Travelling again - part two

Thanks to the gentle encouragement (“Yes, you can get on a plane”) of dear friends Kathy and Michael I’m in Hawaii. 

Let me stress Kathy & Michael do not obsessively wear masks. In fact, they’re using them less and less. They’re only wearing these masks because they were made by another dear friend in Toronto and sent with me as gifts. Largely their mask wearing, as is mine, is now restricted to supermarkets, crowded indoor malls and the like. But when need, they like stylish masks!

Kathy & Michael live away from the tourist madhouse of central Waikiki in a neighbourhood near Diamond Head. This picture was taken from a nearby school.

What picture of Waikiki hasn’t included Diamond Head?

Kathy & Michael’s balcony - a lanai in Hawaiian - is where we eat …

… and drink Big Wave, product of an island brewery.

It's described (by the brewery) as ‘a lighter-bodied golden ale with a tropical hop aroma and flavor—smooth, easy drinking, and refreshing. The use of caramel malt contributes to the golden hue of this beer, and our special blend of hops provides a bright, quenching finish that makes it a struggle to not grab another one.’ Doesn’t take much to please me. I’ll have another, thanks.

Big Wave’s splendid outrigger logo adorns a nearby bar.

Which nicely leads into this outrigger photo taken from the balcony …

… and another while having breakfast. A white tern takes flight as Matson’s Matsonia departs Honolulu.

After all my time at sea, much of it on freighters, I am still intrigued by ships. Name and home port? What's its cargo? Where from and where bound? Memories of a late 1940s, early 50s childhood, enviously watching ships arrive and depart Vancouver.

Matsonia, launched in 2020, is the workaday successor to when Hawaii’s Matson was a storied passenger line, long before mass cruising.

In the late 50s and 60s the S.S. Matsonia was said to be ‘One of the smartest, most beautifully appointed vessels afloat. Completely air-conditioned. Spacious and distinctively designed public rooms and staterooms. The finest in sea-travel luxury. Frequent sailings between San Francisco, Los Angeles and Honolulu’.

Now, no ‘all First Class’ passengers, but space for more than three thousand containers and five hundred cars. 

Day’s end and, as an aircraft departs Honolulu Airport, dinner on the balcony.