Hawaii Native Wildlife

Kapola Native Forest State Park consists of 615 acres. The park is considered one of the few native forests left in Hawaii because it contains mostly native trees, shrubs, ferns, and other forms of life. These plants and animal life were in Hawaii before the islands were discovered and colonized by Polynesian people. Out of nearly 1,000 native Hawaiian plants about 89% are endemic or are found no where else in the world.

Here are a few pieces of wildlife I was able to see:

Is spam considered cuisine?

There were three main places we ate in Hawaii. They were Hang Loose, a restaurant with no name, and the French Bakery.

Hang Loose was a fun place right off the ocean and had one waiter, Adam. They had great food so we ate there more than once. My favorite dish was the fish Mahi Mahi with rice and fresh steamed vegetables. It was absolutely delicious. My uncle preferred the poupou platter. Also at Hang Loose were delicious drinks. I had a virgin pina colada every night!

At the restaurant with no name they also had great fish. They taught us how to say the Hawaiian state fish in Hawaiian. It was hard and very long and now I can't even remember how you begin to say it! At this place everyone really loved spam. I am not a huge fan so I never got on the bandwagon with that Hawaiian delicacy. The Hawaiians LOVE it though!

I ate breakfast at the French Bakery several times during our trip. It had the best pastries I have ever had! If I didn't eat at the French Bakery for breakfast it was because the Farmer's Market was open next door to my hotel. It sold fresh fruit almost everyday. There were all the regular fruits but it all tasted much fresher than fruit I receive at a grocery store. My favorite part was buying what was called apple bananas. I have not succeeded in finding these anywhere within the states since I returned but they are my favorite fruit to date. They were slightly smaller than a regular banana and once you bit in to them they had a slightly pinkish-red center like an apple color. Absolutely amazing!

Finally there was the place that sold Donkey Balls. This place was called Surfin' Ass Coffee Shop. Donkey Balls are just chocolate covered macadamia nuts and have been voted Kona's best treat for the past four years. This place was a riot. They sold interesting shirts saying witty things about their Donkey Balls. You can also write anything pretty much anywhere in that place. In the bathroom, on the walls, on the floor, where ever you can find room pretty much. The nice thing about this place is they only sell products native to Hawaii.

The Volcano and its offerings

I had the opportunity to see an active volcano while touring Kona. This volcano is not a composite one which means it looks like the cylindrical cones you normally associate with volcanoes. Instead it was a caldera. A caldera is a large hole in the Earth where there was once a powerful explosion or eruption of a volcano. This volcano is called Kilauea.

Within this volcano is the active volcano called Halema'uma'u Crater. Both are located in Hawaii Volcano National Park.The crater last had some activity in 1974 but is still considered active. Between 1832 and 1923 a lake of lava was in constant motion in the crater. Hoever in 1924 this motion discontinued. During that period of time people could still walk right up to the rim of the crater and look into the fire pit.

There was also constant hot steam coming up from it and surrounding areas. The ground is very hot here and steam escapes through the tall Hawaiian grass.

The eruption that created the caldera was huge but the crater is still considered a volcano even without the caldera. It's floor is 3,421 ft. about sea level.

We also drove by offerings the Hawaiians had made to Pele, the volcano goddess. They usually leave fruit, bread, and flowers.We also drove by a road that has a lava flow that has blocked it from the once public road.

The Greenwell Coffee Plantation

My family and I were driving from one side of the island, Kona to the other, Hilo. As we were driving we past a coffee plantation and since my mom and aunt are coffee fanatics we had to stop. It was a very pretty place and I have never learned more about coffee in my life. Plus surrounding the many coffee trees was some great wildlife.

The Greenwell Coffee Plantation has been in the Greenwell family since its opening in 1850. The plantation is owned and operated by the generations of the Greenwell family and many of their coffee trees are over 100 years old. The plantation is extensive and reaches over 2,200 acres.

At the plantation we took a tour and they explained how coffee is made. First, we looked at the coffee trees which at the moment had coffee cherries on them. I travled to Hawaii in April so it was too early for the coffee trees to bloom but you could suck on the coffee cherries, which gives off a strong taste.

After looking at the trees we moved on to how coffee cherries are processed and roasted. First, the cherries go through a machine called the "wet mill" that puts them through a pulper. The beans are then put into 100 lb. burlap sacks to dry. After they sit there for several days they are emptied into the cofffee tanks where they sit for several hours. Then they are pumped into a drying area.

These drying areas are called hoshidanas, which means moving roof. These roofs are very high for close exposure to the sun. To check the dryness of the beans you walk along them and listen to the crackle they make.

