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Hawaii Tour
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Day 1 (5-25-98, Mon): Overnight Flight to Honolulu, Hawaii
We left Birmingham by Northwest Airline around 7:15 am for Memphis, TN. It was a clear day at around 85 degrees. Changing plane at Memphis, we arrived at San Francisco at about 11:30 am. We were scheduled to leave San Francisco at 12:55 pm and arrive at Honolulu by 3:19 pm. There was a mechanical problem with the plane. No one apologized for the delay, but Northwest Airline handed out a free book entitled Blue Willow by Deborah Smith. Young and I began reading to pass the time. We did not get to leave until 6:00 pm. When we arrived at Honolulu, it was about 9:00 pm--a 6-hour delay. As we came out of the plane, we were met by a local tour guide with a sign. He gave each of us an orchid lei, and guided us to baggage claim area. While I was waiting for our baggage, Young obtained necessary information from the guide. We waited about 10 minutes for the shuttle bus, but it did not show up. We decided to take a taxi. The fare was $21 including the tip. It was about 11:00 pm when we checked into our hotel, Outrigger Maile Sky Court, a high-rise building located about two blocks from the Waikiki beach. Hotel attendant suggested that we could upgrade our room to an upper level room for an extra $5 a day, and we accepted her suggestion. The room was small but clean, and it had twin comfortable beds with two pillows each, a dresser with mirror and lamp, a round table with two chairs, a small refrigerator, a wet bar, and a night stand with lamp and telephone, a window air-conditioner. After the bath we fell asleep quickly.
Day 2 (5-26-98, Tue): Honolulu, Hawaii
It was a cool clear day. Our room on the 27th floor had a nice view of the Pacific Ocean. Being a corner room, it had windows at right angles--one with ocean view and the other with city view. Tall palm trees, sparkling water, and clear blue sky made us feel welcome to the paradise. The sea was calm with small waves breaking over the reef near the beach. We had to get up early to attend the orientation breakfast meeting at 9:00 am. A bus came by the hotel at around 8:30 am to take us to another Outrigger Hotel. On the bus the escort-guide explained something about local custom. For example, ladies wearing flower on the right hand side were married or spoken for. Those wearing flowers on the left were available. He also showed us how to make Hawaiian shaka sign--a thumb and baby finger gesture meaning anything from OK bruddah to right-on, it’s cool, or hang loose. The orientation was sponsored by the Aloha VIP Tours, Inc. We were greeted with silk-flower lei and picture taking. There were about hundred people in our group. As soon as we were seated at round tables with eight people in each, we were served breakfast. It consisted of scrambled eggs, link sausage, bacon, slices of pineapple, biscuits, and coffee or tea. While we were having breakfast, a Hawaiian man and a Hawaiian woman from the Polynesian Cultural Center serenaded
| us with Polynesian tropical songs. They went from table to table, taught us a word or two in Hawaiian, and both played ukuleles, a small four-stringed guitar popularized in Hawaii. A Hawaiian lady did a hula dance. The dance was full of aloha spirit, and her undulating hips and |  |
miming movements of the arms and hands were graceful. After that a Hawaiian man with dark tanned muscles did a Polynesian dance. An Aloha VIP Tours representative entertained us with humor before the introduction of tours we could take while in Hawaii. We decided on the tours of Polynesian Cultural Center, Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor, Ali’i Kai Sunset Dinner Sail, Hawaiian Luau over next three days in Honolulu. We purchased tickets then and there. A man and lady equipped with computers printed out tickets with ease. It was about 11:00 am when we finished with the orientation breakfast meeting. Our next agenda for the day was to go to Polynesian Cultural Center.
