Molokai: Day #1

My mother has often told my brother and me of her early life on the island of Molokai.  Neither Art, my brother, Dennis nor I had ever been there.

My grandfather was a young Zen Buddhist priest ready to begin his life of service.  He and my grandmother left Japan and went to Molokai to minister to the victims of Hansen's Disease (leprosy) in Kalaupapa in 1928.  Hansen's Disease patients were quarantined to Kalaupapa and Kalawao to live out their lives.

The Christian patients had Father Damien, Brother Dutton, Mother Marianne Cope and other nuns.  Sadly the Buddhist patients didn't have anyone to turn to which is why they recruited grandfather.  Grandfather would spend almost eight years providing supplies such as Japanese foods and getting Japanese movies which he showed them on a projector he manned himself.  He also advertised and got funding to build a community house for those patients.

Father Damien was declared a saint and Marianne Cope is on her way to being declared a saint.  Brother Joseph Dutton was a Civil War veteran who came to help Father Damien but was not a priest and was not part of a particular Christian order.  However, he tended to the patients for 44 years and asked to be buried near Father Damien.

My grandfather worked with Brother Dutton and had a great deal of respect and regard for the bearded gentle man.

Mom spent her first six years in Kaunakakai, but had never been back.  We decided it was time she did.  We went there this past Tuesday.

Here we are in front of the go!, Island Air, Mokulele Airline and Pacific Wings airport area on Oahu.

Island Air has propeller airplanes and looked rather tiny.  However contrary to reputation, it arrived and took off on time.  The flight from Oahu to Molokai is only 20 minutes long.

Molokai only has Alamo Car Rental.  They didn't have the Economy car we reserved so they gave us a van instead along with a $15 discount for our trouble.  Molokai was living up to its name as the Friendly Isle.

After getting a little disoriented at first, we found the Kalaupapa Look out.  The only way to get to that peninsula is by plane, mule or hike.

Dennis and Art took a walk to the sacred phallic rock.

Mom and I sat in the car.

I rather think the rock looks like it must have been carved... but that's my guess.

We had lunch at the Molokai Drive Inn which is supposed to be the oldest eatery on Molokai.  The fried saimin with veggies was pretty darn tasty.  We chuckled to see the list of people posted who had given them bad checks.

Although a new Soto Zen temple was now standing where my grandfather's temple was built in Kaunakakai, mom was able to walk around the area and recall her childhood.  She was surprised at all the houses that were now in the area some 75 years later.

Molokai is supposed to have the longest beach in the Hawaiian Islands.  It was definitely long... and beautiful.

Everybody in Kaunakakai seemed to think Molokai Pizza Cafe was the place to eat.  We decided to give it a try.

Ummmm... As you can see we ordered too much.

How lovely that we all like anchovies.  It was wonderful!

We stayed at Molokai Shores which has rented condo units.

Dennis slept in the loft area.  Mom was in a fold-away bed downstairs, Art and I had the bedroom.

It was nice, though NOT necessarily all that clean or bugless.  It was sufficient.

I got right to sleep, but at 2 AM, some infernal rooster decided to wake everybody up.  I'm surprised somebody hasn't put him in a stew pot.

And so ended our first day on Molokai.