Hawaii

We recently returned from a week in paradise. Our youngest daughter had a soccer tournament, AYSO National Games, and she's barely under the maximum age. Actually, she's over, because this was a U-19 division, and she's 19, but because of AYSO's way of determining age, she slipped in. As of August 1, 2007, she was still 18 and therefore eligible. So we loaded up the sunscreen, the soccer chairs, swimsuits, shorts and the rest of the paraphernalia that goes with youth sports, and traveled with about 2500 of our closest friends to descend on Honolulu.

Honolulu is a beautiful town in need of work. The people are unfailingly polite and courteous and their drivers are the nicest ones I have found, never cutting you off, waving you through even if you have the Stop sign. Of course, they have to be because their freeways were obsolete about 25 years ago. Three lanes, maximum speed 45 mph in the downtown area. On ramps that weave through residential areas, snaking along one-way roads in a single car line that extends a couple of miles at least. Honolulu is debating an elevated commuter rail. The newspapers are filled with letters pro and con. It was like Salt Lake City in 1997 when Trax was being debated.