Today Two Days

I’m sure everybody is gasping in shock that I didn’t update my blog yesterday. Sorry about that, but I didn’t get home till late and didn’t have a good opportunity to write anything down. I’ll try and make up for it today as best I can.

Yesterday was another low-key day around Honolulu. I talked for a bit on the phone with Megs, who is nearing the end of her stay in Venezuela and has really enjoyed her trip down there. It’s always funny talking to somebody that has or is studying abroad to me as its always interesting to hear what they enjoyed, what they’ve missed, and what they’re most looking forward to seeing/doing. Sure will be good to have her back in Minnesota when I return.

Anyway, like I was saying, yesterday was relatively low-key, mostly because it was raining most of the day, which made it hard to get out and enjoy the outdoors. We made an early grocery run and I dropped off the film from our scuba adventure to have it developed, which I will hopefully have tomorrow to share with people. The big excitement for the day was visiting with my long lost cousins Nick and Noah, two family members I have only met one other time in my conscious life and people I think about quite often. At around 4:30 PM we drove over to the west side of the island to Nick’s place and met up with our cousins and their families. I’m sure anybody that has had a family reunion with distant relatives (in my case geographical distance rather than distant relation) can relate to, things started out a little awkwardly for everybody, both because everybody was trying very hard and because nobody really knows how to act around people that they should know well, but don’t. After some lengthy discussion though, we all ended up getting along just fine and the evening progressed along very nicely.

Nick and Noah are always an interesting subject to me, primarily because of the fact that they are native Hawaiians, something that seems to undeniably separate them from the rest of us. This has always been rather puzzling to me, mostly because, when I think about it, they are as closely related to me as any of my other cousins, all of which I know very will and have spent considerable time with while I was growing up. It has always been a sore point with me that I don’t know them as well as my other cousins, both because I have been unable (until now) to really visit them as an adult and because, quite bluntly, I have always been uncertain whether or not they would even want to meet me if I did make the effort. It always feels as if they have turned their backs on the Wambach portion of their heritage and don’t want much to do with us, even though I sincerely doubt that’s the case and have absolutely no reason to think that. Just a vibe I get when they come up in conversation. The bottom line is that they are just as family as any of my other relatives and I am very glad to have finally seen them at a time when it meant something to me.

So that was yesterday. Today we decided to circumnavigate the island, something Tony, Nick and Noah’s father, recommended we do. To start with, we drove up the west (referred to here as “leeward”) side of the island, which is an area few tourists visit, and you can see why. There is very little to do on this portion of the island, a portion that is primarily dry and poor for the most part, which means, quite unsurprisingly, that it is the side of the island that houses the greatest number of Hawaiians. It sure does seem that everywhere we go, we have a way of turning the current occupants into second class citizens in a real hurry and without much mercy. Anyway, much of the land on the leeward side is controlled by the US military, which uses the lush, picturesque valleys of the area for bombing drills and war games, loudly proclaiming to all that drive by that admission is not allowed and that people should beware of explosives. Seems rather odd to be using a part of paradise to be doing this kind of activity. Isn’t there a chunk of North Dakota that could be blown to smithereens without anybody but the cattle noticing?

After making it to the end of the road on the leeward side, we headed back to Nancy’s to get some lunch and cold water before heading over to the east or “windward” side of the island to visit the Byodo-In, a Buddhist temple modeled after a 900 year old temple in Uji, Japan. To get there, we took the H3 east through the valley, passing through some cool tunnels and torrential downpours. The temple was really a sight to behold, nestled in against the cliff face shrouded in cloud and mist, a blazing red challenge to the somber countryside. We walked around the grounds for a good while, snapped a bunch of photos, then set off in the Honda Civic again, this time for the much famed North Shore. For those that don’t know, the North Shore of Oahu is the most famous surfing destination in the world, home of Waimea Beach, Sunset Beach, and the Banzai Pipeline, some of the most famous surfing breaks in the world. Unfortunately, it’s summer, which means that these winter surf bears are currently hibernating under the guise of serene snorkeling beaches.

The drive was pleasant though, hugging the coast all the way north, ducking through small towns and villas bursting with people at the beach. We rented some snorkel gear at a surf shop near Pupukea Beach and dived into the cove for a short bout of snorkeling before heading home. Snorkeling at Pupukea was great, with beautiful fish darting all about and interesting coral formations dotting the bottom. Finally, we headed for home, showered up, ate some dinner, and otherwise unwound from the day. Tomorrow I’m going windsurfing for the first time in my life, something I’m really looking forward to. Until tomorrow, aloha!