Hawaii Trip, Thursday

Thursday

Thursday was a pretty lazy day. We slept in a bit. However, I was still up by 8:00 AM, Hawaii time. My body has still not adjusted completely to the time change. After breakfast, I opted to go shopping on shore. Debra stayed aboard; she had a spa appointment. I offered to exchange a shirt for her at Hilo Hattie's.

I took Hilo Hattie's free shuttle to the store. I exchanged her shirt, then did some shopping for myself and family. Hilo Hattie's is an icon here on the islands. They sell souvenirs and Hawaiian clothing, real tourist stuff. I enjoyed myself greatly.

I finished shopping and Debra finished in the spa in time for lunch. We also went up to the observation deck above the pool to try the drink of the day, called a Blue Lagoon. I can't remember all that was in it, but I know it was grapefruit juice and blue Curaçao. I liked it.

We relaxed and later dressed for the luau. I wasn't ready to put on a sarong, but I wore a flower in my hair, bright colors, and my kukui nut lei. We were each given an orchid lei when we arrived at the luau.

The luau is held on a large plantation and it's quite an affair. It wasn't quite the way I had pictured a luau. I guess my image comes from the Brady Bunch visiting Hawaii. I imagined sitting on the beach, tiki torches everywhere, a pig roasting on a spit, native girls dancing the hula in grass skirts, native men twirling fiery torches, and waves crashing in the background as the sun set over the pacific.

Instead, we got a huge outdoor pavilion surrounded by lush tropical gardens. Native vendors were selling expensive wares. Bars were set up. There was a band. We were bused in by the hundreds. There were over 700 people there. Photographers staged photo ops at every opportunity.

I was impressed by the open bar. They only offered two kinds of drinks. We were each offered a Mai Tai as we passed the first bar. It was okay, but I am not crazy about dark rum. The other bars were also offering a drink called the Blue Hawaiian. I know it was light rum and some combination of tropical fruit juice, but was bright blue. Those were delicious! I drank 3 of them during the course of the evening.

There was some entertainment and a hula lesson. We were served salad, bread, and fruit. Then there was the ceremony of unearthing the pig from its roasting pit. Soon, we were sent to the buffet line. In addition to the yummy roast pork, there was macaroni salad, vegetable chow mein, rice, mashed purple sweet potatoes, mahi mahi, teriyaki chicken, and, of course, little cups of poi.

We had all been encouraged to try poi. It is taro root mashed with water. It is as yucky as it sounds. It is the consistency of wallpaper paste with a bland, slightly sour taste. I tried it, of course. I was not impressed.

After dinner, there were tropical desserts--rice pudding with rum sauce, coconut pudding, pineapple upside down cake, and banana cream pie. It was okay, but nothing remarkable. After visiting the cacao farm, I was hoping for chocolate.

Then the real entertainment began. It was basically theater in the round. Through music, dance, and dialogue, the natives told the story of their ancestors coming to Hawaii from Polynesia. Naturally, there was hula and fire dancing. It was interesting, dramatic, and long.

Some of the native men were FINE looking in their skimpy loincloths. There was just a strip of fabric in the front and a strip in the back attached with narrow bands on the sides. There was plenty of skin showing. They were way more skimpily dressed than the girls. As they danced and twirled, I kept expecting their fabric to flip up and see them flash the crowd. I think every woman in the place was holding their breath. The male dancers were pretty adept at ALMOST showing off their man parts. Finally, I caught a glimpse underneath, but all of the important parts were actually covered with some sort of skimpy thong. Oh well.

We had to wait in long lines to board the buses back to the ship. By the time I showered and got ready for bed, it was late and I was very tired. I knew I had to sleep as soon as possible, because Friday had an early excursion scheduled.