Thoughts From a Frazzled Mind

Day 4: The most wonderful day of all! We spent the morning at the Aloha Swap Meet. There were literally thousands of venders selling just about everything imaginable. I bought several gifts there for really great prices. We then headed to Sea Life Park. There we were able to watch Kate narrate the big dolphin show. I just love watching dolphins perform! They are so smart and talented! As they performed, Brooke filled us in on lots of training information as well as the names and characteristics of each of the dolphins. We watched Kamana, Ahi, Kaleo, Mikioi, Naia, and Kekaimalu (Kermie). Kermie is actually a wholphin – half dolphin and half false killer whale. This was a surprise mating between a 14-foot, 2,000-pound false killer whale and a 6- foot, 400-pound dolphin (who were featured in the Adam Sandler movie "50 First Dates.") After the show we met Azu who was working with the Sea Lions. She is the sweetest lady! She is married to Drew, who is t...

Day 3: Corby, Rondi, and I spent the entire day at the Polynesian Cultural Center. Brooke had been there several times, so she decided to spend the day with her friend Jess. It is impossible to describe the PCC – seven Polynesian islands are represented and shows are presented to help keep the traditions of each island alive. We learned songs, dances, cooking, drums, and games from Samoa, Fiji, Aotearoa (New Zealand), Tonga, Hawai’i, and Tahiti. We watched an incredible parade of dancers on canoes. We had a huge luau, and I discovered that other than the pulled pork, I really don’t like luau food! After the Luau we watched a big show encompassing all of the dancing and singing of all of the islands called The Breath of Ha. It was amazing! Rondi and I got air-brush tattoos as souvenirs.

Day Two: Rondi and I got up early to go to the Laie Temple while Brooke and Corby went to the beach. Rondi isn’t endowed yet, so we did baptisms. It was wonderful. Of course the grounds are absolutely beautiful. We met a family there from Centerville, and we all took pictures of each other. After the temple we drove to a beach on the North Shore called Kawela Bay. While walking to the beach we passed through a grove of banyan trees. Instead of the roots growing from the ground up, these trees drop tendrils down to the ground that eventually grow into a trunk of the tree. They are stunning! Brooke saw some Dragon Fruit at a road-side stand and decided that we should try some. It looked very interesting - almost like a slimy, speckled rock. It wasn't very good! We had Kawela Bay entirely to ourselves most of the time we were there. The sand wasn’t as fine as Lani Kai, but we had some shade on the beach so I didn’t worry so much about sunburn. I laid on my towel, listened to ...

I never want to forget the details of my most wonderful trip to Hawai'i, so my post will be REALLY long. To help in posting I am going to post it in several segments. What a fantastic week! Hawai’i is everything that I hoped it would be! It is so lush and green, so warm, not too humid, and so incredibly beautiful! I loved every single minute that I was there, and seriously felt like crying when it was time to leave. I was so very fortunate to be with three really fun ladies from my school, Brooke, Corby, and Rondi. Brooke lived here in Oahu for three years working as a dolphin trainer at Sea Life Park. Consequently we were able to have our own personal tour guide as we visited not only all of the tourist sites, but also we got to see the beauty of Oahu from a resident’s point of view. In addition, we had the opportunity to spend time with her friends, Jess, Kate, Kyleen, and Kristy who are also dolphin trainers. Our condo was in Waikiki, less than three blocks fro...