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, Friday, July 4, 1941

Honolulu – July 4

Dear Daddy & Mother,

I’ve just been talking to Uncle Ed & decided to write to you to double check about the money for my railroad ticket. The boat schedule has been changed – so the Lurline goes
into dry dock in Frisco instead of Los Angeles — which entirely changes all my plans. But I have found out here that I can pay for my ticket here & have it waiting & ready at Frisco pier – and also, if I buy it through the office here that my baggage will
be marked trans-Pacifica & checked straight on through to Beebe from the boat & I won’t have to chase & re-check it at the pier, Frisco station & again at Los A.

Mandy Allision is meeting me in Frisco & I’m to stay with her until my train leaves for Los A. – which presents another thing. Aunt Susan insists that I see Mandy there – her
father is commanding general at Hamilton Field & A. Susan says I should have the experience of visiting there, & hoping that sometime later I will be invited again – also, she says that I shan’’t leave there on a second-class train. So I settled with intermediate
tourist train – which isn’t much more expensive – and also allows me to check 350 lbs. of baggage which the
second class ticket doesn’t. on the coach ticket, too I should have to recheck all baggage since the trans-Pacific allowance doesn’t apply to that. The freight on my chest from the coast will be $12.00 to $16.00, which will just about compensate for the
difference in ticket prices & allow both trunk and chest to be checked on ticket.

The ticket price is $45.80 plus $8.50 for Pullman at night – from Frisco, on the intermediate tourist train. This letter leaves on tomorrow’s clipper, allowing two weeks to
get there – so Uncle Ed says surely the money will have time to get back here before the 17th. It’s all so mixed up — & sounds confusing. But if I can please A. Susan about the Frisco stop, and train ticket – without losing any money because of the extra
baggage allowance on the other ticket guess it’s the best thing to do. I’m trying hard to be conservative & do what you all would say is right, but still do as Uncle Ed & Aunt Susan say I should –

So many little expenses, like hauling the trunk to the dock, & having the chest crated are popping up that I’m hoping & praying the thing will come out even. I’ll try to have
at least $5.00 out of the check when I get to Frisco – may will have a lot more, but figuring all maximum expenses I can list, it will be about $10.00 not allowing for anything forgotten. The $12.00 boat tip isn’t any joke either.

So will you send my train money – the prices I’ve given up there – to me hereby clipper just as soon as you get this? Haven’t the vaguest idea what I’ll do if the money doesn’t
get here & I must be an awful stupe to get things in such an awful mess – but if the train money can just get here everything will work out slick as sugar. Otherwise they’d better send searching parties out to the Frisco docks for a poor lonely gal sitting
on a chest crate with her feet on a trunk & sacred to death.

I’ll get to L.A. on the same date still if went on the boat – July 25th – so this last minute change in boat schedule won’t affect plans from there at all.

According to schedule, the next clipper is in July 11 – so it may be possible for it to get on that.

Whew! Glad to get this all out & down in time for the mail today.

I’m so excited because Randy Meade (Lt. – Navy) who is Aunt Susan’s & my favorite in all Honolulu, is going back on the Lurline when I do – he’s just grand & more fun than any
other five people.

There isn’t much 4th celebration in Honolulu, that is, for Independence Day – more like Sunday with all the parks & streets crammed with brown slant-eyed people.

Had the cleverest floor show at the Royal last night – a 14 ft. red firecracker in the center of the dance floor. Six hula girls in alternating red, white, blue cellophane skirts.
Then lighting the fuse of the firecracker – explosion! And out of it bursts the hula dancer to beat all before. As she gives the Hawaiian hip & hand interpretation of Yankee Doodle, the following dancers march & minuet, each shouldering a flag. It was really
a riot – especially the hula Yankee Doodle.

Today I’m going on a J.O.^[1]
picnic (from the USS Boise) with Jimmy Starns – should be lots of fun.

The time for mail to close is getting near – so I’d better take this to the town post office.

I feel like a monkey on a string with all my arrangements dangling. But am hoping it will all work out now.

Hope you all have a nice fourth — &, too, hope I’ll be with you before the next month’s fourth.

Love, Cecilia

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