Friday Part 2 - Iolani Palace

August 10, 2012

Tonight I went to a special event at Iolani Palace. This was special for several reasons. First, the palace is only open to visitors one night a year in December. This special event was held at night and it was beautiful to see the palace with it's lights in the dark. Second, the palace only allows visitors to see the first floor. This event allowed visitors to see the second floor and to use the central staircase to get there. Third, no photos are allowed to be taken inside the palace. For this event photos were allowed. So I could not have had a better opportunity to see the palace. I wanted to share this experience in detail with those of you who wish to see this beautiful bt of history. The photos document my arrival and tour experience so you will see the palace in light and darkness.

First a bit of history. Please be aware I am taking this information from the Iolani Palace website so you may wish to go there and read more about it yourself. The link is here.

Early History

To enhance the prestige of Hawai`i overseas and to mark her status as a modern nation, the Hawaiian government appropriated funds to build a modern palace. The cornerstone for `Iolani Palace was laid on December 31, 1879 with full Masonic rites. Despite a quick succession of three architects, work progressed at the hands of locally obtained contractors, artisans, and laborers. The building was complete enough by August of 1882 for King Kalakaua to hold a luncheon for members of the Legislative Assembly. In December of that year King Kalakaua and Queen Kapi`olani took up residence in their new home.

The Name of The Palace

The first palace was known as Hale Ali`i (House of the Chief). Kamehameha V changed its name to `Iolani Palace in honor of his late brother and predecessor. `Io is the Hawaiian hawk, a bird that flies higher than all the rest, and lani denotes heavenly, royal, or exalted. Although the old palace was demolished in 1874, the name `Iolani Palace was retained for the building that stands today.

The Best of The Modern World

The new `Iolani Palace was outfitted with the most up-to-date amenities, including indoor plumbing. Gas chandeliers installed when the Palace was first built were replaced by electric lighting five years later (less than seven years after Edison invented the first practical incandescent bulb). The King also installed a modern communications system that included the recently invented telephone.

There is a lot more history. Some of it is wonderful and some tragic. The imprisonment and forced abdication of Queen Lili`uokalani is yet another chapter in the US using whatever means necessary to annex lands. I will now proceed to the photos and leave you to pursue the history if you so desire.

My arrival at the palace. 

 These are a few of the molding carvings on the ceiling of the lanai (porch) area outside the main entrance.

 Inside the main entryway. These doors are lovely. The photo is very hard to see.

 These are the doors between the Blue Room, the parlor immediately to the left of the main entrance, and the Dining Room. These are HUGE pocket doors (doors that side into the walls to open) and are made of koa wood as are all of the doorways in the first and second floors of the palace and the stairway.

 A sideboard with serving dishes and silver. The furniture photos are of original furniture fromt he palace that has been reacquired and restored, not reproductions.

 One of the side doors from the Dining Room into the main entry hall.

 Another sideboard with beautiful silver.

 The dining table with glassware, linens, utensils, and china.

 Some of the lovely silver pieces in the dining room.

 A water closet (toilet). Why am i taking a photo of a toilet? Because indoor plumbing of any type in the 1800's was unique. This was a toilet fit for royalty which included a flushing mechanism. This included a pull chain but not from an obvious tank.

 The throne room. The draperies and carpets are reproductions made from patterns of scraps of the originals that were cut up and auctioned off after the monarchy was overthrown.

 The thrones are unrestored.

 A case with the scepters and crowns.

Normally this would conclude the tour. However due to the special event we were allowed to continue on.

To be continued...

Aloha!
~Melissa

Friday Part 1 - Presentation, Golden Palace and Sikdorak

August 10, 2012

What an incredible day! There is so much to share. I know this will be a multiple part post.

The first half of the day revolved around work. Ann arranged for me to give a presentation of the DVFR data downtown at Kinau Hale, the main Department of Health building. I really didn't expect that anyone would come since there was such short notice. However, a LOT of people came. I was so pleasantly surprised. I did the presentation and it went pretty well. Not perfect but pretty well. I am glad we were able to share this information with other programs. To the people that came to this presentation and all the people who made my time during this internship at the Hawaii State Department of Health such an incredible experience - MAHALO! (Thank you!)

