Bishop Museum with KC

Tiffany wanted to take KC to the Bishop Museum yesterday. It was a bright sunny day so we decided to take advantage of the good weather. We're still waiting for Tropical Storm Felicia.

One of the first things KC saw was a little cape made of beautiful feathers.

She especially enjoyed the children's area where she played musical sticks with the video of a man doing a Hawaiian chant.


KC learned how ancient Hawaiians pounded the bark of the paper mulberry tree to make tapa cloth.


Outside the museum, a tent was set up where children learned how bowls and musical instruments could be made from gourds.


KC began fidgeting, then saying, "KC want eat." She enjoyed shrimp scampi over fetucci noodles. Not exactly Hawaiian... but noodles are her favorite! It was a little messy but she managed to eat enough that it put her into a food coma and she fell fast asleep for 2 hours. I wanted to join her.



Hula dancers performed to Hawaiian music while we ate and enjoyed a lovely day.

We've just heard that Felicia should hit the islands on Tuesday and Wednesday. There's high surf warnings and we're being told to be careful of loose objects outside the house. Art has been nailing some loose things down. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the storm will veer away at the last minute.

Tour Guides for a Day

After meeting with our termite inspector (I'll have more to post on that lovely topic) we ventured into Honolulu again to pick up our nephew's wife and her sister, Mizuho who is visiting from Japan.



Our first stop was the Bishop Museum. "The Bishop Museum was founded in 1889 by Charles Reed Bishop in honor of his late wife, Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, the last descendant of the royal Kamehameha family. The Museum was established to house the extensive collection of Hawaiian artifacts and royal family heirlooms of the Princess, and has expanded to include millions of artifacts, documents and photographs about Hawai‘i and other Pacific island cultures."



We saw some beautiful kahilis which were feather standards for many of Hawaii's elite.



We also took the garden tour and learned a lot about the flora of Hawaii. This is a kukui (candlenut) tree. Oil from the kukui nut was used for light by ancient Hawaiians. We now use the nut to make kukui nut leis.



The hala tree (Pandanus)leaves were used to weave mats, toys, hats and other things. We also learned about breadfruit, sweet potato, naupaka and other wonderful plants.



After seeing many other beautiful things, we got to watch a lovely hula demonstration. The male dancer's name was Keola which I loved since we gave that name to our son. It means life in Hawaiian.



It was getting pretty late so we went to Kenny's Restaurant close by to grab a quick lunch. We'd never been there before. It was OK with generous servings and the service was friendly and efficient. Mom and I had a bowl of saimin which is a noodle dish. And no, it wasn't good for my glucose level but I only have it once a month.

Art had the chicken salad.



Miho and Mizuho had the kahlua pork, lomi lomi salmon, chicken long rice and sweet potato. They were adventurous to try the Hawaiian meal but they enjoyed it.



Mizuho was interested in seeing Pearl Harbor so we headed there. We'd heard that the crowds made it very difficult to go out to the Arizona Memorial. However, once we got there, Art was able to secure the last set of 3:00 PM tickets for the movie and boat ride to the memorial.



The Arizona Memorial is a somber beautiful place of remembrance for the sailors who perished there on December 7, 1941. The memorial sits right above where the Arizona sank.



The park ranger told us that there were many sets of brothers or fathers and sons aboard ship because at that time they used to put family members together on ships. Therefore, quite a number of families ended up losing more loved ones on that terrible day.



Art was photographing the aircraft carrier when he noticed that lone sailor.



He loved it when that sailor suddenly waved at him... a friendly farewell as we headed back to shore.

We then went home where my nephew, Barry joined us for some homemade chili (which I served over greens with taco chips) and Zippy's broasted chicken. It was a most wonderful, full day of learning and discovery.