HAWAII DAY 2

We started off the day with a beautiful Hawaiian sunrise.  We were normally awake at the crack of dawn because Hawaii time is 4 hours behind Idaho time.  So at 6:00 am, it really felt like 10:00 am, and usually by 9 at night we were drained because in my mind it was 1 am.

Getting up early had its benefits-- such as seeing the sunrise each morning, and hearing all the tropical birds chatter in the early hours.

Later that morning we drove around the tip of the north shore to Laie, where we ate breakfast at Hukilau Cafe.  We were excited when we saw it because of its history on the movie 50 First Dates.  Remember, that's where Adam Sandler, and Drew Barrymore get acquainted, and the whole thing about building a house out of waffles-- great movie. If you haven't seen it, I recommend watching it. 

However, when we walked inside the cafe, it looked nothing like the set on the movie, but there was a huge poster hung on the wall advertising 50 First Dates.  We asked our waitress about it, and she explained that the movie directors created the restaurant for the movie, and named it "Hukilau Cafe," not knowing that there was an actual cafe already in Hawaii with this name.  There was big legal hoopla, and the restaurant now gets to claim rights from the movie even though it wasn't actually filmed there.  So there ya go.

Then we drove to the Laie, Hawaii LDS Temple.

The grounds were gorgeous, which is exactly what I expected.

So pretty.

After the temple, we went to the Polynesian Cultural Center and spent the remainder of the day, and into the night there.

We started off with a canoe tour of the Center.

Going under a bridge on the canoe, our guide told us it was customary for couples to kiss. . .so Brent grabbed me, and laid one on me. Smmmack.

There are "islands" you stop at, and learn about different Polynesian Cultures (Hawaii, Samoa, Maori, New Zealand (Aotearoa), Fiji, Tahiti, the Marquesas, and Tonga.) 

You can watch little demonstrations, and shows at each stop.

In the afternoon, we watched a big canoe show that involved all of the Polynesian Islands.

This was THE best ice cream ever. I lost count of how many we ate while we were there.

These dudes were impressive with their tree climbing skills-- they were like monkeys!

Here's Brent throwing me some "Hang Loose."

Our evening ended at the Center with a dinner and the "Ha Breath of Life Show" which was very cool.  It was really interesting to learn about the history, and the culture of the Polynesian people, and what Hawaii is all about.  Those dancers are amazing, and really fun to watch. There was so much to see throughout the day, and it consumed basically our entire day which was great, and well worth it (it was spendy), but I think it's one of those things that you need to see just once (ok, maybe I'd see it twice).