Midwest Adventures: In Search of Hidden Galena
Kalaupapa overlook is the highest "sea cliff" in the world.
Heavenly Hawaii
By LOIS A. LOWE Special to the Journal & Topics Newspapers
Hawaii is the only place in the United States that was a monarchy, a republic, a territory, and, one of the States -- all since 1893. While anytime is a good time to visit this island paradise, this year offers a golden opportunity to help celebrate a landmark event in its history, the 50th anniversary of Hawaii's statehood.
Oahu
Most visitors either plan their vacation on Oahu or travel through it to other island destinations. Therefore, it is a good place to begin describing some of the highlights Hawaii has to offer. After a long plane flight, many people want to get to their hotel, don their swimsuits and head for the pool or beach to unwind. There is no better place to do that than world famous Waikiki Beach.
Waikiki was lined with taro patches and fish ponds when King Kamehameha I conquered the island and united the Hawaiian peoples in 1795. He moved his capital to Honolulu on this strip of land facing the sea, with Diamond Headcrater as a backdrop.
Today, many of the popular hotels line this 2.5 mile stretch of beach, with the coral colored Royal Hawaiian Hotel near the location of Kamehameha's original bungalow.
Restaurants here offer everything from fast food and bar food to Hawaiian regional cuisine and a $150 per person Sunday brunch. Shopping ranges from the International Market's open-air bazaar for tee shirts and souvenirs to the Royal Hawaiian's Hermes and Cartier boutiques, with the Ala Moana Center housing department stores like Macy's and Sears.
Once you've recovered from your flight and gotten some rays on the beach it's time to head for downtown Honolulu. In the 1820's a visitor described the area as "a mass of thatched huts resembling haystacks." Then it became a center for fur trading and whaling. By 1882 it had morphed into the site of the royal residence when King David Kalakaua commissioned Iolani Palace. The only royal palace in the United States served that function 11 years until the monarchy was overthrown in 1893. It was then the seat of government and later a set on TV's "Hawaii Five-O." Today you can tour the palace, wearing protective shoe coverings, and imagine what it must have been like to be a king or queen in this exotic land.
The compact area surrounding Iolani Palace and grounds contains numerous sites from bronze statues of King Kamehameha I and Queen Lili'oukalani to St. Andrew's Cathedral and Kawaiaha'o Church where Sunday services are offered in both English and Hawaiian. The adjacent State Capital building is the only one that doesn't have a dome. Its roof resembles a volcanic cone rising to a point from its four corners.
Another 'must' on any visitor's to-do list is a trip to Pearl Harbor and the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial. Pearl Harbor is one of the best natural harbors in the world and the inlet supported oysters that were famous for their pearls -- thus giving the location its name.
Leased to the U.S. in 1887 as part of a trade treaty, Pearl Harbor became an important military installation because of its strategic mid-Pacific location. When the Japanese attached Pearl Harbor in 1941 the USS Arizona was sunk with hundreds of its crew still aboard. A white marble memorial perches atop this ship and is dedicated to all those that served and died in the attack. The USS Bowfin traces the history of submarines and USS Missouri, where the Japanese surrender ended WWII, are also moored nearby and can be toured.
Maui
Another favorite destination is the valley island of Maui. Shaped like an infinity sign with a seven-mile wide isthmus joining two circles, it is the second largest of the Hawaiian Islands. An extinct volcano occupies the center of each circle, the larger of which is the enormous 10,023 foot high Haleakala.
The summit district of Haleakala is a National Park and a trek up this mountain is a challenge on several levels. One challenge is the 15-mile per hour switchback road, which is often shrouded in clouds making the speed limit seem too high. Another is acclimating to the altitude and a third can be the temperature and winds at the top. But, once you're at the summit overlooking the 7.5-mile long by 2.5-mile wide by 3,000 foot deep crater, it seems like you're in another world. Indeed, the Apollo astronauts came here to train for their moon mission.
While I was standing at the crater's edge drinking in the stark beauty of its cinder cone dotted landscape, two bicyclists stopped next to me. They were discussing their ascent of Haleakala when I asked them how long it took them -- they said 5 ½ hours. I was very glad for my rental car. Not to worry. There are several tour operators that make this expedition very easy with hotel pick up and delivery, so you can "leave the driving to them."
