Aloha Friday at Molokai Hotel in Hawaii

Aloha Friday at Hotel Molokai

Aloha Friday happens in Molokai at the Hotel Molokai Bar every Friday, and this woman from St. Paul, Minnesota, didn’t seem all that happy about it because it wasn’t the same as the last time she was here; not to mention, she came all the way today from St. Paul with some guy, mind you, just to see Aloha Friday! Yeah, I offered, usually they have more people playing instruments and they stand further out in the crowd, trying to sound like a local but I really picked up that information from the poster on the wall, which is an illustration of Aloha Friday at Molokai Hotel, depicting many more singers in a more open location at the bar.

She added, “and there weren’t so many tourists, then, either.” I tried to commiserate and offer empathy but she wasn’t hearing any of it because I made this mistake of innocently asking her what she does for a living in St. Paul. Perhaps after she heard that I grew up in Minneapolis, she didn’t care to converse anymore. There is that — Minneapolis is cosmopolitan and St. Paul is where house painters live who call themselves artists — feud. Or maybe it was too painful to discuss what she did for work, or perhaps she was afraid that if she mentioned the word, the name of her occupation, that she could no longer enjoy her vacation, but she made me regret even saying hello. I should give her my t-shirt about Do I Look Like a People Person To You, except you can’t squeeze a size 22 into a size 6 t-shirt.

Aloha Friday at Molokai, they joyously sing: no work until Monday. Overall, though, the people in Molokai and even the tourists, who come from all over the world, are very friendly. They remind me of Alaskans, especially those who live in the Inside Passage. People in Alaska are very friendly, too, and so nice that you could actually envision them turning into your neighbors and your closest friends. Alaska’s motto seems to be: I live here, you should, too. Which is like the opposite of Hawaii’s motto which is: if you’re not a tourist go home. And the tourists can go too, actually, but we’ll take your money first.

There is a reason that Alaskans are so friendly. Because they don’t get a lot of visitors and they truly WOULD like you to move there so they could have more friends. However, the downside is you’ve got to learn to love snow, and cold freezing temperatures, and long dark days, and eating a lot of fish when there are no fresh vegetables because the ship didn’t make it.

What Max knows about Molokai stays in Molokai

A dog runs about the grounds at Hotel Molokai. His name is Max. He lives across the street, I hear. Most adorable thing ever! I love Max to pieces. I invited him up to my room, providing his short stubby little legs could make it up the stairs. For the promise of a few pets and kisses, Max, like any guy, can do anything. He looks like a cross between a wiener dog, a German Shepard and a Yorkie. He doesn’t bark, either. Just licks your face and does tricks.

My room seems like the best room on the grounds. It’s almost as though my travel agent begged the clerk at Hotel Molokai that I must have the nicest room or he would hear about it big-time. But it’s fairly cheap to stay here, as compared to say, the Four Seasons in Lanai. Which means I don’t feel like I’m throwing away thousands of dollars if I sleep in and waste a day just trying to recuperate from my long trip from the South Pacific.

Today, I might do something different. Maybe I will walk to town or go hang out at the harbor, which is where everybody in Molokai eventually ends up at one time of the day or another.

Here are few more cute photographs of Max, which I thought you might enjoy:

Max begs in Molokai

The face of Max in Molokai a mother would love

Harketh, says Max, is that edible?