July 5

POLYNESIAN CULTURAL CENTER


It was "couples day" and we each did our own thing.
Today Jack and I went to the Polynesian Cultural Center. My parents had gone on their 1st or 2nd trip to Hawaii, so they enjoyed some time on the beach & shopping, while Cindy & Jason did a hike and bike into the rainforest.

Jack & I absolutely LOVED the PCC - maybe it's the whole "Disney-lovers" in us, ha ha, but it was seriously great and I recommend everyone to go if their on Oahu. It was a day learning all about the different cultures, traditions, and history of the Pacific Islands. We got the package (which I also recommend to everyone) where it included coach bus transportation round trip, a personalized tour guide for group of about 12, buffet lunch, luau dinner buffet, and the 'Ha Breath of Life show at night. By being in with a tour guide and in a smaller group we were able to see all the shows each "island" puts on and really hit it all before dinner.

A special thing for the PCC and actually in for all those islands, is to be "cousins" with everyone. That is truly part of the culture and as a cousin you are family! First - for our bus ride there we had a guide who was mighty fabulous. He is from Samoa and was mighty cute haha!! His name was Cousin Boyd. (I have a big Cousin Boyd crush...! Jack's ok with it) Cousin Boyd taught us many things about the island as we drove the hour and 15 minutes to get there and showed us where lots of movies & shows have filmed as we drove by them - it was really cool and he was very fun!!! I also told Jack that he looks a lot like the guy on the side of our bus. He casually mentioned to us that he'd be performing in the show that evening. Well - turns out COUSIN BOYD IS A CELEBRITY!!! A TRUE BIG DEAL!! He was the main fire-juggling, fire everything entertainment in the show!! HE WAS SOOO TALENTED!! AND...on our bus ride back others were talking about Boyd's humbleness on the ride there and how we all recognized him in the show ...turns out he used to be Mana - the main character in the show!! He stepped down to "fire-guy" because he missed the bus tours ...like the job he had with us that day taking us to the PCC. Wow - I was impressed - stepping down from the main character to ride on a bus with tourists! I gotta say - it makes sense though because he was soo fun to have on the bus! **And turns out - it was Cousin Boyd's picture on the side of our bus!!!

Our tour guide for the day at the PCC was Cousin Ita (E-ta) and he was FABULOUS!!! What a fun guy!! All of the people who work at the PCC are students at Brigham Young University right next to the PCC, all students who are from any of the Pacific Islands. They are able to be on a scholarship program to earn their college education and they then work to pay for part of it at the PCC. All of the money from tickets, etc. go to these students. If anything, I'm so happy we spent the day here and contributed to these students' education!!

July 4

Happy 4th of July!!!!


I must say it was really fun & special to be in Hawaii for the 4th of July!!
I have never spent a 4th of July before without it including my parents house in some form - this year was the first ever being away for all of us really! Gotta say - WORTH IT!!! And I'd do it again!!

Jack and I walked around a little more in downtown Waikiki for the morning, then we headed to the Aloha Tower & Marketplace with my parents for the afternoon. We went up to the top of the Aloha Tower and got some great views and pictures on all 4 sides! We did a little shopping ...again, at this marketplace it involves bartering...which I completely failed at! If anything I walked away with a comical story/memory..and a dress/shirt for "Just 18 dalla's...I give to you, normally 30!" A wonderfully sweet, and very good Japanese sales woman pulled me in from the sidewalk to her store. And not only called me a super model (haha...wtf!?), but also said this dress was "made just fo' you!" She held it up to me as a dress (and was pretty touchy and close on the top half if you get what I'm sayin' here...) and then positioned it right on my waist, my hips in her hands lol, to show me how great it works as a skirt too. Needless to said I adored her accent/cuteness, was completely awkward, and can't say no to anybody... so I called in Jack to complete the purchase. LOL - then she goes "Ohhhh, this yo' husband?! He needs shirt tooo!" haha...then she found my dad and well...he's just like me - no bartering and just got the stuff to be nice. So he bought himself and Jack Hawaiian shirts - which they wore this evening for our cruise. Turns out to be my dad's favorite Hawaiian shirt from the trip I think!










We headed back to the hotel, had a little appetizer and drink combo, then headed out for our fireworks cruise. We took a catamaran out from Waikiki Beach, into the Pacific Ocean and there we were able to see 3 different firework shows. SPECTACULAR!! I've never watch fireworks from a location other than P-town or H.E. so being in the ocean, in Hawaii...yea, can't beat that! Either next year is going to really stink or I need to find myself a way to be back on a boat in a tropical location next year!! The boat had free drinks & appetizers for everyone and we were out there probably 1.5-2 hours. Fun time and a 4th of July I'll never forget!!!




(their shirts purchased earlier today in my above explanation, hehe!)

July 3

It was an early morning today - gotta beat the heat and get to the top in time!!

