March 21, 2015 Tuesday, Oahu
From Leonard’s Bakery, we drove up to the mountains past million dollar homes overlooking the city and the Pacific Ocean. One home was recently sold for four and a half million dollars. It has a tennis court and has a commanding view of Honolulu and beyond.
The driver brought us to Puu Ualakaa State Park high up on Mount Tantalus in Oahu. The peak of Mount Tantalus is approximately 2,000 ft above sea level.
The gum trees on the right side of the road came from Australia. The trees on the left were planted by Captain Cook and his crew and were called Cook pines. He thought he could use them for his ship building but the trunk proved to be soft and unsuitable for his purpose. .
The native Hawaiians thought Captain Cook was God because he was so white and they have never seen a white man before. He also had metal, like nails and weapons. They revered him for that. They would trade three pigs with him for one piece of nail (pako).
Captain Cook set sail but his boat suffered damage. He returned to the islands. to fix his boat. The locals realized that Captain Cook was not God because he couldn’t fix his own boat. And he wasn’t supposed to come back that soon. They got mad. Captain Cook shot one native. The natives clobbered him to death.
It was raining and windy when we stopped to take photos. My son didn’t have a sweater and he probably was feeling cold. I had a hat and a light sweater but it wasn’t enough to shield me from the cold. Mount Tantalus is several degrees cooler than in the city of Honolulu.
We were not prepared for this big surprise. We were all astounded by the breathtaking / panoramic view from this platform at 1,048 ft. above sea level.
We were thrilled to have witnessed a giant rainbow with a complete arch. It was perfect.
Stunning view of Diamond Head and the city
Marvin in Oahu
Panoramic view of Oahu and Diamond Head
I felt God’s embrace while I was staring at the rainbow. I looked to the sky and said thank you for this wonderful surprise and privilege. This moment was a gift from Him not only for my daughter but for our whole family. Thank you so much Lord. This was awesome.
When my daughter was little, Rainbow Brite was one of her favorite characters.
This rainbow could be God’s way of greeting my daughter happy birthday. He remembered her favorite.
Beautiful! Perfect timing, no doubt that rainbow was especially bright for the birthday girl and your visit. An auspicious day.
Our windows face makai towards Tantalus. It’s glorious at all time, especially when it’s misty.
HI Tania,
Living in Hawaii must be awesome. We were truly surprised by the appearance of a ginormous rainbow. That’s the biggest we’ve ever seen so far. We felt blessed, most especially that it was on Oyen’s birthday.
When she was a little girl, most of her drawings had rainbows and she adored Rainbow Brite .