Hawaii, part 2

Next on our trip, we are going to visit the Dole Plantation, home of delicious pineapples!

I just love pineapples, don't you? I can't wait to pick a fresh one off of a tree -- hey wait, huh?

What's this? Pineapples don't grow on trees?

Are you telling me they grow from the ground, like this? Wow, I didn't know that. That is beary cool!

And apparently you can grow your own pineapple at home from leftover pineapple crown.

Hmm... it says pineapples take anywhere from 18-24 months to grow, and take up to 2-3 feet in space. That's a lot of work! I think I'll just go to the supermarket.

"HEY! NICE SHIRT!" a voice called out.

It was Droopy, who was also wearing a Hawaiian print shirt.

"Hi Droopy, fancy meeting you here," I replied. (For first-time readers, Droopy and I seem to have the same travel agent.)

"You gotta try the Dole Whip ice cream in the gift shop!" he said, as he ran to join his tour group.

Do you know what this is? It's a papaya tree! These fruits are not easy to grow where we live, so we were very excited to see one doing so well.

And this! Do you know what this is?

Here's a closer look. Any guesses?

If you said cacao, you're right! The seeds of the cacao fruit are used to make a delicious treat -- chocolate!

Now let's check out the gift shop, where you can buy anything and everything pineapple related! Pineapple pillows, pineapple shirts, pineapple art, pineapple candy, pineapple umbrellas, pineapple socks... you get the idea.

There are also pineapple bears!

Stay tuned for the next part of our trip. When will we see some nice beaches?