Parker Snowe and Leslie Friedman spent March 3 – 21 in Hawai’i, exploring Oahu and the Big Island of Hawai’i. After arriving in Honolulu, they spent a week in Waikiki, their base for day trips on Oahu. Highlights included the State Capitol and a visit to the office of Governor (and Swarthmore alum) Josh Green, the ‘Iolani Palace, home of the last queen of Hawai’i, a former sugarcane plantation, and the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor. Given their work at DCCC, they also stopped by the University of Hawai’i campus overlooking the city. They then drove to the sacred Waimea Valley on the North Shore, where they enjoyed a luau and swam under a waterfall. On their final day before leaving for the Big Island, they attended the Honolulu Festival, a celebration of Pan-Asian cultures, where Leslie dressed up in a kimono (see photo).

On the Big Island, they made their way from Kona to Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park. Along the way they visited a Kona coffee producer (with free tastings!), and two National Historic Sites. At one, they saw the place where exiled Hawaiians, after swimming in shark-infested waters, could return to society. Upon arriving at the national park, they were greeted by the Hawaiian fire goddess Pele thanks to the eruption of Kilauea (see photo). Highlights of their stay in Hilo were the ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center, the Tsunami Museum, and dinner with niece Sony and family, who were in town for the Big Island Marathon. They then headed north along the Hamakua Coast, visiting a chocolate plantation, Akaka Falls, and the spectacular Waipio Valley. Returning to Kona, they flew to Honolulu for the trip home. Before leaving, they visited the Bishop Museum of Hawaiian culture and history.

Hawaiian culture left a big impression on them. They came away with a new understanding of the word “aloha” and its emphasis on love for the environment and each other (see quote in a previous newsletter).