Hawaii Vacation day 3 (mostly the PCC)

After  looking again at our schedule, and realizing how much time (and  money) we were going to spend trying to ride shuttles and trolleys... while still needing to rent a car at least a couple more days, we decided it would be cheaper (and WAY more convenient) to just bite the bullet and rent a car now for the week.  We  got a  better deal online than from the hotel travel desk, which means we had to get back  to the airport to pick up the car.  We were racing against the clock, since we had already arranged for (and PAID for) the shuttle van to come pick us up and take us out to the Polynesian Cultural Center for the day.   It was scheduled to pick us up at the hotel  at 10:10...

The hotel called a shuttle to take us over to the airport.  We had  been told by several people that the best place  to buy souvenirs is at the Swap Meet,  held every Wed, Sat., and Sun at the Aloha  Stadium.  For all of you planning trips to Hawaii  in the future... here is my TIP:  Plan to  go to Pearl Harbor on a Wed,  Sat, or Sun... since the stadium is right by to Pearl Harbor.  We were pretty busy on  Saturday, and I didn't want to go "shopping" on Sunday, so this was pretty  much "it" if we were going to go.  We picked up our rental car and raced over to the stadium (only about 2 miles from the airport).  We figured it would take us  30 - 35 minutes to get  back to the hotel, so we had only 20 minutes to do all  of our shopping!   Luckily I don't like to shop, so I didn't really feel bad about not having lots of shopping time, I just hated feeling rushed.  All I can say  is:

"See Tim and Jeri."

"See Tim and Jeri RUN!"

We found some great gifts for reasonable prices, then drove as fast as we dared to get back to the hotel.  

We  made it  just in time.  (a few minutes late actually, but the shuttle had just gotten there and started looking for us -  so it was  all good!)  We weren't too worried, knowing that if we missed it, we now had a car and could just drive ourselves out, but I was glad we rode the shuttle.  One reason  is that the driver was able to tell us tons of  cool  information as we drove.  We learned lots of interesting things about the island's history and plants (like the army  parking their planes underneath the HUGE canopies of the Monkey Pod  trees so they weren't  visible from the air),  and as we drove past different  locations he would tell us what movies  had  been filmed there  (Karate  Kid 2,  Fantasy Island, The Crouching Lion from Elvis's movie  Blue Hawaii, and Jurassic Park... just to name a  few), PLUS we didn't have to pay for the gas.  (Gas on Oahu while we were there  was  in the  $3.50/gal  range -  it adds up REALLY fast!)

 this is a photo of the island known as "China Man's Hat"

We  arrived  at the PCC  just before  noon.

We had paid for the Ambassador package, which included the dinner and a tour guide to be with us all day to make sure we got the most out of our visit.  Our tour guide for the day was "Cousin EJ."  Here he  is showing us how to make Poi (which tastes pretty bland and yucky!)

We had a GREAT time.  We learned some dances, weaved fish from coconut leaves, ate dinner at the Luau (where I accidentally took a bite of raw fish...eewwww!) and saw many of the shows and demonstrations presented by the different  villages.

Here we are seeing how to make Tahitian Coconut Bread.  (and we got to taste it too)

Learning a hula dance in "Hawaii"

Here are our angel fish

This is the Iosepa, the voyaging Canoe named after Joseph F. Smith (pronouced "yo-sepa")

visiting the "Easter Islands" (photo with what some tour guides lovingly call the Jackson 5)

The 6 islands represented at the P.C.C. are:

TONGA,

SAMOA,

Aotearoa (New Zealand),

HAWAII,

TAHITI,

 and FIJI

My favorite shows were the ones from Tonga, (the drum show) and the one from Samoa (the guy was SO  hilarious!!!) 

After the luau and watching the IMAX movie (the last 1/2 of it anyway), we went to the evening show - "Ha' breath of Life."  It was  really amazing!  this last picture is the closing scene/pose from the show. We were right in the center on the 2nd row, so you can't quite see the whole stage in the picture... but they were AWESOME seats!

Another  reason we were glad that we didn't drive out,  is because it was pretty late when the show got out,  and that,  combined with all the  walking  and  sun that day... we were tired on the way home. (I dozed off and on all the way back)  We got back to hotel just after 11pm.  I'm pretty sure I was asleep before Tim even finished brushing his teeth.

Hawaii Vacation - Day 2 (a somber day of remembering...)

