Hawaii - Day 2 - Oahu
Day 2 -
We woke up around 6:00 A.M. and went to an "orientation" that the company, who we bought our vacation through, was having. It wasn't really much of an orientation as it was a sales pitch, but at least we got breakfast out of it and some really cute pictures of us (I'll have to scan them in). They were trying to sell us tickets to do stuff at a lower price. But since we only had time to do one thing that day, and we were leaving for Kauai in the morning, we went to the Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC). That is the coolest place.
We had to rent a car because the PCC was on the other side of the Island. So we rented a car and it was pretty cheap... only $29.00 and that was a Mid-size. They gave us a map and said we could go up and across, go through the mountains, or go along the coast... guess which one we picked. Yep, we went along the coast. Their "Freeway" is only 3 lanes and it's 50 MPH. A big change from 5-6 lanes and 65 MPH. Then we had to take the coast highway, which was only a 2 lane road, and 45 MPH. It was so pretty and so much fun. We got some really cool pictures. It was so cool to see a huge "rock" out there all by itself. And most of the time the ocean was right there next to the road... LOVE IT!!! We also saw an elementary school that was so neat. I didn't get a picture of it, because we passed to fast and we couldn't find a place soon enough to turn around. But it was pretty much all open, was up on stilts, and looked like a house. I bet every kid would love to go to school there.
We finally reach the Polynesian center, which wasn't really that far away and we could have taken the bus, but having the car was so much more fun! I forgot to get a picture of the outside... silly me. But it was so pretty. Did you know that it's sponsored by the LDS church, and a lot of them who work there are going to BYU Hawaii. So when we pay to go there we are helping them to get an education and they take what they've learned back to their Native Home and teach people there. That's so cool huh?!
We got inside and found our friend's sister (who is now our friend). She works there and gave us a discount. We walked around the gift shop, then started our journey around the 7 Villages: Aotearoa (New Zealand), Fiji, Hawaii, Samoa, Tahiti, Tonga, and the Polynesian Triangle (which isn't really a village, its the group of them, but they consider it one of the villages.). We got to visit each one, which they are all on the same property, but they have people there talking about each culture: they show you some of their dances, teach you their language, and have the different houses they live in. We even got some temporary tattoos. I got the princess one and Nick got a Warrior one on his leg and a Chief one on his arm. They used the acrylic paint and just thinned it out. There was a boat that they built by Hand and they actually use it. It was huge and so pretty. There were also some really pretty waterfalls. I tried to take our picture but couldn't get far enough away, so a very nice lady took our picture for us. Then about 2:30 they all get on Canoe and show you the dances from their homes. That was one of my favorite parts. It was great, the dancers on the Samoa Canoe rocked it so hard (on purpose) that they knocked their "driver" off. It was great. :)
Once that show was over, we walked around a little bit more. Leaned how to make paper roses, and took the tour bus over to the Temple. They drove us around the outside of the BYU campus and then over to the Temple. The 2 sister missionaries that were our guides, we so cute. The one was from Germany and the other from Las Vegas. Once we reached the Temple they took our pictures and then had us walk into the visitor's center. We walked in and sat down in front of the statue of Jesus Christ (like the one at Temple Square), played the introduction and then had us walk into a room that showed pictures of the Temple and a little bit about what goes on. The Sister from Las Vegas (I'm so bad with names... I have forgotten them already) asked where we were from, and we said "Utah". She said "Oh, so you know all about the Temple, huh?" we nodded and she told us that since we already know about the Temple, we could walk around and look at what we wanted, but just to be back in 10 minutes. So we walked out of that room and were looking around. Then the Sister from Germany asked if we were members, and we told her yes. She said "I thought so, but I wasn't sure". Then she asked if we wanted to watch a really neat video. We said Yes. She took us in there and said that they made the movies for the Asian cultures to help explain in more detail about Heavenly Father. She said there was 3: Korea, Japan, or China. We chose China. It was really good. It help explain that we create things everyday... help things grow, and Heavenly Father created us and want us to learn about him and how we came to be. I was crying by the end and it was only about 5 minutes long. Then we were talking to her some more and Nick asked which part of Germany she was from. She was from Frankfort, and Nick told her that his Dad was born in Mannheim. She got really excited and said "Oh, then you speak German." He sad No, unfortunately I don't. Then we walked outside and got closer to the Temple. Oh... it was so pretty. Next time we go we are making the time to go inside. :)
We got back and it was time to stand in line for Dinner, the Luau. It was first come first serve, so we got right up front and got to eat first. It was so much fun. I ordered a Strawberry smoothie that came in a Pineapple. It was SO good. The food was really good and the dances were too. They had roasted the pig in the pit for like 8 hours. They put Banana leaves on top because they keep in the heat and don't turn to ash. They pulled it out while we were there. It was kind of gross, but cool too. Our host played the Ukulele, and even played it with his teeth. He told us that where we were at was one of the shots in Blue Hawaii. Gave us the history of the Ukulele, and sang like Elvis. He was so good.
When that was over they had a show called Horizon. We had to walk to the other end of the "park" to see it. It was WONDERFUL!!! Our friend got us great seats... She is wonderful. Thank you!!! I can't explain it... you will have to see the few pictures I could get. They aren't the best because we couldn't have our flash on, but I did the best I could.
When it was over we left and found a really cool beach. We could see the full moon shinning of the water and tried to get pictures. They didn't turn out the best either, they didn't get full beauty of it. Then we drove to our Hotel, through the Mountain, literally. They had a long tunnel. That was cool too.
Then we went to bed to start another fabulous day!
Note: Some of the trees had limbs that would hang down and once they reached the ground they would root and start another tree. There is a picture in this slide. They are so cool.