King Kamehameha made Lahaina the capital after his conquest of Maui because of its fertile land and abundant spring water. Later, it became a center for whaling and now it's a quaint visitor's destination along Maui's west coast. Whales come here from the Artic to mate and bear their young and from December to May you can watch them cavorting just off shore.
Strolling the Old Town you can visit Baldwin House, which is Maui's oldest western-style dwelling, constructed by the missionary in the 1830's. He later added a second floor to protect his daughters from rowdy sailors. Another historic building is the Pioneer Inn where many of those sailors found a room after a long sea voyage. It covers a full city block and you can wander into their dining room for a cup of coffee or a meal and watch the boats entering and leaving the harbor across the street.
The Maui Ocean Center is a state-of-the-art aquarium that has something to offer all ages and it's well worth an afternoon away from sea and sand. It represents a unique opportunity to experience the diverse sea-life in and around the Hawaiian Islands. A walk-through 750,000 gallon tank has tiger sharks and spotted eagle rays swooping around and over you for a great up-close and personal look, while the Marine Mammal Discovery Center lures you with the humpback whale's eerie song.
Maui has over 40 miles of beautiful white sand beaches, and its sunsets are spectacular. I made it a point to be back on my lanai every night to enjoy each and every one of them.
Molokai
The small island of Molokai is a "hop, skip and jump" off the northwest corner of Maui and, in fact, was once attached to that island. Molokai is 38 miles long and 10 miles wide and is home to a mere 7,000 people. There is no public transportation and there isn't even a stop light on the island.
Why in the world would anyone choose to go there? I had several reasons. The first was that it was a chance to see what the islands might have been like before the hordes descended on Oahu or Maui. It was the opportunity to walk the near deserted beaches.
And, I was there to visit one of the most remote and tragic spots in all of Hawaii.
By the 1860's approximately 80 percent of the native Hawaiian population had been decimated by various diseases brought by contact with the outside world, to which they had no natural immunity. Then, a new scourge arrived that threatened the survival of the remaining Hawaiians, and it began to spread. In 1865 King Kamehameha V signed a law requiring any person suspected of having leprosy to be isolated from the general population. In January, 1866, they began shipping suspected lepers to the 13.6 square mile peninsula separated from the rest of Molokai by the highest sea cliffs in the world. Over the years about 8,000 people were exiled. It was here a Belgian priest named Father Damien ministered to the patients, physically and spiritually, where he acquired the disease and died.
After World War II, medical advances found medications to control the condition, now called Hansen's Disease, and imposed isolation is no longer necessary. Kalaupapa Peninsula is now a National Park, and while the remaining 19 patient-residents are alive, access to the peninsula is strictly controlled. You can arrive by private boat, plane, or on mule-back down the winding – 26 switchbacks of the Kalaupapa Trail. However you arrive, everyone takes the same school bus tour of the settlement. The mule ride was an adventure in itself and I now possess a tee shirt that proudly proclaims, "I SURVIVED THE KALAUPAPA TRAIL."
Another of the stops worth making on Molokai is the beautifully restored RW Meyer Sugar Mill and the adjacent Molokai Museum and Cultural Center. Here I got a glimpse of sugar cane refining and processing equipment. An interesting fact that I discovered while I was at the museum was that while Rudolph Meyer was dabbling in sugar refining, he was also managing an extensive cattle and sheep ranch on upper Molokai and was general administrator of the Kalaupapa "settlement" for 32 years.
Topside, or upper Molokai as the rest of the island is called, is relaxed with few things to distract you from its natural beauty. The coastal highway along Molokai's southeast shore is one of Hawaii's most beautiful with picturesque churches and ancient royal fish ponds. These "ponds" were created by erecting a stone wall atop the submerged reef and enclosing a large area of shallow ocean. These ponds were then used to raise mullet for the chief's table. The highway ends at the stunning Halawa Valley with velvety green walls and shimmering waterfalls.
Whatever you enjoy doing on vacation, if it has to do with sea, sand, exploration or adventure in a tropical setting, it's hard to beat Hawaii. And when you're there - remember - you don't need a passport to get back home.