Table coverings with flare

I interrupt my Hawaii recap to bring you a special announcement:



How ingenious! I have two of these utility tables and covering them has always been a challenge. I love the ideas shown here from Macel & Co.

A little culture is a good thing

Tuesday morning, March 29
Got up. Got out of bed. Drove the hour drive from Honolulu to Laie to attend the Laie temple to do an endowment session. What a beautiful temple inside and out! It's a marvel. The recent renovations make it look like a completely new temple. The rooms are small and you move from place to place (which I like.) It took a couple of hours to complete the temple work.
Afterward we walked around the BYU - Hawaii campus and got the lay of the land. It's a small but stunning campus. Later we met David Mejia, a young man from Peru and headed to lunch with him and Andy in our rental car. Rick taught his family the gospel many years ago in Peru and we've stayed in touch with him and his family. David is attending BYU-Hawaii as well as Andy. We went to the Kahuku grill and had some coconut shrimp for lunch. After lunch we parted company. Rick and Andy went on their own adventure and Carol, Mom and I headed to the Polynesian Cultural Center that is owned by the LDS church and operated by the students of BYU Hawaii and the people of Laie. Andy and Rick went on a hike to the China-man's hat island and to Pounders beach for some surfing. We each enjoyed our respective activities.
The Polynesian Cultural Center or PCC as it's referred to in Hawaii, is a marvel. Andy referred to it as the Polynesian Disneyland. It's on about 40 acres and it has become one of the main tourist attractions of Hawaii. Bus loads of people take the hour trip from Honolulu over to Laie to participate in the day-long activities. As you can see on the map, there is a small replica of each of the Polynesian cultures in the PCC. Visitors can spend the better part of the day going from village to village learning about each culture. There are native dances and activities to either watch or participate in. There is a large stream that runs down the center of the PCC and a visitor can go on a boat cruise down the stream. At night they offer a large luau complete with authentic flower leis and a buffet dinner with all the trimmings, yes even including poi (a native Hawaiian dish.)
After dinner was their signature program "Ha, Breath of Life" that tells the story of a native boy as he grows to manhood. It is complete with dancing, singing, fire dancing, war battles, love stories, birth and death. It was well done and a good way to showcase each of the different island cultures. Andy and Rick got back from their adventure in time to go with us to the program. There are gift shops galore and lots of places to have a picture taken in native dress. I think the PCC has learned a thing or two about marketing from cruise ships, Disneyland and other resorts. It was well run and a very entertaining day. I would recommend it to anyone visiting Hawaii.
Day four of a vacation in paradise.

A sobering experience at Pearl Harbor

Monday morning, March 28
We started out the day visiting Pearl Harbor. While we were driving there, Rick asked Mom what her memories were of that day. It was VERY interesting to her talk about "the day that will live in infamy" from her perspective. She was 14 years old. Her only brother Dean later joined the war effort and served in the navy in the pacific theater. He saw many years of the horrors of war and returned a changed man. Luckily he returned. Many did not.
Our Dad was drafted into the army when he finished serving his mission in the New England states and was sent to Germany just before the war ended there and would have been sent to the Pacific to fight if the US hadn't bombed Japan and ended the war.
I'm so grateful for a generation of men and women who stepped forward to defend our liberties and our way of life. We visited the interesting and informative museums and listened to a recorded tape describing the things we were seeing by Jamie Lee Curtis whose father Tony Curtis served in the Pacific. It was very informative and well done and I learned a lot about the bombing of Pearl Harbor and why the Japanese decided to launch an assault against the United States. They truly did awake a sleeping giant. We were taken out to the Arizona war ship memorial in the Pearl Harbor bay on a small boat. The Arizona memorial is the only sunken ship from the day that still lies in the harbor. It entombed over 950 men when it sank and it remains a stark reminder of that day when the United States was attacked and entered into World War II.
After that experience we drove around the south east shore of Oahu to see the sights. There are beautiful beaches along Hanauma bay and also very majestic and rocky shores along the south side. We found a lovely beach at Kailua beach and put on our swimming suits for a dip in the ocean. The water was lovely! It was so warm and the air temperature was about the same as the water temperature. We had a good soak and loved watching all the people enjoying the different water activities around us. It was fun to see Mom enjoy the water. Rick was his usual self swimming out to sea and enjoying himself immensely. Carol and I had a good time swimming around and enjoying the water.



