Rainbows and Vowels

So, before my Mexican adventure (see last Thursday), I spent a relaxing, remarkable week in Honolulu. I saw a lot of rainbows. I mean, like, all the time.















Rainbow over Diamondhead.


Another rainbow, later. Not only is it a full rainbow -- if you click for a bigger view, you'll see it's a double.


This one actually seems to come all the way to the ground.

There were also a lot of vowels. Apparently, it’s against the law in Hawaii for words to have more consonants than vowels. Seriously. And you have to pronounce every vowel separately. Forget about all your fancy dipthongs. Akamai: it's not Ah-kah-my, it's ah-kah-mah-ee.

Some fantastic Hawaiian street names (and my pronunciation guesses):
Kakaako -- Kah-ka-ah-ko.
Mokauea Street -- Moh-kah-oo-ay-ah.
Puunui -- Poo-oo-noo-ee. 6 letters, 4 syllables.
Piikea Street -- Pee-ee-kay-uh. I found that double 'i' almost impossible for my brain to register.
Kamehameha Park-- I couldn't get this. I was always saying Kamayhamayhamayha.
Uaiena Street -- Oo-ah-ee-ay-nah. 6 letters, 5 vowels, 5 syllables.

My beach experiences were limited to Ala Moana, a little beach not too far from Waikiki. It was quiet and beautiful and spectacular.

Ahhhh.