Dole Plantation

The Dole Plantation is located in Wahiawa, HI about an hour Northwest of Honolulu.  It is located in  North Central Hawaii.  It was originally a fruit stand in 1950 and in 1989 was turned into a Pineapple experience.  Jame Drummond Dole arrived in Hawaii in 1899 and bought 61 acres of land in Wahiawa, HI and it became the first Pineapple Plantation in Hawaii.  Dole had created an agricultural empire and became known as America's Pineapple King.  In 1901 he perfected a way to can pineapple so all could enjoy it and built the cannery in Wahiawa but later moved it to Honolulu Harbor to be closer to a stronger work pool and for distribution.  It was operated until 1991 when it closed.   He understood how popular the pineapple would become and he joined forces with the other Hawaiian pineapple growers to set up a national marketing campaign to bring the pineapple to the whole country.  The pineapple became so popular that the demand for more pineapple grew  which meant more land was needed to grow pineapple.  In 1922 Dole bought the Hawaiian Island of Lana'i where he had 20,000 acres of land to grow pineapples.  At the plantation in Lana'i he also developed a village with housing to house over 1000 workers and their families.  For over 70 years Lana'i supplied over 75% of the world's pineapples. 
We had so much fun at the Dole Plantation.  There is a lot to do there.  There is a train ride that takes you out into the pineapple fields to see how they are grown and harvested.  There is also a beautiful garden and the world's largest maze that is over 3 miles long.  The Plantation store is huge and sells everything.  There is a great luncheon area with a good menu and the food was good.  Tim and I had the grilled ham and cheese on sweet Hawaiian bread.  Nathan had a Hawaiian favorite the Loco Moco.  It is two hamburger patties on a bed of rice covered in brown gravy and a fried egg on top.  After lunch we visited all of the attractions then before we left we enjoyed the Dole Whip.  The Dole Whip is a pineapple soft served ice cream that is absolutely delicious and very refreshing.  We had a great time and we are glad we made the drive to the Dole Plantation, it was worth it!