Polynesian Cultural Center

On our recent trip to Hawaii we took a day trip to the Polynesian Cultural Center.  This center is run by the LDS church and showcases Pacific Island Village Life.  Essentially the park is segmented into 6 separate villages and you can visit each village to see demonstrations on different aspects of each villages culture. 

Here is Maizy learning how to swing a Poi ball in Aoteroa:

 

Miles also in Aoteroa learning a stick game:

 

 

 The kids also got tribal tattoos in Tahiti:

 

One of the most interesting experiences at the center was the Canoe Pageant.  There is essentially a river running the length of the center grounds.  Once daily double-hulled canoes travel down this river with representatives from each village on board.  The representatives showcase native dances as the canoes travel down the river.

 

We loved  "the happy people" of Somoa:

Aoteroa treated us to lots of eye popping warrior dancing:

The Hawaii'ns:

 

The Tahitian girls danced beautifully:

 

 

Hawaii'n Royalty closed the show:

 

 

My biggest complaint about the center is that there is not enough time to participate in everything available.  The villages only perform at certain times throughout the day and it is not possible to see everything.  Part of this is due to the fact that the center is only open from 11:00-6:00pm.  Because of this we were literally rushing from one activity to another and not really getting a chance to stop and enjoy any of the details of each of the villages.

 

We also opted to buy tickets for the dinner buffet and show which is called "Ha: Breath of Life."  This show was amazing.  I would definitely forgo a traditional Luau in Hawaii and go see this show instead.  The storyline (which was amazingly similar to the Lion King) took the audience through each of the villages showcased at the center; highlighting native dance and traditions.  My favorite part of the whole show was the Tahitian dancers.  When they came out Maizy yelled, "oh, yeah, shake your booties!" 

 

This is something I would most likely want to do again should we venture to Hawaii in our future.  Hopefully the center will decide to extend their hours to make up for the lack of time and rushed atmosphere created by the limited times of each village experience.  Oh, and the pineapple icecream is amazing!





Menehune Abound at Aulani

One of the best things about our family's recent stay at the Aulani Resort in Ko' Olina, Oahu was the Daily 'Iwa.  Every morning I would venture down to Kalepa's Store, fill up my refillable mug and grab the daily itenerary for the Resort.  It felt like it was straight out of the movie Dirty Dancing...you get the picture, a family escape complete with daily activities, an arts and crafts room, dance lessons.  Of course Baby never got to eat breakfast with Mickey Mouse and his friends and I think Dirty Dancing would have ended quite differently if Hula was the dance of choice at the Resort!

The Daily 'Iwa clued us into the Menehune Adventure Trail.  The Menehune are mischievous little people who build things in and around the island of Oahu.  The legend goes that they come out at night and build useful things all around the island of Oahu.  Anything the Menehune start must be finished before the sun comes up or it never gets completed.  During the day the Menehune are stone creatures hidden around the Resort. There is supposedly over 200 Menehune located all around the Resort grounds.

The Menehune Adventure Trail is an interactive trail leading you on 4 separate adventures throughout Aulani.  The Trail takes you to see many of the things the Menehune have created as well as hidden items useful to Auntie and her friends.  The trail also contains special interactive surprises triggered by completing the different tasks Auntie assigns to you during your adventure.  I don't want to spoil the fun but my personal favorite was walking inside the volcano in the middle of the resort to calm the lava flow.

To begin we picked up our cell phone (aka connection to Auntie) at the Pau Hono Room (community center).  Basically you followed the directions from Auntie from there.  You provide the community center workers with you room information and they give you a phone and a reservation code.  If you don't finish part of your Adventures or want to do more than one Adventure later you simply use the reservation code later to pick up where you left off.

Here is Miles at our very first location activating the hidden Menehune with a special chant.

On the first full day of our trip we tried to complete an adventure with everyone in tow (aka 2 grandma's, me, my husband, our 9 year old son and 3 year old daughter). The grandma's got bored as well as our 3 year old. Our son LOVED the adventure. Later in the week we checked our daughter into Auntie's Beach House, dropped the grandma's off at the beach and finished the remaining trails with our son. The best part of the adventure is that each station has fun interactive features triggered by the cell phone. We had literally passed by numerous locations several times during the week and never noticed what we were walking by.

