Email ElizabethMarriott Resort Big Island
A Suspension in Time
A suspension in time at the bar at Marriott Resort Waikoloa in Big Island.
Who among us has not wanted to create a suspension in time, to freeze the forward movement that marches on whether we like it? I am sharing the photo above with you because it illustrates such a moment, captures motion and stops it from moving, just for one second. You can see the Hawaiian musician over at the left staring at my lens, maybe wondering why this California tourist was snapping photos at random at the Marriott Resort Waikoloa in Big Island with her iPad, although perhaps he watched me do a video of his acoustic introduction to Hotel California, or maybe my hair was on fire? The guys at the bar, bonding, perhaps plotting an evening, seemingly too innocent to drink beer; was I ever that young? If I were an artist I would paint this photograph and sell it to a museum.
This suspension in time could be anywhere in the world, but it happened to be at my hotel just before I left Big Island. It looks like the couple over on the right at the back of the bar are shooting a selfie. What did we do before we could point cameras at ourselves to capture our own moments in time, to create our personal suspension in time, as lopsided and goofy as they may appear, and then feel obligated to stop all social activity to upload and share with the world on Instagram or Facebook? Nothing any of us do is all that important unless we’re saving world hunger or finding a cure for cancer.
In case you’re wondering what all of this is about, yes, this Sacramento Realtor is back home in Sacramento. Back home where there is no suspension of time because it moved on while I was away. The trees are bare and leafless now. Why don’t my Land Park neighbors put their piles of leaves in the can like we do, as there are piles of leaves neatly stacked in front of most houses on my street. How trusting we are they won’t blow away. The grounds are damp, sky gray, wind calm. I spot a summons for Sacramento jury duty on the dining room table; the Court will probably throw me in jail for defiance because no matter what they say I think the defendant always looks guilty; it’s almost impossible for me to presume innocence. I’m honest to a fault almost.
Our cats were lined up at the door last night when I arrived home with my husband. Sticking their noses through the open screen door. I thought maybe they were excited to see me after 3 weeks away, but instead they were wondering where my husband had gone at this late hour of the night and who was that woman with all the scary luggage? Cats detach so quickly. I don’t know if they want to punish you for going away or if they truly have moved on without you and it takes a while to forgive you for that abandonment, to feel comfortable again allowing you into their space, because don’t think for one solid moment that you are the queen of your own castle because you are not. It’s the cats, and it’s always been the cats. Nobody ever told them they could be living the life of the cats at Waikoloa Canoe Club.
While on the plane hurtling 35,000 miles above earth, inhaling a slight scent of jet fuel (I love the smell of jet fuel, if they bottled it as perfume I would wear it), I began to read Amy Poehler’s book, Yes, Please. An interesting chapter, one page actually, is titled Reasons We Cry in an Airplane. Reason #6: We feel like time is suspended and therefore we can feel real emotion without consequence. A suspension in time.
Royal Kona Resort for Lunch and Honokohau Harbor Snorkeling
Hawaii Broker Hella Rothwell and Sacramento Realtor Elizabeth Weintraub at Kona Royal Resort.
Our home inspection at the Hawaii house went fairly well. There wasn’t much the inspector found, just a bunch of minor things, and I am not the kind of Hawaii home buyer to ask the seller to fix them all because that’s just plain idiotic. Every home has defects. Asking for home inspection repairs that are puny makes people irritated. Besides, it is far wiser to maintain good relations with these guys for reasons I won’t go into but suffice to say buyers who nitpick tend to lose sight of the big picture and can end up with no home at all.
I have my own way of doing things. As Hella Rothwell and I were driving to Ali’i Drive to do lunch at the original Don the Beachcomber at the Royal Kona Resort, I noticed a credit union along the way and asked Hella to stop. It makes sense to have a bank account in Hawaii, for many reasons. The problem was I had not planned on opening a new account so I did not have anything more than about fifty bucks on me.
Eureka! Guess what? It costs $50 to open a savings account at Hawaii Community Federal Credit Union. It can’t be done over the phone or online, either. Then I ordered checks and the bank clerk said I could not start the numbering at the four digit I asked for. Sure you can, I suggested. She checked with her boss, and yes, I was right. Then I asked for the checks to have one address and to be mailed to another. Can’t do it, she said. Sure you can. She checked with her boss, and yes, I was right.
Some people always take others at face value but this is the wisdom of aging and experience speaking.
The server at the Royal Kona Resort said she could not get my iPad to take a good photo of us because the background was too light. Sure you can. Just tap our faces. BTW, did you know Don the Beachcomber of Royal Kona Resort fame is credited with creating the pupu platter? The view on the coast is incredible, and the food was excellent, too. My husband I will be able to walk to this Kona Royal Resort from our new home but there is also free validated parking.
After lunch, I decided to schedule a snorkeling adventure through my hotel, so I stopped at the Expedia Travel Desk, which seems to be ubiquitous. The clerk was a bit uppity with me. She suggested a tour that included whale watching. Hey, I’ve gone on whale watching tours from Hawaii that produced zero whales. Also, as I pointed out to her, I’ve had my fill of whale watching in Alaska; we had hundreds of whales following our catamaran, breeching, splashing, enough to last me a lifetime.
Well, that’s a pity, snotty clerk replied.
They love me here. Then she suggested a night snorkeling trip. This is where all the snorkelers get into the cold water, form a circle, hold hands and then shine light into the water to attract fish and manta rays. That did not hold a lot of appeal as I have seen many rays in the Tuamotos. I could see I was not endearing myself to the clerk but she did manage to make me a reservation to go snorkeling at the Honokohau Harbor for today.
