Wednesday, May 20th　Chicago→San Francisco

Lv. O'Hare at Chicago 11:30am (TW175)
Ar. San Francisco 1:47pm
Stay Victoria Hotel, San Francisco

8:30　Wake up.
9:15　Take the bus from the Hilton Hotel to O'Hare Field.
TWA's beef steak, delicious!

At the San Francisco airport bus stop, Mr. Nakata, Manager of Ichiyoshi Securities, approaches me. He gets me into a taxi.
The two of us take a boat ride. $2.50. Great view of the Golden Gate and Harbor.
With Mr. Nakata to Chinatown. Eat Park Chow Main and Seaweed Soup.
At night, the two of us go to the O'Farrel Theater. ($5.00) It was incredible!

11:00 Arrived at Victoria Hotel. Japanese-run ($5.25).
No bath or toilet, but the room is splendid. Ate two oranges, then had a Budweiser for the first time in ages.

May 21 (Thu) San Francisco

10:00 Woke up. Tanmen in Chinatown. 90 cents.
Booked the 1:00 PM Grayline tour at the Hilton Hotel.
Barber shop: $3.00, expensive!
Booked “1776” at the Curran Theater. $3.75 (second cheapest seats).

Grayline tour, comfortable. Enjoyed a succession of varied scenery.
Saw the Golden Gate Bridge more than enough, but it was still great.
Twin Peaks, Oakland, Cliff House... It was a three-and-a-half-hour tour.

Dinner also in Chinatown. Fried rice and steamed pork bun for 90 cents.

“1776” ran non-stop from 8:30pm to 11:00pm. One word: magnificent!

May 22 (Fri) San Francisco → Hawaii

Lv. San Francisco 1:00pm (UA021)
Ar. Hilo, Hawaii ?

8:30 AM: Woke up
9:30 AM: Checked out
Breakfast: Toast & Eggs plus Milk $1.00

Saw the Fairmont Hotel, listened to church music for about an hour at Grace Cathedral.

11:00 AM: Picked up Mr. Nakata at Beverly Plaza.
11:30 AM: Airport bus departed. Thanks to Mr. Nakata.

United flight to Hilo, comfortable. Under clear skies, scattered clouds, the clear blue of the sea below, the blue of the sky above. The Sisco coastline was also magnificent.

Finally, Hilo. I'm really running out of money. Six days left, what to do? I have a ticket, so that's good. I'll manage somehow. Still, what a great trip!

By the way, since this flight isn't to Honolulu, there are no Japanese people on board.

15:00 (Hawaii time) Arrived in Hilo.
No luggage storage. United employee was kind and agreed to hold my bags until the day after tomorrow.

The woman at the information desk was also kind and drove me to the hotel.
Hotel... Palm Terrace ($6.24/day). Japanese-American owned. Room is great, with bath and toilet. Better than the Penn Garden Hotel in New York ($15.00).

Rented a Polaroid camera from Hertz. Includes one roll of film. If returned in Honolulu, they'll refund the $5.00 deposit.

Evening
Oyakodon, sashimi, miso soup, udon. ...Ate my fill.
Bought beer and dried squid on the way back. Took a shower and relaxed. A pleasant buzz.

May 23 (Sat) Hawaii Island

Last night, jet lag made me sleepy by 8 PM. The beer helped me sleep soundly. Still woke up at 1 AM, 4 AM, and 6 AM. Got up before 7 AM.
Breakfast of bananas and coffee. Refreshing.

Sightseeing Bus Tour ($15.00)
Rode in a limousine with two elderly couples. Unfortunately, it rained. They say here, “You can forget your lunch box, but never forget your umbrella.” A vast expanse of lava gravel.

Rainbow Falls, okay.
Black Sand Beach, bizarre... unique to Hawaii Island?
Kilauea Volcano, magnificent... smoke everywhere, a terrifying sight.

4:00 PM: Tour finished. It was a good tour. The tourists with me was good too.