DOLE's Train Ride and Garden Tour

WE RETURNED TO DOLE PLANTATION TO CHECK OUT THE 'TRAIN RIDE' AND GARDEN TOUR. WE GOT A DISCOUNT IN THE STORE FOR MORE PINEAPPLE CANDY AND A TEE SHIRT FOR BEING MILITARY, TOO. LOVE THIS PLACE!!!

These pictures are a mixture of Teenie and mine. Enjoy! *click on images to enlarge*




Oh, yes, this is a coffee tree. Just looking at it makes me want another cuppa!




I love pics of folk walking away. These are my boys:





A pretty pond full of Koi and . . . it started to sprinkle a bit at this point, but we were almost done and it was refreshing. It certainly wasn't hot today, by any means.



Just as the train rounded the bend to pull back into the 'station', these clouds were starting our way. Life's a gamble, as is the weather even in sunny Hawaii.



Loveliness on a pond. See the raindrops?




SB was about ready to go home at this point. Having had a bit of a run in with Teenie whilst in the gift shop on our way in, and, refusing to eat (moody!), he was getting hungry and fed up with us tourists.



I love how the sunlight trickles through the palms.






A white Hibiscus for y'all.





I kept calling these nanners, but they are plantains. Geesh! I'm old, give me a break!




The pineapple conveyor belt machine thing.



On the ride, you can smell the fermentation of the pineapples . . . it's a bit nauseating after a bit.





Owwww, Lawd. This is nectar of the gods. I swear it. Dole Whip is divine!!!!




Pineapple garden shapes. I was around the other side before I "saw" they were pineapples. I'm so daft!



Okay. I'm done. Stick a whole pineapple in me 'cos I'm done. I can't wait for folk to come visit so we can have a VALID excuse to go up and consume more Dole Whip. Okay, and ride the train again. I'm just that much of a child.

Pineapple Haven Part Deux

Proof that pineapples have nuts inside.


Squirrel Boy had to be in the Uke one.
Teenie requested a pose here.
I just think Teenie is delicious here.
Crickles and a tiny ass pineapple. I drew some attention as I laughed (cackled, more like) at some of the tiniest pineapple evah!



Oh, look! Home is just seventeen miles away.
For your reading entertainment (click to enlarge).
More reading for you. Hey, this stuff is interesting!



Very pretty fruit.



More in a post below.

Pineapple Haven

Labour Day at Dole. The weather was perfect in the late morning. We have already determined to return for the garden tour and train ride another time. Many reviews I have read say the train is hokey for the money, but we're a hokey going family. I would rather have the experience than not. Then I can call it what I want.

Worth the price tag, actually. Pay the dosh and get lost.
Here's the kids before we all got separated.
Hey! there's Teenie behind the hedge!! I might get outta this place if I put the camera away.
Just minutes under an hour, Chief had us safely navigated through the maze. Good thing. I had to piss like a racehorse.

U.S.S. Utah Memorial

On Sunday, my husband took Crickles and I to see the U.S.S. Utah memorial on Ford Island. When we got home, I vowed to go back and take pictures . . . so I went back with my older two yesterday and took some pictures. I have to say, I went to a website USSUtah and read more about this ship and crew. You can go there, too, if the fancy strikes you. The sad truth is: if I did not live here, I never would have known this memorial existed. My life is richer for the knowing - people died here (even if the Japanese during the time did not want to target this training ship to begin with . . . ) defending our freedom. In the years since the war, how many of us truly hold dear the meaning of the word "freedom"?

Teenie with some of the rusted ship behind her. Click on pictures to enlarge, if you like.

The dock with the plaques.
This is the plaque my kids are reading in the prior picture.
Flag pole plaque.
Rest in peace, those who died here.
The U.S.S. Utah was a battleship built in 1909 in New Jersey. During her time in Pearl Harbor, she was a training ship. An interesting fact, sadly, is that there is also the remains of a twin child here. Apparently, the father was going to have a burial at sea for her, but when the ship was struck, her ashes went down with the ship.
These pictures don't do it justice, to tell the truth. I'm not angry about this. Disgusted and sad. As a mother, it really tears at my heart.

Spam - It Hits the Spot

First a nice shot of the waves at the beach yesterday.


Spam - It hits the spot.

Well, not my spot, but plenty of people out there are supporting Hormel's product of gelatinous meat product. Apparently it is a BIG deal here in Hawaii.

I would like to buy a can of the innocuous stuff, but I'm quite frankly afraid to. Even in the name of science. Why? When I was a child, I vaguely remember someone opening a can of Spam and it making that sickening vacuumed sucking sound as it - and what looked like clear to mildly yellow jell-o - plopped out onto a plate. Yuck! I am a visual person. Back then, I could hear fairly well, too, so I was an audio person as well. The two together created a deep-seated fear of Spam.

Irrational as it is, it is.

Until I went to a cabin owned by my SIL and her husband, gracious folks that they are. Her MIL made some delicious Japanese fare . . . with Spam! I ate it. I knew what it was before I ate it. I did not want to offend anyone and also, it did not look like it did "way back when". It was pretty good. A nice, salty, hammy taste and texture.

I found in the commissary the other day that they even sell the stuff in vacuum-sealed packets in single, fully cooked slices. I almost caved.

I'm just that afraid of the glop and liquid that may surround this product. I have heard that it is not like that any more . . . but still . . .

So, the kind of Spam I've been buying does come in a Spam can . . . but its contents are 130 pieces of puzzle. We have all four of the puzzles currently offered. Here's a group picture. I'm sure if we decided to eat the puzzles with a little salt, it might come close to what Spam tastes like. I'm kidding!



When I finally do "cave" to the crave . . . or mere curiosity, I will definitely blog about it.

This is what we do when we live in Hawaii and it's threatening Tropical Storm Felicia. Puzzles, sew, and wait. I do not know what we are waiting for. I do hope it is absolutely nothing. We can have a lot of fun with nothing going on.

Some Pictures Worth Seeing

Tonight's evening sky:


This is a rainbow shower tree. The pinkish yellow one. It's fun to just stand beneath one and gaze upward into the branches. It's a colourful swirl of delight.
Here's a yellow-white rainbow shower tree:
Now, aren't you glad you came by?

Pretty Pictures to Share with You

I have no idea what many of these trees are called, but they are beautiful. These pictures were taken by Moi at Punchbowl. I hope you'll let me know if you enjoyed them. To see them in more detail, click on them to enlarge. More pictures and commentary are on my other blog:
http://cuppajoe2go.blogspot.com .




Okay, I didn't take this one. Teenie did. She's so good. Daddy so bad!
Here's Crickles, feeling all better after a bout with his body dealing with immunizations. He is fascinated by coconuts.
I do know this one: umbrella tree.