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Showing posts with label Oahu - HI2. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Oahu - HI2. Show all posts
Friday, July 12, 2013 31 comments

Hi! From Hawaii (HI2) - Polynesian Cultural Center

Aloha,

Will Call: A popular guy at the PCC
For this latest edition of Hi! from Hawaii (HI2 ), I want to first offer a compliment to any readers from the LDS church: The Polynesian Cultural Center is something you can all be very proud of.
View from a hut in the Villages
 
I absolutely *love* this place, as do the kids.
Checking out the canoes

PCC is safe, clean and *ALL* the staff – performers and/or retail staff are very approachable.
Neat factoid... From what I hear, seventy percent of the staff are students of the local Brigham Young University - Hawaii, and fifty percent are on scholarships, so it's a great way to interact with young people from all over Polynesia.

No. 1 Son learns the beat of the drums
 
No. 3 Son goes all mini-Godzilla near Tahiti
 
You can discover general info about PCC here, and find the history of the 42-acre center here, but the easiest way for me to describe the Center, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, is that PCC reminds me of a Polynesian EPCOT. (No. 1 Son always asks can we go to the “mini Disney.”)
 
PCC has a bunch of stuff going on for itself. Its evening show, Hā: BREATH OF LIFE is amazing; plus there are several buffet-style lu’au restaurants and an outdoor shopping area to end your visit.

Just like Tahiti above, see how high the sign is here...
However, as we mostly go on our PCC “field tips” during the day, I’m focusing on The Villages.

Look! Another high sign...
There are six different Polynesian countries/islands represented: Hawaii, Aotearoa (New Zealand), Tonga, Fiji, Samoa and Tahiti. 
And, another sign up on high ground...

Each island offers several family friendly activities, shows and/or examples of local culture and food.

Why island signs should be placed higher...

Yup... the Koopmans Kids strike again (sigh...:)
Now, the one thing you simply must do, dahling, while walking (or canoeing) around the Villages is to snag a good spot by the river no later than 2:15 p.m. so you can relax and enjoy the daily (2:30 p.m.) canoe pageant, which features canoes and dancers from each island.

TONGA

TAHITI

New Friends :)
PCC is on the North Shore area of O’ahu and for us it takes an hour to drive from door-to-door.
 
Anyone want to live off this road?
However, even the ride out there is fabulous, with winding roads that have you sometimes only feet from the ocean.


Hawaiian guard rails...
Should your travels ever bring you to O’ahu, a day trip to the Polynesian Cultural Center should be at, or near, the top of your to-do list.

Tree Climbing in Samoa (*highly* recommended:)
I promise you won’t be disappointed – unless you go on a Sunday – that’s the only day it’s closed :)

My score: PCC gets four lucky charms (out of a possible five :)
And, of course, any kids visiting PCC *will* sleep really well that night...

No. 2 Son decides it's time to take a break from the action
 
Thursday, June 20, 2013 27 comments

Hi! From Hawaii: HI2 - "Eat the Street"

Aloha,

Welcome to the second edition of my new (picturesque) series!

Eat The Street - and not a McDonalds in sight - I'm Lovin' It :)
 
Called Hi! from Hawaii or HI2 for short, these posts are great for anyone seeking really bad travel tips.

You might think I’m joking, but honestly, whenever we get *there,* my three boys run amok like crazed banshee Leprechauns, so I tend to miss some (no, all) of the nuances of the place or event.

4 p.m. Setting up for Dinner at Eat the Street
Luckily, I’m not writing warm-and-fuzzy Nat Geo travel articles – and please know that HI2 will always be a free community service. (This sentence sponsored, in part, by Acme Fans of Honolulu – We’re Easy When You’re Breezy!)
Trust locals - Where there is a line, Thar be Good Eats :)
 
The first HI2  was here at the Honolulu Zoo and someone suggested Hanauma Bay, so that’s coming up.

Other future posts will feature the Polynesian Cultural Center, the Bishop Museum and Downtown Honolulu and that Waikiki beach thing.

Speaking of which, anyone wanting a review of the Honolulu nightlife will, I’m afraid, have to wait donkey’s years.

