24 hrs in Portland, Maine

Portland, Maine, is the farthest north we are going. And it was quick. we drove 4 hours up from Connecticut, following the Language Symposium at the Piquot Museum.

We had an early performance at the Maine Historical Society, checked into a fantastic Airbnb that was downtown, and then set out to find Lobster Rolls.

Someone at the performance gave us a heads up about a place called the Highroller Lobster Co. A Lobster Roll is basically lobster shoved in a bun and covered with butter. After getting a Lobster Roll we checked out and I Yelped the best Lobster Bisque in Portland.

It was at the same place.

We ate twice.  

Portland is a compact town with lots going on. We saw a band, walked the wharf, had Blueberry Cider.

The next day we got up and had Lobster again. This time on the dock at the Portland Lobster Co.

I was hoping to get Lobster when we were in Maine. Check and Check.

With that done, we headed 4 hours back down to Connecticut.

Second Week: Mass Humanities

In partnership with the American Antiquarian Society and with support from Mass Humanities, Hawaiian Mission Houses presented a weeklong program entitled "Encountering History using Innovative and Disruptive Narratives."

It was a humanities discussion panel series that was held in four locations: Phillips Academy Andover; Williams College; the American Antiquarian Society; and the Congregational Library at 14 Beacon Street.

The discussion panels explored new texts and current research in response to the bicentennial of the Congregationalist mission to the Sandwich Islands.

The discussion panels of recognized humanities scholars, including Dr. Noelani arista who traveled with us all week, were organized around the presentation of "My Name is ʻŌpūkahaʻia," which set the tone into a narrative of Hawaiian agency.

The best panel was at the American Anitquarian Society, in Worcester, MA, where the brilliance of the questions was only second to the brilliance of the answers.

It was here that Dr. Arista stated that the near exclusive use of English sources in the writing of Hawaiian history and the lack of use of Hawaiian language sources, a source base that is the largest archive of indiginous language in the world, has resulted in a historiography that would be like if "the history of the American Revolution was only written from French sources."

The best thing about the week of panels were the scholar dinners. These had been written into the grant, but only happened at Williams College and the Congregational Library.

Before the panel at Williams we went to dinner at the Williams Inn. Food and discussion was great, a little combative, and the bill was $314.00.

I only thought this dinner cost a lot until we went to Dolce Vita in Boston. Someone on the panel knew the owner. Great Italian food just kept coming out of the kitchen. I picked up a tab of $585.00.

This was a great week, with great discussions, and great places.

First Week: Connecticut

First week of New England Tour of "My Name is ʻŌpūkahaʻia" was spent crisscrossing Connecticut. The tour started in Goshen, on September 29, 200 years to the day that Hiram Bingham and Asa Thurston were ordained as ministers to go to Hawaiʻi.

This performance was a Sunday morning service. Everyone came to church in Aloha shirts, which was pretty cool.

Peter Young, the President of the Hawiian Mission Houses and a Hiram Bingham decendant gave a very emotional "testimony" of the fact that without Goshen Congregational Church he would not "be" (Hiram and Sybil were introduced at Gashen, 10 days later were married, got on a ship to Hawaiʻi, and concieved his ancestor on the 165 day voyage).

Three days at Yale followed, including an amazing lunch at Edwin Dwight College, a first for me! and two days of Pizza, evidently New Haven is known for its pizza.

A stop at Sturbridge Village, an amazing third person interpretive village in Massachusetts, but on the border of Connecticut.

And then Cornwall Congregational Church, where ʻŌpūkahaʻia died and was buried.

"There was only one week in Connecticut?" is how Poʻai just characterized it.