Honolulu

My last morning in Hawaii, we went into Honolulu to do some sightseeing. After the normal hassle of trying to find a place to park at 8:30am on a workday in a city, we managed to get lucky and find an open meter not far from where I wanted to be.

Our first stop was the court house to see the statue of Kamehameha I. He is the chief who united all of the warring Hawaiian Islands into one kingdom at the turn of the 18th century.


Next was the Iolani Palace. The palace is the only official state residence of royalty in the United States, and was the official residence of the Hawaiian Kingdom's last two monarchs - King Kalakaua, who built the Palace in 1882, and his sister and successor, Queen Lili`uokalani. The original structure was built in 1845 by King Kamehameha III. It housed five Hawaiian kings before it was demolished in 1874 and replaced by the larger and more modern palace. After the royal government was overthrown, most of the items inside the palace were removed. Slowly, though, some of the items are finding their way back to the palace. Some of the crown jewels are kept in the galleries below the building, along with clothing and other artifacts. Unfortunately, no photographs are allowed inside the palace or galleries. This little tidbit almost started a riot in my tour group, as several people were upset. Normally, even places that don’t allow flash photos will allow non-flash photos. But not at the Iolani Palace.


On the palace grounds are the barracks, coronation pavilion, and crypt.

Iolani Barracks, originally completed in 1871, was designed by architect Theodore Heuck to house the Royal Guard. This coral block structure contains an open courtyard surrounded by rooms once used by the guards as a mess hall, kitchen, dispensary, berth room, and lockup. Following the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy and the disbanding of the Royal Guard, Iolani Barracks was used at different times as headquarters for the National Guard of Hawaii, temporary shelter for refugees of the 1899 Chinatown fire, a service club, a government office building, and a storage facility. The Barracks was originally located on what are now the grounds of the Hawaii State Capitol. After being dismantled block by block, Iolani Barracks was moved and reconstructed at its present location in 1965.


The Coronation Pavilion was built for the February 12, 1883 coronation of King Kalakaua and Queen Kapi`olani. It was moved from its original site near the King Street steps. The Coronation Pavilion has also been used for the inauguration of the Governors of the State of Hawaii.


In 1825, a royal tomb of white-washed coral block was constructed to house the remains of Kamehameha II and his consort, Queen Kamamalu. Both had died of measles while on a journey to England the year before. For the next forty years, this royal tomb and the land immediately surrounding it became the final resting place for the kings of Hawaii, their consorts, and important chiefs of the kingdom. In 1865, eighteen coffins were removed from this site and transferred in a torchlight procession at night to a new Royal Mausoleum in Nu`uanu Valley. The royal tomb area is marked by a fenced-in mound area out of respect for Hawaiian chiefs who may still be buried there.


The next stop of the morning was the state capitol building, to see the state seal and a statue of Queen Lili`uokalani.



Our final sightseeing stop for the morning was the Kawaiaha’o Chuch, the Westminster Abbey of Hawaii. We couldn’t go in, as a wedding ceremony was occurring and another was either finishing up or getting ready to start, but we did get to wander around the grounds a bit.

The first Christian Church in Hawaii, it was built between 1836 and 1842. Fourteen thousand coral slabs comprise the main structure. These slabs were quarried from under water and transported, and each weighed more than 1,000 pounds. Natives dove 10 to 20 feet to hand-chisel these pieces from the reef, then raised them to the surface, loaded them into canoes, and ferried them to shore. Wood for the interior of the structure was cut from the Ko'olau Mountains.


This is the mausoleum of King Lunalilo, the first elected monarch of Hawaii. He wanted to be buried in the Church cemetery rather than in the Royal Mausoleums.

Nu’uanu Pali Lookout

The Nu’uanu Pali Lookout overlooks the 985 foot cliffs of the Ko’olau Mountain Range. The views are incredible, and the wind can be pretty strong.


The Nu’uanu Pali was the setting for one of the most significant battles in Hawaiian history. In 1795, Kamehameha I and his army invaded Oahu, arriving in a fleet of war canoes at Waikiki Beach. The Oahu warriors were led by Kalanikupule, the chief of Maui and Oahu.


