Hawaii 2016

Journey End,

Sat, 23 Jan 2016 22:30:00 -1000

Honolulu, United States

Fri, 22 Jan 2016 22:30:00 -1000

Waimea, United States

Thu, 21 Jan 2016 22:30:00 -1000

Honolulu, United States

Wed, 20 Jan 2016 22:30:00 -1000

Waialua, United States

Tue, 19 Jan 2016 12:30:00 -1000

Honolulu, United States

Mon, 18 Jan 2016 13:00:00 -1000

We decided to drive around the island of Oahu and see what there is to see. One such site is Queen Emma's Summer Palace and this is the entrance into her palace. Was kinda fun to see this after learning Queen Emma was an avid horsewoman the previous Friday. It originally was the place her, her husband, King Kamehameha IV and their son, Prince Albert, went to get away from the demands of court life in the mid 1800s. The house was a gift to Emma from her uncle, John Young II, who was childless at his death in 1857. Altho you can't see the pictures that well, the one on the left is the king and Albert is on the right. The poufs on either side of the portraits are made of bird's feathers and were standard fare when a processional of the court was occurring. They signaled to the people that royalty was present and they should cast their eyes downward. It's kinda wild to think that England isn't the only country with royalty in our history and that Hawaii was also ruled by royalty.

Sorry for the quality of the picture, but this is Queen Emma. She was a woman who accomplished much in her lifetime, including with the king, establishing the first hospital for native Hawaiians (started out as 18 beds and still exists to this day) and brought the Church of England to Hawaii. They would also be the ones to formally celebrate Christmas and establish it as a territory holiday.

This sleigh bed is made of koa wood (gorgeous!) and the quilt is period appropriate, but not Emma's. It is decorated with a crown of inlaid mother-of-pearl and brass at the head. An identical bed was made for her husband.

This adorable bed was Prince Albert's and was commissioned by the king and queen at his birth. It is regarded as a state treasure and a memorial to the prince, who would die suddenly at the age of 4. Made of 4 native woods - koa, kou, milo and kamani - upon Albert's death, his parents and the kingdom were sent into deep mourning. His father would never really recover and died several years later leaving Emma alone.

A better picture of the prince. Adorable, no? :) He was named in honor of Queen Victoria's Consort, Prince Albert.

This royal cabinet is a three-tiered sideboard of koa wood that was built in Berlin at the request of Prince Albert of England and Queen Victoria as a wedding gift to Emma and Alexander, King Kamehameha IV. Of note are the rare concave/convex glass panes that are hand blown.

This is King Kamehameha I, called the "Great King" as he united the Hawaiian islands into a single territory. The feather cloak he is wearing is housed in the palace along with many other artifacts from both his time and Emma's time.

Called the 'ahu'ula this cloak is constructed of very fine cordage holding clusters of thousands of tiny red feathers of the native 'i'wi and yellow feathers of the native mamo birds. Unfortunately, both species are now extinct so that makes this artifact that much more precious. I thought our tour guide said it weighs about 30 pounds, so you really have to have big shoulders to be king! :)

Some of Emma's personal items. She truly was a woman of style and grace as evidenced by what she acquired.

The silver christening vessel was a gift from Queen Victoria to Prince Albert and was filled with holy water for his baptism. Queen Victoria was his godmother. Emma and Victoria were very close and Emma frequently wore a bracelet that contained a lock of Victoria's hair. Albert would be baptized, however, at the time of baptism, he was in a coma from a mysterious illness that he would never recover from.

Emma posing next to the christening vessel. What struck me as odd was the fact that this picture was even taken knowing that her son was in a coma when she received this from Queen Victoria. However, I do not know when this photo was taken, so perhaps it was one she commissioned to send to Queen Victoria as a way of saying "thanks" for the wonderful and beautiful gift.

Maui, United States

Fri, 15 Jan 2016 18:00:00 -1000

Friday nite, we took in a new show on the island called Na Lio, the story of the horse in Hawaii. Was really neat and definitely not your usual luau. Started with "Uncle" on the left gathered around the campfire with his wife, a friend and Kimo, a young boy new to the rancher lifestyle and interested in the history of the lifestyle. So Uncle tells him the story.

Back in 1803, Hawaii was a group of islands united under King Kamehameha. John Young, an advisor to the king, made arrangements to gift horses to him. The king also received a herd of cattle that was left wild. After many years, the herd was strong and started causing damage to Hawaiian homesteads. So they needed to be rounded up.

Enter the vaqueros and especially the daughter of their leader. The vaqueros came from North, Central and South America to teach the Hawaiians how to work the cattle and train horses to use with them. But alas, as in all love stories, the daughter of the vaquero and a young Hawaiian boy are not allowed to be together.

