I’ve been living in Hawaii since I was 5 years old. I thought I knew everything about these islands. But then I watched Hawaii Five-0 for the first time and I realized that I know so little about my home. Here are 3 things that I learned from watching Hawaii Five-0. 1. When someone drops in on your wave, you should punch their face. There are unwritten rules of surfing that every surfer should follow. One is to never “drop in”…
In Hawaii, there is a popular belief that people who take a lava rock home from the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island will be cursed by the Hawaiian goddess of fire, Pele. According to Hawaiian mythology, Pele lives in the volcano on the Big Island and is an extremely vengeful being. There are also lava rocks mailed to the park office all the time by tourists who claim to have had bad luck after taking lava rocks…
Here’s a fact: the actual Hawaii we live in is a lot different than the Hawaii that everyone else thinks of. I blame Hollywood. There is always a big difference between reality and perception for every place, but I find it to be remarkably different for Hawaii. Here are 5 common misconceptions that I have heard about Hawaii.
One thing that was odd growing up in Hawaii was that I never saw snow in winter. I never understood the concept of “seasons” because everything looked the same during summer, spring, winter and autumn. No snow ever fell… or so I thought.
Is it me, or do volcanoes have a bad reputation? Everytime I see a volcano in a Hollywood movie, it’s always the bad guy: Well, it’s true that a volcano’s lava can cause a lot of destruction. However, Hawaiian volcanoes are also in the business of creation – the beautiful Hawaiian islands would never have been formed without volcanoes. So, if you love Hawaii, then you’ve got to love volcanoes too!
YES, you will need sunscreen here – A LOT of it.