Pilgrimage of aloha to 'ukulele makers on O'ahu

Recently I was in Honolulu for my first time in almost 5 years. The highlight was visiting KoAloha, and meeting Alan Okami, who made the concert low-G 'ukuleles (in 2003 and 2004) I love and play the most. It was a thrill to meet Papa KoAloha too. A big mahalo to them and to the rest of the Okami family and extended KoAloha 'ohana...I'll be your ambassador in China or wherever!

I didn't get to see my friend Joseph Souza this time, who made my beautiful Kawaonahele 8-string tenor in 2001, but I happened upon a store where his Kanile'a and Nalo ukes are sold, and had fun playing them, as seen above.

p.s. I just discovered a good Honolulu Star-Bulletin article on the Okami family story:
http://starbulletin.com/2005/10/09/travel/tsutsumi.html