Hawaii pt. 5: Heading to Oahu & the PCC

Our last morning on the Big Island we just had some breakfast at the hotel and packed.  We enjoyed our time on the Big Island so much, and very much want to visit again.  We feel we barely scratched the surface of things to do here.  We were here for parts of 6 days, and it wasn't long enough.

Our flight to Oahu was nice and short and gave us some nice views of Maui, Lanai, and Molokai.  Emma was excited to see Waikiki Beach and Diamond Head out the window.  And as an added bonus, we saw an active operating submarine leaving the harbor as we were about to land.

We got our luggage, picked up our car, and headed to my aunt and uncle's house.  It was so nice seeing them again!  My aunt gave us a tour of the place (much of it was the same as I'd seen it on previous trips, but they'd changed a few areas, and of course, Eric and Emma hadn't ever seen it), and I instantly remembered how much I love their house.  We brought our luggage in and got settled in, and then explored the yard.  Their yard is amazing.  It's huge and absolutely gorgeous.  I've always loved spending time outside just enjoying their yard.  The first banana I ever ate (at least the first banana I ever enjoyed) was picked off a banana tree in their yard during my first visit.  It's still the best banana I've ever eaten.  Emma was in love with their yard too!  She wanted to spend every spare moment we had running around outside or lounging on the patio.  We had dinner with my aunt and uncle as well as my cousin who came by for the evening.  After dinner we played some ukeleles with my cousin while singing and talking.  It was a great first day on Oahu.

My Aunt and Uncle's house.

The backyard.  I'm standing in the back of the yard.  You can see Eric and Emma
standing by the patio which gives you an idea of how big the yard is.

This is the view as we entered the yard from our rooms.  It's a little side
yard that leads back to the main part of the yard.

The next day we got up early and headed up around the island to Laie.  Here we visited the Laie Temple, which has always been one of my very favorites.  There was some construction around the grounds, so we couldn't wander around too much.  That gave us some time to stop by a beach before lunch.  We found a little beach and enjoyed getting our feet wet.  Emma got a little more than her feet wet though, so we tried letting her dry off a bit before we left.

Emma thought it was so funny that she was sitting there in just her panties.  You can see her shorts drying in the sun on the bench.  I told her no one would see her (hardly anyone was at the beach), and even if they did they'd think she was in a swimsuit.  Plus her shirt was long.  But I had to share the picture and story because I told her I would.  =)

The rest of the day was spent at the Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC).  This is a center owned and run by the Church that helps preserve and teach others all about the island cultures in the pacific.  The employees are almost all students at BYU-Hawaii, which is right next door.  Since many (if not most) of the students there are from pacific islands, it works out very well for them to come and represent their island nations.  It's a great place to visit if you haven't been before.  I tend to always go to Hawaii with people who haven't been, so I've visited the PCC several times.  But I didn't want Emma to miss it.  Their grounds are divided up in to sections representing different island nations in the pacific.  You wander around and can see dancing, learn about island life and culture, and participate in activities.  We also chose to enjoy a Luau dinner there (I wanted Emma to attend at least one luau), and then stayed for the evening show, which consists of more dancing and story telling.  The best part of the show is the fire dancing at the end.  Emma was excited for that.  It made for a very late evening by the time we got home, but it had been fun.

Eric and Emma got matching temporary tattoes.

Emma learning a dance.

Eric learning a dance with the men.  

See?  We did learn how to make the fish from palm leaves.

There were performances all over the center.

It's always impressive seeing people climb the palm trees.

They have a bigger show on the water with dancers from all the different islands.

Emma loved the little tiki.  Plus this is a rare photo of Emma actually smiling while showing her teeth.
She rarely does that.  Her natural smile is closed-mouth.

Learning a game that requires coordination as you toss sticks to each other. 

Coconut bowling.  You were supposed to roll the coconut up so it would roll back down in between the sticks on the right. I was the only one who did it, and that was on my first try.
I still say it was skill, not luck.  Eric disagrees.

During the dinner luau all the October birthdays were supposed to go up to the stage and they had to perform a dance for everyone.  Eric was a good sport and went.  Sadly this picture didn't turn out that great because of the pouring rain between us and the stage, the lighting wasn't great, and the distance.
Oh well.  I've still captured his shining moment. Ha!