Is it snowing?

We understand that it is snowing in Cedar City this morning. Gosh, sorry about that! We arrived without much fanfare, and after a couple of lodging glitches we have been enjoying ourselves. Here is the Bubb sitting near the koi pond at our hotel in downtown Honolulu.



Honolulu is home to lots of high-rise hotels. This is what the Sheraton Princess Kaiulani looks like from the outside.



Our room is comfortable, and we have a lana'i (outside patio). However, Bubby gets vertigo when she goes out because we are on the 17th floor.



Yesterday, we drove to the northeast side of the island, to Laie. Here are UP and AK in the bus with the Bubb. It took quite awhile to make the less than 40 mile drive because our driver, who wanted us to call him Cousin Bob, and who referred to his passengers as "cousins", was more interested in his monologue than in driving. He did have some great information, but his deliberate delivery got to be a little annoying. Aunt Karen was faking interest and show the disturbance sign on the back of UP's seat. Of course UP was entranced. He is so nice.



We did make a stop on the north shore road for photos. This photo was taken of a small islet near shore.



In this photo you get a sense of the interior architecture of an eroded shield volcano. Cousin Bob forbade me crossing the road to get the photo, but, you can see I didn't pay much attention.



The object of our quest was the Polynesian Cultural Center. It is located near the Temple, however, we were so busy inside that we didn't get a chance to visit the temple site. The center is comprised of seven cultural sites showcasing six Polynesian cultures: Hawaiian, Tongan, Ao Tea Roa (New Zealand), Samoan, Tahitian, and Fijian. You move through the center and visit their various villages. They have cultural activities and presentation that are pretty interesting, even for a guy who feels he knows a lot about each of the cultures.

In the Tongan village, Bubby got involved in a spear toss, an ancient method of settling disputes. There were three concentric rings arranged on the grass. The object is to make an underhand spear throw and stick your spear in the smallest, central circle. Bubb is studying her target above.



Here she is in mid-launch. If you paid the guy a buck, you had a chance to win shell necklaces, woven hats, and wood bead necklaces. Bubb wanted one of the hats. She actually hit the hoop surrounding the smallest ring, so had to settle for a couple of shell necklaces.



There was a floating review about 2:30 PM that included barges filled with costumed representatives of each of the cultures. Live music, dancing, and lots of fun. I had to take a photo of Tahiti. That is the closest culture to my personal favorite.



Of course, we had to visit New Zealand. This meeting house is a scale model of the building that Bubb used to go to church in when they lived in New Zealand in the 1960"s.



Part of the intricate carving inside the meeting house. Those who have followed this blog for many years will remember when we visited the original in NZ a few years ago.

There was a wonderful luau for us to attend, and an evening show that was part island culture and part Las Vegas/Branson, MO. The luau was fantastic, probably the best buffet food I have experienced in a long time. The MC could play the ukelele like a rock star. He was fun to watch.

There is so much more to tell, but, alas, it is time to go out and have more fun! I am headed for the shower. We had a food tour arranged this morning, but it canceled. It rained hard last night, flash flooding in parts of the island, and there are heavy winds forecast for today. Don't know what we will do, but something. We have our first Rainbow Classic basketball game this evening. The team was in the PCC with us yesterday.

Buboppy