MY KEAUKAHA TRIP - PART 10. MY "AWWWESOME ALOHA FRIDAY!!!"

ALOHA EVERYONE!!!

ITS "ALOHA FRIDAY" IN BEAUTIFUL KEAUKAHA AND AS ALWAYS...  ITS TIME FOR BREAKFAST!!!

GOTTA LOVE THESE HAMAKUA STRAWBERRIES...  BUT SMALL YEAH!!!

AND AS ALWAYS...  MY PAPAYAS GOES WITH ME TOO!!!

ANOTHER SPECIAL OPPORTUNITY FOR ME BECAUSE TODAY I GET TO HANG OUT WITH MY SISTER LEOLANI AND HER STUDENTS AT:

"KE KULA 'O NAWAHIOKALANI'OPU'U"

http://www.nawahi.org/

MY SISTER IS A P.E. TEACHER AND...

EVERY FRIDAY THEY GO TO RICHARDSON'S BEACH AND PRACTICE THEIR SWIMMING AND OTHER WATER ACTIVITIES INCLUDING HULA TOO.

AS FOR ME...  I GET TO PLAY WITH THESE "AWWWESOME" KIDS AND GO SWIMMING AT THE SAME TIME.  TOO GOOD HUH???

SCOPING OUT THE OCEAN LIKE "DA HAWAIIAN"...  LOL!!!

BEFORE WE STARTED ANYTHING, THE CHILDREN OPENED UP WITH A BEAUTIFUL MORNING CHANT AND OFF THEY GO!!!

AND SOME HULA PRACTICING!!!

I FORGOT MY UNDERWATER CAMERA SO I DIDN'T GET TO TAKE ANY SWIMMING PICS.  

WHOOO...  HOW'S DIS HANDSOME HAWAIIAN...  LOOKING ALL STUDLY AND READY FOR "DA OCEAN ACTIONS"...  LOL!!!

THE BEAUTIFUL THING ABOUT THIS ENTIRE EVENT IS THE CHILDREN AND THE STAFF WERE ALL SPEAKING IN THE HAWAIIAN LANGUAGE AND NOTHING LESS.  TO BE SURROUNDED BY BEAUTIFUL HAWAIIAN LANGUAGE AND CULTURAL...  IT ONLY MADE ME REALLY FEEL TRULY BLESSED THAT I DO COME FROM A BEAUTIFUL HOME...  CALLED HAWAI'I NEI!!!

TITA LEOLANI AND THE ENTIRE STAFF AT "NAWAHI"...  MAHALO NUI LOA FOR ALLOWING ME TO BE PART OF THIS WONDERFUL MOMENT THAT I WILL FOREVER CHERISH FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE!!!

ALOHA A HUI HOU E LELEIWI!!!

AFTER SPENDING THE ENTIRE MORNING WITH THESE WONDERFUL CHILDREN, IT WAS TIME TO HEAD BACK TO THE HOUSE AND CHILLAX!!!

IT FOR CHILLAXIN'...  WE HEADED OVER TO "COCONUT GRILL" RESTAURANT FOR HAPPY HOURS!!! 

IF YOU EVER IN HILO...  CHECK'UM OUT:

COCONUT GRILL:

https://www.facebook.com/coconutgrillhilo

AND FOR OUR EVENING AGENDA...  WE ALL WENT TO GO VISIT "PELE" AT VOLCANO!!!

MY SISTER LEHAUNANI IS A PHOTOGRAPHER AND SHE IS VERY PASSIONATE AS WELL...  YOU'LL SEE WHY...

CLICK BELOW:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kahiau-Productions-Hawaii/126062887441186

BEFORE ANYTHING...  MY SISTERS, KAHEALANI, AND THE PEOPLE OF "ILAU" OPENED UP WITH A BEAUTIFUL CHANT AND THEN IT WAS TIME FOR SOME PHOTOGRAPHY FUN!!! 

THESE PICTURES BELOW ARE NOT TAKEN BY HER, THEY WERE TAKEN BY ME AND I'M SURE YOU ALREADY COULD TELL...  BECAUSE MY SISTER'S PHOTOS JUST BLOWS MINES AWAY...  LOL!!!

THE BEAUTIFUL "MAHINA" SHINING BEAUTIFULLY BEHIND THE CLOUDS.

CAN YOU SEE "PELE" IN THE FIERY CLOUDS???  GAVE ME CHICKEN SKIN WHEN I SAW IT.

  

MY FAVORITE PICTURE!!!

KAHEALANI & AUNTY LEOLANI.

MY TITAS, LEOLANI & LOKELANI.

AN OFFERING TO "PELE" BEFORE WE LEAVE TO GO BACK HOME.

