Hello Weekend

One Saturday morning we woke up and looked out our window to find a thick mist enveloping the inland part of the island. We could barely even see the mountains! Being so accustomed to constant sun back at home, we welcomed this gray and rainy weather. Even though rainy days usually make us feel mellow and want to curl up with a good book and some hot cocoa, it was the weekend and we were in Hawaii and we had plans to attend to and places to explore!

Have you ever seen so many rubber ducks? I hadn’t.

We had heard about this event online, the United Cerebral Palsy Association of Hawaii’s annual Great Hawaiian Rubber Duckie Race, and frankly it sounded awesome! So we made it one of the first things on our list of to-do’s that weekend. Before the race, people could adopt a duck for a donation and place a name tag on their duck, and if their duck was one of the first 50 past the finish line, their owners could win prizes. When race time came, they released thousands of rubber ducks into the Ala Wai canal, and people watched them make their way down the waterway. Afterwards, I was quite impressed with the cleanup process and how efficiently they were able to gather the thousands of ducks. I didn’t see even one escape!

I suppose they’ve had plenty of time to perfect their race and collection methodology considering that this was their 31st annual race.

Awwwwww look at the ducks!

One thing that April and I have noticed since living here, is just how quickly the weather can change. This was one of those days where one minute it was cloudy and rainy, and the next the mist rolled away and we again had a crystal clear view of the mountain!

There’s just something about the mountains here that always seems to catch our attention and draw us in. The drifting clouds make for a stunning backdrop as well!

Also happening that weekend was one of Hawaii’s unique holidays, Prince Kuhio Day. This is a state-wide celebration in memory of the influential prince who not only participated in the Hawaiian monarchy, but also was an integral part of Hawaii’s transition into the United States. He ran for and was elected territorial delegate to the US congress, and was re-elected 10 times! During his time as a delegate to the US congress, he played a major part in developing Pearl Harbor and Honolulu Harbor, as well as the mail system in Hawaii. He also introduced a bill in 1919 requesting Hawaii become a full fledged state.

That evening we planned to attend a Hawaiian acapella concert in honor of Prince Kuhio that was going to be held at Kawaiaha‘o Church. The church landscape was beautifully lush, even the cemetery was surrounded by greenery and just asking you to adventure in. Is it just us, or does this remind you of getting in line for the Haunted Mansion ride at Disneyland? We felt excited!

Walking around the grounds, we soon found the main entrance. Once we made it to the front doors however, they seemed to be locked. The groundskeeper noticed us trying to enter, and informed us that there was a bit of a mix-up in the advertisement, and that unfortunately there wasn’t any concert going on that night. Since we were already there, we decided to explore the area instead!

They had some pretty interesting information around the church grounds about it’s history, including this plaque explaining how this church literally built it’s cornerstone on God’s word.

We even made a friend along the way! This little frog was hanging around the water feature that was at the church, and of course April had to try and take pictures of him.

We also took a quick peek across the street at some of the old housing that the first missionaries to Hawaii used to live in. We were hoping we could adventure inside, but alas, the gates were locked.