Family Time at the North Shore

Overpriced shrimp plates, horse flies, wild chickens
underfoot: gotta love the tourist experience.

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I've done the North Shore drive several times in the past ten years, but only if family members request it. When traveling alone, I'm content to spend my time at the family digs near Waikiki. From 2018:

Is the shrimp truck experience worth the trip to Haleiwa? Maybe once, but unless I’m playing tour guide I wouldn’t go up there again, and certainly not on a weekend.

Commitments to oneself are easily broken. With many first-timers here for the 100th-birthday celebration, we agreed to meet them at Giovanni's Shrimp Truck in Kahuku around 1 p.m. on a Sunday.

Arriving from disparate morning activities, all four parties managed to find parking in the general area. After lunch and surprisingly pleasant conversations with interlocutors born after the moon landings, Vietnam, and Watergate, I was done with tourist-ing for the day.

Family time is enjoyed like a good meal: in small bites.

Sandwiches on Saturday and Sunday

The six volunteers--Janis, Elliott, Daniel, Valerie, Mary and Elliott Jr. (the latter two not in the picture)--gathered at the Parish Hall on Saturday to assemble the sandwiches and drop them in the brown bags.

It took 90 minutes from start to clean-up, a little longer than usual. Janis advised us that we were not slathering on enough peanut butter and jelly.

Previously we had been making the layers too thin; in other words we were too skimpy on the Skippy, and now we had a real PB&J.

I took the 80 brown bags to the Fair Oaks Community Center on Sunday. About 40 people were in line. They were happy that more diners had not showed up because each was now able to receive two bags and two bottles of water.

Deborah Orler from Hearts for Humanity drove up in her van and passed out more bags to the clientele. She then sped off to other food-distribution centers on the Peninsula.

Within half an hour everything was given away, and I packed up the empty containers. Setting aside a portion for tomorrow is normally a virtue, but not for Sandwiches on Sunday.

Liliha Bakery, the Original

The family had had breakfast at the Liliha Bakery expansion sites on the Nimitz Highway and the International Market Place, but they had never dined at the original Liliha Bakery on Kuakini Street. Having never eaten there myself, I wasn't 100% sure that a restaurant was even at that location until we drove there on a Thursday.

We arrived at noon and waited for three seats to open at the counter (top left). After 30 minutes, and several parties of two leap-frogging ahead of us, one waitress asked if we would like a table in the back. Well, that's a pleasant surprise. Sure.

Through the double doors were three small tables next to bakery operations (top right). A few feet away were racks of pastries and pies. No one was looking; we could easily have snitched a few items, but your humble blogger is imbued with the highest ethical standards.

I ordered a loco moco on fried rice. The hamburger patty was seared perfectly on the outside, and done to a tender medium-rare on the inside. The gravy was flavorful but not salty, and its texture was neither too-thick nor too-watery.

The verdict was unanimous: the expansion locations had more seating and modern décor, but the original restaurant had the best food. It's worth the trip if one has the time.

Recovery Confirmed

Returning to the Bay Area, I went to Costco to buy the ingredients for the sandwich assembly tomorrow.

However, I did take a moment to stop at the Spam display to celebrate the sale. Hormel and Costco used to have a semi-annual promotion, which stopped in March, 2019. After a 3½-year hiatus the markdowns resumed last October . There had not been a sale this year, and I feared that the spam recovery signal was false.

Not to worry, the sale is back on in July, and all is right with the world.

Foster City's Day in the Sun

Our sleepy suburb has received recognition in the local fishwrap (Herb Caen's term for his employer, the Chronicle):

Foster City, a small commuter town in San Mateo County of approximately 34,000, is the most expensive rental market in the Bay Area, according to the latest Apartment List data as of June 2023. Nestled along the bay coast, Foster City is known for its quality schools and near-absence of violent crime (the city has recorded just two homicides since 2010).

It may be boring to live here, but at my age I like boring, and apparently many renters agree.

