What a great trip, it was great to see everybody! We, as a group, could not all see all the things that we did, but here is an overall recap of what we accomplished. If I left any out let me know.
What we saw/did:
Polynesian Cultural Center, Hilo Hattie, Pali Tunnels, Hygienic Store, Windward Mall, Kane'ohe Bay, Diamond Head, Ala Moana Center, Ala Moana Park, Chinatown, Ala Wai Canal, Waikiki, Waimea Bay, Waimea Valley Audubon Center, Shark's Cove, Turtle Bay, Turtle Bay Golf (Arnold Palmer) Course, Laniloa Beach, Hukilau Beach, La'ie Beach, Mac Nut Outlet, Kualoa Ranch, Chinaman's Hat, He'eia Beach, Ke'ehi Lagoon Park, Shaved ice in Hale'iwa from Matsumoto's, Dole Plantation, Arizona Memorial/Pearl Harbor, Snorkeling, Cheeseburger in Paradise, Zippy's (the Hawaiian Denny's) **ate SPAM here**, Sam Choy's Breakfast, Lunch and Crab, Romy's Kahuku Shrimp Hut, The Shrimp Shack and of course Foodland!
A week just was not long enough, here are some reasons to return:
Waikiki Aquarium, Aloha Tower, Plantation Village, Sea Life Park, Horseback riding, Glass bottom boat ride, Surfing (went at wrong time of year), Honolulu Zoo, Outrigger canoe ride, Bishop Museum, 'Iolani Palace, Koko Crater, Halona Blowhole, Haiku Stairs, Sacred Falls (sorry Richard), Sunset Beach, Turtle Beach, Hidden Beach, Wheeler Airfield, Missouri Museum, Dragon's Nostrils, the whole west side of Oahu...and of course there are several other Islands.
The trip home
The last day of our trip we still were able to experience some new things. For instance we had our first experience with tropical rain...it seems to rain for about 3 minutes then clear up. I spoke with a local and he said this was a source of entertainment for them. He said if you watch the tourists on the beach they will pack up and head for cover when it rains and barely make it there before it stops. We also made several more stops, Dole Plantation, Chinatown, another stop at Hilo Hatte and more. Then we had our last meal on the island, Pizza Hut and Burger King at the airport. The long flight home ended in Houston where everyone ran in various directions to try and catch connectors. We missed our earlier flight and ended up with a little time to fill. We missed Allison and the Littles leaving, but we did see Jeff, Dedra, Hanna and Haden off. We also missed saying Aloha to Mom, Dad and Granny. Our final leg landed in Tulsa where we stopped for our favorite Tex-Mex before heading home. We all slept for more than 12 hours. What a trip!
Polynesian Cultural Center
The PCC was amazing! Our guide Jasmine took great care of us and went out of her way to make Granny's Birthday special. In each village that we visited they wished Granny a happy birthday in the language of that part of Polynesia, one person also sang happy birthday to her in Japanese. In the village of Marquesas, Dad as the leader of our group and Richard in honor of the Littles anniversary, were invited to participate in a "pig hunt" and dance which was a lot of fun. We also saw the Rainbows of Paradise canoe pageant, tried to start a fire by rubbing two sticks together, threw spears and played a couple of other games. All this was followed by a terrific luau, which included live entertainment. The singer also invited the Littles up on stage to dance for their anniversary. Ryan and Hanna also got to go on stage a hula. The night wrapped up with the show "Horizons". This was the most amazing of all. From the Hula girls to the fire dancer this show should not be missed! Thank you again to the PCC for making Granny's 100th Birthday a real BASH!!
Today you are 100!
Granny YOU made it! Today is Granny's 100th birthday. We will be presenting her a cake this morning and a memory album of the trip that we have all been working on. Then it is off to explore the Polynesian Cultural Center and wrapping up this evening with the Ali'i Luau and the "Horizons" show. We will add pics to the slide show as we can get them loaded. Check out the website http://polynesia.com/ or the Luau menu http://polynesia.com/alii-luau/alii-luau-menu.html. As a side note, DYK they don't package birthday candles in bundles of 100!
Of course today is Hau'oli la hanau! which is Happy Birthday!
