LIB'S LABYRINTH: Hawaii Beach Baby

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Hawaii Beach Baby

ALOHA-OE!
HAWAII IS THE CROSSROADS OF THE PACIFIC. Captain James Cook of the British Navy discovered the islands in 1778. He originally called it The Sandwich Islands in honor of the Earl of Sandwich, the first lord of the British Admiralty. About 1795, less than 20 years later, a strong tribal chief - King Kamehameha I - conquered most of the large islands and united them as a monarchy. The islands became a royal domain of Hawaiian kings until 1893. King Kalakaua, the Merry Monarch, revived the hula and old customs suppressed by Protestant missionaries. His sister, Queen Liliuokalani, followed him to the throne in 1891, two years before the end of the only known monarchy in the United States.
Hawaii includes more than 20 islands (Kawai, Oahu, Molokai, Lanai, Hawaii, Niihau, Kahoolawe) atolls and reefs. All the islands were probably formed by volcanoes pushing up from the ocean floor.
The islands are the melting pot from various countries: Chinese (1852), Polynesians from South Pacific (1859), Portuguese (1878), Japanese (1886), Puerto Ricans (1901) and Filipinos (1906).
The first pineapple plant arrived in 1813 but commercial development did not begin until 1882 - 1,000 pineapples arrived from Jamaica.
Hawaii became a part of the United States in 1898 when Americans in the islands led a revolution to overthrow the monarchy. In 1959, Hawaii became the 50th state of the union.

Video
http://youtu.be/eELunUdQHTc

King Kamehameha I

Best way to crack a coconut - by the face

Honolulu

Here we are sitting on top of the highest point in Maui - the 10,032 feet high Haleakala crater, one of the largest inactive volcanoes in the world. We go jogging in the morning then have breakfast at the condominium veranda.

Breakfast at Lucy's timeshare

Da-Tu and I would go jogging on the beach

Around 11 am we packed our picnic lunch, walked a short distance to the beach and took a short swim, enjoyed the tropical sun and ate under the coconut tree.

A real tropical paradise. There are no snakes in Hawaii I was told - only kahunas (medicine man or priests) and aku (ocean bonito) among other things.

Lahaina Sunset

Extinct Volcano

We have to wake up around 3 am to see the beautiful sunrise from the top of Haleakala. Girlfriend Ellen drove all the way to the top of the mountain and back. She's the best driver among us

The capital Honolulu lies about 2,300 miles southwest of the United States mainland. First time visitors are always surprised how far Hawaii is. Hibiscus is the national flower of Hawaii.