NOTE: SATURDAY SLUMGULLION WILL APPEAR SOON AFTER THIS POST.
Broken Hearted Toy was on hiatus for the past few weeks while my wife Pam and I visited the Hawaiian Islands. We usually make our own travel arrangements but this time, we let American Classic Tours handle everything. We were part of a group of 18 people from Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota that included married couples and friends leaving a blizzard behind to share a tropical adventure. Though several of us had never met before, there was almost an immediate sense of camaraderie.
American Classic Tours assigned an employee named Jaimie to meet us at O’Hare Airport, and from there, she expertly and benevolently guided us through a series of flights, hotels, and shuttle rides. There were several natural and cultural highlights throughout the tour, along with a successful whale watching voyage. Pam and I did some serious bird watching during our free time. Another major perk of traveling with Jaimie was having a pro navigating us through COVID-19 restrictions, which can be completely different from one location to the next, even within the same state.
Here are a few rock and roll related notes about our tour. As we approached the Sheraton Hotel in Honolulu, I was glad to see a Hard Rock Café was only a few blocks from where we would be staying for the next few days. I have a collection of Hard Rock Café pins from cities I’ve visited, including Nashville; Orlando; Washington, D.C.; New York; Dublin; and Munich. After Pam and I had settled into our room and enjoyed dinner at the Rumfire restaurant, we walked over to the Hard Rock Café, where I picked out a Honolulu pin and a Hard Rock Café keychain. The young guy behind the counter, like so many people we met in Hawaii, was helpful and friendly.
Traveling on a tour bus does mean you can’t stop at every store or venue you would if you were on your own. I could only gape in disappointment as we sped by a comic book/record store on Maui. That same feeling crept over me when I discovered Fleetwood’s, (a restaurant owned by Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac that has partnered with the Morrison Hotel Gallery) in Lahaina opens daily at 5:00 pm, which didn’t fit into our early afternoon window of opportunity. While in town, I picked up the February issue of Maui Times to add to my collection of free indie newspapers from around the world.
Like most people, Pam and I went to Hawaii to experience the amazing scenery, culture, and weather. On that criteria, our trip was definitely a rousing success.
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