Faith, Folklore, and Friends

My parents took us to cemeteries regularly during my young years.  They taught us about our people and our past by reading the headstones, each one with a story. They taught us to never, never, walk on a grave, because it showed great disrespect for the bones beneath our feet.  Sometimes, in the old cemeteries, it is hard to tell exactly where the graves are, but I still try my best not to walk on one. Today marks 78 years since that morning when Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, was attacked by the Japanese. Hundreds of men died, and our country entered World War II. The ship  Arizona was among those that sank that day .  In 1962, the Arizona memorial was built directly over where the skeleton of the great ship rests on the shallow seafloor. It covers what remains of 1177 souls lost in a few minutes on that Sunday morning. When we were there in October of 2016, it was a somber place. It felt like I was walking on graves. S...

Makena State Park on Maui has beautiful white sand beaches, backed by a dormant volcanic cinder cone. The water was clean but cold, very different from the Gulf water that we are used to. Makena Beach was once a popular nudist beach, but popularity has decreased dramatically since everyone owns a cell phone with video now.  All beach visitors were properly clothed the day we were there. Chickens run wild in the park; I'm guessing there are no coyotes or foxes on the island.

Obviously, I would never miss a chance to visit a coffee plantation. This one was on Kauai. There were acres and acres of these coffee bushes, all beautifully manicured.  On Kona, they told us this was a bad thing, because that meant the coffee beans were picked with machines.  The people at Kona Coffee claimed their beans were all hand picked. The smell inside the gift shop was heavenly, but I did not like the coffee samples they gave us.  It was very strong and bitter to me, so we didn't bring any home.  Still, I loved seeing the coffee beans growing.

Kauai is the oldest of the Hawaiian Islands.  The wind and water have had time to carve a masterpiece in this canyon. This is part of the Waimea Canyon State Park. The day we were there, we went from bright sunshine to clouds and fog, then sunshine again.   Helicopter tours are a popular way of seeing the canyon. It is not uncommon to see several in the air at the same time here. It is not as deep or long as the Grand Canyon in Arizona, but it is art from the Creator.  Seeing it will make you humble; it will make you thankful.

Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park was a place of refuge to law breakers.  You can read about it here .  Some of the statues and wood carvings have rain/wind damage, but it is still an amazing place to see. We saw this big turtle by the beach.  He did not move the entire time we were there.  Guess it was a slow day for him/her/it.