Mama On The Move

Okay so there are these stairs. These stairs go up the side of a mountain. There are about 500 sections of stairs totalling 3,922 steps. People like to climb them. They like to climb to the top and stop at 2,820 feet. They think it's pretty. It makes them feel strong. And young. And I can understand that. I'm impressed by people who can make it to the top. Ben did it. There's just one teensy little problem. It's kind of illegal to hike the stairs. Just a little bit. They actually post a guard at the bottom of the stairs to keep people from going up. He will stop you if you try to ascend. But he isn't there all night. He arrives some time in the morning. So if you get there before him, you can go up and he won't stop you when you come down. He won't tell you what time he arrives every morning although he will tell you that the Internet has the time wrong. So get there early. He's not a bad guy, he's just doing his job. He will even take a grou...

As a nineteenth anniversary present to ourselves, Kerry and I spent two nights down in Waikiki pretending to be tourists. We don't go into that area very often because it's pricey and full of tourist traps, but we want to experience everything we can while we're here and some things are only to be found in that area, darn it. The Atlantis Submarine has been high on our list of things to do ever since we moved here. It's unfortunately quite pricey but since it was just the two of us (sorry kids) we thought we would check it out. A couple in line behind us took this picture for us. Just so you know, Kerry doesn't like to smile in photos. Future generations will think they had a very stern ancestor. He does smile and laugh a lot, just not if a camera is pointed at him. For the submarine ride, you have to take a 20 minute boat ride out into deep water. Tip: Go to the bathroom on the boat. There is no restroom on the submarine and there is nowhere to run, nowhere to hide...

The last part of our field trip day was spent at the King Kamehameha V Judiciary History Center. The building is absolutely beautiful, both inside and out. I felt like I was back in the south, sweeping along the veranda of my plantation. This glorious stained glass window was directly overhead in the foyer. The History Center conducts and encourages research, disseminates information, and collects, preserves and displays Hawaii's legal history. They have a very interesting and educational museum area and several films about Hawaiian history. We learned about The Great Mahele which divided up Hawaiian lands among the native Hawaiians and the local government. Then we watched a synopsis of the court case "Oni v. Meeks". This was a famous case involving land rights in 1858 which set a precedent for future land disputes. Rather than just watch the film, the history center had the kids in the group act out the major parts of the case in an actual courtroom. They wrote a...

While we were touring Kawaiaha'o Church - admiring the architecture, cherishing the historical significance, standing in awe of the magnificent organ - some of the girls in our group came running up to my kids in great delight. "You have to SEE this! It's awesome!" We all trotted dutifully up to this little non-descript building where great delight awaited. It had four clean bathroom stalls, new linoleum, and two pretty (rather than just functional) sinks. Yep. Our kids were most fascinated by the giant port-o-potty .

Last week, we visited Kawaiaha'o Church in Honolulu which was the first Christian church built on Oahu and is still used for services today. The name comes from the Hawaiian noun phrase "Ka wai a Haʻo" (the water of Haʻo), because its location was that of a spring and freshwater pool in the care of a woman chief named Haʻo. The Hawaiian language is still used in parts of the service. The "Stone Church" as it was known by locals is actually not constructed of stone. It is made from giant slabs of coral cut from ocean reefs. The slabs had to be quarried from under water (back in the early 1800's before modern day equipment) and each slab weighed more than 1,000 pounds. Natives dove 10 to 20 feet to hand-chisel these pieces from the reef, raised them to the surface, loaded them into canoes, and ferried them to shore. Some 14,000 slabs were procured in this way. It took the Hawaiian community five years to build the church - 2 years less than it took Solomon...

We visited Iolani Palace when my mother and sister were here but Ben and Kerry didn't get to see it that time. We went again last week and they got the chance to see the inside of the Hawaiian Royal Palace. The first time we went, we took a guided tour with a docent. This time we got the "Hawaiian Talking Leis" which is like a tape recorder that you hold to one ear as you walk from room to room. Although we got more detailed information from the recording, I liked taking the guided tour better. And this time, I remembered to buy postcards of the inside of the palace since we can't take pictures in there. This is the throne room where King David Kalakaua and his wife Queen Kapiolani held formal audiences, diplomatic receptions, and state balls. This is also where the trial of Queen Lili'uokalani was held when she was overthrown by the Republic of Hawaii. This is the entrance hall and the grand staircase. I like this room because there are gifts and paintings ...

In downtown Oahu you will find the Mission Houses Museum. We took a trip there this past week to check it out. I've read a lot about the first missionaries to the islands and I wanted to learn more about them. The missionary museum is made up of several buildings used by the first missionaries to Hawaii. In the beginning, they lived in thatched huts but after a few years, they were able to build New England style houses. Unfortunately, New England style houses had small windows to keep out the cold New England winters and short eaves to prevent cracking under loads of snow. Somehow they did not realize this wouldn't be a major issue in Hawaii. Their thatched huts were probably much cooler and more comfortable, but you know, sometimes it's hard to give up the idea of what's "proper". One of the buildings is made completely of wood and is the oldest wood frame structure on the island. Hawaii's first missionary, Hiram Bingham resided here with his family. ...

If you come to Hawaii and someone asks you if you would like some of their frozen tacos because they have extra, make certain they aren't talking about the Hawaiian word "tako" ............ ..........or you will be stuck with a bucket of octopus in your freezer until you figure out what to do with it.

Another warning to any girl who may wish to be the future Mrs. Ben. I hope you are not an early riser. You will not be going anywhere.

Last night Katie and I were on our own. Ben and Kerry were camping and Emily was at a friend's sleepover. I thought it would be a great time for us to do something special, just the two of us. There is a Thai restaurant that Katie loves, but we rarely go there because Emily hates it. So this was the perfect opportunity for us to eat there and go to see "How To Train Your Dragon" (in 3D!) afterwards. After we ordered our food, I decided to get to know Katie's latest preferences. I discovered Katie does not like to confine herself to one answer. "What's your favorite food?" "I don't know. There are so many foods I like." "Okay, if it were your birthday and I was going to make you anything you wanted for dinner or take you to any restaurant you picked, what would you eat?" "Ummmm......meatballs, or pizza, or steak, or soup, or hamburgers, or shrimp." "What's your favorite color?" "Purple, pink, blue, red,...