Prince Kuhio Day is a state holiday. This gives me the excuse to post pictures of Kaua'i from last year's Spring Break. We stayed at the Outrigger Resorts in Po'ipu on the southern tip of the Garden Isle.
Ancient Hawaiians believed this coastline was once guarded by a giant moo (lizard) named Kaikapu. Everyone was afraid of the moo because it would eat anyone who tried to fish or swim in the area. One day, a young boy named Liko entered the ocean to outwit the lizard. Kaikapu attacked him, but Liko thrust a sharp stick into her mouth, swam under the lava shelf, and escaped through a small hole to the surface. The moo followed Liko and got stuck in the lava tube. To this day, you can hear the lizard’s roar and see her breath spraying from the blowhole.
Today, “Kauai’s biggest little town” hasn’t changed much over the last century at first look. Its historic buildings are so authentic that the town has become a location for films like “The Thornbirds,” “Flight of the Intruder,” and were even the model for the Disney film “Lilo and Stitch.”
This Russian fort was built by George Scheffer in 1816 with the assistance of the Kauai King Kaumuali'i. Officially Kauai had pledged allegiance to King Kamehameha, however, Kaumuali'i thought he could reclaim his kingdom with the help of Russia. When Russian heard of Scheffer's promises and plans, they sent a ship to bring him back home. He fled to O'ahu and finally to Brazil. Today the fort is merely remnants of the stone foundation.
Three islands have towns called Waimea - the Big Island, Oahu, and Kauai. Kauai's Waimea stands out as the landing point for Captain Cook, bringing the first European contact with the Hawaiian Islands.
Do you have any historical memorials or statues in your town? One randomly selected commenter from this week's blogs will win book choice from my convention stash. This giveaway is open to all readers. Comments are open through Saturday, March 31, 10 pm. I'll post the winner on Sunday, April 1.
Mahalo,
Kim in Hawaii
March Madness continues here at SOS Aloha! All commenters in March will be entered into a special drawing for prizes from RT in Chicago. 3 US, 3 Canadian, and 3 international readers will win a package with books and goodies. Comments can be made at:
- SOS Aloha, sosaloha.blogspot.com
- Aloha On My Mind, alohaonmymind.blogspot.com
- My guest posts at the Reading Reviewer (Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday) at marygramlich.blogspot.com
I'll post the winners of March Madness on Monday, April 2.
Coming tomorrow - the Waimea Canyon!
we have it : monument of hero of revolution
ReplyDeleteWe have the General Grant National Memorial(Grant's Tomb) and statues of Frederick Douglass, Christopher Columbus and Confucius.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful!! We have our town Green. It has monuments to the fallen in the wars. Very nice area.
ReplyDeleteWonderful pics & the last one is simply breathtaking. On the Liberty Square we have two statues of Hercules & Cacus from the 17th century. I don't know why, but the locals call them Florean & Venturin.
ReplyDeleteThe colours of these pics are really incredible ! For us here we need to drive quite a couple of miles to reach a monument but yes we do have one ,it is called the Paul Kruger statue and it is really awesome !
ReplyDeleteWe have a lot of museums in Pittsburgh such as the Fort Pitt and Carnegie Museums which among other things have many historical sculptures.
ReplyDeletejeanne
oops - I guess I should have signed that catslady lol. I use that name more often because there are a few other Jeanne's out there that comment.
ReplyDeletecatslady
I have lived in many towns and I'm pretty sure there was some kind of monument--or at least a plaque--in all of them. I'm currently in Tucson and downtown there is a memorial where John Dillanger was shot at the Congress Hotel, there is a Tom Mix Monument (see the movie Sunset with Bruce Willis and James Garner,) and there are the nearby towns of Tombstone (Wyatt Earp statue) and Bisbee that have a lot of history.
ReplyDeleteIn February there was a memorial put up for Congresswoman Gabriel Giffords and the bystanders that were shot.
Thanks for your pictures and travelogues. They are always nice to read, like getting a super-sized postcard. :-)
Not too far from where I live there is a giant statue of Gen. (and governor) Sam Houston in Huntsville, TX. The website says, “It is the world’s tallest statue of an American Hero at 67 feet tall on a 10 foot sunset granite base.” Just for grins, here is a link to a photo if you’re interested:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.panoramio.com/photo/4375877
Loved the pictures. We have some statues like the headless greek goddess in front of the Caesars Palace.
ReplyDeleteWe have a bronze statue of Abraham Lincoln not far from where I live.
ReplyDeleteI love Kauai! Thanks for sharing the photos and I'm looking forward to teh rest of the tour. As for statutes, right now we have a big one located by the by that is a statute depicting the famous photo of the Sailor kissing the nurse. It's been here for about 5 years but is moving up the coast to Long Beach really soon. It's fun to watch people stand near it and try to replicate the pose!
ReplyDeleteWe don't have any historical memorials or statutes.
ReplyDeletealoha Kim, yes i have it in my home town :D, ARETHA ZHEN
ReplyDeletethey redone the who all lived in chatsworth history book and my granny and mom and me and my first child made it into it,
ReplyDeleteand we got some civil war graves
blackroze37
I am so envious of your skill in taking pictures - just gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteNo, we live in a very small town and it is not historical at all! Love your photos! Thanks for sharing!
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