It's time to start thinking about other things, so this entry will be the last regarding our trip to Hawaii. There are many tidbits floating around in my head that I will give short mention to. For instance, we drove past the Aloha Stadium in Honolulu where today the Pro Bowl will be played . . . The state bird of Hawaii is the nene goose,which, except for its color markings looks like a Canadian Honker. It's gone through some evolution, however, since it only flies a bit and swims a bit. The webs on its feet are less fully developed to enable it to more easily walk across rough lava beds . . . A van driver took us to the lava fields and said when a kid he threw rocks on flowing lava expecting it to splash, but it clunked and bounced instead . . . In the Denver airport I visited with an interesting artist and his wife. Check him out at frankhagel.com . . . A few of us rode a trolley around Waikiki which was driven by one wild woman. If she wasn't high on life, she was on something else. Fun! . . . The Hawaiian Islands consist of 132 islands. Locals refer to the island named Hawaii as The Big Island . . .
Much property in the islands is owned by Japanese. When they came buying, prices rose and forced retirees out. Where have we heard that story before? . . . In the Pali Valley the constant whine of the wind is said to be the cries of the enemy that King Kamehameha's army pushed over the cliff. We saw it, a tall, vertical cliff. . . . We drove past the golden statue of Kamehameha that shows up prominently in the television program Hawaii 50. . . . It was humorous to hear our Samoan guides try to say this phrase in a Norwegian accent, "Yah, sure, you betcha" . . . The island of Kauai, one of the wettest spots in the world, runs thick with chickens released from their coops by some past hurricane . . . From one of the islands a guide pointed in the distance to the island of Kalaupapa where Father Damien gained fame in ministering to the leprosy colony established there in 1866 . . . At one location electric fence wires ran low to the ground to hold pigs in. They ran and grazed on the macadamia nuts fallen on the ground. It reminded me of the fifteen sows I bought once that had been feeding on fallen acorns . . .
The southern most point of Hawaii is 150 miles further south than Key West . . . pine trees were introduced in the days of sailing ships to provide masts for ships, but by the time they had grown tall enough, steam power replaced wind power . . . In places cactus grew profusely. It was explained to have been brought in from Texas to provide cattle feed in times of drought . . . geckos are fast, wary little creatures and look just like the one on tv . . . We saw a school of dolphins arc through the air and the tail of a whale as he dove . . . In Honolulu and Waikiki many high rise residences poke the air . . . The apostrophe in Hawaii is written backward, actually upside down from what we recognize . . .
The trip, though costly, was very enjoyable. It can now be crossed off the bucket list. I couldn't help think, though, that their culture and physical attributes have become oriented to tourism, not much different than what they have done in our own state of Medora. We have cowboys, they have grass skirts. It goes something like this: If you've got it, flaunt it ... Good-bye.
Much property in the islands is owned by Japanese. When they came buying, prices rose and forced retirees out. Where have we heard that story before? . . . In the Pali Valley the constant whine of the wind is said to be the cries of the enemy that King Kamehameha's army pushed over the cliff. We saw it, a tall, vertical cliff. . . . We drove past the golden statue of Kamehameha that shows up prominently in the television program Hawaii 50. . . . It was humorous to hear our Samoan guides try to say this phrase in a Norwegian accent, "Yah, sure, you betcha" . . . The island of Kauai, one of the wettest spots in the world, runs thick with chickens released from their coops by some past hurricane . . . From one of the islands a guide pointed in the distance to the island of Kalaupapa where Father Damien gained fame in ministering to the leprosy colony established there in 1866 . . . At one location electric fence wires ran low to the ground to hold pigs in. They ran and grazed on the macadamia nuts fallen on the ground. It reminded me of the fifteen sows I bought once that had been feeding on fallen acorns . . .
The southern most point of Hawaii is 150 miles further south than Key West . . . pine trees were introduced in the days of sailing ships to provide masts for ships, but by the time they had grown tall enough, steam power replaced wind power . . . In places cactus grew profusely. It was explained to have been brought in from Texas to provide cattle feed in times of drought . . . geckos are fast, wary little creatures and look just like the one on tv . . . We saw a school of dolphins arc through the air and the tail of a whale as he dove . . . In Honolulu and Waikiki many high rise residences poke the air . . . The apostrophe in Hawaii is written backward, actually upside down from what we recognize . . .
The trip, though costly, was very enjoyable. It can now be crossed off the bucket list. I couldn't help think, though, that their culture and physical attributes have become oriented to tourism, not much different than what they have done in our own state of Medora. We have cowboys, they have grass skirts. It goes something like this: If you've got it, flaunt it ... Good-bye.
