ALOHA Day 2

We woke up on our own around 6:30 am local time. I called my dad and joked with him that we were up and moving by the crack of noon.  For those who don't know my family believes in relaxing on vacation and we usually don't leave the campground until 1 or 2 pm.  Our flight and hotel package included a free orientation breakfast.  The breakfast had lots to be desired... ie eggs were slimey and the hashbrowns were extremely dry.  The sausage, mini muffins and mango juice were good though.  We were welcomed by Hawaiian hula dancers and a sales presentation of activities we could do while we are here.
We also had our picture taken as we entered the breakfast that I will scan and upload.  The activities we chose to do are:
Tues: Luau
Wed: Polynesian Cultural Center (we already had tickets that we bought online)
Thurs: Pearl Harbor/Downtown Honolulu tour; Magic of Polynesia
Fri: Snorkeling/boat tour
Sat: North Shore, Laie Temple, Dole Pineapple Plantation
Sun: Diamond Head
Mon: Hanuama Bay
*We originally made a reservation for a Island Tour on Friday and snorkeling on Monday.  We changed our mind because I wanted to make sure we got to snorkel and I figured we could tour on our own on Saturday since the temple is on the other side of the island.

After the orientation, we were bussed to Maui Divers.  We viewed a video on how jewelery is made and got to tour the facility to watch them make the jewelery. Then we entered the shark tank (showroom).  We are proud to say we walked quickly through the showroom and did not buy anything. We knew we couldn't afford any of their jewelery and felt it was a waste of money since I don't wear jewelery on a daily basis.   They didn't allow photos inside the gallery and I didn't think to take a picture before we went in.  Here is a picture of one of the kiosks at the Ala Mona Center.

Then we decided to go to Hilo Hatties.  Hilo Hatties is an Hawaiian souvenir shop.  We recieved free shell leis upon entering Hilo Hatties.  Barry and I were on a mission to find matching dress shirt and mumu.  The mumu that I liked was dark blue with white flowers.  Unfortunately, it was too big and we couldn't find it in a smaller size.  They even had a matching shirt.  We tried several other styles but none that I liked nearly as much.  We decided to buy them anyway.  When we got to the register the cashier informed us that they were not part of the buy one get one half off sale and it would cost us $80.  We couldn't justify the price difference so back went the shirt and mumu.  Hilo Hatties also had hula dancers for entertainment and different flavored macademia nuts to taste (salted, garlic, cayenne, chocolate covered, unsalted to name a few). After Hilo Hatties it was about 2 pm so we decided we better get back to the hotel and get ready for the Luau.

The tour bus picked us up promptly at 4:00 to go to Germaine's Luau.  Our tour guide Cousin K gave us some tips to enjoy the luau.  The first was to buy souvenir mugs from the gift shop to consume more alcohol (not like we did this nor cared).  Second, was to sit by the ocean on the outside tables because we would be released first to get our food.  Third was to get up at a specific key word and make our way for the Imu ceremony.  Fourth, take pictures of the sunset immediately following the Imu ceremony.  We happily did the other suggestions and were done eating before the middle section got their food. Upon arrival to the Luau, Barry and I got leid Hawaiian style and found our seats for dinner.

The Pacific Ocean from where we were sitting.  Yes, we ditched our shoes and enjoyed the sand, the nice breeze, and sound of the waves. It sure was rough :).

Imu ceremony

Dinner is in the oven	Chief calling everyone to dinner
Dinner is hot and ready	Cousin K posing after pulling the pig from the oven with his bare hands.

After the Imu ceremony, Barry went and took pictures of the sunset while I enjoyed the fresh pineapple.

Dinner was buffet style which included rice, roasted pig, Mahi Mahi, poi (tarro root crushed into a paste), fried chicken, pineapple coleslaw, mashed potatoes, Lomi Lomi (salmon with tomatoes mixed in).  Yes, it was a feast and we were stuffed afterwards.  Barry refused to try the Lomi Lomi because he hates both salmon and tomatoes.  We had Sprite and virgin Mai Tai's to drink. As we ate, we were entertained by hula dancers, tahitian dancers, and fire knife dancers. The fire knife dancers was my favorite part. Cousin K used to be a fire knife dancer himself so it was interesting to hear his story on the bus ride back to the hotel.