The Chicken Gang State!

Well, I can’t really call this our “vacation” to Hawaii. I had to tell mom that we are more of adventurers than vacationers. This will be a summary of our adventure to 3 of the Hawaiian Islands! If you want a lot more pictures and a day-by-day report, check out our Facebook or Instagram accounts! (Steffen Duo on Facebook and galatians_6910_household on Instagram) 

First up, Oahu! Now Oahu is definitely busier than the other islands, due to Honolulu and Waikiki Beach. In Buckingham fashion, we arrived Saturday afternoon, and the next morning we woke up bright and early to hike up Diamond Head. But the views did pay off! There was a good mix of stairs and paths curving up to the top, and I am glad that we did the hike at 6 am, because it got warm quickly. That afternoon, we had a lovely visit with some dear family members that live in Oahu! And my lifelong dream was met when we visited Pearl Harbor. (Normandy, France is also on my short bucket list.) It almost did not feel like we were in the right location due to how much the city has been built up since then. 

After the hike, we had our first encounter with… (dramatic pause please)... the roosters!! I knew that Hawaii was known for its many free range hens and roosters (also their wild boars/pigs). But it is one thing to know that, and another to be standing under a tree for shade while a rooster in the tree above sounds the alarm!! It was very entertaining for dad and me to watch mom get so excited when we saw more of these free rangers on each of the islands. We came all the way for the beaches and the scenery, but the roosters were (in mom’s words) “So beautiful!” Mind you, they all looked the same, it was the hens that had different coloring. 

We spent a couple days on different bus rides to show us the majority of the east side of the island and neat stops, including: Dole plantation, fruit stands, the rocky coast, and the gorgeous mountains. A majority of these mountains I loved resided on Kualoa Ranch! Dad drove the ATV in our tour around the ranch, and mom and I enjoyed the bumpy ride, apparently they do not have time to fill in all the potholes left from the dinosaurs’ footprints. Fun fact: out of respect for past ancestors and royalty, people are not allowed to hike the mountains on this ranch. And movies cannot be filmed inside the mountains. This is because the mountain is a grave, kind of like a Hawaiian pyramid. 

Next stop, Maui! The airport was definitely smaller, and there is a lot of flat land in the middle of the island. The beaches are amazing, and mom and dad were able to snorkel with sea turtles! (I am not a fan of hanging out in the ocean, let alone sticking my face into it, so I stayed on the beach and almost was hit in the head by a coconut. Much safer than snorkeling!) And it was on this island that we started to notice something pretty dangerous and very common…the chicken gangs! It is very common to see abandoned and destroyed vehicles alone many of the roads. (It is actually because of the high expenses to register a car and change registration of vehicles. It is much cheaper to abandon it.) But we did not know this logical reason, so we went to the next best logical reason, it was the chicken gang that attacked any car alongside the road! 

Mom was able to get us an AirBnB right across the street from a nice beach. I would spend several evenings on it with Mom, just standing far enough for my ankles to get wet. The morning after we landed, we awoke around 2 am to drive up to Haleakala. I do recommend having more than just one pair of socks and Chocos on your feet if you make a reservation to see this amazing sight! We stood in the freezing cold for over an hour, as the colors of the sky brightened, and the sun popped over the clouds! It was so sweet when everyone cheered and someone said “good-job, sun!” 

The other great adventure we had on Maui was driving the Road to Hana (and a little bit past Hana to the National Park). This is not a drive for everyone since there really isn’t any straight road and one side of the car will be looking over the rocky cliff. But I absolutely loved the drive for the beauty of the flora! There were so many neat trees and flowers to admire, alongside multiple different waterfalls. Dad learned to give the “shaka” to other drivers as a Hawaiian “thank you”, when they let us drive over the bridges first. But, he did accidentally give a driver an “I love you” hand signal! Hey it happens to the best of us when we are learning new hand signs. The chicken gangs do visit some of this road, but after a while, there was no evidence of them, and instead we met all the stray dogs. Coming back to Hana, after visiting the National Park, you might get a dog tour guide. 

And finally, the big island, Hawaii! We flew into the Hilo side, and it is a norm here to basically have no outside walls at this airport. (They must not see any snow or cold weather that would encourage them to have an indoor airport- sorry, just a Midwest girl dreaming!) One of the locations on this island that I wanted to visit was the Lyman House. This was where the first Protestant missionaries from the east coast (USA) came to in the 1830s. Their house is still in Hilo and we had the privilege to tour it! There was much influence in the islands from these missionaries, and you can see that when you read the state seal! The other place I wanted to visit was the Greenwell Farms, where they are known for their Kona-grown coffee. They had some amazing coffee, and mom and dad even tried some! 

But, there was one place we visited on this island that made me consider my parents’ choices! Mom reserved a night at a hotel on the rim of the volcano at the National Park! The website called it a “once in a lifetime experience!” I said “that’s because most people don’t survive it…” But here I am to report back that no activity occurred when we were there, just soon afterwards. It was kind of eri to be able to walk in parts of the “sleeping” volcano and to see where the lava from past eruptions have flowed into the ocean, making new land. 

And of course we might have spent a little longer on the Kona highway to find the wild goats roaming the land! Mom also pointed out “a weird looking bird” on our trip that was actually a drone. It is great to have daily entertainment on family trips! 

I have to give a shout out to a couple neat food/cafe places we stopped at and that we highly recommend! 

• Black Rock Pizza (has locations on Maui and Hawaii)

• Aloha Pineapple Cafe

• Burger Boys Hawaii (food truck on Maui)