Barefoot In The Park

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Wednesday - July 23, 2008

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MidWeek’s very own Yu Shing Ting got married the other weekend. The lucky guy is Travin Makinano, who is also the father of their adorable son, Koen. They had a formal ceremony and reception on the grounds of the Waikiki Aquarium.

It was an appropriate venue for them, as Yu Shing loves everything about the ocean and she is also one of the most environmentally responsible people I know. My wife and I were invited to attend and we wouldn’t have missed it for the world.

If there was a single problem with that perfect event, it had to do with parking. Anyone who’s been to the aquarium knows that the parking there sucks. I’d have about as much a chance parking in its lot as I would fitting into a waist size 30 pair of pants - none.

Anyway, parking would have to be at the nearby Honolulu Zoo or Kapiolani Park. I figured it would be a little thin being a Saturday, but until we got to Waikiki, I had no idea how bad it would be. It just so happens there was also a Korean Festival at Kapiolani Park.

So now I was competing with an entire ethnic group for parking. I drove around and around the park looking for a space. I think I probably burned enough fuel to pay for Yu Shing’s wedding. Suddenly, on the far side of the park, a space opened up and I snagged it.

We could see the aquarium from there if I had a Hubbel telescope. I told my wife that if we shortcut it across the grass, we might make it in time for Koen’s first birthday. In the middle of the park, my wife stopped me, saying her heels were getting stuck in the soil.

This was about to go from bad to worse. That’s when I looked around and found familiarity in where we were. I looked at my wife and asked, “Hey honey, isn’t this where we flew kites at night when we first started going out?” She smiled and said, “Yes, you remembered.”

It was a moment. We both then took off our shoes and walked barefoot the rest of the way to the aquarium.

Thanks, Yu Shing and Travin, and congratulations!