Then the coffee is roasted. A light roast takes 7-10 minutes while a dark roast takes 16-20.

We purchased come great coffee and also tried their chocolate-covered coffee beans. While we were sitting there we saw some beautiful flowers. We also saw several birds you rarely see in Wyoming and a wild turkey wandering around. Orange Tree
Wild Turkey

Mango Tree

Red Cardinal

Hawaii; The Big Island

When I was a freshmen in high school I organized a trip with my family and two family friends to go to Hawaii. I did this for the Congressional Award which is a program you earn hours in various areas to earn an award from Congress. I decided to go to the Big Island in Hawaii because it has a lot of culture that has not been changed too terribly much by the constant tourists coming through. In my Hawaii section I'll tell you all about my first time snorkling, visiting a coffee plantation, active volcano, macadamia nut production site, and tasting authentic cuisine.

Let's start with snorkling. I'll try to scrounge up some of my underwater photos for the blog! I was staying in the city of Kona. A few miles down the street from our hotel was a slightly popular snorkling area. It has break water so it is a calm and clear area so its great for snorkling. It's also almost right next door to a popular surf spot.

I was able to see so many amazing things! There was coral, many types of fish, and my favorite, sea turtles. These turtles were either sunning themselves or swimming and once while I was snorkling one was swimming right next to me! Around the same area was a place you could see tidal pools with coral and crabs. It was pretty amazing to see all the different life.

Brittany; the history, the shopping, the food, the danger...

While in Brittany, which is close to the province of Normandy, I visited a small town called Saint Malo. This town in Bretagne is a walled city that has existed since the Middle Ages. It is a very pretty little town and the most interesting thing about it is how there are countless old buildings and historic areas but then further into the town is a happening shopping area that is quite high priced. This is probably due to the fact that this town is the most visited site in all of Brittany.

The History: While in Saint Malo you can walk along the wall or go beyond the wall at low tide and walk along the beach. My group chose to do both and I definitely recommend it. Upon entering the town you see a very old building called the Chateau of Saint Malo, which is now part of the town museum.

If you decide to walk along the beach keep in mind you can reach two tourist areas but only at LOW TIDE. Otherwise you can't even walk out there. You can visit the Grand Be` which is where the tomb of Francois-Rene de Chateaubriand, a French writer, faces the sea.

The Danger: You can also walk out to Petit Be` where one of the only old forts, Fort National, is located. This fort and many others were part of the city's defensive line against the British and Dutch. A small island can also be reached by walking but DO NOT go on it. It is the site of an old fort and it is dangerous since there could still be explosive material located on the island.

On the walking tour on the wall there is a statue of Jacques Cartier, who was an explorer.

Also when walking around the town look for a sign that reads Rue du Chat qui Danse. This in English means the street of the dancing cat. It is named this way because when the small French city was being bombed by a British fleet the only thing that was killed was a black cat. It is named in reality as a joke on the British for being unable to hurt anyone else in the city.

The Shopping: As I previously said there is a lot of shopping in Saint Malo. As you walk from the entrance of the city to further into the city you will notice that the clothes closer to the entrance are pretty expensive. For those of you who like to shop for the sales as I do, do not fear. There is plently of cheap places further down in the city. I got three great tops for really cheap and if I hadn't had to head back to the bus I'm sure I would have gotten a lot more.

The Food: In Saint Malo I had two meals. One was at the fancy hotel across from the town museum. They served us a roasted chicken breast and macaroni noodles. The interesting thing about this meal was that the noodles were plain and had not been seasoned or anything. My second meal was on a little side street where they served crepes and gallettes. I was seated in the upper level where you could look down upon the street. Gallettes are big crepes that are made for the main course of the meal while crepes are intended for dessert. My gallette was a wheat dough with ham and swiss cheese and believe me it was huge! Along with the meal they served alcoholic apple cider which was very strong. My dessert was a buttery chocolate crepe. Sorry there's no pictures. It was just too good!

Lunch at the Cafe de Art

While in Paris I visited Sacre Coeur and ate lunch at this cute little piece called Cafe de Art. This place had amazing food and delicious desserts.

This was the special. It was veal in a white wine sauce with rice and a small salad. It was served with a white wine.

This was my friend's dessert. It is a lemon tart. It was very light and had a sweet taste with just a hint of tart. There was also a chocolate mousse that was delicious.

