Category Archives: Hawaiian History

The old sugar railway

The old sugar railway line near Mahukona in Hawaii

North of Mahukona, there’s a trail that follows the old sugar railway for a couple of miles. This photo shows one of the railway’s embankments, but there’s a bit more to it than that.

This embankment is not the original line. That can be seen to the left of it, the flat dry grass area, following the contours of the land. Traveling this route was very slow, so its course was smoothed out with embankments and cuttings. The original line’s course is to the right of the cutting. These changes cut the time it took to travel the line though it was never a high speed trip!

The Numbers Game #110

A bee forages through the blooms of a mock orange.
A bee on a Mock Orange flower.

The idea of The Numbers Game is to enter a number into the search bar of your computer and then post a selection of the photos that turn up. This week’s number is 232. Captions are on the photos. You can see more responses here.

View from the top road

A view from Mamalahoa Highway on the Big Island, Hawaii, with Kohala Mountain and Maui in the background

Looking north from the old Mamalahoa Highway, in the distance is Kohala Mountain on the right and Maui on the left. The black lava curving down to the ocean is the Kaʻūpūlehu lava flow from Hualalai Volcano. This flow, which occurred in 1800/1801, was the last time Hualalai erupted, though the volcano is still considered active.

St. Andrew’s Cathedral, Honolulu

A view of St. Andrew's Cathedral in Honolulu, Hawaii

St. Andrew’s was originally the seat of the Anglican Church in Hawaii, back in the days of the Hawaiian Kingdom. But when the United States turfed out the Hawaiian royalty and took over, the church became Episcopalian and remains so today.

The main part of the cathedral is on the other side of the tower. I took this view because I was walking by on this street and I liked the traditional look of the church contrasting with the tropical foliage!

Huli chicken

Huli chicken at GJ's in Waimea in Hawaii

Huli chicken is an Hawaiian dish, first created in 1955 by Ernest Morgado of Pacific Poultry. The chicken is marinated in a sweet and savory sauce, then grilled on a rotating spit. Huli is the Hawaiian word for turn, hence the name.

These photos were taken at GJ’s Huli Chicken, which operates in Waimea on the weekends. It’s easy to tell when they’re open because the smoke drifts across the road and the aroma is unmistakable!

Posted for Becky’s Squares: Shadows. See more responses here.

Huli chicken at GJ's in Waimea in Hawaii

Lapakahi panorama

A panoramic view of Lapakahi State Historical Park in Hawaii

This view shows pretty much the entirety of Lapakahi State Historical Park. On the right is the lighthouse, which is just north of the park boundary. The left edge of the photo is close to the park’s southern boundary. What you don’t see in this broad view are the rock structures that were part of the original fishing village.