1....2.....3......4!

 1......2......3......4......! refers to 1 block party, 2 parades, 3 days and 4 stages filled with entertainment running over the weekend.

Every year, the Pan Pacific festival is held the weekend closest to Kamehameha day.  The Pan Pacific Festival is a celebration of music and dance with both Japanese and American performers.

Today, I have pictures of the block party.  The city closed off four blocks on  Kalakaua Street and venders pitched tents and parked mobile food trucks along the distance.

By 6:00, the blocks were filled with people anxious to try all the tasty foods offered, check out the music and dance, or purchase some locally produced goods.   The truck you see in these pictures is from Leonard's Malasadas also known as Portuguese Doughnuts.  They differ in they have no hole.

Leonard's is so popular, the line started forming as soon as they parked the wagon.  Yes, I was the first one in line because these tasty treats are better than any other doughnut you have tasted.

Next to Leonard's was a southern style food place with BBQ, fried Catfish and other delicacies.  Along the way, I found a wonderful Yakisoba place willing to make a vegetarian version.  It was great. 

It was so full of people, I walked from one end to the other and then headed back to my hotel.  You can see how crowded the party is by 6:30.  There were 4 stages spaced down the street, with entertainment beginning around 7PM.

The people who are most dangerous are the ones who are walking backwards with selfie sticks.  They are trying to record themselves at the event but they do not pay attention to where they are going.

I didn't stop at this ice cream place because I prefer flavors such as Mango, Guava, Lychee, Ube(a purple yam) or other local flavors.  They had mostly standard flavors with chocolate. 

Most booths, including this one, had long lines of waiting patrons, anxious to try the offerings.  I think I saw people tasting their way down the street.   One group sold flavored lemonades in quart jars.  Notice the two ladies who are enjoying their lemonade.

 Groups strolled down the street either heading to or from a stage.  Most stages started with the Kyoto type drumming, a synchronized form of drumming from Japan.

There were also Hula dancers and other dancers who performed.  The group you see in the picture are most likely Japanese who flew in from Japan to perform.  Yes, Japan has Hula schools whose students come over to perform.

This group of hula dancers are getting ready to perform.  It looks like they are in front of one of the original hotels in Waikiki.

I kept watching the leader try to let the sound guys know to cut the music so she and her group could start.  In the meantime, she instructed her students on entering the stage for the performance.

It went on till 9 or 10 PM.  Don't doubt this is a block party, Honolulu style but still a block party.  Waikiki has officers who monitored both ends and some who patrolled on bicycles.  I try to visit Honolulu around this weekend so I can enjoy everything offered.

Have a good day, enjoy the photos and let me know what you think!

Christmas in Waikiki

The other day, I decided to wander around Waikiki, checking out stores.  I decided to wander along the side of the street towards the Apple store because I had a technical question and I seldom bother with that side.   Being from Alaska, I knew about the Santa Claus House in North Pole Alaska.  Its not THE North Pole but a town near Fairbanks which celebrates Christmas year round.  Apparently, there is a place in Waikiki known as the Waikiki Christmas Store.  It celebrates Christmas year round. 

Its not a large store, just one in a row of shops but it does stand out with its festivity. The sales people at the store state this is where Santa comes to take a holiday.  You'll see the Santa dolls dressed in their Aloha shirts with surfboards.  These guys are found in the back corner near the cash register.  They'd never heard of the Santa Claus House but one of the other people in the store had been there so it was cool.  If you look carefully, you'll see a pink pineapple.  True story here, there is a tree in Hawaii whose fruit looks similar to pineapple plants so many tourists think they grown on trees.  They don't, they actually grow on a plant rising from the ground.

 Of course what Christmas shop is complete without the tree we associate with the holiday.  This tree is decorated more in the Hawaiian style with see shells, star fish and other local decorations.

I'll be honest, our trees bore the standard decorations when I grew up in Hawaii.  Most of the families I knew also used the standard decorations.  However, when we saw Santa in a Parade, he was in a car and wore the Hawaiian version of so we knew Santa was in Hawaii.

The Hawaiians have their own version of the 12 days of Christmas which starts "On number one day of Christmas, my Tutu give to me."  Each item was local such as on the 5th day, you got 5 big fat pigs instead of gold rings.  No one saw the gold rings.

This is a shot of the outside so you can see what it looks like.  The trees in the window are definitely quite festive.  I am honest, in that I did not purchase anything because I had limited space and I've already purchased the coffee for my parents, the macadamia nuts for assorted friends, hair clips for others, hair sticks for me, and I still have to get the Malasadas but I have to get those on the day I leave so they are relatively fresh.

