America Through My Eyes – THE HONOLULU – OAHU ISLAND PART -2

America Through My Eyes

THE HONOLULU – OAHU ISLAND PART -2

Telugu Original : Dr K.Geeta 

English Translation: V.Vijaya Kumar

Diamond Head Monument: After returning from a morning snorkeling tour in Honolulu and feeling tired, there were two places on our list of must-sees during our two days in Honolulu that day. The first one was the Diamond Head Monument. The tip of a volcano that erupted two million years ago. And the second one is the World War II first military base of America in Hawaii. We reached the Diamond Head area around four to five in the evening. There were two to three sheds adjacent to the car parking. When a truck selling soft ice, hot dogs, and pretzels was seen next to it, the children ran towards it. We felt like eating ice cream as we landed in the warm weather.

          After eating the ice cream, they climbed the tree next to them and started playing as if they were in a park. It would take us an hour to go up and down the hill.

          When I saw the trees and grass around me, I wanted to sleep comfortably for a while under a shady tree. Siri started pampering me to pick her up, as she was reluctant to walk.

          I laid down under a tree like a traveler and told Satya and Varu to go. I felt like I had to go anyway when they showed those photos after they had come back. The island of Hawaii, which can be seen magnificently in the background of streams of clouds, the houses like dolls on the mountains, and the wide sea, covered with the light of the waves tinted like light blue fringed sari, looked awesome.

          When I was relaxing under the tree, I felt that though we have everything in America, missing this type of comfortable, warm environment was a great disadvantage. The thought made me silly at the same time. Should I come to Hawaii to sleep under a tree? And who would watch Siri if I fell asleep in Bhagavan Vishnu’s posture? Moreover, this girl is hyperactive and ready to flee when we are absent-minded. So I decided to tell a story. The story of the seven fish that we always enjoyed finished in five minutes. As soon as the story finished she ran out again. I put her on a branch of the tree where we were relaxing. But she wanted to jump down in just two minutes.

          When I felt it was no longer useful, I tied my purse belt around her and plucked her some leaves and branches to play with. By then, the game started steadily. I leaned against her and closed my eyes. When Satya and Varu came back they started laughing at me. Siri embellished the leaves on my head and plugged the sticks into my hair.

          That was the game being played so consistently and diligently by Siri all the while. Yet I felt greatly relaxed after that short nap and all the tiredness of the morning was gone.

Manoa Falls: The next place was Manoa Falls, which we started at sunset as it was the nearest to the city outskirts. One has to take the Manoa Falls Trail and trek up the mountains from the park below.

          The entire atmosphere changed as soon as we crossed the houses and roads when we entered the thick forest area.

          Suddenly the clouds became dark and started raining. The rain on the Big Island already made us acquainted with it for the previous three days, so we parked the car and went ahead not caring about the rain.

          There was a resort near the car park. From there we walked on a narrow road to the entrance of the park adjacent to the falls. We saw two women and a baby of about Siri’s age walking past us, and we followed them, expecting more people inside. But later we realized that we were the only ones there. The children climbed the pile of gravel near the entrance and took photos. Those we saw at the gate had already left.

          Beyond that turn, we came across another turn, and the normal road ended there and a narrow hill path started. Due to the rain, it was swampy. We each took a stick with one hand so as not to slip. Luckily, Siri started to walk with a piece of stick, enjoying the rain. 

          After walking half an hour ahead, darkness enveloped due to the thick surrounding bushy thickets and vines, and the path suddenly became invisible. But the place was very beautiful. The ground was glittering with fallen pink wildflowers. The rain falling on the leaves sounded like Gandharva ganam.

          There was no one behind or ahead of us. The children got very tired and started asking how far it was. Satya led us forward to the edge of the Falls. We didn’t have a torch light. Whenever the rain stopped, we moved forward with our cell phone torch. I started getting scared. Luckily women who had gone ahead of us met us on their way back. I asked them how far we have to walk. They said that they couldn’t trace it even though they walked forward for another quarter of an hour from where we were, so they were getting back. And the women hinted that due to the falling of night, even if we reach there, we may not watch the waterfall for another hour. I decided to turn back. Satya and the children followed. On the way back, I started chatting to forget the weariness of walking.

