Day 7:

We are repacking this morning and will board the ship later today.  As we leave the island of Oahu, a look back at the week.

Oahu and especially the City of Honolulu is very commercial.  All the large companies have buildings at the ports to receive shipped in goods; Cargill, Land O' Lakes, Coca Cola, Miller Beer, Budweiser, etc.  Then there is Lewers Street with all the top end stores and labels.

The traffic is horrendous! Yesterday there was a "suspicious package" a block down from the condo.  The alert brought out, I swear, every policeman in the city.  Traffic was stopped on Waikiki for 4 - 5 hours.  Can you imagine sitting in a car that long?

The Japanese presence is everywhere.  The culture is engrained in almost everything even at fast food were rice is the favorite side over french fries.  We visited a large Japanese market, very similar to Sam's or Cosco.  I am guessing that it is very like what you might see in Japan.  All Japanese language with a few English signs.  We could recognize items by the packaging like Kit Kat bars.  I guess if you don't read Japanese you are not in the right store.

Visitors from the US are far outnumbered by Pacific Rim countries, Europe, Canada and Australia.

The young people that have grown up in the islands want to move to the mainland for jobs.  We talked with several servers and bartenders that had gone to college on the mainland then moved back home but are not able to find jobs.  We talked for a long time with a young man that had attended UND flight school and is still in line waiting for a pilot opportunity on the island.  Also, from our BWW friends, they had found jobs in Seattle and were moving on to the mainland.  Hawaii is not paradise for everyone.  Many homeless on the streets and parks.

A few of my favorite things: