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Hawaii - A Romantic Vacation and Travel Destination

Hawaii became the 50th state in 1959 and is made up of eight major islands and 124 minor islands. These islands are stretched out over the Pacific for over 1,500 miles. It is the most remote group of islands in the world as there are over 2000 miles between the Hawaiian islands and any other land. Hawaii is located just about at the center of the Pacific Ocean, around 2500 miles west of California. The state flower of Hawaii is hibiscus.

Six of the major islands are well known and are: Oahu, Maui, Kauai, Molokai, Lanai, and Hawaii (which is sometimes referred to as the 'Big Island'). The other two of the eight major islands are Kahoolawe, which is uninhabited, and Niihau, which is privately owned. These eight islands make up over 99 percent of the land area of Hawaii.

The weather in Hawaii is great! With a normal annual temperature of 77 degrees - it is nice all year round! residents do notice a seasonal change with temperatures dropping to an average of 75 F/25 C in late October. Things stay that way through May, before the temperature goes soaring just above 90 F/32 C, where it stays from July through September.November-April is considered the island's rainy season, even though the rain showers usually come and go in a matter of hours. The combination of rain and sun makes conditions ideal for stunning rainbows, which can often be seen arching over mountain

The Hawaiian islands were created by vocanoes millions of years ago! The newest of the islands is Loihi, and it is still forming near the active volcano Kilauea.

Hawaii is sometimes referred to as the 'Endangered Species Capital of the World'. In the past 200 years, more birds have become extinct here than anyway else. There were 87 species of birds native to Hawaii, now 23 are extinct, 29 are endangered and 1 is threatened. It has been estimated that 1/3 of all of the endangered species in the US are in Hawaii.

There are many types of habitats on Hawaii - rain forest, subalpine, alpine, coastal, dryland forest and mixed open forest.

---- And don't forget - Humpback whales overwinter all around Hawaii, especially Maui!

The major industries in Hawaii are tourism, sugar and pineapple. Ethnically Hawaii is made up of people from Polynesia, United States, China, Japan, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Korea and the Philippines. In a study from 1984 it was estimated that only .7 percent of Hawaii's population were pure Hawaiians - around 8244 people! It may be even lower today.

There are many artisans in Hawaiian, creating many traditional crafts. These include basketry, jewelry, hula supplies, musical instruments and woodcrafts.

Hawaiian Language

You may want to learn a few words of the Hawaiian language before visiting! Hawaiian has only 12 letters in its alphabet: h, k, l, m, n, p, w, a, e, i, o and u.

Below are a few Hawaiian words and their English meanings:

aloha - love, hello, goodbye
mahalo - thank you
keiki - child
kane - man
wahine - woman
pua - flower
mauna - mountain
moana - ocean
kaukau - food, meal
Aloha kakahiaka - Good morning
'aina - land
humuhumunukunukuapuaa - the unofficial state fish

See other articles about taking a romantic vacation to Hawaii!

Island of Kauai
Island of Oahu
Island of Maui