This was my dessert. It was called a "floating island." It was modeled after creme bulee and made of the same ingredients. It is not cooked or flamed as much as creme bulee so it is a lot lighter with a special dipping sauce. It tastes like a roasted marshmallow with a creamy sauce.

Normandy

While in France I went all the way to Normandie. This was a nice place to visit since it had so much history. In this blog I'll tell you all about the Normandy beaches as well as Mont St. Michel which is an amazing old monastery.










At the Normandy beaches I was able to walk along the beach as well as see the thousands of white crosses. There was a small museum you can visit along the beach where you can see what is left over from that day when troops stormed the beaches. I even took some rocks from the beach and brought them back to the states.













Mont. St. Michel is a monastery high upon a mountain. If you would like to go all the way to the top I recommend good walking shoes and actually being in some kind of shape. At the entrance is a restaurant called La Mere Poulard. Madame Poulard actually invented omelets. As you go further in you begin to climb several stairs. Along the way to the top where the main chapel is located are several side chapels. One of these was outdoors and very pretty. Once you reach the top there are several people in prayer and it is a very calming area. Outside this area is a square room that has no roof. It is amazingly beautiful. This place is surrounded by the ocean and tour buses only go in on low tides since the water will often cover the parking lot. There is also quicksand around the area.

London Continued...

Today I am going to talk about a tour I took of London and what I saw along the way. This will include Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, the famous London Bridge, and several of the monarchy palaces.

While I was in London we took a trip to the area where Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, Prince Charles' favorite palace, and Harrods are. Westminster Abbey was very pretty, well from the outside. Unlike my trip to Paris where during mass tourists are still constantly milling around you, here at the abbey since it was Sunday you were only allowed to enter if you were a member of the church. Interesting huh? I thought that was very refreshing after Notre Dame but was slightly disappointed I didn't get to see all the historic stuff inside. So note to any travelers headed to London; remember not to visit the abbey on a Sunday.

Conveniently, Big Ben is basically in the same square as the abbey. My group arrived in the sqaure right at 11 a.m. so all my pictures of the clock are taken as its bonging the hours. It was a great thing to see in London. Possibly not the most entertaining but a definite must.

A very interesting part of the tour was viewing Prince Charles' favorite palace. It was a hair smaller than Buckingham Palace but was still very pretty. It also had those guards with the great hats that everyone tries to make laugh. The one I am pictured with was rather young but true to tradition did not say a word. Our tour guide said they do not usually like to have pictures taken with them but he said he always encourages the tourists to do it since they can't object.

While at the palace we saw a humorous site. A tour group came by in their motive of transportation which was a giant duck!

In the same neighborhood as all this great stuff was Harrods. Harrods is the largest department store in the world. It's at least a block long and wide and three stories. Absolutely amazing. Now this is a store just to look since everything is so expensive you would have to sell your own hand to get a glove. However, don't let that dissuade you from going because it trully is an amazing part of London. Try not to carry backpacks in though or you will be asked to carry them in your hand. Don't ask me why; I just know that's what the doorman told me to do. Also make sure you try the bathrooms and view the formal dress room. AMAZING!

Around these three large landmarks are several other interesting sites for tourists. One is the Eye which is a gigantic ferris wheel where you stand in what looks like a fishbowl and go around. This is fairly expensive but a offers a great view of the city. There was also a very old Methodist Church and a statue of Abraham Lincoln.

In other parts of my touring of London I had the opportunity to walk through Hyde Park which is the largest park in all of London. And believe me it is HUGE! It was decorated with the most beautiful yellow flowers. A little futher down I witnessed the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace and got to look around the outside of the palace. The guards outside the palace only numbered two meaning Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth was not at home. These guards double when she is staying in the palace. The gates were gorgeous black with gold and an amazing fountain stands directly outside.

While wandering in this area I saw the street you go down to enter Notting Hill, yes like the place from the movie! And also a yellow door. This yellow door is where the famous writer of the play Peter Pan, J.M. Barrie, once lived.

At the far end of the park there are many vendors and an interesting site. It is a white arch and we were informed that this is where many people were beheaded hundreds of years ago.

Finally, the London Bridge! Another amazing site. I didn't have the opportunity to actually cross it but I was able to see and get some great photos of it as well as the London Tower where the crown jewels are located. If I ever go back I am definitely stopping by there!

Interesting fact about the bridge; the top portion was a walkway in the past so people did not have to bother traffic or wait for boats to be shuttled through. Today our tour guide informed us that it is now a home or workplace for prostitues. The things you learn while vactioning! This same tour guide also informed me that if anyone bugged me in London just to call them a wanker. If you're unsure what that means just think about it a little.