A Year in Waipahu

  Coming into Daniel K. Inouye Airport on the new Section 2 Section 2 of the Honolulu rail system opened on October 16, 2025.  A few days later, Kari and I decided to give the whole thing a try.  We had fun. As an elevated train system, elevators came in handy. Starting at the Waipahu Hōʻaeʻae station (aka "West Loch"), we went west all the way to the end at Kualakaʻi station.  The  train then automatically reversed direction, and headed back east.  We passed Pearl Harbor with great views of mauka (mountains), makai (ocean), and city. View of Pearl Harbor riding east.  The Arizona memorial is on the right and the Missouri on the left. We took the train to the end at Kahauiki station (aka Middle Street / Kalihi Transit Center).  From there, it was a short walk and elevator ride to the bus station downstairs.   We waited only a little while before we took Route 2 bus towards Waikiki.  The bus was full, obviously a very important ...

Photo from Hawaiian Airlines magazine, August 1, 2024 When I started this blog, the idea was to focus almost entirely on life outside of work.  That was fine at first.  And there continue to be a lot of experiences that have very little or nothing to do with my "job." Recently, I was offered the opportunity to stay long term in my career here in Waipahu.  I accepted.  In my line of work -- local church pastor -- this communicates something to others.   Allow me to elaborate.   Hawai`i is a holistic place and culture.  You can feel it in the precious natural environment that speaks to you, and gives you a feeling of inclusion no matter if you are at the beach or in the mountains.   You can really feel the holistic culture in religious life.  People here generally don't divide their different parts of life.  Instead, they integrate.   Religion at its best teaches this integration.  A good example is teaching h...