Hawaii Travel Log

By Jenine Stanley

Thursday, August 27, 1998

We began our day at around 4:30 a.m. as our ride to the airport left at 6:00 and we wanted to make sure we'd done every thing before we left. The plane left Columbus at around 8:30 a.m. with a stop in Chicago. We'd chosen United Airlines because of a good fare, but they also agreed to work with us on publicity for the trip. United Airlines was the first airline to carry guide dogs, so the partnership seemed fitting.

We stopped in Chicago and thought it would be a good idea to break the dogs before the nine-hour flight to Honolulu. We had told the airline ahead of time that we would need to do this. Much to my surprise, someone was waiting for us at the gate. She said she knew exactly where to take the dogs and would we like to stop at Special Services first to drop off our carry on bags?

We stopped at the Special Services area, a large room with a TV, restroom, water and a desk with a live person. She watched our carry on bags while we went out the other side of the airport. We had about an hour layover, just enough time to make the trip outside and back. For future reference, the area we used in O'Haire Airport is just outside baggage claim on the lower level. To get to it you have to go through the tunnel, then back through security to get back to your gate, but it does have grass and trash cans.

United had graciously upgraded us to first class on our flight to Honolulu. We sat in the bulkhead, middle two seats. This was okay, but if I had to do it over, I'd sit one row back as there was more room under the seat for the dogs than in the bulkhead. The crew was great though and I have no complaints about the flight or the services from United.

When we got to Honolulu, after nine hours in the air, the dogs were doing well, but they really needed to break. We'd only given them ice cubes, and then only during the last hour or so of the flight. They had eaten and weren't really hungry, just bored and wanting to go out. I warn you, if you make this flight to be sure your dog has emptied completely before leaving your last stop.

We did walk the dogs up and down the aisles once or twice, but the back part of the plane is fairly crowded, and this was just confusing after a while. The dogs didn't really seem to mind just laying there, though Toby did like to walk up to the restrooms with me and look at the drink cart.

We got off the plane and were met by Mike Lilly. Before we got off, the crew told us there were reporters outside. Now, understand, this is getting a little weird. We'd done PR, press releases, before the trip but we never expected anything to happen. Mike told us that we were, in fact, the first guide dog-teams from the mainland to come to Hawaii.

Linda Cote was the very first guide dog handler to bring her dog to Hawaii, but she did so as a Hawaiian resident, as she retains residency in Hawaii. We were the first mainlanders to come under the new rules. I have to say that being the first anything is really daunting. It's kind of odd to think that in today's society where guide-dogs are, or seem to be, everywhere, that there could still be "firsts," and places that aren't that familiar with guide-dogs.

Okay...the part you've all been waiting for! Quarantine! We made up folders with all the required paperwork in them and I must say that we were very nervous that we'd be missing one little thing and they'd ship the dogs off to the quarantine station. Fortunately, this didn't happen.

When I called in to report our arrival time, I spoke with Alan, one of the supervisors at the airport-quarantine station. He was very nice and took down all of my information. He asked me several other questions though that, had we not written the info down, I'd not have had the answers for, such as our microchip ID numbers. It is very important to have all this information in Braille, or at your fingertips some how, when you call Hawaii.

We spent a total of 30 minutes, or so, getting both dogs cleared through quarantine. When you arrive at the airport, your airline is to take you to the quarantine office. It is a short drive. There is grass on the way so you can immediately relieve the dogs and the staff is very understanding about this. Once inside, the staff will take your papers and check to see that all the information is there. They fill it in on a form of their own.

Then they take the dog back to have blood drawn and a brief exam done. We now have a copy of the form they use for the exam. I haven't had a chance to look it over yet though. Both of our dogs passed with flying colors. Mike Lilly was with us, observing the process, talking about revising the forms and paperwork. The state will be working with GDUI to do this in the near future.

The only real hitch in the quarantine process was getting back from the quarantine office to the baggage claim. When we came through, there was no mechanism set up to get us back to the terminal. Mike walked us back, but it was a good half-mile and I was not a happy camper after such a long flight to be walking that distance. This is another area where GDUI is working closely with the state, the airport and airlines to make sure people get back and forth.

