Hawaii with Jack and Jill Army: La'ie Point

Located on the northeast side of Oahu, the town of La'ie is quiet, quaint and if you blink as you drive through, you'll miss it! Kidding, though it is small. La'ie was founded by mormons and is the home of the Polynesian Cultural Center.

Anyway, we visited La'ie Point yesterday after lunch at the McDonald's there. Beautiful place, worth a stop for anyone that visits the island.

In fact, the header of the blog (at this time, it may change, who knows?) is a picture of one of the islands just off the point. The arch was created on April Fool's Day in 1946 when a tsunami hit the island and punched a hole through it. It's gorgeous to watch as the waves sweep over and through it, especially this time of year with the huge waves.

Here are some photos we took at La'ie Point:

Kids jumping off the rock:

The plaques at the point:

The plaque reads:

Laniloa at the Mo'o, a legend of Oahu
This point of land that extends into the ocean is called Laniloa according to legend. This penisula was originally a "Mo'o" or giant lizard standing upright ready to kill any intruder.

After Kana, a legendary warrior, and his brother had rescued their mother from Moloka'i and had taken her back to Hawai'i, Kana set off on a journey to kill all the Mo'o in the islands. In time he arrived at La'ie where the Mo'o had been killing many people. Kana easily defeated the Mo'o. Taking his head, he chopped it into five peices and flung them into the ocean. The peices of the lizard's head can still be seen today as five small islands lying off-shore. Their original names were Xithewamoku, Moluaaniwa, Pulemon, Malualai, and Keauakaluapaaa.

Source: "Hawaiian Legends" by William Rice
Bishop Museum Bulletin, Honolulu, HI 1923

Adjacent plaque: