Wow. That first night in Hawaii was weird. I was dead tired h the time we went to bed after that parade. But my mind started regularly waking up my body at 30 minute to one hour intervals beginning around 11:30, desperately searching for the correct internal clock mechanism. I finally gave up at 4:30 and got up. I could only hope that my hearing aids received a sufficient charge after running completely down in what turned out to be the middle of a bright, Hawaiian afternoon.
We went to that grand institution of Hawaiian heritage for breakfast. McDonald’s. Nothing special as far as food goes, but there was an altercation. It was … The chicken and the security guard. Well … not a chicken. It was the rare white Hawaiian pigeon. He and a friend made their way illegally into the restaurant. But the security cop leapt into action and escorted him out of the building. So glad to know we were safe at breakfast.
Our bus driver and guide was a really fun guy named Wes. He taught us a few Hawaiian words, like Waikiki, meaning water spouting. Also Ohana, meaning family.
At the Dole Pineapple Plantation we ate some ice cream made with no dairy products at all. Tasted amazing. And to top it off (literally), we had them add some of the powder made only in Hawaii. It’s a mix of sweet and sour called Li hing. Excellent stuff.
Wed drove past an old m, run-down yellow house about 40 yards from one of the beaches. It was for sale. List price? $1,800,000. Wow.
We had lunch at a New Zealand themed food truck outside of the Polynesian Cultural Center. Meat pies. Mine was steak and cheese. Excellent. The center was a massive 42 acre theme park of all the Polynesian cultures (hence, the name).
Among our adventures …
We watched several of the cultural presentations throughout the park.
Chris danced with the ladies in the Tahiti showcase. (I may or may not have joined the men).
Me and Cary and Larry tried our hand at spear throwing over in Tahiti. We were pretty terrible.
Tasted poi in Hawaii. Boring.
And then there were the two major highlights (or so I’m told):
My own personal Tattoo in Tahiti.
And …
My lesson and subsequent complete grasp of and amazing performance of … Hula in Hawaii. No further comment necessary. It was … epic.
We learned some important Hawaiian words:
Mo’o’una - grandchildren
Tutu kane - granddad
Tutu wahini - grandma
Kai ke-children
Sending a pattern here?
Back in Waikiki, we had some dinner and started for bed. But Chris remembered that we hadn’t yet been able to search for distilled water for her c-pap machine. So Cary and I I took to fulfill that mission. We checked with the front desk. He suggested we try an ABC Convenience Store across the street. If not there, then there was a CVS about half a mile away. Of course ABC does not sell distilled water. Guess because it starts with a D. So, CVS, here we come.
The street between our hotel and the pharmacy (about half a mile) was jam-packed with people. We were obviously on “the place to be.” We saw one of those guys who paints himself silver and stands like a statue. Street artists were on every corner (the ones who do caricatures). One person was dressed in a Pokémon costume and offering to pose for a selfie - for a fee. There was even a street magician doing his act. I was glad Cary came with me. Not that I was scared at all. I just wanted someone else to verify what was going on. Oh, and CVS had the distilled water. C-pap crisis averted.
Luke 22:19-20 says, “And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.’”
Father, thank you for this long, but really educational and fun day. Amen.
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