Hawai`i or North Pole?

Despite signage to the contrary, I am in Hawai`i. What gives it away? The much warmer weather, the ocean, the tourists speaking Japanese (which feels very nostalgic for me), the shopping, the FOOD, the blazing Christmas decorations all over the place....?

Yup, that's right, it seems that in the tropics, where tacky is de rigeur (the more colors, the better), they really do the Christmas lights thing up, way up. I'm hoping to get a good picture showing all the reindeer decked out in lights, the twinkling fake trees, the inflatable snow men, the icicle lights, the Santa scenes on the various lawns and rooftops... I love it all!

I'm way into this for some reason.

In the meantime, here are a few more typical pictures from my adventures in our 50th state: the ocean, the beach, the Arizona Memorial (at Pearl Harbor), palm trees...







And, oh yeah, my two presentations went well enough.