Maita'i Catamaran:
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On Friday we took an Underwater Adventure Sail on the Maita’i Catamaran. It was supposed to include snorkeling, but the waves were too high for snorkeling, so we only sailed. I was on antibiotics and already had a sensitive stomach so, unfortunately, as the waves got higher, the nausea increased in intensity until I was riding the plastic bus. As a result, there are only photos and video of the first hour or so of the excursion. The captain did let everyone jump in the water for a few minutes, but I’m not sure how long that lasted as my mind was elsewhere. The kids enjoyed it however, and in the end that is all that mattered. I had already experienced something similar in Aruba. It took a few hours for my stomach to settle down before we could head to Hanauma Bay for some swimming and snorkeling.
Polynesian Cultural Center:
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We stayed all day Wednesday at the Polynesian Cultural Center, which included the Ali’i Luau and the Horizons Night Show. We didn’t read the tour pamphlet thoroughly which directs you on how to tour the center to make the most of your visit. As a result, we missed visiting some of the islands, such as Fiji and Hawaii. I guess that is why they suggest you spend two days there. Regardless, it was a great experience. We really enjoyed our time there. The Center was probably one of the top highlights of our trip.
Laie Hawaii Temple:
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On Wednesday we arose early and headed–or tried to head–north to Laie where the Polynesian Cultural Center and the Laie Hawaii Temple are located. One word of advice: DO NOT use Google Maps on Oahu. They will lead you on all kinds of wild goose chases. Just use the tourist maps that are provided around town. You’ll get there in a flash. Needless to say, it took us a lot longer to get to Laie than it should have.
Since the Polynesian Cultural Center does not open until 11:00 a.m., we stopped at the Hawaii Temple first to have a look around. Yes, it looks just like the pictures, but farther away when standing near the Visitor’s Center. It is also quite a small temple, about the size of the average house in our neighborhood… :-). The grounds are absolutely beautiful and very manicured, like all other temples. And the same peaceful spirit was present everywhere we went. Jed told Abby that we were walking through Jesus’ garden. It was very sweet.
It wasn’t crowded yet because the shuttles don’t start arriving until after the Polynesian Cultural Center opens. So we had the grounds all to ourselves. It was very convenient for picture taking. Kind of reminds me of our wedding day :-).
On our first full-day in Hawaii, we spent the morning on Waikiki Beach playing in the sand in front of the pink hotel next to the Sheraton. Our hotel was actually not far from there. We were on Lewers Street, which is right in the midst of all the new shops and restaurants, and just a block away from the beach. It was a great location.
In the afternoon we visited Pearl Harbor. This was after we had to exchange our rental van because the bell chiming wouldn’t stop, even when all of the doors were securely closed (i.e. “slammed”). We couldn’t bear the thought of driving a full week with the constant chiming of a bell. It was very nerve racking.
Shirlee had told us to visit Pearl Harbor in the afternoon, so we dutifully did so. Yes, it wasn’t as crowded. We missed our USS Arizona Monument tour because we were snacking after sauntering through the museum displays. We didn’t know that we should have snacked first, taken the monument tour next, and then looked at the displays inside the museum last. They don’t really give you any directions of how you should visit the site. So we had to wait an extra 30 minutes before taking the monument tour.
However, we enjoyed Pearl Harbor very much. It was a sobering, informative visit. The grounds are beautiful, although the museum seems to be under construction for a new facility. The guides were friendly, and the tourists, who wouldn’t obey the naval personnel’s instructions on the boat, were funny. Maybe they don’t understand English.
After Pearl Harbor we visited Costco (following a suggestion from a guide book) to purchase a week’s worth of food for our tiny kitchen and stayed inside the remaining evening. I think we all went to bed around 8:00 p.m. The time change wore us out.
Tonight while driving I was listening to the song “Peaceful Easy Feeling” by The Eagles. I’ve listened to it many times since December 1972, but for some reason concentrated a little more on the lyrics tonight. Here they are:
I like the way your sparkling earrings lay
against your skin, it’s so brown
and I wanna sleep with you in the desert tonight
with a billion stars all around
(Chorus) ‘Cause I gotta peaceful easy feeling
and I know you won’t let me down
’cause I’m already standing on the ground
And I found out a long time ago
what a woman can do to your soul
Ah, but she can’t take you anyway
You don’t already know how to go
(Chorus)
I get this feeling I may know you
as a lover and a friend
but this voice keeps whispering in my other ear
tells me I may never see you again
(Chorus)
I didn’t think much about the lyrics, until the last verse when he said that something tells him that he may never see [the girl] again. I then thought “Eew! How creepy!” I always thought that he was talking about someone that he knows, perhaps a girlfriend. But he isn’t. He’s talking about some girl that he has just met.
Okay girls, let’s just stop and think. What if some guy you just met gives you a line that he likes how your sparkling earrings lay against your brown skin, and then, probably after some more “light” conversation, asks you to have sex with him in the desert? Would you jump up and down with delight and exclaim “Yes!” Probably not. Like the majority of women, you would tell him to get lost, and then turn to whomever would listen and exclaim “What a creep!”
I then pictured in my head Ron Burgundy from Anchorman using that pick-up line and subsequent request… because it’s such a 70’s song! All I can say is that I am so glad that I was in elementary school during that era and didn’t have to deal with creepy 70’s guys as a young woman.