With that finished it was time for lunch. A lot of folks said their goodbyes to me at Kinau Hale since they had to get back to the office. Ann, Lisa, Emily and Jane and I went to Golden Palace in Chinatown for dim sum. Here are some of the items that we ordered. I cannot name them all but I didn't have anything that wasn't delicious. Also, their dim sun is VERY inexpensive. So had this huge meal and it was only $10.00 each!!!
These are taro puffs. They are SO GOOD. They have something in the center, maybe a little piece of pork? Then a bunch of mashed taro around that, then an outer crispy crumbly coating. It is hard to describe. They are wonderful. I mix a little dish of Chinese hot mustard sauce and shoyu (soy sauce) then dip the taro puff in that. OMG SO SO GOOD. I am addicted.

 Vegetable spring roll, this has taro in it. So imagine a vegetable spring roll that had mashed potato.

 Turnip cakes. These taste just like potato pancakes not like turnips at all.

 Blurry picture of a pork dumpling of some variety. My favorite of the steamed dumplings.

 Spinach dumping in a rice flour wrapper. I didn't have this myself.

 A variety of pork dumpling. Yummy.

 Several types of dim sum and jasmine tea. I do know the plate closest tot he bottom center was turnip cakes. The far left was a mixed seafood item wrapped in a tofu wrapper. The middle (which is being picked up by chopsticks) is a shrimp dumpling, The basket on the right I'm not sure what that was.

 Shrimp stir fry.

 No idea what this was. Some sort of noodle dish. Look closely and you can see the wide noodles under the greens, mushrooms and meat on top.

Ann dropped me off and I was able to spend the afternoon sorting through gifts and the last of the items to ship home for people. I tried to condense it as much as possible and get rid of extra bags and whatnot. I got a call from Lisa around 5:45. She was downstairs and was offering me a ride to a special event downtown. The Honolulu Museum of Art, the Bishop Museum and I'olani Palace were all open tot he public for the evening for $10.00 and that included free shuttle service between them and special entertainment at each location. I was very happy to go! I am going to make a second post just about the Palace so I can put tons of photos there.

After touring the Palace I was honestly too tired and my ankle too sore to do other museums. I spent from 6pm till almost 9 at the palace. Lisa and I had discussed getting a late dinner so I could see Wayne and Papa George to say my goodbyes to them. So i called Lisa and they all came to pick me up at the palace. From there we went to a restaurant Wayne wanted to try called Sikdorak. This is yakiniku or "grilled meat". What this means is you order your meat then grill it at your own table. It was super fun. This place is open 24 hours a day and for $19.95 is all you can eat. what an INCREDIBLE deal. They also have a good variety of options of meat. We got a lot of options so we could try many things. Along with your meat you choose it comes with white rice, a small dish of salad, sliced cucumbers, kim chee, sliced fish cake, peeled garlic cloves and sliced jalapenos. There is a double sided cause dish for each person with teriyaki sauce in one side and sesame oil with sea salt in the other. A separate small dish of miso sauce is added to the table.You can also ask and receive big lettuce leaves to make your yakiniku into lettuce wraps and red chili sauce called gochujang (it tastes a lot like sriracha).

 Top right is garlic gloves which we cooked slow till they turned into a garlic paste which I ate with spicy ork in lettuce wraps with the red pepper paste. Left of that is short ribs (there are no bones) which were pretty good. In the center is seasoned beef (teri beef) which was very good and tender. The bottom is spicy pork which was my favorite! Top towards the center is pork belly which is fatty portion of pork - way too much fat for me but it is similar to bacon. Top left is beef tongue which is very thin - I tried it and was prepared to be freaked out. It was actually very good, it tastes like very tender been tenderloin. However, I only ate a couple of slices because I coudn't get my brain past what it was.

 One plate of raw meat. Top left is beef tongue slices, top right is pork belly, bottom is a HUGE thich slice of ribeye. The scissors are to cut the meat into whatever sizes you want.

 Full size plates of seasoned beef on the right and spicy pork on the left. Each is sitting in pools of their individual marinade sauce.

I think we ate ourselves into a near coma. We stuffed ourselves and ate WAY more than we should. We had 5 full size plates of meat and 3 half size plates. We were absolute gluttons. We actually had so much seasoned beef and spicy pork that the little grill was so coated with the sauces that the grill itself caught on fire. We waved down the waitstaff and were like, "Ummm... fire... fire... could use some help here..." hehehe. We were done anyway so they shut off the flame. What a fun fun fun time.

They brought me home and I gave hugs all around and said my goodbyes to Papa George and Wayne. I brought my boxes inside so I can pack my last items and ship them home. I waddled up the stairs and barely managed to drag myself into the shower before falling asleep. A nice cool shower and the fan blowing cool air on me was perfect and I went to sleep and slept well.

