Author: Nadine Owen

1st thought:

Wow! These kayakers clearly know how to party on both water and land. There was no potluck sign-up sheet (that I was aware of), no continuous long email strings, no mild chaos… and yet somehow an epic, delicious, and wildly diverse spread of pupu and dinner dishes appeared. Suspiciously impressive!

2nd thought:

Wait.. am I really standing inside the almost 100-year-old HTMC house? After 10 years and counting of hiking the various trails across the Hawaiian islands with many Meetup Hiking groups – but never worthy enough with HTMC – I felt like I’d accidentally wandered into the Royal Palace of Hiking.

3rd thought:

There are a lot of very happy people here who will cheerfully comply with being coerced into singing, hula-ing, doing something with only hands, and surviving a solid 5 minutes (10 if you include rehearsal and “one more run-through”) of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” local style. And the gift exchange, where you steal presents while warmly wishing the victim “Merry Christmas”, was surprisingly wholesome. It almost softened the blow of ending up with the exact gift I brought … and had been hoping to permanently evict from my house.

Joking aside, I was very impressed with the festive party that I heard was organized by Eileen and Nikko and truly enamored by the musical talents of Macky, Nikko, Norm and Mary Ann. Mahalo Hui Waʻa Kaukahi ohana for the warm welcome – clearly I’ve found my people!

[Editor’s Addendum: The club recognized Joe Hu for the countless years of leadership that he has provided to the club. Chalsa gave him a nice tribute and presented him with a plaque made by Elliott.]