Coral from Honolulu and More

For Every Island a Stone by Wayne Dixon We decided to gather rocks from each island on our Polynesian tour. We started with Honolulu on Oahu. We had been here before but that was 36 years ago and now we’re back. We had celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary at that time and now we are celebrating our 53rd anniversary. Back in 1978 we stayed at the Reef Hotel. I remember it well because our travel company at that time had put us in the wrong hotel several blocks back from the beach in the “Don Ho.” We were dismayed at not seeing the ocean from our window which was blocked by beachfront hotels including our expected Reef Hotel. We walked several blocks down to the Reef Hotel and when we entered the lobby we located the manager’s office and proceeded up the stairs to an elegant view of the ocean. I bypassed the manager's desk to enjoy the view and informed her that this is what we had hoped for. Then we produced our documents indicating our original plan and explained that we had researched and chosen this hotel for the view. They complied with our request to be relocated. From our new room we could see the white sands of Waikiki. Now 36 years later we could not find the Reef Hotel in its remembered location. Meanwhile it had been renamed the Outrigger Reef Hotel and was not recognizable to us, much fancier now. However the white sands of Waikiki Beach remained the same and we now kicked off our shoes and put our toes in the ocean. This was enough to bring back memories from long before. We bent over to pick up our first souvenir stone which was actually a piece of coral. Our experience of Hawaii is much different this time partly due to our own preparation and the programs on board Holland America’s Statendam. One of our speakers is native Hawaiian and we can see Honolulu through his eyes for the first time. Long ago all we knew about Hawaii was getting off the plane and being given a lei on our way to Waikiki. We had spent most of our time on the beach although we had a rental car thanks to a free offer of listening to a sales pitch for a condominium. I can't help but laughing out loud remembering how nice the salesman was to us taking us to the condo and how rude he was returning us to the hotel at our insistence after not committing ourselves to a lifetime purchase. However now it's all different as we are based at the Honolulu pier from the ship and can make our own way on the transportation provided by the municipality of Honolulu for one dollar traveling anywhere with transfers as senior citizens and we made the most of it. One thing we had skipped on our first visit was the Bishop Museum. But now having read extensively the history of the Pacific Islands we made our way to see the archaeological and historical artifacts on display at this world-class facility. From there we went to the Mission House in downtown Honolulu where after visiting the original church and cemetary, we toured the homes of the first missionaries. We also visited the Army Museum for the World War II history displays. Some of our passengers were destined for the Arizona Memorial which was closed due to government shutdown. We had seen that on our first visit and remembered the solemnity of the time. For every island there are available tours for a fee of course but very worthwhile in terms of completing our visit to Oahu. Our chosen tour took us inside the Diamond Head crater which we had never seen close up. The guide explained that this is not a real crater but a windblown ash build-up in circular form. The top of Diamond Head is a circular hole with a world of its own hidden from those below. We had taken morning pictures of Diamond Head from the ship upon our early morning arrival including all the skyscrapers of Honolulu at sunrise. These were impressive enough but to see other parts of the island including beaches and shores added to the natural beauty to be seen on this island. Of course our ship would take us to other Hawaiian islands but they are stories of their own. I recently reached in my shirt pocket and it felt gritty like sugar. It evidently was sand shaken from the coral piece I’d brought from Waikiki. Upon our return to San Diego our guide there said she always sprinkle Coronado beach sand on her tuna sandwich to remember her childhood picnics there. I’ll settle for a few grains from Waikiki in my pocket.