What an amazing day! I will post the pictures of I'olani palace in the next entry.

To be continued...

Aloha!
~Melissa

Lunch and the start of farewells

August 9, 2012

Aloha auinapo, (Good late night, after midnight) (close enough at 11:30pm!)

Today Ann sent me the report and powerpoint for the presentation we are to do on Friday. I didn't get it till afternoon so there wasn't much time to work on it left in the day. I am sure the presentation for tomorrow will be fine.

Ann and Lisa picked me up for lunch at North Shore Grinds. It is close and they serve you quickly enough to get there, eat and be back in an hour. I had the blackened ahi with cilantro pesto and papaya salsa. It was pretty good. I had the tossed salad with a vinaigrette dressing as a side. It also came with 2 scoops of rice which I didn't eat more than a couple of bites. It was pretty good but not as good as the meal I had there before.

Tonight after the workday we went to the Elk's club with Barbara as a pau hana and goodbye to me. Lisa drove me and Ann met us there. Barbara came shortly thereafter. We munched on nachos and fish and chips. Rose Marie was able to join us later for a bit. I am so glad Rose Marie was able to come since I was worried I wouldn't see her again before I left. We had great discussions about public health topics like homelessness, welfare and children learning money skills. It is so nice to be included among these women for such great discussions. I received some parting gifts. MAHALO! I was surprised and very touched. I will miss all the wonderful people I have met here.

Here is the kitty that lives at the Elks club. This is an older kitty and has obviously had a rough life. It is missing part of an ear, part of a lip and some teeth. However, it is quite sweet and was happy to have its chin scratched and some gentle attention paid to it.

I tried to take a couple of pictures of the beautiful sunset but they didn't come out well. The Elks club is open tot he outside and looks out over the ocean. It was so beautiful to see the ships sailing and the outrigger canoes being paddled. The sunset was gorgeous.

This is all of us for a last photo. Mahalo to all of you for making me feel so welcome. From left to right: Lisa, me, Barbara, Ann, and Rose Marie.

Lisa brought me home and I chatted with Romi for a brief bit about how her time in the lab has been the past couple of days. Romi is another person I have been so lucky to meet in my time here. We made a plan to go to the pancake house on Sunday morning to try some of those yummy specialties.

Now it is off to bed for me so I can be up and ready for the presentation tomorrow. After the presentation will be a brief lunch somewhere. Then my internship time here is finished. I will have the weekend to go to the ballet and do any last things I want to do. I also need to ship some packages since I am sure I'll go over weight with my luggage if I don't!

Aloha nui loa, (Much love, fondest regards)
~Melissa

Tera and Handsome

August 8, 2012

I have absolutely nothing of interest to write about today. I was home and nothing extraordinary happened. So since I have nothing to share regarding Hawaii or my internship I thought I'd share a few photos from home. At home I foster cats. I have 2 of my own and then foster several more for a local rescue group. My boyfriend also has a small dog. So here are some of the residents of my Kentucky home.

This is Tera. She is very small and delicate. Don't let that fool you. She is technically a calico because she has a few tiny spots of black under her chin and over her eye, you can barely see them and for a long while I thought they were just dirt. However, she is convinced she is a fiery redhead and tries mightily to live up to that thought. She came to me this past December with Handsome (who you will meet below). Her prior shelter name was "Apricot". Because she is a little terrorist her names her "Tera". Her mother and litter mates had all been taken into the rescue a year prior. Her mother and all siblings had been adopted but not her. So she had lived her entire life in a cage with short breaks about an hour a day to run around inside the clinic. For the first 24 hours she ran around constantly. She would come to the sofa and lick lick lick on my face till I would eventually put her on the floor, then she'd run to the bedroom to Scott and lick lick lick on his face till he put her on the floor. This continued till she literally just fell into an exhausted heap. It took several months for her hind leg muscles to strengthen. She would try to jump up and they'd just collapse under her. She is now strong and healthy and doing wonderfully. She plays fetch with the little stuffed mice. She will bring it to you and drop it in front of you to throw, then will go get it and bring it back. She will play for quite a while. After the loss of McGruder we were all very sad and the critters (including the dog) had lost their alpha. Tera is about 1.5 years now but stepped in to the alpha role and rules the house now. She has no fear of anything. She plays with and grooms every animal, including the dog. We just fell in love with her and how she brought all of the household animals back together and breathed new life into our household. So I officially adopted her and she is now a permanent resident.I have LOTS of photos of her because sh is so playful and adorable that I get lots of photos sent to me of her.

