Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii

The Hawaiian Islands were discovered by Polynesian voyagers from the Marquesas (and later Tahiti) in innovative double-hulled canoes 1,600 years ago. They used celestial navigation, sun, ocean currents and flight of sea birds to travel some 2,400 nautical miles over open ocean northward to Hawaii.

The first European to land on the Hawaiian Islands at Kauai was Captain James Cook from England in 1778.

In 1810, the Hawaiian Islands were unified under King Kamehameha I, after inter-island struggles for power and independence.

After missionaries arrived in 1820 and later sugar plantations expanded in mid-1800s, labor was recruited from China, Japan, Philippines and Portugal.

The monarchy survived until its power was reduced to a constitutional monarchy in 1887, a coup in 1893 which placed the Queen under house arrest in the palace for four months. Hawaii was annexed by the United States in 1898, made a US territory in 1900, and became the 50th State in 1959.

Much to learn about the fascinating history of Hawaii and its culture at the Iolani Palace (1882) and the Bishop Museum in downtown Honolulu.