Hawaii Culture & History Followed by Spam Musubi (05 FEB 2009)

Aloha,


Today is another big day of what-we-always-wanted-to-see-but-never-had-time-for-in-O'ahu:

A. The Bishop Museum (has nothing to do with bishops. It is Hawaiian Culture all the way)
B. The Iolani Palace area (See the Official Hawaiian Royal Coat of Arms above. See "B" below).

We began with A and finished with B (long blog, be sure to see bottom "B" half also). Fascinating day all around. A day very well spent.

Bishop: Lava Melting Demo:



Ali'i (Royal) Fanning Service for Tetefano's Lunch:



Hawaiian Storytelling #1 and #2. Fascinating stuff!!





And the museum's Shell Lei Collection:



And then some photos from the permanent collection:

Fish hooks:


Rapa Nui collection:


Tahiti collection:


Aotearoa/NZ collection:


And now to the "B" part of the day: The 'Iolani Palace area


For the ugly truth about how Hawai'i became the 50th U.S. state (involving a nasty overthrow, imprisonment cum House Arrest, and other nasty forms of deceit and muscle flexing by various people including Mr. Dole - the pineapple baron) you can get the scoop right here:
http://www.iolanipalace.org/history/queen.html

Here she is, Queen Lili'uokalani (note the statue is placed OUTside the actual Palace Gate and in front of the State Capitol facing the Capitol with her back facing the Palace. Very interesting!??):


A video showing a 360 degree view around the statue:



And here is King Kamehameha I (He united all the surrounding islands to create the Kingdom of Hawai'i. By 1795 he had all but Kaua'i. In 1810, kaua'i was finally added)


Finally, and on a far more lighthearted note, you need NOT head to lahaina to see a grand banyan. There is a fine specimen right on the 'Iolani Palace grounds:


Just remember...pono...always exercise pono (a.k.a. respect/do the right thing):


And now, absurdly easing back into a different kind of reality, we find ourselves back in Waikiki accompanied by two Spam Musubi and a Steinlager:



...and later, Camilla is rather pathetically complaining about having to assemble her own fusionesque fish taco. In context, altogether way too embarrassing not to post it, so I will):



Oh yes, times have certainly changed - and for many native Hawaiians, times have changed in ways few of us can even begin to imagine. Malama ka'aina in this place isn't exactly about recycling, is it? And pono and aloha is far more than letting the little old lady cross the street sans stress. So, bring the pono, not the party!

Malama Ka'aina,
Kepani & Kamila

Muumuus and Waikiki Hula with Waikiki Hula Wahine - The Great Kanoe Miller (04 FEB 2009)

Aloha again,

another 'Meeting of the Great Muumuus', if you will, this time in Waikiki...



NObody does hula like Kanoe Miller. Always fun, always fabulous, always festive...
Have a look and a listen, then consider getting her awesome NEW hula DVD right here:
http://www.kanoemiller.com/


More music:



And finally, after some debate, it was decided to keep this 'The Blue Outtake' in:



And with that, Alooooohaaaaa!
Kepani & Kamila

Souvenir (Swap) Meet, Jade Lei, and Noodle Soup (04 FEB 2009)

Aloha,

the morning view from our first Waikiki hotel. Almost artistic, isn't it?


The same morning after moving to our second Waikiki Hotel (we tested one hotel at the airport and two in Waikiki on this particular stay).


And a related video titled 'Ocean Front with Sacrifice':



We begin this Wednesday's touring by visiting the legendary Aloha Stadium Farmer's Market/Swap Meet (located a respectable distance from Waikiki and therefore requiring a certain commitment of car-hassle and precious daytime hours). Frankly, we took no photos or video here because - no offense - but this was neither Farmer's Market nor Swap Meet. Perhaps it used to be, but a lot of guide book authors had better get out and do a little follow-up research for the next edition...ahem! Aside from the few folks (comprising about 5% of the entire market) who crack coconuts for $5 a piece, the guy selling music (and ONLY music), and the brah sitting on the 'aina, genuinely carving Made in Hawaii kine wood sculptures, this market has Chinatownesque, Kiheiesque, Konaesque kitschy-price-fixing-market written all over it. If you're looking for overpriced made-in-china-to-look-hawaiian crap with hibiscus prints, then this is your place for sure. If you are looking for a genuine Hawaiian Farmer's Market or an authentic Hawaiian neighborhood Swap Meet, then forget Aloha Stadium!

Stop number two on this day's schedule was Chinatown Honolulu. There had long been a desire to have an honest 'on foot' look at this place and we're glad we finally did as there are a few hidden gems here.

In these two video clips, join us on a quick walking tour of fruits, fish, noodles, hula supplies, drunks, lei stands, and a few other memorable stops along the way:

HNL Chinatown #1:



HNL Chinatown #2:



After this, we bee-lined for our hotel for a quick shower and change of clothes as there was some special hula on our horizon tonight...see next post (above).

A hui hou!
Kepani & Kamila

A Memorably Wickedly Sick Sunset (03 FEB 2009)

Aloha,

upon several hours in the realm of Memorials and Military, we appreciated the pretty show nature put on this evening, helping us ease back into the realm of Aloha...



Alooha....

Kepani & Kamila

Pearl Harbor: A Memorial + A Warship + A Submarine (03 FEB 2009)

Today is Pearl Harbor day. Despite this being our 4th and 5th trips to Hawaii, respectively, Steve has yet to visit Pearl Harbor (despite his being a genuine Military Brat), so off we went to pay homage to the many victims of 07 DEC 1941 and then some...

