On day 4 of our vacation we began with a short drive to the Makapu’u Lighthouse trailhead. The trail was about 1.5 miles mostly uphill to the point of land overlooking the lighthouse. The lighthouse was built to prevent ships running aground while traversing the water between Oahu and Molokai.
Sam was decidedly unimpressed with this “dumpy little lighthouse” and didn’t think it was worth the uphill climb to get there. The views from up on the point were very nice.
We then drove to the north shore to visit the Polynesian Cultural Center.
Since the last time we visited the PCC, they have added a lot of shopping and food outside the center. We bought some fancy hotdogs from a truck outside the gates (apparently food trucks are a big tradition in Hawaii). Then we had to try some malasadas, which are like filled doughnuts. We bought one of each flavor to share: guava strawberry, chocolate, and coconut cream.
The Polynesian Cultural Center has six distinct areas for the various Polynesian islands. Each area has traditionally constructed buildings, traditional crafts, and entertainment. After our truck-lunch we entered the PCC just in time for the show on the water that runs through the center of the park.
After a day of walking around the PCC, we attended the Luau dinner show. The food was good, but we were disappointed the the kalua pig didn’t have much taste. As that was what we were most looking forward to, we though the luau was “okay.”
The highlight of the day was the Ha, Breath of Life live show featuring a huge cast of dancers and (the highlight for us) fire jugglers. The storyline was impossible to follow, as a Polynesian family transits from one island to another. The storyline wasn’t that important however, as it was really about the various acts.
You aren’t allowed to take pictures during the show, so these are ones I found online.
We were in the second row, so we had a great view of the entire show.
The next day we got up early to head to Hunauma Bay for some snorkeling. We were worried that the crowds would be heavy on a Saturday morning, but we really didn’t feel crowded. We rented snorkeling gear and had a really good time seeing the sea life up close and personal.
Hunauma Bay is a wildlife preserve, and it is full of sea life. We even got to see a seal that was sunning himself on the beach.
You enter Hunauma Bay from up top and then walk down tot he beach. From this view you can see how the bay was once the caldera of a volcano, but part of it has eroded away.
After snorkeling we went back to the Hale Koa to rest and then got two hours of surfing lessons on Waikiki.
We didn’t get any pictures of any of us up on the board. We were at least a quarter mile out (quite a swim!!), and they wanted $50 per person to provide a photographer.
After a tiring day, we went back to the hotel and cleaned up for dinner. We went to a local place, called The Goofy Cafe, for Mahi Mahi. The food was great. After dinner we walked to a local ice cream parlor and had ridiculously large ice cream desserts.
The next day we got up early to check out of the Hale Koa and head to Honolulu airport for a flight to the big island.
After getting our rental car a the Hilo airport we drove to a farmer’s market outside town where we hand a nice lunch and picked up a bunch of fresh, local produce. This was to make salad with our dinner in our cabin. We then drove to Volcano National Park, took in the victor’s center, and checked into our cabin at the Kilauea Military Camp, inside the national park.
This is a military camp, so it has a theater, PX, several places to eat, a recreation center, and a six-lane bowling alley. We made quesadillas with two different flavors of spam (jalapeño and garlic) and then went to bowl.
After two games of bowling, Sam and Tom played pool in the recreation center. We capped off the evening with some fresh watermelon and mango from the farmer’s market and a couple of mai tais.