Have Grill - Will Cook - 'Sall good :)
(As mentioned, I go to all these places with the kids and/or the missus, so the posts are meant for a family friendly, PG-6 readership :)

Here's a Smart Chef who gets Show not Tell :)
This week’s HI2 adventure was at a free event called Eat the Street, which is like one of those “Taste Of …” foodie festivals – only here most of the vendors are Hawaiian Food Trucks so the monthly event is billed as “Hawaii’s Food Truck and Street Food Rally”.
Specially Made for a Dude Called Alex...
 

Organized by the folks over at Streetgrindz.com, Eat The Street takes place from 4 to 9 p.m. on the last Friday of the month.

More than forty trucks park on the outskirts of a closed parking lot (and if we weren’t close to downtown, you could almost (sort of…maybe, if you nearly closed your eyes and squinted a little to the left) get a sense of what life was like for the folks in the Wild West when they stopped to circle the wagons.
"Hey Hank, is this Utah? Are we there yet?"

 Each month is themed and each vendor comes up with their own twist. (Garlic was the flavor for May – garlic popsicle anyone?)
Garlic Popsicles 86'd by 5:30 p.m. ...wow :)



Cheese is the theme for June (that's "fromage" to you, Elise:) and I’ve heard there’ll be a cheese carving contest, which sounds like fun, especially if your name is Jerry or Mickey.)

These ROCKED - well worth the 15-min wait !!!
It *is* awesome seeing (and smelling) dozens of local, regional and international food selections – but you have to be strong-willed to walk the perimeter at least once before buying *anything.*
6 p.m.: Now you know why we brought the baby gate :)

There’s also a DJ on-site, several artists selling their wares, an information booth and even a few porta-potties and washbasins – so you don’t waste valuable eating time :)

The next Eat the Street is June 28 and the address is 555 South Street – if you’re in town.

My rating: 4 out of 5 flower leis
(stars are sooo 1990s, brah.)
Koopmans even snags a sunset picture. Score!


 

 
Friday, May 31, 2013 20 comments

Hi! From Hawaii: "HI2" - From Honolulu Zoo

Aloha,
I thought I’d try a new weekly (pictorial) series called HI2 (short for “Hi! from Hawaii.”)
The inaugural HI2 is at the Honolulu Zoo

Set on thirty acres of prime, downtown land adjacent to Waikiki Beach and downtown Honolulu, the zoo is home to more than 1,200 animals and you can find out more here.
I’ll walk you around some of the places I know, share my thoughts, pictures and we’ll see what happens.(Please note: For today, and in any future HI2  posts, I won't do "official" reviews, (because *you* try discover something about, say an Indian Elephant, as No. 2 Son screams and runs one way, while No. 1 Son runs screaming the other way - and No. 3 Son just screams.)
I’ll gladly take requests for anything on O’ahu – although anyone who wants a review of the Honolulu nightlife will have to wait for years.
Everything I do is with the kids and/or the missus, so this is all family friendly, PG-6.  (OH yeah, no stopping this train, baby..... (until I have to add another quarter  :)
 
Tortoise 1 on left: (Four months ago): “Dude, you go first.”
     Tortoise 2: (last week): “No, pal, you go first.”
Tortoise 3: (in a huff) "Man, I hate traffic jams."
   
 
Who's looking at who, I wonder :)


 
 PS… Outside the Orangutan’s area, there is a “Zookeeper Note” that says, in part, “Due to the fact that we orangutans are normally quiet, solitary animals, we can be very sensitive to noise…” (I pitied the beasts once my lot went through...)
 
If you don't want to discuss the 800lb Elephant, that's Diamond Head in the background.



Oh little ones, if only I could share what I know...

 
Papa? Did that man just Photo Bomb my perfect shot?
 
 
African Savanna: Land of interesting Silver Circles...
   
...And awesome animals that work hard in chilling out.


 



We don't need no stinkin' Banana Boat!
 
 
Aquarium in the Keiki (Children's) Zoo (there's a tunnel, too!)
   
Which of these two wants to explore the Petting Zoo area?





No. 1 Son: "I'm trying!"
No. 2 Son (on knees): "Let me try." 
No. 3 Son: "Wottle. Milk Wottle."


 
Sure, you can touch the cute, sweet animals...
 



...But WATCH OUT FOR THE TIGER!!

 
My favorite exhibit at the Keiki Zoo.



 
 



Dreaming of Kit-kats or Meerkats?
 
 
 
 
 
 
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