Which basically means an old lady just swindled me out of $30. Well, maybe. I’ve just been wandering today. First to the Honolulu Cookie Company. They are similar to the ABC stores I mentioned yesterday, but they are about every four blocks rather than on every corner! There is a wee packet of them on the way home to my parents. If you visit on the right day you might get one!

That then takes me to the post office to post a few things home. To be honest, maybe that was more of a swindle than Granny Hawaii, at $94.45, but it had coffee from Finger Lakes Coffee Roasters in it and I had to post that home rather than have it taken off of me at the NZ border! My story of “but I’ve carried it all over the USA since 14 June” probably wouldn’t wash…

I went to the very un-Hawaiian Cheesecake Factory for lunch. I don’t think I’ve been in one since the Pittsford days. Both their prices and calorie amounts have gone up, their service down.

Actually, it might not be their service. I originally had a lovely female server who called me ‘Miss’ – I’ll take it! She was going off shift and the grumpy guy who took over was awful. Now, I don’t know if these people don’t know how to deal with a person on their own, or if they just immediately think one person = tiny tip. Well yeah, it will be a tiny tip when you just ignore me after you’ve pushed another table next to mine. When I went to the table it was for four, but the nice lady pulled the other table away so there were two tables for two. Excellent. It is horrid enough having people staring at you as one person on a table on your own, without that being a table for four. So when Grumpy pushed the two tables together I politely said “could you please leave the tables separate?” Grumpy scowled and asked why so I just said it’s easier being a one at a table for two than a one at a table for four. Now, whether it was my accent, or his maths that couldn’t quite work out what I meant I’m not sure, but his “it makes no difference to me” response confused me slightly. Anyway, the $5 tip he got rather than the $9 he was expecting probably confused him more as he counted it at my table before I’d even left! Oh well, that was his point proven I guess – little table = little tip 😉

On to Granny at Dukes Market! I like a little craft market and it is lovely to have a wee nosey about. Wrong! First stall, bang – granny got me with her “handmade in Hawai’i”, “all natural wood”, “my uncle makes them all…” Thinking about it now, going by her age, her uncle is probably about 105 so how he can see to make these beautiful intricate boxes I don’t know! Looking at it now, I’m not even sure if the wood has been treated so I might not get that into NZ!

Hawaiian Granny 1 – 0 Lorraine! (well, -$30 technically)