I think the next time I come over, if my parents are with me, I'm going to take my mother with me since she loves this type of thing.  When she visited me in Alaska, she had a blast visiting the Santa Clause House.  She even sat on Santa's lap there.  I know she's going to have to see this shop.  She'll love it.  I hope everyone is having a good week. 

Let me know what you think.  I love exploring.

Quick Trip Around Oahu.

I'm sharing a few pictures from my all day tour around the island.  I haven't lived on Oahu for many years so I thought it would be nice to take a guided tour around the island to see what has changed.

I got picked up in Waikiki by a huge Roberts of Hawaii bus.  The location of my pickup is on a small side street that can get extremely congested.  

The bus drove us by Diamond Head, past Kahala with some of the most expensive land before heading out to Hawaii Kai.  One of our first stops was at Hanama Bay.

When I grew up there, we'd pop over to swim in the beautifully calm waters but in the last 20 years, the state has taken over, started charging a fee, and monitors the number of people who are there. They are known to close down the parking lot when they feel there are enough people.  For most tours, you are told the stop is space available.    We got to go in.  As you can see it is absolutely beaurtiful.

 After wards, we headed towards the Blowhole.  Unfortunately, the surf wasn't strong enough to send water through the hole.  Occasionally, we'd see a mist flow out but no stream of water. 

This picture was taken off to the side. According to the tour guide, this is where the beach seen in "From here to eternity" was filmed.  Its a beautiful little cove.  Its also a steep climb down but that does not stop people. 

After the driver managed to get everyone on the bus, we hit the road again.  The next stop was at the top of the Pali where the last battle was fought in which Kamehameha united all the islands under one government.   The wind seems to always blow every time I go up there.

The story from when I was young, went this way:  Some days the wind is so strong that it will blow a person who jumps off the cliff, back up.  I don't know how true it is.  I do know you can see the original road from before the current road.  It comes in to the right of where I took the picture.

The original road hugged the side of the mountain, twisting and turning all the way up.  I heard the original cars did not have a gas pump so they had to go up the hill backwards or they wouldn't get enough gas.  In addition, there is a small seat where people waited for the bus long time ago.

 This is a beautiful picture of one of the buildings on the grounds of the Valley of the Temples, a cemetary where  Christians or Buddhists are buried. It is a beautiful site filled with green, trees, and chapels.  The guide explained how family members often put the deceased person's favorite food or drink on the graves.

People used to put bottles of alcohol but the cemetery changed its policy when young people would come onto the property to steel the bottles.

In recent years they've added a pet cemetery just outside of the regular one.

This is China Man's Hat, named for its look.  According to the tour guide, the small piece of land to the left is where the Minnow from Giligans Island crash in the opening.  Again, I don't know how true that is but it is quite possible.

The day was great so we were able to see Maui across the water.  The North Shore has the best waves for surfing during the winter, while the other side is better in the summer.

 We stopped through Koaloa Ranch for a quick tour and lunch.  Koaloa Ranch is where many of the Jurrasic movies have been filmed and they say another one is in the works there. 

The ranch has been around since the mid 1850's a lot smaller but over time has acquired additional land.  At one point, they tried running a sugar mill but it only lasted 8 years.  Otherwise, they've been raising cattle or being used for filming. 

To the left is one of the original bunkers form World War II. The government took over the ranch for a runway, complete with bunkers guarding it.  This only lasted a couple of years before it was returned to its owners.

The bunker to the right was built as a movie set for one of the World War II movies. It might have been Pearl Harbor with Ben Affleck.  The ranch turned the set into a museum.  The guide said it does not go back very far.

From there, we backtracked about a mile to take advantage of the macadamia nut store.  They had the usual flavors in addition to some unique flavors.  I love the cinnamon sugar ones.  The other ones are the salted caramel but I didn't even try the Kona coffee ones because I do not like coffee flavor.

They gave out free coffee for those who drank it.  I grabbed the flavors I wanted, checked out and was outside before most of the others finished.  As you can tell it is a regular stop.

The final stop was at the Dole Pineapple plantation.  It has a small train for people to ride, a maze where one can get lost and a small miniature  golf course.

I had to get a pineapple whip topped with fresh pineapple bits. I loved the tangy smooth taste of this concoction.  It is so good.  I didn't have time to get any fresh squeezed juice but I know where I can get some.  There is a small Dole outlet near the hotel.....LOL.

It was getting late, so we headed back to town.  I arrived back at my starting point in time to visit the farmers market held at the Hyatt.  I found the small apple bananas I prefer and mango sticky rice.  I'll share a picture of that later.

