The first island that we visited was Maui, again. There we enjoyed many of the activities that we had done the first time. We then moved on to the Big Island of Hawaii, where we spent some time at Volcanos National Park. We missed visiting the park on our first visit due to the national budget problems. We then visited Molokai (Mow Low Kah EE) - the Friendly Isle. This was a new island for us, and definitely lived up to it's name. We stayed at a great little bed and breakfast hosted by Jack and Cheryl who not only treated us wonderfully, but served us the most wonderful breakfasts while they would "talk story." They'd give us tips on what sorts of things awaited us on this beautiful island, while we planned our days. One of our activities was visiting Kalaupapa. This is the area where those suffering from Hansen's disease (Leprosy) were once exiled. There are still those who have continued to live at the village, even though there is no longer a quarantine, and in fact, the disease is easily treated. We had a tour of the peninsula by Richard Marks complete with colorful stories, and a unique perspective to the area. Below is the church that Father Damien started to build, but was unable to finish before his death.
We spent another day on a very exciting boat ride cruising the north shore of Molokai. This picture is taken by the 4000' cliffs that make up the shore line near Kalaupapa. This effectively isolated those who were banished to this area. Swells were high, feet left the deck, and cookies were tossed, but it was a fun filled and exciting trip. In fairness, we did pick a very rough day, and our Captain did warn us of the potential "excitement".
Just before leaving, we happened to mention to our hosts our interest in the Nene Goose (the state bird.) Always eager to please, they managed to arrange a visit to a nearby bird sanctuary. The woman operating this sanctuary was the only person on Molokai licensed to keep this endangered bird. We felt privileged to be able to see this beautiful animal up close. Below is a picture of one that we saw on Haleakala.
Lastly we went back to Oahu, and this time (another national park) we were able to visit the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor. It was a very touching sight, and an there was an eerie silence as we all watched the oil still slowly leaking from the ship below. This page has been built with HomePage Publisher. Back to Vacation Page Back to Home Page