This is a town so obscure, there's not even a sign on the main highway to usher drivers up the hilly road. When I first did a postal tour in the mid-1990s, I was astounded at the number of post offices and old towns that were off the main highway. Getting to see these places did something in me. Each place is a living history, and on this postal tour, I was a bit afraid that a few more post offices may have been closed down.
Honomu was not one of them, but thanks to the clerk there, I learned that Ookala, one of those ancient, dying post offices, was still functioning. In fact, the Ookala Post Office closed at 10:30 am, she told me. It was already 10:05. Ookala is several post offices up the Hamakua Coast. How would I make it there while staying on schedule? Ookala was a literal question mark on my tour schedule.
I decided to skip the nearby post offices on the list and get to Ookala, even though there was no way to get there on time. Had to try.
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