1. SLEEP IN: We got in late from the Hawaii (Big Island) trip and we needed some rest.
2. Drive up the middle of Oahu to the North Shore.
3. Check out the Polynesian Cultural Center
We were off to a great start. We didn't get up until 8:00....I couldn't believe Delma wasn't up at 5:30. She really did need to get some rest. We had a great breakfast at Denny's that morning and headed to the North Shore. We heard the biggest waves were at the North Shore and, during the winter months, they are at their peak (of course, December is the best.....and is when they have their big surfing tournaments). We stopped at the first of 3 beaches. The first was Haleiwa Beach Park. The park was beautiful. Hawaii does a fantastic job of maintaining the integrity and cleanliness of their beaches. We were not disappointed. Stayed long enough to get some fantastic pictures.
Yep, check out those matching Hawaiian shirts. We were twinkies for the day....and proud of it.
From there we drove to Pupukea Beach Park. More beautiful scenery/waves.
From there, on to Banzai Pipeline. This is were the yearly surfing tournaments occur in December (the waves can get as tall at 50 feet). During this trip, the waves were around 15-20 feet high. We caught some surfers "doing their thing".
It's amazing what these people can do. I've never had a desire to do it, but I have a lot of admiration for those people who do.
Now on to the Polynesian Cultural Center. We got there at 1:30. I bought the Ambassador Luau package, so all I knew was we would have great seats at the luau and the "Ha" show that evening. I didn't know we would have a personal guide through the 7 different villages. We walked and walked (again). Went from one village to another quickly. We were only able to see 3 of the villages given the time we had (plus the Hawaiian village was closed for remodeling). Any way, we saw some great shows, got to experience how the Tonga tribe trained their people for dexterity and wrist strength (check out the below photo), and took a great canoe ride. That was all before we enjoyed the luau at 5:00pm.
Just getting there:
As it turns out, we weren't the only ones wearing matching shirts. We fit right in.
Trying out the "lessons" at the Tonga village.
Before the luau, we enjoyed a nice canoe ride.
We had some live "hula" entertainment during the luau, which was very nice. Unfortunately, I didn't get pictures. The stage was pretty much at the same level as the tables and I just didn't feel I could get good pictures. No problem. We still enjoyed it.
We FINALLY had time to do some shopping prior to the 7:30pm "Ha" show. Yea!! I had promised my granddaughters hula skirts. I hoped I would be able to get them at the Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC)....and I did. Delma managed to get some shopping done as well. We were both happy.
Then, on to the "Ha" show. It was fantastic. It was a "full cycle" show that show the birth of a son, his growth into childhood, then teen years, young adult, marriage, and fatherhood. It allowed each of the 7 villages to present life in their villages. The presentation was fantastic, the stage unbelievable and the show ended with fire dancers. It was fantastic. Well worth the time and the hour drive back to our hotel. Another fun filled and LONG day.
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