Part of the Adventure includes a water feature allowing you to try and spray people on the Lazy River with flowers that shoot water!!!!  This was a big hit!

 

 

You would never guess that this rock would light up with a hidden turtle.  We never even noticed it until on the Adventure Trail.

 

 

 

The Menehune Adventure Trail was also a great way to simply explore the Resort.  I would recommend doing it early so that you can fully explore all the nooks and crannies of Aulani.  We found some truly beautiful locations while on the Adventure Trail.

 

 

 



At Long Last, My Native Land, Revisited

Approximately 14 years ago Jason and I took our first real vacation as a married couple (other than our Honeymoon of course).  We had only been married about 6 months when we ventured over the waters of the Pacific to the Islands of Hawaii.  Okay, so we only visited Oahu, the bustling city of Honolulu to be more specific, but immediately upon our arrival I knew I had arrived home to my native land.  During this trip I learned to love the unique combination of warm water, sandy beach, and 80 degree weather found only in the tropics.

Upon our return 14 years ago, I began to and continue to refer to Hawaii as my native land regardless of the fact that I actually have no ties to the islands other than my one-time visit to the Islands for one week.  For 14 years Jason and I would discuss our return to Hawaii but of course time continued on and almost a decade and a half passed before we knew it.  That brings us to today where I am happy to report our recent return from my native land of Hawaii. 

On this visit we towed along 2 kids and 2 grandma's and once again set foot on Oahu.  Our travels took us to Ko'Olina, a resort town on the west side of Oahu where we found our home base, Aulani.  Aulani is a Disney Vacation Club Resort (DVC) that opened approximately 1 year ago.  As members we were able to utilize our vacation points to stay at this magnificent resort for a week.  We were fortunate enough to buy into DVC around 2 years ago.  This particular time-share made sense for our family given the frequency of our visits to Disney over the years.  Our DVC points can be used to stay at non-DVC resorts as well, giving us the flexibility we need for trips other than Disney, which is a shocking concept I know, but occasionally one does need to leave the Disney bubble and venture out into the real world. 

The beauty of Aulani made it hard to leave the resort for an hour, much less at the end of our trip.  Over the next couple of posts I plan to outline the food, activities and events my Ohana experienced on this tropical vacation; however, here are a couple of photos of Aulani to wet your whistle.

 

 

Tonight's post is about simply celebrating our family's return to Hawaii.  I have always felt there is something inherently restorative in sitting by the ocean and watching the waves hit the shore.  I have returned to the main land restored by the beauty and power of the ocean, dreaming and planning the next trip my family will take to my native land.

 

Last Minute Road Trip to Monterey

Last weekend Jason took off to New Orleans for a boys weekend.  Little did he know he was flying right into opening weekend of Mardi Gras, but that it a story for another day.
The kids and I did not want to be left out so we took an impromptu trip to Monterey, stopping along the way to kidnapp Grandma Sharon to go with us.

On Saturday we arrived and promptly headed to Dennis the Menice Park:

It was only a couple of blocks from our hotel and, although it was packed with families, the kids had a GREAT time.  Since the park was only a block or so from the beach we could not resist dropping in:

 

 

 

The next morning we took a lovely stroll through Cannery Row so that we could go to the Monterey Bay Aquarium:

 

 

The Aquarium was a big hit with the kids.  The jellies and sea horses were by far the favorite.  I personally loved the Puffins.  We spent about 3 hours at the Aquarium.  A word to the wise, this place got really busy by 12:30pm.  We got out of there just in time.

On the way home we drove through Hollister and stopped at Casa De Fruta.  This place has an excellent selection of fruits and veggies, including dried fruits.  We also left with 2 Carmel Apples that didn't make it to the next weekend.

Overall our short road trip was the perfect escape for me and the kids (and Grandma of course).  It distracted us from thinking about what an AWESOME time Jason was having in New Orleans without us!