Another Christmas

When we arrived, Nana and Pa had a few Christmas presents for Adjoa. She was starting to get the hang of it and it was cute to watch her.

The first couple days were spent relaxing with minimal sight seeing. Just as Robert requested.

We visited the Birthing Stones - they are right in the middle of a sugar cane field. The sign at this site says chiefs and chiefesses came to this site for the birth of their children. A child born here was assured high-ranking status.

My mom has the Oahu Revealed guidebook {it's excellent, by the way} and here's what it says about these stones:

Royal birthing procedures were different from what commoners went through. When the time came, the woman would arrive at what was then a secret spot, and in the presence of 36 male chiefs she would position herself at certain stones

and in certain ways to give birth while they watched. (Gee, that must have created quite the awkward moment…) Within minutes of birth the child was taken away, and the mother would not see her child again until it was grown. This was to ensure that the child would not be murdered. Infanticide in high-ranking families was common among rival chiefs.

My mom wanted me to sit on the stones so she could take a picture. There were quite a few people around and I was a little embarrassed, so my dad did. She asked me again, and I declined. So Robert, my kind, considerate, loving husband yells, "Get on the birthin' stones, Jessica!" I was embarrassed - mortified, really - but finally decided it would be better than another public humiliation.

I also took a couple pictures of a nice, vibrant sunset on the beach.