The second morning we hopped on the Red Line of the Trolley and went through historic Honolulu. This tour was focused on ‘Iolani Palace, which is the only royal palace located on U.S. soil. Dana really wanted to see it and Madeline and I had never been there, so we were all up for it. The trip around Honolulu took us past Chinatown, the State Capital, Foster Gardens, and through some of the nicer neighborhoods in the city. We spent practically the whole day hopping on and off of the trolley.

Honolulu

Our first stop was the State Capital, where we saw the Father Damien statue commemorating the priest who sacrificed his life to help the lepers of Moloka’i. The Capital building itself is very unique, because it is the only on in the U.S. without a dome. In fact, it is an open-air building that symbolizes a volcano.

10/18/16—10/20/16

Behind the Capital was the statue of Queen Lili’uokalani, who stood guard in front of the gates. Inside of the gates we saw a large clump of banyan trees and then the beautiful ‘Iolani Palace. We donned our fancy footies and took the tour, beginning with the entry door and the grand staircase.

Clockwise from left: royal necklace; the Blue Room; the State Dining Room; the Throne Room; king/queen crowns; royal dishes in the basement; Queen Lili’uokalani’s quilt sewn while she was held prisoner in her own home; the view from the upper balcony; the Music Room; King Kalākaua’s bed; the King’s Library

Foster Botanical Garden is about 13 acres of mostly non-native tropical plants. Many of the plants are massive trees, like the Bo Tree and Kapok Tree that Dana can barely be seen against. Madeline really liked the Rainbow Eucalyptus and the Breadfruit trees. We also thought the Sausage Tree was rather interesting.

 

There were a number of flowering orchids and smaller trees, and there was even a very picturesque gazebo.

 

Also during our walks and drive on the trolley, we saw the beautiful Buddhist temple dedicated to Kuan Yin Bodhsattva or the Goddess of Mercy. Aliiolani Hale is the building that is shown as the headquarters of Hawaii Five-0, which is one of our favorite shows. We also saw the Eternal Flame Memorial dedicated to December 7, 1941. Finally we took a look at the Aloha Tower.