Follow My Dream: 10/01/2010

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Happy 56th Mom and Dad!

Mom and Dad,

Mahalo nui loa (thank you very much) for coming to visit Dan and my new home. I know it was a long trip for you. In my eagerness to show you our beautiful island I'm afraid I wore you out. You are so strong for 80, your endurance is remarkable. Or, were you indulging me? Probably. I have the feeling that you would have been just fine hanging out on the lanai. The lasting gift you gave me, besides your never ending love, was to witness what it's like to be 80, healthy and even more in love after 56 years! Congratulations!

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Luau

Last night we celebrated mom and dads 56th wedding anniversary, it's actually October 16th but we celebrated a little early. Our friend Puamana has captured mom and dads heart so we invited her along. four hour evening started with a tram ride around the 30 acre gardens before stopping for the imu (e moo) ceremony. An imu is an underground oven where they take a whole pig, wrap it in banana leaves and bury it underground. They sometimes add chicken, fish, breadfruit among other things. The pig, once cooked this way, is called Kalua Pork. The blew conch shells north, south, east and west, reminding me of Native American ceremonies. Then two men unearthed the pork. We enjoyed all you can drink mai tais while we listened to a Hawaiian band play and watched a hula girl dance. The food was fantastic! All you can eat Kalua Pork, Teriyaki Beef, Adobo Chicken, Sweet and Sour mahimahi, salads, the ubiquitous mac salad, mashed potatoes, Hawaiian purple sweet potatoes, fried rice, poi, loom salmon and deserts. After dinner we enjoyed the show in an open air amphitheater lit by torches. All luaus are different and this one focused on the diversity of the Hawaiian people. The show was called the "Golden people of Hawaii" and celebrated all the cultures including Hawaiian, Tahitian, Samoan, New Zealand, China and Japan. We had a great time and mom and dad loved it!

Dan bought mom and me a lei

chickens

peacocks

cows and goats were in the gardens

along with lots of beautiful flowers.

Puamana adds a flower to mom's hair.

The three ladies

Mom, dad and Puamana

The only family picture we got, it's a little blurry though.

Flowers in my hair.

Us!

mom and dad loving it up!

Dinner

Hula while we ate

Puamana and I wait for the show to start

Pele the fire Goddess

Blowing a conch shell

Hawaiian hula

The back side of Tahaitian dancers moving their hips really fast!

Tahitian dancers

hula

Chinese dance

fire knife dance

Fern Grotto and Hanalei Bay

I gotta say for being 80 years old my folks are pretty tough! I think I get tired before they do! Either that or they are really good at hiding it, which I suspect is the case! While they are tucked safely inside their beautiful vacation home, Dan is at work preparing for Papaya's Community Appreciation Day. He has been going non stop since last Saturday. First, preparing for my folks visit and then being a tour guide while preparing for the bib Papaya's event. We have been having a great time with the folks as Phil and Simone have been fantastic taking care of the dogs since we're gone most of the day. Last night we got home at 9:30 and the dogs came running out of Simone's house, her trailing behind. She said they were all snuggled up on the couch after having eaten some Burger King! Talk about being spoiled! I'm grateful and Baxter has taken them in as protector! His kingdom now includes their house as well as ours and even past the panic! Today we will head over to Papaya's, they can see where Dan works and have a little fun. We'll have lunch at the Oasis before heading to the Kapaa beach park for the Coconut Coast Festival. From the website "Are you ready to immerse yourself in all things coconut? There is something for everyone at this year's festival: entertainment, cultural displays and experiences, shopping, history, games, cooking demonstrations, contests and food...did we mention the FOOD???" Mom will be stoked, she can't get enough coconut!! Tomorrow we are going to Oahu and hopefully meeting up with our friend Linda Holloway! So, here are some fun pictures of their stay so far.