From where we had breakfast we went across the street to Pacific Hawaii Hotel to wait for our bus to take us to the Polynesian Cultural Center located in the town of Laie at the North Shore of the Oahu island. The Roberts Hawaii bus came around noon to pick us up, the driver had our name, and we were on our way. Leaving Waikiki, we crossed the majestic Koolau Mountains on the Likelike (lee-kay-lee-kay) Highway named for Princess Miriam Likelike, the youngest sister of Hawaii's last king, David Kalakaua. We followed the highway through the Wilson Tunnel to the windward side. As we descended from the Koolaus, we could overlook Kaneohe Bay and the picturesque towns of Kaneohe and Kailua. The drive along the scenic coast was an enjoyable experience, the bus driver-tour guide narrating on the various points of interest along the way. We turned onto Kahekili Highway, drove through Valley of Temples, and continued up the windward coastline through quiet country villages of Kaaawa, Punaluu, Hauula and to the quaint little town of Laie. This was the home of the Polynesian Cultural Center. The real Polynesia is the triangular area defined by Hawaiian Islands in the north, New Zealand in the south, and Easter Island in the east. The Polynesian Cultural Center was a spread of 42 acres, in which seven Polynesian villages represented the islands of Samoa, New Zealand, Fiji, Hawaii, Marquises, Tahiti, and Tonga. Through music, laughter, dance, or story each shared a flavor of its own culture. We learned a coconut husking from a Samoan, watched twirling of poi balls in New Zealand, saw taro being pounded in Hawaii, and listened to a Fijian band play and pounding of drums in Tonga. We also saw weaving of headband with a palm leaf in the Marquises and hula dance in Tahiti. At the colorful Canoe Pageant on a
| tropical lagoon we saw various folklores played out on canoes that floated by us one after another--The Rainbow Princess of Hawaii, The Origin of Firewalking in Fiji, The Origin of Coconut Tree in Samoa, Ponga and Puhihula of New Zealand, Origin of Tonga’s Ruling Line, |  |
and How Rata Rescued His Parents in Tahiti. Polynesian ladies were beautiful and their costumes colorful and elaborate. Men wore little to show off their muscles and bones covered with tanned skin, and they were eager to show their manliness in their acts of dancing. Somewhere in between the villages and the shows we had a chance to taste poi and receive a hula dance lesson from a Hawaiian lady for about five minutes while a young girl played ukulele and sang hula tune. When we had made all the way to the far end of the villages, we were taken on a canoe ride back to the point of departure. The Polynesian Odyssey we saw at the IMAX Polynesian Theater was most impressive, and the scenes were enjoyable. It was 42 minutes of pure delight. After the buffet dinner at the Gateway Restaurant we went to the Pacific Theater to see the Evening Show Horizons that began at 8:00 pm. The theater was a huge amphitheater with the stage side open to outside with palm trees, tropical plants, and water falls. Theater had to be open so that fire shows could be done. The show was a breathtaking spectacle of music, drum pounding, dance and story. Ladies’ costumes were colorful and spectacular. I could not watch the Fire Knife Dance without apprehension and could not see how a man could bring flames into his mouth and spit it out. The mimicked volcanic eruptions near the end of the show were thrilling and realistically portrayed. The show was sensational, and Polynesian culture made lasting impression in our hearts. The bus returned us to the hotel around 11:00 pm. It was our eventful first day in Hawaii, and we were exhausted.
Day 3 (5-27-98, Wed): Arizona Memorial - Ali’i Kai Sunset Dinner Sail
We got up at about 6:30, had a muffin and coffee for breakfast, and went across the street to catch a Roberts Hawaii bus. It took us to the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center, about a 45-minute drive west of Waikiki. Once we arrived at the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center, which was operated by the National Park Service, our tour guide obtained and announced our ticket number--3. This meant that there were many tourists who arrived there before we did. While we waited, we had about an hour to tour the center that housed a bookstore, museum, a snack area, and restrooms. Outside, we had an excellent view of the harbor, Ford Island and the Battleship Row, where the battleships were docked at the time of the attack on December 7, 1941.
When our number was called, we were first led into a theater and shown a 20-minute documentary film on the Pearl Harbor Attack. The film was in black and white, and all the scenes, we were told, were real--not staged. Immediately after the film we boarded a Naval launch that took us to the Arizona Memorial about a mile off the coast and the Visitor Center. It was a covered bridge built over the sunken battleship the USS Arizona. The structure was 184-ft long and had a shrine room at the far end.
| The names of 1177 crewmen killed on the Arizona on December 7, 1941 were engraved on the marble wall. At around 8:10 on that Sunday morning of December 7, 1941 the USS Arizona was hit by 1760-pound armor-piercing bomb that slammed through the deck and ignited her forward ammunition magazine. In less than nine minutes |  |
she sank with 1177 of her crew. Only three hundred some bodies were recovered, the rest having been cremated instantaneously. The USS Arizona is the final resting place for many of the 1177 crewmen who lost their lives there and for some who survived but wished their remains be buried there among their comrades. I could not but feel sad and somber.
On the way back the driver-tour guide gave us a narrated tour of Honolulu that included Iolani Palace, Kamehameha Statue, the State Capitol, and the Punchbowl National Cemetery. The bus brought us back to the hotel by noon. We went out to the Waikiki beach for a walk. The water was clear and clean near the beach. There were many people sun bathing on the beach, but we did not see many people swimming. The coral and reefs were clearly visible. We walked along the concrete dock extending into the sea about 100 yards. At the far
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end of the dock we met a young couple and asked the young man to take our pictures with our camera. He kindly obliged us. We dropped in on a restaurant on the beach for lunch. We were seated facing the sea by the open window. The restaurant was open to sea, and we |
could feel nice cool breeze from the sea. The sea was clam. There were no ships in sight. Dark blue water met the light blue sky at the horizon. It was a peaceful afternoon at Waikiki beach. Some little birds flew in and out freely looking for bread crumbs to feed on. We ordered. Young had seafood sandwich and I had a shoreburger. After lunch we browsed the small shops in the mall that turned out to be the lobby of another Outrigger hotel. There were twenty-eight Outrigger hotels on the Island, we heard, and they were all owned by one man. We returned to our room for some rest before we set out for the Ali’i Kai Sunset Dinner Sail.
