McConnell Springs Park, Lexington KY

In the 1770s, explorers at McConnell Springs came up with the name of Lexington which has stuck with the area since!

Anyway, the place is a nice little park now, and we stopped by the other day.  There are some nice hiking trails around the interesting springs.  There is also a neat little visitor center.

Here are some pics I took recently!

"Captive Paradise: A History of Hawaii" by James L. Haley

One of my friends who now lives in Hawaii recommended "Captive Paradise:  A History of Hawaii" by James L. Haley for a good, easy to understand history of the state.  I have to say that I loved reading this book too!

Its hard to say that this is a complete history of the islands, but it is a really thorough and fun to read account of Hawaii's history, starting with the time James Cook stumbled across the area.

Documented were the first encounters between Cook's crew and those on the islands.  In general, things went well though the Hawaiians surprised him with their habits.  Some would take things, they spit a lot, and there were some other issues.  There were reasons for these behaviors (Haley explains the norms and customs).

The people on the islands had a very open attitude concerning sex and relationships, which was shocking to some but appreciated by others....

I was really interested in a small side story the author mentions at one point.  He says that 3-12 Japanese Navy ships probably shipwrecked in Hawaii before Cook came along.  I might have to look up some information on this at some point.  What do we know about these ships and how the crews interacted with the Hawaiians?

The book gets into the rulers who come along, and that all really starts to get interesting with King Kamehameha and goes from there.  The royals are a very interesting group of characters.  Pride, privileged, patriotism, sex and religion all factor in to the story.  Missionaries coming to the area have a huge influence on the people on the islands and their rulers.  The written language and the missionaries bringing their religion over parallel in Hawaii's history and James L. Haley really shows how this happens..

Haley also says in the beginning that he is going to write a very straight forward history.  I felt like the book had no agenda other than to tell an honest history, and I really appreciate that.  I think this book is going to stand up well in the future as Haley writes with no desire to praise or criticize the players unfairly.

If you are going to Hawaii or you've been and you are still curious about it....  this would be a great book for you.  "Captive Paradise" is packed at around 350 pages, but it is so fascinating, you can read it pretty quickly.  it gets my highest possible recommendation.

Downtown Honolulu Hawaii

This undated/unused postcard (I'm guessing 50s/60s) tells on the back-
this view is from the lookout at Punchbowl Crater just a few miles from Honolulu's harbor seen in the background.  The state's new Capitol Building is the large edifice in the center of the picture,

Off the Beaten Path Hawaii by Sean Pager

I mentioned that, while we were on Oahu, we stayed with some friends who had just moved to the island.  We tried very hard to show our appreciation to our friends for having us over in many ways.  One of those ways involved picking up a couple of books for them.  One was "Off the Beaten Path Hawaii" by Sean Pager.

We stopped by a book store on the island, and I saw this book and thought it would be perfect for our friends.  I had kind of forgotten how good (and thorough) the "Off the Beaten Path" books can be.

Well, as we stayed with our friends, I ended up doing some serious flipping through this one, and realized how good of a book it is.

I bought a copy for me (and read it quickly) AFTER we got home from Hawaii.  This was actually a good way FOR ME to do things.  As I mentioned before, I wanted to NOT read up too much on Hawaii.  I didn't want to obsess about it too much.  And Hawaii is that kind of place.  You have to go there and experience it to get it.

So, after going there, AND reading this book, I have a much better idea of what I might like to see when/if I go back.  Like many other states, Hawaii is one that I think will require multiple visits, or a really long one after I retire.

Off the Beaten Path Hawaii breaks things down by each of the main islands.  It gives some great history, details, and little known facts.  I learned that, in general, the island of Niihau is off limits to tourists...  BUT there is a way to make a brief visit.  One of the islands has a post office that encourages you to send a coconut back home.  There are also many caves and lava tubes you can visit.  The author gives a lot of interesting history, noting that many homes and other sites relating to King Kamehameha can be visited.  At one battle site, 800 skulls have been found.  Pager also gets into some discussion of the folklore of the islands.

Off the Beaten Path Hawaii ended up being a fun and informative read about Hawaii after I got back from my visit.

Last Thoughts on Hawaii

So, we are back home now after our crazy trip to Oahu.  its been several days now, and I am still happily recovering.  This was an amazing trip.  I would almost say a once in a lifetime trip, but, hopefully we will be back there sometime.

This was a trip that was brought on by a couple of friends moving over there.  One actually lived in Owensboro before moving (and you know I love Owensboro, but..... Honolulu would be considered a big upgrade to most).  Anyway, after their move, we moved Hawaii way up on our "places to get to" list.  From a budgeting stand point, having a place to stay while over there also helped.

They also have military family stationed at Hickam there.  Thanks to this connection, we were able to see some very historic places.  We were very fortunate all the way around with our friends and their connections.

Our friends who have now spent some time there talked a lot about the friendly people in Hawaii and we found this to be a very accurate and positive stereotype.  I know you hear a lot about people in Hawaii being happy, but they are also very nice.  EVERYWHERE we went, people would engage in pleasant conversation.  People were friendly.  Joey at the Kona Brewery told us about his favorite hiking area, the young lady at an ABC store talked to me about computers, the Vietnam Vet at the information desk at Pearl Harbor told us stories about his life, and the lady who checked our bags at the airport told us she would see us next year.

