Kaimuki Orchid Society 2009

I missed out on a chance to see orchids on display by the Ewa Orchid Club last week because I had already committed to set up at our stamp-coin dealers’ monthly bourse on Saturday.

So I was particularly pleased that the Kaimuki Orchid Society had scheduled THEIR show for this weekend. The original plan was for the wife and me to head on over the Kalani High School on Friday after we’d done our Costco shopping, but it was so hot and by the time we got home, we were both pooped out.

This morning dawned nice and cool, with a bit of a drizzle (at the cusp of Manoa Valley, we call it “Manoa Mist”), promising a nice day in store for us.

We headed out a little early so we could have breakfast. I tried to find a new place to have breakfast in the East Honolulu area, but to no avail, so we went to Zippy’s near Kahala Mall, which sufficed.

After breakfast, we were only a hop, skip and a jump from Kalani High – a most convenient and pleasant surprise.

We got there after the show had been opened for a couple of hours and parking was at a premium. Luckily, someone pulled out just as I had dropped the wife near the entrance so she wouldn’t have to walk far with me if I had to park at a distance. The space I chanced on was only a hundred feet or so from the entrance.

This orchid show reminded me of stamp shows – exhibits in the middle, surrounded by vendors on all sides, all of whom seemed to be doing brisk business. At one end of the gymnasium was a display of bonsai trees being exhibited by the Rainbow Bonsai Club.

I took a few dozen pictures of some of the most unusual and beautiful orchids I’ve ever seen. Here are a few:

The show continues on Sunday. It apparently is a labor of family love – the Kobayashi family. Ralph is chairman, Grace is secretary, Amie is cashier, and Jason is the photographer. Ralph also was vendor contact, Grace was in charge of information, hosts and hostesses, and both Ralph and Grace chaired the workshops and educational displays.

I like that.

Uncle’s Fish Market & Grill

The wife and I had lunch today at Uncle's, located at Pier 38 in Honolulu. You can get there by heading Ewa on Nimitz, then instead of turning right on Alakawa to get to Costco, turn left.

I was hoping to write the place up in my “A Place for My Taste” blog, but it doesn’t meet the criterion of having table service. You have to step to the counter, order your food, and wait for them to page you so you can pick it up and take it to your table.

Consequently, I thought I’d write about Uncle’s here, since I didn’t want to waste a nice picture I took of the interior. And that’s too bad, actually, because the food is pretty good.

The place is total “oceanarium” without the actual water and real fish swimming around. They have a couple of flat screens that were showing dvds of ocean fishing. Uncle’s features bar entertainment on weekends. They have varied hours, closing early on week nights and later on the weekends. They do NOT stay open until the wee hours of the morning.

Apparently, a lot of people know about Uncle’s because it was busy during lunch today.

They have the usual fish and chips, fish tacos, fish sandwiches, seafood salads, chowder, raw oysters, poke, and a number of fresh fish entrées – Ahi belly, Atlantic salmon, mahimahi, opakapaka, plus scallops, steak and lobsters. Pasta? Yep – seafood pasta, and clams linguini.

I had a “Big Uncle’s Combo Fish and Chips,” which featured shrimp, calamari, and ono (wahoo, or bonefish), with french fries and cole slaw. They provided both tartar sauce and cocktail sauce with the basket. The food was very good, particularly the large strips of tender, flavorful calamari.

The wife stole some of my food, and also ordered Manhattan seafood chowder for herself. I sampled the soup but didn’t care for it – it tasted good, but it wasn’t chowder. It was more like a minestrone vegetable soup with chunks of fish in it. Tasty, but not chowder.

I did see lobster tacos on the menu. Maybe I’ll try that, should we go back. I think we’ll go back. Yep, I think we will.

(P.S. You can call or fax ahead and they’ll have your order ready for pickup when you get there.)

Uncle’s Fish Market & Grill: 1135 N. Nimitz Hwy. at Pier 38. (808) 275-0063.

Not San Fran Prisco, Silly

“Oh look,” the wife said as she gazed out to sea during our most recent walk at Waterfront Park. “Does it say ‘Frisco’ on the side of that ship?"

The ship was so far out that I couldn’t make out the word. So I took a high-res pic with my digital camera and magnified the preview image in-camera. The word on the side of the ship was “Prisco.”

“Aha,” I said jokingly, “somebody misspelled ‘Frisco’!” Silly me.

I googled “Prisco ship Hawaii” when I got home, and discovered that the ship is a medium-sized tanker built by Hyundai Heavy Industries for the Primorsk Shipping Corporation, and is being used to transport oil to the islands.

It’s under a three-year lease to Tesoro, and made its first call to Hawaii in February 2008.

The things you learn just by looking out to sea during a Monday walk in the park with your wife.

A Woozy Glass of Water

When I was in Las Vegas about a month ago, we had dinner at Ming’s Garden in Harrah’s Hotel & Casino. Before our appetizers were served, the waiter brought us a couple of glasses of water.

I almost leaned over too much to the left and nearly fell off my chair. My elbow slipped off the table, and my eyes were rolling around in their sockets.

You see, my glass of water was completely out of perpendicular. It was warped. I mean SERIOUSLY warped.

After a while, when I got used to the idea of my warped glass of water, I began thinking it was pretty cool. After all, how many people can say their water bowed to them?

Have you ever seen anything like it?

Didn’t I Tell You?

Two days ago I heaped praise upon the Halekulani for the magnificent job they did with my niece’s wedding on Sunday, as well as my son’s wedding reception last year.

As if on cue, Travel + Leisure today announced that its readers had selected the Halekulani the #1 resort in Hawaii, in its 14th annual World’s Best Awards readers’ survey.

Congratulations to the Halekulani. The #1 ranking will be featured in the magazine’s August issue, due out on the stands next week, on Friday, July 24.

Didn’t I tell you they were tops?