          One of them came from Argentina, South America. She said that she was a partner in the leather business there. When she said Argentina, I recalled Che Guevara. Another one was her friend. She was running a house cleaning organization in Los Angeles. She had a daughter with her who screamed at short intervals all of a sudden. Soon Siri started crying in chorus, delaying our walk.

          I could understand their Spanish accent well, so I continued to chat with them using Spanish words. Along the way, we saw a couple going up. The male categorically stated a light show was arranged at the waterfall on the hill. I nodded my head that we didn’t know and also said to him that we were getting back without seeing the falls. He grinned, amused, “If I said a light show was there, at least some people may follow me so that I can go there more confidently. I like to see the falls in the dark.”

          The girl, along with that guy, remarked, “Don’t mind his words…he talks in such a funny way!”

          I smiled at them and said, “Good luck!”

          Varu exclaimed, “Mom! How could you talk with strangers in such a way? Don’t you be hesitant?”

          Satya looked at us with a smile and said, “You should also try. You should learn not to be scared to converse with strangers.” They went ahead and I felt I would have said goodbye to them at least before they disappeared. A good experience. I remembered the song of Indraganti Srikanta Sharma, “Adavi daari malupullo adari chusi konda thirigi kona thirigi gusagusalade…”

Dinner: By the time we reached the car park, it was dark, and everyone was hungry. Satya googled and said that somewhere in the town food trucks were selling food. We reached there in another half hour. While coming, we enjoyed the city of Honolulu, beautifully lit up from above the hilly road.

          We reached the place where food from all countries was found in trucks. It was not like an exhibition but only a place with food trucks. As usual, we stopped by the Indian truck and got biryani, paneer butter masala, and rotis and had our hearty meal. The funny thing was it rained in the hills but not a drop in the city. The clothes were dried in half an hour. We bought some crepes from a truck from Germany and boiled cornflakes from Mexico.

          By the time we reached the hotel, it was midnight. We brought only a few clothes from home because of air travel. Children fell asleep no sooner than they came. We washed our clothes in the hotel laundry. It would take forty-five minutes to wash and another forty-five minutes to dry. So we got back to walk outside for that waiting time.

ABC Stores: There were stores with the name ABC at every street corner on Beach Road in Honolulu and it was surprising to see that there was one for each signal post. It was learned later that ABC means “All Blocks Covered.” In the first half of the nineteenth century, Sidney Kosasa, a Japanese national, pioneered this Idea of chain stores. The first store was originally named “Mr. K.” Later, they became ABC stores. It was no exaggeration to say that there were 37 stores within a one-and-a-half-mile radius in the Waikiki area. The stores that started selling liquor, in the beginning, had now become famous for selling everything. With the cheap goods available, the stores were crowded with people. We bought some chocolates for the children and the Hawaiian symbol of Deva Ganneru flower ornaments. I wore them funnily and posed like Shakuntaladevi.

Seaside: After washing the first spell, we came back, changed the clothes into the dryer, and went out again. This time we walked towards the seashore. Strangely enough, there were no torrents of sea tides. Probably because of the shallow waves there.

          We took photos before a tall statue on the beach decorated with many garlands. The nine-foot bronze statue was “Duke Kahanamoku” who was born in 1890 and won Olympic medals for Hawaii in surfing. The Kanoa Club was also founded in his name.

          When we were taking photos, a security guard patrolling there offered a few garlands. Pilgrims garland the statue every day. After midnight they were thrown away. The guard offered the garlands as many as the visitors wished to take.

          I took four to five for us and the kids. I love Deva Gunneru flowers with their sweet fragrance. Like those many tourists, we also wore garlands and went around just for fun.

          Even after they were worn out, we brought them home and kept them long. Pleasant sea breeze, beautiful flowers on the soft warm shore! I truly felt like I was in heaven in Honolulu.

          We spent time chatting on the coast, sitting on a roadside couch. I still perceive before my eyes those most incredible moments of the entire journey even after this long time.

*****

(to be continued)