Hawaii: Day six

Day six, maybe it was the best. The first thing we did in the morning was a high school exchange with the Kahuku High School. They are near the Polynesian Center and also have a show choir.
The kids really enjoyed talking and getting to know each other. Pasco performed first and then the Kahuku students after. They were very good. I expected a cultural routine, but they performed a variety of fun songs and dance. One highlight came while Pasco sang "On the White Sandy Beach" one of the girls performed the hula during the song. I have never seen our boys smile so much. She was beautiful and she could move. After their performance, we convinced the boys to do the Hakka. AWESOME! I will try to upload the video here or on FB. Then they exchanged FB info. Kylie was too shy to give hers, so I helped her out. When we got home she screamed because she had a FB request from Hawaii:) That isn't the boy, but he was cute so I made her take a picture with him (Daniel jumped in for the fun of it.) What are moms for?

Next, Eddie, our tour guide, took us to the BYU campus for lunch. BEAUTIFUL! The temple is right next door. I wish we would have had more time to walk over to it.
Then came the exciting Polynesian Cultural Center, the second reason I wanted to visit Hawaii.
Eddie used to work there and took us all around. I loved learning about all the cultural. Everyone working there seems to just love it and have a great time. This is the Samoan brothers. Their tattoos were crazy and they were a hoot! They kept saying they are happy because the men cook, clean, hunt and do everything to make the women happy. If the woman is happy, the family is happy:) Then he would say, "Why didn't I move sooner?"
This is part of the canoe parade and this was Samoa because they are happy. They rocked their boat so much they made the guys on the back fall off. I'm sure it's part of the show, but it's super funny. This is New Zealand. That is where the Hakka originated from. The Hakka is thought of by most as a war dance. But it can also be a greeting dance or celebration.
This guy waved at me and I giggled like one of the high school girls.
This is Tahiti and he posed for me. SCARY!
This is also Tahiti. You can tell because the hip and head ornaments are large. They believed the bigger the hair, the more power. This is the Hawaiian canoe. This is a demonstration of the many instruments the Hawaiian people used made out of everyday things. She also demonstrated a beautiful Hula.This is the Tongan canoe. At the village, they played amazing drums. I think my brother-in-law Matt needs to visit his father's homeland and bring me back a drum:)
The Luau was nice. This little girl and her brother performed. They looked about nine and seven.
The night show was fantastic. It tells a story and portrays all the islands. The best part came when Eddie came out and did the fire dance for us and blew our group a kiss. He's in the picture somewhere:)
We went wild!!! For as large of a stadium it is, he said he could hear us. If I ever go back, I would take a few days at the Polynesian Center. It was FANTASTIC!

Hawaii: Day five

Day five we went to the Aloha Stadium swap meet. .
This circles all the way around the Aloha Stadium. We had two hours to shop and I thought it would be way too long. I was wrong. I didn't have enough time or cash on me to do all the shopping I wanted. I couldn't even tell I was going in a circle. When I saw it was getting time to leave, I thought I would have to turn around and run back. But when I looked up, I was back where I started. I did get 8 t-shirts for $20, a variety of bracelets and necklaces 12 for $5, the boys shark necklaces for a few dollars and Camri a swimsuit for $10. I wanted a bag, but didn't have enough time to choose, soooooo many! I also wanted board shorts, but wasn't sure Jory T. would wear them. It was really fun and sometimes I don't think shopping is fun at all.

We boarded the bus at 10:30 and headed to Pearl Harbor. This was one of the reasons I decided to face my fear of flying and go to Hawaii. I've always wanted to see Pearl Harbor. They are doing a lot of construction, so we didn't get to see much. However, I cried reading the stories of some of the heroes that sacrificed so much that day. We watched a video and Kylie and I cried more. I was overwhelmed with awe at the bravery so many showed in such an ordeal. It is sad to read the names of all those who lost their lives that day. This is the USS Arizona's anchor, the only part of the battleship that was recovered after it was destroyed in the attack. All the battleships were hit and damaged during the attack on Pearl Harbor. All were repaired and fought in WWII except the USS Arizona ,that sunk, the USS Utah, and the USS Oklahoma, which were too damaged to repair. We were supposed to take a boat and visit the USS Arizona's memorial, but the winds were gusting at 60 miles an hour, so they cancelled that part of the tour. However, you can still see parts of the ship sticking out from the water. It was fascinating in a very depressing way. It's so sad to know over 1100 men's bodies are still entombed in the ship and it just sits in the water like a ghost. They are in the process of constructing memorials for the Utah and Oklahoma battleships as well.