Kamehameha’s army marched to Nu’uanu Valley to face Kalanikupule’s troops. The battle was fierce and bloody. Gradually, Kamehameha’s men gained an advantage, forcing Kalanikupule’s forces to retreat further up the valley. The Oahuans attempted to make a final stand, but Kamehameha’s army was too strong. Thousands of Kalanikupule’s men were pursued and driven over the steep cliffs to their deaths. It’s said that the victory was so complete that not a single Oahu warrior that got into the upper part of the valley escaped alive.


An engineering firm was hired in 1897 to build what is now the Old Pali Road, a winding road used to carry traffic across the mountains. During construction, workers found an estimated 800 human skulls and other human bones at the foot of the cliffs - the century-old remains of Kalanikupule’s slain warriors.


Today, parts of the Old Pali Road is still available to foot traffic. We walked down from the lookout, and every time we turned a corner, it looked like the road ended. But then we’d see that it was really just another corner, with the vegetation covering a large part of the road. We didn’t explore very far, but I did see a couple of people who look like they use the old road as part of their regular exercise.

Punchbowl Crater

The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific is located in the bowl of Pu’owaina, or Punchbowl Crater. Pu’owaina translates to “Hill of Sacrifice” and its believed that the site was used as an altar where Hawaiians offered sacrifices to their gods. Now, though, more than 44,000 US war veterans and their family members are interred there. The cemetery was dedicated on September 2, 1949. 776 casualties from the attack on Pearl Harbor were among the first to be buried there.


The Honolulu Memorial was erected by the American Battle Monuments Commission in 1964 and dedicated in 1966. It honors the sacrifices and achievement of American Armed Forces in the Pacific during WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. On the front of the tower which houses the chapel is a 30-foot female figure known as "Columbia" standing on the symbolized prow of a US Navy carrier with a laurel branch in her left hand and the inscription by President Lincoln "...The Solemn Pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom".


To the left of the cemetery is a memorial pathway that is lined with a variety of memorials from various organizations that honor America’s veterans. The pathway leads to the highest point of the crater’s rim, which provides absolutely wonderful views of Honolulu, Diamond Head, Waikiki, Pearl Harbor, and eastern mountain ranges.

Kukaniloko Birthstone State Monument

Kukaniloko is where Hawaiian royalty gave birth to their children, in order to ensure their high-ranking status. The lava stones were believed to have the power to ease labor pains – although no one knows if the stones were as effective as a good epidural.


If you don’t know what you’re looking for, its very easy to overshoot this site. It’s at an intersection with only a small paved section to indicate the way. There are stones blocking the red clay path, so cars can’t go out to the site. Its only about a quarter of a mile walk, though, from the road to the main cluster of stones.



There are roughly 180 stones, scattered over half an acre. The majority of them are in a grove of eucalyptus and coconut trees, and the entire area is surrounded by pineapple fields. There are two rows of 18 stones leading to the grove, one for each of the 36 chiefs that would witness the birth. And to think, some people stress over which family members to allow at the birth...





In a way, the stones remind me of cairns I’ve seen in Scotland and Mexico (although I don’t think they were called cairns in Mexico. Angel? A little help, please?) Regardless of what they’re called, these areas are sacred for a reason. They always give me a feeling of peace and serenity, and make me feel more connected to the past.

Random Spots Around Oahu

During our various forays around the island, I saw a truly obscene amount of simply gorgeous scenery. Whenever possible, I got Matt to stop so I could get out of the car to take some photos. Other times, though, I just switched to the speed setting of my camera and rolled the car window down. Amazingly, I managed to get some good pictures, even traveling at 55 mph.

On the way to Matt’s place from the airport, we stopped at Bellows Air Force Base for my first dose of sand and water.


The next day, we visited Kualoa Bay, where I could get a view of Mokoli’i, also known as Chinaman’s Hat.


