked online and found that there was a restaurant that served breakfast. We stopped at the only food place we could find and they seemed to be selling very expensive sandwiches and burgers. We asked about breakfast and were directed to the buffet/cafeteria. In that line, we found that we’d just missed breakfast, so we both decided on the burger. The burger here wasn’t as expensive as the Kobi Burger for $18 next door; but, was still pretty pricey at $16 for Sharon’s “Bun and Meat Only” order. Mine was a bit more adding Cheddar and Bacon; but, we spent over $40 for 2 burgers, 2 drinks and a cup of soup. I’m guessing these vendors have an in with the airport authority, because there are no fast food servers akin to McD’s here. Every airport did seem to have a Starbucks. Sharon proclaimed her burger tasteless. She asked me how mine was. “Well,” I said, “I can taste the cheese, and the pickles, and the red onion, and the bacon.” It almost makes you want to bring back that commercial “Where’s the Meat?”

As we waited for our flight home to board we reflected on who our most memorable person was, that we had met. We both agreed, it had to be the van driver to Hana. It wasn’t just his “Golf Buddy” story when we were passing one of the sugar cane baron mansions on the coast, and he mentioned that the guy living there was his golf buddy. I’m thinking it must be pretty sweet to have a golf buddy like that, because the green fees are in excess of $350 a round. The driver said, everyone like him to play with them, because if one of them shanks the ball or hits it in the water, he just says, “Aw, take another shot. Nobody’s looking.” And he brings plenty of golf balls when he plays. It was the stories of his family that were the most revealing about this easy going gentle man that found home in the Aloha lifestyle. Remember how he followed his wife to HA, a woman born to a Romanian father and an Israeli mother. Their son went off, playing professional rugby in South Africa and met a girl there whom he married. Another son went off to Israel, ostensibly to find a “Good Jewish girl” to please his mother; but, came home with a Palestinian. He talked of his plans to work just three more years; and, then he and his wife should be able to retire. He said his daughter married a red-neck. He notes that at family gathering at his home in Hana, it is an affair of diversity when everyone sits down at the table, not dissimilar to the diversity in Hawaii’s demographics. Hawaii has been a melting pot of cultures; and, today under 10% of the population can claim pure Hawaiian/Pacific Islander heritage. Forty percent of the population is Asian, mostly Japanese and Filipino. Just under 25% is white, 7% Hispanic and 2% Black. On the bus trip around Maui he had pointed out the considerable effort that had been made to build the many lava rock walls that lined to road in places, and presented a barrier to the coast. He commented, “Tell Trump that we’ve already started building ‘his’ wall.” Well, people certainly seemed to work things out in this paradise, and people from all walks of life do seem to be able to get along. It makes one think. On our bus tour around Honolulu the guide had mentioned that most of the land on Oahu is held by the government and three individual families: families that had their roots in the early missionaries that came to the islands. Our Hana van driver added that Hawaiian lands are held by five families; but, he elaborated. Two entire islands are almost entirely held by two individuals/families. Nihau was purchased by Elizabeth Sinclair for $10,000 in gold and intended to raise cattle on Lanai. The island has passed on to her descendants the Robinson Family. She had been considering a strip of land on Oahu which is known worldwide as Waikiki. How different Hawaii would be if that transaction had transpired. King Kamehameha III was not happy with the cultural changes that were happening to his beloved islands. It was his grandfather that had first unified all of the islands into one kingdom. So he stipulated in the sale of Nihau to the Scottish cattle baron, that the culture and lives of Hawaiians living on the island be undisturbed, for them, and any generations that follow, so long as a full-blooded Hawaiian remains on the island. Those who leave, may not return. And those from other islands may not come to Nihau; although, debate in Hawaii is seeking to change this. Only 100 native Hawaiians remain on the island, in a society that allows first cousins to marry, even this is making continuation of their culture problematic. The cattlemen were allowed to come to the island to do their ranching; but, nothing else. Even today, there is no electricity, no running water, and what concerned Sharon the most, no internet. And so, the island became known as “The Forbidden Island”. Larry Ellison, founder of Oracle, purchased 98% of Lanai in 2012 for about one-third of a billion dollars. He plans to spend another half billion dollars to improve the infrastructure of the island (which has no traffic lights one public high school; but, it does have three golf courses). Agriculture has been phased out as pineapple and cane sugar production has been phased out in favor of pursuing tourism. Sharon took a day tour to Lanai from Maui in 1984 and said it was just one large pineapple plantation with the workers who worked there but that it had some beautiful beaches.

Our flights home went smoothly, stopping briefly in Honolulu before continuing to Las Vegas. And the flight attendant did “Welcome, Everyone to Hawaii’s Ninth Island!” We arrived near midnight, and our neighbor Cathy had graciously offered to pick us up. We called her, and we got home in short order. One of the things that I’d wanted to do, was go body surfing in Hawaii. But it was not to be. But now that I’m home, and our pool has warmed up from 55 degrees Fahrenheit to 72 degrees, I’m thinking I just might go for a swim tomorrow.

Well that's the end to another trip but we'll be on the road again in about 2 months!

---