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Hawaii Trip - Jan 2008 |
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PHOTOS:
Rainbows |
Jory |
Jory Phone
Hawaiian Words |
Hawaii State Parks |
Maps
| Island | Pop 1000's | Sq Miles | Density | Airports | State Parks | Nat Parks | Flower |
| Oahu | 905 | 608 | 1488 | HNL | 21 | USS Arizona | Hibiscus |
| Hawaii | 167 | 4028 | 41 | KOA, ITO | 14 | Volcano |
Lehua Ohi'a |
| Maui | 120 | 728 | 165 | OGG | 8 | Haleakala | Lokelani |
| Kauai | 63 | 555 | 113 | LIH | 8 | - | Mokihana |
| Molokai | 7 | 260 | 27 | MKK, LUP | - | Kalaupapa | Kukui Blossom |
| Lanai | 3 | 140 | 21 | LNY | - | - | Kauna'oa |
Since 2007 was void of island travel, we needed a tropical island fix, and, having never been to our 50th state, we decided to visit one of Karen's St. Olaf college friends, Jory Watland, who has lived in Hawaii for 40 years. As an ordained Lutheran minister, he made a particularly interesting guide.
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 Waipio Valley
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While on the island of Hawaii, called the "Big Island" to avoid confusion with the state which is also named Hawaii, we stayed at the Hotel Honokaa Club. The hotel was started and named by a Japanese family in 1908 as a club and residence for sugar plantation managers. Our friends, Jory and Annelle, have owned the hotel since 1994. Honokaa is a small town, north of Hilo, on the windward side of the island. It is a little chillier and rainier than the leeward side, but it served as a good base from which to see the entire island. Hawaii is a large island, nearly 300 miles in circumference. The week I was there by myself, I drove 850 miles. Notice that the island of Hawaii is between latitude 19 and 20 degrees north. This is below the bahamas and above the Virgin Islands, which are at 18 degrees. Hawaii experiences the same NE trade winds that blow in the Caribbean.
While reading a book at the hotel on Jan 20, 2008 at 530 pm, the hotel bagan to shake. I thought it might be an earthquake, but discounted the possibity as to far fetched. As it turns out, it really was an earthquake with force 3.1. See the recordation at the US Geological Survey site: Earthquake Record .
I stumbled on an inspirational newspaper while in Hawaii called the "Hawaii Free Press." As they state, their goal is "to bring out points of view based on free enterprise, small government, and individual liberty as a counterpoint to what is presented in the rest of Hawaii print and television media." It was refreshing to see a little libertarian thinking permeating the islands.
Helicopter1 | Helicopter2 | Mauna Kea | Extremes | Capt. Cook Moauna Kea External Links: Weather | Keck Observatory | Observatories
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We spent four full days here, but two of those days were used for side trips, via ferries, to Lanai and Molokai. We rented a condo in Kihei on the leeward side of East Maui. Kehei has terrific beaches but it is full of Condos and the traffic can be bad. With such a short time we had to pack a lot in in a short amount of time.
On our first day we did a morning snorkeling trip to Molokini and then drove up to Haleakala in the afternoon. Our 2nd and 3rd days were spent on Molokai and Lanai. Our last full day was spent driving around West Maui, Sailing on America II, and attending the Old Lahaina Luau in the evening. It was a full day.
Most of the boat charters and ferries leave out of Lahaina, so based upon what we did it would have been more convenient to stay closer to Lahaina.
We did a little geocaching by locating the survey mark on the top of Haleakala. Physical locations which have been precisely located by some government agency as to latitude, longitude and possibly altitude are called survey marks or benchmarks and are recorded in a database maintained by National Geodetic Survey (NGS Data sheet). Check out the most popular geocaching site, which contains photos of 100,000's of survey benchmarks. On either the NGS or Geocaching site, type in Permanent Identifier (PID) TU3485 for Haleakala. Another useful benchmark site is Zhanna.
