あけましておめでとう！Happy new year everyone. I spent my Christmas in the USA, where my brother now lives, with my family and met my nephew for the first time. My nephew is lovely and full of character but like most 9 months old takes a lot of looking after. His daily routine is much like a panda's - he spends more than 80% of the time sleeping and eating. I look forward to seeing him grow up.
My brother lives near Austin, Texas. You can't fly there directly from Japan so you have to transit somewhere. I decided to turn this into an opportunity and on the way back had a two day stopover in Hawaii.
On the first day I went to Pearl Harbor. It was a very interesting site and they have fitting memorials to the people that died there and during the Second World War. I have now seen WW2 sites on four continents now (Tunisia, the beaches of Normandy, Hiroshima and Nagasaki and now Pearl Harbor) and always struggle to comprehend the scale, physically and historically, of these events and how much they shaped the world as it is now.
I followed that by a walk through downtown Honolulu and Waikiki beach. The influence of various immigrant communities, not least the Japanese, is very noticeable and makes it a nice place to explore. Waikiki beach is full of tourists and yet very beautiful inspite of all of the souvenir shops, etc.
My second day I hired a rental car and drove around Oahu island. I didn't reserve so the only car available was a Jeep SUV. It was massive and a beast to drive. I just about got to grips driving it and set off driving around the coast. Along the way numerous places are signposted as "Scenic points" though you could park your car just about anywhere on the coast and have a lovely view. I made my way clockwise around the island taking in the views and I stopped for a swim. In the afternoon I hoped to go to the North Shore and Kaena Point which I am told is the prime spot for whale and sea turtle spotting. However, the US President was also on holiday in Hawaii at the same time and on that particular day at the same time he went to the North Shore. Shortly before the start of the hiking trail to Kaena Point the secret service blocked the road and I was told to turn my car around. Disappointed I headed back and passed the presidents motorcade.
There were about 10 police cars, 5 blacked out SUV's, 2 blacked out limousines and an ambulance. I can't imagine living with that level of security all the time. It was a shame I couldn't go to the North Shore though I understand why President Obama has so much security. He didn't really ruin my Christmas. Truthfully I had a great time and hope you had a happy Christmas too.
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