Soaking in the culture

     Slept in a little, then all headed to the Bishop Museum (Hawaiian Museum of Natural History). They have new exhibits that we all enjoyed!  We split and a few went to Walmart to restock supplies while a few finished up at the museum. We quickly changed into our luau clothes and headed down for the Fia Fia luau. There were quite a few pre luau activities - Rob tried his hand at making fire, Linda got a turtle "tattoo", and we made some headbands.  The food was great, and the show was even better. Mike made peace with the island warriors, grandma and grandpa honored for 57 years of marriage, while Madison learned the moves of Tahiti!  Enjoy the pictures!

Memorial Day part 2

     Grandad, Mike, Marshall, and Madison got up very early and headed to the airport to go off to the Big island of Hawaii for the day.  Once they landed on Hawaii,they got on the tour bus and headed to a black sand beach.  They saw a Japanese zen garden and Rainbow Falls. All enjoyed the macadamia nut ice cream! Next, they went into Volcano National Park.  Here they saw lava fields, steam vents, lava lakes, and lava tubes. At the end of the road, they saw a lava arch in the ocean (really cool)!  Heading back to the airport, they saw cliffs and craters. Flew back and returned to Ko olina. A very long but incredible day!

Memorial Day part 1

     Today we split into two groups, grandma stayed at the hotel in the morning (rested and did aqua fit class) while Rob, Rian, and Linda went snorkeling. We had beautiful weather, nice boat, and we saw some spinner dolphins which were very entertaining. We also enjoyed seeing many fish. After returning to the resort, we played in the pools and hot tubs. We all attended the welcome ceremony and saw fire knife dancers, tree climbing, and got coconuts.  Ended the day with dinner. (See part 2 for grandad, Mike, Marshall, and Madison's day)

Settling in and views and food galore

     Some rose at 4 am (still on the east coast time). Had a leisurely morning in the ocean lagoon and grandmom and grandad did an aqua fit class. After a quick lunch, we headed to scenic  overlooks.  First, we visited Pu'u Ualaka'a State Park for amazing views across Honolulu and of Diamond head.  On our way down, Rob spotted a mongoose. We then headed over to Nuʻuanu Pali for views of the windwrd side of the island. Next, we finished the day with stops at Costco and Walmart to stock up on food. A great day for all!  Grandad says he's never seen anything like the volcanic mountains here. 

Reunited in Hawaii

     We got off the ship this morning and went to a laundromat to do lanundry from the cruise while we waited for the others to arrive.  We stopped off at the local Don Quijote for price comparison.  Once we finished the laundry, we headed to the airport to greet the others.  Once they landed, they had to taxi for an hour until a gate opened.  We found everyone and presented them with the hand made Lei's Linda and I made for them all.  On the way to the hotel we are stuck in Honolulu traffic since several lanes are closed on the major highway.  Now every other vehicle is taking the same alternate route.  Just like home only it is 4 P. M.  in the afternoon in Honolulu verses 10 P. M. back home.  Our current objective feed the masses and let them get some much needed rest.  It took Linda and I three days to get adjusted.

Movie memories and coastal beauty

     Up and out at 6 A. M. for our tour. We spent the day driving the eastern side of Kauai visiting movie sites. Over 69 major films have included scenes here.  Some we saw were from "The Descendants, Mighty Joe Young, King Kong, Jurassic park, Blue Hawaii", and more. I almost lost Rob  to a huge dinosaur! Then we saw the inspiration for "Puff the magic dragon".  We spent the midday organizing and then topped the day off with a cruise of the Na Pali coast (1 of the top 50 National Geographic most beautiful sites).  We are very excited to have everyone join us tomorrow!

Kauai and beauty of nature

     Attended the port talk given by our Hawaiian ambassador and glad I did. We had a rental car today so we drove up to Waimea canyon (known as the Grand Canyon of the pacific). Saw beautiful views of canyon, ocean, and waterfalls. We then headed down by the sea and went to Puka Dogs (recommended at talk) - they were yummy!  Next we spent a few hours at Poipu beach and had up close encounters with both fish and turtles. PS- uncle Bert never liked chicken on the beach, but here there are real live chickens on the beach!