The mountains near the bay also provided an interesting sight. Look at the right side of the mountain, just above the palm trees. Its almost as though the mountain is watching over the various small islands in the bay.


The waves along the North Shore weren’t doing anything spectacular, but the beaches were beautiful. The water varied between blue and green, and was so clear that it was easy to see the bottom.





These are shots of the mountains from the car. The reddish coloration is where a fire burned through forest, damaging trees and exposing the ground.

Byodo-In Temple

On Thursday, Matt and I visited the Byodo-In Temple. It is aptly located in the Valley of the Temples. Tall mountains surround the valley, providing a beautiful backdrop for the temple. While there, I saw the temple cat, a black swan, a grumpy peacock, and slews of hungry koi.


A bit of background on the temple:

This Buddhist temple is a replica of the 900-year-old Byodo-In located in Uji, Japan on the southern outskirts of Kyoto. The temple was built in the 1960's to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the arrival of the first Japanese immigrant workers in Hawaii who came to work in the sugar plantation fields. Inside the Byodo-In Temple is a nine-foot Lotus Buddha. It is the largest wooden Buddha carved in over 900 years and is stained in a black lacquer and decorated in gold leaf.


Beside the temple is a 5-foot, three-ton brass Peace Bell. The bell can be heard throughout Kahalu’u when rung. The deep tone of the bell sounds a message of calm and peace. Ringing the bell will purify the mind of evil spirits and temptation. It is said that ringing this bell will bring you happiness, blessings, and a long life, and is customarily rung before entering the temple.


The temple grounds are often used for wedding ceremonies for Hawaiians or visitors from Japan. The temple has become more popular since it was used as a filming location in the first season of “Lost,” where it served as the home of the Korean woman Sun's father.

Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor is a must for anyone visiting Oahu. After all, imagine the horrified expressions you’d see if you told someone you didn’t bother going to Pearl Harbor... And when the guidebooks say get in line early, they aren’t kidding. Matt and I were in line at 7:00, and the line was already pretty long. They started handing out tickets at 7:30, and by the time we got to the gate, they were already on the third group. Lucky for us, there happened to be two tickets left over for the second trip – there was a tour group in front of us that wanted to stay together – so we only had about 10 minutes to wait before we saw the video. The video and trip out and back to the Arizona only lasted a little over an hour.


WWII is not one of the times in history that particularly fascinates me – I’m much more interested in the 1600s through the 1800s. Having said that, though, I did find the video they show before the boat ride out to the Arizona to be rather enlightening. It discussed some of the errors made by the US that allowed the attack to be as devastating as it was, including lining the planes wing to wing on the airfield to prevent internal sabotage, and assuming that the attack planes was a group of US planes returning from a mission.


On the actual memorial, I saw several people from the older generations in tears. Obviously, the site of the Arizona touched them deeply, and for some, I’m sure, brought back memories. I was surprised and impressed by the fact that men who survived the attack on the Arizona could request interment on the ship when they passed. I was also surprised to see that oil is still visible in the water around the memorial.

Dole Plantation

The Dole Plantation was a nice way to spend a couple of hours. Matt and I made it through the maze in just under an hour. The maze is even bigger than it was in 2001, when it was officially the World’s Largest Maze. They now have 8 secret boxes spread throughout the maze, and visitors can compete for the fastest time in finding all 8. Our hour didn’t come even close. If I remember correctly, the fastest time on record is about 7 minutes. I’m guessing that was done by someone who had been there before and studied the map you can get at the end (or if you don’t want to bother competing).

I poked around the garden a bit, but didn’t take the tour or train ride. Four neat items there are signposts that point to different locations and show the distances.


The store has loads of things to look at and buy, including pineapples. I had some pineapples shipped home to give as thank-you gifts to my neighbors and the coworker that picked me up at the airport. And I kept a couple for myself, of course. Those pineapples were wonderful – I’ve never tasted any that sweet before. They also make something called Dole Whip, which is basically a soft-serve pineapple ice cream. That stuff is seriously yummy. I actually stopped by the plantation one afternoon when I was on my own, just to get another bowl.