We returned to the airport terminal where our traditional lei-greeting was waiting. I had the honor of receiving my lei from Mike (something that we'll joke about for years, quite possibly). We had arrived! Transport to the hotel and checking into our room was a breeze. The hotel main lobby at the Hilton Hawaiian Village is all open and it was a zoo! We found out the convention of the Association of Federal, State and Municipal Employees Union was just ending that weekend, and by Sunday the hotel would be cleared out. Thursday though it was still a zoo.

We got a great room package in the Alii tower, on a concierge floor. This tower is self-contained. It's where the president, Donald Trump, and others stay because it is easy to secure. It's also very easy to navigate as a blind person. The Hawaiian Village grounds are fairly easy to get around though they are huge. There are pathways and lots of "sound cues." To my surprise, I even saw correct signage almost everywhere.

Well, you know the first thing you do when arriving at a place like this is to get into your bathing suit and head for the beach!

Walking without shoes (a really common thing to do that I still can't get over), we took the dogs on leash out our hotel door and to the left where we just followed the sidewalk to the sand.

By this time I was very tired and this all seemed like a dream. I wasn't really walking on Wakiki beach, was I? I wasn't really the first mainland guide dog handler to be here, was I? It was just strange.

The dogs loved the ocean though. One thing you must remember when in Hawaii is that your dog is not allowed off leash unless it's in a fenced in area. Guide dogs must be under the control of their handlers at all times when outside. This means a leash. Our dogs played in the waves on long leash. Our dog Drummer wasn't impressed with the ocean, but Toby loved it, jumping over the little waves and running around with his leash in his mouth.

After thoroughly drying off the dogs, we left them to sleep while we went to a nearby patio-type restaurant in the hotel for dinner. That was Thursday. The only other thing to say is that there were flowers everywhere in this hotel...Orchids on the sink, plumaria all over the place.

Friday, August 28, 1998

We woke up early Friday morning around 6:00 a.m. We were still on Ohio time, I think. Of course, it was noon in Ohio so what does that say? We walked down along the beach where only a handful of people were taking pictures of the sunrise. That day we had a tour scheduled to leave at around 9:00, but first we wanted to see the beach at sunrise.

The floor we were on had a special breakfast buffet and this quickly became our favorite part of the day. The staff was incredibly nice and we developed some very good friendships over the week. All I can say about the food is that there's a reason Hawaiian women wear muumuus. (And yes, that's how you spell it, and it's pronounced "moo oo".)

The food was fantastic! Lots of fresh pineapple, which tastes nothing like canned pineapple and, my all time favorite, fresh papaya. Macadamia nut butter for the English muffins topped off the feast along with Kona coffee. We ate in an outdoor spot where you could see and hear the ocean and the little Hawaiian doves that came in for handouts. Rough breakfast duty, but it could quite possibly make me a morning person.

We went on the Arizona Memorial and City tour that morning. We'd been on at least two of the local TV stations Thursday evening and Friday morning with the interviews taped as we got off the plane. The Friday morning interviews showed us talking a bit, but we missed them as we were having that wonderful breakfast. I can't imagine I ever want to hear, or have described, my appearance after nine-hours on a plane!

People recognized us everywhere we went. It was a little odd. Our guide for the tour did a great job of describing things to us. I have to say here that I noticed that all the people we ran in to who had lived in Hawaii for any length of time were, not only very gentle, but also among the most appropriate as far as "disability" etiquette.

They only gave us as much help as they thought we'd need. If we needed more assistance with something, all we had to do was ask, but they were certainly not overprotective. I was never given directions by grabbing me, something I wish others would learn.

People seemed very verbal in almost everything they did. The regional accent, for an amateur linguist like me, is beautiful and you just like to hear people talk and tell stories because the voices, even of transplants, are musical. The Arizona Memorial had, at one time, a guide dog handler working there, but he's since moved to the mainland.

The visitor's center is just a big building with a museum and theater. You go through what the National Park Service calls "programs." A program includes a movie about Pearl Harbor and the Arizona and a boat-trip out to the memorial and back.

