Beginning on November 1, 2024, 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. You can order the entire book from Amazon in either paperback or Kindle format, click here.

Honolulu Wednesday, March 19, 1941

Dear Daddy & Mother –

Just got up, & looked at the mail schedule – saw “clipper” due – and sure enough was a letter in our little tin mail box. Heavens! Mother – you must really be buzzing around – what a schedule! Hope you will enjoy the Natchez trip and know you will – I’ll be anxious to hear all about it. Are you taking any rugs?

The black and white dress you’re sending sounds beautiful & maybe it came in on the Matsonia today, I hope – and I already have visions of the play suit! Thank you so very, very much. I am absolutely fixed for clothes now, as soon as I make the final fitting trip to the dressmaker. The green organdy looks like a doll dress, now that it’s fitted! I stood up for four hours and trotted off & on buses all over town to get everything I shape.

About coming home – I got the Pres. Lines literature and their prices are much higher, comparatively, than the Matson – and I can save a little on that fare (Matson’s) coming back because a shower instead of a tub is my “way of livin’” now – not having seen a tub for four months – and I’d like a single outside room – will get their folder & start “figuring.” A. Susan told me yesterday that unless I had anything else better than Honolulu to do when I got home that she thought it would be simple to leave here, so guess I’ll stay until June or July anyway – wish she’s let me go to school or something – but she absolutely wants me to play. For once, probably never again, in my life I’ll get fed up on play, no work, and sleeping. About coming back on an Army transport – I see no way unless I either stay until November & come with Aunt Susan or marry max or Bob. None of the three particularly appeal to my ideas on the subject – or probably to yours – so guess that’s out – much as I’d like to make a trip on USAT.

For the news of the day and the last two – Monday night Bob and I were going to the movies. His car is still in the garage & he had to borrow one – and was an hour late, which of course, started our evening off with a very unpleasant bang. Being late for the movies, we went to Lau Yee Chai for dinner & dancing (by the way, we had banana salad, Galloway style). Such a ghastly mess of people were there as I’ve never seen before – frowsy looking Orientals everywhere – a few of us “good ole white Americans” packed off in an insignificant corner. New band – very good – but with their “newly arrived from the Coast” jazz. The Shangri La Terrace looked like a high school jitterbug jamboree in a semi-blackout. Then came the rains! Everyone scooted into shelter and left only a few brave barefoot souls puddling on the wet terrace to Frenese and Maui Girls. Getting damp and cold we finally gave the evening up – and started homeward.

Yesterday morning I hopped out of bed – stopped by the kitchen for tomato juice & rushed out to catch the earliest bus – headed for Mrs. Armida Smiths to start a siege of fittings. Then on to town to Leatrice for the two remaining dresses – had to get a white slip – wool tennis sox, red taffeta, & shop for Jickey a kitchen shower something. Lunch on a Hollister Drug stool – then bussing back to Smiths & home. That egg olive sandwich & malted milk were so-o-o-o god at lunch but last night I weighed at the Young and the awful truth was 123 pounds! Woe is me! Wish I didn’t like to eat or could lose my appetite in three easy lessons or something. Malted milks are my first and foremost sin – and then, when I go out with Bob, he hasn’t ever had dinner and so I always eat with him again, three hours after I’ve had dinner here. I’m ignoring breakfast, too, but even that doesn’t phase the scales.

But – to a more pleasant subject – Monday the McCoy Estate was open for tour (Money went to British relief) and their hot house orchids were in full bloom and on exhibit. We left Kahala, walking down a steep winding driveway, seeing nothing ahead or on the sides but heavily shaded tropical greenery. Around several twists and turns – down rock steps, and in sight of an immense Spanish type structure almost covered with ivy. In a small entrance hall and on to the main hall beyond – stucco walls, wrought iron, ceilings reaching almost up to eternity, old history-ridden bits of southern European furniture, tapestries. A bit of the Far east in the large parlor rugs – Chinese saddle blankets at the doors. Then out into the front terrace and the positively breath taking view as we stepped out – an immense stretch of fine green velvet lawn far below, and stretching out to the blue waves at the shore – tall, stately Royal palms – leaning from the winds – and the other trees covered with waxy vanilla vines, and low bushy, fan leaf palms, shaded the stretch of lawn. We walked down from the terrace, on a steep winding path, bordered with fragrant white flowers. It was just too lovely to be true!

Then back up by the side of the house, through patios lines with blooming trees, bordered with gardens of poinsettias, anthuriums – and cobble stone courts with baskets of orchids hanging from the low branches of trees, a built up rocky fern and moss sloe near the wall where fresh water trickles to the pool below. And beyond that, and through another opening in the green covered stucco walls – into a more severe court of fine grass with brick paths and an artificial fountain covering all of one side. Then, into the hothouses – hanging from the ceilings, lines in layers on both sides, and filling the centers of six different glass houses were hundreds of varieties of orchids. Enough beaty to almost fill the universe, I felt, in those few minutes and small space – the tiny yellow and brown blossoms, small orchid centers with twisting raisin petals, huge, frilled, royal white ones, spray after spray with hundreds of white or lavender flowers, we saw the nursery where in bottles the seeds are sometimes kept seven years before they begin to sprout and grow – then logs or more moss clumps with young wax plants growing from their damp – It was all so wonderful.

But then – a page of second-hand poorly related writing can’t begin to carry its beauty.

I called Mrs. Hudson when I got home – she was just starting out so I may call again today and go over to see her.

Last night – after our “little lateness” unpleasant episode of the previous night, Bob showed up thirty minutes early and we started to the movies again – via bus this this time. Too late for one and twenty minutes early for another, so we went to the Young Hotel for dinner – which lasted not the intended twenty minutes, but an hour and a half. Left there at ten, and sloshing through a torrent of rain bussed back to Waikiki Lau Yee Chai. Met a B.O.Q mate of Bob’s who just arrived in Honolulu, and decided to initiate him to the city – first stop at South Seas, danced a while among the sailors and gouks – then to Hawaiian Town just in time to hear the curfew gong. So Trot ho – and back to Kahala. John (the new C.A. man with us) is from Boston – and quite nice. Think we three, with a date for John, are going out to Kemoos for dinner & Sch. Club Friday night.