At about 4:30 pm the Roberts Hawaii bus came to pick us up. Beside driver there were two escorts--a man and a lady. The man introduced himself as a Samoan and entertained us on the bus. When we arrived at the pier, we were greeted by two young Hawaiian hula dancers. We saw some tourists taking pictures with them. The vessel was said to be modeled after ancient Polynesian double-hulled canoes--the Wa’a Kaulula that carried early Polynesian explorers safely across thousands of miles in an open sea. As we came aboard, we heard a band playing Hawaiian songs. As soon as we were seated, waiters and waitresses served us drinks. The two escorts who came to pick us up with the bus now were serving us as waiter and waitress. Soon we found ourselves lined up for the buffet dinner. Because it had not been long since our lunch, Young and I did not feel very hungry. The waiters and waitresses now became entertainers and danced Polynesian dances for us. At one point the band played a Cha Cha tune, and Young and I danced Cha Cha. After that we danced Swing and Electric Slide, a line dance. The ship sailed along the coast of Waikiki beach, with hotel buildings within our view, one way and back the same way. We noticed that many people went outside or to the upper observation deck to see the sunset. It must had been beautiful, but we were too busy dancing. We had an enjoyable evening on the Ali’i Kai Catamaran. Back on the bus to our hotel we purchased two pictures of ourselves at $20.
Day 4 (5-28-98, Fri): Grand Circle Island Tour of Oahu
This is our third day in Hawaii. Today we were going to circle the island. The Roberts Hawaii bus came to pick us up at the hotel. The driver-guide was a Hawaiian named Kinni Wakinikona. He was an elderly gentleman of 61. Every one of these driver-guide assigned to us was a Hawaiian who spoke English with no accent, seemed well prepared on the subject he chose to discuss, and was articulate. Kinni was no exception. Our tour began at around 9:00 am. We drove around the famous Diamond Head, a dead vocanic crater with a diameter of about 200 yards. The bus stopped at a lookout overlooking the exclusive residential area of Black Point. We then took a drive through the million dollar estates of Kahala before heading toward the planned communities of Aina Haina and Hawaii Kai. Starting from Waikiki, we began circling the island counterclockwise along the southern coast and now reached southeastern corner of the island. Our next stop was at a scenic spot overlooking Hanauma Bay. Kinni told us that it was here where several scenes of Elvis Presley’s Blue Hawaii were shot. As we turned the corner, the view of the eastern coastline of Oahu unfolded, and it was beautiful beyond our belief. On a clear day, the guide informed us, the island of Molokai, 28 miles away, could be seen from here. We stopped at Halona Point to watch the water shooting out of holes in the black lava rock. Water rose from the pressure of wave hitting the hole in the lava rock. This was different from the geyser action of Old Faithful at the Yellowstone National Park. The geyser action is rise of water column into air due to pressure build up in a shaft where water became superheated from the heat underneath and pressure above. We drove by the famous body surfing areas of Sany Beach and Makapuu Beach. We saw only a few surfers. We went past Waimanalo and Kailua. Climbing to the Nuuanu Pali, 1200 feet above the sea level, we had a panoramic view of the picturesque coastal towns of Kaneohe and Kailua. These two towns we saw the other day on the way to the Polynesian Cultural Center at Laie. We now turned inland away from the east coast. Our journey continued through the rain forests of Nuuanu and then out past Pearl Harbor, Aiea, Pearl City, Mililani, Wahiawa, the military bases of Wheeler AFB and Schofield Barracks. We stopped at the Helemano Plantation for lunch. The lunch was Chinese Buffet prepared and served by handicapped children in training. The Helemano Plantation used to be home of Dole Pineapple. I remembered coming here way back in 1953 on my first trip to America and drinking Pineapple juice out of fountain.
