Last Post on Hawaii - I Promise!

Okay, about time I wrap this up, right? Just a few more things... This is not the first time I've been to Hawaii with my sister. We were here way back in 1993. This is what we looked like then...



And this is us now. I like my long blond hair better now!



One of the most interesting places we saw in the northern tip of the Big Island was the Mookini Heiau. A heiau is an early Hawaiian religious temple. Near here is also where King Kamehameha the Great was born in 1758.



The temple is over 1500 years old. It was built by as many as 20,000 men, passing stones hand to hand from Pololu Valley, 14 miles away. It was supposedly completed in one day.



On the plane from Phoenix, I read an article in their magazine about the Wiliwili tree. I had been looking for one our whole time in Hawaii and finally found one in a resort on the Big Island. Wiliwili means "twisty" in Hawaiian. There is a saying here that "when the wiliwili tree blooms, the sharks bite." I was glad it wasn't blooming...



All along the road north of Kona is a kind of Hawaiian graffiti, where words are written on the black lave with white coral rocks - sort of an "eco-friendly vandalism."



And there are also petroglyphs here, although not as old as the ones in the Southwest US.



At long last, it was ready to depart our tropical paradise. But we do intend to come back in a couple years and explore some of the other islands in greater depth.



When I got home, I laid out all my souvenirs. Here I have several shell necklaces, 2 kokui nut neclaces (one I made and one I bought), and my ribbon lei that I made on the ship.


I also have a new (to me) address book that I got in a thrift store, a wooden bowl, flower earrings, 2 Christmas ornaments, a black pearl necklace and earrings, and some coral and lava rocks. Quite a haul, huh?

I hope you've enjoyed my Hawaiian "vacation." I sure did!