Aloha 'Oe

 

Aloha 'Oe.  It's a song that will always remind me of Hawaii - and for good reason.  It will always remind me of places where I can relax and chill out, and not just in America's paradise.  But why do I start out with a thought about Hawaii?  Well, I've grown to realize that cruising is my favorite way to disconnect from the outside world for a while, and come out refreshed at the end of my trip.

Today ended a long relaxed weekend with RQS.  I drove her back to Croton-Harmon in the middle of the afternoon, and I killed a little time before returning home due to plumbing repairs that required water being shut off to the building.  By the time I got home, the repairs were complete, and I was able to take care of things at the apartment.

Around 6 pm, I put my dress back on and drove to Wegmans for a shopping trip.  $90 later, I had several bags in my car, and was ready to pack it in for the day.  And yet, my thoughts kept prodding me to do one more thing - plan another trip to Hawaii, and see things I couldn't see the first time around.  For example, it was too windy to visit the USS Arizona memorial when I was there, and it is a site I'd like to see.  Another thing I'd like to do is enjoy the Luau at the Polynesian Cultural Center.  I've seen the Luau on Kauai, and would want a different take on the ceremony.  And then, I'd like to get back to the Halealaka Crater and Volcanoes National Park when it isn't foggy or raining.

As I see it, going back to Hawaii with RQS in tow will be worth it.  The only question will be: How do we afford it?  

Hawaii Vacation - Day 02: Polynesian Cultural Center

This is the view from my hotel room this morning.  Tthe weather was warm, but not too humid.  And I was up at the crack of dawn to go to the Polynesian Cultural Center on the first of my 3 days in Honolulu, I feel that this is a practice run for the two days that follow, as I will need to be ready for each day at 7 am, instead of 8:45 am.  If how I felt by 4 pm is any clue, I'll be wiped out before I even get on the cruise ship. 

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As usual, I didn't get much sleep the night before.  But I felt that I had a restful sleep, and was ready to go out for the day.  So, I got showered and dressed, then picked up "breakfast" ar the ABC Store downstairs. (For those who've never been to Hawaii, the ABC Stores are all over Hawaii's tourist areas and sell both "tourist" and "non tourist" goods - all with a focus on serving the tourist.)  Today's breakfast was more tasty than yesterday's overpriced airport sausage and egg sandwich.  It was a dish with eggs, bacon, spam (?) and rice.  It was yummy, but not something I'd want to eat on a regular basis.  And then, it was off to the meeting area for those on our cruisetour.  

NCL packages 3 days touring Oahu with a 7 night cruise.  It's a good deal, and I highly recommend this way of visiting Hawaii for the first time.  There were 30-40 people who, like me, opted for this travel option, and NCL representatives were trying to make sense of who was and wasn't there.  I thought they had checked my name on the list of attendees, as they had given me an ID tag for the 3 days of Oahu touring. But later on, I found a message from NCL telling me that I missed the tour.  Once everyone was supposedly accounted for, it was off to today's first stop - The Dole Plantation.

The Dole Plantation is not much of a destination as it is a good place for a bio-break on the way to the other side of Oahu.  Inside the main building are 20+ separate stores, most of which are selling tourist goods made somewhere other than Hawaii.  The only thing I bought these was a pineapple ice cream cup, and then it was off to our second and main destination - the Polynesian Cultural Center.

The center is a park dedicated to show the commonality and differences of the 6 main Polynesian cultures: Samoan, Hawaiian, Tongan, Fijian, Tahitian, and Aotearoan (Polynesians of New Zealand) peoples are represented here, and cultural demonstrations are performed for visitors.  Is it real?  Is it fake?  To me, it's like visiting the old World's Fair, where people of different nations demonstrated things that defined their cultural identity.

When touring this place, you will notice places where traditional culture clashes with modern building codes - and modern codes win out.  Hopefully, all my readers will get the chance to visit this place, as it gives a typical main-lander an idea of what Polynesian culture is and what it isn't.

Once done, it was back to town.  And this is where I'll leave off for the day.