Spring Mountain Spring Moon
Several years ago Kate and I took advantage of an after conference package in Hawai’i. The conference itself was on Maui, Kaanapali Beach, but the package allowed a three day extension at the Mauna Kea Resort on the Big Island, Hawai’i.
The Mauna Kea is unusual for several reasons. First, its location was a gift to Laurance Rockefeller for taking the risk, in 1965, of starting the resort business on the Big Island. He chose a site with a beautiful crescent beach of white sand. Second, Rockefeller had it designed by famous modernist architects from Chicago, Skidmore, Owings and Merrill.
Rockefeller went on an art collecting trip along the Pacific Rim and brought back works he instructed the architects to use as the center pieces of their overall design. The result is a mixture of Hawai’ian island romance with clean simple lines and materials used honestly. It is a beautiful place, one of my favorites.
Interestingly, very close to the Mauna Kea is a heiau, a Hawai’ian temple built by the powerful King Kamehameha, and named Pu`ukohola. Pu’ukohola is dedicated to the war god Ku. It is a site where human sacrifices were made and was built when Kamehameha wanted to unify the islands under one monarch.
Just a bit on down the road is a small restaurant where Kate and I ate a modest lunch. I had a local favorite, spam fried rice, which was delicious. We talked with our waiter who said, about living in Hawai’i, “Lucky we live Hawai’i.” I heard it other times, but that afternoon, after breakfast overlooking the white sand beach, a late morning visit to the temple of Ku, the war god, and a tasty basic lunch it seemed very true.
When I hear the islands call, and I do from time to time, what always comes to mind is “Lucky we live Hawai’i.”
