20/50 unrelenting positivity for Cuba… uhh I mean Hawaii
Posted by CupBeEmpty@reddit | AskAnAmerican | View on Reddit | 54 comments
This is our newest unrelenting positivity post.
The state in question is the great state of Hawaii.
To all our foreign friends give a shout ask questions send praise. To our Americans do the same.
Ask questions, share stories, make jokes. Just remember not to be a jerk.
Recall the famous phrase my grandma invented “if you don’t have anything nice to say don’t say anything that isn’t redemptively funny.”
Stay tuned for 21/50 after this one.
The states are in random order based on my whim at the moment. My whim this time was just the weird placement of Hawaii on this map.
LastCookie3448@reddit
Oh, so NOW it's Hawaii... Mmmhhh... What was that snarky rude ass question you threw at me when I pointed this out and you doubled down that it's Cuba??? Oh, that's right: It's shaped like Cuba and its outlying islands, are they not teaching geography in school anymore?
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
I hope you know that was all joking right?
WulfTheSaxon@reddit
And here I was thinking Hawaii was off Mexico, next to the island of Alaska.
PacSan300@reddit
Tangentially related, but this does remind of when some people thought that Catalina Island, off SoCal, is Hawaii.
OceanPoet87@reddit
Really????
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
No that’s Baja California.
OceanPoet87@reddit
Kona coffee brought back from our trip made our house smell like heaven in the mornings.
The 442nd had a of ton of Hawaiians.
Also it's Hawaii. Finding good things to say should be easy.
Spirited-Way2406@reddit
The grassroots effort that led to legal restrictions on property owners' restrictions on public beach access was superb. Also, I know it's 30 years old, but the album Ea by Sudden Rush is simply the best music of its many genres that I have ever heard.
twowrist@reddit
Hawaii was the first really big trip we took after retirement (and after it felt safe post COVID), and it was amazing (which I don’t use lightly). I have tons to talk about, but I’ll cut it down.
Pearl Harbor was my only must do. They have a pre-show before taking the boat across to the Arizona Memorial. Except thst instead of a park service ranger giving the talk, we had a school group on our boat, and teacher led the talk. She, and her class, were so incredible that I had to go up to her when we were on the Memorial to tell her how impressed I was. And I choked up just being on the Memorial.
Iolani Palace is really important to learn about that part of Hawaiian history.
On Kaua’i, we got to see the small church where an ancestor of one of our close friends had been a missionary. Plus a boat tour of the Napali Coast, including seeing spinner dolphins spinning.
On the big island of Hawai’i, we started at Volcano House, inside Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, with a view of Kilauea’s erupting glow from our window. We stopped by the visitor center, and after asking about Kilauea Iki trail, one of the volunteers who was there walked with us on the spur trail from the hotel to the Kilauea Iki crater, giving us a personal tour on the way, pointing out the interesting vegetation. I knew from reading the description of the trail that it would probably be the last time I hiked a trail requiring that much exertion, but I’m so glad I did.
The other notable point, after moving to the west side of the big island, was being able to experience an apple banana. Such a unique flavor, much more complex than the Cavendish we’re stuck with now.
I don’t know whether we’ll be able to go back, but Maui is on our list.
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
Maui is where my family lived and where one of my best friends from college lives now.
It is unreal beautiful.
ScatterTheReeds@reddit
Leis 🌺🌸🌼🌻
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
Doing the yeoman’s work with making spam palateable.
Current_Mongoose_844@reddit
The most gorgeous place I've ever visited, with some of the friendliest people in spite of all they've been through. Long live Hawaiian sovereignty.
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
A Brit promoting native sovereignty… what would your king say? Absolute shambles.
Current_Mongoose_844@reddit
As far as I know, Britain recognized Hawaii.
chimugukuru@reddit
The Paulet Affair is an interesting tidbit of history.
Freyr_Tuck@reddit
This is true, and it’s the reason the Union Jack is featured on the state flag.
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
I’m just joking. Hawaii became a state when we were trying to out empire the Brits.
beenoc@reddit
Manapua and haupia are great, and I wish I could find manapua around where I am (I can find bao, and manapua is basically just XXL bao, but the XXL is what I want!) My parents were stationed in Hawaii before I was born, and they still fondly reminisce about the food decades later.
chimugukuru@reddit
If you're looking for a solid Hawaii style manapua recipe this one is winnahs. I'm away from home and it's what I use when I get the craving.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSARKbpcpiM
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
My grandpa had the most hilariously lame WWII experience. He volunteered for the navy as soon as he was old enough. It was right near the end of the war. They put him on a boat to Europe. Germany surrendered. They sailed him to the pacific. Japan surrendered. They dropped him off in Hawaii and he got to basically go on vacation as a valiant hero even though he did nothing really and was just waiting to get shipped back to the mainland.
He loved the place so much he took us all back decades later and never talked about his navy experience.
DropTopEWop@reddit
Worth the long ass flight from NC to Hawaii. Wanna go back.
The first time I ever had korean fried chicken was from Itchy Butt in Honolulu.
Actually saw a rainbow form right in the front of the mountains. It really does happen!
chimugukuru@reddit
Born and raised. I always thought it was weird whenever visitors went crazy over rainbows. Then I found out it really is a rarity in other places.
twowrist@reddit
We spent a couple of days in California on both legs of our first trip, and it was worth it, even though we probably could have managed a direct flight.
The second time, we got to Hawaii via a cruise ship, but took a red eye direct back to Boston, business class. It worked out well.
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
Heh. I had family that moved out there. They stopped sending rainbow pictures after the first month because it was all the time.
