Between riding out to the Arizona (50ish miles round trip) and then over to Hanauma Bay (25ish miles) I’d say I’ve fulfilled my 20 mile requirement to claim Hawaii as a state I’ve ridden a bicycle through. ?That’s the 31st state I can claim and it’s the 19th state this year.
The Ride?was slated to go through 12 states. ?Now that I’ve got California and Hawaii we’re down to just ten more. ?The remaining ones I hope to get over the next two months are?NV, AZ, NM, TX, OK, AR, LA, MS, GA, and SC, for a total of 41.
For now:
Some things I saw while biking through Hawaii:
Gorgeous fauna:
What is with the wedding dresses? ?Someone should talk the men?out of that insane idea.
Maybe we can get Grandpa to give these guys the same advice he’s giving Duane:
The War Memorial. ?Which?war they didn’t quite say, so maybe it covers them all.
These folks in their very nice homes . . .
. . . have this view of the Pacific Ocean:
The problem though is in that little bag in the lower left hand corner of the picture. ?It’s a “Take One” kind of thing from a real estate agent. ?Before long, someone’s going to buy up this property and those kind people in the very expensive houses will still?be?in very expensive houses, but sans ocean view.
This very sweet lady, Tiffany, lives right across the street from the place I’m staying. ?I happened to be walking down the main road when she and her daughters came out of their driveway. ?She looked panicked and realized she’d left her credit card inside. ?I told her I’d watch the girls for a moment while she dashed back inside to get her card. ?(Great. ?Now I don’t even?look?dangerous. ?”Don’t worry, girls, he can’t run very fast and I’ll kick his ass. ?You’re safe.”)
I explained to her?The Ride. ?Tiffany?cautioned me to look out and wear my helmet as there were lots of immigrants driving and “they’re from places where they’re not big on rules.” ?I wonder if that’s what explains rotten Ohio drivers.
Her oldest daughter was quite decked out as that day was “Picture Day.” ?Tiffany opined that her daughter would probably sue mom in 18 years when mom started showing off the pictures. ?I said, “You already have pictures of her in her princess clothes on Facebook, right?” ?”You betcha,” Tiffany said.
Up at 5 this morning to find a laundromat. ?That sounds worse than it is until you realize my body is still functioning on Eastern ?Time Zone time which is six hours ahead. ?To me, 5AM was actually 11AM.
Gas prices here in Honolulu didn’t seem bad in comparison to California.
The Navy Exchange has diversified since my days in Uncle Sam’s Big Canoe Club.
I’m beginning to think the Hawaiian language:
Was invented by Porky Pig:
Dogs just pretty much live in the moment, don’t they? ?”Sure, Master, that sounds like a?dandy?idea.”
Oooooo, this feels good . . .
Almost as good as this tasted!
After Pearl Harbor I stopped in to make sure the Colonel was ok. ?He wasn’t. ?Or, maybe, he’s better than he’s been in years.
‘Cuz, I don’t recall Colonel Sanders having?black?facial hair and highlights around his ears. ?A little Grecian Formula, Harlan?
The path I took to get out to the?Arizona?took me along Hawaii’s Interstate H1. ?Living?underneath?the highway were an uncountable number of people.
Scenes like that went on for quite awhile. ?As did sections like this:
As I circled back around to Waikiki ?I was noticing the skyline. ?I got to wondering whether NYC, Los Angeles, or Honolulu had the most expensive real estate. ?I snapped this picture:
In the lower left of the picture is a campground with the homeless and their tents. ?Quite a contradiction with the expensive and immaculate buildings there in the background. ?There seemed to be homeless?everywhere?sleeping on any horizontal surface which happened to be close by.
This?required one damned long climb:
Couldn’t quite figure out what this ship was toting. ?Looked like huge radar assemblies.
Here was another ship carrying the same stuff getting underway:
Despite Porky Pig inventing the Hawaiian language, this word:
Is?exactly?what I said when I saw this jogger:
Well, that’s pretty much Hawaii . . . and it’s pretty much the end of my stalling in getting started across the United State on a bicycle. ?My flight leaves Honolulu tomorrow night at 10PM. ?I get into LAX at 6AM. ?I pick up the bike and get started Friday morning. ?My first stop will be in Racho Cucamonga, California.
Believe it or not, after all the months of planning, I am?still?not 100% sure how to get out of Los Angeles. ?It’s more than a little unnerving. ?I’d be lying if I told you I wasn’t gravely concerned?about it.
So long, Hawaii. ?It’s been fun.
Click on the picture before to see the Google Photo Album of Hawaii