You get some time to walk around the Visitors Center as well. Our guide introduced us to Dick, a Pearl Harbor survivor who had his scrapbook and metals on display for visitors. He fell in love with our dogs and it was hard to get past them to real conversation. But when we did, we got an earful on our current leadership in this country. It was really an honor to meet Dick and a few other men who had served there during World War II.

We were seated ahead of the crowd for the movie, right down front so that Kent had a better view and the dogs had more room. The movie is not audio described, obviously, but there are some terrifically descriptive sounds. There is one sound in the movie that might make a dog jump. The bomb that hit the Arizona goes off and it made all of us jump, so I'd suspect that a noise-sensitive dog would react in some way. Our two just looked up and went back to sleep.

We then took the launch over to the Arizona Memorial. This is quite a moving experience. The memorial stands over the third gun turret.

The whole place has a distinct feeling. It's very moving if you simply stay quiet and open yourself up to it. Unfortunately, because the stay on the memorial has been extended to around 20 minutes, people seem to get bored and get very talkative. Kent and I found it disturbing and very disrespectful. After all, this is a shrine and there are some 1,500 or so men buried underneath it.

The chapel area of the memorial is worth walking into and having described. It is a room where sunlight floods in and it's all white. Names of crewmen line the walls. Once again, someone really didn't get the purpose of the memorial and asked to take a picture of the dogs in the chapel. We let him do it, but I still feel badly about that. It was really inappropriate.

I am a history buff, which gives my visit a little different slant. I've read a good bit about World War II and Pearl Harbor. This was a difficult trip for me. I came away from the memorial with a sense of loud shouting to us who are still here. The place is supposed to be one of quiet reflection, but the more you open yourself up to that, the more you get this feeling that all these men, most of whom were under age 25, just want to know what's gone on since they died.

Have we learned anything? Are we even listening or is this just another tourist stop? It took me along time to shake that feeling. I wanted to just yell to everyone on the memorial to shut up for five minutes.

From the Memorial Park the bus ride through Punch Bowl National Military Cemetery of the Pacific gave us both a chance to comedown from that experience at the memorial. The guide gave an excellent description of the cemetery and all the things we passed to get there.

From there, we went to downtown Honolulu to see the statue of King Kamehameah and the city buildings, plus a drive through China Town. Our guide also explained, being part native Hawaiian, about the new land acts that would allow him to get a piece of land and how important that was to him. He gave us a lot of info on his family as well. All of it was fascinating.

During our walk about time in the downtown area, Kent and I explored a large Banyan tree. This tree has many trunks and an umbrella-shaped crown and spreads to take over everything if not kept in check. I'd read about them, but had never seen one.

Back to our hotel from the tour and a bit of time in the hot tub before dinner that evening with the staff of the Eye of the Pacific, Guide Dogs and Mobility Services. We met Pat Blum and her dog, Sultan, the first "Labradoodle" trained as a guide dog from Royal Guide Dog Association in Australia.

Sultan is a unique dog. I'll try to describe him. He is off white with darker ears. His coat is wooly like a lamb. It had just been clipped when we saw him so it was short. It isn't tight like a poodle's coat, but it is woolly. He is a tall and lean dog with long legs. His legs are all "poodle"...long, straight with tiny feet and long toes. His back and bum are more Lab-like - thicker, and a bit wider.

His neck has the Lab folds of skin on it but his head is, again. mostly poodle-looking. It is very pointed on top with big round eyes. His muzzle is a little thicker, like a Lab but his nose is very round and black. The ears hang down lower than Lab ears, more like Golden ears, but not as low as poodle ears. They are not as wide as retriever ears, but wider than poodle ears.

His tail curves up like Toby's and can get really fluffy. When we saw him, it was trimmed, but it does have a tuft of fur on the end. The tail's not that long, about the same length as Toby's tail.

Sultan has an extremely intelligent expression on his face when he's working and is an excellent worker. Toby fell head over heels in love with Sultan. They were buddies from first sight. Both tried to play with each other in harness, something neither ever does with other dogs. We didn't ever have time to let them really romp around, which is a pity, but maybe someday.

