While everyone else heads to the Honolulu Zoo, I’m visiting The Ukulele Site’s new Honolulu location in the Kaka’ako neighborhood. So far this hasn’t gone as planned. Got here on the bus just fine. The website says the store opens at 10 a.m. It does not. It opens at 11 o’clock, and I’m 45 minutes early. There’s not much around other than coffee, food and car lots. So, I’m hanging out waiting for someone to show.
The shop has opened, and there’s a new wrinkle. I talked to the manager last week and he was going to print out the list of ukuleles I want to test drive, bring a few down from the North Shore shop if necessary, and let Eli know I’m coming. There is no list, and Eli has no idea who I am. Ha! I’m a little surprised because the customer service is always great. That said, most of their sales come from online, and they are probably busy. So, whatever. I did bring in my own list, and the ukes I most want to try are here.
After an impressive bout of indecisiveness, I’ve picked a really nice Kala solid wood instrument. It’s an exclusive Kala built for The Ukulele Site, and the concept was born in a Mexican restaurant in Wahiawa. (That makes me laugh.) The idea was to create an affordable all wood instrument. No fancy appointments or binding, but it’s a solid spruce top with a solid mahogany body and an ebony fretboard. The contrasts are striking. The sustain is long and the volume loud. With spruce being a soft wood the ukulele will sound better with age, and it sounds great now. This is a step up from my Islander, which is acacia laminate. Both will be used quite a bit back on the mainland. I’m having the Kala set up with a low G string.
Eli not only sells in the Kaka’ako store but is also the tech for sales made here. Because of that, he expects the uke to ship sooner than if I had purchased online or at the main North Shore location. The Ukulele Site is the gold standard for setup. Cosmetic issues are fixed, sharp edges of frets are shaved down and the action is set to preference. Good ukes are made to sound better. I’m just thrilled to have a high-quality instrument that came in under my budget — and with a case.
After returning to Waikiki I join Lisa and Aria in the water. Aria has embraced the ocean after a little trepidation. We’re heading to Duke’s for an early dinner late this afternoon. Lisa and I always look forward to visiting this place for a meal…or three. Love that hula pie!
After a long walk from central Waikiki to the Honolulu Zoo in the far east end and an afternoon in the water, Aria is toasted. The trade winds have eased up quite a bit since we’ve been here so the sticky heat has helped with fatigue. Aria is passed out at the table in Duke’s while the happy hour band plays on the deck below us at volume 11.
Aria will leave Hawaii with a couple of pearls. It’s my idea and it’s a gimmick, but she’s doing the routine where a customer picks an oyster from a bowl, the attendant opens it, and the customer gets to keep the pearl. The jewelry shops do this and then want the person to set it in a $300 gold necklace. We’ll just take the pearl, thanks. It’s a pink one. It was only $15 and they’ve let Aria choose another oyster for free. This one has a white pearl. I’ll keep them for now, and when she gets older she can decide how she’d like to add them to jewelry.
Lisa, Gary and I are headed toward the Hilton Hawaiian Village for their Friday night fireworks display. They do this 10 to 15 minute show all year, and it brings out quite a crowd. The walk is long for us, but that burns off dinner, which sadly did not include taro rolls. Duke’s used to serve them in their salad bar. I asked about that, and apparently they weren’t popular enough, so they switched to regular sourdough bread. Humph!
Tomorrow gets off to a mellow start and then Gary, Sara and I are going to Iolani Palace in downtown Honolulu. I’m really looking forward to that. Aloha po.
Get caught up on the adventure.