Like this Blog? 
A Special Tour of the Honolulu Zoo! |
|||
A while back I had the treat of a behind the scenes tour of the Honolulu Zoo with the Bytemarks gang. Bytemarks is a group of local nerds led by Bert Lum who meet for lunch once a month and take on adventures that most normal peeps don’t get to see. And we are definitely not “normal”  …Bytemarks members range from IT people, engineers, a librarian, me the token Realtor, photographers and mad scientists. The common ground is that we all share a love of technology. |
 Welcome to the Honolulu Zoo! |
||
|
|||
 Hot fence helps prevent jail breaks...
|
Now we head to the new Elephant Enclosure, and got the chance to get in the area before the new tenants were moved in. A much nicer home than the old digs, the new hacienda features several swimming pools as well as expanded grounds. |
||
 Can you spot the elephant? The new Elephant home features state of the art technology to control the big kids if they get into an Elephant Hissy Fit and become potentially dangerous. Essentially it is like the trash compactor from Star Wars that has panels to enclose and hold the elephant securely. The elephant is then turned over onto it’s side which calms it down enough so that attendants can administer whatever needs to be done to control the situation! |
|||
 Dr. Ben has Mr. Fox in Quarantine before he can meet his new girlfriend... The Fox's girlfriend, not Docs |
From there we moseyed over to the veterinarian clinic to meet up with Dr. Ben Okimoto. The new 7,000-square-foot clinic was dedicated in 2005 and is an up-to-date facility, complete with rooms for exams, X-rays, surgery and recovery. It allows medical staff to keep sick animals away from those in for routine examinations. It also serves as a morgue for autopsies as well as a quarantine area for new animals joining the Zoo from outside Hawaii. | ||
 In the Zoo Kitchen, everybody gets special food every day! We finished up our tour at the Kitchen. Not the Snack Bar Kitchen, this one is dedicated to preparing meals for all the animals every day. Special diets for everybody can include “Fuzzies”, which are depicted here with their own special walk in cooler. A tasty meal of Adult Mice, anyone?  Fuzzies are Fuzzalicious!
|
|||
| We all had a really great time and learned a lot of information from Tommy and Doctor Ben. We appreciate the Zootabulous Tour!
Aloha from Hawaii, |
|||
Archive for the Category ◊ Historical Sites to Visit ◊
Remember |
|
|
December 7th, 1941. You are dozing in your barracks, trying to recover from a Saturday night out on the big town of Honolulu. You still have your dress pants on as you snore away the previous night’s dancing. Christmas is coming and there are a lot of parties to attend.
Fifty-one airplanes were on the ground at Hickam, the headquarters of the Hawaii Air Force. A flight of twelve B-17 Flying Fortresses en-route from California to the Philippines was expected that morning. Due to weight considerations, none of the B-17s were armed and were low on fuel after the long haul across the water. |
 Dawn is breaking |
|
 Ready to roll |
At 8:40am the Japanese struck Hickam, and by 9:45 the attack was over. Many of the B-17s were on the ground at the airfield; some were forced to attempt to land elsewhere. One enterprising pilot, forced away from Bellows, landed on the fairway of the Kahuku Golf Course. In all ten of the B-17s survived the attack, a bit worse for wear, and went on to play a vital role in the war in the Pacific.
|
 The enlisted men's barracks today In the course of an hour, Hickam’s casualties totaled 121 men killed, 274 wounded and 37 missing. As many buildings on base were destroyed, the Honolulu Fire Department’s Kalihi and Palalma stations responded to battle the blaze in the hangars. The enlisted men’s barracks had been repeatedly strafed and bombed, the devastation can still be seen today in the walls. Where bullets went through the walls the holes are now framed in what is currently office space. |
|
 Honor Guard
|
Today, sixty-nine years later, many people do not know that Hickam also fell on that day. So much press has been given to Pearl Harbor, and rightly so as they had huge loss of life, while little has been said about the other attacks. The Japanese forces took out Kaneohe, Bellows, Hickam and other airfields around Oahu first as insurance that no aircraft would give chase during the second wave of attacks on Pearl Harbor Shipyard. |
| Attending the ceremony was extremely moving for me personally. My father Lynn was a Navy pilot in WW II, his brother Newt was an Army Air Forces pilot who was shot down and held prisoner of war by the Japanese. My mother’s brother, 1st Lt. James E. Roach was killed while faithfully serving his country in the U.S. Air Force.
 Taps
The best way I can describe this is in pictures as I’m at a loss for words today. I have a photoset up here .
Thank you to our Military for all your service in keeping my country safe. God bless you and our beautiful America. Aloha,
|
|
Let’s visit Kawaiahaʻo Church! |
|
|
In the midst of all the hustle and bustle of the Hawaii Government buildings sits the tranquil Kawaiaha’o Church and cemetery. Constructed between 1836 and 1842, the church was commissioned by the regency of Ka’ahumanu during the reigns of King Kamehameha II and King Kamehameha III. At the same time in the islands, the Roman Catholic Diocese began construction of The Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace in an effort to lure souls away from the Congregational Church. |
 Kawaiahaʻo Church |
|
 King Lunalilo's Mausoleum Fountain |
Four thatched churches stood at or near the present site before construction of the stone church. The church was constructed by Hawaiian divers with hand tools, quarrying beneath the ocean over 14,000 pound slabs of coral rock from an offshore reef on the southern coast of Oahu.
Chiefs of the Hawaiian Islands as well as the members of the royal dynasties attended services there until it was replaced by the The headstones in the graveyard read like the “Who’s Who” of Hawaii movers and shakers. The lineage from the Castle and Cooke families are buried here as well as the descendants of others comprising the high society of Honolulu.
|
 No Dates, no Name. Who is "The Baby"? There are a lot of mysteries to uncover as you stroll around the graveyard. Unmarked graves of the ancient Hawaiian’s have been found here, as well as headstones such as “The Baby”. Who is buried under these cryptic markers is anyone’s guess and lost in time forever. The Mission Houses across the street from the church was the home of the clergy and remains to this day the site of the Oldest Frame House in the islands. The current Museum houses the Café Tea Parlor, which just happens to be one of my favorite little Downtown oasis! |
|
|
Parking is metered and available on the street, which can be a challenge and take a LONG time to find… But it’s worth searching for an open spot.
 She couldn't find parking! So if you want to stroll back in time and learn more about Hawaii’s royal past, head on into town and spend some time at Kawaiahao Church. You’ll be glad you did !
Aloha,
 Honolulu Hale from King Lunalilo's Crypt |
|