After lunch we browsed the gift shop, and bought a letter opener with a clear plastic handle that had a palm tree and Hawaii written on it. Our tour took us through the farms of pineapple, sugarcane, and coffee fields. It was sad to learn that pineapple and sugarcane farming has been discontinued here in Hawaii for economical reason. Here too times were changing. We now drove past rural towns of Waialua and Haleiwa near the northern coast of Oahu and began clockwise circling of the island along the northern coast, thus drawing figure 8 with our track on the island. Drive along the North Shore beaches of Waimea and Sunset Beach was most enjoyable. These beaches, the guide told us, were well known for the world-class surfing events. After we drove around the northern tip of the island, we came to the old Sugar Mill, farm stores, fruit stands of Kahuku. We then past by Laie, the home of Polynesian Cultural Center, where we spent our first day in Hawaii. From this point on we retraced the coastal route we came the other day on the way to Laie, but this time with stops along the way. The bus stopped in front of the Mormon Temple for a few minutes, and drove past Brigham Young University Hawaii campus. The bus took us through the districts of Hauula, Punaluu, and Kaaawa. The guide mentioned that these districts were the most favored camping and picnicking spots for the people on the island. The bus took us into the Valley of Temples. We saw cemeteries of Caucasian group, Chinese group, and Japanese group. We had about 20 minutes to tour the Japanese Buddhist temple, a replica of Buddhist temple in Uji, Japan. We began the tour with ringing of a huge bronze bell. Then we looked inside of the temple. I was almost tempted to take my shoes off, walk up the steps, and down on my knees, place my forehead over the hands spread on the wooden floor--as I did so many times when I was little in the company of my mother. My mother believed that suffering is inseparable from existence--and suffering she did all her life--but that inward extinction of the self and of worldly desire culminates in a state of spiritual enlightenment beyond both suffering and existence. After our stop at the temple we turned onto the Likelike Highway and came through the Wilson Tunnel. When we returned to our hotel on Waikiki, we had completed 120-mile sightseeing journey of the island. It was nearly 4:00 pm, but we were not done for the day.
After a short visit to our room we went out again to catch the bus--this time to Germaine’s Hawaiian Luau. The bus was to pick us up at 4:30 pm, but it was delayed. It did not arrive until about 5:00 pm. The bus was packed with tourists. It was supposed to be a 35-minute drive to the beach, but it seemed more like an hour. We were in the middle of rush hour. The escort-guide pointed out some of the scenic spots on the way and talked about the food and shows we would sample at the luau. Among the tourists in the bus I could easily identify Americans, quite a few Japanese, and some Chinese. I was full of curiosity, expectation, and excitement. I saw many scenes in movies where Hawaiian luau took place at torch-lit beaches, people enjoying tropical food, drinks, music, and dance.
| The Germaine’s beach was secluded, and a gentle sea breeze and tall palm trees made the place look very special. As we got off the bus, we were greeted with a warm “aloha,” and a shell lei. We were then led to a line for picture taking. The sun was about to set on the horizon where the dark blue sea met the light blue clear sky. |  |
The scenery was beautiful. A gentle caress of tropical breezes, soft sparkling sand, and a picture-perfect sunset were all beyond my expectation. I took a deep breath and took in a lungful of salt air. Against these backgrounds we had our picture taken. After the picture we went to get our drinks at one of the several bars. I tried mai tai (a brownish cocktail made with rum, curaçao, and fruit juices) for the first time. I dind’t finish it because I was afraid it might upset my stomach. I was too chicken to try Blue Hawaii. There were Polynesian men and ladies dressed in native ceremonial costumes. They were there for picture taking with tourists who desired, and they were busily engaged. Young and I also took a couple of pictures with these Polynesians. Then we saw people moving over to one side. As we followed crowd, we came to the site of Imu Ceremony. A young man appeared with a conch shell, raised it to his lips, and blew the horn. The King, Queen, and court arrived and took their position upon the stage with their back against the sea and facing us the tourists. The royal court, richly arrayed, resplendent in their feather capes, colorful leis, and feather helmets, signal the beginning of the luau feast. “It was time to remove the pig from the imu,” explained the master of ceremony. During the early morning hours the pig was lightly salted, carefully wrapped in ti leaves, laid on sizzling hot rocks in the imu (a deep pit), and covered with earth. Two young men appeared and began removing the sand and rocks. Soon they lifted wire mesh containing the meat, shooked the meat as if to shake the bones loose, and dumped the content into a large rectangular shiny container. After the ceremony we were seated at the table for the feast. The mc announced that our group numbered about 750 and the biggest crowd they had entertained numbered about 1500. The front row tables were low, and people sat on the mat placed on the sand. The rest of the tables were picnic tables with attached benches on both sides. We found our seat on one of these. As the entertainment began, small groups of people were escorted to buffet table to get their food. Since we were seated at a table located near the center, we were one of last groups to reach the buffet table to get our food. There was that much anticipated pig meat along with salad, bread, poi, etc. The pork tasted much like barbecued pork. It was lightly salted and suited my taste. The show was pretty much same as what we saw the other day at Polynesian Cultural Center. We watched Tahitian wahines perform the animated Tahitian tamure, Fijian warriors do a fierce spear dance, Samoan men perform their traditional slap dance, Samoan princesses do fluid dance, pretty Hawaiian girls do hula dance, beautiful New Zealand girls twirl poi balls, and finally Samoan men do spectacular and thrilling fire dance. On the way back to the hotel in the bus we were offered to purchase two pictures for $20. When we got back to our room, we were tired. After the bath we went to bed looking forward to tomorrow and Big Island of Hawaii.
