Fun, random photographs from our Hawaiian Holiday
First off, I will apologize that I'm not going to post any pictures of my kids here. I know that most daddy bloggers and mommy bloggers have a different perspective on things, but I don't have pics of my kids online because it's important to me that I put in all possible effort to protect their privacy. That's also why I don't refer to them by name but rather by using the admittedly Victorian convention of first initial + dash, as in D-.
Anyway, that doesn't change that we had a great time in Hawaii last month and are ready to go back (particularly since tonight we're supposed to see 3-5" of snow tonight here in Colorado). So let's jump in. What I'm going to do here is show a picture then have a commentary about it immediately following. The pics are big, enjoy!
We complain when gas breaks $3/gallon, but apparently the Hawaiians are cool even as it just about breaks the $4/gallon mark. Maybe it's because there are so many Japanese tourists on the Islands who are probably used to paying quite a bit more for their petrol back in Japan?
Some things just aren't meant to be put together. Ice cream and hot fudge, yes. Baseball and peanuts, yes. Waffles and maple syrup, definite yes. But Budweiser beer and clam juice? OH MY GOD! There's no way in heck I'd be tasting this one, it's a double abomination and I defy anyone to tell me that they drink this and think it's good. Eeewwwww...
This isn't quite as cute a marker as I'd like to think: this sign is found along the Queen Kaahumanu Highway on the Kona (west) side of the Big Island of Hawaii, a few miles north of Kailua-Kona, in the middle of lava fields. Seems that years ago wild donkeys would roam the area but that they were eventually considered a dangerous nuisance on this busy highway and the gov't eventually rounded them all up and they're now living up in the Waikoloa Village area, about six miles off the main highway. Heck, we even have a cute kid's book about "Kekelani, the singing donkey"!
If you're a mainlander (aka haoli) then you look at this picture and see a "sea turtle", but in the Hawaiian culture, you're looking at a honu, and they are considered quite the sacred creatures. Graceful, gentle, and with long lifespans, they have the wisdom of years and the peaceful behavior of the calmest sea life. It is in fact illegal to mess with Honu when you're in Hawaii and I expect that one of the fastest ways to get into a rumble with locals would be to pester one of these if you're lucky enough to see it on the beach or swimming in the ocean.
This was a little bit touristy and kitsch, but I love the Hawaiian restroom signs I found at this one hotel area. If it weren't for those handy icons, people unfamiliar with Hawaii could easily end up in the wrong room and that'd be rather a surprise, I expect!
Is there any flower that's more beautiful and powerfully fragrant than the Hawaiian plumeria? If so, I've never seen it. I love these big, showy blossoms and the funky, spindly trees. This amazing blossom was actually on a tree just by a dumpster, of all things, but who cares: the fragrance of these flowers more than overpowered any less pleasant smells that might have arose.
Posted by Dave Taylor at April 16, 2008 9:33 PM
Dave,
Great pics and of course a wonderful blog. I've got to tell you that I just linked to a story in Newsweek on my blog about a book that was written for children for Moms to read to them so they could understand why Mommy was getting a tummy tuck. Worse thing I've ever read about! So I liked your previous post too on plastic surgery and moms.
And on comic books, every summer we put our TVs up in the attic and my kids and husband hunker down with comics that we buy online and at the comic book store. My kids and I read the same ones my hubby and I read as children, Richie Rich, Archie, Darkwing Duck, Scrooged. They love them and I know it helped my son Gibson completely in just enjoying reading instead of dreading it. Love this blog!
Hey Dave,
My dad used to pour tomato juice with a touch of clam juice into his beer every once in a while! Then again he also ate many "unique" foods that my Polish grandmother cooked. Speaking of foods that are abominations, have you ever had gefilte fish? Imagine being a child and getting served a disgusting smelling patty that tastes and looks equally bad. Urgh.... I shuddering just thinking about it. The only way to eat this stuff is to pile horseradish on top to kill your taste buds. Hey maybe I'll ask my dad to dip his gifilte in a bowl of Bud Clamato and see if he likes it!
Perhaps I shouldn't admit this, Ed, but I like gefilte fish, as long as it's served with some zesty horseradish sauce. :-)
Dave,
Just was introduced to you blog and I have to take exception to your beer and clamato combination. This is a great flavor, but admittedly not obvious. This a taste I acquired when groing up in Canada and now am deprived living in the Chicago area.
Hey Dave,
I took some video last night at our Passover Seder. Please excuse the plastic dishes, my stepmother didn't want to break out the good China!
I call this one, "Gefilte Fish, the Jewish Spam.". Check it out at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDKlGsSEZkM
Budweiser beer and clam juice is sure WORST THING EVER lol
anyway, nice post...:)
Only one thing missing: where your family stay during the holiday. If you post that this will be a tourist guide :D
Well.. I'm in California.. and gas is 3.93 for regular unleaded.. and over $4 for anything else.. in other words.. I'd pull in to the station you show in your picture for the bargain! I haven't seen $3.80 in a while.
... and I kinda think it's funny to think that the Hawaiians don't complain about gas prices because there are so many Japaneese tourists.. *giggle*.. When I was in Colorado I'd complain about things even if they didn't bother the abundant Texan Tourists..
Certainly you complain about the gas price there.. and I'd be stoked for such low prices..
I guess if we're talking complaints.. it's not the tourists that complain.. it's the locals.. the tourists are just passin' through.
Did you like the purple bread?
oh.. and here's one of the most accepted definitions of hoale out there.
http://www.pantheon.org/articles/h/haole.html
It used to be used with the f-word before it.. and was meant to be like the n-word for blacks.. but now it seems to have lost most of its punch.
Aloha Dave,
Glad u got a chance to stay a while on the islands and really appreciate all it has to offer.
Luv that you captured my FAV Hawaiian flower: the plumeria... oooh I can just smell that right now! (oh wait - perhaps cuz I really CAN smell it right now? DOH!) ok - no mo mai tais fo me!
Come back soon!
PS: disagreeing with "davesnot" re: the word haole losing its "punch" it's still racist, meaning literally "one w/ no soul" and not cool esp since it's referring to someone by their skin color. and yes - racism is alive and well on the islands of paradise (dirty lil secret most don't want out there)
yeah.. it's racist and hurtful when used in certain ways.. but some ways it's just a mention of a non islander..
"Originated from Hawai'i as a term for foreigners due to the fact that they refused to perform the ritual of sharing their mana through their breath, hence "no breath" definition."
So.. like lots of Hawaiian words.. a lot lies in how and who says it...
of course.. like CoachDeb says.. it can mean white.. as in pale as the dead..
Now.. if they call you a kuk (kook) (with the oo sounding like the ou in soup) .. well.. that ain't good, bruddah.
It must be nice to be able to take your children to Hawaii and let them enjoy the wonders that can only be obtained by seeing with your own eyes. It must be nice to pack up and go on extravagant trips, while bashing parents who let their children watch Super Why and other television shows (who can't afford to take their kids to see Hawaii or on any other real world adventure with their own eyes). I understand that the media sets immoral ideas into our children's heads, but I would like to know your suggestion for us single moms who have no other way to get our children out of their local environment (and yes I read to my children). How do we show our children that beautiful waterfall flowing? Pictures don't move so that’s right we turn on the educational public broadcasting and let our kids see that beautiful sunset because they may never see it up close in person.
I live on the Big Island, and its not that we don't complain about gas, we do, but its just something we have to live with. When everything is brought in by boat, it can get expensive. Oh, and its not because of Japanese tourists, they don't drive! :) I sure wouldn't want to be on the roads after seeing how crazy they drive on Japanese TV!
