Tuesday the 7th of July, was our first full day on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. We were picked up at our hotel, the Ohana East, in the morning by a tour van operated by thePolynesian Cultural Center and taken on a 4 hour tour of the island.
One stop on the tour was the scenic Halona Blowhole Overlook. From the overlook you peer down over the black rock cliffs, out to the blue-green waters on the windward side of Oahu and down onto the Halona Blowhole and Eternity Beach made famous by Burt Lancaster and Debra Kerr in the 1953 movie "From here to Eternity".
Path leading to the Halona Blowhole Overlook
view from the Halona Blowhole Overlook
view from the Halona Blowhole Overlook
view from the Halona Blowhole Overlook
view from the Halona Blowhole Overlook
Halona Blowhole
Halona Blowhole
Eternity Beach
Eternity Beach
Eternity Beach
Also visible from the overlook isPele's Chair, the mythical throne of Hawaii's volcano and fire Goddess Pele.
Pele's Chair, mythical throne of the Goddess Pele
After leaving the Halona Blowhole Overlook our tour bus took us to one of the most windiest places on planet Earth, the Nu'uanu Pali Lookout State Park. The picture below really don't capture how lush and green or how windy this place was. The scenery was gorgeous (including the chickens) and the wind was so strong that at one point it nearly knocked me off my feet!
Nu'uanu Pali Lookout - one of the windiest places on earth
Hawaiian chickens at Nu'uanu Pali Lookout park
Even more chickens at Nu'uanu Pali Lookout Park
Nu'uanu Pali Lookout Park
view of the valley below Nu'uanu Pali Lookout Park
After leaving the park our tour driver cut across the Island and headed towards the North Shore. the North Shore is world famous for many things but mostly for it's surfing. We didn't see any surfers that day but we did stop long enough to get a picture of the famous Hale'iwa sign.
World famous welcoming sign to the North Shore
After passing the sign, our van whisked us north to spend the rest of the day at the Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC) where we enjoyed a delightful afternoon exploring the center and it's 6 authentically recreated Polynesian villages of Tonga, Tahiti, Marquesa, Hawaii, Fiji, Aotearoa,and Samoa before enjoying an authentic Hawaiian Luau.
Hula demonstration at the Polynesian Cultural Center
Canoe pageant at the Polynesian Cultural Center
Canoe Pageant at the Polynesian Cultural Center
Canoe Pageant at the Polynesian Cultural Center
After the Canoe Pageant it was time to prepare for our luau and the star of the luau was the succulent imu roasted pig. An imu is a pit dug into the ground that is lined with hot lava rocks and used for roasting pigs.To prepare the imu a large fire is built over the lava rocks and when the fire burns down a pig is wrapped in banana leaves, placed over the hot rocks and then covered in wet burlap. the pig is left to roast for upwards of 12 hours before it is uncovered and presented to guests.
Our feast roasting in the Imu pit
Undressing the Imu
The pig is revealed
The roasted pig is presented to the guests
After the roasted pig is presented it's time for the luau feats which included dishes like Kalua pig, Teryaki beef, chicken, assorted salads and Hawaiian specialties that consisted of tropical fish, Poke' and Poi. As the luau guests were eating they were entertained with a Hula show that was MC'd and stared a fellow named Nohea. Nohea explained to us that his name meaned "Handsome" in Hawaiian and that we should feel free to call him Handsome. he and the show were very entertaining!
"Handsome" and Hula Girl at the Polynesian Cultural Center
Hula Girl & Hula Boy at the Polynesian Cultural Center
"Handsome" & his girls at the Polynesian Cultural Center
Hula dancers during Luau at the Polynesian Cultural Center
After dinner was over we had about an hour before the evening show, Hā: BREATH OF LIFE, was to be performed. We could take pictures or a recording of the show but believe me, it was pretty good! I particularly enjoyed the music.
The below preview of the show was put together by Hawaiian Airlines a few years ago, it gives you an idea of what the show was about. If you ever make it to Hawaii you have to see this show.
When the show was over we headed back to our hotel in Honolulu. It was a long day, we got in about 10 pm and collapsed in our bed.
