After a long time, we decided to get out of home and go somewhere. Our destination is Honolulu, Hawaii where once 40 years back I did my post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Hawaii. I had a friend still living there. Our youngest daughter made the whole plan. Accordingly, we started driving via Tennessee to Hot Springs, Arkansas. We stayed two nights in an igloo house in the nearby forest. It was an exciting experience living in a warm dome house for the three of us, where animals are vocal at night times. One morning we had brunch at a famous pancake shop in a Hot Springs.
We continued driving to Dallas, our eldest daughter’s home. We took an eight and half hour direct American Airlines flight to Honolulu airport, then an uber to my friend’s house. Indeed, we had a great reunion after 40 years.
In a seven-day stay in Honolulu, we made an exclusive tour of every tourist place. We have used mainly buses, and at times we called Uber. We visited many places including the Kualoa filming area, where hundreds of movie scenes were taken. We took the bus tour around the island, seeing the Polynesian cultural center, Dole pineapple field, different beaches including Waikiki – the world’s topmost beach for the tourists. Besides, the different islands’ representation and cultural shows are there free of costs.
If you are a fruits lover, you will find the best tasty fruits of all kinds in Hawaii. The tuna and salmon are plenty in your meals.
More importantly, the people are nice. The Uber drivers are gracious. Honolulu city is extremely clean.
While returning from Honolulu, we took a stopover in Los Angeles for two days. We went to the Hollywood sign area, and the celebrity signatures area.
I was really fascinated to visit the last bookstore. A real example of creativity. All the arts, designs, even sculptures were done using books, the largest bookstore of both new and old books in California. The 22,000 square-foot, two storied building included 250,000 books. In addition, there are collections of records of all kinds.
We then flew to Dallas on Christmas day. There was also one day, my daughter wanted to take me to gun practices. I said no way. I have written dozens of articles on gun control, plus I am scared too. She insisted. Finally, I went, and for the first time took a gun in my hand. I was amazed to see people of all ages practicing with different types of guns.
Though exhausted, I enjoyed the trip thoroughly.
Jiben Roy, a native of Bangladesh, teaches chemistry and pharmaceutical sciences at Mississippi University for Women. He writes occasional column in the Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
Jiben Roy, a native of Bangladesh, teaches chemistry and pharmaceutical sciences at Mississippi University for Women. His email address is [email protected].
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