Playing tourist before the track meet
Some 800 athletes are competing at nationals here in Honolulu — a dismal turnout compared with previous USATF masters meets. But from a visitor’s perspective, the choice was brilliant. Folks who’ve had a chance to explore Honolulu, Waikiki and Pearl Harbor have been thrilled. This ain’t Decatur, baby. A trip of a lifetime for me, fersure.
And thanks to a lady named Dharma and a driver named Calvin at Aloha Vacations — the designated go-to travel agency for the USATF masters nationals — my day was a blast.
It started out to be a disaster, however.
On Tuesday night, I had arranged for a half-day tour of the local vicinity for me and Ray Bower, my M80 sprinter roommate. We were to be picked up at our dorms at 7:45 a.m. today and shuttled to the tour operator. But the 7:45 pickup didn’t occur because of a mistake (on their driver’s part), and we mulled going to Plan B — a bus trip to the Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor.
But Dharma, failing to book a similar tour on short notice today, instead dispatched one of her shuttle vans to the dorm and take us to Pearl Harbor — and then, after seeing the Arizona, pick us up again and take us on a private tour in the afternoon. Air-conditioned as well.
Calvin Lewis, whose grandmother was the sister of the late ventriloquist Shari Lewis (of Lamb Chop fame, etc,), was our tour guide — taking us up to the Punchbowl — a national military cemetery as solemn and beautiful as Arlington. He showed us the Rodeo Drive of the Pacific — the shops and swanky hotels of the Waikiki strip. And best of all, he answered all our questions on local history, economy, real estate and himself.
Calvin, it turns out, has a sixth-grade daughter named Shari who is a volleyball phenom. At 5-8, Shari is taken for a high school champion. Calvin told us about a visit from Olympic beach volleyball gold medalists Misty May and Kerri Walsh. Calvin somehow found a way to invite the pair to his home an hour from Honolulu for a barbecue. They accepted, and when they saw Shari’s room — plastered with pictures of her heroes May and Walsh — they were suitably stunned.
Another Calvin story: He told of a week’s assignment of chauffeuring the six wives and daughter of a Saudi sheik. The wives showered Calvin with tips, and a teen daughter was so taken by Calvin that she told her dad (the sheik) that Calvin was to be there driver on every trip to the island. (When the Saudis ended their stay, Calvin go a big “aloha hug” from the skeik — as his battery of black-suited security guards turned their back to Calvin to allow the sheik privacy.)
Priceless.
The meet began today, and results have been promised here. Barring a Boise-like meltdown, you should see day-by-day results at this link.
Tomorrow (Friday) I compete in the M50 100 prelims and high jump and will try to shoot video of selected events and attend the Athletes Meeting afterward as well. Since the computer lab where I’m now typing is closed weekends, I might not be able to report until I get home.
So pray for light winds, and we’ll get back to U.
4 Responses
Hi Ken,
It was nice meeting you at the Nationals. I hope you like all the photos. Please mention the website http://www.hawaiichamps.com to anyone who doesn’t know about it.
Thanks, Al
This was a great meet! The discus competition had an amazing wind the the officiating was top-notch. The cost of traveling to Hawii was actually less than past championships. I found a $200 round trip ticket from California and a hotel room a block from the beach for $125
This was a great meet! The discus competition had an amazing wind the the officiating was top-notch. The cost of traveling to Hawii was actually less than past championships. I found a $200 round trip ticket from California and a hotel room a block from the beach for $125
The actual meet was well run with highly-qualified officials. However, the registration was awful and confusing with way too few volunteers. I appreciate what they do but more planning was definitely needed for volunteers, signage, and local publicity.
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