When a Trip Falls in Your Lap

I do these travelogues for me. If I don't write it down, I just forget so much of the trip.

Last spring, an opportunity to reserve a trip to Hawaii presented itself. Hawaii has always been a place I've wanted to visit, but other places were higher on the "bucket" list. This opportunity to go to Oahu presented itself in a way that made it obtainable cost wise so we jumped at the opportunity to split a two bedroom condo with our son and his family. The trip was to take place over Christmas week, so there were several months of anticipation in which it didn't really seem real.

We left our house at 8:00 a.m., our grandson driving us to the airport. He was to watch our dogs and keep an eye on our house while we were gone. There has been a new airport built here in the last few years (a second "half" of it is still being built) and this was my first time at the new airport. I have heard a lot of jokes about the walk required at the airport being another "pioneer trek" because of how far you have to walk to get to the gates. Our glass guild had tried to apply to do some art work for the airport, and basically received a flat "no", a company from California was doing all the artwork as part of the contract. So this was my first time at the new airport, and I'm pretty sure this was my first time flying since 9/11.

Pretty, but I think the guild's glass would have added much to it.

I'm not afraid of flying, but there is always that little bit of anxiety during takeoff and landing. During the taxi to the runway, I turned to my husband and said, "Bernoulli lied!" Of course, he laughed. We took off and the view during the flight was beautiful. I took several pictures, one of which I think was of Death Valley and possibly Lake Mead. At times, the clouds cleared enough to see the ocean, even at 35.000 feet.

We landed, and met up with our son and his family who had landed earlier and rented a car. Then we were on our way to the condo we were staying at. The sunset picture at the top of this post is the scene that greeted me as I went out onto the deck (lanai). Between that and the sound/sight of the ocean, I was in love. What a beautiful sight, and the temperature was perfect. The view from the landing on the front of the condo is just as beautiful. 

We got changed and went down to walk on the beach, possibly get hit by a few waves and enjoy the ocean. The waves were just a bit more than we were prepared for we realized as we got hit by the first one, lol! You get reminded that the ocean is a powerful force.  For dinner we found a wonderful, local place that served poke bowls. They had the absolute best crab won tons I have ever had. Yummy.

Someone sitting on the beach with their own Christmas tree. Loved it.

My husband and I had opted to go to the Polynesian Culteral Center on Saturday, my son felt it was a bit too expensive for his family. The plan was for him to drop us off at the PCC and return to pick us up after the evening show. Saturday morning, my silly husband realized he had left his insulin on the kitchen counter. He had an emergency perscription phoned in before we left, because the order he had in was going to be delivered after we left, so that complicated things a bit more. He spent Saturday morning trying to get that taken care of, including going to two different pharmacies. It wasn't going to be resolved quickly, so we went to the PCC. We found a place to eat in the "common" area of the PCC called Pounders and it was really good food! So our son's family left after that to do some sight seeing and return to the condo. 

We entered the "village" area of the PCC and this was a beautiful sight just right inside.

We weren't quite sure where to go, and it took awhile after we were inside to learn that each of the different villages had times where they had "shows" that demonstrated something about the island where they were from. As we were passing by the village that represented Samoa, a very funny man was telling the traditions that come from there. He demonstrated how to open a coconut with a large stick, and climbing a tree to get the coconuts among other things.

  

It turns out he's an artist. His name is Kap, he paints and he carves. He has two galleries at the PCC. He told us he's a friend of Tom Holdman who does the stained glass windows for many of the temples for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints among other things. He was fun to talk to.

Next we found the village that represented the Maori culture. In one area they were teaching people a game where you left your stick standing and moved either to the right or left (depending which was called) and grabbed their stick before it dropped. 

They had a center that showcased the art of carving. This thought was displayed as you came in the door.

Here in Utah, there is a large population of Pacific Islanders. Hakas are seen before certain football games, etc, and I love watching them. This group of wonderful performers sang, performed with the sticks and did an amazing haka. I did get a video of them singing so I can remember the beautiful harmonies. I tried to get a video of the haka, but apparently missed hitting the record button. Dang. If you've never seen a haka... I'm sure you can find videos on YouTube. They are amazing.

As we wandered around we saw this amazing double outrigger canoe. Apparently, this magnificent specimen gets taken out on the ocean every two years by the students at BYU Hawaii for a week or two. Sailing one of these in a storm must be an ordeal, as there is really very little shelter on board. It would be fun to go out for a little bit.

Inserting these shapes in the wood helped keep splits in the wood from running further.

The grounds at the PCC are beautiful. I truly wished we'd had more time to look. One of the things I had really wanted to do on this trip was to try poi. I've always understood you either like it or hate it. I hadn't been able to get tickets to the luau that happens here, so I wondered if I'd get the chance. We happened upon this area where they had just finished a demo on making poi. I didn't get to see it made, but at least I did get to try it. I liked it! It reminded me of mushrooms, a very earthy taste. I just wish I could have tried it as part of a meal.