Tetefano Kane (a.k.a. SM) went nuts with the videomachine on this day and while it is all very interesting, the l-o-n-g tour of Pearl Harbor is perhaps not 'for everyone', so we'll first offer you the 'short version' in photos and then the 'long version' in the form of three video clips wide slides interspersed.

The SHORT version (photos only):

USS Arizona Memorial:


USS Bowfin Submarine:


The USS Missouri (last used in Gulf War):


And even tough servicemen and women need one of these from time to time:


And now the LONG version:

USS Bowfin Submarine:



USS Arizona Memorial:



USS Missouri:



Aloha,
Kepani & Kamila

Scope Packs, Humpbacks, Mail Stacks, and Large PAXs (aka passengers) (02 FEB 2009)

Aloha...

it is 6:45AM on a perfectly sleepable Monday morning...and it is a funny thing this whale watch business...
Theoretically, and in terms of maritime statistics, allegedly, the early morning sunrise-style whale watch departures are supposedly available to take advantage of favorably absent trades and thus calm waters. We've done it twice now and each time had wilder waters than was apparently experienced the afternoon prior (afternoons are allegedly, supposedly, and statistically known for stiffer trades). This is just to say that IF you are one who is prone to motion discomfort (as we insiduously refer to it in my line of business), do not let yourself be fooled by the flatwater lore of lax morning trades. If a table were a weather system, your trades would account for just one of the four legs and, as you know, many tables do just fine with just three legs!
The moral of this story: When you communicate with your Higher Power from time to time, put some pono into your prayer and remember to thank the guys who made Scopolomine patches, Dramamine, Relief Bands, Sea Bands, and - for those who believe in it - good old Ginger! Ahoy!!

So, did we see whales? Yes, and with the Scope patch behind her ear, Camilla had a great time:



Here is an island panorama totally devoid of hotel development:



And then, time to mail the heavy paperwork (and also ahem a couple of lead dive weights...) to the next island, ship a couple of boxes of coconuts off to the mainland, and hurl a few heavy souvenir boxes off toward our neighbor cum Mail Watcher's apartment in New York City...Thank goodness for USPS now that the airlines have gone absurdly mean on luggage limits and overcharges:



And off we go toward O'ahu for a few fairly full days of seeing-what-we-never-had-time-to-see as well as about 7 hotel inspections. Nice flight-seeing enroute:



And finally, the Large PAXs mentioned in the title. Hotel bellhops in various places have derived great fun out of our seatbelted duffel passengers (aka PAXs in travel agency lingo) occupying the back seat of various Mustang Convertibles. But who'd want 100lbs+ of dead weight coming at their backsides in case of a sudden 'Brake for Surfers' moment?? (Sam, we can't break for Moose out here even if we wanted to...).



Spent this night at a Honolulu airport hotel to test its utility for future clients. Tomorrow is Pearl Harbor day but first, we need some very serious s-l-e-e-p!!!

A hui hou!
Kepani & Kamila

The Oh-So-Sick-Sunset All By Itself (01 FEB 2009)

On our way back from the Exotic Garden visit, we met this Oh-So-Sick-Sunset. Speaks for itself:


But wait...there is more...


ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ,

Kepani & Kamila

Exotic Garden, Cattle Egrets - And A Fresh Rockfall (01 FEB 2009)

On this day, we headed East to enjoy lunch with Brigid Mulloy and her va'a friends (aka canoe friends). We had been invited to paddle the va'a also, but the sinus pressure and runny noses from the 'wicked virus' was still on-again-off-again, so we opted for proper sleep followed by lunch with Brigid and friends. All great people!
Too busy chatting to take any photos, so...there aren't any...

After lunch we headed over to meet a potential future guide and his exotic garden. He delivered on all accounts and any future clients heading to Hawaii under Camilla's guidance will likely cross paths with this great Hawaiian guy. First some photos, then two videos below (fascinating array of da exotic growing kine)...

Here he shows us a domesticated guava (fewer seeds,more pulp, and tastes great even if you aren't hungry).


A harmless (but fast as lightening) cane spider:


And some gorgeous gingers:




And now the video walk-through. An amazing array of growing things:





On the way back, we encountered these two guys:



And then this Fresh Rockfall in the midst of Paradise:



Sunset post to follow.
A hui hou!

kepani & Kamila

A Tribute to Lono and His Awesome Music (31 JAN 2009)

Aloha,

here is a separate post in honor of Lono and his music (and right here on Makahiki to boot!)


[FYI for those not-so-in-the-know: Lono is the ancient Hawaiian god for peace, fertility, agriculture, etc and is honored during the Makahiki festival].

Below are some slices of his very engaging performance on this evening - lots of jam, stories, and local lore in these four clips - even a Lono song played at Obama's Presidential Inauguration just days earlier ) and for those who decide they MUST own this music (by now we certainly own all four of his incredible 'Old Style' CDs) here is where you can get them:
http://www.lonomusic.com/index.html









If you got this far, you're "Lono 'Ohana" by now. Buy dem all! We promise you won't be sorry (and we did NOT get paid or paid off to say any of this. It's 100% genuine fanship!)

Malama ka'aina (take care of da land).
Kepani & Kamila

Coco Cracking, Market Day & Makahiki Festival (31 JAN 2009)

Today is a NUI (big) day. We've got the Saturday Market to visit, where a promised Tahitian vanilla bean will be changing hands and the famed Coconut Grater will be returned to its rightful owner, our friend Sally. Bur first, Steve cracks us a breakfast coconut:



And then it was off to the market. Here is Camilla with Richard - one of our friendly hosts for the month we've been here:


A few shots of the market and downtown (the Makahiki videos will follow just below):



and now, the MAKAHIKI Games:

Intro:



Games:



Back home to recover. Will post tonight's music separately...
A hui hou!

Kepani & Camilla