Between the Cracks

My brothers and I have areas of responsibility (e.g., paying bills, gardening, taking out the trash) for Mom's property, but items often fall between the cracks. When we arrived in Honolulu, the weeds had been sprouting for some time in the car ports and asphalt walkway.

On the second day I applied Roundup to every spot where green shouldn't have been. Because Roundup's glyphosate is a possible carcinogen, I wore gloves, a mask, and goggles. After one week the chemical had done the trick (before and after photos above).

There were a few other minor items that I took care of, but none detracted from our vacation.

Cute Kid

After picking up a morning coffee near the International Market Place I sat in the circular garden dedicated to Queen Emma.

A family of seven stopped to play. From their clothes and accessories, but more noticeably their self-assuredness they exuded an aura of wealth. The lady was a beautiful blonde, tanned and athletic. If I had not seen her kids I would not have believed that she was a mother five times over.

The father, who was about the same age, chased after the boy, 5, while the mother looked after her toddler daughter. The two eldest and the baby they left alone.

I was particularly amused by the baby. His head turning rapidly, he would assess his surroundings, then crawl to another spot and repeat the process. At intervals he would take a bite out of the malasada that he held tightly in his left hand. His parents clearly weren't worried about him ingesting harmful bacteria or rolling around on the heavily trafficked artificial turf.

They probably weren't Americans. and that was too bad.

Cooler Than It Ever Was

(WSJ illustration)

Nearly 30 years my junior and living a third of a world away, writer Aatish Taseer and I were deprived of air-conditioning during our respective childhoods. As adults we both appreciate AC and can't get enough of it:

I remember seeing a car air-conditioner for the first time....After years of long car journeys, in which a hot desert wind called the Loo blew through open windows, leaving us desiccated as pieces of smoked ham, it felt almost sinful to be cool in a car...

There is something magical about the effect of air conditioning in a hot country, letting those who can afford it enjoy the dignity of going about their day without being made wretched by the heat.

When I visit Hawaii I stay at my parents' now-air-conditioned house and use their air-conditioned car. Having a place to cool off after a sun-filled, sweaty day of activity makes for a pleasant vacation indeed.

Charity Isn't Easy

Your humble blogger has helped with local food programs for 20 years. They are much cheaper to operate than government programs, which screen for need and regulate food safety. (These are tradeoffs that even the most ardent private-charity advocates will acknowledge.)

Two other factors: the charity people will say that volunteers are more motivated than government workers who are in it for a paycheck, while the regulatory-minded point to the costs to the surrounding areas from an influx of charity-seekers. Both elements are visible in the food distribution program run by St. Augustine-by-the-Sea in the heart of Waikiki. [bold added]

[Honolulu Mayor Rick] Blangiardi said the administration’s latest public safety effort in Waikiki goes back to the summer of 2021 when he brought his entire Cabinet to walk the district to hear the concerns of retailers and hotel owners. One of the hot spots identified during the walk and in later meetings with Waikiki stakeholders, he said, was St. Augustine, where groups of homeless people were camping outside of the church, which is across from the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort and Spa and near residential housing.

The mayor said he approached Akiona in June 2022 and was told that the church needed help because it had been overwhelmed by people who were urinating and defecating in the shrubbery, taunting parishioners and doing other bad things.

Blangiardi said the chief of police and several other officers accompanied him to the meeting to provide support for the church. He said the city took responsibility for the sidewalks around St. Augustine, but noted that a criminal element persisted.

Adding security and keeping out the criminal element raise the cost prohibitively if the charity has to absorb it.

Old Favorite in a New Place

View of the wait list from our comfortable table

Early in the trip we hoofed across the Ala Wai Canal to have breakfast.

No longer do we amble about aimlessly hoping to stumble across an unknown (to us) gem; simply typing "breakfast" and "Waikiki" into Yelp produced dozens of candidates.

We picked a small eaterie ¾ of a mile away. People standing for a table spilled onto the sidewalk, and it looked like an hour's wait. Unfortunately tourists have Yelp, too.

Creature of habit: I had the same breakfast in 2018.