This submarine sank more enemy battleships than any other submarine and was retired in honor of this fact. Next to it is a memorial of all the US submarines that were sunk during the war and the men that lost their lives serving on them. Some of them have not even been recovered. One sub was discovered just a few years ago somewhere in the ocean. The men who served in those submarines must have been brave men.
After the Pearl Harbor's visitor center, we boarded the bus for the USS Missouri, a retired battleship that was repaired after damaged during the attack. On our way over the bridge to the USS Missouri, the bus driver warned us not to take pictures of the base since it is still a fully operating army base (at least that's what I thought she said). If you did, the officers would toss your camera into the water. She said she's seen it happen more than once. So I'm thinking I can take pictures until we reach the other side of the bridge. That's how I got this picture of the dock where the opening credits of Gilligan's Island were filmed. Luckily, my friend told me to put the camera away. I guess you can't take pictures of the bay once you pass the officers posted on the bridge. Once we were inside the USS Missouri tour area, you could take pictures. So as I got off the bus, I kept looking over my shoulder for the big soldier who would relieve me of my camera. I didn't take another picture until everyone else had taken a bunch.

We took a group picture in front of the guns, but mine got smeared. However, the kid's picture is cute. Then the group sang down on the docks in front of the ship. The tour guide cried and many workers and tourist on board and around the ship stopped to listen. The choir director said he'd never had so many people stop and listen before when they've performed there in the past. The battleship was huge.
It holds the plaque of the Japanese surrender.
And seeing the Arizona from its deck is very touching.

Kylie in the captain's chair. I didn't realize a big ship would need windshield wipers.
By the time we got back on the bus, I was tired from all the emotions and the wind.
That night the director took all the chaperones to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. I took a cheesecake back to the room to celebrate one of the girl's 18th birthday. YUMMY!!!!
I think if I were to go back to Pearl Harbor, I would wait until all the construction was complete and make sure I had a good day or two to read, see and feel everything. I'm glad I at least had a short visit to remember those who died serving our country.

Hawaii: Day four

Tuesday was one of the best days. We went on Captain Bob's Catamaran and learned to snorkel. This was our first trip to another side of the Island. I was blown away by the mountains and cliffs. It was more like a rain forest.The dock we left from is famous for the movie "50 First Dates." It's the dock the little kids flip off. That's one of my favorite movies so I had to throw that in.
When we boarded the boat, we headed out to a sand bar to learn how to snorkel. I picked it up right away and loved it. It took Kylie a little while. She's a great swimmer and preferred to go with just the goggles. She finally got the hang of it. After practicing for quite a while, we played volleyball in the ocean. It was amazing. The sand bar is huge. It was so cold though, I spent most of my time sinking back into the water to stay warm..
We ate lunch on the boat and then set off for the reef. On the way, we saw so many sea turtles. They are cool!!! I got some better video of them. They would poke their heads out and swim right by. One flipped over in front of us and I got it on video. Exciting stuff to a girl that's only seen them in a zoo:) The reef we went to was about the size of a football field. The guide told us not to stand up on the reef or touch any species. He said a few weeks ago a girl came back with a cut finger from trying to pet an eel. The eel bit her. It was fascinating and relaxing to snorkel and see the coral When I would come up to see where I was, it was noise and cold, but in the water, it was quiet and peaceful. I was swimming along enjoying myself when an eel about three feet long snapped at me. I hadn't even seen it before I was right there and saw his face and teeth. It snapped twice and I kept my fingers and toes away from it. Then it swam down into a cave in the coral. AWESOME!!!! Too bad my video camera wasn't waterproof.
We got back to the motel around four and had the rest of the night to do what we wanted. It turned out, all the kids and most of the adults ended up at Jimmy Buffet's Restaurant for dinner. When dinner was over a live band began to play. The kids started dancing in front and the band asked who they were. When they found out they were a choir group, they invited the kids to sing along. They even let two girls sing a song each on stage and the two guitarist play on stage. We were singing along and the crowd loved the kids.. The kids on stage at the Jimmy Buffet's.

It was a blast. Definitely a day of firsts for many of us:)
From Day three, this is Pomi, the funny tour guide from Paradise Cove.
This is a little bit of our crazy bus games coming home from Paradise Cove. Camri said, "They shouldn't be standing on the bus." Just more fun pictures.





Goodness, this almost looks like an engagement picture! Actually it's one of my favorites. Michael's a great boy that's her friend:)