ALOHA!! Flat Lindsey arrived in Hawai’i after approximately traveling 5000 miles from the east coast of the United States, across the Pacific Ocean to the small island chain in the middle of the Pacific. The Hawaiian Islands are made up of eight islands. Flat Lindsey’s first stop was to the island of O’ahu. She was greeted by her host Karen, with a flower lei. Whenever visitors come to Hawai’i, it is custom to give the visitor a colorful, fragrant flower lei to wear around their neck. Flower lei are also given to those who are celebrating a birthday, win a competition, or as congratulations when a student graduates. Some graduates have so many lei’s around their neck you can barely see their eyes! When a visitor leaves Hawai’i to return home, they are supposed to throw their lei into the ocean. If the lei floats back to land, it is said that the visitor will return to Hawai’i.
The Hawai’i State flag
The Hawai’i State flag is made up of red, white and blue stripes, with the Union Jack in the corner. The people of Hawai’i are proud of their state flag and Flat Lindsey saw many flags being flown at people’s homes or stickers on their cars. The Union Jack was added to the state flag to honor Great Britain. Captain James Cook of Great Britain was the first European to discover the Hawaiian Islands, so to honor the discovery, Hawai’i has included a small replica of the British flag in its’ state flag. Here is a picture of Flat Lindsey with her flower lei in front of the Hawai’i State flag.Outrigger Canoe Racing
Flat Lindsey was lucky enough to visit when her host was in the middle of long distance outrigger canoe paddling season.
Outrigger canoe racing is very popular in Hawai’i and was brought to us by the Tahitians. Six people sit in an outrigger canoe and paddle distances of up to 50 miles. Flat Lindsey was able to fly with Karen to the Big Island of Hawai’i as she competed in the largest outrigger canoe race in the world.
The Queen Lilioukalani Outrigger Canoe Race hosts 90 canoes race 18 miles down the Kona Coast. Flat Lindsey was able to sit in the boat with Karen during the race! I think Flat Lindsey was a good luck charm because Karen’s canoe came in second place!
Here is a picture of Flat Lindsey with Karen near one of the outrigger canoes, and a photo of our canoe during the race.
Surfing
Flat Lindsey went to the beach with Karen and her friends to surf off the east coast of the island of O’ahu.
Karen let Flat Lindsey use her favorite red surfboard. The break was perfect, and Flat Lindsey was able to catch enough waves to make her trip to Hawai’i one she’ll never forget. Here’s a picture of Flat Lindsey with Karen before going to “paddle out.”
Mahalo nui loa (“thank you very much” in Hawaiian) for letting Flat Lindsey spend some time in the land of Aloha!
Flat Lindsey is on her way to Central America next to visit Lindsey's kindergarten teacher who is serving on the mission field in Honduras.
We love to read your comments!
Where would you travel if you could fold yourself up and fit into an envelope?
Hawaii definitely makes my wish list :)
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment