Life in Hawaii

One of the eight main Hawaiian islands is Oahu. The eastern side of the island is referred to as the windward side. The windward side of Oahu includes the cities of Kailua and Kaneohe. The trade winds blow easterly onto the windward side of the island to the Pali mountains. The western side of the island is referred to as the leeward side. Honolulu, Waikiki and Pearl Harbor are on the leeward side of the island. The trade winds blow away towards the ocean on the leeward side. The native trees found on Oahu include Plumeria trees, coconut trees, papaya trees, banana trees and Poinciana trees. Hawaii route 61, known as the Pali Highway, goes through the city of Nuuanu and through the Pali tunnels from Honolulu to the windward side of Oahu. Hawaii route 63, called the Likelike highway, goes through Kalihi valley and Wilson tunnels from Honolulu to the windward side of the island. There is also H3 highway which runs from Halawa to marine corps base Hawaii.

Oahu has a population of about one million people, 953,207. Seventy two percent of the people in Hawaii live on the island of Oahu. The culture of Hawaii is mostly a combination of Hawaiian, Japanese, Filipino, Samoan and Portuguese. May day is a celebration of Hawaiian culture. The Polynesian cultural center is called a cultural theme park and living museum of the history of south pacific island culture. Pidgin English is a type of slang or creole spoken in Hawaii. There is an ongoing debate to ban pidgin in Hawaii schools. In 1987, the Hawaii Board of Education proposed a ban on pidgin in schools which was rejected. Low verbal and written test scores of school children support the ban on pidgin in school. In the 1990's, there was another debate about pidgin after eighth grade national writing scores were released. Former governor Ben Cayetano said " For the kids who have a difficult time articulating proper English, it is a tremendous handicap as they go to school and are trying to get a job."

Some of the best places on Oahu are Hanauma Bay, Diamond head crater, Aloha Stadium, and Kailua beach. Hanauma Bay is known for snorkeling and watching fish. Aloha stadium has sports games such as the Pro Bowl. When there isn't a game at Aloha stadium, sometimes there are music concerts. The Rolling Stones had a concert there in 1998. Michael Jackson had a concert there in 1997. Bruno Mars has also given a concert there. Kailua beach is a calm and uncrowded place. There are two islands, the Mokulua islands, and another flat island off of Kailua beach. There is a fireworks show off of flat island every fourth of July. Kailua beach becomes Lanikai beach. Other great places to visit on Oahu are Sea life park, Waimea falls, Pearl harbor memorial, Pali lookout, Dole pineapple factory, the Honolulu zoo and the north shore. There are a lot of places to shop on Oahu too. Ala Moana is a mall in Honolulu, Pearl ridge mall is in Aiea and Windward mall is in Kaneohe. Aloha stadium has an big open market on weekends.

There are a lot of sports to play on Oahu. People swim, windsurf and canoe at Kailua beach. People surf on north shore beaches. Hanauma bay, Turtle canyons and Horseshoe reef are some scuba diving sites on Oahu. There are great hiking trails on the Pali mountain, in diamond head crater and in Koko head crater. The weather is perfect to play tennis too. Golfers can find the Ko Olina golf course in Kapolei , the Ala Wai golf course in Honolulu and the Hawai'i Kai in Honolulu. Surprisingly, there is even an indoor ice skating rink on Oahu (Ice Palace).

Oahu has a variety of good restaurants. Assagio's is a good Italian restaurant in the city of Kailua. The sausage and peppers is delicious and so is the seafood pasta. Anna Miller's restaurant in Aiea has very good club sandwiches and famous pies. Boots and Kimo's restaurant in Kailua offers macadamia nut pancakes and more. Singha restaurant in Honolulu has good Thai food. I recommend the scallops. There is a china town on Oahu too. Anh Hong Vietnamese restaurant there, on river street, has my favorite Pho soup. The Old Spaghetti Factory in Honolulu is a nice family place. There are beautiful antique chandeliers and a trolley car inside the restaurant. Island snow near Kailua beach is said to offer the best shaved ice (snow cones) and I agree.

Oahu is the most popular island with the state capital, Honolulu, located there. Honolulu airport is the largest in the state. The other main Hawaiian islands are Kauai, Maui, Lanai, Molokai, Ni'ihau, Kaho'olawe and the big island (called Hawaii). Kauai is known as the garden island. The waterfalls are beautiful. Movies such as Jurassic Park, The Lost World, Jurassic World, Avatar, Blue Hawaii, South Pacific and Indiana Jones and the raiders of the lost ark were filmed there. Maui is called the valley isle. Lanai is called the pineapple isle due to past pineapple plantations. Kaho'olawe is uninhabited. Molokai is where father Damien served as a missionary for 16 years with communities of people with leprosy. He became canonized a saint in 2009. On the big island, Hawaii, there is Mauna Kea observatory for astronomical research. Mauna Kea is the largest island mountain in the world. It even snows on the big island of Hawaii. The big island, Hawaii, also has an active volcano. All of the Hawaiian islands make a unique and beautiful state.