Day 5 (5-29-98, Fri): Big Island of Hawaii
Around 9:30 am we took a cab to the airport. The fare was $25 including the tip. As we tried to check in at the Northwest Airline counter, we learned that the Northwest 4178 on our ticket was not Northwest but Hawaiian Airline. The attendant suggested that if we wanted we could catch the 10 o’clock flight instead of 11:50 flight as scheduled. We took her suggestion. It took about an hour over the blue Pacific Ocean. We could peek through the clouds at some of the smaller islands. It was as if we were looking at post cards. I could not imagine what it would be like to live permanently on one of these paradise islands. As we were landing at Kona International Airport on the western coast of Big Island, suddenly the picture changed; everything looked desolate like an desert. Here, in place of white sand and green palm trees there were black lava rocks, and in everywhere we looked we saw only barren black volcanic landscape. The only trace of living plant was what appeared to be light brown dried-up dead grasses. After we picked up our luggage we took a cab to our hotel. Cab driver turned out to be a Korean lady. She informed us that the Big Island had a promising outlook as tourist resort, and that had it not been for the recent economic setback in Korea, Korean Airline would have opened up direct flight to the Big Island. She moved to this island from Oahu to become tour guide for the Korean tourists.
| Soon we arrived at the Royal Kona Resort. When we checked into our room 271, we were pleasantly surprised by the size of the room with two double beds and balcony overlooking the Pacific Ocean, Oneo Bay, and the shore. The view was picturesque--several ships were anchored in the harbor, waves were hitting the shore gently, breaking |  |
into white tiny bubbles, shorelines curved in and out, tall palm trees could be seen everywhere, and small houses and large buildings decorated the shore. The only thing missing was the sandy beach. Here too black lava rocks covered the shoreline. We went out to have lunch and dropped in at the nearest restaurant named Huggo’s. We were seated by the open window, and we could feel the tropical breeze from the sea. The air was salty but cool. In late May it was not hot in Hawaii; it was much cooler here than in Alabama. We ordered hamburgers. Young ordered hers done medium well with coke to drink; I ordered mine done medium rare with coffee to drink. We both ordered American cheese with our burger. When our food arrived, Young’s had Swiss cheese. When the waitress brought it back, it had Swiss cheese scraped off and a cold American cheese inserted in its place. Young took it without the cheese. Meat paddies were large and thick. Later I discovered that mine was cooked too rare and suffered a stomach upset. After lunch we took a leisurely walk through small shops lined up along the shore. There were restaurants, snack bars, gift shops, jewelry stores, real estate agent trying to sell timeshares, abc stores, hotels, condominiums, etc. This was the Kona resort town, and it stretched about two miles along the shore. We walked and browsed until about 8 pm. We were a little tired but because of the late lunch we were not hungry. We felt like having some soup. We dropped in on a seafood restaurant and ordered clam chowder soup. Soup was good, and we finished our meal with a lemon cake and coffee. When we came back to our hotel Royal Kona Resort, we wanted to check out Windjammer Lounge. Two-men band was playing dance music. Several couples were dancing. Young and I also danced Swing, Cha Cha, Waltz, Rhumba, etc. The lounge was open to outside and the sea on both sides, and we could feel the tropical breeze with a little dampness. Because of loud music we could not hear the rhythm of waves. It appeared dark ouside, but we knew the waves were constantly hitting the shore outside a few feet from us in the dark. We danced and danced until we were tired.