Sultan is nine years old but you'd certainly never know it. Eye of the Pacific is the organization that screens and pays for people to receive guide dogs from Australia and New Zealand. Now that Hawaiians have a choice of mainland guide dog schools, Eye of the Pacific may have to change its focus a bit. If you were a blind Hawaiian wanting a guide dog, you went to Eye of the Pacific and they made all the decisions for you.

Mobility screening was done by the Australian guide dog trainers but application interviews were conducted by a panel of Eye Board members who were guide-dog handlers. This was definitely being judged by a jury of your peers. As you can imagine, changing over to a system where the mainland schools do all this work and Hawaiians can choose from a number of said schools, was a difficult concept to convey. We really did enjoy our time with the Eye of the Pacific staff though and hope to work more with them in the future.

Saturday, August 29, 1998

We got up early again to take pictures on the beach. Then we spent the rest of the morning at breakfast. This was our "off" day, with nothing planned. One of the TV stations was supposed to come and do interviews, but that got pre-empted by the Northwest Airlines strike. So, we did the beach for a bit and back to the hot tub, pool and laying in the shade with the tradewinds keeping us cool.

That morning a picture of us coming off the plane was on the front page of the local section of the morning paper. Again, everyone saw it and recognized us. That afternoon, jet lag hit big time. I came back in from the pool and laid down at around 3:00 p.m. I remember vaguely feeding the dogs at 5:30, taking them out and going back to sleep from around 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 or so the next morning. After that, I was acclimated to Hawaii time. <grin>

Sunday, August 30, 1998

Sunday morning we had interviews with two TV stations, Channel 4 and Channel 9. These interviews, including staging shots where we walked around and the reporter introduced the dogs, took nearly two hours. We were exhausted after that. After lunch, we decided to take a dinner cruise that evening. I wanted to buy a Hawaiian dress for the cruise so we went to one of the shops in the hotel bazaar. Kent began his famous bargaining with the two Korean ladies who owned this shop. Having lived in Korea for a while gave him a good in and we did get a discount. <grin>

Then the fun of the dinner cruise began. We discovered that the company that was transporting us to the catamaran had charged us "one adult fare for two Seeing Eye dogs." We worked through the hotel concierge, a very understanding lady named Sonny, and once we reached a company supervisor, the charge disappeared. It showed up on our bill and was subsequently credited on the same bill.

I have a feeling there's a lot of education that will need to take place regarding guide dogs and transportation, particularly cabs and these types of limo services. The time came for the cruise and we were met by the stretch-limo we'd ordered. A representative from the cruise company was there also to escort us onto the ship. This was a sunset dinner cruise around the island.

The funniest thing about this cruise was that there were two tables, ours and a larger one of WW II survivors, who spoke English. Everyone else spoke Japanese, primarily. The crew would come to our two tables and give us English instructions while everything else went over the P.A. system in Japanese. Lots of people did speak English, but their primary language was Japanese. It was hysterical.

The cruise was nice, again, a pretty tourist-y thing to do, but romantic, and yes, fun. I will warn anyone now going to Hawaii that if you have problems with people petting your dog, you'll be exhausted in Hawaii. Regular citizens don't go out of their way to pet, but the tourists can't keep their hands off or their mouths shut. We guess that we encountered people from at least 50 different countries.

Those first couple days around the hotel, people cooed, clicked, whistled, petted and all the wrong things. Our dogs ignore that kind of stuff. Most people doing it didn't speak English and we didn't even try to stop them but kept our dogs under good control. After those few days, the dogs became invisible. Once again, a lot of education probably needs to go on, but it's going to be hard in this case because most of the problem comes from tourists, not locals. Locals were friendly to the dogs, but then we were interacting with them in a service-oriented environment, not just out on the streets.

Monday, August 31, 1998

We started this, the crucial day, with an early breakfast with our now good friends at the second floor buffet. They all wished us luck as we headed off to court. The cab situation was a little different. The night before, as we waited for our limo to the cruise, we talked with Charlie Cab, the company that works the Hilton Hawaiian Village. The man at the cabstand assured us that "we know the law says we have to take dogs, but they get the cabs dirty. What do we do about that?" I maintained that they get the cabs no dirtier than kids do, but that wasn't getting us anywhere.

