All in all, having the extra days to take more in, soak it all up, was good. I got to all but one post office this time. I missed Pahala, but Honaunau was officially closed when I got there, and the lady was nice enough to postmark my stuff. I got to Ookala after hours (10:30 a.m. closing?), but the lady there said no, I'm open until 11. Another gold star. I had to backtrack to Ninole, which should've closed by 11 a.m., but the clerk there was nice enough to help me out even though it was around 11:15 already. Just so many nice people willing to tolerate my total postal nerdness.
Then I had to race the clock and get to Waikoloa that day before 4:30 p.m. The doors were shutting. The clerks were ready to hit the road. But I squeezed in at the buzzer.
I'm glad I retraced my steps to Kohala (Hawi) and Kukuihaele. Sure, I ended up in Kohala three times in a seven-day span, but it was like a slightly-caffeinated boost entering my bloodstream each time. Maybe the older I get, the more I crave the open space and friendlier nature of people who choose to live the rural life.
I even got to meet the folks who run Kailua Candy Company (Cathy and Robin) and their post office inside the candy shop. YES.
This was probably my favorite postal tour ever, more than mainland cities. More than Oahu, with its limited access to military post offices and the typical traffic. More than Kauai — which is a lot like the Big Island, but I don't know as many folks. More than Maui, which has just nine or 10 post offices. One day, hopefully, I'll get back to Molokai and find a way to the Kalaupapa Post Office. (It's too late to get a Mule Train postmark.) And Lanai, too.
I don't know how to explain why I like doing this. I just know it feeds my soul for some odd reason. I'm in a business that I'm passionate about, and yet the decline is very similar to the postal service. People go electronic most of the time, but they haven't let go completely of the printed word. I suppose I'm OK with all that. And I'll probably still be craving more places to see, more people to meet, more postmarks to collect. Bucket list? Japan. Alaska. Anywhere there are post offices.
I know there's one in Antarctica.
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