Hawaii Trip 2022
October 20th- October 26th 2022
DAY: Travel/Land
I can only say how fortunate I am that I was able to join Tulip Travel on one of the most epic trips I could have ever imagine. A trip to Hawaii.
DAY 1: The first day was full of travel. We had a long day of travel. First we left from Syracuse and went to Chicago, from Chicago we flew into Honolulu.
We had gained or lost hours I dont really remember, it was 2pm when we landed and it was sometime around 9pm back home. (Or maybe it was after 8) We were all pretty tired and hungry.
We still had to get transportation, so we got a van for the week and made our way to our hotel, The Waikiki Sands. We made it to the hotel and after checking in we decided to walk down to the beach. Can I just say, it is beautiful here. Even at the airport its is amazing. I was ready to move here within seconds of landing.
We checked into the hotel and after a brief break, we decided to drive around and check out the area.
We headed to Diamond Head State Park.
Diamond Head is more then a mountain. It's actually a volcanic tuff cone. A tuff cone, or ash cone is the small monogenetic cone produced by the hydrovolcantic explosions brought to the surface from a deep seated magma reservoir.
(Le'Ahi) Is the name the Hawaiian locals call this crater, which means brow of the tuna fish. They named it this because it looks like the back and fin of a tuna fish. Diamond Head is estimated to have been created 300,000 years ago. These creators covers over 350 acres.
Although we did not hike on this crater. Apparently you can venture to these and hike.
It is not believed that Diamond Head will ever erupt again, and it is considered an extinct volcano.
Diamond Head was named such because when the British discovered the calcite crystals on the crater they believed them to be actual diamonds.
I grabbed some pictures of what the area grounds look like, very volcanic looking to me. But what do I know.
There were even some pretty flowers growing out of these rocky cliffs.
We wrapped our time up here and headed to dinner. We ate at a place called Rainbows Drive In. I didn't go all crazy on my food and was happy with my burger and fries. (Don't worry I do go off my boring eats and do try some Hawaiian foods.) If I remember correctly it was good.
Princess Ka'iulani was named Victoria after Queen Victoria. Her mother was Princess Miriam Likelike. Her father was Archibald Scott Cleghorn of Scotland. Victoria lived on the family estate of Ainahau, "Cool land". Her mother passed away when Victoria was only 11 years old and she was later raised by her uncle The King of Hawaii. After his death she became the only heir to the thrown. At 17, Victoria traveled to Washington DC and met with president Glover Cleveland to prevent the annexation of her home of Hawaii. However in 1898 Hawaii became a US territory. She died 1 year later at the age of 23.
Here is a picture of her. 
Interesting story of a young women whose life ended so early. Apparently she died of a virus infection.
We made it to McDonalds and I have to say, there is something very different about having McDonalds in Hawaii then other places. Perhaps its because there is an ocean right across the street. And some really cool trees.
The Banyan tree. These trees originated from India and arrived in Hawaii on April 24th 1873. These trees are protected by the Act105 in the Hawaiian State legislature.
and now for breakfast, Nope this does not look like your traditional BIG Breakfast from McDonalds. It really doesn't look like breakfast at all, but this is what Hawaiians eat at McDonalds for breakfast. Rice, eggs, Portuguese sausage, and SPAM. It was different, but it was pretty good. I drowned my rice in soys sauce and mixed the spam and eggs in. SPAM is pretty normal here in Hawaii. I have not ever gotten a taste for it, although I did bring some home for the family.
our view during this meal was pretty good.
After breakfast we walked back to the hotel. cleaned up and made our way to the Pearl Harbor National Memorial.
It was HOT HOT HOT, and this place was crowded. We walked around the area intaking the many historical references to the Military and the awful attack that happened to our Military here on December 7th 1941.
We soon got in line to take the tour boat over to the memorial. So we waited in the hot hot sun in a very long line, to finally make it up to the boat boarding site only to be informed that there was a problem with the boat, and unsafe to transport anyone else the rest of the day, but we were offered skip the line return tickets and did more exploring at the museum and we were able to watch the movie. I was quite disappointed however.
