Selections from the book “The Last Resort” by fine art photographer Edward M. Fielding available on Blurb – prints available from – http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/edward-fielding.html?tab=artworkgalleries&artworkgalleryid=382174
Maui Hawaii – A few years back the family and I visited the island of Maui, Hawaii. I was the only one who had been there before but the last time I was there was between birth and six months. So as you can imagine it was a totally new experience for all of us.
Of all the states and counties we’ve visited, Hawaii is so unique because of its tropical beauty created by volcanoes and the culture of its people. Hawaii is known has the rainbow state not just for its many rainbows that form after rain showers (we saw a lot of those kind) but also for the diversity of its people from the original Native Hawaiians (Hawaiian: kānaka ʻōiwi, kānaka maoli, and Hawaiʻi maoli) who are the indigenous Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands or their descendants. Native Hawaiians trace their ancestry back to the original Polynesian settlers of Hawaii.
Seems no one can tell for sure where the first people on the island came from, one hypothesis is that the first Polynesians arrived in Hawaiʻi in the 4th century from the Marquesas, and were followed by Tahitians in AD 1300, who then conquered the original inhabitants. In any case its rather amazing that a group would venture out into the open ocean back in those days in small boats and survive let alone actually find a good spot to live and flourish.
Its easy to forget that Hawaii hasn’t been a US state for very long at least in terms of the rest of the statehoods. It was a US territory from 1898 until its statehood in 1959. It was just 13 years go on November 23, 1993, U.S. President Bill Clinton signed United States Public Law 103-150, also known as the Apology Resolution, which had previously passed Congress. This resolution “apologizes to Native Hawaiians on behalf of the people of the United States for the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii.”.
Modern Hawaii is considered the nation’s most ethnically diverse state. So there is the other meaning of being the rainbow state.
Back in the mid 1960s, my Dad was station at Schofield Barracks on Honolulu and my mom taught at the local Hawaiian school. But we had decided to stay on Maui and really explore the island from top to bottom and side to side. Which in the case of Maui means swimming and body surfing in the ocean in the morning and driving up to the top of a volcano in the afternoon. Or spending the day driving the twisting, turning Hana Highway with its 10 mph speed limit and dozens of single lane bridges.
Somethings we’ll never forget from our visit to Maui, Hawaii:
- Two scoop lunches at Da Kitchen.
- Mai Tai’s at
- Getting snowed on at the summit of Haleakala
- Watching the surfers at Ho‘okipa Lookout
- Body surfing at Kihei
- Driving the whole Hana loop in our little rental car on Christmas day.
-
Kihei 4th Friday Town Parties
- Walking across an ancient lava flow
- King Hawaiian buns and buying pineapple banana bread from local kids
- Poke in its various flavors
A collection of my photographs from the trip can be purchased in book form from Blurb at http://www.blurb.com/b/5052770-the-last-resort
My portfolio of images from Maui Hawaii can also be purchase as prints and framed art at: http://edward-fielding.pixels.com/art/hawaii
