Memories of Hawaii

Located in the Central Pacific Ocean, just below the Tropic of Cancer, about 2,500 miles (4,023 km) southwest of the west coast of the USA, are the beautiful Hawaiian Islands. Hawaii consists of 132 islands, 124 reefs, shoals and islets, and stretches over 1,500 miles, with just eight inhabited islands.

Volcanic activity over many centuries formed these islands, which include over 100 volcanoes. Kilauea and Mauna Loa, located on the Big Island are two of the most active volcanos in the world. Kilauea last erupted just last month, on February 15th; click here for details. The eruptions actually cause the island to grow each year; one year, 42 acres (16.9 hectares) were actually added to the island. This area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and national park known as Hawaii Volcanos National Park.

Hawaii is a paradise born of fire. Rand McNally

The Hawaiian Islands were first discovered and settled by Polynesian explorers between 940 and 1200 AD, and it was in 1778 when the first European explorer, James Cook, came upon the islands in his travels. Hawaii was an independent nation ruled by kings and queens until 1893 when it was illegally overthrown by the Americans, anxious to get their greedy hands on the island’s prosperous sugar cane industry. Soon after, Hawaii was annexed by the US, and became a state on August 21, 1959. There is much more to the history of this island state; click here if you’re interested in learning more.

Early in our marriage, theTravelsketcher traveled to Hawaii frequently on business, and I would tag along as often as possible. I have wanted to blog about our time there, but couldn’t find my old snapshots, until my daughter recently reminded me that I gave them to her for safe keeping; 🤪. So after long last, I’ll share some of these with you today.

Our multiple Hawaiian adventures took us to Oahu, Hawaii, aka The Big Island, Maui and Molokai, with Maui being our favorite. The locals there have a saying: Maui Nō Ka Oi, meaning Maui is the best; we agree! These old photos are of Maui.

The first time we took theTravelsketcher’s son, Adam, to Maui, he was just 14 years old. Our flight from Seattle to Honolulu was mostly pleasant as we were upgraded to the upstairs portion of the 747. As an interesting side-note, a man escorted his young teenage daughter onto the plane who was flying alone to meet friends, and she happened to be seated next to me. This was back in the days when non-flyers could escort friends or loved ones past security. Seeing as I was pregnant, he mentioned that she was a nervous flyer and would I be so kind to as to practice my parenting skills if she needed comforting. We hit some turbulence part-way through the flight and the poor girl became quite sick. I patted her back and offered as much encouragement as I could. I found it ironic that I wasn’t the one who got sick, considering I was pregnant.

We changed planes in Honolulu, and caught a much smaller plane to Maui. As we flew past these cliffs, Adam’s eyes were wide with astonishment and glued to the window as he looked out at the breath-taking scenery. He couldn’t take his eyes off the view and we couldn’t take our eyes off him.

One day, Adam talked his dad into renting boogie boards for our time at the beach. We were busy getting settled on the beach when Terry noticed that Adam was already in the water and had paddled nearly to the next island! He quickly grabbed his board and ran like the wind, hit the water and began paddling furiously to reach Adam. Needless to say, he was not very happy with Adam once they were safely back on shore.

Back at our condo that evening while watching the news, we learned that a woman had been tragically killed by a tiger shark while snorkeling, not far from where Adam and Terry had been swimming.

One of our favorite places to visit on the island is the Maui Upcountry. The scenery is spectacular as you work your way up Haleakala, a dormant volcano. One place that we enjoyed the most there, prior to our visit with Adam, was a winery called Tedeschi, now called Maui Wine. The grounds were beautiful at that time, and the wine was quite nice too.

Maui has some beautiful gardens too.

Coming to Hawaii is like going from black and white to color. John Richard Stephens

Hawaii is the only place I know where they lay flowers on you while you are alive. Will Rogers

We enjoyed visiting various locations on the island and snapping photos.

I found the Banyan trees to be particularly intriguing.

We have wonderful memories of Lahaina, which was once the largest city on the island. The city was once a vibrant, busy place filled with restaurants, parks, art galleries, activities; it was such a wonderful place to visit.

On Tuesday, August 8, 2023, a massive wildfire wiped out the city of Lahaina, leaving death, destruction and heartache in its wake. Click here to read my post about the fire.

The city is slowly recovering from the massively destructive event. Click here for current updates; but it may take decades to recover. The island spirit is alive and well among the residents of Lahaina though, and it is said that they have hope for the future. Interestingly, Aloha means hello and goodbye in Hawaiian, and Aloha Spirit refers to love, respect and community spirit.

It has been several decades since we last visited Hawaii, and I’m not sure we’ll return. However, we have lovely memories and hope the best for the residents of Lahaina as they rebuild and recover from the tragic fire.

Hawaii is the loveliest fleet of islands that lies anchored in any ocean. Mark Twain

I hope you enjoyed these memories of our time in Hawaii. As always, I would love to hear from you, so leave a message if you’d like.

Wishing you grand adventures,

Tricia