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| waiting in the heat Pictured is the bell that was on the USS Arizona. |
The story of Pearl Harbor is one that many American's forget. I don't even recall if there was much about it that I learned in my history lessons at school. (I could be wrong, I wasn't paying as much attention as I should.) It was the 1940's World War II was active across the seas. President Franklin D Roosevelt was reluctant to engage in the war. Germany, Italy and Japan against France, Great Britain. Adolf Hitler intended to invade Poland, despite some agreements, Hitler invaded causing Britain and France to declare war on Germany on September 3d 1939.
Meanwhile, in the United States, had felt that the best policy was to build up it's own defenses and avoid antagonizing either side. Roosevelt said " Your boys are not going to be sent into any foreign war."
There are many theories as to why Japan decided to take on the Pacific coast through the US, but the best thought was that Japan had wanted to eliminate the United states fleet as they pursued conquest of the Western Pacific. The United states had imposed sanctions on oil to prevent Japan's expansion into Asia. Either retaliation, or expansion, Peal Harbor was targeted, and additionally, the ports of Pearl Harbor were full. US fleets in the bay, as well as US fighter planes were clustered in the airfields. This made Pearl Harbor the perfect target.
Early in the morning hours on December 7th 1941, 7,350 planes were launched from Japanese ships that had silently slipped into the north pacific waters. These planes dropped bombs a top the American warships while, the fighter planes hit the US aircraft on the ground.
In a period of just under 2 hours,19 US Naval vessels were sunk or damaged. 188 aircraft were destroyed. 2,280 service men and women were killed, 1,109 were injured. Additionally 86 civilians were killed.
The following day,on December 8th the United States declared war on Japan and entered into WWII.
The National memorial is built over the the USS Arizona where it had sunk on that terrible day.
The war effort in the United States after Pearl Harbor went swiftly. The United states rallied to contribute to efforts. Men went off to the war, women at home picked up the work load at home. The result of Pearl Harbor's attack prompted a major change in the World. America was pissed off, and brought their A game.
The war continued for another 4 years. More then 400,000 American's died during this war, 880,000 British, and the Soviet Union sustained the most deaths 5.3 million, most were killed in the Eastern front in the final battles in Germany. It is estimated that in total both sides and civilians death toll was between 35,000,00 to 60,000,00 deaths.
Horrific!
Picture of the Memorial. (we did return later in the trip.)
I had been so naive to the war, having only been slightly aware of what had happened in Pearl Harbor represented by the movie of the same name.
Although the visit to Pearl Harbor was interesting, the history of our world was weighing heavily on me. I was grateful to have another activity fill up our afternoon with more smiles then seriousness. We headed out to dinner (dunch) and had an early night. We were all still pretty jet lagged.
DAY 3: The Polynesian Cultural Center.
We had left the hotel early with plans to get to the Cultural center as soon as we could. We had breakfast at McDonald's again this am, I skipped the SPAM breakfast for a more "normal" Sausage McMuffin. We were a bit early, so we enjoyed some time at the Hukilau Market Place,
I enjoyed the different flowers and fruits that were surrounding the area, and sipped some Mango flavored soda before we were could finally enter into the Islands of the Polynesia gates.
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| The yellow hibiscus is the state flower. |
We entered the gate and came upon the Shaka statue of Hamana Kalili of Laie, Hawaii. The term shaka means; Hang Loose, goodwill, gratitude, take it easy and friendship. A gesture of the hand and lightly shaking it, is used to say this. It is believed that this gesture was originated by Hamanna as he had lost the three middle fingers of his right hand in a sugar mill. Shaka!
The many tiki statues represent the Hawaiian belief of honoring the period when Gods walked the earth as men. These statues are placed to honor them as a divinity and human. Below is a statue of Joseph Kekuku the inventor of the Hawaiian steel guitar.
The Polynesian Cultural Center is made up of 6 Island villages representing the cultures of hawaii, Fiji, Aotearoa, Samoa, Tahiti, and Tonga. We decided to take the canoe to the many islands and began this adventure at the South canoe dock.
Coconuts drying on the shores.
Im not sure why the 5th guy doesn't have a hat, or what these represent. Our canoe guide did provide us with a ton of information, but I wasn't as keen on listening as I was a enjoying the views.