Riding at Turtle Bay Resort

Reading my Fodor’s Guide to Oahu, I discovered that there are a few stables on the island that rent horses and provide trail rides. The stable at Turtle Bay Resort even allow the horses to be ridden on the beach - and they are the only stable on the island that do. Naturally, I jumped all over that, and called to make a reservation my first full day on the island. Matt had no interest at all in riding, but he didn’t mind sitting in the car and reading while he waited on me. So, Monday morning, we drove out to Turtle Bay and I went riding.


While I waited for my time slot to roll around, I poked around the stables a bit and met Sweetie, the official Welcome Cat.


Normally, the rides are done in groups of 8 or fewer, but I got very lucky. No one else had signed up for my time slot, so I got to have a private ride at the group rate. Alice, the guide, even let me take a bit longer than usual, since we were chatting and stopping for photo ops every so often. Alice was on Lizzie, a foul-tempered and extremely slow mare. In some ways, she reminded me of Lulu, the horse I had when I was younger. She insisted on being in the front, and snapped at my horse, Beetle, when he got too close.


When Alice found out that I had some riding experience, she asked if I’d be willing to ride Beetle. He’d only been at the stables for a couple of months, and wasn’t very solid on his trail horse training. He didn’t like to be near the water, tended to try and head home if he thought he could get away with it, and generally didn’t want to pay me any attention at all. We actually got along beautifully, once he realized I wasn’t going to tolerate any crap. Apparently, the folks at the stables will usually ride new or untrained horses for about six months before they put a visitor on them. Guess I’m just special like that.


Alice was wonderful about stopping to take pictures of me, Beetle and the scenery. We did try and get closer to the water at one point, but much like Duncan, Beetle seemed to think he’d melt if the water actually managed to touch him. Silly boy. Course, it didn’t help that Lizzie snapped at Beetle when I got close enough to hand Alice my camera...


During our ride through the woods, Alice told me that the very large Indian banyan tree on the property is commonly seen in the show “Lost.” Having never seen the show, I can’t actually verify that. She also told me that the thin shoots hanging down from the tree eventually hit the ground and become roots for new branches, and that’s how one tree can become so spread out.


The ride was wonderful – very relaxing, beautiful scenery, and a great guide. Definitely worth the price of admission. And before I left, Beetle even walked up to me and rubbed his head on my chest. I’m sure he was just scratching an itch, but we’ll pretend it was an act of understanding and affection...

Vacation

My week in Hawaii was lovely. Low humidity, temps never above 90 degrees, sunny every day. Couldn’t have asked for better weather. Of course, having two weeks off from work certainly wasn’t a bad thing, either. I spent the entire time on Oahu, with no island hopping. And lucky me, I managed to avoid getting sunburned.

The flights weren’t too bad. About 2 and a half hours from here to Dallas, and then just under 8 hours from DFW to Honolulu. And just under 7 hours coming back. Gotta love those tailwinds.

While I was there, I did quite a bit of sight-seeing and took over 2,000 photos. Literally. I’m in the process now of culling out the bad pictures, and then I’ll go back through and remove as many duplicates as I can. Because, really, I don’t want to get 2,000 prints and then have to decide which ones to put in the scrapbook. After I pull the duplicates, I’ll get the remaining pictures up on the trusty Kodak site and start sharing them. One thing I discovered about the pictures – there’s a small spot visible on the left side of pictures with light backgrounds. I didn’t realize it was there before I left because I really don’t ever take pictures of the sky. If I really feel like taking the time and effort, I’m sure I could Photoshop the spot out, but I seriously doubt I’ll feel like doing that. After all, that’s what cropping is for, right? I’m also going to do a post on each of the interesting places I visited, with a few pictures attached. I figure that’s the best way to get my thoughts down now, so that I’m not scratching my head, wondering what I did and where I went when I’m ready to start the scrapbook.

