1/24 Lyman Museum Hawai'ian Elderhostel

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We really needed the free day to rest. It was great for us. Others took full advantage of the suggestions Susan had made to see more sights. We're glad we took it easy. We were much fresher for the flight to Kaua'i with a layover in Honolulu.

We were met at the Lihu'e airport by a big yellow bus. Being the oldest of the immediate Hawai'ian chain, kaua'i is also not as developed as Maui, Oahu, and the Big Island. We were glad to have the school bus because it could go places a standard coach could not. Sitting over its back wheels as we did much of the time was not bad, though a coach bus we rode in on Oahu sure reminded us of how rough it had actually been.

We picked up lunch and headed for a historic plantation site, the Grove Farm Museum.

The grounds were well-tended. We were led across an open stretch of grass to a huge flowering tree shading the front of the main house. The staff provided us with folding chairs and tables. We ate our lunch and enjoyed one another's company.

As we were finishing, a young man approached our group and asked if we would be willing to be an audience for a performer who was preparing an anti-smoking film for Filipino youth there in Hawai'i. The camera and people working with the project did take up room and blocked entrance to the house. But we were curious and this sounded like a nice opportunity to hear the performer.

The performer, maybe 20 years old, stepped before the camera with his ukulele and played something with a West Indies melody and beat.

All of a sudden, the ukulele was a musical instrument able to do far more than provide rhythm.

-- One of the things we've learned from the Sirius broadcasts of Hawai'ian music is that it has assimilated nearly every current popular music style we've ever heard. We've enjoyed hearing "Paper Doll" in Hawai'ian, banjo accompaniment, the ukulele playing a standard pop song solo, to say nothing of the wonderful slackstring guitar music in the traditional style and some lively hula tunes. The common feature is the mellow harmonies and soothing effect of the songs . . . overall. Some tempos and sounds are neither but on this channel, they are in the minority. What a great background to write these travelblogs! --

Our experience at Grove Farm, owned by the Wilcox family, was very well covered by Marty Freeman at

http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Hawaii/Kauai/Lihue/blog-374669.html

The history of Hawai'i in the twentieth century includes names like Wilcox and Parker (the Parkers had a huge cattle ranch on the Big Island). These agricultural entrepreneurs were active politically and may have been "king-maker" types.

Across from the hotel where we stayed (Aloha Beach Hotel) is a rugged line of lava rock which reminds people of an old man lying there. The hotel itself is one of the nicest of the program. The buffet was always good. Off the open lobby between the sections of the hotel are lovely mini-gardens with well designed water features.

The park behind the hotel extends along the ocean shore to include the remains of a heiau. Our group scouted it after hearing the story of the struggle to get the park established. We had heard about the wild chickens which roams Kaua'i and encountered one in the park.

It was to awaken us in the middle of the night. No wonder they are called wild!

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Photos

Our carriage for Kaua'i
Each seat had a child's name. We felt so young!

Picnic tree
Our shade for lunch at the Wilcox Farm

Performer
The ukulele is more versatile than we thought.

A flower
The camera blesses us.

The sleeping giant
Crater walls millions of years old across from our hotel

Walkway and garden
We passed this going to and from our room.

Hotel pool and garden
We saw this daily as we went to the buffet.

Hotel room
Comfy place to rest

Resident rooster
Not all feral roosters live in the woods.