I like flags. I was surprised to see one here that I did not know. I first saw it like this.
Later, I learned that this
is the flag of Hawaii. Not the state but the State. Hawaii was a sovereign nation, with a sovereign, King Kamehameha.
This statue is supposed to be life-sized: seven feet tall and 400 pounds. A great big man, he is considered a Great Man here for uniting all the Hawaiian islands.
Many natives still consider the islands “occupied” by the United States. Flying a flag upside down is sign of distress, often a warning that the enemy has taken over a particular place. I knew and respected the independent Hawaii history before coming, and wanted to see the local culture as much as or more than I wanted to enjoy the weather and beaches. I am not a beach vacation kind of person. So yesterday I walked 10 miles through the back streets of Honolulu.
Typical Hawaiian House 
Hawaii Five-Oh, really
I saw the homeless camp alongside Kaimuki high school, a string of tents and upside down bikes and derelict or idle cars; sleepers strewn on the lawn like failed parachutists. I saw the Japanese cemetery
butting up against a six-lane road, as if planners didn’t expect or want people to be able to get there easily.
I saw an apartment complex with a beautiful back yard.
I consider this type of backstreet travel more adventurous than lying on a beach. But flying here for six hours over uninterrupted water, I realized why sailors have always been considered the “true” adventurers. There is much more water than land on the planet, and unlike land it is virtually featureless. A more terrifying horizon because it is filled mostly by projection of human fears onto the empty canvas. But there are still deathly consequences if you lose track of the physical surroundings: storms, waves, whales, etc. When, after all that time flying over unbroken water, the first uninhabited island appeared below our plane—a tiny scabrous patch of tan sand—it was a slap in the face as much as an oasis amid an endless desert.
I was greeted warmly everywhere I went. I imagine being so far from anyone on another land mass that any visitor was a welcome sight, a happening, someone with news of other lands, stories that were not already known on the island, non-native objects to trade, etc. But outsiders coming today are squeezing out longtime residents. One of our trolley drivers pointed out that a warehouse district that had a lot of local businesses was going to be relocated so that they could put up high-rise residential towers in the area. He also said that they were going to build more golf courses though they already had 150 on this tiny 22-mile-by-26-mile island. Many natives struggle to make ends meet. Many wealthy move here, and it is an isolated island where all supplies need to be flown in from afar so prices are high. However, the minimum wage is only $10.00 an hour, and most jobs are in tourism or service for those wealthy visitors or relocators.
So I am enjoying my trip to Hawaii though not indulging a lot in beach culture. Though we did enjoy a beach side fireworks display, including one that looked like a palm tree.
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