01/23/2005 - Aloha!  As this is the 100th photo I have posted, I thought I would send something that truly symbolizes modern-day Hawai'i, PINEAPPLE! On Wednesday, I had to do a GPS survey in central O'ahu. Most of the survey was through one of Dole's many pineapple fields. Here is a mature pineapple still on the vine. During my survey, I learned that pineapples grow above the ground, grow in cycles, and the first cycle is the sweetest. Here is the origin of the pineapple, if you were curious.

"The pineapple is native to southern Brazil and Paraguay where wild relatives occur. It was spread by the Indians up through South and Central America to the West Indies before Columbus arrived. In 1493 Columbus found the fruit on the island of Guadeloupe and carried it back to Spain and it was spread around the world on sailing ships that carried it for protection against scurvy. The Spanish introduced it into the Philippines and may have taken it to Hawaii and Guam early in the 16th Century. The pineapple reached England in 1660 and began to be grown in greenhouses for its fruit around 1720."  Enjoy!