Discovered
by British Captain James Cook in 1778, he named the islands the Sandwich
Islands. This was in honor of the Earl of Sandwich who was a benefactor in
Captain Cook’s world-wide journeys. In the 1840s the original name of the islands,
Hawaii, returned to common use and has stuck ever since.
The
eight islands are Hawaii (The Big Island), Maui (The Valley Isle), Oahu (The
Gathering Place), Kauai (The Garden Isle), Molokai (The Friendly Isle), Lanai
(The Pineapple Isle), Niihau (The Forbidden Isle), and Kahoolawe (The Target
Isle).
Last
year my wife and I decided it was time for me to look at retiring from the
pastoral ministry. The date we set for this is May 31 this year. As a way of
thanking my family for encouraging and supporting me through my many years of
pastoral and Navy chaplain ministry we made plans to bring our two girls, their
husbands and grandkids, plus a niece for a week on the Garden Isle of Kauai.
We
stayed in a cabana that had three bedrooms and was maybe a five minute walk to
a rather secluded beach. The area where the beach is situated is called Malooa
Bay. We discovered to our great delight, that it was on this beach where the TV
hit series, Gilligan’s Island was filmed from 1964-67. We watched several of
the episodes from Gilligan’s Island and easily recognized the beach area where
we played with our 5 and 6 year old granddaughters in the surf and sand.
We
split the time eating out and preparing our own meals at the cabana, so we were
able to sample the various island eateries. Our favorite breakfast spot was the
Kountry Kitchen. It was always packed with a mix of native islanders and the
rest of us (mostly tourists). Their specialty is a huge macadamia nut and
banana pancake. After consuming this monstrous pancake I asked the hostess if
they had ever bothered to count how many of these they made in a year. She
said, No, they had never done that, but I think I may have gotten them thinking
about it. Isaura then asked them if anyone held the record for eating the most
pancakes. The hostess said, Yes, a little pencil-thin girl ate three! Seeing
the size of some of the men on this island, I was surprised one of them had not
set the record. The hostess commented, “If the hostess in a restaurant is
skinny, you don’t want to eat there. You want to eat where the hostess is
fluffy, like me!” Then she grabbed a bit of extra girth around her middle. What
a hoot!
I
saw a sign advertising another place to eat. The sign was a small sandwich
board set out on the side of the road. It was painted yellow with black
lettering. It said, “Caution! Mexican Food Ahead on Right.”
We
visited the Kauai Coffee Plantation, sampling the many roasted flavors
available. It is located near the southern tip of the island and has been in
operation for more than 150 years. This is a most see place if you make it to
Kauai.
We
drove to the Spout Horn which is a naturally formed work of nature that
operates much like a geyser. Right on the southern shore line where a mass of
lava one time cooled to form the earthen barrier for the sea, a hole down
through the lava was solidified allowing the ebb and flow of the wave action to
force both water and air up through this “horn,” spraying water for a
considerable distance. It has been intentionally reduced from its original
geyser because it sprayed salt water on the nearby plantations, ruining crops.
So, dynamite was used to reduce the size of the hole, but the effect is still the
same. Just along the water’s edge you will occasionally spot a green turtle
floating lazily in the roiling waters. Looking a bit further out, we saw
numerous whales making up several pods, blowing their own geysers, and every
once in a while one happy giant denizen of the sea would leap clear of the
water only to splash back into his watery home no doubt with a smile of
pleasure on his orcan face.
Some
of you are no doubt wondering if I played any golf on this trip. Well, Yes, I
did. Since this was a family vacation, I only planned for one round of golf. I
selected the Wailua Golf Course, a nice, yet challenging 18 hole public course.
Several of the holes run down alongside of the ocean. The sand traps are huge
and difficult to get out off if you were unfortunate enough to find yourself in
one. Actually I was in at least six or more. Despite the off-shore winds and
the deep bunkers, I still managed to shoot an 89.
I
have much more to share about our vacay (slang for vacation), but that will
have to wait until next week.
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