Arizona Memorial

arizona memorial

The USS Arizona Memorial

The Arizona Memorial: Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941, and the USS Arizona; if you think of one, you immediately think of all three. It was on that date in history, the Imperial Japanese Navy launched its aircraft to bomb Pearl Harbor bringing World War II to the Pacific.  We all know the outcome of the War but it’s here at the memorial where we can remember the losses of that day.  It was at approximately 8:10, in the morning, when the USS Arizona was hit by a 1,760 pound armor-piercing bomb.  Nine minutes later she had sunk entombing 1,177 members of her crew. Read more…

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Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor Navy Base

If you talk about the recent history of Pearl Harbor, every event includes the U.S. Navy.  In fact, the U.S. Navy and Pearl Harbor go back over 100 years. It was in the 1860’s that the Navy established a coaling station in Honolulu to refuel coal burning ships of the time.  In 1887 a treaty was signed with King David Kalākaua granting the United States exclusive rights to Pearl Harbor.  Permission was given to construct a coaling station and repair facilities inside the harbor.  It was in 1898, with the outbreak of the Spanish-American War, that the importance of Pearl Harbor became apparent.  One year later, a Naval Coal Depot was built and dredging a channel into the harbor was started.  With the acquisition of 693 acres of land at Kuahua Island in 1901, the Naval Supply Center was established. Read more…

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Polynesian Culture Center

polynesian_culture_center

Polynesian Culture Center and Surrounding Area

The Polynesian Culture Center (PCC) is perhaps the best known institution at Lā’ie. First opened in 1964, PCC offers a variety of Polynesian stage shows, cultural tours, and dining experiences. The shows and seven villages of Polynesia give visitors a taste of Polynesian life.

The Polynesian Cultural Center is Mormon owned, and its performers and employees are students and faculty at BYU-H from Hawai’i, Aotearoa, Fiji, Sāmoa, Tahiti, Nu’uhiwa (Marquesas), Tonga and else where around the world.  By working at The Polynesian Culture Center, these students have the chance to earn money for their tuition and other expenses that naturally occur while attending any university. Read more…

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Waimea

waimea

Waimea Valley, Bay and Beach

Waimea Valley is home to the Waimea Valley and Adventure Park. This is an 1800 acre historic nature park and features Waimea Falls. The valley offers spectacular sites and gives visitors the opportunity to explore a valley rich with unspoiled beauty, tropical splendor, and the history of old Hawai’i. The Waimea Arboretum and Botanical Garden features 36 gardens and includes over 6000 species of rare and beautiful plant life.

Visitors can enjoy an authentic Hawaiian experience. You can play ancient Hawaiian games or learn the evolution of the hula. You’re given the chance to interact with native Hawaiian’s while they recreate the daily activities that would have taken place during the 1700s. There’s also an ancient Hawaiian burial site located within the park. Read more…

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Haleiwa

haleiwaHaleiwa and Surrounding Area

Haleiwa is a rustic seaside town. The wooden buildings offer many treasures from surf and clothing shops to shave ice stands. You’ll find several restaurants, snack bars, North Shore Marketplace which houses the North Shore Surf and Cultural Museum and marine life artist, Wyland’s gallery.

From the late 1800s to the mid 1900s, the O’ahu Railway & Land (OR&L) Company’s track extended from Honolulu along the leeward side of the island, then around Ka’ena Point, to Kahuku. For passengers willing to pay a little extra, the round trip was a mini-vacation, with a night at the elegant Haleiwa Hotel, which was built in 1899, as a restful interlude between scenic rail journeys. Read more…

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Mele Kalikimaka

Mele_KalikimakaMerry Christmas
Happy New Year

We here at Viva-Hawaii.com wish to express our thanks for your support and hope that you all have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

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Dole Pineapple Plantation

Dole Pineapple Plantation

A visit to Dole Pineapple Plantation

Dole Pineapple Plantation.  The last pineapple was canned in Hawai’i in 1994.  At that time all the equipment was sold and sent to Thailand.  Today, the Dole Pineapple Plantation tells the story of pineapple in theHawaiian Islands.  Its retail areas simulate life in an old town and pineapple plantation while the open market place and country store offer locally produced food, clothing and hand-crafted gifts.  Also, the plantation now attracts visitors to “The World’s Largest Maze”.  If visiting the plantation, don’t forget to try their “non-dairy” pineapple ice cream.

Helemano Plantation

Next to Dole Pineapple Plantation

Immediately to the left of the Dole Pineapple Plantation you will find Helemano Plantation.  The atmosphere at this plantation is obvious and even appears when ever you see their name, “Where Aloha Begins”.

The Helemano Plantations has the “Gateway to Asia” gift shop, The Country Store, and The Country Inn featuring a Chinese buffet or a sandwich & salad buffet.  The collection of businesses at Helemano Plantation provide working opportunities for persons with developmental disabilities.  By patronizing these businesses your supporting their efforts to help people become self-sufficient.  The Country Inn is my recommendation for your lunch stop.

Next we’ll look at Haleiwa.

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Moanalua Park

Moanalua Park

Moanalua Park Area

Moanalua Park and Gardens (two encampments) offer both a manicured park and a wilderness area.  Moanalua is said to be named for two taro patches where travelers could rest.  Here a summer house was built in 1867 for King Kamehameha V.  Walking tours are available through the Moanalua Gardens Foundation.  Residing at Moanalua was the historian, Nāmakahelu, who was one of the best sources of what pre contact life was like on O’ahu. She was well-known as the chantress of Kahikilaulani, expanding the early settlement of O’ahu.  Moanalua Park also has a great example of a monkey pod tree here; in fact, Hitachi (Japan) has used this very tree as their company logo.

