Beginning on November 1, which is the date of my mother’s first letter from her Hawaii trip 84 years ago, I am serializing day by day, the book, Cecilia King’s Extraordinary Senior Trip, which you can obtain from Amazon in either Kindle or paperback.

I hope you enjoy the upcoming nine-months in Hawaii 1940-41.

Honolulu, Thursday, November 21, 1940
Nov. 21, Thanksgiving – but it seems more like July 4. This morning we got up early – and it was a beautiful day – bright and clear after the rain. I fixed Uncle Ed’s breakfast and then we all went for a drive & then to DeRussy. Played a few sets of paddle tennis, had a coke out on the pavilion, got me a young sunburn & so home. I bought the blue & white bathing suit -- & wore it today. Am going to have to do something immediately about more tennis clothes as I have only the one whole shorts & bathing suit and two outfits don’t last long when they are worn & washed every day. The dressing room at DeRussy is a precious little cubby home done in bamboo painted white & white leather cushions. The lobby and porches are in natural bamboo and leather.
After lunch I lay down & went sound to sleep & slept until 5:30 – up, showered & dressed for dinner (in the long-sleeved chiffon, again). We had our Thanksgiving Turkey at a little bamboo hut called “South Seas.” All foreign waiters with south sea island print lapels and pockets – bamboo tables & chairs – and dishes of painted china to match. Rustic lanterns hung around the outside row of tables & a little grass roof over the inside row next to the dance floor.
Above the dance floor – a blue dome with little electric stars twinkling. A Hawaiian band that played native music beautifully, swing music moderately well, but made a complete flop of the bag piped Scotch Loch Lomond. The floor show was two hula dancers in palm leaf skirts, flowers, leis. Behind the semi-circular bar was an aquarium of tropical fish. Then came the burlesque on “hula.” Supposedly an old broken down hula dancer clad in a mother Hubbard wrapper – complete with bustle – an a woven straw hat with leaf ends left hanging loose all around the brim – singing the “cross eyed governor of Kabuhale.” We had a grand dinner – with all the courses (6) as we had to kill time (2 hrs.) to wait for the floor show.
Uncle Ed & Aunt Susan have been busy all day making party lists for the two dinners they are giving soon. Tomorrow we are going into town to get my pink dress mended – to have an old garden party hat of Aunt Susan’s all “done up” for me to wear with the dress to the wedding next week. She suggested that we make a list of clothes that I will need & send to you so I can save the money of having them bought there – and also can get prettier things. One thing is a garden party hat of some kind – and the evening dresses I spoke of. It seems that every time anyone steps out after dark she must be in evening dress -- & weddings – garden parties, teas, dance-dates, dinners, game nights and a million other things call for these clothes. So, if you see Santa tramping around Arkansas, please ask him to stick his nose into some chiffon & embroidered organdy for me.
The ants are beginning to get on my nerves. There are about ten lines of them creeping all across the bathroom floor & in my bed & everywhere else. Think I’ll go on a lizard hunt tomorrow & try to deposit about ten in the house to feed on the little ants.
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Figure 23 - From Cecilia's Scrapbook