ALOHA From Hawaii

AlOHA my dear friends.  Lilly wishes to thank everyone who read her blog post and left such kind comments. She was SO happy to hear from each of you

So my family took a little vacation this past week.  As you may know, my daughter and son-in-law are expecting their second child in August.  She only has a small window to travel and my little grandson had spring vacation.

So, we headed off to the island of O'ahu since Waikiki Beach is our favorite destination.  It's just over a five hour flight from LAX.

In the photo above you can see Diamond Head in the background.

My first trip to Hawaii was years ago; we came to board a cruise leaving from Honolulu.  I really didn't like Honolulu on my first visit. But, we returned a couple of years later and stayed on the beach. It was so much fun.  The last couple of times we were at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. It's at the end of Waikiki and the beach area is so nice.

 This year my daughter booked for us condos in the Ilikai.  Do you remember the original Hawaii Five-O?  There's the shot of Jack Lord at the top of the building, looking out?  Well, that's the Ilikai. It turned 51 years old this year.  We rented two separate units through Hawaii Vacation Properties, LLC.  It's nice because we had a kitchen which works great for us.

This is the view from the condo we rented

My daughter Heidi, who loves to explore, took us on a walk through the back of the hotels along Waikiki Beach.  We went inside and toured the Royal Hawaiian.  I loved this display of edwardian style clothing. Doesn't it remind you of the clothes worn on Downton Abby?

The photos above are from the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. It's a beautiful, historic hotel right on Waikiki.

Evening sunset...I love the palm trees

My little grandson, Oliver with his Hawaiian leis....

Evening sunset outside of Dukes on Waikiki

For the last few years, my daughter has taken me to tea at Christmas time or for Mothers Day. This was an early Mother's Day present.. afternoon tea at Orchids at the Halekulani Hotel.

Fun little side note....the ladies bathroom at this hotel is amazing.  It's the first time I've seen an electronic bidet in a public restroom.  There's also a little speaker box in the wall.  You wave your hand over and it plays "comfort water music".  My daughter, who is familiar with Japanese culture, had to explain this to me.  We had a great afternoon.

The kids rented a car and took us to the east, or windward coast, side of the island.

I had to bring my knitting along with me!  This is a new sock pattern that I ended up frogging since my stitch count was going to be off!

I love the real green mountains and lush vegetation.

I really should say a little about the  historical sites of this island.  Pearl Harbor I feel is a must see.  I saw this historic site on my first trip here.  It's best to go with a tour group who will obtain your tickets and entry time for you.  I was born long after World War II but to see Pearl Harbor and reflect back in time what happened there is very touching. And, yes, you can still see the oil on top of the water from the USS Arizona. This memorial site is part of the National Park Service.

I had always wanted to visit Iolani Palace which was the home to Hawaii's royal family up until the late nineteenth century.  It's downtown Honolulu, next to the state capital building.

This is a view of the dining room on the first floor of the palace.

This is the throne room.  Do you see the feathers on either side of the chairs?

Here's my little grandson in front of the beautiful staircase which is made from Hawaiian wood.

Lastly, I had to take a picture of this door hinge that is made in silver scrollwork.

Besides spending time with my family, my trip to this palace was such a highlight of my time.  The royal family was very close friends with Queen Victoria.  All the palace furnishings are European in design.  Even the clothes the royals are wearing in the pictures and paintings are European in style.  Iolani Palace had electricity and a telephone  before the White House!

After the overthrow of the kingdom of  Hawaii in 1893, the palace was used for government offices up until it was restored in the late 1960's.  The original furnishings of the palace had been auctioned off many, many years earlier.  The Friends of Iolani researched, and continues to research, where theses items are and have been successful in obtaining many of them to showcase in the palace again.  The palace is beautifully designed.  The only thing I noticed is that there are no fireplaces; obviously no need for them due to the warm climate.  

The bottom floor of the palace, where the kitchen is located, had numerous other rooms set up with displays.  There is a small display showng the royal jewels belonging to various members of the royal family.  The designs are Victorian and most of the pieces were from London.  I loved seeing the exquisite workmanship and design.

One last little note which will be of interest to quilters; Queen Lili'uokalani was imprisoned in an upstairs bedroom of the palace for nine months.  During this time she made a crazy quilt that is quite amazing.  This quilt is on display in this same room.

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Some have said that I travel a lot.  I have dreamed of traveling since I was 13 years old.  In middle school ( it was called junior high back in my day), I had a wonderful social studies teacher by the name of Mrs. Bettis.  She opened my eyes to all the places in the world.  Growing up, my parents didn't travel.  After I got married, our travels took us to Egypt every few years.  I dreamed of seeing Europe and other places.  I lived 22 years in a remote little town with a population of 12,000, before internet and cable TV.  It was through books that I traveled.

Now my children live in different places so my husband and I take family vacations with each one of them.  The children are the ones who plan these vacations.  There's a trip planned for next year that already has Sadie's name on the list and Sadie hasn't arrived yet (my new little grand daughter to be)!  So, maybe we are a bit of a crazy family :) 

The downside of traveling is that I have to leave Lilly at home.  I really miss my cat when I'm away and when I return, she is always so happy to see me. 

I hope you have enjoyed this little glimpse into history.  Until next time, my best to you!

Pat 

OOPS, I almost forgot.... all the photos shown above were taken by my daughter Heidi.  Thank you Juji :)

Linking to the following:

Handmade Monday

Ivy & Elephants 

Antiques and Tea Cups 

Frontier Dreams