Yesterday we rented a car and drove north. I think we truly saw the real Hawaii. The scenery along the coast is breathtaking. We tried to capture some of it on film, but I'm not sure the pictures do it justice. After getting lost once and having to back track a little, we decided to stop for lunch at L&L drive in Hawaiian BBQ. You wouldn't want to eat there too often! It was delicious but even with sharing plates it was a lot of meat and carbs! There are some beautiful homes and some pretty run down beach shacks along the way. We saw numerous adults and children riding in the backs of pick ups. We also noticed most motorcyclists are without helmets. It seems anything goes in Hawaii.
We arrived at the Polynesian Cultural Centre after lunch. We debated going but in the end, we thought the kids would really enjoy the experience. It's overpriced, I think, but the evening show is really spectacular. We got there in time for the canoe pageant. This was a fantastic, colourful show displaying all the different Polynesian tribes dancing and doing chants on canoes in the lagoon. Then we toured the different villages. The girls had fun collecting stamps and doing different activities like spear throwing, fishing, palm weaving, bamboo instruments and learning the hula.
We had a great dinner at the restaurant there. Thankfully this was included in our price! The evening show was next. It was an amazing display of colour, fire, lights and dances. The highlights for us were the Tahiti dancers and the Tongan fire walkers and jugglers. One particular man was able to juggle and do various gymastic type acts with torches lit on both ends. They even had a simulated volcano near the end of the show. It was really hot and humid. They get you by selling cold pineapple delight ice cream with fruit at intermission. Normally, I wouldn't spend 5 dollars on a bowl of ice cream, but we were desperate!!
We drove home around 9. Unfortunately, it was dark so we didn't get to enjoy the scenery. The girls and I are just relaxing now while Mike takes back the rental car. Our plan is to enjoy the Waikiki beaches some more before we have to go! We may do Pearl Harbour later today. I may or may not blog tomorrow depending on how the day shapes up. Thanks for reading!
4 comments:
Sounds like a great memorable and very cultural day. What fun! You've sure jammed a lot into a week.
Don't come home...it is dark, dreary and rainy....in every way. It's supposed to be like this all week until the weekend. Good back to school weather I suppose but I'm already craving the warm embrace of the sun again.
See you soon!
I've heard it's rainy at home. We love the rain here. It seems to "rain" every afternoon for approximately 5 minutes. It's more like gettting misted by a spray bottle and then it's back to sun. What a concept! What is really funny is that some of the tourists freak out and head for cover. I guess they're not from the west coast!
Don't pay any attention to what Heather says! I want you home. Besides, it's sunny today -- not dreary at all, and not too hot. :)
I have loved reading this blog and seeing your pictures... I've shown Layni too. She keeps saying, "When are they getting home? When can we have a playdate?" I'm trying to convince her to give you a couple days to adjust to normal life again ;)
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