The luau

Thursday we went to a luau.When we first got there we got passes that ether were pink or blue.Kids got blue. Adults got pink .Of course I got blue.Once we got our passes,we had our picture took with some Hawaiian people.Then we got shell leis so they would know we paid. It was suprising.You even got to buy your picture. Next, we took a bus ride though a garden.When we got there,you could see the pig roasting in a hot pile of dirt.We said a prayer. Then it was time to eat!We ate poi (it tasted like wallpaper paste.)We also ate pineapples,cucumber salad, Chinese rice,bread,pig,and coconut cake (Hawiian style.) They let me do the hula on stage. After eating we went to a play about the golden people of Hawaii. They did dances from different places. My favorite one was the Samoan fire knife dance. After that it was time too leave

Kauai Kayak and Jungle Hike

Yesterday we went kayaking, hiking, and swimming. We went kayaking first on the Huleia River past the Menehune fish pond. This is what I learned about the Menehune fish pond. It was built sometime between 400AD and 1200AD by the mythical Menehune people who were really just small Polynesian people. They dug the pond out and then lined it with lava rocks that they passed hand to hand from the interior of the island about 70 miles away. They put sticks at the entrance of the pond so little fish could go in. Then they fed them and let the fish get too big to go back out. We kayaked by where Indiana Jones swung into the plane in Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. Next we went hiking to two waterfalls. The first one we just took pictures of, but we got to swim in the second one. The water was very cold. After that, we hiked some more and had lunch. From where we had lunch you could see where Jurassic Park 1, 2, and 3 where filmed and where Indiana Jones was chased by the natives in Indiana Jones and the Raiders os the Lost Ark. We kayaked beside the mountain where they filmed the opening to MASH.

Snorkeling in Kona, Hawai'i

Yesterday we got on a zodiac raft and went over to a bay to snorkel. It was actually kind of in England. It was in England because the king of Hawaii gave the land where Captain Cook is buried and has a monument to England. When Captain Cook came to Hawaii the Hawaiians thought he was a god. He was supposed to be a god of soil and farming. He was supposed to come on a floating island. They thought that his boat was a floating island. His priests were supposed to be white. They thought the sails of the ship were his priests. After he left the island and came back with a broken ship, they knew he was not the god so they killed him.

When we went snorkeling there were lots of fish. There were parrot fish, trumpet fish, angel fish, squirrel fish, and lots of yellow fish. It was really fun and the water was cold. We also went along the coast and saw some caves made out of lava.

Mountain Biking Haleakala

On Monday we got up at 2:30 am and got on a van by 3am to go get bikes and watch a sunrise on top to Haleakala. It was WAYYYY early/cool. It was cool in two ways- fun and cold. We had to wear snow clothes- in Hawaii! It was in the low 40's with the wind whipping! The sunrise was worth the cold. It was all black, then it started glowing and then the sky just exploded with color ABOVE the clouds.
Then we got to do the bike ride. It was 23 miles, all downhill. At times we were over 30mph. Wheeeeee!!!!!! As we went down the mountain we would take off layers of winter clothes and put them in our backpacks. By the time we were at the bottom we were in shorts and t-shirts and it was 89 degrees.
Haleakala is supposedly the second highest mountain in the world if you count base to top. It is 20000 under water and another 10000 above.

Volcanoes National Park

Yesterday we went to Volcanoes National Park. It was at the Kilauea volcano and the volcano is still active. We hiked across one mile across a dried up lava lake. It looked like the moon. It is all gray and is steaming at some places. They would not let us go all the places because the volcano is letting out gas that is bad to breathe. We hiked through a lava tube. It is a place where lava went and then the top of it cooled and made a roof. Then the rest of the lava kept going and just poured out and left a tube. It is like a big tunnel. Then last night the ship went by where the lava pours into the oceans. It was orange and looked like fireworks. It glowed and made steam.

At the wedding

Last night we went to Allison's wedding. Allison works in my Dad's dental office. Allison is Mrs. Moore's step-daughter. Mrs. Moore teaches at Baton Elementary. The wedding was on the beach. It was very fun.When a wave came up to the wall that kept you from falling in the water,it soaked you. I had never been to a wedding where your feet got sandy. Instead of using a unity candle they poured two different colors of sand together.

Pearl Harbor

This morning we went to Pearl Harbor. We got our tickets to visit the USS Arizona Memorial. First we watched a video about the attack on Pearl Harbor and then we took a shuttle boat over to the memorial. The memorial is right on top of the sunken battleship. You can still see the battleship from the memorial. The gun turret is above the water and is clearly visable. You can also still see oil on the surface of the water that is leaking from the battleship.

In the memorial there is a room that has a wall containing all of the names of the sailors and marines that died on the USS Arizona.

There were some Pearl Harbor survivors there today. It was a very humbling experience.

Swimming At Waikiai Beach

Once we went to the hotel, we got on our bathing suits and went swimming at Waikiki Beach. I thought the water was going to be cold, and Blair thought it WAS cold. I thought it was warm. We jumped waves and got saltwater in our eyes. We picked up lava rocks from the sand.

The all-day flight

Mom got us up at 4:30 in the morning! Then we had to drive to Charlotte. It seemed to take a long time. In Charlotte we took a plane to Houston. It only took two hours. From Houston we caught a plane straight to Honolulu. We had two meals on the plane. The plane ride took eight hours! It was 9:00 at home when we got here but it was only 3:oo here! Then we stayed up 5 more hours! We were so tired.

Planning for Hawaii

We are all very excited and are busy planning our trip to Hawaii. We will be crusing from island to island with Norwegian Cruiselines for a week after spending two days in Honolulu. My daughter Jayne, age 7, will be blogging to her class at Baton Elementary School. My 11 year old son Blair will blog to his classes at Hudson Middle School. They plan to keep a journal through the blog to share this experience with their classmates.