Naupaka Flower

I am back from the glorious island of Hawaii.  While I am still basking in the glow of such a wonderful vacation/anniversary celebration, I am going through my photographs and who I'll send which ones to.

While we were there, we visited the Botanical Gardens.  It is amazing to see the colorful and fragrant "tropicals" as they are called.

One such tropical has quite the legend attached to it.  It is called the Naupaca. Although there are various adaptations of the legend, it goes something like this...

There were two lovers. Pele, the goddess of volcanoes, fell in love with the man. When he refused Pele's advances to be with his beloved, she turned him into a flower that only blooms in the mountains.  She turned the woman into a flower that only blooms by the sea so they could never be together.

 However, they are only half flowers. That's right. You need both parts to make the flower whole.

                                                What a fragrant and fragile love story.

Somewhere Over The Rainbow

Do yourself a favor and scroll down the right side of this blog to find my "Playlist". Click on the ">" so you can hear the arrangement by the Hawaiian "IZ".  It is possibly the best arrangement of this beloved song. You can listen and dream you are in Hawaii while you read my blog posts.

Aloha!  By the way, did you know Aloha means being together and the breath  of life?  So when you say "Aloha" to someone you are happy to be in their presence and share the breath of life!  What a lovely greeting....

"Aloha!" Enjoy this blessed day.

Wedding Chapel at Hilton Waikoloa

A week ago today was Freddie and my 40th wedding anniversary.  We decided to go to the non-denominational Sunday service at the wedding chapel at the hotel. After all, it took a little Divine Intervention to keep this marriage going for 40 years.  We thought a little booster shot might be in order! 

The speakers were a couple from a Kona church.  It was lovely and well done, 1/2 hour long.
First the Pastor played the ukulele and his wife did a hula dance welcoming God to the service. It was so Polynesian and impressive. I could almost picture their ancestors singing and dancing to that same hymn.
Then the Pastor's wife spoke about growing up in a family with 8 children. She compared them (and all people) to all the fish in the sea, how many different personalities there were in her family and how many different colors and kinds of fish there were in the sea.  It was quite timely as when I was in Hawaii, I saw so many different people of different cultures, all having fun with their families. That alone was a great experience.

We passed the little wedding chapel frequently.  The doors were always open, the breeze ocean blowing through and nice, comfortable seats welcoming you to sit down and gaze at God's creation of one of the most gorgeous places on earth.

One time we passed and there was a wedding.  It was so much fun to see the elders inside waiting for the wedding to begin.  The young couple were outside with their friends giggling and telling stories. Then the photographer came and we continued our walk.  Their lives together were just beginning.  It was a refreshing sight to see.

How many more years we  will be married? 

With a little more Divine Intervention and good health, I hope many.

Blue Hawaiian Helicopter Tours

Freddie and I took a helicopter tour of Kauai when we were there about 4 years ago.  We were so impressed with the staff and the equipment we decided to try it again, this time on the big island of Hawaii.

We talked our traveling friends into coming with us. They are terrified of heights and we weren't too sure how it would go.

We weren't disappointed, in fact, the tour was magnificent. Our friends loved it as much as we did!
We not only saw the splendor or water falls,

but we saw macadamia nut, pineapple and cattle farms that were picturesque from the air.

The largest black sand beach in Hawaii where King Kamehameha grew up.

We also saw the majesty of volcanoes. They are a force to be reckoned with. The lava vents in the neighborhoods (or what use to be neighborhoods) was frightening.

The most incredible sight was the lava flowing, really exploding into the ocean with big chunks of red hot rocks being tossed into the wind like feathers.

Zip Lining

What is wrong with this picture? I'll tell you...I am about to hang by a rope attached to a cable suspended 200 feet over a gorge with a rushing mountain river and jagged razor sharp lava stones. This suicide attempt sport is called "zip lining."

Who would have guessed it would be so comfortable?  So exhilarating? So awesome?

It is a kick! What a fun thing to do!

The scenery was out of this world!

We were pros by the time we finished! Oh, and yes, it was definitely Miller Time!

Hawaiian Sunset

Do you ever get tired of this?

Never.