Today we hiked Diamond Head!! Something that nobody in our family had done yet - even my parents who, including this trip, have been to Hawaii 4 times!! This was also another adventure/goal/bullet on mom's bucket list that she wanted to do. But overall, we all wanted to take on the challenge!!

Diamond Head is Hawaii's most known landmark. It is a crater that was formed over 300,000 years ago and then a path was made for people, like us, to be able to hike to the top! The top sits at 560 feet, is a .07 mile hike up and the same going back down, and took us 1.5 hours round trip. The last .02 miles are steep stairs and a tunnel. Then you reach the most breathtaking lookout point!! We truly felt like we were at the top of the world!























After the hike it was about 9:30 am so we went to breakfast and then had a relaxing afternoon pool/beach-side!
Included in this afternoon, Jack learned how to paddle board surf. The first day when we got there and he saw people doing it, that's all it took! My "Mr. Adventure" always loves doing things like this...so he does and I watch and cheer him on ...and take pictures of course!! He did REALLY great (I'm not too surprised...that's just Jack, Mr. Athletic!!) and had a fun filled hour out on the ocean surfing/paddling around.






That night for dinner my parents & Jack and I went to the Hau Tree Lanai. It was quite magical sitting under an ancient Hau Tree, the same one that author Robert Louis Stevenson wrote under. Again, the beauty is indescribable!!! Probably one of our best and most fun dinners - as it was just too cool of an experience being under this tree, RIGHT on the beach/ocean!!!

July 2

Time for the North Shore!! The N.S., esp. the town of Haleiwa is known for it's big waves and surfing from about Dec-April. While we didn't see big waves, Haleiwa is a really cool surfer town! We ate at Haleiwa Cafe, total local's place, with AMAZING food! ...Don't ask me about the bathroom, aka outhouse, experience I had... Basically, it just justified every reason I have for NOT going camping!!

We stopped at different BEAUTIFUL beaches along the whole North Shore - breathtaking and I can't even imagine how awesome it would be to see them all packed watching the surfers out in the beautiful aqua water!! ...My next trip to Hawaii has to be during those surfing months so I can see them catch some gnarly swells!! (hehe..surfer talk)

We also stopped at the Dole Pineapple Plantation and along the way got to see fields where the pineapples were growing. So cute! I want a pineapple plantation in my next life! ...Or when I retire, haha!!

Our last stop we made was at Romy's - a local shrimp and prawn stand. Let me explain - the "big thing" on the N.S. are shrimp and shave ice trucks (or stands if the place is popular enough to afford it). And all of them we saw...packed! Everyone is sooo into these things. All the books and friends they haven been there recently told us we MUST stop at these shrimp trucks! So...we did a little research and made a stop at Romy's. We were super excited about this new experience we'd be having (my mom and I were much more excited...dad and Jack could kinda care less).
We wait in line for a good 20 minutes, order our pineapple something..., which we ate while we waited 45, yep 45 minutes, for the shrimp. We got two different kinds - mine was Cajun (obviously) & I can't remember what flavor/kind my mom got. So we sit at our picnic bench, eat these pineapple things, and wait...
They call our number, my mom and I go up - the lady opens the boxes to show us our food before we take it to the table. Opens mine - looks pretty "ok"...minus the shell & legs that are still on the shrimp - not my "cup of tea" by any means.
The open my moms - ....let's just say it's a good thing my mom raised me well and to be polite. Open box contains the shrimp we ordered...with shell, legs, and EYE BALLS!!! YES THE EYES were STILL ON IT!! O - M - G!! LORD HELP ME!!! And then she slammed down the lid of the box to close it back up...but what gets left sticking out the side...AN EYE!! I just about lost it completely in public...but I kept quiet, let my mom carry that box and back to our picnic table we went. I start my "indoor" scream/whine/"OMG I CAN'T DO THIS"/AHHHH moment!! It was quite the site to see...both the shrimp and myself...and my mom too!!
My mom attempted for about...ohhh, 5 seconds and then threw it back in the box and said "No way, no I just can't do it!!" ....Quoted straight from her about 3 minutes later..."This is a worse experience than child birth!" ...WOW -now, I haven't been through that experience, but I've heard it's not that much fun...so if this is worse...Eeek!! ...Good for me though - child birth will now be "a breeze!" haha!!

So I attempt to take the shell and legs off mine - but really - no use - I'm just having a major meltdown! Jack finishes capturing this moment via camera & video and then comes to my rescue and does it for me. My dad eats my mom's and after getting through about half of each...we called it, "Game Over!" Us: 0, Shrimp: 1! Eww!!!

And that my friends was our shrimp stand experience! One we will make sure not to experience ever again! ...makes for a great story though!! It took my mom the rest of vacation to be able to finally laugh about it, hehe!!

Overall....
It was a great day with my parents driving through the whole North Shore and seeing the beauty that lies there!!


























Dinner at House Without a Key






My mom's dreamed of eating here for many, many years!! She loved every second of it!!