hawaii - 50 years as a US State

Bang in the middle of the Pacific Ocean the tropical island of Hawaii celebrates the 50th anniversary of becoming a US State on 21st August 2009.

For me and for countless others of my generation Hawaii has always been imbued with a romance and mystique. I first became aware of it from the 1970s TV Series Hawaii five-o and the exploits of Steve Mcgarret, Danny and Chin Ho. The things that made the most impression on me were the hula skirts the swaying palm trees,the beauty of the scenery and the diverse nature of its indigenous population.

Here are some interesting facts I bet you didn't know about Hawaii:-

Hawaii has the shortest alphabet in the world consisting of just 12 letters.

The title of the fictional police force in the TV Series Hawaii five-o derives from Hawaii being the 50th State of the United States. The TV Series ran from 1968 to 1980 encompassing 268 episodes. There is a public holiday in Hawaii called Jack Lord day in honour of the actor who played Steve Mcgarret, the police chief in Hawaii five-o.

Hawaii is the most isolated heavily populated area in the world being 1,410 miles from Japan, 1500 miles from the West Coast of the USA and 1000 miles from India.It is also the US State with the largest span.It consists of eight different islands each with a distinct character.

The most populous and important island is Oahu which has the state capital Honolulu, the biggest city.Most people come to Hawaii for the unique climate - the temperature is approx 80 degrees every day and it rains mostly in the night.Not surprisingly given its isolated position Hawaii has more endangered species than any other US State.

There is no one dominant race on Hawaii the biggest populations being Caucasian, Polynesian, and Asians in equal measures.

Having read extensively about Hawaii there are 2 things I would really like to do.One is to cycle down the Haleakala Mountain a dormant volcano consisting of a mountain 23 000 feet high being 3 000 feet above sea level and 20 000 feet underground. The other is to attend a Polynesian Lau for a Pacific-style celebration of colour, style and history.

I hope to do these before too long.

Thanks for reading - I hope you enjoyed the article. Aloha!