We woke up around 6:00 A.M. and went to an "orientation" that the company, who we bought our vacation through, was having. It wasn't really much of an orientation as it was a sales pitch, but at least we got breakfast out of it and some really cute pictures of us (I'll have to scan them in). They were trying to sell us tickets to do stuff at a lower price. But since we only had time to do one thing that day, and we were leaving for Kauai in the morning, we went to the Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC). That is the coolest place.
We had to rent a car because the PCC was on the other side of the Island. So we rented a car and it was pretty cheap... only $29.00 and that was a Mid-size. They gave us a map and said we could go up and across, go through the mountains, or go along the coast... guess which one we picked. Yep, we went along the coast. Their "Freeway" is only 3 lanes and it's 50 MPH. A big change from 5-6 lanes and 65 MPH. Then we had to take the coast highway, which was only a 2 lane road, and 45 MPH. It was so pretty and so much fun. We got some really cool pictures. It was so cool to see a huge "rock" out there all by itself. And most of the time the ocean was right there next to the road... LOVE IT!!! We also saw an elementary school that was so neat. I didn't get a picture of it, because we passed to fast and we couldn't find a place soon enough to turn around. But it was pretty much all open, was up on stilts, and looked like a house. I bet every kid would love to go to school there.
We finally reach the Polynesian center, which wasn't really that far away and we could have taken the bus, but having the car was so much more fun! I forgot to get a picture of the outside... silly me. But it was so pretty. Did you know that it's sponsored by the LDS church, and a lot of them who work there are going to BYU Hawaii. So when we pay to go there we are helping them to get an education and they take what they've learned back to their Native Home and teach people there. That's so cool huh?!
We got inside and found our friend's sister (who is now our friend). She works there and gave us a discount. We walked around the gift shop, then started our journey around the 7 Villages: Aotearoa (New Zealand), Fiji, Hawaii, Samoa, Tahiti, Tonga, and the Polynesian Triangle (which isn't really a village, its the group of them, but they consider it one of the villages.). We got to visit each one, which they are all on the same property, but they have people there talking about each culture: they show you some of their dances, teach you their language, and have the different houses they live in. We even got some temporary tattoos. I got the princess one and Nick got a Warrior one on his leg and a Chief one on his arm. They used the acrylic paint and just thinned it out. There was a boat that they built by Hand and they actually use it. It was huge and so pretty. There were also some really pretty waterfalls. I tried to take our picture but couldn't get far enough away, so a very nice lady took our picture for us. Then about 2:30 they all get on Canoe and show you the dances from their homes. That was one of my favorite parts. It was great, the dancers on the Samoa Canoe rocked it so hard (on purpose) that they knocked their "driver" off. It was great. :)
Once that show was over, we walked around a little bit more. Leaned how to make paper roses, and took the tour bus over to the Temple. They drove us around the outside of the BYU campus and then over to the Temple. The 2 sister missionaries that were our guides, we so cute. The one was from Germany and the other from Las Vegas. Once we reached the Temple they took our pictures and then had us walk into the visitor's center. We walked in and sat down in front of the statue of Jesus Christ (like the one at Temple Square), played the introduction and then had us walk into a room that showed pictures of the Temple and a little bit about what goes on. The Sister from Las Vegas (I'm so bad with names... I have forgotten them already) asked where we were from, and we said "Utah". She said "Oh, so you know all about the Temple, huh?" we nodded and she told us that since we already know about the Temple, we could walk around and look at what we wanted, but just to be back in 10 minutes. So we walked out of that room and were looking around. Then the Sister from Germany asked if we were members, and we told her yes. She said "I thought so, but I wasn't sure". Then she asked if we wanted to watch a really neat video. We said Yes. She took us in there and said that they made the movies for the Asian cultures to help explain in more detail about Heavenly Father. She said there was 3: Korea, Japan, or China. We chose China. It was really good. It help explain that we create things everyday... help things grow, and Heavenly Father created us and want us to learn about him and how we came to be. I was crying by the end and it was only about 5 minutes long. Then we were talking to her some more and Nick asked which part of Germany she was from. She was from Frankfort, and Nick told her that his Dad was born in Mannheim. She got really excited and said "Oh, then you speak German." He sad No, unfortunately I don't. Then we walked outside and got closer to the Temple. Oh... it was so pretty. Next time we go we are making the time to go inside. :)
We got back and it was time to stand in line for Dinner, the Luau. It was first come first serve, so we got right up front and got to eat first. It was so much fun. I ordered a Strawberry smoothie that came in a Pineapple. It was SO good. The food was really good and the dances were too. They had roasted the pig in the pit for like 8 hours. They put Banana leaves on top because they keep in the heat and don't turn to ash. They pulled it out while we were there. It was kind of gross, but cool too. Our host played the Ukulele, and even played it with his teeth. He told us that where we were at was one of the shots in Blue Hawaii. Gave us the history of the Ukulele, and sang like Elvis. He was so good.
When that was over they had a show called Horizon. We had to walk to the other end of the "park" to see it. It was WONDERFUL!!! Our friend got us great seats... She is wonderful. Thank you!!! I can't explain it... you will have to see the few pictures I could get. They aren't the best because we couldn't have our flash on, but I did the best I could.
When it was over we left and found a really cool beach. We could see the full moon shinning of the water and tried to get pictures. They didn't turn out the best either, they didn't get full beauty of it. Then we drove to our Hotel, through the Mountain, literally. They had a long tunnel. That was cool too.
Then we went to bed to start another fabulous day!
Note: Some of the trees had limbs that would hang down and once they reached the ground they would root and start another tree. There is a picture in this slide. They are so cool.
Comments