April 2021

Onomea Falls is a multi-tiered waterfall that drops 120 feet and is the natural centerpiece for the garden; free tours are offered to children on school field trips

Blue tango bromeliad; the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden is located on the 4 mile scenic route just north of Hilo and is considered the best garden on the island

In addition to blooming plants, the garden has many giant, century-old trees (including island favorite, the monkeypod tree and a cannonball tree); the garden is the number 1 area attraction on TripAdvisor

Surprisingly there are only three types of orchids that are actually native to Hawaii; today, Hawaii’s orchid growing activities are a multi-million dollar export industry, generating annual sales well in excess of $20 million

The bioreserve contains 2,000+ species, representing more than 125 families and 750 genera; the 20-acre valley is a natural greenhouse, protected from buffeting trade winds and blessed with fertile volcanic soil

Many of the species in the garden were identified, but most (like this one) were not; admission was a steep $25 so I visited alone since Lee had seen the garden a few years ago on a prior visit

The cat's whiskers plant is an evergreen member of the mint family; in tropical areas, like Hawaii, the plant can grow 4 feet tall and flower throughout the year

This area served as one of the first shipping ports on the Big Island; in the early 1800s materials were imported to construct a sugar mill with exported sugar following in later years

Beehive ginger, native to SE Asia, has been used in traditional Asian medicine to treat eye inflammation and burns; academic research has found the plant has antimicrobial properties and an enzyme that may treat colon cancer

Boulder Creek Falls; the garden was founded in 1978 and opened to the public in 1984; 20 additional acres were later purchased in establishing the non-profit nature preserve

The twin rocks at the head of Onomea Bay are said to represent lovers according to Hawaiian legend who gave their lives to protect their village from invaders

Self-Portrait Dedicated to Leon Trotsky, Frida Kahlo, 1937; in this painting the artist commemorated the brief affair she had with the Russian revolutionary and alluded to her political views

Portrait of Katherine Cassatt, Mary Cassatt, 1905; the artist advised wealthy American patrons to acquire Impressionist art, thereby playing a critical role in the spread of the style

The Stags, Patricia Piccinini, 2008; since opening its doors in 1987, the museum has acquired a collection of 4,500+ paintings, sculptures, works on paper, and decorative art

The Springs, Lee Krasner, 1964; the artist was married to Jackson Pollack; the museum occupies the gorgeous, old Masonic Temple

The Old Checkered House in Winter, Grandma Moses, 1944; Bob Hope purchased this painting in 1946 and it hung in his LA area home until his death; admission to the museum is $10

Jackie (India), Andrea Higgins, 2003; the artist applies her brush marks to emulate the stitch-by-stitch pattern of fabric swatches; Jackie Kennedy wore this pattern on a state visit to India in 1962

Lockheed Worker Working on the Fuselage of a P-38, Edna Reindel, 1942; this museum is the only major museum in the world solely dedicated to celebrating women's achievements in the visual, performing, and literary arts

Still Life with Strawberries, Anna Claypoole Peale, 1820s; the artist came from a very artistic family with her uncle co-founding the first American art academy, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts

Virgin and Child, Elisabetta Sirani, 1663; wearing the turban favored by the peasant women in the artist's hometown of Bologna, Mary gazes adoringly at the wriggling baby in her lap

They Call Me Redbone but I'd Rather Be Strawberry Shortcake, Amy Sherald, 2009; there aren't many tourists in DC but it's still impossible to find a parking spot

Red #4, Echiko Ohira, 2012; this piece was used to promote the temporary exhibition of works relating to paper as it's made from cardboard

To Wear in Stone, Dalila Goncalves, 2018; the artist worked with a group of people in her hometown in Portugal to soak 240 pieces of blue sandpaper which she sutured into a patchwork of hues

Vergara Palace Cornice, Paola Podesta Marti, 2010; the artist used multiple techniques to create this work, including hand-coloring and laser cutting the paper, and hand-assembling the pieces