Tahiti is the biggest Island of the Polynesian. French and Tahitian are the primary languages spoken here. When people think of the French Polynesian, this is what they are talking about. Many of the favorited vacation spots are found here, like Bora Bora.
Here, we were welcomed by the locals and encouraged to learn the dance Ori tahiti (which means men and Women.)
We all gave it a try.
This was a lot of fun. We had some coconut bread. YUM, and also got a tattoo. (Not real of course). The word tattoo actually comes from the Tahitian word tatau. Tattoo's are used in ceremonies specifically when someone reaches adolescence.
Interesting fact about Tahiti, there are no poisonous snakes or insects.
up next we walked to the area of Hawaii.
We learned the hula dance, which by the way, is not that quick hip movement that we often think of. It is actually a slower dance, using the arms and hands to tell stories.
Some interesting facts about Hawaii,
In total the Hawaiian Islands make up 137 islands.
Surfing originated in Hawaii.
The Hawaiians had no written language, the hulu dance told stories that were passed down from generations, that assisted in the document of their history.
Hawaii is home to the most active and largest volcano in the world. It also is home to the largest dormant vocano.
You can send a coconut in the mail.
The state fish is the Hunuhumunukunukapua'a (thats a mouthful) it means tigerfish with a snout like a pig.
There are only 13 letters in the Hawaiian alphabet. A Hawaiian story is demonstrated for us.
Up next we went to Fiji.
while in Fiji we entered into a hut and learned the art of derua, (bamboo sticks). We sat around in a circle and followed the lead of the teacher making a nice beat. We all enjoyed bouncing our derua on the ground to make music.
We caught the tail end of the Fijian warriors demonstration and caught a picture.
Fiji has three national languages; English, Fijian and Fiji. It was once ruled by the British, they continue to have an established legal and parliament system influenced by the British rule. Rugby is the national sport and the national team won the summer olympics in 2016. The team performed the Cibi war dance before each game and later is was replaced by the Bole Cry! Fiji is where the walking on fire ceremony began. Fiji's questionable history includes CANNIBALISM, It is believed that this practice was to control enemies, but also is considered to possess the knowledge of the ingested. An unusual tradition is to give a gift of a sperm whale tooth. It says "i love you". Can you guess that the #1 export of Fiji is water.
This Polynesian culture is from what we know as New Zealand. The word Aoetaroa means the land of the long white cloud. It was the first place to establish women's rights by giving women the right to vote in 1893. It was the very last culture to be establish. It is estimated that humans began living here only about 800 years ago. A vast difference from many of the other locations in the world. There are more sheep here then people.
We watched a demonstration of the dance Haka, which is a traditional dance used to acknowledge great achievements.
The dance was very interesting, there were several harsh movement and stamping of the feet and chest. They also did a dance using the double long poi (ball on the end of a string) to make music and cause drama. It was all so synchronized and beautiful.
We also tried our hand at Titi torea, and Kapo Rakau (The Maori stick game) I was not so good.
Welcome to Samoa. This area had to be my favorite area. (although unfortunately we never did make it to the area of Tonga) so I cannot say it is the best overall, but this had the most action and the most crowds. We first watched a cooking demonstration and got to eat the end results. I can't remember the name. It included banana's and they were hot and mushy. I didn't enjoy the combo, but I'm totally not a foodie like that.
Then we watched the fireknife show. That was impressive. (It was about this time, that my phone was getting so hot I had to shut it off, but I did get a few pics.)
We also got to make fish out of coconut leaves.
Some fun facts about Samoa; The traditional Samoan houses do not have walls, coconut palms are used to protect during bad weather. Below is a traditional house. Usually circular in shape. Some of the artifacts among the house also pictured.
Cricket is the national sport.
Interestingly the Samoans have a theory on gender. Many of the boys are raised as girls, they are called Fa'afafine, they consider themselves as nonbinary and an important part of the Samoan culture. The belief is that they embody both the male and female characteristics.
