Day Three- Hawai'i

We slathered ourselves with SPF 50 sunscreen and headed out to Waikiki Beach, one of the most famous beaches in the world. I thought I was doing well getting my pool into the 80's a few times this summer, but the ocean water was so warm that we could have stayed in it all day. The part of the beach we chose to hang out on had some coral on the bottom, so we had to watch where we put our feet if we went too far out. It also seems to be the part of Waikiki beach that was very popular with boogie boards, but we did not rent them ourselves.

We spent the evening on the leeward side of the island at Paradise Cove, ironically, very near to Mike's job site. We got a bus ride out to the cove to go to a Lu'au & Hawaiian revue show. We were each greeted with a Mai Tai and an orchid lei. We tried our hand at O'o'ihe (spear throwing) which only proved that Michael and I would starve if we had to rely on spearing our own food. I made a braided wrist corsage out of plumeria and orchid flowers. Plumeria is very fragrant, so I smelled oh so pretty the whole evening. After the Imu Ceremony (unearthing the pig from the roasting pit) we had a feast. Not only were we supplied in continuous Mai Tai's and Blue Hawaii drinks, but we had traditional Poi (starch pudding made from taro plants- yuck!), more Lomi Lomi Salmon (Salmon salsa), Mahi Mahi with a macadamia nut cream sauce, and Haupia (which was a square of coconut gelatin, unlike McD's pie) and of course the roasted pig. We sat across from a snuggly honeymoon couple from San Francisco so that helped to keep the evening romantic.

Following the meal, we watched a Hawaiian show that included Hula dancing, buff men in loin clothes, and a Samoan fire knife dancer. The last was the most impressive!

My favorite of the day was seeing the sunset over the Pacific Ocean. It was gorgeous to start, and just when I thought it was over, it got better. You can imagine how many photos I snapped. I will leave this entry with the sunset photo below.