Legally Blonde's Proceedings

I had been mooching off of someone else's rental car the whole trip, but on Friday afternoon, I got my own rental to keep until I left on Sunday.  I decided that the trip wouldn't be complete without the ability to drive around the island in a convertible... I woke up on Saturday morning, pulled my hair into a high bun, put on my swimsuit, cover-up, and sunscreen, and hit the road. I drove the same roads I had already been on, but with the top down, you could see so much more and take in the smells (for example, I discovered that when you are driving next to coffee fields, you can actually smell the coffee).  Of course it enables me to have a much easier time being the nut who is shooting pics as I drive. I had a plan to head toward the north shore again.  Which meant stopping at the Dole Plantation for a Dole Whip Float (#3) for breakfast.  I wanted to go lay on the beach where they had filmed some of Lost, but first, I went the other dir...

Here's one thing you can always bet on... If there is a royal palace anywhere near me, I will find it! It turns out that the only royal palace in the United States just happens to be on Oahu, so I couldn't let a trip to Oahu happen, without a visit to Iolani Palace. Iolani Palace was built in 1882 by King Kalakaua.  It is a National Historic Landmark located in downtown Honolulu. The flag draping is not the norm, but was in celebration of King Kalakaua's birthday. The bunting that you see is copied from photos so that it replicates the way the palace looked for the King's Birthday Jubilee in 1886.  The three flags flying over the palace (which are difficult to see in any of the pics, because there was no wind), have not all flown over the palace before. One is the Hawaii National Flag, the State flag, and the King's personal standard. This is the first floor and the staircase... On both sides of the entry hall, there is beautiful etched g...