There is a Samoan legend that explains the first coconut tree. The story goes that there was a beautiful girl (Sina) who had a pet eel. As they both grew the eel fell in love with the girl. The girl was frightened of this and ran away, where she saw the eel in the pools. The villagers rescued her and killed the eel. The eel asked for a request before it's death. He asked that his head be buried in the sand. A coconut tree soon grew in the spot where the eel head had been buried. Once the husk was removed and the coconut was reveled the were 3 marks that appeared to be 2 eyes and a mouth. When one of the 3 marks were pierced the girl too a drink, it was as if she was kissing the eel.
I'm not sure about this, but it is an interesting legend.
We next went to the featured show, where the Samoa's make fire. Our host for this demonstration was the best. He came out very serious and almost threatening, but he was so funny and told jokes throughout the show. He claimed that the men stayed home and made the meals while the women were out shopping.
They began the fire demonstration.
He began to rub quickly and soon we saw smoke.
FIRE!
Our host made some jokes about fire and held it for some time, before they put the fire out with their feet. WOW.
Next they demonstrated getting milk from a coconut. Our host did this with a knife and displayed this quite easily. He then made some joke. The demonstrator, did this with his hands. It was insane. He squeezed milk out of a coconut.
First he removed the husk, and began to squeeze.
Pretty impressive. Up next we turned our attention to the climbing of the coconut tree. This was amazing watching this guy shimmy up a tree.
It was pretty incredible.
Below is a picture of one of the cultural canoes.
We had reservations for the dinner buffet soon, so we headed towards the Gateway Buffet. These beautiful wooden sculptures added to the beauty of the dining room.
When we first entered we were overcome by the amazing beautiful mural that spreads through out the dining hall. I didn't get pictures because I was to focused on the food, but they were beautiful...but so was the food. All the pretty colors.
Some of the hot foods included; Hawaiian style sweet and sour chicken, fried chicken wings, Fried calamari, roasted chicken with pineapple relish, Kalua Pork, Kochujang Pork Belly, Kalbi Brisket, pork ribs, Chrispy Shrimp and Crusted local fish.
I tried to be adventurous and try different foods, but I did find the bulk of my meal included items from the kiddie menu.
I was a little more expansive in the fruits I picked. I was even willing to try purple colored roles and
I had to try poi, and ube ice cream. Honestly, poi tasted pretty tasteless. Purple colored ice cream made from yams, wasn't to bad. It still tasted like ice cream. Many of the foods are made from roots or ground planted veggies.
After dinner we made our way to the Pacific theater for the show. We were going to the show The story of HA Breath of Life. There is no photography allowed but I took a few from the internet.
MARRIAGE: A Tahitian marriage as the two families come together.
FAMILY: Not facing life alone in the Fijan village.
The show was incredible. I loved the Tahitian dances. The ladies shook their hips and their upper body didn't move. They moved their hips fast too. The men did this knee nocking movement that was so fast. The walking on fire was insane, and the fire dance...spinning sticks full of flames. Flames thrown through the air....AWESOME!
This was a great day!
DAY 4:
Today we returned to Pearl Harbor for our return visit to the USS Arizona memorial.
I think that somehow I could disassociate from the events that had happened the December 7, 1941.
This had happened well before I was born. The events of war also so far away from my own existence other then what we had encountered on 9/11. I found that I had to force myself to remember that this is a memorial and not an experience of enjoyment and knowledge.
It wasn't until I had stepped into the halls of this structure suspended over the physical boat that had sunk right here in this spot that I was thrown into the magnitude of the meaning that this memorial was intended for.
We walked over the platform and below barely seen in the harbor, was the emerging metal thick in rust and aged with time. Sea life, taking over the structure, because of course, life goes on, nature recaptures it's given path.
Time heals, that is what the saying is, and I do believe there is some truth to that, but let us not forget. It was in these moments that I found myself transported to a time years before my birth, and I am fully aware that these were the lives, like my own, full of hope, and future aspirations. These were lives of people with families and potential opportunities lost. Lost in moments. Taken from this world for things, I personally will never understand. War, is a complicated thing. Greed, Power, Ignorance. Anger. Hate. Do we really have to fight? It's naive to say. "can't we all just get along?" but I ask it just the same.
I stepped into the hall and there before me stood a wall. The names of 1, 177 sailors listed.
The wall of names stretches the entirety. It is powerful.
