Aloha!

Yes, that is right, if you are wondering where I have been, I went on vacation. While I thought I would blog while I was away, I had too good a time to do anything of the sort.

If you have read my bio, you will see that I admit to being any army brat. I spent a good many years following the drum as they used to call it, with my family.  All of our travels were within Britain so I have to say Hawaii was one of those places on my list. It has a strong military presence even now, and a decidedly famous event.  Since I am nowhere near at that stage in my life,  round metal containers with a handle from which it swings, has nothing to do with this list. It is just a list.



One of the first things I noticed when I arrived in Honolulu were the State flags. Hey, they have the British Union Jack on them. Much like the Ontario flag. I felt immediately at home.  Another reason I felt at home was the very warm welcome we received from Kim Lowe of SOS Aloha fame. http://sosaloha.blogspot.com . I have to say that Kim personifies what I came to know as the Aloha spirit of Hawaii.

The scenery was beautiful, but I won't bore you with too many holiday snaps. Much of my fascination was with the History of Hawaii as it related to Britain and before.  We visited Queen Emma's Summer Palace, a woman who was friends with Queen Victoria.  Her house there is more a cottage in the hills to escape the heat than a palace and we were blessed with a wonderful tour guide. What she could tell us in the hour we were there, wet my appetite to under stand more of the history of these unique islands, which I hope will end up in a book one day.

Of course, no visit to Hawaii is complete without the perfect sunset and a Luau.  As you can see were were granted both on the same day.

 Again my love of history led us to visit the historic memorial of Pearl Harbour and, as a result of Kim's kindness, many places not easily available to most tourist.  There is no doubt in my mind that no one can stand on that memorial and not be moved. The day we were there, it poured with rain, but in a way it suited our mood.

 I plan to share more of Hawaai's history as it related to the Regency period, but I need to do quite a bit of reading before I would be willing to post anything. In the meantime I hope you enjoy these snippets and pictures of this likely once in a lifetime visit.

Until next time  Aloha!