The Kings of Hawaii

Yes, we just finished an invigorating week at Kona with Carl and his family. Amongst the beauty of our Waikoloa Hilton timeshare, we still found time to go visit Kameheahea's birth site on the north side. I love his violent history that has been modernized to hero worship.

The story behind this statue is incredible. Bronze, it was cast in France and sank near the Falkland Islands on its way to the Big Island near the town of Hawi. Of all the coincidences, a traveler to the Falkland Islands saw the salvaged statue outside a drugstore and made an offer. It was taken to Hawaii and painted annually. Cool. I had to see it, so drove up from Kona with Carol, Devin, Carl and Hayden. They indulged my historical fascination, then we ate at the Bamboo Restaurant (go ahead and google it--look for "best restaurant on Hawaii) My wanderlust thus satisfied we returned to our comfortable apartment and watched General Conference Sunday morning, starting at 6:00 a.m. What a hoot.

Now this one, on the left is the official gold plated King, standing outside the Hawai'i state capitol building in downtown Honolulu. The dude in front of him is basically the same except for a hat that is about 2 sizes too small and cost $10 more than the one above because I bought it at the Dole plantation instead of the simply situated Wal-Mart in Kona. We were in Honolulu exactly one year ago. We still have yet to see when they droop these statues with yards of floral leis, but if we keep going back, maybe we'll find it. By the way, there was a third statue cast and it is still visible to many tourists every day. Kudos to who can tell me where he is located.