The Islands of Hawaii

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Polynesian Cultural Centre

Here we are learning to Hula!!!!

Our apartment is called Rainbow Inn....we found out why after a shower of rain!

Thurs was a brilliant day as we went to the Polynesian Cultural Centre, which I've known about for years as it features in Elvis's film 'Paradise Hawaiian Style', so needless to say I was really looking forward to this.
We set off fairly early as it's about an hour's drive from our apartment, on the NE of the island. On the way we drove through the centre of Oahu & passed the Dole pineapple plantation, & again for the Elvis fans reading this.....think 'Blue Hawaii'....just exactly as it was portrayed in the film, even down to the pickers in the fields!

We got to the PCC & had about an hour to kill before it opened so we found this fantastic beach & chilled out there for a while.

We then spent the day touring the PCC in a group of about 12 with our own guide, & we started with a ride on a canoe.....which will mean something to the Elvis fans!!

It was fascinating to learn about all the different cultures of the South Pacific Islands & be entertained by their people.

There was a wonderful canoe parade, a great dinner & the most amazing show in the evening....quite spectacular!

We got back at nearly 10.30pm...totally exhausted!!

Friday, May 7, 2010

Pearl Harbour & Waikiki

He seems to creep in wherever we go!

Elvis statue at the Blaisdell Centre where the Aloha Concert was broadcast from.

USS Missouri

USS Arizona Memorial Pearl Harbour

Boys and their Toys!

What an amazing day!

We both woke up about 5.30am...still jetlagged with another 3 hour change since coming to Hawaii!

No problem though, as things seem to kick off early here, so by 8.30am we were at Pearl Harbour, which actually opens at 7.45am.....and it was already quite busy.

Really enjoyed the tour of the USS Arizona Memorial & it was very moving to hear all the details of the bombing & how many lost their lives. It was eerie to see the rusted parts of the ship that are above water & the outline of the rest of it under the water.

What I hadn't appreciated is that the Memorial forms a 'bridge' at right angles over the ship.
The really amazing thing is that you still see patches of oil seeping from the sunken engines, which after nearly 60 years is incredible, especially as it burned for 3 whole days. People refer to these oil patches as 'black tears'.

We also did a tour of the USS Missouri, one of the last battleships built for the 2nd WW, & used finally in the Gulf war in 1991.

We were there for over 5 hours.....phew!!

We came back to our apartment for lunch & Trev's 40winks, then headed to Honolulu & Waikiki Beach.

On the way we stopped at the Neal S. Blaisdell Centre where Elvis performed his 'Aloha from Hawaii' show ...the 1st worldwide live satellite performance, & where there is now a statue, then on into Waikiki.

Well I think this will be our one & only visit......much too hectic for us oldies, but it had to be seen.
I kept pointing out to Trev that there were lots of bars doing 'Happy Hours', but we ended up in the Mai Tai beach bar of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, where I had to have a Mai Tai.....but no happy hour.....oops!

Watched the sunset then headed back to our oasis of calm!!