Blogs from Hawaii, United States, North America - page 144

This morning our first stop was the Pali Lookout. This is the site where King Kamehameha and his warriors forced the people who would not accept Kamehameha's rule, over the cliff. This was part of Kamehameha's invasion of Oahu "uniting" all the Hawai'ians. It is awesome to think about. Next, our bus driver dropped us off in downtown Honolulu. Susan gave us a tour of the Honolulu City Hall. We saw right out in front of the building a statue of Father Damion with the seal of the state of Hawai'i above him. Exploring the building, we found the State Senate chambers and the State House of Representative chambers. We also found the required "bathroom break". Next, we saw a statue of Queen Lili'uokaiani. Later we saw a statue of King Kamehameha - the Great. Even ... read more

Our bus was to picked us up at 7:45 so we were all up to eat at 6:45. We headed for Pearl Harbor. As Marty states in her memorable T-blog on our experiences of the day at http://www.travelblog.org/fred.php?id=375922 Susan warned us that we had to leave behind any bags. Free at last! The Kona nightgale sings! Many of our group are veterans. Some served in the U S Navy and they seemed particularly moved to be taking this tour. It seemed like the focus of their whole three weeks. I hoped it would help them. Vets carry a lot more pain inside than the rest of us realize. We took our turn watching the video at the center. Since the Arizona Memorial is not very big, the center manages the numbers by having a theater with ... read more

This morning, we went to the Lyon Arboretum where the U of H does all its botany research. The student guides gave us a tour and could answer all of our "What plant or tree is that?" There are many beautiful trees, plants, and flowers there. Next we drove (motorcoach) to the University of Hawa'i' at Manoa and were met by Dr Lee Putnam of the student services office. She greeted us and asked us all to come in to a classroom. There are barely enough chairs for all of us, but were now a captive audience. Dr Putnam gave us an orientation to the campus and explained what her office does. Then we were "released from class" to go explore. It was kind of nice to wander around and think about being a college student ... read more

We didn't have to rush as we prepared to leave. Our school bus had to do its morning rounds before it could take us out to the National Tropical Botanical Garden. But we were all gathered a half hour early, for some reason. Getting efficient at this packing stuff, I guess. We sure didn't want to leave the quiet garden-like hotel. But the yellow bus appeared and we loaded our gear, climbed in, and set off. We were not under the time pressures we had been most of the time on Kaua'i. We handled that just fine but it was nice not to hurry. On one of these trips, our driver did an extraordinary job in a situation that looked like a sure accident through no fault of her own. But she did it so well, ... read more

Another early start was required because arrangements had been made at Kilaueia Lighthouse National Wildlife Refuse for us to get in early. That way our group had the full attention of the staff. We had an hour before they had to let the others in. Fortunately, our eager beavers were on time and stayed within the time frame we had. Our old bus rolled in before the disbelieving eyes of tourists waiting to enter the refuge. We were greeted by the staff who split us into two groups. They explained the birds whose refuge here is nearly unique in the world. We were able to see them with binoculars. Again Marty reports well in her blog: http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Hawaii/Kauai/Hanalei/blog-375371.html The lighthouse is no longer functioning but there are electronic beacons next to it that continue to serve planes ... read more