My wife and I had a fantastic time on our Hawaiian vacation, if you haven't been there you should really go. The costs of the vacation really weren't as high as people seem to think. Dollar wise it was as if we spent 8 days in Manhattan, so there really wasn't any sticker shock and we can't wait to go back.
If you followed the pictures that I posted on Facebook and Instagram you saw some of the most beautiful and stunning scenes that nature has to provide. The pictures below are from my camera, so those didn't follow along with the others will be seeing them for the first time just everyone else.
In all, my wife and I took over a 1,000 pictures between us and have thus far printed out for ourselves 650 of them. That's way its taken me so long to post some pictures.
The few pictures below are from our first day in Honolulu. We were suppose to arrive at 1:50 pm local time but due to 3 hours of light delays we didn't land until 4:30 pm and didn't get to our hotel until nearly 5:30 pm. After checking in getting our bearings, we walked down a block from the hotel and right onto Waikiki Beach, where we walked around and watched the sunset.
Kuhio Beach State Park (Waikiki Beach) looking towards Diamond Head
Jetty and sea wall protected section of Waikiki Beach
Surf Boards of Waikiki
a Banyan tree welcomes you to the beach
The sun sets on Waikiki
The "Duke"
After the sun set, we got a bite to eat at the Oceanarium Restaurant in the Pacific Beach hotel and then called it a night after a really good buffet dinner of King Crab legs and local favorites.
I'll post more pictures later form our first full day in Hawaii later.
That there wouldn't have been such a long gap between posts this week after coming back from vacation, unfortunately that wasn't the case. I had Jury duty down at the Monmouth County Court House on Monday & Tuesday and had to put in a half day of work on Wednesday. Yesterday was a lost day that started out at the gym and ended with a local meeting that I needed to attend and Netflix.
I'll be posting a few pictures from Hawaii sometime today with a few thoughts on my visit to the islands and some other tidbits from the week that I haven't had time to get around to this week.
I returned home late Wednesday afternoon from what I hope is not a once in a lifetime vacation in Hawaii. I'm still trying to get my bearings from the time difference after seeming to lose a day on the return trip. I have tons of pictures to share but I need to go through them all before posting a few. If you followed my Facebook or Instagram feeds over the past 10 days you saw a few of them and got an idea of what Hawaii was like. In short it was fabulous and spectacular!
Senator Barack Obama’s grandmother, a central figure in his life who helped raise him during his teen-age years, died in Hawaii on Monday morning.
Mr. Obama, who left the presidential campaign trail late last month to travel to Honolulu to bid her farewell, announced the death in a statement released by his spokesman upon landing here this afternoon. Her death comes one day shy of Election Day.
“It is with great sadness that we announce that our grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, has died peacefully after a battle with cancer,” Mr. Obama said in a statement. “She was the cornerstone of our family, and a woman of extraordinary accomplishment, strength, and humility. She was the person who encouraged and allowed us to take chances.”
Madelyn Dunham, who turned 86 on Oct. 26, was unable to travel to see her grandson on the campaign trail. But from her apartment in Honolulu, she religiously followed his bid for the presidency, tracking his movements and his progression through cable television.
Mr. Obama learned of his grandmother’s death a little after 8 a.m. in Jacksonville, Fla., where he had spent the evening, said Robert Gibbs, a senior adviser. Mr. Gibbs said that Mrs. Dunham died late Sunday evening on Hawaii Standard Time, which was between 4 and 5 a.m. on the East Coast.
“She was proud of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren and left this world with the knowledge that her impact on all of us was meaningful and enduring,” Mr. Obama said in the statement. “Our debt to her is beyond measure.”
Mr. Obama released the statement with his sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, who has been at Mrs. Dunham’s side while Mr. Obama has been campaigning for president.
“Our family wants to thank all of those who sent flowers, cards, well-wishes, and prayers during this difficult time. It brought our grandmother and us great comfort,” Mr. Obama said in the statement. “Our grandmother was a private woman, and we will respect her wish for a small private ceremony to be held at a later date.”
