Ali's Truths, Universally Acknowledged . . .: Hawaii Day Two

Because of the time zone changes we all went to bed rather early last night. Which then led to being awake rather early – before 6am. It was just peachy! I sat out on the deck and read for about an hour. That was really fun. Mom and I tried to find the free wi-fi to check our email, but we were unsuccessful. Then we went out for breakfast at this 24 hour cafe right across the street from the hotel. It was pretty good. I forgot that I really only like mom's pancakes. The eggs were good protein though.

After breakfast we caught the bus for a two hour ride to the Polynesian Cultural Center. It is on the other side of the island from where our hotel is. The ride was neat. We traveled through the mountain. The Polynesian Cultural Center is hosted by the students from BYU Hawaii. In fact the park is just behind the University. We got there just as it opened – around 11:30 AM. We got the Ali'i package which came with an IMAX show, a luau dinner and a night show. First thing we did when we got there was to look around the shops. They had some great clothing. (In the end Mom and I ended up buying sarongs for ourselves). Then we had a quick bite to eat – Mom and I shared a fish and sticks meal. It was really quite good. After lunch we each got a shell necklace and then we started into the park.

We first went to a house that showed us the Hawaiian quilt making craft. The ones we saw were all hand made and were just beautiful. As we were leaving the house one of the hosts stopped us and showed us a way to get through the park in a timely manner. We first went to Tonga where Andy was chosen to help play the drums. They gave him a hat to wear for being helpful, that was made out of leaves. It was rather funny. Then we went to Tahiti and learned about the islands of French Polynesia, Tahitian musical instruments and finally how to dance. It was funny to watch us all attempt it, but I really think that I want to be proficient. It's really good exercise and it's cool to watch. Hawaii was next, where we learned about all of the Hawaiian musical instruments and their origins. That was fascinating!

We then found a place along the river to watch the canoe pageant. That was very interesting. Each of the islands had a canoe in which people were dressed in native clothes and performed native dances for us to watch. I really enjoyed it. (Mom kept suggesting I give some of the men there my calling card or phone number. I have to say I was sorely tempted. Those beautifully sculpted torsoes and bulging muscles were enough to drool and sigh over!!!) We then hopped the tram to tour BYU Hawaii and then it took us to the Honolulu temple. What a beautiful temple! I didn't realize that it was the fifth temple built. At the temple they gave us each a flower to put in our hair. We came back to see the IMAX movie about the Coral Reef. I think I have seen it before, but I can't remember where.

The Luau dinner came next. They greeted us with real flower leis and then showed us to our seats. We watched them take the roast pig out of the ground and then they performed some song and dance for us. The dinner was buffet style. I had fruit salad, pineapple and watermelon chunks, rice, a purple sweet potato, purple roll, pork and fish. Everything was good except for the fish which was nasty. Not a one of us liked it. Then for dessert I had a piece of Guava cake, chocolate macadamia cake and a bite of a pineapple bar. I didn't like the pineapple bar, but the other two were good. After dinner we went to the night show, Horizon, where they showcased each culture with music and dancing. I really liked the fire dancing and batons, as well as the Tahitian dancing. That was a very enjoyable show. We left right after the show and caught the bus for our two hour ride back to the hotel. We got back at 11:30 pm, so you can only guess how tired we all are. I think we all napped a little on the ride back.