Father and Daughters Vacation

My sister Natalie thought of a wonderful idea--how about taking our father to Hawaii to celebrate his 90th birthday which is coming up very soon?  So, the family purchased our father's plane ticket for Christmas, we each bought our own, and we ended up with four sisters and our father heading for Hawaii four days after George and I returned from California!  I flew by myself for about an hour to Atlanta, then 9 hours and 10 minutes from Atlanta straight to Honolulu.  That was one long flight! Two of my sisters, Joyce and Beverly, flew with our dad to Hawaii, but we all ended up arriving in the Honolulu Airport about ten minutes of each other.  (Our sister, Natalie, was coming two days later.)

 There we were greeted with the traditional "lei" greeting by Joyce's niece, Stephanie.  Her mother and I went to Ricks College together.  She and her husband are living in Honolulu since he is in the Air Force and stationed there.  Thanks, Stephanie, for such a thoughtful greeting! 

 The first night we stayed in a hotel since we couldn't get into the condo until the next day.  Here we were having breakfast, ready for our first big day in Hawaii.

We had really nice view of the waterway as we looked out of our balcony.  We talked to the concierge and asked him for suggestions for our first day there.  He said today that we ought to go to the Farmer's Market at the Kapiolani Community College because it is always a big day there on Saturday, so off we went.

What a great place to get the feel of Hawaii . . .

 beautiful flowers . . .

 unusual vegetation . . .

 demonstrations on how to open a coconut, etc., etc., and of course, you could buy any of these items.

Joyce bought pineapple . . . (Seriously, I can't tell you how many pineapples we ate while we were there for those nine days.  They are just so much better in Hawaii than you ever get in the mainland!)

 

 and to no one's surprise, I bought Kettle corn.  We all shared everything, so we all enjoyed whatever anyone thought looked interesting.

 This was a very unusual collection of cactus that we passed by going back to our car.  You wouldn't think about cactus in Hawaii, but they had made it a very beautiful garden!

We then decided to drive out to Hanama Bay.  We were told that the waves were too high that day to go down on the beach, but they also said that the environmentalists are trying to preserve the coral reefs and not allow so many people to go there without giving it a little rest.  Either way, we just observed it from above  The last time our family visited it, we got to be down right on the beach which was so pleasant.  The kids saw all kinds of fish very close to the shore.  That's okay!  It is still beautiful from above.

 Traveling along the road next to the ocean, we had lots of chances to see the beautiful colors of the water.

This was a really cool look-out spot where many people were enjoying the water and the beach.  They would get on inner-tubes and just let the waves splash them back and forth.

My sister Joyce found out this was the beach that they used in the 1953 movie, "From Here to Eternity," and also for several scenes in the movie, "Fifty First Dates."

Another beautiful beach we stopped at in order to see the Halona Blowhole.

Because of the way the lava flowed, there are underground tubes where the ocean water is forced through them, and it comes up looking like Old Faithful.

Sometimes it sends the water 30 feet high!

When we got back into Honolulu, we wanted to visit the Iolani Palace.  We all love history--I know we definitely got that from our dad.  None of us had ever been there before, and it didn't disappoint!

On our way in to the Palace, we saw this huge banyan tree with so many roots extended to hold the tree up.

You actually enter the palace through the back doors.

The Royal Coat of Arms.  This palace was built to enhance the prestige of Hawaii overseas and to mark her status as a modern nation.  The funds were appropriated by the Hawaiian government and the cornerstone was laid on December 31, 1879.  In August of 1882, King Kalakaua and Queen Kapiolani took up residence in their new home.

The grand stairway.  Both the servants and the royalties used these same stairs since there was only one staircase.

At the top of the stairs, it separated into two stairways.

This was the throne room.  King Kalakaua was remembered as "the Merrie Monarch" because he loved culture and the arts, so he enjoyed socializing and entertaining.  Here they received dignitaries and luminaries from around the world, and entertained often.
 

The crowns, the sword, and the scepter of the royalties.

Gas chandeliers which had been installed when the Palace was first built were replaced by electric lighting five years later--less than seven years after Edison invented the first practical incandescent bulb. 

Upstairs, he also had a phone installed shortly after it was invented. 


In addition, he had indoor plumbing which included  hot and cold running water, toilets that actually flushed, and copper-lined bath tubs.  The King wanted everything to be the latest and greatest!

