Mojo goes to Hawaii!!

Dear Stephanie,

Your Geo Gnome has traveled to Honolulu, the largest city in the world, because it encompasses all the islands within the Hawaiian Archipelago, stretching from the Big Island to Midway Island, 1,500 miles northwest of Hawaii. That is more than half the distance across the U.S. Mainland. Honolulu is the nation’s 11^th-largest metropolitan area. The state of Hawaii is made up of eight main islands and more than 100 smaller ones in the Pacific Ocean. Located more than 2,000 miles (3,218 km) from the United States mainland, it became the 50^th state in 1959. Technological improvements like jet travel and satellite systems have shortened the distance between Hawaii and the rest of the U.S. and other countries and have made the state less isolated than previously and a popular tourist destination especially among Oriental travelers. Lush plant life, marine life, and exotic wildlife and other natural attractions and native cuisine make it a pleasant place to live and visit. Much of Hawaii has a wet tropical climate and dense tropical rain forest vegetation. The air feels fresh and humid. During the rainy season it rains frequently. Smoking volcanoes sometimes spill hot lava over the land. Pineapple is cultivated and exported and fish are caught in the waters off Hawaii and in freshwater streams. English is spoken throughout the Hawaiian islands but some people continue to speak Hawaiian and maintain other traditional customs like carving tikis to ward off evil spirits. Islanders from each of the seven Polynesian nations—Fiji, Hawaii, Samoa, Tahiti, Tonga, New Zealand an the Marquesas—are represented in authentic villages throughout the Polynesian Cultural Center’s 42 lush, beautifully landscaped acres. Venture through each village and try your skills at lafu (Tongan shuffleboard, spear throwing, and ulu maika (Hawaiian bowling) or get a traditional tattoo and enjoy baking bread in a Hawaiian earth oven or roast a pig in an imu (fire pit). Watch native performances like firewalking and hula dancing, feast at a luau, wear a lei, ride an outrigger canoe, swim with dolphins, pet sea turtles, and try to spot geckoes.

Stephanie Teal, Mr. Andersen