ITrCool@reddit
- pineapple is the most heavenly fruit on this earth 🍍
- there’s some gorgeous hiking in Hawaii
- I love Hawaiian cultural foods
- the islands are full of rich history
- LOST
Quirky-Invite7664@reddit
I agree about the pineapple. Also, it’s the only place where I had pineapple tempura and it was AMAZING.
chimugukuru@reddit
Brah I'm local and I've never had it. Must find out where now.
BecauseImBatmanFilms@reddit
The Pokemon franchise bases each game in a region that is heavily inspired by a real world place. Hawaii is the only US state to get a region (in Generation 7) and the second time overall that America got representation in the franchise (first being Gen 5 based on the island of Manhattan and surrounding areas). This means that, because of Hawaii, America is the only country other than Japan to get two areas of the main series Pokemon world based on it.
Joel_feila@reddit
It hard to really see the connection to part of nyc in those games.
Quartia@reddit
Have you forgotten completely about Orre, the Pokemon region from Colosseum and XD in Generation 3, based on Arizona?
BecauseImBatmanFilms@reddit
I mean, the Pokemon Company has.
Tbh, I considered mentioning but it exists in a murky grey area of canonicity so I figured I'd stick to the main series
Joel_feila@reddit
Anyone else see Hawaii's flag and think they must have been a former british colony
Practical-Ordinary-6@reddit
The tallest mountain in the world is actually in Hawaii. Mauna Kea is taller than Mount Everest but more than half of it is underwater.
Joel_feila@reddit
Well it depends on what counts as the bottom. Both have a sold base at the bottom of the Mantle
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
I never went up Mauna Kea. Never been to the big island.
But I went up Haleakala for sunrise. It’s beautiful and nearly terrifying. If nature isn’t scaring the shit out of you existentially knowing how far down it goes then you aren’t doing nature right.
PacSan300@reddit
Even Haleakala is taller than Everest when measured from underwater.
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
Oh yeah. It’s kind of an apples to oranges comparison but I it’s good to contemplate. Like my body isn’t slowly dying at the top of haleakela but the massive was and view from the top is mildly unsettling when you consider how far down it goes.
TheRealManlyWeevil@reddit
the produce available and just any old grocery store in hawaii is incredible, i am so jealous.
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
It comes at cost but yes
PacSan300@reddit
Hawaii is a gorgeous state. Always enjoyed visiting it, and was a bit sad to leave at the end of each visit.
Lots of great places in the state, but my favorite island is probably Kauai, and the Na Pali Coast is probably my single most favorite location in Hawaii. It’s truly one of those “pictures don’t do it justice” places.
Some other memorable Hawaii highlights for me over the years:
Snorkeling with green sea turtles.
Coming across whales and dolphins while on cruise.
Watching the sunrise from Haleakala.
Paragliding on the slopes of Haleakala.
Road to Hana and the bamboo forest trail.
Half day tour to Lanai.
Being next to Kilauea while knowing that it is the most active volcano on the planet.
Visiting Native Hawaiian sites on the Big Island, and learning a lot of great stuff about Hawaiian history.
Watching surfers on the North Shore of Oahu tackling those massive waves.
Shoshuaa@reddit
I stayed on the Big Island for a month and stayed in Oahu for a week. I had a snowball fight at the top of Mauna Kea and was out of breath within 10 seconds. Went swimming later that same day. Hawaii is breathtakingly gorgeous.
Everyone was super nice when I went, even for a howli like myself.
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
Heh the altitude is a bitch. In CO around that height I would not want to engage in snowball fights and would be taking walking slowly and deliberately.
zmonty07@reddit
Took a work trip to Big Island last year, and was blown away by just how beautiful and peaceful it was. I've been to tropical places before, but Hawaii was something completely different.
Can't recommend it enough to anyone looking to take a trip there. You won't regret it.
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
NH DC VA GA HI? I’m half tempted to guess navy or navy adjacent.
zmonty07@reddit
Close! I'm a contractor working for the Army right now. All those states are places I've lived in for a chunk of time. HI was sadly only a work trip for a week that I was just lucky enough to go to.
CupBeEmpty@reddit (OP)
I thought it might be something like that. Army makes sense. Several people have seen my flair and guessed military or contractor just because of the plethora of states.
I’m not at all but I understand the confusion.
FixergirlAK@reddit
Hawai'i is truly my happy place. I wish I was snorkeling around Maui right now. The food is great, the wildlife is amazing.
Tim-oBedlam@reddit
There are very few places in the world that pack as much diversity of landscapes and spectacular scenery as the Big Island of Hawaii. It's otherworldly.
In the space of 20 miles you can go from arid black-rock desert (coast north of Kona to Kawaihae) to lush tropical rainforest (Hamakua Coast).
devnullopinions@reddit
Tectonic plates more active than I remember.
BusinessWarthog6@reddit
The Rainbow Warriors and Colt Brennan were must watch tv
G00dSh0tJans0n@reddit
I've actually been to a lot of the state, from Pensacola to Miami. Downtown Jacksonville is not as terrible as some people think. Key West is one of the best tourist towns in the US. Lots of great beaches in the state. The history in St Augustine was interesting.
Nice place to visit, wouldn't want to live there.
SandpaperSlater@reddit
One of the most beautiful places in the world, incredible history and culture
Quirky-Invite7664@reddit
I lived on Oahu for a few years and loved everything about it. Friendly people. Amazing restaurants/food. Gorgeous weather, can enjoy the outdoors all year round. Great shopping and end-of-season sales. You feel detached from the chaos on the mainland, my anxiety went away. I really miss it.