Portrait of a Noblewoman, Lavinia Fontana, 1580; Fontana is regarded as the first woman in Western Europe to succeed as a professional artist

Arreau, Hautes-Pyrenees, Lois Mailou Jones, 1949; evoking Cezanne, the artist received an award for this work from DC's Corcoran Gallery of Art

The Concert, Judith Leyster, 1633; this artist, unlike tradition at the time, established her career without help from a male relative; she was the first woman admitted to Haarlem's prestigious art guild

At its completion in 1829, the Eastern State Penitentiary was the largest and most expensive public structure ever erected in the United States, and quickly became a model for 300+ prisons worldwide

Famous visitors to see the prison included Charles Dickens and Alexis de Tocqueville while notable inmates included Willie Sutton and Al Capone in 1929; an excellent audioguide takes you through the prison today

Tina Turner filmed the music video for One of the Living (part of the soundtrack for Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome) here in 1985; the prison closed in 1971 and was then abandoned for decades

Cell accommodations were advanced for their time, including a faucet with running water over a flush toilet; the architect gave the prison a neo-Gothic look to instill fear into those who thought of committing a crime

The Eastern State Penitentiary refined the revolutionary system of separate incarceration first pioneered at the Walnut Street Jail which emphasized principles of reform rather than punishment

It seems like there should be a national law to address this since there's no reason for the policy to vary by state; it has become an important issue affecting millions of potential voters

In 1923 Leo Callahan escaped from Eastern State Penitentiary and was the only escapee never to be recaptured; I wonder why they didn't call the prison the Penn Pen?

Research has found the US govt spends $1+ million to imprison people from just an individual city block and these blocks can stretch for miles; imagine if that same investment were deployed in these struggling neighborhoods

She looks guilty to me!; most of the early prisoners were petty criminals jailed for various robbery and theft charges with first time offenders usually serving 2 years

The Penitentiary was intended not simply to punish, but to move the criminal toward spiritual reflection and change; as a contrast, today there are 80,000+ US inmates living in solitary confinement

The idea of this new prison was created in a meeting held at Benjamin Franklin's house in 1787; Eastern State is considered to be the world's first true penitentiary;

The rate at which the US imprisons people is staggering; the US prison system is also the most expensive in the world costing American taxpayers $80+ billion each year

The original design of the building was for seven one-story cell blocks, but by the time cell block three was completed, the prison was already over capacity; all subsequent cell blocks had two floors

With no increase in violent crime, the increase in prison population in the US is largely the result of low level drug offenses and people either unable to make bail or awaiting trial (and thus not convicted of any crime)

Brad Pitt and Bruce Willis filmed the 1995 movie 12 Monkeys here; there was a 600+% increase in the US prison population between 1970 and 2010

Visitors are allowed to walk through several cell blocks, but most of them remain off limits and are filled with original rubble and debris from years of neglect; I would not have visited except it was #1 on TripAdvisor

White Haven was the childhood home of Grant's wife, Julia; the color of the house is called Paris Green and it was painted this shade while the Grants lived here

Achieving great national fame for his victories at Vicksburg and the surrender at Appomattox, Grant was widely credited as the General who saved the Union

The original ice house is now below ground; the plantation was originally 850 acres with Grant supervising the slaves working here from 1854 to 1859

Grant would often haul wood from White Haven into St. Louis to sell; when Grant entered the US Military Academy at 17, he weighed only 117 pounds and stood 5 feet 2 inches tall (he would later grow to 5' 7" )

The Grants' bedroom although Ulysses was seldom here; the house is 10 miles SW of downtown St. Louis and is now in a nice residential area

Julia Grant was considered a socialite in St. Louis with the couple entertaining frequently; the Grants turned White Haven over to William Henry Vanderbilt in 1881, to satisfy a loan after one of Grant's financial partners absconded with investment funds