A group of young paniolo (ranchers) are responsible for getting the horses ready for cattle work. Called the Hawaiian Roughriders, they make history in 1908 when they win the competition at the Frontier Day Celebration in Wyoming.

Queen Emma, married to King Kamehameha IV is an avid horse woman herself and had the vaquera teach the Royal Hawaiian Ladies to ride. On a side note, this is the owner of the ranch and the person who developed this show. Talked to her afterwards and part of the reason for the show was she wanted a way to exercise her horses. Also asked her if she was familiar with the story beforehand and she said no. She knew bits and pieces but not the whole thing.

The vaquera dancing the hula with the Queen riding in the background. What was fun to see was the vaquera learning the customs of the Hawaiian people as the Hawaiian people learned to ride and rope.

The Hawaiian women were always progressive in their ideas and from the beginning, wore skirts that were split so they could ride astride the horse instead of side saddle. But they also needed to protect their skirts when riding so they developed a technique called pa'u, where they wrap their skirts up and the pa'u is left to hang over the haunches of the horse. One will see this during parades where hundreds of women will march down the street in beautiful clothes, leis around the horses and the brightly colored pa'u flowing from the horse. Each island had a color the ladies wear, pink for Maui.

Oahu's color is red and in this parade, we have the Queen and her court. They are all exceptional horse women and it was truly magical to watch them ride their maneuvers. Afterwards, we find out that the vaquera has been reunited with her young Hawaiian boy who was at the parade and part of the King's protection detail. But this was not the end of the story. Back at the campfire, Kimo asks Uncle how he knows so much about the paniolos and this is when Auntie comes back out and Uncle sez who do you think was the vaquera? It was a sweet moment and a fitting end to the story of the horse in Hawaii.

Maui, United States

Thu, 14 Jan 2016 10:30:00 -1000

One of the things I wanted to do last time we were here and didn't get to was to experience a true farm to table meal and it doesn't get much fresher than this! O'o Farm is the supplier of fresh fruits and vegetables and coffee for Pacific'o Restaurant in Lahaina and we got a tour of the farm and learned about everything going on there. One of the things they have gotten into recently is growing their own coffee plants and roasting their own beans. These are coffee cherries and the bean is inside. Our tour guide, Ansel, had us pick a red cherry and pop the bean out. Once out we could eat the cherry. Not unpleasant and in fact, Daniel, their on site chef, is making chocolates using the cherries.

In amongst the citrus trees were 3 chicken tractors. What are those? Well, basically chicken coops on wheels. They let the chickens graze in an area until the grass is worn out and then they move the coop to a new location. They don't have to mow in between the rows and the fertilizer is good for the trees.

Part of the fun of the tour is the opportunity to pick your own salad, which we did! This is the basket of lettuce, green beans, snap peas and edible flowers that became the mixed greens for our lunch.

Some of the rows of vegetables growing.

After lunch, we went to Kula Botanical Garden and saw so many fabulous plants, trees and flowers! The colors are so wonderfully brilliant and vibrant.

More pretty flowers.

Reminded me that we are still kinda in the holiday season.

There were many plants that were fuzzy in some way which was kinda fun to find out were they fuzzy soft or fuzzy prickly. This one was the latter.

Painted Eucalyptus trees are pretty basic trees except for their bark which is where they get their name from. The bark is typically shades of green, yellow and tan.

Close up of the bark. Looks like an abstract painting!

Yep, I travel 9 hrs to an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean just to see a cardinal!

I just loved the wonderful contrasts we saw as we walked the garden.

Yet more pretty flowers.

I think this was a honeysuckle tree. Really cool the tangle and sunlight coming thru.

Lāna‘i, United States

Wed, 13 Jan 2016 10:30:00 -1000

This is the flagship boat of Trilogy that we took to Lana'i for the day. Spent time on the beach of a marine preserve where Tom did some snorkeling and said the fish were amazing, got a tour of Lana'i City and had a wonderful gourmet lunch before heading back to Maui.

Due to being on a boat and water getting on everything, I left my phone at the condo, so these pics are from the Internet, but trust me, represent what we saw. The whales in the morning were quite active and it wasn't unusual to see 3 and 4 breeches in a row and yes, they do look like this.

One of the islands we have not seen is Lana'i which is currently owned by Larry Ellison, CEO of Oracle Corporation. Known as the "Pineapple Isle," much of the island was devoted to growing pineapples for Dole. That isn't true today and the island is now the playground of the rich and famous. Case in point, Larry had shut down both resorts to do major renovations and when opened again next year, it will cost $5,000 to $20,000 to stay a nite, depending on room and amenities. One such amenity, the bed of your choosing, be that Sleep Number, Temperpedic or any other one you fancy. Also of note, there are no stoplights, no fast food restaurants, only 1 gas station and until recently, not much in the way of health care. If you got sick, you would have to come over to Maui.