Day 6 (5-30-98, Sat): Real Estate on Big Island
Today was to be our leisure day, and we had a leisurely breakfast at the hotel’s Tropical Cafe. It was a buffet at $10 each. The choices were numerous--the eggs we could order, scrambled eggs in the warmer, hot cakes, link sausages, bacon, hash brown potatoes, some grits, waffles, pastries, biscuits, toasts, assortments of fresh tropical fruits, fruit juices, coffee or tea served at the table. After breakfast we waited for the real estate agent to pick us up. We wanted to explore real estate situation here on the Big Island of Hawaii. One time we saw an article in Parade Magazine that came with our Sunday paper. The article was about a retired couple from midwest having found their dream home here in the west coast of Hawaii. They found an affordable home here because beach was black and no tourists flocked as they did at Waikiki Beach. It sounded attractive and a good idea. We too could find our dream retirement home in paradise, thought occurred to us. Yesterday when we arrived here we made a couple of phone calls to make arrangements. We were to meet an agent at noon and see some residential homes around here. A man named Joseph H. Pedeferri representing the Prudential West Hawaii Realty met us around noon. He took us to a new subdivision of residential area priced at $200K-250K. We realized right away that the houses there were not cheap. Similar houses in Birmingham would be valued $100K less. Next he took us at our request to a subdivision where new houses were priced at $280K-325K. These were better than the ones we saw earlier. Again we got the impression that compared to Birmingham market they were about $100K overpriced. After this brief excursion in the real estate market, we got ourselves dropped off at nearby Wal-Mart. We had lunch at the McDonold’s and shopped for souvenir. When we got through with shopping, we walked a couple of miles down the hill back to our hotel. After a brief rest we went to buffet dinner at the hotel’s Tropical Cafe. We were seated at a table near the open window by the sea. We could see the waves hitting the shore creating white bubbles. Birds flew in and out of the restaurant freely. We went to get our food. Choices were endless--salad bar was loaded with fresh vegetables and fruits, there was a man serving roast beef, clam chowder soup, vegetable soup, steamed crab legs, boiled clams in shell, chicken, tableful of cakes, pies, and other desserts, and many more I could not remember. After soup, I loaded my plate with boiled clams. They were delicious. I went back for some more. I had never eaten so many clams out of shell as I did that evening. After the clam it was crab legs. These two were my favorites. The waitress carried away several dishes of empty shells. I topped the dinner off with a cake and coffee. I felt as though I ate like a king that evening at the Tropical Cafe of Royal Kona Resort.
After dinner we dropped in on the hotel gift shop, which was just outside the restaurant. As we walked into the shop talking to each other in Korean, a young lady greeted us in Korean. She heard us speaking Korean. We learned that she worked there as a manager, studied food science at a university, worked a second job at a grocery store as a food preparer, and was a devoted Christian missionary. Coming out of the gift shop, we heard band playing at Windjammer Lounge. We seated ourselves near the dance floor. There were more people tonight. It was perhaps because today was Saturday. Tonight it was a four-men band, instead of two last night. Band sounded much better. The band played a good mix of disco, slow dance, country western, and ballroom. To accommodate all the people there this was necessary. We danced our Swing, Rhumba, Fox-trot, and a line dance of Electric Slide. We turned in around 10:30. We needed to get up early because we were going on the Grand Circle Island Tour in the morning.
Day 7 (5-31-98, Sun): Grand Circle Tour of Big Island of Hawaii
A small bus with Polynesian Adventure Tours sign came by the hotel entrance to pick us up at about 9:00 am. There were about ten people already on the bus, and we picked up two more couples after us. The driver-guide introduced himself as Tommy. He was a young Hawaiian of about 30, well prepared on the subject of Hawaiian history surrounding Captain Cook and plantations on the island. The tour began with the town of Kailua on the western coast of the island. We drove through highway 11 overlooking Kealakekua Bay. Tommy explained that major industries of the island were coffee, macadamia nuts, flowers, and tourism. Decades ago Jim Nabors, Judy Andrews, and Carol Burnett were three major investors in macadamia nut farming in the island, but they were not as successful in farming as they were in show business. Eventually they sold their farm to an Australian millionaire. Hawaii island is best suited for coffee farming because of the sunny climate combined with cloud screening during the day. In South America coffee plants have be covered to screen the hot sun in the afternoon. As we passed by the town of Captain Cook, Tommy told us the story about how Captain cook first sailed into Kealakekua Bay on January 17, 1779, how he was mistaken for god Lono, how his men spread the syphilis among the natives, and how he was killed while trying to stop a fight between the natives and his men. The Polynesian population then was about 80,000.
Our first stop was at Pu’ubonua O Honaunau (Place of Refuge of Honaunau) National Historical Park. This 180-acre historical park is administered by the National Park Service since 1961. Noncombatants in time of war, defeated warriors, and kapu breakers could escape death if they could reach this sacred refuge. Kapu was the sacred laws in old Hawaii. Under these sacred rules of life a commoner could not get close to the chief, could not walk in chief’s footsteps, touch chief’s possessions, or let his shadow fall on the chief’s palace grounds. Women could not eat the foods reserved for offerings to gods; they
| could not prepare meals for men or even eat with them. From the Visitor Center we first entered the Palace Grounds for the old local chief. The palace was no more than a few grass huts scattered here and there. And then there was the Great Wall, 1000 ft long, 10 ft high, and |  |
17 ft wide, built of lava stones fitted together like jigsaw puzzle sometime in mid-1500s, that separated the palace grounds from the pu’ubonua (sanctuary). The pu’ubonua was marked by the A-le’ale’ a Heiau (Temple) and wood-carved Hawaiian gods. The park was clean and tranquil.
