Orchids, anyone?

One of our tour stops was at Akatsuka Orchid Gardens.  I am lucky to grow a few houseplants that thrive on benign neglect and occasional over watering so I freely admit that I know nothing about orchids. I wish I had been able to get the names of them, but we were pressed for time and there were many visitors all trying to sniff the blossoms and get good photos.

I thought a series of notecards featuring some of these blossoms, done in watercolors would be pretty, but don't hold your breath waiting for them.

 

I admit that orchids are not my favorite flower. While the colors and markings in many of them until now have been beautiful, this next one really doesn't do much for me, but wait until you see the sign that accompanies it!

 

We were told the sister orchid, valued at $20,000, earned that distinction by being perfectly symmetrical.

 

I still don't think it is very pretty.

This concludes the photos from our Hawaiian excursion unless my friend sends me some that are worth sharing. I'm more concerned about photos that could be blackmail worthy. Thank goodness she doesn't blog!

Boat Pageant at the Cultural Center

Today I would like to share some short videos taken at the Polynesian Cultural Center on the island of Oahu. More information about what is in these videos can be found here on the page of the website that describes the six islands depicted throughout the Center. The islands include those islands of Aotearoa, Fiji, Hawaii, Samoa, Tahiti and Tonga. Each name represents multiple islands of that culture.

This tour was over 12 hours long from hotel to the Center, through all the activities, a Polynesian buffet, an evening show called Ha, the Breath of Life and the return trip to our hotel. I began to run out of room on my camera's card and was depleting the batteries too so I didn't get as much photographed as intended. These clips were taken during the boat pageant. Between camera issues and crowds of people, I didn't film the boats from Hawaii or Tahiti.

Some of the things that surprised my friend Lynn and I the most were how strenuous these dances were, especially the men slapping their chests and thighs. Some of the groups were very loud and facial expressions weren't always what we would consider friendly. There was only so much time for explanation at each "village" where some things were explained but that was before the pageant so these particular questions didn't arise. Then again, some things were undoubtedly explained and I've forgotten them while trying to stay out of the sun (how could I have left the sunscreen at the hotel?!!), baby a blister on my foot and worry about my camera's batteries and card? Let's just say that none of the four of us admit to sleeping on the hour's ride back to the hotel, but we don't remember any details of the ride either.

Some of the chants and music are quite loud so you may want to turn your speakers down before clicking on the clips.

Dancers from Fiji From Samoa From Aotearoa (the Maori name for New Zealand)
From Tonga

I hope these clips play successfully. I haven't used YouTube for personal videos before and have the album set as private. Let me know if you can't see the images and I will make adjustments. Tomorrow I will end this travelogue with photos of orchids....lots of them.

Guess where I've been

Can you guess where I have been?

I didn't lie to anyone that my computer was undergoing changes, I just didn't want to announce to the world that our home was going to be empty for two weeks. I've discovered it is really a small world and amazingly easy to put 2+2 together. I don't think anyone who reads and comments here is dishonest, but we never really know who lurks and might have ugly ideas.

Enough with the negative and on to the positive: Hawaii was a wonderful vacation!

We flew into Honolulu on a Wednesday, spent two full days there going to the Polynesian Cultural Center (more to come about that in days ahead) and visiting Pearl Harbor. On Saturday we boarded the Norwegian Cruise Line's Pride of America. We cruised for 7 days, visiting Maui; Hilo and Kona on the big island; and Kauai before returning to Oahu.

Our good friends John and Lynn traveled and cruised with us. They returned on Saturday but Bill and I took a side trip to San Francisco for a few days. We got home yesterday and are playing catch up today. Laundry, paying bills, returning phone calls, etc but you know what? It is all good. We had a great time but it is good to be home even if the sky is gray and it is way too cold for shorts and sandals.

I have a ton of photos to go through and will try not to overload you with too many of them. For today I'll just post a few of us and of our accomodations.

Do we look happy to be taking off?

We were able to use frequent flier miles and fly first class for each leg of the trip. Wheeeeee! The extra leg room and amenities were much appreciated, especially when you are in the air for more than 9 hours straight. Here are our seats for the Atlanta to Honolulu part of the trip.

We received the first of many leis throughout our trip after exiting the plane.

In Honolulu we stayed at the Sheraton Princess near Waikiki Beach. It offered a waterfront view. They didn't lie...you just had to stand on the balcony and look between tall buildings to see the water.

Onto our stateroom and a few views of the ship. The ship's comedian joked that while seated on the toilet, it was possible to lean over the sink to brush your teeth, then lean sideways into the shower to wash your hair while remaining seated. He was right! That isn't a complaint though, just a funny comment on efficiency.

This is our third cruise (the first two were with Carnival Cruises) and I am still amazed to see grand salons that look like movie sets from Gone with the Wind. Do you expect to see a stairway like this on a ship?

 

And look at the ceiling above the stairs:

How about a Conservatory on board? I immediately thought Professor Plum probably killed Colonel Mustard in here with a candlestick.

Norwegian Cruises feature Open Dining, meaning that you choose a restaurant or the buffet without an assigned dining time, assigned table and dinner partners. The four of us enjoyed this, but as the days went by, we began to think that the other way was more efficient. On Carnival (which may have changed since we last cruised 13 years ago), you committed to either an early or late seating throughout your cruise. We sometimes ate at the buffet, a few meals in one of the restaurants, but the little Cadillac Diner was our personal favorite.

There were plenty of activities on board even without the shore excursions which we did most days. One afternoon was a crafts class. Hooray!!!  I made a kakui nut lei. The first one was free. I won't mention how much I spent on supplies to make more here at home.

I've gone on much longer than intended. I apologize. I will get back to laundry after one last picture taken the night the ship launched. I can hear the music and feel the warm air when I look at this. Ahhhhhhhh......