As I was driving back home today from one of the cutest, quaintest neighborhoods in Hawaii and looking west toward downtown, I realized just how pretty Honolulu is. It of course helps that today the sky is impossibly blue. And by “impossibly” I mean that it has a weird depth and tonality that almost seem more like today’s sky comes courtesy of Sherwin-Williams. There is just one cloud visible where I’m sitting (outside, in the lana’i…. in my shorts….. hahahahahaha). It’s shaped like some sort of bizarre flying beagle. Snoopy, is that you?

So yes…. the highway was smooth… the sun was high… and the skyline looked imposing, modern and sexy. The pretty hills looking toward Diamond Head and the ocean were dotted with houses and patches of green. And it was so nice… just….. pleasant and pretty and comforting to know I’m here. There are many things I miss about my old little corner of the world. But then there are things like that are so fun. Like Kaimuki, which is this kind of quirky neighborhood. You wouldn’t really think that it’s all that great –many things around Honolulu where tourists aren’t totally expected often have a bit of a sad air of disrepair. As if shininess and prettiness were deterrents fo’ da locals, in a way. But if you look a little closer, you’ll realize that there is a method behind the madness: in many ways, in Hawai’i it’s always the inside that counts. If you walk around the neighborhood, all the things that looked a little shabby or desperately in need of a coat of paint are holding treasures inside. Some of my favorite treasures in Kaimuki:

The Calico Cat quilt store where you couldn’t fit another bolt of fabric if you wanted, but you would try anyway. They have such fun stuff!

Café Laufer has such good and hearty food, that it’s a sacrifice to order a small portion. But then dessert comes and you just have to have some…. oooh. The whipped cream alone is worth a trip.

3660 on the Rise (and the “Rise” is Wilhelmina Rise, or the street that intersects Wai’alae Avenue) is a happy dining experience. Happiness, however, is too tame a word when it comes to describe how delicious their taro bread rolls are. Happiness does not begin to compliment how nice the staff is. And happiness might be something you can feel when you realize that you need not pawn off anything to pay the bill.

Otay… enough for now. I have something grown-up to do.

28 Mar This entry was published on March 28, 2005 at 6:18 pm and is filed under Cicerone. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.