Tera looking innocent - don't be deceived.

 Tera in attack/play mode.

 Tera wanting to play play Play Play PLAY PLAY PLAY.

You can see her small black patches on her chin. No this is not dirt, they are little black spots that make her officially a calico. This is a rare moment of peace. She is so adorable.

 Tera watching the small snake that lives in the wall. She desperately wants to get to it.

 As Scott said..."Nothing on but commercials..."

 Tera giving licks and kisses.

 Tera and Scott have a routine. When he is dressing or undressing he throws clothes and socks on the bed and she plays with them. This is fun and funny until you don't want her playing with something and forget. She also doesn't quite distinguish between "I am sorting and folding laundry" and "I am undressing or dressing and you can play with these". Suffice to say, doing laundry is and trying to fold and put away clothes is never dull.

 Tera also loves to burrow under the covers. She is a ferocious participant in the blanket game. Watch your toes when you are sleeping. One little wiggle and you may be awoken to a playful pounce. She doesn't try to hurt you, but it is a shocking way to way up.

Tera grooming the dog. They are quite fond of each other. She has kicked him out of his dog kennel and sleeps in there a good portion of the time. She is happy to share it with him.

This is Hansdome. We don't know much of his history. His sprior shelter name was "Sam". He was returned by his adoptive family and we don't know why. It took a bit to get his records so when we started fostering him in December with Tera we didn't know his name. I said he was a handsome fella and he looked at me and came over. Any time you'd call him handsome he'd respond. It sounds like "Sam" so now we know why. However, at the time we decided to just call him Handsome and it has stuck. He is very quiet and non-destructive (unlike Tera, the terrorist kitten). He adopted Michael and pretty much thinks the rest of us can go disappear. When Michael broke his arms he would very carefully step over his splints and curl up behind them by Michael's chest. he'd rest his chin on top of the splint and smack and warn off any kitty (primarily Tera) who came over to Michael and tried to walk over him. He is VERY protective of Michael. He dislikes Silk but otherwise gets along fine with the other cats and dog, he just ignores them. When Michael is home he wants to be on him continually. When Michael is gone he curls up on the chair Michael sits in or the ottoman and does NOTHING until Michael comes home. He goes over to Michael to snuggle and curl in his lap. I'm not sure he even acknowledges that Scott and I are alive and breathing. We agreed to foster Handsome until a home for him could be found, since we were already a very full pet household. However, after Michael broke his arms and how wonderful Handsome was with watching over him and keeping other kitties from bothering him while Michael slept we decided to bow to the inevitable. Handsome had chosen Michael as his person. So Handsome is now officially adopted and part of the household.
Handsome sprawling on the kitchen table. As you can see he is NOT a small cat. 

Handsome and Tera.

I will share more of the kitties tomorrow. I don't have as many photos of the others as I do of Tera.

Aloha!
~Melissa

Jamaiian Irie Jerk

August 7, 2012

Had a GSIP conference call this morning. I am working from home this week. I spent the rest of the morning working on the DVFR report and getting the last of the results section completed.

I had lunch with Ann at Jamaiian Irie Jerk in Kaimuki. The food was very good. This has been visited by Guy Fieri on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on the Food Network.

I had the Jerk Pork - Pork Shoulder marinated in Chef Cassie's jerk marinade over night and finished on the grill and topped with mouth watering jerk sauce and onions.  $14.95. It was SUPER tasty and tender meat.

I also got a specialty drink (these are non-alcoholic). I got the Sorrel - A flower related to the Hibicus.  Brewed with fresh Hawaiian ginger and sweetened with sugar cane.  $3.95. It was good, a very complex flavor. Not sure I'd get it again but it was good to try.

Ann got the Jamaican Curry Goat - A Jamaican favorite.  Tender chunks of goat meat seared and simmered in a Caribbean curry sauce.  Served with rice n'peas and Ital.  $17.95. The goat was very tender and delicious (I tried a bite).

We shared a slice of key lime pie for dessert. 

The afternoon was quiet. There are few people here at the house now and even fewer during the day. 

Just a few days left here in Hawaii! I must say I'll be glad to go home. I miss everyone and my critters. 

Malama pono, (Take care)

~Melissa