Day 2-Life on the Dole (Plantation that is!)

Hello again Happy Followers of our Hawaiian escapades!

Day 2 Terry and I decided to head Northwest from Honolulu to pay a visit to another of the "must see" Hawaiian locations, the Dole Pineapple Plantation.

As with most things in Hawaii, it's not hard to reach. We took the H-1 to the King Kamehameha Highway and headed north through the famed "Red Dirt" section of the Island of Oahu -- the soil is so rich in iron that it actually takes on a dark red (rust) hue -- and there is a thriving trade producing a line of "Red Dirt" shirts (shirts dyed using the native soil. It is also one of the premier farming areas with an endless procession of coffee and pineapple farms.

As you ride along at a steady 35 miles per hour (posted speed limits occasionally enforced). The scenery unfolds from the sharply rising mountains on your left to the plantations on your right and the Ocean out in front of you in the distance.

We arrived at the Dole Plantation about mid-morning and the sun was definitely doing its job. The temperature was warmer than normal for the region (about 94 degrees) and even with a steady breeze there was no escaping the heat. No escaping it that is...until you enter the extremely air-conditioned comfort of the Dole Plantation Visitor Center/ Retail Emporium/Cafeteria. Capitalizing on all things pineapple, Hawaiian, and potentially appealing to their target demographic (confused Japanese tourists desperately seeking to be separated from their money) they do a thriving business. Craig, never one to let rampant American Consumerism lag behind the Japanese, took the opportunity to Pearl Diving at the
"Pick-A-Pearl we planted in an Oyster shell in hopes of convincing you to buy a jewelry setting for it" booth. The pirate, after successfully obtaining his booty (a beautiful pink pearl), laid waste to the retail scalawags hopes by taking the loot and making his getaway with the exclamation "Thanks lady but I just wanted the pretty stone".


Being fair, there are several reasonably priced items in the gift shop and there are a number of things to do-a 20 minute "Train" ride through the Plantation, and the World's Largest Outdoor Pineapple Maze.

After taking a quick break to re-hydrate and feed scone crumbs to the birds, Terry and I took a walking tour of the Pineapple Garden -- an informative collection of the different types of pineapple grown on the plantation, obtained from locations all over the Pacific Rim.

Craig, never one to resist a wooden cut-out with a hole to stick your head through (what else is new?) convinced Terry to do the same and thus providing Day 2's photos of choice.