The poi making station and the taro plant that the poi is made from.

A war canoe. Huge. Beautifully carved at both ends.

Time was running out and we were supposed to eat at the Gateway buffet. So we started walking that way. We ate there, but I was not impressed. We still had time before the evening show, so we decided to take the shuttle to Laie, and see the temple. There were a couple of delightful sister missionaries that were very informative as we took the shuttle and drove past BYU Hawaii, and then on to the temple where we were allowed to disembark and go to the Visitor's Center. It was wonderful to see the temple all lit up.

We got back in plenty of time for the evening show, which was wonderful. No pictures were allowed. It followed a beautiful story of a young man traveling through the different islands and experiencing all of their cultures and ended with an amazing fire dance show. 

Our son was there to pick us up when the show was over. He wanted to pick up some groceries, so we stopped at a WalMart. There was no meat counter there! It was a little strange buying groceries there. I think Hawaii may be still experiencing supply problems. We made one more attempt to figure out the insulin problem, still no solution. We went back to the condo at this point. By this time, it was 2:00 a.m. Utah time. 

The next day, my husband and our daughter-in-law went to find a grocery store to get the goods we couldn't find the night before. My grandson has celiac disease, and we were unsuccessful at finding gluten free soup so I could make a traditional potato dish for Christmas day. I modified the recipe and it wasn't too bad. The hubs was finally able to get his insulin as well. Other than the trip to the store, for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, we really didn't go anywhere. Saturday I watched from the lanai as my son's family hung out on the beach for a bit. Caught a pic as a wave crashed over him.

We hung out around the condo, walked the beach, and on Christmas Day we watched Mathilda the Musical. The kids were able to open a few presents, and while shopping, a small Christmas tree was found, and that was our Christmas.

Next to our condo is Mauna Lahilahi, or "thin mountain". Christmas afternoon, Chuck and I decided to walk along the beach and around the point of the "mountain". I took oodles of pictures and videos of waves. I really want to try and replicate some in glass. There is some kind of statue on top, but there seems to be very little information on what it is, and we didn't hike up to find out. Beauty everywhere you look.

The condo we stayed in. My son and his wife sitting on the lanai.

I had to have a pic of my feet in the sand on Christmas day.

Local wildife. Sandcrabs and pigeons sharing breakfast.

The sunsets were different every night. Starting Christmas Eve, there were fireworks almost every night.

The day after Christmas we went to Pali Lookout for some beautiful scenery. The drive through this area is amazing. We were going to go to Diamond Head as well, but apparently, since covid, they require reservations. Chuck got on the phone and set reservations for the next day for a "walk up" ticket, which meant we couldn't drive up to the parket lot... more on that later. 

Photobomb.

Since we couldn't go to Diamond Head, my son found a Buddhist Temple outside of Honolulu. Again, such beautiful scenery. Perfect.

Ringing the bell before entering the temple is supposed to clear your mind and center you.

The goldfish are like the pigeons. If someone stops on a bridge, they all swarm to get fed.

The phoenix on top of the temple and a beautiful Japanese cemetary just up the road.

The following day, we went to Pearl Harbor. As this post is already huge, I'll devote a post entirely to Pearl. We had the reservations for Diamond Head, but we had so much to see and do at Pearl, we just didn't make it.
On Wednesday, we went to the famous flea market at Aloha Stadium. Didn't take any pictures there but did manage to spend a little cash. Brought home some truffle oil balsamic vinegar that is out of this world (among other things)! We slowed down a bit for our last afternoon at the condo and spent time at the beach or the hot tub. This was such a fantastic trip. I LOVE the weather there!! My only disappointment was that the location of our condo made it so we took 40 min to 2 hours to get anywhere. Well, that and oh my goodness the number of homeless camps on the beach! They are truly everywhere through Waianae and Makaha. But seriously, I almost could have spent all my time either on the beach or the lanai at the condo and been happy. Love the sound of the waves and I could watch the waves all day long, so different, so fascinating. I think for both the hubs and I, we loved the trip and feel we could go back. What a beautiful place!

I learned a few things in Hawaii. One is that everything shuts down between 3-5:00 p.m. Even in the airport, trying to find something to eat at 5:00 was ridiculous! Ended up with a COLD Burger King Hamburger. Ick. Island time is a real thing. Sometimes making purhases was frustrating because they wanted to talk, which usually is not a big deal for us, but a couple of times when we were in a hurry it could be frustrating. The people are nice, the traffic can be nuts, but most of these inconveniences were minor. (OK, except for the eating part). Bottom line, loved the trip.

A decorated "post" at the airport.