Beautiful etchings on the doors going outside to the front porch.


Upstairs balcony.
 

Gifts from Chinese ambassadors.

Another gift--this one from France.  A picture of King Louis Philippe.

The King wanted to be the center of the conversation, so he had his chair put right in the middle of the table.

Upstairs, the King's Study Room.


King Kalakau's sister, Queen Liliuokalai, became the next monarch--actually she was the last of the royalty of the Kingdom of Hawaii before it was annexed to the United States.

The Queen's Bedroom

Queen Liliuokalani - Actually quite a few events were sad in her life.  She married John Owen Dominis who would later become the Governor of Oahu and Maui, but it is said the marriage was never a very happy one.  They never did have any children.  He died shortly after she became queen, and she never re-married.

The music room.  The Royal family loved the arts and music.  King Kalakaua encouraged the writing down of Hawaiian oral traditions and supported the revival of and public performances of the hula, which had been banned by the missionaries earlier in the century.  A week-long festival of  hula and Hawaiian culture is held every year in his honor.

Queen Liliuokalani was, also, very talented in the arts.  She was a very accomplished musician and wrote over 160 poetic melodies and chants over her lifetime.  One of her more famous pieces became one of Hawaii's four National Anthems.  "Aloha Oe" is her best known composition, a story about two lovers who reluctantly must part.

But the saddest part of Queen Liliuokalani's life was actually when the Americans wanted to annex Hawaii mainly because of all the sugar grown there.  The Queen wasn't in favor of this, and when the American minister in Hawaii heard about this, he called for troops to take over the Iolani Palace and other government buildings.  They put Queen Liliuokalani out of her position as Queen and instituted a provisional government which became the Republic of Hawaii.  

However, the Hawaiian people were on the side of their dethroned Queen, so President Cleveland offered her the throne back if she granted amnesty to all involved in the take-over of her kingdom.  At first she didn't want to, but then agreed to the amnesty, but they went back on their word, and denied her back her thrown.  

The people who were on her side tried a counter-revolution and firearms were found on her property.  She denied knowing of their existence, but she was arrested and forced to reside in her own palace as a prisoner.    She could only stay in this one room.  The little table and sofa is in the room where Queen Liliuokalani was imprisoned.  The door behind is the bathroom.  It was at this desk that she wrote so many of her poems and songs. 

In addition, she and a few of her supporters also decided to sew a quilt while she was imprisoned.  It was absolutely beautiful!

Not only does it have the Hawaii flag stitched into it, it also has the names of some of her loyal supporters as well as this block which tells all about it:

Her Majesty Queen Liliuokalani.  Imprisoned at Iolani Palace January 17th, 1895 (with the companions' names).  Then she put her release date:  September 6th, 1895.  I believe she was imprisoned for about eight months.  What a wonderful woman!  She used her time so wisely!

She returned to her home at Washington Place where she lived for the next two decades.  The "ex" queen died due to complications from a stroke in 1917.  She was the last monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii.  There is a statue of her erected on the grounds of the State Capital in Honolulu. 

The room in the basement where all the china was stored.

It was then loaded onto these movable cupboards called "Butler's Pantry" where it was then conveyed to the dining room rather than have to walk it all the way upstairs.

This is where the dishes were retrieved for the dining room.  Great idea, huh!

The crown jewels were on display in the basement including this 
 13.880 carat diamond in a platinum pendant.  It was once the center-stone in a ring belonging to King Kalakaua and passed down to his ancestors.

The front of the palace.  Hawaii is the only state in the union that formerly had royalty and a palace!

This is the Pavilion for the Coronation of King Kalakaua and Queen Kapiolani in 1883.

On the day we were there, they were setting up for some big event that night.  Look at how many people they brought in to get everything just right!  In addition, they were fixing microphones and a big dance floor in the middle.

I'm sure the palace grounds are used for many important events.

The Coat of Arms on the gate as we were leaving.

That night, Dad treated us to a really fun meal on the terrace of the Marriott overlooking one of the most famous beaches in the world:  Waikiki Beach.

Great day!  On the way back to our condo, I saw these beautiful little flowers growing.  Seriously, they are so perfect, you think they aren't real--a red leaf with a purple flower growing out of them?