A Special Thank You
The Irma Hicks Family would like to give a special thank you to the State of Hawaii and the Office of the Governor for the wonderful recognition of our Mother/Grandmother/Great Grandmother. We would like to add a special thanks to Anne Sabalaske for her efforts above and beyond the call of duty to insure that we received the document. Thank you again for all you did for us!
Today's word in Hawaiian is Mahalo iâ `oe! [mah hah' loh (y)ee (Y)AH' oe!] which means Thank You!
Everyone has made it
After a long day we have arrived and joined the rest of the family!
I am going to update pictures as often as possible so please watch the slide show for changes/updates!
ALOHA!
I am going to update pictures as often as possible so please watch the slide show for changes/updates!
ALOHA!
RAINED OUT!
That is a picture of where our plane should have been this morning!Well we didn't make it as far as we would have liked too today.... The people at Continental were helpful and accomadating as much as they could be...they put us up in a hotel in Tulsa so we would not have to drive in the morning...we will fly out of here to Salt Lake City and then we have a 1st class flight from Salt Lake to Honolulu...at least everyone else made the flight in Houston.
We will be there as soon as we can get there
Today's word in Hawaiian is kaumaha [kau' mah hah] it means sad, although the hotel here has a indoor "waterpark" and sleep number beds, so we are not too kaumaha.
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The sun came out!
The car is washed, the grass is mowed, the bags are packed, the laundry is done, I have finished working for the next couple of weeks, the dishes are done, we have checked in for our flight, the boarding passes are in hand and we are just waiting for the minutes to pass by....whew!
Our flight leaves at 8:55 and we will meet all of you in Houston! It says we have 51 minutes to meet our connecton, is that enough time to scramble across the airport ? Our boarding pass indicates no gate assignment for the flight out of Houston, do we have any better info on that yet?
Today's word in Hawiian is Kupaianaha! [koo pai' (y)ah nah' hah!] it means Wonderful! Amazing! Astonishing!
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5-Day Forecast | |||||||||||||
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The countdown continues move towards 0....
however it has rained now for several straight days...that means I still need to mow and wash the car...sure I hope I can make that happen, but we are 90 % packed (6 bags at this point) hopefully that can get wrapped up, then after Tee ball tomorrow I can load the car then on to that airport...
Today's word in Hawaiian is i ka lâ `apôpô [ee kah LAH' ah POH' POH'] it means tomorrow!
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3 Days until we are there!Happy Father's Day to Dad, Jeff and Richard!
All we have left to do is laundry, finish packing, do the dishes, clean out the fridge, turn up the air conditioner, take out the trash, mow the grass, wash the car, pack the car and get to the airport...oh yeah, I think we have at least 1 maybe 2 Tee ball games to add...
We love you guys and can't wait to see everybody!
Today's word is makuakâne [mah koo (w)ah KAH' neh] of course it means father.
The days are getting closer
Under 5 days until we travel...CAN YOU BELIEVE IT ??
The flight from Houston is on a 767...here are a few facts about the 767:
The 767 is the first widebody jetliner to be stretched twice. The 767-300ER is 10 feet (3.1 m) longer than the 767-200ER; and the new 767-400ER is 11 feet (3.4 m) longer than the 767-300.
The first 767 entered service in Sept. 8, 1982, since then 767 have flown more than 7.7 million flights, and carried millions of passengers.
The air flowing through a 767-400ER engine at takeoff power could inflate the Goodyear Blimp in seven seconds.
It takes about 60 gallons (227 l) of fuel per passenger to get from New York to London on board a 767-400ER. The same volume of gasoline would propel an economy car about half of that distance.
The 767 is the favorite airplane on Atlantic routes; it flies across the Atlantic more frequently than any other airplane.
The 767-400ER flight deck instrument panel has 82 percent fewer parts than other 767s. By using cast parts, the part count was reduced to 53 from 296. Production hours plummeted to 20 hours from 180 hours.
If GE CF6-80C2B8F engines were attached to a typical automobile, at takeoff power the car would accelerate from zero to 60 mph (96.5 kph) in less than half a second.
There are 3.1 million parts in a 767 provided by more than 800 suppliers.
The 767 is capable of cruising at altitudes up to 43,000 feet (13,106 m)
The 767-300ER and 767-400ER hold 23,980 gallons (90,770 l) of fuel - enough to fill 1,200 minivans. It takes only 28 minutes to fill the airplane.
