It was Waikiki last night, after that strange event we call the Superbowl. I had a pretty good head of steam going- on the right side of history, of course- and enjoyed the drive down Rt. 99 past the airport and the industrial area around Sand Island, and the Aloha Tower Complex and the old downtown area (thinking about the wonders of Hotel Street) and past Ala Moana Park and into Waikiki itself, a fantasy industrialist Henry Kaiser built on Duke Kahanamoku’s childhood home after the war.

I found a place to part on the campus of the Hale Koa- “House of the Warrior”- and dismounted to make the last stretch to the restaurant on foot.

Mac’s family was hosting a dinner at Orchid. Possibly as a result of some unwarranted exuberance during the game- what is up with that Seahawks call on the one-yard line, anyway?- I only had my cell camera, and just two pictures really came out. But you can get the sense of the view.

Orchid is in the Halekulani Hotel- the famous “House Without a Key.”

It was under restoration for much of my time here, back in the 1980s. Orchid is housed in what is left of one of the first permanent structures on Waikiki, which had been a private home. The complex begins at the entrance off Lewers Street, where two massive stone Mahiole, or sculptures, each weighing seven tons, that represent the feather helmet once worn by Hawaiian royalty.

Overlooking the ocean, we overlooked a Hawaiian quartet which was serenading the guests at the pool. Framing everything was the century-old kiawe tree which defines the property. Its long, slender branches provide a canopy of shade, and illustrate the Hawaiian meaning of kiawe, “to sway.”

Different versions of the tree’s origins exist, which is true about everything in the lovely islands. One of the more credible comes from an old letter that contains the recollections of Florence Hall, a haole lady who was born in 1884 in a building that stood near today’s House Without A Key. She was about three years old when her father, William Wisner Hall, planted a tiny kiawe sapling held securely by a bamboo stake in the yard facing the ocean. At this time, the yard extended an additional 30 feet toward the ocean, and beyond that, there was another 25 feet of sandy beach.

Owners and guests gathered regularly to discuss events of the day under the tree, and the writer Earl Derr Biggers would meet with the owner Clifford Kimball, and Chang Apana, a detective of the Honolulu Police Department. Apana’s stories were so captivating and colorful that they inspired Biggers to create the character Charlie Chan.

(Werner Oland as Charlie Chan. Picture Warner Brosthers).

The first novel in the series was entitled House Without a Key, and it became the inspiration for dozens of books and movies starring Swedish American actor Walter Oland as the Chinese Detective. It actually makes a lot of sense when you consider the weird mélange of people and culture in the Islands.

Even more famous was something they talked about under the shade of the kiawe tree- the coup d’etat staged by the white planters in 1893 that overthrew the Kamehamaha Dynasty’s ruling Queen Lilio’kulani. The planters were supported by a landing party from the protected cruiser USS Boston, and it something some people would prefer not to remember and others can’t stop talking about.

(Bluejackets of the U.S.S. Boston occupying Arlington Hotel grounds during overthrow of Queen Liliuo’kalani. Photo Hawaiian State Archives).

Anyway, we could never afford to stay there- when we waited for base housing, or were preparing to depart, or the little houses were being tented and fumigated, we would wind up in the Hale Koa (a military R&R facility) or in the Ali’i Tower up the street at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, which had the government contract for transient housing.

Anyway, it was a superb dinner at Orchid with excellent wine, following a very strong mai tai, and then the Usual Suspects showed up for a nightcap.

There was nothing historic about this, nothing symbolic of tradition or change or anything like it. It just was about some really great people who came a long way to relive some of the places we all shared at one time or another, and of shared service that happened to have included places like Waikiki.

And great food and service in a grand restaurant.

What a marvelous trip.

I think I will go to the North Shore this afternoon, cross the Dole plantation pineapple fields and roll into lovely little Haleiwa and just look at the water.

Ad maybe have another mai tai.

Copyright 2015 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com
twitter: @jayare303