We got back to the hotel, sat in the hot tub and ordered some pizza to be delivered to our room.
It was a lovely day. Day three of a vacation in paradise.

I love to see the temple!

Sunday morning, March 27.
We got up and headed to Laie to attend church at Andy's student ward. The place was packed. We were in the minority, which is generally a good experience. Andy and Rick stayed for the whole block of meetings since Andy had a lesson to teach in priesthood meeting. Rick said he did an amazing job. Carol, Mom and I went on a little site seeing expedition down the road to Turtle Beach resort. Lovely. We returned to pick up the guys and take a walking tour around the lovely Laie, Hawaii temple. It is a sight to see. Keeping up to usual LDS temple standards, the grounds surrounding the temple were immaculate. The visual feast of seeing the all green grounds against the white temple and blue sky was breath taking. The temple property goes right down to the shore line of the sea.
I was so interested in the history of the Laie temple. It was recently rededicated and we're very fortunate that we go to see it inside and out since it was closed for two years for renovation, recently being reopened and rededicated last November.

The Laie Hawaii Temple was the first temple built in Polynesia.

The Laie Hawaii Temple was the first temple "brought to the people," as it was the first temple dedicated outside of the state (or territory) where Church Headquarters was located.

The Laie Hawaii Temple was the first temple built outside of the continental United States.

At just 10,500 square feet, the Laie Hawaii Temple was the smallest temple the Church had ever constructed.

The Laie Hawaii Temple was originally named the Hawaii Temple.

The Laie Hawaii Temple stands adjacent to Church-owned Brigham Young University–Hawaii. The Church's other two universities; Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, and Brigham Young University–Idaho in Rexburg, Idaho; also have adjacent temples.

The Laie Hawaii Temple sits on the original Mormon landholdings of Hawaii known as Laie Plantation. The 6,000-acre parcel was purchased in 1865 for $14,000.

President Joseph F. Smith was in Hawaii on business in the spring of 1915 when he was moved by a spiritual impulse to dedicate a site for the Laie Hawaii Temple. The action was later ratified by the brethren and publicly sustained in the October 1915 General Conference.

Construction of the Laie Hawaii Temple came to a standstill when the supply of lumber ran out. Prayers were uttered, and two days later, a freighter was discovered stranded on a nearby coral reef. The captain offered his entire cargo to the saints if they would unload it for him. His cargo? Lumber—enough to complete the temple.

We drove around the north shore, taking in the sights, sounds and smells of the ocean. We enjoyed some wonderful Thai food for dinner and then took Andy and Tanner back to their small garage apartment. We drove back to Honolulu and fell into bed, exhausted from a fun day of seeing the beauties of nature.
Day two of a vacation in paradise.

A surf can soothe the soul

I feel a little guilty, but I'm not gonna down play it. We had a fabulous time in Hawaii. While the snow was still flying in Utah, we were enjoying the wind and waves of Oahu.
You know you're off to a good start when you are told that your seats have been upgraded to 1st class on the long Delta flight to Hawaii. Nice. Our original seats on row 35 were behind a disabled person who needed more room to recline. Her need was our gain. Rick and I got booted up to 1st. Such a hardship, but we bore up as best we could. We were upgraded on another long flight coming home from South America one time. Now we know why they pull the little curtain between 1st and coach. There could be an uprising otherwise. The warm towels to wash before the hot meal, the endless drinks and pampering, the offer of a free alcoholic drink (which we declined), the free media headphones, the larger more spacious seats, more leg room, the snacks offered several times and the attentive stewardess makes paying three times the regular price worth it to some people I guess.


We got to Honolulu, checked out our car and headed to the hotel. It was about three blocks from Waikiki. We ate some island food at Dukes. Without further adieu, we headed to the beach. No need wasting any more time. Someone was especially anxious to hit the waves. The 80 degree temperature and the nice ocean breeze just added to the ambiance. Carol, Rick and I were out floating in the water when someone we recognized came swimming by. Hummmmm, who was that tanned, lean machine? Andy the pseudo Hawaiian surprised us and I must say it was wonderful to see him again. He and his sidekick Tanner. A little sand and surf can soothe the soul. Watching the sun dip below the water at sundown is a sight to behold. Mom was soaking it all up in an easy chair on the beach. A nice soak in the hot tub at the hotel afterward wasn't bad either.
Day one of a vacation in paradise.