We stayed at the same hotel as last year, but it was a rather different experience. We were spoiled because last year's room was on the corner near the top of the old wing, and we had a full view in both directions, unblocked by any other buildings. This year we were in a "partial ocean view" which basically means you had to lean off your balcony to see the ocean. We also could see the city, which was quite lovely, also noisy, and had a extensive view of approximately 200 balconies on the next hotel some of which we would rather have not seen! Not to mention they could see us, too.

telephoto of dawn beach

The view toward the beach (upper right corner)

We were supposed to get an upgrade but we were so eager to jump into the sea that we couldn't wait, took what they offered, 15th floor, lone king-sized bed and all, and got a rollaway added. It was very comfortable, despite longish waits for the elevator, frustrating t.v. remote control,  and occasionally less than helpful desk staff. We only ate one dinner and one breakfast at the hotel -- the a la carte menu made us feel financially challenged ($40 for a steak, $12 for added green beans, $10 for a potato, $3 for mustard!), but we did enjoy quite a few equally expensive drinks and appetizers on the terrace after swimming, at least until we discovered Happy Hours at other hotels and restaurants nearby!

the view from the rockers

Our second favorite outdoor spot was on the rockers on the porch facing Kalakaua Street. We could watch all the Japanese brides get into their limosenes, eat takeaway breakfast from the ABC store, and check out the passing surfers and shoppers, and of, course, wait for our shuttles to arrive. This is the only place we saw that offered rockers!

We checked out other hotel rooms, and may look nearby next year. It's a real tradeoff -- we could stay longer if we were wiling to walk (or lean out) farther!

The Moana is the middle tower, directly across form the farther moored boat, but our room is obscured by the next hotel. This was taken from the top of the Sheraton, three hotels down.

"Our" beach

Hawaii collage

 Back from our trip to Hawaii and playing with some of the photos. I don't know which format to use yet or how to get the shots from my iPhone onto the computer.

In: decision

The day I put Greg in the care home I decided to get a new bed. That was more than three years ago. A couple of springs were sticking up through the mattress cover, and the less said about stains, the better. I switched over to the inflatable guest bed--quite comfortable, actually, but the cats didn't care for it, and I didn't really trust their claws near it. On really sleepless nights, I sacked out in the recliner. I read articles on the internet about mattress-buying tips, I tested out mattresses at Macy's, and I watched the ads. But I just couldn't make the actual decision. Did I want another queen-sized bed, even though I had been sleeping in less than half of it? A full-sized bed? A twin? Firm, plush, pillow-topped, innerspring, foam, temperpedic? Prices varied by a factor of ten. Too much choice and a sense that I had to make the perfect choice completely paralyzed me. Then one day (today in fact) I decided to decide and live with the decision for awhile, but change my mind if it turned out to be the wrong choice. What a concept! My new bed will be delivered Wednesday. They'll haul the old one away. That's what I really wanted!

I went to see the new movie People Like Us, with some apprehension, since I knew it was about a death in the family and secrets revealed. I started out disliking most of the characters, but ended up being quite touched. I read it was based on the life of the writer/producer. I also just finished reading Sarah's Key, also about family secrets and things people would like to forget. It made me wonder what a movie about my own family's secrets might be like: mental illness? bigamy? (see my June 10 blog). What actors would play my great-grandparents? Of course it would depend on what the real story was!

Grudges

I was talking a couple of my closest friends the other day and the topic of grudges came up. I have a couple of them I just can't seem to let go of, and I need to figure out why and wherefore and how to neutralize them. One is against Greg's former church whose name I shall not mention here, but you know who you are! Greg was an atheist, but he loved church music and gave many hours of his life to church choirs and also composed music that was performed in church. He sang as long as he could coax his voice out, and didn't let the Parkinson's tremors stop him. He had what we considered to be friends in the choir, some of whom came over frequently to play ping-pong with him. Our kids went to Sunday School there and Matt's Boy Scout Troop met there and did his Eagle project there. After Greg was unable to sing in the choir, he was too sad to attend church. I ran into one of the church stalwarts after Greg had to go into a care facility, so I know they knew he was there. I know it is very difficult to see a person in a dementia-care place. But no one, not even the minister or deacon ever even offered to visit him there.  When I called the church to tell them of his death, I was asked if I wanted a funeral service there, and when I said no, was reminded that he wasn't really a member anyway. One couple came to the memorial I held at my home (announced in the newspaper). Not a single word or note from a single other person there. It makes me cry to even write this. I don't know what causes all this emotion. I guess it is expectations unmet. Maybe there is some guilt that I didn't reach out. I hear about other people's churches who are caring and supportive, and I just feel bad! I don't want to feel this way anymore.  (Grudge #2 in an upcoming blog, perhaps.)