The tell tale sign that a whale isn't going to be doing anything for awhile is when you see the tail. They are diving down and will resurface in a new spot later.

One of the highlights of the trip was when about 100 yards behind the boat, a whale breeched. We all heard it before we saw the splash of water.

Maui, United States

Tue, 12 Jan 2016 22:30:00 -1000

One of the staples of Hawaiian cuisine is poi, a paste like substance that people either like or hate. I've had it and it's okay. Made from the taro (or kalo) root, this is the plant before it is turned into poi.

This is what is left of what is believed to be the largest heiau in Hawaii. A lava ridge was faced with a retaining wall, filled in with stones and topped with a 450' x 320' platform. Archaeologists belive it was built in several sequences and estimate it took more than 128,000 man days to complete.

Called Pi'ilanihale Heiau, it literally means "House of Pi'ilani." Pi'ilani was the 16th century chief of Maui who was beloved by many for his peaceful and productive reign. While it was used as a religious site, there is also evidence that it was used as a home site as well. For this reason, it was registered as a National Historic Landmark in 1964.

As I love hearing the crashing waves, you will always find me trying to take pics of them. Harder than wildlife sometimes!

The trade winds that normally are apparent this trip have been absent due to a shift in the jetstream. It is higher than usual and therfore, on the downside, it had been far more humid than we have ever experienced. On the upside, the waves have been more gnarly. Yeah, actually heard a local say that!

This coconut grove is actually a bunch of trees collected from around the world. In many parts of the tropics, the coconut is called the "Tree of Life" because of its many uses. All I know is, after the warning we got not to walk under them and me bruising off that warning, when one fell off and nearly hit Tom, I was calling them the trees of concussions!

One of many coconuts laying on the ground. Doesn't look big, but was about the size of a small ball and weighed 10-12 pounds. Don't want one of those hitting your head!

Just for you, Michele!

On our way back, we stopped at Black Sand Beach and saw not only more waves, but the sea arch as well.

Maui, United States

Sun, 10 Jan 2016 14:31:32 -1000

it's Sunday and the Packers are in the play offs. where are we? at the local bar watching the game, or course!

while on Oahu for 2 days, we learned that Mai Tai's cost $12 each. yeah, that is the price of commercialism. Sunday we found a local bar on Maui where they were $7 each and three times the size! that's a carafe and I had the 24 oz. mug of cider. it was a 3 hr game after all!

Waikīkī

Thu, 07 Jan 2016 22:30:00 -1000

you know you're in Seattle when you see a plane painted like a salmon!

as we had 3 hours on the ground, we decided to investigate the airport in Seattle. cool thing was they had art everywhere. this piece was done by Cuban - born artist, Juan Alonso who draws his images of botanical forms and wrought iron designs from his cultural roots (his mom painted flowers on pots in the garden). called "paradise," he sez it can mean so many things to so many different people, but being in an airport had the added meaning of a person's destination or simply coming back to the comforts of home.

this column tells the tale of Rudy Autio's affinity for shapely animals and figures. creating sculpture, fiber artwork and prints, he merged Western folklore with a sensuous and gestural drawing style. Lela, his widow recalls, "nothing was ever pre-planned, he would just take this little spatula and start drawing with it."

need I say more?!? :)

called "push me, pull me: pearl jam and the art of the screen printed poster," this exhibition chronicled the rise of pearl jam and how the poster contributed to it. formed in Seattle in 1990, posters were one of the few ways a band could communicate with their audience. they were vital to advertising a future show but also important for conveying, thru art and design, the identity of the band. pearl jam began to commissioning posters for nearly every show they played. over 500 posters were created by over 100 artists and reflected the band's core values: the desire to foster a climate of creativity, to act as a patron for other artists and to provide comment and critique on society and humanity.

yeah Milwaukee! :)

a program called Kids Design Glass was inspired after the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Washington hosted an exhibition celebrating the relationship between designers and master glassblowers. the museum wondered if kids could be designers of fine art too? the answer was, YES! each month, the museum receives hundreds of designs from children 12 and under and one is chosen to be created in glass. the child is an integral part of the creation and the designs they invent are often extraordinarily difficult to create. the glassblowers relish the challenge of being pushed into uncharted territories.

I loved this one! designed by Erica Hawkins, age 8, it was created in 2007 by the master glassblowers at the Museum of Glass. "it's scary!" was Erica's comment to the final product. :)

you always know you're on a plane bound for Hawaii when the flight crew shows up with Mai Tai's!