Hou’oli Makahiki Ho Means Happy New Year in Hawaiian

View of Diamond Head from Mauna Surfrider club floor room, December 2014.

Later on today, I am flying from Kona to Honolulu for a Hou’oli Makahiki Ho celebration with my friend, Hella Rothwell. Every year, Hella comes to Oahu to visit her daughter and grandchildren at Christmas time. It seems like the last 3 years we have met up in Hawaii so I suppose it’s becoming a tradition. I wish I had known Hella when I spent time in Honolulu in 2014, when I shot the photo above of Diamond Head from the club floor at Moana Surfrider. But c’est la vie. What matters is we’re doing it again.

We met up last year around this time when I spent a few weeks in Ka’anapali (so I never have to do that again) and grabbed the Maui Ferry to Lanai. I tried to talk Hella into spending more time on Lanai this year, but somehow that backfired and she talked me into going to Honolulu instead. She lured me with free tickets to the annual Bill Maher show, and then we’re dancing the night away at the Party of the Year at the Aloha Towers. Hella probably wouldn’t like it if I told you how old we are, but let’s just say I’m 65 and she is older. Ha! At our age, we’re lucky to be vertical at midnight. And hopefully we won’t land in jail.

New Year’s Day we have reservations at the Halekulani for brunch. We tried to get into La Mer but of course it was booked solid. Unlike the my 2014 Waikiki trip when the restaurant was fairly empty. Of course that night was December 18th, far cry from Hou’oli Makahiki Ho celebrations on December 31st. We hope to lie around on the beach, what’s left of it, and catch up on work. It will be interesting to see how all of this pans out.

You see, Hella also sells real estate. She sells real estate in Hawaii, in Carmel and in Northern California, just not in Sacramento. Nope, Sacramento real estate is my territory. I met up with Hella in 2015 when she helped us to buy a house in Hawaii. We’ve been friends ever since. Sometimes, with certain people, you just click.

I’ll post a few photos and let you know what happened when I get back to Big Island. Until then, I’ve set up a couple blogs for your reading enjoyment in my absence, which I hope you will enjoy. Hou’oli Makihiki Hou. It is pronounced:

“how-oh-lee”

“mah-kah-hee-kee”

“ho.”

Go ahead and try it.