Honolulu #5, Sunday May 10 to 12...

Sunday - Happy Mother's Day!

Sunday was another beautiful day in paradise. We awoke early and had our coffee on the lanai followed by breakfast on the lanai. We decided to prepare roasted veggies for dinner so we would have dinner pretty much ready when we got back in the evening.

Then it was off to the beach which was pretty busy since it was a Sunday. There was a surfing event going on as well which added to the crowd. We had a nice relaxing time and found some shade on the grass under a palm tree which was lucky since it was quite warm.

We went back to the condo for a shower and off to the Marriott to hear a local Hawaiian group which included a slack key guitar. The show was to start at 6 pm but actually didn't get going until almost 7 pm. The music was good but quite different as it was mostly just a jam session.

Monday was another beautiful day (no, we're not getting tired of it!). We had our normal, leisurely morning and island breakfast - we're sure going to miss the fresh pineapple and papaya back in Moss Beach! Then, we wandered off to do some antiquing and visit some local thrift shops, which is always a hoot! We hadn't realized that Hawaiian shirts, especially the older one have quite a collector market, sometimes costing much more than new Hawaiian shirts - who knew? We picked up a few things at Safeway, then it was home for a mid-afternoon snack.

Monday evening we met Ken, a flight attendant friend, who was back in HNL on a flight. We had a great catch-up with him, and enjoyed the beer and pupus (Hawaiian munchies).

Tuesday morning, we woke up in paradise again, and there is no better place for a birthday that I can think of!! I didn't even mind the change in the number of my years! There were birthday cards, phone calls and e-mails with good wishes! We spent several hours at the beach, then got ready for our Luau, which was Lee's birthday gift to me.

The Luau was at the Hawaiian Hilton Village, and was really very good! The food was varied and excellent, and we met some really nice people from Sydney and Cuba!

Here's some pictures from the Luau:

The Hilton does a great job - they've spelled out Aloha using purple and white orchids!! I'm wearing the dress we got at the swap meet!

Here we are in front of the waterfall

The beginning of the luau - one of the performers blowing on the conch shell to gather all of us.

This one is for Celeste! Aloha with blue Hawaii's!

These performers were doing a dance of Tahiti - tons of hip action going on!

Another dance from Tahiti, this one much slower and sensuous

Our friends from NZ will recognize this - it's the Maori Haka (war dance) from NZ. Note the moko (tattoo) on the face - a sign of great power and courage, as it's extremely painful to apply - especially the way they do it, with their ancient implements!

More Haka.

We had a fabulous time, and I had an unbelievably wonderful birthday! It doesn't get any better than this!

Today we are going to do some wandering, perhaps up to the Aloha Tower Marketplace and the Hawaii Maritime Center, which chronicles the maritime history of the Hawaiian people. Should be very interesting! Then we'll probably walk back and end up at Halekulani, for some more live music. Dinner is left-overs, so no pressure there! : )

I'm trying not to think about the fact that we are nearing the half-way point of our wonderful Hawaiian holiday!