THEY ALSO CHANTED ONE LAST TIME GIVING REPSECT TO "PELE"

"PELE"

Lighting up ancient Hawaiian legends, Pele (pronounced peh-leh) the goddess of fire, lightning, wind, dance and volcanoes is a well-known character. Otherwise known as ka wahine ai honua, the woman who devours the land, Pele’s home is believed to be Halemaumau crater at the summit of Kilauea, one of the world’s most active volcanoes. However, all of Hawaii lays the setting for her stories, so that to this day, any volcanic eruption in Hawaii is attributed to Pele’s longing to be with her true love.

Pele is renowned for her passionate and fiery temperament and many people who visit the islands will hear stories of her power and destruction. One of six daughters and seven sons born to Haumea (an ancient Earth goddess) and Kane Milohai (the creator of the sky, earth and upper heavens), Pele’s siblings include Kane Milohai, Kamohoalii, Namaka as well as 13 sisters with the same name – Hiiaka.

Behind the Legend of Pele

There are as many versions of how Madame Pele came to Hawaii as there are lava rocks on Hawaii Island. One common legend says that Pele – who was born in Honua-Mea in Tahiti — was sent away by her father because of her difficult temper and for seducing her sister, Namakaokahai’s, husband. She found her way to the Hawaiian Islands where legend after legend bubbled up around her countless lovers, infidelities and feuds and heated outbursts.

Another well-known story spins a web that Pele’s older brother Kamohoalii (the king of sharks) provided Pele with a large canoe which she and her brothers took and sailed away with – eventually coming to Hawaii. When she made landfall in the islands it was on Kauai, where she was attacked by her sister Namakaokahai and left for dead. According to legend she was able to recover and escaped to Oahu where she dug fire pits, including the crater today called Diamond Head. She traveled through the island chain to Molokai and on to Maui where she is said to have made Haleakala volcano.

Upon discovering Pele had survived, Namakaokahai traveled to Maui and the two engaged in an epic battle near Hana, where Pele was torn apart by her sister and became a god, finding a home on Mauna Kea on Hawaii Island. There she dug her final fire pit, the Halemaumau Crater at the summit of Kilauea, where many believe she resides to this day.

And yet another tale tells that Pele was married for a short — and violent — time to Kamapuaa, the god of water. This story says that Pele rerouted Kamapuaa from their home in Helemaumau and angrily chased him, with rivers of lava, into the Pacific Ocean. This story is meant to symbolize the violent and explosive experience of a hydrovolcanic eruption, though Hawaiian eruptions are much more peaceful. Pele’s loyal followers believe that the frequent eruptions of lava on Kilauea is a reminder that Pele is alive and still at home here.

Pele Parables

Pele is often portrayed as a wanderer and sightings of the familiar and popular goddess have been reported throughout the island chain for hundreds of years, but especially near volcanic craters and near her home of Kilauea, one of the most active volcanoes in the world.

In these sightings or visions she appears as either a very tall, beautiful young woman or an unattractive and frail elderly woman usually accompanies by a white dog. Those well-versed in the legend, say that Pele takes this form of an elderly beggar woman to test people – asking them if they have food or drink to share. Those who are generous and share with her are rewarded while anyone who is greedy or unkind are punished with their homes or other valuables destroyed.

The Goddess of Volcanoes

If you visit Hawaii only once, the one myth of Pele that you will likely hear and should take heed of is one surrounding the curses she inflicts on those who remove lava rocks from her island home. While many — including some kamaaina (local residents) believe that it is only legend, to this day thousands of pieces of lava rock are mailed back to the island from travelers over the world who insist they’ve suffered bad luck and misfortunes as a result.

A PICTURE OF ME BEFORE LEAVING TO GO BACK HOME.

I'D LIKE TO EXPRESS GREAT THANKS TO ALL OF MY SISTERS, LOKELANI, LEHUANANI, AND LEOLANI WHO HAS ALWAYS TAKEN ME IN NO MATTER HOW FAR AWAY I AM.  ALL OF YOU HAVE CONTRIBUTED GREAT LOVE AND ALOHA TO ME AND KAHEALANI AND SHIRLEY.  YOU GIRLS ARE THE ROCK OF MY PATIENCE AND FOR THAT I AM FOREVER GRATEFUL.

I LOVE YOU ALL VERY MUCH AND FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE!!!

AND TO CONCLUDE THIS "ALOHA FRIDAY"...  ANOTHER "AWWWESOME" DAY FOR ME FROM THE EARLY MORNING SWIMMING IN BEAUTIFUL KEAUKAHA TO THE LATE EVENING SPENDING TIME WITH PELE AT "HALEMA'UMA'U".

WHO COULD ASK FOR ANYTHING MORE???

AWWWRITE!!!

WAIPA