LAHUA, ALOHA.

Part of the Hawaiin Culture is to enjoy a LAHUA which is a traditional feast, followed by the lighting of the flames and jumping into the sea off a high point. The nearest venue was the Sheraton Hotel, so off we set everyone dressed to the nines!! 

The weather was superb and perfect for being out and watching the sun go down.

The evening started off with the lighting of the flame followed by jumping off Black Rock.

As I understand it the jumping off the rock represents ridding the earth of evil spirits. The Sheraton has someone jump off the rock every night......interesting job!

 

Then the band struck up and the real fun began. Hawaiin music is great and listening to this music reminded me of the movie "South Pacific, " a huge favorite of mine. I think this movie was the first of its kind being a musical.

 

The dancing began, with the dancers all dressed up n colorful costumes and those hips swaying in time to the delightful music.

 

We were keeping cool and hydrated by enjoying a couple of exotic drinks.

The children danced and pranced and had loads of fun.

Our camera man (Poppie) wandered round taking interesting pics.

We had not booked in for the "feast" part of the evening but little Ben could not resist the pudds!

Nothing like a bit of self,service!

Molly has set her dreams on being a Hawaiin dancer too!

Hannah, too enjoyed the sweets of the evening.

 

A great evening was had by all! If you have the chance don't miss out on a LAHUA!!

Lahaina, Hawaii.

On Sunday we decided it was time to leave the beach and go exploring. Off we went to the town of Lahaina just fifteen minutes down the drag.

 

According to Diana's research, the first thing we need to do is have "shaved ice" which Maui is well known for. This consists of a cup of shaved ice with a choice of syrups poured over it.

 

The children were delighted to be able to have this treat!

We wandered down to the harbor and found a patch of grass where we could relax while the shaved ice could be enjoyed!

This is the oldest lighthouse of the Pacific Ocean being erected in 1840 to warn the whaleboats! Despite various changes that have been made to the original structure it shows how important it is to preserve original structures, as part of one's history.

 

The children were delighted to be able to have this treat! We wandered down to the harbor and found a patch of grass where we could relax while the shaved ice could be enjoyed

Being lunch time we headed off to find a special place to have lunch and what better than Bubba Gump.

The restaurant is one of a chain of restaurants which use the movie Forest Gump in which Tom Hanks and Sally Fielding are featured. A beautiful movie and one which has many catch phrases which we love and enjoy.

 

 

 

Not only do you dine and enjoy as election o fprawn or a rather shrimp dishes but you can purchases tee shirts and caps and a variety of souvenirs rating these favorite phrases!

Each table has one of these..

Should you be needing additional attention then you flip the sign over and this appears.

The window above our table had this stunning view!

 

 

The children loved their fish and chips.

 

We enjoyed our meal especially the "shrimp" or prawns as we call them. The atmosphere in this restaurant was amazing and I was surprised to see that there are 32 Bubba Gump restaurants around the world, including two in Malaysia ! If you live anywhere near one make sure you go and enjoy the experience! It is special!!!

 

Off to Maui, Hawaii!!

 

 

 

Much excitement reigns as we get ready to fly off to Hawaii. Diana is our tour operator and has gone to a great deal of trouble to organize this wonderful trip. Hawaii has not been on our bucket list so we are amazed to be visiting this dream destination. 

 

Maui is the second largest island of Hawaii and the seventeenth largest island of the U.S.A. It took five hours flying time to get here from San Francisco and I have to congratulate the children on their wonderful behavior during the trip.

Diana had organized for us to get a car at the airport and soon we were off up the coast to Ka'anapali where we were booked in at The Westin. Our accommodation consists of a full apartment and a studio. Everything was absolutely perfect with lots of swimming pools catering for the families, a small park for the children, outside cooking facilities, and best of all easy access to the sea.

 

The children could not wait to get into the pool and play and play and play. None of the pools are very deep so using their tubes or floaters as they call them, they are relatively safe.

 

 

Snorkeling off the beach is so easy and on the first day Christopher spotted a "Hanu" or better known as a green backed turtle. He and Molly we're able to follow it for ages down the coast with Molly angling onto the tube and getting used to her goggles. Diana spent time teaching Hannah how to snorkel too and both girls had the most amazing experience seeing the treasures under the sea.

 

 

Warren and I snorkelled and had a wonderful time but alas, no turtle.

 

 

 

Today is Friday the thirteenth which is unlucky for some but was lucky for us. While Warren was out snorkeling he found the "Hanu" and beckoned for me to join him. How special seeing this turtle nibbling away, unperturbed by us spying on him.

 

This is not my photie, but it is exactly what we saw today!!

Warren returned to the beach and then Diana joined me and as she arrived the turtle came up for air. Gulping a few times he went down and then came back up, repeating the same action five times and then he swam back to his original spot, continuing with his meal. I needed to go back to shore at this stage but Diana stayed on and the next thing she heard a chap behind her say that he could see a turtle and this was a second Hanu. Didee had a bumper sighting.

 

 

Later in the afternoon I went for a walk along the promenade as far as I could go and just loved the view along the way. Tomorrow I will explore the beach in a different direction.

 

Whatever direction you look you just see beauty!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shopping in San Francisco!

Knowing my interests, Diana was eager to show me her local places of interest. This divine little shopping centre is within walking distance from home. It is an ideal distance to push the pram and the girls can cope with the walk. Our first stop has to be a...you guessed correctly, a fabric shop!! It was having a half price sale and I got two gorgeous pieces of fabric ...yards not meters.

These two pieces have a definite African flavor!! Who could resist? Coming all this way to buy African styled fabrics is a little strange but they are stunning. I guess it's in the blood. We also popped into a bead shop and a little gift shop owned by a lovely woman from Korea.

As we had just been to Korea it was good to exchange news about the country. Molly needed to go outside so I followed her and the lady in front of us tucked her huge shopping bag under her arm and scuttled out of the shop in a most strange fashion and the next thing the security beeper which beeps if you take goods without paying went off. The owner came out and confronted the woman but she would not re enter the shop as requested but hurried to a car which was waiting for her with the engine revving!! We had just witnessed a shop lifting!!! When I popped in to see the owner a few days later she said that the thief had got away with lots of expensive goods!! How awful!

 

On Saturday it was a good time to go off to the city. As it is Summer Holidays here, the streets are not too busy and it was an easy drive to the city centre.

The first stop was the famous Bloomingdales. Wow! It is everything on imagines.

 

We were on a mission to go to the Disney shop. Hannah's birthday is coming up soon and Diana had promised her a trip to the Disney shop so she could choose her dream gift!

Molly and Hannah were able to feast their eyes on the most wonderful selection of toys ever. Oh how I wish I could be a little girl all over again. Here the two girls are asking "Mirror, mirror on the wall, Who is the fairest of us all?" that mirror would have a difficult time choosing!!!

 

There were some delightful scenes along the way.

 

 

Even a little love to spread around.