Hope you enjoy this peak of Oahu.  I'd love to hear from you.  Have a good day.

Let's Go!

Mmmmmm, So Good

The New International Market Place

 The original one was torn down a couple of years ago to be replaced by a more modern structure with sleek lines but without the character of the first one. 

I entered it by the Tesla Car company.  Turns out, a Tesla car is some sort of electric car but the weird doors reminded me of the car from Back To the Future.

In the back of the dealership, they had some company tshirts available for purchase but I never made it in because it looks like those are out of my price range.

The original market place opened back in 1957 as a Polynesian experience but over the years it changed into more of a cluster of small businesses.  I loved it because I never knew which exit I would end up by.

The banyan tree was there when it opened, closed, and reopened.  They built a tree house which holds a history of the place.  This particular tree was original planted in the mid 19th century so its probably about a century and a half old.

This photo gives you a great view of the tree house.  As you can see the tree is huge and spread out. It actually dominates this end of the new marketplace.

Lighting has been strung around the tree and if you look carefully, you'll find seating hidden away in the folds of other plants.  Apparently, this Indian Banyan is treasure so highly, there are sensors placed around it so the tree doctor can be called should it indicate it is stressed.

 The tree is so tall, you can see the top leaves from the third floor with all its interesting restaurants.  This is not the food court, it is a place of fine dining.

The food court is on the first floor but they are working out some kinks in its operation.  They have a digital kiosk to learn more about the eating places in "The Street" but at the time I tried it, it did not work well. 

The screens either did not work, or blacked out.  I gave up.

 Notice the nice green area build at the other side by the keyhole area.  There is water, grass, stones for sitting and a stage surrounded by large statues.

People are taking advantage of the open area to enjoy themselves.  It is nice to have this grassed in area in a place where higher and higher buildings are replacing the open areas.

There is also a stream surrounded by plants and flowers which flows through the place.  Sprinkled at certain places are wooden seats so people can sit and enjoy the water.

This picture is taken from the third floor of the marketplace.  To my left is the open space for the banyan tree.  I saw some red berries that I'd never had a chance to see.

Behind me is a pizza place offering pizza and beer.  I check the menu out and some of the pizza's looked so wonderful.  Unfortunately, the person I was with, couldn't eat the pizza due to a wheat allergy. 

I'll try to share more pictures next week of this place.  I still prefer the older place because it reminded me of a mysterious land of the past.

The Windjammers

Every Monday night, the hotel presents the Windjammers, a group of local musicians and dancers who provide a nice laid back local show.  It is not a show which is the same every night.  It is not choreographed to be spectacular.  It is more of a family gathering where people have fun.

 The evening started with these three guys.  The one in the red t-shirt is Leonard and he just sort of retired from his full time job in the technology department at one of the schools.

I don't know what the other two do but the three of them have played every time I've visited over the past several years.  As the evening progressed, more musicians and dancers showed up.

They alternate Hawaiian music with dancing and a few regular songs.

 The man in the picture is from Japan.  He and his wife come here every June to spend a month studying Hula at one of the Halau's (dance schools).

The lady in the pink muumuu sang and danced.  She is the one who chose songs like 5 foot 2 and other oldies.  I recognized them due to a relative who had them on recoreds.

 More dancing but by this time a few more people had showed up to participate.  The woman in the background is Caroline.  She is married to Leonard and her mother comes every Monday to watch. 

I think her mother is now 100 or so but she loves coming and interacting with everyone.  Carolyn is wonderful because she'll make sure you know the next move in the hula, even when you haven't done the dance in a long, long time. 

I actually got up and performed with Carolyn and a couple other people but I forgot to give my camera to someone to take a picture of me.  Darn.

This lady is from Japan and is married to the man I mentioned earlier.  They often do a dance where she ends up kicking him in the but and everyone has a blast.  She is so good.

When you sit and watch everyone dance, they do not do the exact same steps and motions at exactly the same time.  It all depends on who they learned the hula from.  Many dances are passed down through families.

As you can see in this picture, another few musicians have joined.  The guy in front of the open doorway is a fantastic ukulele player.  He can pick various tunes the same way someone would do it on a guitar.

He as fantastic.  I had never seen anyone pick music on a ukulele the way he does.  He was awesome.

The program was done so they'd go to each musician for his or her choice.  Some times the person chose a hula while other times they'd choose a song. 

I told Caroline, next year, I'm going to arrange to stay for two Monday's so I can enjoy their music twice instead of just once.  It is such a fun show and they involve the audience as much as they can.

I hope you enjoyed this.  I'll try to upload a couple of videos later in the week.  Have a great time.