5:30 a.m. and a the pre-dawn colors that have been painting the early morning sky in Kaawa are already beginning to fade.

We made it home safely, although a little later than planned, after cascading flight delays left our departure for Honolulu about an hour behind schedule.

Portland is a great place to visit. One thing you notice right away is an extremely visitor friendly airport. People working at the airport were friendly. Not “it’s my job” friendly. Genuinely friendly. Stores in the airport are not allowed to set prices above those charged at other locations in the city, a policy that immediately makes a very bit impression. A visitor information kiosk in the baggage claim area was staffed by several people who were almost giddy with joy when we gave them an opportunity to give us instructions for catching Portland’s light rail to downtown. A $2 ride, by the way, and used by quite a few travelers both coming and going. (Hello? Honolulu Hale? If you’re going to build a rail system in a tourism-based economy, it sure makes sense to include the airport.

We returned to Honolulu’s same-old airport issues, including those gouge the traveler prices and maintenance problems. But we were also greeted with a relatively new addition: A new map of the airport posted prominently in various locations. Good idea. The only problem is that this map is almost incomprehensible. Perhaps I should say largely incomprehensible. I’m not sure who signed off on the design, or how it was allowed to get so far off track. Did they test this map on some real people before approving it? Doubtful.

Ms. Annie was the last cat to show up last night, arriving under cover of darkness. Kili appeared sometime after we went to bed. All the rest, including the wandering Mr. Silverman, showed up pretty much right away. And we haven’t even broken out the new catnip toys purchased at Portland’s Saturday Market.

You’ll have to check the large version of this photo. There was one goose in this entire flock that didn’t have the standard issue plumage. He, or she, has a white head and stands out visually from the crowd. After a couple of days we could spot this bird easily in a large field of feeding geese. This bird is waiting to tell its story to an author of children’s books.