Three Birds with Two Stones

The last two days I took off were quite nice. And Ross and I happened to cross three things off of our Hawaii To Do list while we were at it. The original plan was on Thursday, should the weather be miserable (yes, it does get miserable. A sudden rain storm kinda puts a damper on hiking or beach plans) we would go to one of the museums...Pacific Aviation or the Bishop. Well, the weather wasn't miserable but since we had already talked ourselves into museum mode we trekked over to the Bishop Museum.

The museum itself is beautiful. Large brown stone, build in the 1880's. It's the only example of anything remotely resembling Richardsonian Romanesque out here. Though if you were to mention that to nayone, you'd probably be treated with dull, blank stairs. Sometimes I miss archetectual history...

But the museum is tiny. Several rooms are devoted solely to Polynesian cultures and history. The endless cases of fish hooks, weving, masks, spears, bone and stone work are fascinating, but after a while, a fish hook is still a fish hook. These islands are thousands of mile apart and yet each culture didn't seem to deviate too far from its roots...

In one of the wings we over heard a father very loudly explain the displays to his two little ones while they fidgeted, fought and generally looked disinterested. I felt bad for him. Here he is, passionately trying to get his children interested in their heritage and his kids are thoroughly unamused. I'm sure in time they will come around, brimming with questions about their parents, great grand parents and the history of Hawaii. At least the dad introduced them.

The highlight of the museum was probably the interactive science wing...geared towards kids of course. A large volcano took up most of the space and within its walls were dispalys of lava rocks and geothermal explainations. Down a staircase was a lava demonstration...a furnace blew full blast melting down rock. The stream bright orange that was poured quickly cooled to a shiny black 500 degrees. Or some other ridiculously high tempetature.The whole museum, while well organized and informative, left me largely underwhelmed. I couldbe because two whole wings are currently under renovation. And with all of the grant and state funding no longer available...who really knows when their be able to finish.

Friday we inadvertinatly crossed two item off of our list. The plan was to go to Waimea Valley...a bontanical garden, falls and paved hiking trail. Had we known more about the Valley we would have brought our suits with us and taken advantage of the low foot traffic and crystal clear pool at the falls.Waimea Valley is a beautifully landscaped grounds...well worth the $6 kamaiana rate. The paved trails wind in and out of each other, each taking you on a different bontanical history and geography lesson. The stream trickle almost always within sight of the main path. And the main path is short compared to many of those we've been on. Unlike the other falls we've visited, this one was not enscounced in massive cliffs...the entire area, though in a valley, was very open. The falls itself was short, but full of vigor. And the water was not the breath taking chill we've come to expect from other such pools. It was nice just sit and watch the few in the area splash in the water...and get yelled at for attempting to climb the slick rocky walls.But without suits to participate in the fun, we got our fill fairly quickly and headed back to the start. And decided to grab lunch at their little grill. We had barely taken our seats when three peacocks descended upon us without fear or hesitation. I have never seen a creature that ballsy attempt to stare down a fry. Thankfully they were fearful our my flapping white shirt, and we managed a little (but not much) elbow room. Eventually they gave up on us for the shreiking girl whose response to their proximity was to throw a food as far away from her as she could. The diversion bought the poor terrified child a few moments as they gobbled the snack down. Before shortly returning to her with even more gluttonous hope in their eyes. Yes, they are very pretty birds, but the are more annoying than most...On our way into the valley I had noticed a little thatched temple off of the parking lot. On closer inspection, the temple and tikis turned out to be one of the sights I listed on my Hawaii To Do list. Hale o Lono Heiau. Lono's temple. They may be plan. They may even seem kind of boring after a while. But between the tiki and the thought of Ross proposing at a place very similar...I think I'll always enjoy seeing these simple sacred sites.