No more wandering: it was 80 degrees and humid, and we settled on the new Liliha Bakery on the third floor of the International Market Place, a mile away. The Liliha Bakery on Nimitz was a favorite, and we were optimistic that the food and ambience (and air conditioning!) in the Waikiki branch was up to that standard.

Having to wait 20 minutes, we were not disappointed. All dishes were proclaimed excellent, and the morning was rescued.

He Captured a Feeling

The first time I heard Tony Bennett's signature song was on the radio, just after the first time I visited San Francisco.

Millions of Americans knew that it was a classic the first time they heard it, and it captured a feeling that remains to this day despite the City's current problems.

Thanks for the memories, Mr. Bennett.

Unappetizing Beginning

Looks like chicken (gizzards)

One of the running jokes in our family is how my Caucasian brother-in-law, who grew up eating beef and potatoes, has taken a long time to become acclimated to Asian cuisine. His problem is not so much the spices and flavors but the parts of the animals used in the dishes; when visiting Hawaii he has been taken by surprise more than once.

He let his guard down this week at the popular Side Street Inn near Waikiki. Offered a deep-fried appetizer, he tore into it with gusto...until it was revealed that he was consuming chicken gizzards.

By coincidence we were invited to dinner at the same restaurant tonight. Now eager to try the gizzards, we ordered a plate. To be honest, they were just so-so. The crust was excellent--crispy and not oily--but the insides were a little chewy.

Gizzards are tough and muscular, and I like to simmer them for an hour in garlic, ginger, and soy sauce. My brother-in-law was right to turn to the salads and beef and fish dishes, which were tasty and well-prepared. But I'm not going to admit it to him.

Point of View

Diamond Head rises sharply from the Waikiki flatlands.

While the rest of the family was at the Waikiki Aquarium, I walked around Kapiolani Park. I have walked in and through the Park to get to the Zoo or family picnics but never took the time to stop and smell the coconuts.

Few people were around today, a few joggers and parents pushing strollers. Gone were the long see-saws and high swings made of rusty iron that creaked when I played on them. They were bigger and more dangerous than the playground apparatus in my own neighborhood, but danger is what made Kapiolani Park fun to five-year-olds who were lightly supervised back in the day.

I didn't make it around the entire circumference because the family was done at the Aquarium in 45 minutes. It was time for a late lunch at Rainbow Drive-In, less than a mile away off Kapahulu Avenue. In the contest between burning and consuming calories on this trip, I'm losing...or winning, depending on one's point of view.

Collateral Benefits

At least they got rid of the termites.

When fire ravages a house, there sometimes is collateral damage to other properties. In the case of my sister-in-law, who lives across the street from a burnt-out home in Kailua, there are collateral benefits.

An episode of Magnum P.I. had a scene with a burning house, and the neighbor's misfortune had a silver lining. The husk was needed by the TV show--flames to be added later through special effects--and Magnum will help defray some of her out-of-pocket costs for the rebuild.

A lot of work for a hole in the ground.

The collateral benefits? A plot point had a character burying something nearby, so my sister-in-law was paid $2,000 to shoot the scene on her property.

The production dug the hole, filled it later, and re-sodded the surface in addition to clearing some weeds. My brother-in-law says the area looks better than before.

Although Magnum has been cancelled by NBC, their house is now frozen in time as long as Magnum P.I. reruns are shown.

Related: another relative's house was used regularly in Hawaii Five-0. 

Helen, Going Strong at 100

I first met Helen 55 years ago. At the time she was 45, so yes, she turns 100 this year, which happens to be today.

She's remarkable. She is able to walk up and down the 50 stairs to her house from the street level every day. She is fully engaged in conversation and even remembers everyone's names.

She didn't want a big celebration, and her daughters agreed. They scheduled three events, each consisting of 15-30 people so Helen could spend time with each person. On Saturday there was a barbecue at one daughter's house. Today was a two-table luncheon at a restaurant in the Chinatown Cultural Plaza. On Wednesday there will be another luncheon with people coming from the Mainland.

We're exhausted, but she's going strong.