Wednesday morning was another early one – more shopping at the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet. VIP Shuttle was picking me up at 8:00 a.m. All of the shuttle drivers that I’ve ever had from VIP are super sweet. Most of the shuttle drivers from the other companies are that way, too, but the ones from VIP Shuttle seem particularly happy. Skylar, a handsome Hawaiian-Portuguese man, was my driver on Wednesday. Rather than putting me in the back with the other tourists, Skylar opened the front door and let me ride shotgun. Actually, the tourists in the back that morning were all Aussies on their way to the airport; I was the only one going to the Swap Meet. Although he was pointing out things along the way and cracking a few jokes once in awhile, there was dead silence in the back. Once he’d dropped all of them off at the airport and it was just us, I laughed “That was a pretty quiet group this morning!” He said that they were probably tired. The two of us had an animated conversation, though. He told me about the cocoa puffs from Liliha Bakery (which it was my intention to try on this trip), that Ruger Market was a great place to buy poke, as well as that his preferred poke would have extra limu, extra chili and extra kukui nut. When I mentioned having gone to Foodland for poke, he said that I should ask his friend that works there, Arthur, to make poke for me the way that he makes it for Skylar. Once we arrived at the Swap Meet, he took me through the regular driving entrance that locals go through. I explained that most of the shuttles dropped their passengers off at the side by the trees, which the ticket taker explained to him as well. Skylar hadn’t known ’cause he’d never dropped anyone off at the Swap Meet before and he’d only recently started working for VIP Shuttle. My shopping mission for the morning was to find the matching earrings for some of the pendants that I’d bought on Saturday, as well as a couple of Aloha shirts. It didn’t take long. Back at the hotel, I still got in some sunbathing time by the pool.
In the afternoon, I went to the Pegge Hopper Gallery in Chinatown. I’d gone by on Monday, but it was closed that day. Pegge Hopper was born in Oakland, studied drawing and painting in Los Angeles, then worked in both New York and Milan. She moved to Honolulu in 1963 and opened this gallery in 1983. Her work is largely Polynesian-inspired, and I’ve always admired it. The woman working in the gallery that afternoon assured me that it was fine to take photos. Thus, I took photos of nearly every piece of art in there! I ordered a print of her newest painting, though it will take about 3 weeks or more to have it made, signed and shipped.
Lin’s Lei Shop was my next stop for a plumeria lei and an orchid lei. Then I walked to Long’s Drug Stores at the Fort Street Mall and picked up some Anahola Mango Ginger Granola; it’s cheaper at Long’s than it is at any of the ABC Stores!
My late lunch/early dinner was at Cheeseburger Waikiki, close to my hotel. Since it was Happy Hour, I had a Maui Mai Tai ($5.00) and a Blue Banana Cheeseburger ($12.99). I’m not usually one for tropical cocktails, so didn’t finish the Mai Tai, though it was sweet and a little strong. The Blue Banana Cheeseburger came with banana peppers and blue cheese. Although their burgers don’t usually come with fries, they gave me complimentary fries because it was National Hamburger Day or something. Fine with me! Good burger, huge… didn’t finish it! Service is really nice, but rather slow. I had enough time to drop my things off at the hotel and wander down to the beach to catch the sunset.
The Mai Tai Bar at The Royal Hawaiian Hotel saw me again on Wednesday night. There were plenty of empty seats at the bar. After I’d had a few drinks, an elderly gentleman scoped out the bar and immediately grabbed a seat next to me. David, who’s originally from London, was the most alert 76-year old that I’ve ever met. He’d first come to Hawaii in 1982, spent the next several years visiting as frequently as possible, then finally moved to Hawaii in 1989. Since then, he’d never left the Island. At one point, he’d mentioned having been married and that, if he’d stayed married, he would have been married 50 years by now. His wife had moved with him to Hawaii, they separated, she lived with someone else, she married someone else (who passed away), she moved back in with him for awhile, then moved back to England. David thought I was about 35. I was flattered, but merely said that I was a little older than that! He asked if I was a “cougar.” Well, I suppose so, since all of my relationships/romantic involvements/lovers seem to be anywhere from 5 to (don’t judge me) 20 years younger! He asked how old I thought he was. Based on the info about his marriage, I said that he must be a minimum of 70. That’s when he confirmed that he’s 76. He’s a regular at several bars in Waikiki, lives near the Academy of Arts downtown and works at a printers. In fact, he normally has to be at work at 5:00 a.m., so this was getting to be past his bedtime! Even one of the bartenders commented on that! I was about to head back to my hotel, so the bartender brought both of our bills. David picked up mine by mistake, to which I pointed out that his was the other one. He gave me my bill back, looked at his bill, then grabbed my bill again and insisted on paying it. As we walked out together, he looked absolutely joyous! He wanted to show me a few of his favorite bars. One is a poolside bar at the Embassy Suites (I believe it was), above The Yard House. That’s a place I intend to frequent in the future. Then he wanted to stop for another drink at Roy’s, so we did. He was recognized there and chatted up by the bartender. When it was time for the bill, his bill was NADA! He tipped generously, though. He asked my plans, which were to walk back to my hotel. Originally, he was going to take the bus back to his place, but decided to walk me to my hotel instead. We had a pleasant walk; it was a nice night. The only awkwardness was when he furtively tried to grab my hand and sort of brushed up against me a few times. I played it off and simply moved away, not wanting to make a big deal out of anything. He delivered me safely to my hotel and bid me “good night.” End of story. Older men are definitely not my type, but he had quite the personality and is probably quite the player when it comes to women in their 60’s and up!
