The second half of our trip seemed to speed up. We spent Thurday at BYU-Hawaii and the temple
in the morning, and then the rest of the day at the Polynesian Cultural
Center. We had lunch at a Shrimp
Shack that was amazing.
The temple grounds were beautiful, and you could see the ocean from the temple. There were beautiful murals on the walls of the inside of the temple as well and you could see a rich heritage of temple service.
Wild flower grew everywhere. You know you are in paradise when orchids grow in the wild.
I know that next time I will definitely plan two days for the Cultural Center. I loved it there! We took a boat ride past all the Islands and then found a good spot to watch the parade.
It was a good overview of all the countries represented: Hawaii, Tonga, Samoa, Tahiti, New Zealand, and Fiji. They work at the center as a way to provide scholarships and preserve their unique cultures and music and dancing.
Our boatman told a ton of corny jokes just like they have on the Jungle Cruise at Disneyland.
Each island also had shows that you could go to where they had demonstrations and entertainment. We only saw half of what was there.
That night we watched the show Ha-The Breath of Life that was absolutely amazing. It was one of my favorite things on the trip.
On Friday I finally got to try out snorkeling at Haunauma Bay. It looked just like ordinary water, but as soon as I stuck my head in the water I was surrounded by a huge variety of fish. It took me a little while to get used to the snorkel gear, but once I adjusted I loved it.
On Saturday we went to the Dole Plantation and tried out a Dole Whip....Delicious! We also took a train tour of the plantation which was fascinating.
I didn't realize that pineapples grow on bushes and not trees. We also saw Mango, Banana, Macadamia and many other trees.
The soil is a very dark red from the iron.
The only damper on our trip came at the end. The last day we checked out of our hotel and then went to lunch at a fish place from Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. The food was amazing and delicious but as we got back into the car we noticed a suitcase and backpack in the back seat were missing. It turned out the car had been robbed and our friends, the Tolleys, lost all their souvenirs and her backpack which had an i-pad and her wallet. We waited for the police report to be filled out and then drove around a while before heading to the airport.
Our flight was supposed to be at 11 pm, but it was delayed several hours. It was a long sleepless night and then just as we were close to landing the Denver runways were all closed due to snow. We were nearly out of fuel, so they re-routed us to Colorado Springs, delaying us another two hours. We finally landed in Denver, hours later than anticipated, exhausted and starving. We got off the plane, ordered some food and then as Nathan was taking a bite of his wrap, he started to yawn and his jaw suddenly dislocated and his mouth was stuck open. He couldn't get it back in place and couldn't talk. It became more and more painful as the muscles tightened up.
We got to end this adventure on an ambulance ride to the hospital where they were able to give him muscle relaxants and finally pop it back into place. The Tolleys got our luggage and met us at the hospital, and we finally got on the road for the four hour drive back home.
All I can say is that Hawaii truly was a jaw-dropping experience.