Next place the bus stopped was the Ferrari Coffee Plantation House. We could see coffee plants with red beans up close and how beans
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were dried and processed. Inside they were showing video on how the coffee is grown, harvested, and processed. We had free coffee to taste. Some tourists were buying coffee to take home. Still driving down the Highway 11 toward the southern tip of the island, Tommy pointed out |
the Green Sand Beach near Ka Lae that could be seen on a clear day, and that Ka Lae, also known as South Point, is the most southern piece of real estate in the US. It was here that Polynesians first landed in their canoes more than 1200 years ago. The Highway 11 turned north and
| came to the Punalulu Black Sand Beach. The bus let us off so we could walk over the black sand about 200 yards. The last volcanic earthquake at this site was November 1975, and over the years ocean waves created these black sands from smooth lave (pahoehoe). (The sands are created by volcanic cinders.) The jagged and clinkery lava |  |
(‘a’a) does not form black sands. We bought a few post cards at the gift shop. After that we headed for the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park atop Kilauea Caldera at 3980 feet above the sea level.
The bus stopped at Kilauea Visitor Center. We had cafeteria style lunch at Volcano House Hotel restaurant. From where we sat we could overlook Halemaumau Crater. The big crater was huge in size, two miles wide and 400 feet deep, and was steaming here and there but otherwise inactive. At this elevation it was misty and cool. We saw some people standing in front of lit fire place getting warmed up. It was a strange sight in Hawaii at end of May. After lunch we took a bus drive around the 11-mile Crater Rim Drive. We stopped at Steam Vents to see the steams welling up from underneath due to heating of water from hot lava. At Jaggar Museum we saw Pele’s tear drops and her hair. Pele is the fire goddess and her tear drops are the lava droplets and her hair is the glassy filaments formed from whirling actions of fiery lava fountains. We also saw half burned boots and trousers worn by an MIT geologist who had fallen into the volcano by accident and survived. Stopped briefly at Southwest Rift to see a big crack on the earth. At Halema’uma’u Overlook we saw a huge (3412 ft) Haleluma’u Crater that erupted last time in 1974. We descended to Thurston Lava Tube, walked through it, and came back up. At Kilauea Iki Overlook we saw Kilauea Iki Crater that last erupted in 1959.
We were now back on Highway 11 headed for Hilo. Tommy told us to close our eyes for a few minutes. When we opened our eyes we were in a different climate zone. It was a rain forest called Fern Tree Jungle. Why the sudden change in climate in such a short distance? Reason is simple, Tommy explained. The acid rain created by the fuming sulfur from the volcanoes goes only so far because of the prevailing wind there. We are now outside the acid rain affected region that was barren and headed for the most tropical region of the island--Hilo District. Hilo is one of the most rainy city in the world. It rains practically every day of the year. Houses in this area are built with tin roof that makes cluttering noise when it rains. Hilo, originally settled in the 1820's by American missionaries, is the largest city of 37,808 and oldest port in the island. The city is a trade and shipping center whose economy depends heavily on sugar exports and tourism. The world’s largest orchid industry is in or around the Hilo area. Our next stop was at Orchid and Anthurium Nursery. Exotic flowers and tropical plants grow in this area. Macadamia Nut Factory was our next stop. They had ice cream with macadamia nuts and showed video on macadamia nut farming and processing. Highway 11 ended at Hilo Bay. We drove by the old town by the bay. Some buildings had signs showing that they were built in 1920s. Now we are on Highway 19 (Hawaii Belt Road) heading north along the east coast of Big Island. We drove past the jungle-clad Hamakua Coast, made a short stop at a water fall, and climbed up to the Waipio Valley Lookout where the view of the ocean across the gorge was impressive but wind was unusually gusty. The Highway 19 now curved inland on the northern side of Mauna Kea Mountain. Soon we were driving by Parker Ranch started around 1847 by John Parker. Tommy told us the story about how John Parker the seaman came to the island, left the island, returned to the island, married into the royal family, and inherited 600 acres of land. Today, six generations later, the ranch is the third largest in the US. Fifty-five thousand heads of cattles graze in 225,000-acre pastures. We drove past Waimea district onto the western coast but still continuing on Highway 19 southward on Queen Kaahumnu Highway. We dropped in at Waikoloa Highlands Center to drop off some tourists and took a glimpse of Waikoloa Villas. Western coast was once again barren with black lava everywhere. Tommy pointed out though one point on the coast with a few palm trees as the place where the coal miner's daughter Loreta Lynn used to live but now sold to another country singer. We could see along the way many lava tubes and signs along the highway made by people with white-painted stones. It was nearly 6 pm when we returned to our hotel after some 180-mile drive around the island.