Today we rented a car and drove out to Pearl Harbor.

On the way over, we saw our first "Hawaiian Rainbow." It was beautiful! (not so much in the photo, but you can get the general idea) you could see the whole arc, end to end.

First we watched a 30 minute video about the events of Pearl Harbor, then we went out to the Arizona Memorial,


the USS Battleship Missouri - as seen from the Arizona Memorial.
(which we would later go over and tour)

then we took tours of the USS Bowfin (submarine),


Cramped sleeping quarters above, teeny tiny bathroom below... talks about serious claustrophobia... I could NOT serve on a submarine. It was hard enough to be in those cramped space for the hour long audio tour.


the Pearl Harbor Museum, In this museum we saw a replica of a nuclear war head. That thisng was MASSIVE! (and scary!) I know we took some picutres of it, but I can't find them. (Don't know why??? We only have over 700 photos of the trip?!?!?! Go figure!


and "The Mighty MO." (USS Battleship Missouri).


These anchor chains were really incredible. Each individual link weighed over 100 lbs! I'm think it was 104lbs or 124lbs or something close to that...) I don't remember all the exact specifics now, like how many links there were per chain and how heavy the anchors were, but trust me when I say it was massively H.E.A.V.Y.!!




this (above) is Tim leaning over the side to take a picture of the spot where a Japaneses Kamikaze pilot crashed into the side on the ship, and here below is the spot - you can see the indentation it caused.

This spot is where the Peace Treaty ending WWII was signed in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945


After leaving Pearl Harbor, we then drove up to The Punchbowl Crater where we visited the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.


I loved how they shaped many of the trees into wreaths.


Both of these visits were rather serious and somber, but it was a wonderful opportunity to reflect on how grateful I am to live in this country and how I need to more consistently remember and honor the memory of all those who gave their lives to ensure our freedoms. (and the terrible price paid by their families...)

One funny thing about this day was our lunch. At Pearl Harbor the only thing they offered at the snack bar was soup (that didn't look great to me) ice cream (not really "lunch") or hot dogs. We opted for the hot dogs. They weren't very good. (Blech!) Then we were totally bummed to get out to the USS Missouri to find a real snack bar - with REAL food! For the rest of the vacation, this became our standard joke when we were figure out what to eat for lunch or dinner,
"I don't want a hot dog..."


On the way back to our hotel we found a grocery store bought some food for our breakfasts, lunches, and snacks. Milk there is ridiculously expensive! At the local ABC stores (you see them on about every other corner in Waikiki) you have to pay over $5 for 1/2 gallon!!!

We also bought some dinner at the grocery deli and drove to the beach to each our dinner. It was dark already... but I didn't care. I love the beach and wanted to eat there anyway, so Tim humored me.



PS: FOR CHARLOTTE

photo taken in the Punchbowl Crater a the N.M.C.of the P. (not official abbreviation, I just didn't want to type it all out - so instead I typed all of this out) in Honolulu HI., so I can officially be a member of USoSL (more lions to come)

and just for old times sake... does this lovely photo remind you of anything???

Hawaii Vacation - Day 1 (not exciting... just the flight over)

My mom arrived at our house at 7:45, and we left for the airport. We flew out of SLC at 10:30 am, took the short hop to Phoenix, 2 hour layover, boarded the plane, then sat at the gate for an hour while they checked out a "mechanical failure warning light." The mechanics finally determined that while the part in question was indeed not working, we could still safely fly the plane, so off we went. 6 long, uncomfortable hours later, we arrived in Honolulu, Hawaii just after 6pm (10pm Utah time). We collected our suitcase, figured out which bus to take ($9 each), made the 30 minute drive through crazy traffic into downtown Waikiki, and finally got to our hotel, the Maile Sky Court.

I loved that the hotel check in counter - the whole lobby in fact, is basically outside. It's covered, and has big shutters around the lobby that they can close, but it is pretty much like sitting outside on a partially enclosed porch. After putting our stuff in our room, we went out for walk and to search for dinner. We found some mobile food places - old shuttle buses, that had been converted into food kitchens. We opted for Mexican and it tasted pretty good and was not too expensive for PLENTY of food! back to the hotel and fell asleep in no time at all!

Flying West, we were chasing the sun -

our first glimpse of the island

a view of the entrance of Pearl Harbor


WE FINALLY MADE IT!