Overlooking Moanalua Park

Moanalua ParkTripler Medical Center is a distinct landmark in this area. The huge pink hospital contains a 550-bed facility, making it the largest military medical center in the Pacific.  The hospital is named for Major General Charles Stuart Tripler, a medical director during the Civil War.  There are several versions of why the building is pink.  The first story is that Mrs. Tripler liked pink but she had died long before the hospital was ever planned.  Second is that this was paint left over from the Royal Hawaiian Hotel but how could there have been so much extra paint?  The third possibility and the one that I believe correct is that when the Army purchased the paint from Sherwin Williams, the wrong color was sent from the mainland.  Rather than send it all back and wait for a second correct shipment, the company offered the Army a “good deal” on the paint that had been sent.  And thus, the hospital was painted pink.

Last Words on Moanalua Park

Moanalua Park may be a bit off the normal “tourist routes”, but if you do get over that way, have a look!  From here, on to Dole Pineapple Plantation.

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Punchbowl

Punchbowl

Punchbowl National Memorial Cemetery

Punchbowl Crater, located in the Kewalo district of Honolulu, is home to The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific and The Honolulu Memorial. The crater is a tuff cone volcano and in Hawaiian is known as Pūowaina. It picked up the name Punchbowl due to its obvious resemblance to a large punchbowl.

Punchbowl is Open

On January 4, 1949, Punchbowl, The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific was opened. The first to be interned there was an unknown soldier from the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. At the same time, 776 other casualties from that attack were buried there. Some of the others who have been buried there include World War II war correspondent Ernest Taylor “Ernie” Pyle and Hawaii’s Ellison Onisuka who died in the Challenger tragedy.

PunchbowlOn May 1, 1966, The Honolulu Memorial was dedicated to honor the sacrifices and achievements in the Pacific during World War II, the Korean Conflict, and the Vietnam Conflict. It would be worth a stop to visit the memorial and see the 10 courts of the missing which honors the 26,280 MIA soldiers, the mosaic maps showing the progression of the wars, plus a chapel. To the front of the memorial is the most recognized feature of the memorial, Lady Columbia. She stands 30 feet tall on what symbolizes the prow of an aircraft carrier. She is meant to symbolize victory and also all the grieving mothers from the wars. Just under Lady Columbia are the words of Abraham Lincoln written to a Civil War mother who had just lost five sons: “The Solemn Pride That Must Be Yours to Have Laid So Costly A Sacrifice Upon the Altar of Freedom.”

Punchbowl is Full…

On August 1, 1991, with 33,143 graves, the 114 acre cemetery was declared full. Now, veteran’s may be buried at the Hawai’i State Veterans Cemetery located in Kāne’ohe, on the windward side of O’ahu.

A Final Word on Punchbowl

Punchbowl is one of those sometimes forgotten points to visit, but it’s well worth the effort and you’ll get some great city views from just outside the entrance.  Next, Moanalua Park.

 

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Byodo-In Temple

Valley of the Temples and Byodo-In Temple

Byodo-In TempleValley of the Temples Memorial Park lies in ‘Āhuimanu (bird cluster) Valley. Within the Memorial Park is the Byodo-In Temple, a two-thirds size reproduction of Japan’s famous Byodo-In Temple of Equality in Kyoto. The temple includes a seven-ton bronze bell and a 9 foot golden Buddha of Western Paradise. In the temple grounds are meditation areas, a tea house, reflecting pools with carp, peacocks, swans, and waterfalls.

THE BELL. . . cast in Japan, this 5-foot, 3-ton brass bell echoes the original one in Uji Temple. The original is recognized as having a distinctive shape. The tone of the Byodo-In Temple bell sounds a message of deep calm and peace, cleansing the mind of evil and temptation.

THE MEDITATION HOUSE . . . place for private thoughts and inner peace the meditation house is a part of the natural beauty which surrounds it. With its aura of quiet and rustic beauty, its ultimate appeal is to the spirit while delighting the eye.

THE TEMPLE. . . the genius of an artisan 900 years ago flowers in the replica of the Byodo-In Temple at Uji, Japan. Planned with the help of Hawaii’s religious leaders. Byodo-In Temple reflects the promise of the mystical bird, thePhoenix, recreating spiritual hope.

Byodo-In TempleTHE GREAT BUDDHA . . . Japanese sculptor Masazo Inui created the 9-foot 2-inch representation of Amida, the Buddha of the Western Paradise, a Buddha unique in all the world. It is the largest Buddha carved from wood in 900 years and is covered with gold and lacquer.

THE CARP . . . to the Japanese the carp symbolizes order and perseverance. Several hundred carp live in the two-acre reflecting pool that embraces the Byodo-In Temple.

THE GARDENS . . . while retaining the serenity and grace of a Japanese garden, landscape architects have added a touch of gaiety, resulting in a typically Hawaiian concern for both beauty and peace. The gardens are the largest of their kind outside of Japan.

A Final Word On Byodo-In Temple

If you have a rental car, you will certainly be driving around the island.  You will be driving right past the Valley of the Temples Memorial Park.  Why not stop by and visit Byodo-In Temple?  And you may recognize it from several movies as it has been the back-drop for several movies like Pearl Harbor.  The film companies use it to “simulate” scenes in Japan where the original Byodo-In Temple is located.

Next we’ll look at Punchbowl Memorial Cemetery.

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