The chicken coop has been moved from its original location; Adolphus Busch purchased much of the original plantation and that section is now known as Grant's Farm

I was surprised that so many photos existed of Grant; a week after Grant's victory at Appamattox, Lincoln was assassinated, and was succeeded by President Andrew Johnson, who promoted Grant to General of the Army

This stone building was the summer kitchen for White Haven; Grant was philosophically opposed to slavery and, unlike many military leaders, requested African-American troops

Julia Grant asked for an allowance and received a liberal one (her words); she kept meticulous details of her spending but complained of never being able to reconcile her accounts

The former stables of White Haven is now a museum with many artifacts from the period and a detailed history of Grant; the structure is original but a protective outer shell has been added

As president, Grant stabilized the post-war national economy, created the Department of Justice, and prosecuted the KKK; Grant served 2 terms and, in his retirement, was the first president to circumnavigate the world

The Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant was published by Mark Twain and was a critical and commercial success; Chernow's Grant was a more recent best-seller

The Grants at the Great Temple of Karnak (Egypt) during their world tour in 1878; it's difficult to imagine how challenging and uncomfortable travel must have been back then

Grant was just 63 when he died of throat cancer attributed to years of cigar smoking; his funeral was attended by 1.5 million people and he was later buried in Grant's Tomb in NYC, the largest mausoleum in North America

The last waterfall between Hana and the arid SW coast is 50 ft Alelele Falls; the trail to the falls crosses the stream where you can normally hop across the rocks but with heavy recent rainfall we were having to wade across

This impressive sea arch is in Waianapanapa State Park, just outside Hana; the town only has 1200 residents who grudgingly tolerate tourists since they are the lifeblood of the town

Kaihalulu Beach is the famous red sand beach in Hana made from the red cinders comprising the hill in the background; the path getting to the beach was narrow, muddy and slick

Wailua Falls (80 ft) is often cited as the most photographed waterfall on Maui; George Harrison (writer of the song Soft-Hearted Hana) and his wife owned a property in Hana

This massive banyan tree sits on the Pipiwai Trail in Haleakala National Park; the trail is 2 miles each way and was the number 1 thing to do on the entire island according to TripAdvisor

The bamboo forest on the Pipiwai Trail reminded me of the revered bamboo forests in Japan; spending a few nights in Hana allowed us to see much more of the area

Waimoku Falls, a stunning 400 ft drop, is the turnaround point on the Pipiwai Trail; we hiked the trail when it first opened and avoided the usual big crowds

The Seven Sacred Pools were one big muddy gusher and not at all like when I visited with Mike, Gary, Bob, David, Barry, Bernie and Chuck; you weren't even allowed anywhere near the water

Kaihalulu Beach is the famous red sand beach in Hana; it was drizzling with rough seas when we visited so not the ideal beach day

Palapala Ho'omau Church was built in 1857 and is the resting place of Charles Lindbergh; it's a must stop for drivers on the Road to Hana (OK, almost all drivers)

Charles Lindbergh is buried in a small cemetery just south of Hana; he and his wife had a house here and Lindbergh said he'd rather live out his days on Maui than at a hospital in New York City

'Ohe'o Gulch often has turquoise waters that make for great photos; 'Ohe'o Gulch is often called the Seven Sacred Pools but that name was invented by marketers as there has never been anything sacred about the pools

Plumeria (aka frangipani) flowers are used in making traditional Hawaiian leis; the trees often look dead with no leaves on them but do have the gorgeous blooms

Lee had visited the Venus Pool before but I had not; this sure doesn't look like the photo in my guide book!; Pat Benatar got married in Hana and has a house here

The canyon leading to the Pools at 'Ohe'o Gulch was almost full due to heavy rain on the slopes of Haleakala; cost to enter the park is $30 per vehicle and good for 3 days

The Pools of 'Ohe'o Gulch are the most popular tourist attraction in East Maui; face masks were required throughout the park including on the Pipiwai Trail