I stood quietly. Below me are the remains of some of the people, "lost at sea" named on this wall. Their families never having the closure of a burial, or the opportunity to say good bye. It is here that I hope some can make peace with that loss. I suddenly feel under prepared for the grief that comes over me.
I send my condolence and quickly exit the memorial hall, seeking the bright sunshine of the Hawaiian skies above.
I am relieved that my feelings can be sent away as I am forced to answer questions that come from the members of the group I am traveling with. Some are unable to relate to the significance of this structure. I pack away the sadness and return to the "happy" traveler as we head back to shore.
I had De Elvis. Pancakes, peanutbutter, banana, and bacon. This could change anyone's mood to positive.
We gathered ourselves up and headed to our next destination. I was grateful for an adventure that would have me smiling again. Food always seems to make me happy, and the group was hungry as well. We had skipped breakfast that morning to get to the Memorial early. We went to a place called 49ers.
We next went to the Dole Pineapple Plantation.
In the 1950's a small fruit stand owned by James Dole originated among the pineapple fields. By 1989 a plantation home became a museum and historical tourist attraction. Christopher Columbus brought the pineapple to Europe. Sailors brought pineapples home and placed them on the porch to signal they were home. Dole was the man whose brought Pineapple to America and made this exotic fruit a common household treat.
There is a full tour that you can take, but we chose to simply walk along the infant plants have a dole whip. Which was the most amazing thing ever. And we spent some time in the store.
Some fun facts about Pineapples; The Pineapple was named by the English due to it's look like a pinecone. Pineapples are actually not pine or fruit, but a berry.
It can take up to 3 years for a pineapple plant to produce an edible product and each plant only produces 1 pineapple per season. However, you can grow a pineapple plant simply by planting the top of a pineapple in soil. Pineapple contains an enzyme called bromelain that actually breaks down the proteins in your mouth. (Scary, but our stomach acids break them down.) In case you were unaware Sponge Bob lives in a Pineapple. The pineapple often symbolizes warmth and friendliness, this was seen especially in the 18th and 19th centuries and used as decorations welcoming guests. The pineapple has also been known to symbolize that a couple are swingers or partake in an "open" marriage. (I don't claim to know anything about that last fact and I cannot provide an explanation as to why.)
This guy was so great. He offered all of us an opportunity to try Mango's Pineapple and coconut. We even got to taste coconut milk and pieces of the fruit.
I got my lei. Chris had told me that we were suppose to be given lei's at the buffet. (She has been before). I had been so excited. But this did not happen. Every since I was a kid, I remember when people on tv got off the plane in Hawaii they were given lei's. And yeah, didn't everyone get a lei on Fantasy Island?
We made our way back to the hotel where we cleaned up after a long day before heading into Waikiki searching for a place for dinner. We did run into several disappointments because we were such a big group, and finally ended up in the food court at the mall area. I ended up getting this amazing Chicken sandwich from a place called The Bonzi Burger. (No burger...wow)
Sadly this is the only picture I have of us in the Aloha sign.
We were all exhausted and walking back to the hotel was so dragging. Bed was welcomed.
DAY 5
Today was our last full day in Hawaii. We spent the morning at the beach swimming in the ocean. We ate breakfast at McDonalds and went to the ocean after. I LOVED these waves. We had the best time on the beach. There were so many surfers even little tiny children were surfing. The waves were perfect. There was even a guy on one of those jet things, he would shoot up in the sky and hoover about the ocean just feets above the waves.
These artifacts were along the beach house.
After some fun in the sea. We headed back to the hotel cleaned up and headed out for a ride along the shore. We stopped at a little park and did some more ocean fun.
I can't recall where these area were. I could only snap pictures of the beauty. I am so going to miss this place. BEAUTY SHOTS
There were some issues the following day regarding our flights home and our group was split up. They ended up CA over 1/2 of our groups flights in an attempt to get us all on the same flight, and when we went to rebook the same flight the seats were gone. Needless to say, 1/2 our group got home almost a full day ahead of the rest of us. Chris and I and several of our group spent a night in the LAX. Airport cleaning staff have no consideration for sleepy travelers at 2am.
It doesn't matter about the flight...we had the most amazing time. I loved everything about Hawaii. (Homeless on the beach here I come.) TTFN
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