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| 3 | Kohoolawe |
The "w," when it is in the interior of a word, is pronounced like a "v" as in German. So Kohoolawe is pronounced "Ko-ho-o-lah-vay." Now, why that rule does not extend to the word Hawaii is a mystery. Kohoolawe is an uninhabited island SW of Maui which is not inhabited. From the photos we took when we flew over it, you can see that is just a giant lava rock in ocean.
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We did day trip to Lanai by taking a ferry. Lanai is a former Dole pineapple plantation being reconstituted as a island for the rich. It contains three hotels. Two of them are Four Seasons with a golf focus. Rates start at $445 per night. A round of golf is $300.
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How many National Parks have a phallic rock? |
Molokai is a very remote unpopulated island with little commercial development. We got there by ferry from Maui (a 90 minute ride) and only spent a day there.
Molokai is famous as the former home of the Kalaupapa Leper Colony and Father Damien. A trip to visit the leper colony must be planned days in advance as a special permit is needed. The Hawaii Star Bulletin posted the following story on 10/26/07 By Helen Altonn about Father Damien.
Father Damien DeVeuster, the Belgian priest who served Hansen's disease patients at Kalaupapa, Molokai, and later died of the disease, has moved closer to sainthood. A Vatican commission of five doctors scrutinizing a reported medical cure attributed to Damien has found that the woman's healing was dramatic and defied medical explanation, said Patrick Downes, Catholic Diocese of Honolulu spokesman. The woman was reported cured of lung cancer about 10 years ago after making a pilgrimage to Kalaupapa and praying to Damien. The Sacred Hearts Order that Damien belonged to was informed of the medical commission's decision, Downes said yesterday, describing it as "a significant step forward." Two miracles are needed to be considered for sainthood. The first one attributed to Damien occurred in 1895 when a French nun dying of a gastrointestinal illness miraculously recovered after beginning a novena, or Catholic ritual, to Damien. He was beatified in 1995, 100 years after the first miracle. A commission of theologians must now determine whether the reported second miracle was done through Damien's intercession, Downes said. If the commission determines that Damien was involved, a commission of bishops and cardinals will review the case and make a recommendation to the pope, he said. The process could take about a year, Downes added. Damien came to Hawaii from Belgium in 1864, joining other missionaries of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. He died at age 49 in 1889 of leprosy after ministering to people of Kalaupapa for 16 years.
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Oahu is the heart of Hawaii. It is the home of Honolulu and Pearl Harbor, as well as ten lane freeways and massive traffic jams. It is the home of Waikiki Beach and Diamond Head, as well as high rise jungles and over priced restaurants.
One for sure, the north shore of Oahu is the surffing capital of Hawaii, and Sunset and Bonzai Pipeline Beaches are the Mecca for serious sufers. Arizona | Arizona Comments | Bowfin | Missouri Ship | Missouri Plack | Governor's Office Surfing | Temple | Temple Bell | Mixture | Ethel's | Nuuahu Park |
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Kauai, the Garden Isle, is the exotic jewel of Hawaii, and the absolutely best way to see it is on a helicopter ride with "doors off." You can think of the ride as expensive or better yet "as priceless." See Inter-Island Helicopters. We stayed near Kapaa, ten miles north of the airport on the windward side, in an absolutly charming cottage. If you had to pick one island to visit, I think it would have to be Kauai. It has all the modern conveniences of Maui and Oahu without the crowds. The hiking is world class. It is also home to the wettest spot on the earth, Mt. Waialeale, at 472 inches per year on average. It's hard to comprehend 39 feet of rain. Because of its attraction to movie makers, Kauai has an entire government office to promoting film in Kauai. Swimming | Zip Line | Jurassic | Shanghai Circus |
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| 8 | Niihau |
Niihau is a small sparsely populated island inhabited with approximately 200 indigenous persons. The island is privately owned, and we did not visit it.
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Our high-lights on the Big Island include hiking in 
