Return from Paradise

Just returned from ten days in Hawaii.  What better place to spend my birthday?  Waikiki is a lovely place to get older.  My daughter had a professional meeting in Honolulu and got to bring a guest.  What a nice birthday/Mother's Day present.

Here are the things I liked best about Hawaii:
The views
The climate, warm with a constant refreshing breeze
The beaches
The flowers
The scent of plumeria
Laheina Grill in Maui
Peter Lik's gallery in Maui
The flowery beach clothes
The shopping malls in Waikiki--waay more elegant than our Galleria
The Hawaiian phrases inscribed on the stone sidewalks in Waikiki
The Bishop's Museum in Honolul
The sight of Maui from a helicopter

Here's what I didn't like:
Traffic in Honolulu--reported to be the most traffic-congested city in America.  Residents lose an average of 58 hours a year sitting in traffic.
Not many interesting shells on the beaches we visited
Chinatown in Honolulu:  Despite what our travel book said, it was mostly run down looking buildings, outside produce stands, restaurants and innumerable hair salons
The amazingly assertive birds that would perch on your table, waiting to grab a crumb from your plate
Poi: tried it once, never again.  It tasted like paste.

Would I go back?  Absolutely.