Passing In Review

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Passing In Review was Originally Posted on September 29, 2013 by

There is an interesting thing that happens when you move to the islands. You become part of the scenery that people report on. While I have never been mentioned specifically (that guy did this or that), still, I’m there by reference.

When I moved here I decided to take it easy. I was tired of the “rat race”, the commuting, the stuck in traffic events. I have learned to be less stressful and will wait patiently in line while the person ahead of me chats with the checkout person. In Costco, Walmart or the supermarket, it is not unusual to see lots of people shopping on Saturday night. They have arrived from the mainland (you can tell because they are pasty-white) and need food for their condo or timeshare. A family may be toting new snorkel items and a travel book, a ton of water (they don’t know our water is quite clean and probably better than theirs at home). Still they think they are in a foreign country with sub-standard water I guess.

So if I see a family like this heading to the checkout, I often dawdle a bit and let them go ahead of me. After all, they are on a timetable. They are in a hurry. I don’t understand why because this is SUPPOSED to be a vacation, not a race.

I give this real-life example I overheard on one of my trips back to Hawaii. The father was looking at a checklist of some sort and telling the family, “OK, Monday at 10 AM we will be going in the submarine, then lunch, we can walk through town a bit and be at the snorkel beach by 2pm. At 5 we have to get ready for the luau…” and I guess you get the point. Every move the family was making during the trip was orchestrated and timed. Where was the spontaneity? Where was the vacation?

So I see reviews of a popular restaurant. Most people report good food and relaxing atmosphere. yet you will see in the midst of 4.5 out of 5 reviews, a 1 rating because the waitress ignored us and we were in a hurry. I too go to that restaurant and if I’m in a hurry, I would tell the waitress and that would alert her to stop back more often. Just because someone is on a vacation and in a hurry does not necessarily meant everybody knows that.

I have seen people go to a restaurant and talk over the local Hawaiian artist who is playing nearby. They may think it is Muzak but the guy playing may very well be a Grammy Award Nominated musician and they are missing a real (and free) treat. As a local (resident) now, I won’t embarrass the person by trying to explain why nobody else is talking, I’ll just strain more to try to hear the magic.

So if you read a review about a place out here, take it with a grain of salt. Some people have different expectations. If you read that all the locals go there, it means, we found a place where people appreciate what is offered and perhaps are hiding from the visitors :-)