Then Kent explained that he'd been watching the cabs that pulled up and they were very, very clean. Drivers were well groomed and everything looked very neat. We suggested that they send a station wagon cab for us and we would put our dogs in the back. We did this partially because we wanted to be assured a cab and didn't want to fight that hassle on our way to court. Secondly, I didn't want to possibly ruin a new pair of hose getting out of a tight cab with two dogs...a virtual inevitability.

It all worked out well that morning. The station wagon cab came and the driver had a blanket for the back area. We loaded the dogs and off we went...no problem.

We asked the cab driver, who was from Vietnam, about the situation with dirt, or perceived dirt. He said, "The Japanese don't tip for dirty cabs or smelly drivers. Cabs must stay very clean for big tips." Another thing I must mention is the Asian influence in Hawaiian society. You see it everywhere. The Japanese bought a lot of property in Hawaii over the past several years. Now that their economy has gone sour, they've pulled out a good bit, but Hawaii is still set up to serve the Japanese and it really shows.

This is not necessarily all bad, but there will need to be some massive education if more blind folks with guide dogs come and want to use cabs. The TV stations were again meeting us at the courthouse. They actually filmed us getting out of the cab, something we didn't know when we did it! I can only imagine how that looked.

I have to tell you all that it is a bit intimidating to walk into a federal courtroom for the first time. There were only a few people there. Kent and I, a representative from the local Independent Living Center, Pat Blum, and the attorneys for NFB were all in the peanut gallery. Mike Lilly, the DOJ representative, Sheila Ferrar, and the attorneys for the State gave their testimony. A copy of the transcript will be available soon.

Mike introduced me and I had about five minutes to speak before the judge. I'll let the transcript reflect my comments, as they were primarily improvisational. I spoke for both GDUI and ACB. As always, I'm fine when I speak, afterwards, I dissolved into fits of shaking once back at my seat.

Pat spoke next as a Hawaii resident. She had come in only a few minutes before the hearing. Ironically, a cab company had refused her service. She called a cab from the same company we took. Normally she tells the dispatcher that she has a dog. This time, he hung up before she got a chance to do that. She said she only does this in Honolulu because she's had so much trouble with people refusing the dog.

In San Francisco where she visits her daughter and grandson, she never told them she had a dog this last visit when Sultan could finally come with her. So, the cab came to her house that morning and the driver feigned allergies. Uh...Sultan is an allergy proof dog!! She ended up calling another company.

Pat will be working with Mike Lilly to take legal action against the company. He will extend the same assistance to anyone having similar problems should you visit Hawaii. Back to the hearing: The judge gave a lengthy statement about his concerns regarding rabies, mongooses, and how serious a rabies outbreak would be to Hawaii. This judge was extremely hung up on the issue of rabies and will not except scientific evidence as completely reliable.

It was frustrating to listen to him actually speak on the matter. Now I understand why it's been so difficult to get anywhere for the past five years. The transcript will show what I mean. The good news is that Judge Ezra ruled that the settlement was a fair and appropriate compromise and that he would sign it later that day after one last consideration of it.

We hugged, we pumped hands and once outside, we did yell! More interviews with Mike and the TV folks. I think that I will end this part of the travel log as it's getting a bit long. More later about what happened after the hearing, our trip to the USS Missouri, walking on a volcano an dour guided tour of the Polynesian Cultural Center. Stay tuned!

This log was written for members of the Buddy-L e-mail list. This list is for guide dog handlers and friends. To subscribe, send mail to:
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Jeanine's trip to Hawaii was a result of much hard work from Guide Dog Users Inc. (GDUI) to allow an exemption for guide dogs from the state's quarantine laws. For more info about GDUI, call them at 1-888-858-1008 for a free guide dog disk, or send e-mail to: jcsheehan@smart.net.

You can also reach Jenine Stanley at jeninems@infinet.com.