All Good Things...

Wednesday.
Time truly DOES fly.
When we gazed out the window from the airplane Thursday night and saw "Aloha" in lights on the control tower, it seemed we had all the time in the world to socialize, tour, relax.
Now it's Wednesday, and the passage of time is palpable.

We all want to make the most of it.
I still have not seen Waikiki... Diamondhead... the "Blow Hole".
Once again we are on a short leash time-wise...
We have reservations to tour the Polynesian Cultural Center, about an hours drive North of Honolulu. We decide to kill two birds with one stone.

GH will meet us at the PCC. She loves the program there... wants us there early to share all of it with her. At this time in our stay we are really beginning to feel the effects of the stress of all we've done... We're running out of gas. I can tell my behavior is changing... I'm easily irritated by things that don't normally irritate me. I have to be careful about what I say and do.

Seven us pile into two cars and depart the Navy Lodge.
We stop at the Aloha Tower Marketplace for lunch at Gordon Biersch's Brewery Restaurant. GH, Ken, TD, Cinders, TC and Sharon have eaten here previously, so some in our party are anxious for a second helping of their sinful apple caramel bread pudding!

After lunch we caravan through Waikiki and see people everywhere, including Joker's beloved "International Marketplace". We resist the urge to stop and buy "Wicked Wahine" cologne, and continue past the beach. We get sidetracked trying to find the proper road toward Diamondhead, and laugh at ourselves as we end up turning both cars around in the same spot twice, attempting to find the proper highway.

For me, Diamondhead disappoints. "Diamondhead" is such a grand name... such an icon of Honolulu.
I expected grandeur... but found an exaggerated hill.

But then we move onward, East and North, and OH MY!
The sea comes up on our right side and the vistas literally take your breath away. We miss the overlook for the Blow Hole and once again have to turn around. The surf isn't high enough for the Blow Hole to really show off, but we get a sense of what it would be like, and the stop is worth the effort simply for the view of surf crashing against the rocks. Big Bubba is wearing out his shutter... he walks out on the rocks to get better pictures and worries his Mother...
(and me too, but I try not to let it show).

Loaded up and truckin' North again, we hug the coast and search for more vistas, but they are few and far between as we pass through little villages and the commercial ventures they afford.

The Polynesian Cultural Center is a Theme Park, a bit like Six Flags. "Islands" spaced out along and on two sides of a central stream represent the cultures of different peoples... Samoan, Fijian, Tahitian...
Each culture puts on a demonstation of their culture about every half hour. We see three demonstrations before moving to the Centers IMAX theatre to watch a beautiful film devoted to saving the earths coral reefs.

After the film, picture time for all in front of a waterfall. It's a little dark by this time, and the pictures don't turn out as we would like, but we have 'em anyway and will share 'em soon.

Then it's time to for us all to make our way to the ampitheater for the big show. 300-some-odd performers take part in dancing, singing, and cultural displays. This performance is first-class... worthy of Hollywood or Broadway. I find myself wishing we had planned to attend earlier in the week, when we all weren't so worn out.

The drive home is beautiful, and we once again make our way through the Harano tunnel... this time at night. Just before entering the tunnel I look to my right and below and see we are looking straight down the runway to the Marine Corps Air Station at Kaneohe in the distance, several hundred feet below us...
once again, breathtaking.

Time is short. We want to visit some more.
But we all agree we are "too pooped to pop".
Sad smiles... "goodnight all."
We all head for bed.

Tomorrow we'll be homeward bound.