Hawaii - Day 2: Dole Plantation

After Pearl Harbor, we headed straight for the north shore.  On the way, we passed the Dole Plantation where we just had to stop and pay our dues to pineapple!

We were told we the Dole Whips and the Pineapple Express were two musts on our trip.  And, let me tell you - the Dole Whips do not disappoint.  They have more pineapple options here in the food court than any where I have ever been.  We stuck with the plain pineapple soft serve ice cream which was delicious!

  Unfortunately we missed the pineapple express so we had lots of time to goof off at the pineapple plantation.

I think this should be his profile picture

The Pineapple Express took us all along the working pineapple farm.  We also learned that Dole doesn't really do much with the farm here anymore.  They really just use to entertain us tourists.  Apparently, they bought an island somewhere where all the pineapple we see in the grocery store is from. 

While we were on the tour, the automated guide said, "You may wonder why the dirt is red..." Actually, no the thought hadn't even occurred to me since I have always lived in the south.  He went on to explain the soil's high iron-oxide content and climate etc. etc.  Apparently the red dirt in Hawaii is a big deal. They even sell Red Dirt merchandise (clothes stained with red dirt from the island).  We totally bought some in Kauai too. Haha.

Not only is the climate perfect for pineapples in Hawaii, they also grow bananas, coffee, papayas and all kinds of other things.