My sister has invited my husband and I to
help celebrate her birthday in Hawaii--
all expenses paid including first class airfare (my hubby is 6'5"). She has booked
us into a first class hotel in Honolulu
and my husband is not a happy camper.
Can you imagine? you have to realize first that he is an organic farmer, a social activist whose passion is sustainability
in agriculture and employee ownership of
companies (ESOP's) He rarely travels just for fun, it has to have a purpose--I think it's the Puritan in him--and he lives a simple lifestyle because he believes in the "small is beautiful" concept and heartily dislikes big government, agribusiness, and the concept of global economies. He feels that travel for luxury simply encourages conspicuous consumption and pads the coffers of hotels and airlines--and he seriously considered
not going. It was only after I told him that
as much as I hated the thought of his being
alone during the holidays, I don't get offers
like this one very often, and I would probably go without him. (We have a very
egalitarian marriage, for which I'm very grateful.) I also told him that certainly
there were probably organic farmers who
were as passionate about sustainability as
he, and that aside from tourism, Hawaii probably has many farms--not the least of
which is pineapple farming. I promised I
would check it out on the Web, and he agreed that together we could work hard to make the trip enjoyable for both of us--(he's not a computer buff yet, but after this episode, I suspect he'll see the
value of the WWW). So, does anyone know of
farms to visit, agricultural projects,
bed and breakfasts on farms, aquaculture
projects that are visitable in the Islands. Any Websites to explore? My sister is aware
of his needs to justify this trip--her husband was in the construction business
and whenever they traveled, he'd be looking
at the infrastructure of the highways and
sewers whilst she went to the ballet. I'd
certainly appreciate any input. Aloha!
that might yield more info?

The best piece of advice I have is to leave your husband at home!!! But since it sounds like you have to drag him along, Hawaii is VERY MUCH into agriculture and organic farming. Although you probably won't see much of it if you're only going to Honolulu. Honolulu is like New York city with a beach. Very touristy and very crowded. I would suggest going to Kauai. I'm not sure what web sites you can check out, though. You didn't mention what hotel you were staying in, but most people end up along the strip of Waikiki beach. The Waikiki Beachcomber hotel has it's own garden on the roof and their chefs use their own home-grown produce in their restaurants. Although Hawaiians rely on the tourist industry for the majority of their income, they are very much attached to their land and local traditions. If I may suggest one more time: Go To Kauai. You'll really get a sense of community and small business and the attachment to thier land and heritage. Hope you have a fabulous time even though you're husband is going!

As sense of community and attachment to the land is the name of the game--thanks for the Kauai tip--as for myself, I'm just going to hang out in the dolphin pool in the hotel.

My EX-husband is kinda like your mate. ...North Country Farms on the north shore of Kauai is an organic fruit and veg and flower farm that also does
bed-and-breakfast lodging. Don't give up hope: Hawaii is so magical that even your husband might be seduced by Aloha spirit.

Hi! Thanks for the heads-up--I don't really mean to paint my darling husband
as a provincial martinet with no sense of adventure--it's just that he saw the
indigenous people of Malaysia exploited
while he served there for four years
as a teacher/minister, and it affected
him deeply. He's also a Quaker and social responsibility is engrained in
him to the core--the world actually needs more of his type and I'm grateful
to try to understand his point of view.
We'll take a look at those farms! Thanks
again--Aloha!

Since your husband was a teacher / minister, I wanted to suggest seeing the Mission Houses Museum in Honlulu. . I am sure he has some pretty strong opinions on the missions to Hawaii--whatever they are, this museum presents an important part of Hawaii's story in some of the oldest buildings on the islands.