Oahu

Hawaii became the 50th state on August 21, 1959. Hawaii is the only U.S. state that is an archipelago and is the only state that is not attached to the U.S. mainland. The Hawaiian Islands consists of 137 volcanoes throughout the entire chain of islands that spans 1,500 miles. The seven islands that are still in existence are the Big Island (Hawaii), Maui, O'ahu, Kaua'i, Moloka'i, Lana'i, Ni'ihau and Kaho'olawe. 

Polynesians setteld in the Hawaiian Islands around 1000 to 1200 CE and was home to numerous chiefdoms. With the early British influences from British Explorer James Cook, the state flag shows Cook's influences. With the arrival of Cook, the Hawaiian Islands were over run by  European settlers that brought diseases like smallpox and measles.

Because of Hawaii's unique tropical climate and fertile soil, it remains a major agricultural exporter. Hawaii is the only state in the United States that grows and makes its own coffee. Pineapples use to be exported out of the islands but now the pineapple plantations keep everything local to the islands.

Pearl Harbor was attacked on December 7, 1941 which forced the U.S. to enter World War II. The histroy behind this attack is surreal. One of my projects here on Oahu is to learn as much as I can about the history of Pearl Harbor, Barber's Point, the Marine Corp Base in Kaneohe, and several other bases located on this island. Kauai has a naval base that I will be researching as well as part of this military project. 

Being in Hawaii as a whole, a bucket list item of mine since I was a kid will now be accomplished. Surfing has always been a passion of mine to learn and I am now going to take every advantage of this sport. It will be slow going at first but looking foward to learning how to stand up and actually surf the waves of Hawaii. 

A group of friends and I decided to a fishing adventure in Waianae out in the open sea. I definitely brought my camera to capture the great time we all had sailing in the Pacific Ocean catching fish. We caught one fish but two escaped our fishing lines. Taking my camera on this expedition was a definitely a great idea on my end.