WHY YOU SHOULD VACATION IN HAWAII

From the New York Times this morning:

More than half of the major actions Trump has taken appear to violate laws or the Constitution, according to a Times analysis. Here’s a look at all of them.

The abrupt end to $44 billion in aid has been chaotic. And wasteful. Hundreds of millions of dollars of food may soon rot in the ports and warehouses where it is stuck. The battle against deadly disease, too, could suffer. Until last month, the United States provided medication for 20 million H.I.V. patients. The secretary of state said that work should continue, but now the program is in disarray. Without the meds, those lives are at risk and so is the effort to stop the spread and mutation of H.I.V. 

...the core of U.S.A.I.D.’s mission has been helping the world’s poor, and it was a means to an end. “You have to understand,” a veteran American diplomat told me, “we didn’t do this work because we’re all a bunch of bleeding-heart liberals. We did it for influence.”

But Trump doesn't do influence, for that is a waste of money.  Sure many will die, but that only reduces the burden of feeding them.  Who cares about their vote in the United Nations, for Trump no doubt must have a plan to ignore this useless organization.

Diplomacy: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted after Canada won, “You can’t take our country — and you can’t take our game,” a jab at Trump’s annexation threats.  Canada beat the USA in overtime to win the Inaugural 4 Nations Hockey Face-Off, 3-2.

Mount Etna: Tourists are swarming an erupting volcano in Italy. Officials would rather they didn’t.

Kilauea Volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii is now resting.  Good for me, as there is now no threat of VOG wafting over to Honolulu.

Otherwise, why vacation Hawaii?  Well, safety for one.  Wallet Hub indicates we are the 6th safest state in the union.  #1 is Vermont, with New Hampshire #2 and Maine #3.  But who wants to go there for a vacation?

And get this, Honolulu is ranked as the safest city in the USA!!!  Also, the Safest City for Women/LGBTQ+BIPOC (black and indigenous people of color) Travelers.  We are also safer than Tokyo.  For the second year in a row, Honolulu was named by the Economist Intelligence Unit's Global Livability Index as the most desirable place to live in the  U.S.  Watch this video.

While you're here, splurge a bit and  stay at the Four Seasons Hualalai, just named by U.S. News and World Report as the #1 hotel in the USA.  U.S. News’ Best Hotels rankings highlight more than 31,000 hotels across more than 400 destinations to help travelers find the hotel that suits their needs.

I've stayed at this hotel at least half a dozen times.  Here is a posting of the weekend Chaine des Rotisseurs spent there.

• My $100 Pacific-Japanese fusion breakfast on the lanai of my room.  However, the nature of this stay was such that this meal was free.
• Then golfed, followed by a personal retreat:

I then spirited away a spot (or three) of Highland Park, and enjoyed a cognac-infused cigar on a reclining chair at the beach, serenaded by Hawaiian music and the pounding surf.  Life cannot get any more relaxing than this.

• I enjoyed my room breakfast so much that the following day I decided to have a $100 Italian lunch on my veranda.  Hualalai Linguini Bolognese, Hualalai Caesar Salad and corn, with a beer and Field Stone Merlot from Alexander Valley

• Our gala dinner was spectacular, where we were told to wear tuxedos for men and gowns for women.  I decided to instead wear white, with a Jim Thompson Thai silk tie.  Read the story of this attire.

I like to look at beautiful beaches, but not particularly to frolic in the surf.  But many love beaches to do that.  I noticed, for example, that on cruises, a lot of people sign up for beach tours.  So come to Hawaii for our beaches.  Hawaii dominates Dr. Beach (Dr. Stephen Letherman)'s America's Best Beaches:

• #1  Duke Kahanamoku Beach, Oahu, Hawaii.  This is that small beach at the end of Hilton Hawaiian Village.

• 
  #2  Coopers Beach, Southampton, New York.
• #3  Wailea Beach, Maui, Hawaii.
• #7  Poipu Beach, Kauai, Hawaii.

Tripadvisor's Choice  Awards Best of the Best Beaches are:

• #1  Siesta Beach, Florida (right), one of the three Siesta Key beaches.  All three draw 350,000/year.
• #2  Poipu Beach, Kauai, Hawaii (above, #7).
• #3  Ka'anapali Beach, Maui, Hawaii.

• 
  #5  Waikiki Beach, Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii.  Has 4 million visitors annually.
• #8  Punalu'u Black Sand Beach, Pahala, Big Island of Hawaii.  I once lived in Pahala.  Yes, it's the  home to Hawksbill and Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles.

• #10  Ho'okipa Beach Park, Paia, Maui, Hawaii.

For the more adventurous, there is of course the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument.  It is twice the size of Texas and larger than all the national parks combined.

I close this Friday with Nostalgia Machine.  This site links you to the top hits of any year from 1951 to 2015.  

• Pick your year, like 1951, then Hit me!
• I see 30 songs, like Nat King Cole's Too Young, to Phil Harris' The Thing.
• They all link to the You Tube video.

• 
  Let's see now, in 1979 I began working in the U.S. Senate, so I link to that year 100 songs, like YMCA, President Trump's favorite song.  Which leads me to that 50th Anniversary Saturday Night Special portion featuring Tom Hanks in Black Jeopardy, which angered the MAGA world.
• Anyway, if you want some nostalgia, go to Nostalgia Machine.

-