Flat Mary Day 7

Wednesday, May 13, 2026

Flat Mary Day 7

Day 7 - Thursday, March 20:

Iolani Palace, Honolulu Hale, Kawaiahaˋo Church and King Lunalilo’s Tomb,

King Kamehameha Statue and State Library

Iolani Palace is the only royal palace in the United States. Sometimes it is hard to remember that Hawaii is part of the USA because it is so far away from the other states. The distance between Honolulu, Hawaii and Los Angeles, California is about 2562 miles. From Rogers, Minnesota to Los Angeles is about 1956 miles. That means it is almost 4518 miles from Rogers to Honolulu. That is far.

This is the entrance gate Inside the Iolani Palace gates

The gate is unlocked during the day for anyone to enter. We went up to the front of the palace. When King Kalakaua and Queen Lili’uokalani lived in the palace, people arrived in horse-drawn carriages. They walked up the front steps into the palace. Now the steps are chained off. A sign tells people it is forbidden to enter. The word kapu means forbidden in Hawaiian. You can say it is kapu to spit on the sidewalk.

A huge Banyan tree grows behind the palace. Queen Liliˋuokalani planted the tree in the 1800s. Its branches grew down to the ground and started new tree trunks. Now it is five trees joined together. From far away the tree didn’t look so big. Then Auntie set me on the branches and I felt kind of small. Keiki, the Hawaiian word for children, once carved their names into the bark. Now carving trees is kapu, too.

Queen Liliˋuokalani I love the beautiful leis made of

statue behind the palace kukui nuts and purple orchids

Kawaiahaˋo Church was built by the Hawaiian people. They hauled large blocks of coral weighing more than 1000 pounds each from the ocean. The stone church was near a spring. High Chiefess Haˋo enjoyed bathing there. The area became known as Ka Wai a Haˋo (The Water of Haˋo).

On the church grounds is the tomb of King Lunalilo. He was elected by the Hawaiian people who loved him. His coronation took place in Kawaiahaˋo Church in 1873. He died after reigning for barely a year. He wanted to be buried in Kawaiahaˋo cemetery rather than in the royal mausoleum. No great ceremony was planned for his burial. During the funeral procession, people in attendance said a sudden storm arose. Twenty-one thunderclaps boomed across Honolulu. The king had received what later became known as the 21-gun salute.