If you are visiting Hilo, HI, take an hour or two to explore the Lyman Museum on Haili Street in downtown Hilo. Here you can learn about the natural and cultural history of Hawaii and take a tour of the missionary home located here. The museum has cultural items, natural history items, a huge collection of seashells and minerals as well as artwork from both Hawaii and around the world. The Earth Heritage Gallery features information about the climate zones and habitats of Hawaii.
The Mission House was originally built for missionaries Sarah and David Lyman in 1839. The Mission House has been restored and is on both the State and National Registers of Historic Place. The office and barter room has recently been restored and will open to the public in July 2010. The museum hosts traveling exhibitions that can also be seen which change on a frequent basis. The museum is open Monday through Saturday from 10:00 A.M. to 4:30 P.M. Tours of the Mission House take place at 11:00 A.M. and 2:00 P.M. Cost is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and $3 for children. Special family passes are available for $21 and university students with ID can gain entry for $5.00.
If you like Hawaiian history, be sure to stop by the National Historic Landmark, Pi’ilani Heiau in Kahanu Gardens on Maui. This is an ancient sacred place believed to be one of the largest remaining structures in Hawaii. The Heiau is approximately 3.8 acres in size and 50 feet tall and was strategically placed to give a good view of any approaching ships or canoes coming into the harbor. The gardens are also a wonderful place to explore and enjoy the beautiful Hawaiian flowers and lush forest. Open Monday through Friday from 10 A.M. to 2 P.M. with a cost of $10 for adults. Children may enter the gardens at no charge. To get to the gardents, take highway 360, east towards Hana. The garden is on the left past the Hana Caverns near mile marker 31.
Hanalei Okolehao Trail – just past the cemetery is a parking lot with a .25 mile nature loop that leads to a heiau. The steep powerline trail behind the cemetery serves as the beginning of the Hanalei Okolehao Trail. This trail was named for the okolehao liquor distilled from ki plants along this ridge during prohibition. The 2.25 mile trail takes about 2 hours and offers great views of Hanalei Bay. Another 1.5 miles inland, the main road ends at the easier Hanalei Valley trail which heads 2 miles upstream through fruit and bamboo trees.
Waioli Mission Hall, built in 1841, housed the original congregation for Waioli Huiia Church which is located just after the bridge. At the end of the long driveway between the Church and Mission Hall is Hanalei Mission House. Built in 1837, it was the residence of the Alexander Family, the first missionaries on the north shore. It was restored in 1921 by three Wilcox sisters whose missionary grandparents succeeded the Alexander family here. The furniture in the house were shipped around Cape Horn. The garden provided food for the family. The Hanalei mission house gives a picture of life in an earlier time in “Owhyhee” as it was called then. Tours are offered on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturdays from 9 A.M. to 3:00 P.M.