The only bad part about the trip was that my friend, Matt, occasionally seemed to forget that this was my vacation, not his. Every now and then, he’d pop out with “I’ve been there before and don’t want to go back” or “I’ve seen that before and didn’t like it, so you won’t, either.” Um, excuse me? Who flew 10½ hours to get here? By the third day, we’d worked it out. He and I would go somewhere in the morning, and then back to his place after getting lunch. And then I’d take his car and go do what I wanted, and he would stay home and watch ESPN. It worked out well for both of us, I think. We also only ate at a non-national chain twice. That was a bit disappointing. We ate Mexican once (not exactly local cuisine), and had lunch at a small seafood place in Hale’Iwa. Other than that, we ate fast food or big chains like Outback. Not that I have anything against Outback, but I can get that here in Raleigh.

One really neat, very random sort of thing happened on my last day. We went to Hilo Hattie’s to pick up a few gifts for folks, and I stopped at a jewelry counter to look at the charms. Ever since Ed gave me a gold charm bracelet, I try and make a point to get a charm from everywhere interesting that I go. I have a few from Europe, and from the Grand Caymans, Cozumel, and Cancun. I ended up buying a small pineapple, which definitely screams “Hawaii” to me more than a palm tree or flip flop. Especially after visiting the Dole Plantation. While the lady was ringing up my purchase, she asked if I wanted an oyster. It took a few minutes and a quick translation from Matt, but the store keeps a bowl of oysters available, and for $15 a customer can choose an oyster. If there’s a pearl inside the oyster, the customer gets to keep it. Of course, there won’t always be a pearl. I wasn’t going to do it, but then the lady said it would be on the house. Well, heck, if its free, hand me an oyster. She asked which color I’d prefer, black, white, pink or one other color that I don’t remember. Not knowing a thing about pearls, I chose pink. As she mumbled something about being difficult and wanting expensive pearls, the lady selected three oysters for me to choose from. I picked the one closest to me because that was simply the easiest thing to do. She informed me that I had to follow Hawaiian tradition – tap the oyster three times, say “Aloha” and ring the lucky bell. So, I did.


Turns out my little oyster had two pink pearls in it, and they’re basically identical. They aren't huge, but they are definitely pretty. Now I just have to find a jeweler and figure out what I want to do with them.

The Homecoming Gift

When I landed at RDU on Wednesday, I had a voicemail from the PetHotel where the pups were boarding, asking me to call as soon as possible, because Reyna had had an accident. Apparently, the poor girl managed to get a toenail on her left rear foot stuck in the drain in the play room. Who knows how she managed to step just right (wrong?) to accomplish that, but she did. Before someone could get to her and get her loose, another dog ran into her. This resulted in a completely ripped out toenail.


The PetHotel people took her over to Banfield to get cleaned up and checked out. They put a bandage around her toes, which she immediately pulled off. They put a second bandage on that covered her foot to an inch or so below the ankle, and she managed to slide that off while we were standing in the waiting area. So, they did a third bandage that wrapped up and over her ankle. That stayed on fine until Friday, when we went to our regular vet.


The vet at Banfield was supposed to call our vet before giving her any meds, and I was told that they had called and confirmed the antibiotics. When I saw out vet Friday, though, he didn’t know a thing about it. We figured out that the Banfield vet had called my vet’s office, but had talked to another vet who didn’t actually know Reyna. That’s about as useful as not calling at all. Next time, I’ll make it clear that they must speak specifically to my vet and not just to anyone in the office.


Wednesday and Thursday, Reyna ran around the house and yard with a sock over her bandage, to help keep the gauze from shredding. Friday, our vet decided it would be okay unwrapped, as long as she leaves it alone. She developed a sore along that foot from the bandage, and she’s been licking, but I can’t always tell if she’s licking the toe or the sore. Or both. I’ll see how she’s done today, since I’ve been gone all day, and decide whether or not she can stay unbandaged, or if she needs a new bandage or maybe just a sock for a bit of protection.


The vet said the toenail should grow back, and most likely will grow straight. But this is Reyna we’re talking about, so who knows...