Day 8 (6-1-98, Mon): Kona, Hawaii-Honolulu, Oahu-Birmingham, Alabama
Today was our last day here on the Big Island, but we had until 6:05 pm. We got up before 8 am so we could meet with Mr. Ki Young Chung at 8:30. Mr. Chung was a real estate agent representing Lentz Real Estate, Inc. Telephone rang close to 8:30 and we met Mr. Chung in the lobby and went to have breakfast at restaurant. We had our usual breakfast with scrambled eggs, bacon, link sausage, a pastry, some fruits, and coffee. Mr. Chung had eggs cooked sunny-side up over white rice and coffee. Mr. Chung was older than he sounded over the telephone the other day. He had some gray hair showing, but about ten years younger than I. After breakfast he took us in his utility vehicle to see some of the homes. The place he took us was a gated community with houses valued several million dollars. There were unusually large number of FOR SALE signs. Mr. Chung thought it could be the aftermath of downturn in Asian economy. Many Japanese owners apparently were failing to meet mortgage payment. There were one or two houses that were valued at about 400 thousand. We thought this might be a good value because it is always easy to sell low-end houses in high-priced neighborhood. All the houses here were built on a rather steep hill overlooking the Kailua Bay. Consequently, each house had a commanding view of the ocean. I could not imagine how it would be to wake up every morning and open one’s eyes to this kind of view and breath in the sea breeze without any reservation. Mr. Chung brought us back to our hotel around noon. We checked ourselves out of the hotel and checked our luggage with Bell Captain. We headed out to visit Kona resort village once again for the last time. As we went past the Huggo’s place where we had lunch the other day, we met a lady with coffee wagon. She invited us to have a cup of Kona coffee. The coffee was hot and good, but we did not buy any. We walked by the Waterfront Row where the other night we had clam-chowder soup. We then walked along the Kona Inn Shopping Village without actually going inside as we did the other day. Now we came to Hulihee Palace that was built in 1838. We did not come this far the other day. So this point on it was new to us. They had a gift shop and boat-renting place. There were some who were sun bathing, some riding boats, and some children playing in the water. There was a small Kailua Pier, beyond that Kamakahonu Beach, and at the far end the Ahuena Heiau (Temple). The Kamakahonu is the restored compound where King Kamehameha spent his last years. Kona was the ancient playground of Hawaiian royalty. We sat by the sea behind Ahuena Heiau watching people riding boat and thinking how ancient Hawaiian roalties must have enjoyed this peaceful then unspoiled playground all to themselves. After a while we went into the King Kamehameha Kona Beach Hotel. The hotel was decorated with dark wooden paneling and numerous pictures of Hawaiian royalties were covering the walls. We browsed small shops in the hotel. Coming out of the hotel, we came to Kona Square. There were shops and more shops. We climbed stairs to a restaurant but we could not find seafood gumbo or some soup. We were not particularly hungry but felt like having some soup. Now we are back on Ali’i Drive headed back toward our hotel. Just across the street from the Hulihee Palace we saw an old church; in fact, the oldest church in Hawaii constructed in 1830s. It was Moku’aikaua Church. Inside it was cool and a couple of elderly people greeted us cordially. There was wedding ceremony in progress. Outside in the yard there were a few grave markings and monuments. Back on the Ali’i Drive by the Kona Market Place we notice some Japanese tourists having their lunch. One couple was having soup of some kind, and I asked them in Japanese what kind of soup that was. They said it was Ramen. I too ordered
Ramen and Young ordered Donburi, rice and soup in a single bowl. Ramen was better than expected. Total bill that included 15% gratuity was under $20. After lunch we resumed our leisurely walk back to hotel. At around 4 pm we took our taxi and left for the airport. We were early enough to catch 5 o‘clock flight to Honolulu instead of 6 o’clock flight. Since our Northwest flight did not leave until 9:45 pm, we had a few hours to kill at the airport. It was a night flight and we were tired. I guess we slept all the way back.
Day 9 (6-2-98, Tue): Home
Sometime in the morning we arrived at Seattle. We were to fly onto Memphis in the same plane, but there was a problem. We deplaned and boarded another plane. It was a little after one in the afternoon the next day June 2 when we arrived at Memphis, Tennessee, and 3:14 pm when we got to Birmingham Airport. I hurried myself to the Remote Parking Lot to pick up the car while Young waited for the luggage. Young returned with only one suit case, her own. Mine was lost somewhere, she said. Because I had the baggage claim ticket Young had to go back in to make the claim. The baggage was delivered to our home next day without a scratch.
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