The noise level of a 767 taking off from a 1.5 mile (3,000 m) runway is about the same as the average street corner traffic noise.
There are 90 miles (145 km) of electrical wiring in a 767-200ER, 117 miles (188 km) in a 767-300ER and 125 miles (201 km) in a 767-400ER.
The first 767 entered service in Sept. 8, 1982, since then 767 have flown more than 7.7 million flights, and carried millions of passengers.
The air flowing through a 767-400ER engine at takeoff power could inflate the Goodyear Blimp in seven seconds.
It takes about 60 gallons (227 l) of fuel per passenger to get from New York to London on board a 767-400ER. The same volume of gasoline would propel an economy car about half of that distance.
The 767 is the favorite airplane on Atlantic routes; it flies across the Atlantic more frequently than any other airplane.
The 767-400ER flight deck instrument panel has 82 percent fewer parts than other 767s. By using cast parts, the part count was reduced to 53 from 296. Production hours plummeted to 20 hours from 180 hours.
If GE CF6-80C2B8F engines were attached to a typical automobile, at takeoff power the car would accelerate from zero to 60 mph (96.5 kph) in less than half a second.
There are 3.1 million parts in a 767 provided by more than 800 suppliers.
The 767 is capable of cruising at altitudes up to 43,000 feet (13,106 m)
The 767-300ER and 767-400ER hold 23,980 gallons (90,770 l) of fuel - enough to fill 1,200 minivans. It takes only 28 minutes to fill the airplane.
The noise level of a 767 taking off from a 1.5 mile (3,000 m) runway is about the same as the average street corner traffic noise.
There are 90 miles (145 km) of electrical wiring in a 767-200ER, 117 miles (188 km) in a 767-300ER and 125 miles (201 km) in a 767-400ER.
Our return flight says it is on a 400ER. The flight there includes a lunch but I could not find on the website what that may include, I did however find the entertainment choices that we will have at http://www.continental.com/web/en-US/content/travel/inflight/entertainment/films/mca_grid_200706.pdf.
We have begun packing and are ready to see everyone!
Today's word in Hawaiian is hele [heh' leh] which means GO
Single Digits
The clock on the side indicates there are single digit days to go..I hope everyone is keeping a list of all the things you don't want to forget....maybe we are the only ones who need that... I found out that accuweather.com will give you weather 15 days out, looks like highs in the mid 80's and lows in the low 70's, I know some Texans who might need to bring a sweater...here is the website where i got the forecast http://www.accuweather.com/forecast3.asp?partner=overture&traveler=0&zipChg=1&zipcode=96762&metric=0. I have also been watching the "local" television channels weather here is that website http://www.khnl.com/. I hope everyone else is as excited as we are, it will be great to see everyone again!
I also found a web site that has several web cams from Oahu... http://www.hawaiipictures.com/pictures/oahu_webcams.html
Today's word in Hawaiian is he`e nalu [heh' eh nah' loo] it means surfing or to surf
Only a couple left
We are coming up on 2 weeks to go, hope everyone is packing...perhaps I should repost the suggested list of items to take...hmmm...I'll have to find that...
I contacted a company that provides airplane charters from Oahu to the Big Island (Hilo Airport). Through my local contact we are able to save a little...here is the deal...Charter to the Big Island for $2644.50 (tax included). Normally upon arrival at Hilo there is a $215 per hour "wait" charge. The company has waived the "wait" charge for the first two hours for us. The charter aircraft can hold 8 passengers...I don't know if anyone is interested but they need 50% down and the balance 3 days prior to flight...it seems a little out of our budget...but I thought I would pass on the info just in case...
I found the list of stuff to pack, here it is:
Waterproof sunblock
Two bathing suits
Shoes - flip flops, trashable sneakers, reef shoes, hiking shoes if you need them
Mask, snorkel and fins...although you can rent these
Camera
Junk clothes for biking, hiking, ect.
Light rain jacket
Mosquito repellent, lotions recommended over liquids
Shorts and other cool cotton clothing
Fanny pack
Cheap simple backpack
Hat or cap
Today's word in Hawaiian is `ohana [oh hah' nah] it means family.
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