Hawaii- Day 1

Before I post pictures from our wonderful trip, I have some sad news. Our camera, with the majority of our pictures on it, disappeared somewhere between Maui and Dickinson. We honestly have no idea what happened to it. It was in our carry-on luggage when we left and not in it when we got home. We have submitted lost item claims to rental car companies, airlines, airports, TSA checkpoints and all to no avail. Our poor little orange cannon is probably being used by a pod of humpback whales to document their summer vacation in glacier bay. So, any photos I post will be from our i-phones. Thank goodness for those phones.

Anyway, Day 1: Due to the four hour time difference we were up super early so decided to spend the morning on the beach at Waikiki watching the sunrise. The view and the weather were perfect and we clambered along a big rock barrier that separated the swimming area from the ocean.

Since we were headed to Pearl Harbor that day, I was wearing my best 40's fashion.

Unfortunately, ALL of our Pearl Harbor pictures were on our camera. It was an awesome experience. The grounds are beautiful, the monument is stunning and serene and touching and the information on the walking tour really helped us to understand the whys behind what happened. It was the first time I felt an understanding of the Japanese position that conquering was necessary to their survival as a nation. One thing that surprised us, was the number of Japanese tourists there. I wish that I spoke Japanese so I could ask them what their feelings were about this place. I imagine it would be like an American visiting the battle sites of Vietnam. If you are ever in Oahu, please go. It is worth the time.

After Pearl Harbor we headed North to Laie, home of the Polynesian Culture Center, BYU-Hawaii, and the Hawaiian temple. Before the drive we found a charming little lumpia stand where we picked up some amazing banana, pork and vegetable lumpia. It was the first time of many that Marc got to use his mad Tagalog skills. The Filipinos we met were always tickled that this very white man could speak their native language. Even the very few Tagalog phrases I am able to use got me a lot of smiles.

The drive through the interior of Oahu was just incredible. The green was everywhere. Our time in Laie was heavenly. I desperately wish we had our photos of the temple grounds and the gorgeous traditional dresses of the dancers at the Polynesian Cultural Center. I do have a couple of pictures of some feathered friends that followed us around at lunch time, and a shot of the dancers at our Luau.

If you've known me for a very long time, you know I'm a sucker for ducks. I loved this guy. There were ducks aplenty wandering around Hawaii.

And this is our chicken friend who sat with us during lunch. I think this chicken has some psychological issues. He was strutting around our picnic table like he owned the place and would chase off any encroaching birds. He was practically begging for food. The problem was, we were eating Hawaiian BBQ.... chicken. We didn't give in to those soulful eyes. We didn't want to make him into a cannibal.

The Luau was definitely an experience. They gave us some beautiful leis, and we had an array of very authentic foods. I learned that I LOVE ube rolls, that I enjoy kimchi, that I'm not a huge fan of poi or papaya and that I will take a fresh pineapple over a coconut cake. Marc and I also got to go dance on stage since we were celebrating our Anniversary in the month of May.

We hit the gift shop before we headed to the evening show where Marc was drooling over some very manly items they had for sale. They were kind enough to let him pretend even though we had no intent of buying or trying to carry home weapons on the plane.

We also highly recommend the PCC if you are on Oahu. We had so much fun. Some of the cultural presentations were fascinating and serious, but most of the presentations were given by some real characters. We laughed a lot and met so many wonderful people. We also really enjoyed the IMAX film that tilts your seats and squirts some mist in your face. The evening show was pretty incredible and the fire dancers did not disappoint. We loved it.