That vibe translates into a lot of areas.  as I mentioned before, the drivers are friendly.  It makes the roads a nicer, and probably safer place.  Tourists feel a sense of friendly calmness.  I think the tourists around us were more relaxed because everyone else around was calm and cool.

We also observed a lot of chickens.  They are everywhere.  Like, I know rabbits are pretty common in my neighborhood.  Chickens are common like that in Hawaii.  They are in parking lots, and on the side of the road.

Oh, and there are wild pigs.  They aren't as common as the chickens, but I did see a few.

We didn't do a Luau.  Our friends who have been to Hawaii said we probably should do one, but they had no desire to do one again.  We decided to skip on this one.

The flights there and back were not nearly as bad as I anticipated.  The flights from Atlanta to Honolulu and back were long, but, thanks to Delta, they were very manageable.  Heck, they were pleasant!  Snacks and satisfying small meals were provided, and I enjoyed the movies available.  Its such a difference from what was available even just a few years ago.

I would like to go back and enjoy some of the other islands.  We have friends on Oahu though, and it would be good to see them again too.  We will have to make some other trips be fore we could even think about returning to Hawaii though.  There are still about 11 states we haven't visited. 

Hawaiian Airport

Here are just a few photos taken of the airport in Hawaii that we used.  It was a very nice place with a very open feel.

Mongolian BBQ at Hickam Officer's Club in Hawaii

We felt very privileged when our friend who lives on Hickam Air Force Base invited us to the Thursday Mongolian BBQ night at the Hickam Officer's Club.  This was another event that we had access to thanks to our friend's years of service.  This was also the last meal we would enjoy in Hawaii with all of our friends together.

I enjoyed my last shrimp meal, choosing shrimp once again as my meat of choice while in Hawaii.

This was a great setting for our trip, which involved seeing a lot of beauty around Oahu, and also taking in all of the military history linked to the area.  This was simply a perfect night, and I hated for it to end.  Even if we ever come back to Oahu with the same group of people, and eat here again, it simply could not be the same.  The food, the friends, the place, and the vibe were all perfect, and we will never have a last night of our first trip to Hawaii ever again.

USS Utah on Ford Island, Hawaii

The USS Utah went down on December 7th, 1941 in the Attack on Pearl Harbor.  It was hit by two torpedoes.   64 crew members were killed while 461 survived.

I mentioned that we had a friend on Oahu who was kind enough to tour us around the army bases in the area.  Well, he helped us with access to this part of Ford Island, which is also not generally open to the public.

It is a very short distance from the USS Missouri, which IS accessible through a ticket system at the Pearl Harbor National Park area, but the remains of the Utah are not.

I do think there are infrequent tours that have access to the area, but being able to go here with just our small group and no crowds was very special.

Traffic on Oaho in Hawaii

We had heard that traffic on Oahu can be difficult, especially near Honolulu.

Well, it could get slow and congested, but it was never terrible.  Also, our friends who have moved there told us that Hawaiian drivers are friendly, and they are generally better at letting you over if you need to get over.  We found this to all be true.

Also, Hawaiians are VERY careful about not honking their horns unnecessarily.  We found this to be true, and only heard a few honks while we were around!  THIS is very pleasant, and I would love to see this catch on.

I don't think we passed a single accident.

I know I even read some articles about the famous traffic on Oahu but we had a pleasant time driving around the island.  Even in the few times we found ourselves in traffic, we were calm and cool.

Paintings in Hawaii

Here are just a few cool paintings I saw while on Oahu.  I was able to see the Wyland mural at the NEX while here and it was overwhelming (I have included a couple of photos here, but I am not sure if you can really capture how massive they are with a camera).

Diamond Head Lighthouse and Blowhole on Oahu in Hawaii

Here are just a few photos I took around Diamond Head Lighthouse and Halona Blowhole while on Oahu.

Abandond Cars and Homelessness on Oahu Hawaii

Hawaii has so much going for it.  It is a very cool and beautiful place.  However, we did notice some issues with Oahu that we didn't expect.

There are abandoned cars.  Like, a LOT of them.  We saw some literally every day.

We asked around about this.  It seems that it is expensive to ship a car too or from the island.  Someone told me that it is around $1000 to ship a car off.

Well, if your car isn't worth that much and you have to leave the island, you might think about just leaving it somewhere.

We also heard that this is a common practice of military personnel on the island.  If they find out that they have to leave the island on short notice, it might not be worth even trying to sell it in a short period of time.

Also, there is a lot of homelessness in Hawaii.  There are tent camps we saw several times., Of course, we heard the long repeated rumor that other states buy one way tickets to Hawaii for some of their homeless, though I haven't been able to find any real documentation of this.

We were all over Oahu, and we really didn't see any aggressive panhandling or anything like that.  Once, near Duke's we notice a man being very non-aggressive asking for change.

There is something fascinating about homeless in Hawaii though.  The state is so tropical and affluent.  It has a rich and beautiful feel, yet there are primitive homeless camps, some even on the beach.