We have done so well on this vacation only having one activity per day. Today’s activity was the Polynesian Cultural Center on the northeast side of O’ahu. But that activity wasn’t until later today so we enjoyed a nice slow morning. I think I could have coffee here every morning for the rest of my life

The bottom 2 floors of our hotel are filled with shops, an arcade and restaurants so we slept in and had brunch at the coffee/pastry shop.

Then we picked up beach chairs and towels and spent a few hours on the beach – with everyone else in Waikiki 🤣

After the beach, we changed and grabbed snacks since we are having a huge buffet for dinner and headed off to the opposite side of the island. We took a different route than yesterday so we could see other parts of O’ahu and so glad we did. We passed the ranch that was used for scenes in Jurassic Park, and saw some of the most gorgeous coastline!

The drive was gorgeous and even though there were a few twists and turns, it was nothing compared to the Road to Hana 🤣

The Polynesian Cultural Center is on every “must do” list on O’ahu. Honestly, I was a little worried that it was going to be another Pink Jeep Tour (see the blog post from Grand Canyon). But it was AWESOME! It’s like Epcot Center for the Polynesian Islands, with areas for the islands of Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Hawaii, Aotearoa (New Zealand), and Tahiti. Each area had some kind of show, and lots of hands on activities and games. It has been open for over 50 years and covers 40+ acres.

The first section we checked out was the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame. Junior Seau, Marcus Mariotta, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Troy Palomalu are all Polynesian and in the Hall of Fame.

Then we began our visit to the islands. First up was Samoa. Their chief was hilarious! One of the ladies at dinner said he had worked here for 20+ years and was always one of the favorites. We learned to split a coconut, make fire and climb a coconut tree, the Samoan way.

After Samoa, we headed to Aotearoa. The boys competed in a stick game… basically, you stand in a circle with sticks. As you let go of your stick, and slide to another players spot/stick, other players grab your stick.You get eliminated when don’t catch a stick.

Then we tried our hand at spinning Poi bags… you swing these in a circle which seems easy enough until each hang is supposed to go a different direction. 🤣 The instructor told us they learned to do this when they were young and continued because it would strengthen their wrists for spear and stick fighting.

Each island also had a tribal tattoo you could get… so of course, we did.

Then we headed over to Fiji for lessons in music and coconut splitting.

Next up was Tahiti. We checked out the Men’s Eating hut and tried poi for the first time. Poi is made from the root of the taro plant and full of vitamin C and D. It is one of the main reason Tahitians didn’t suffer from scurvy like Englishmen did. And once you peel and mash the root, it begins to ferment and is good for a month. It really had no taste so Tahitians mix with things like dried fish. Boys also tried their hand at a game sort of like bowling. You rolled a puck on its side through 2 sticks. Then they also tried their hand at casting nets.

At the Hawaiian section, we tried a game similar to cup & ball, except they added an extra step of start in the cup, flip to touch the back of the cup, and then get it back in the cup… it almost made me cuss, so I quit 🤣

We briefly checked at the Tongan island but honestly we were right up against their closing time so missed most of their activities.

We then headed over to the Mission Settlement. This showed the influence of settlers to the island through Churches, schools and technology like the printing press.

(Pro Tip: we really needed a little more time, so I would give about 3-4 hours for all the islands in order to see all the exhibitions and activities in each area)

Next stop was the buffet. You never really know what to expect at a buffet… could be good, could be nauseating. So, we crossed our fingers and hoped for the best – and we were NOT disappointed! First, the building is HUGE!

Then the food: they had everything! A beef sirloin carving station, a whole roast chicken carving station, a tuna (sushi) carving station, Chinese food, Korean food, chicken tenders, fresh fruit, salad bar, sushi, seafood, ice cream… other than sweet tea, they had it all!!!

It was fantastic and we ate and ate and ate! Finally, we waddled out but not before seeing the smartphone charging station

We headed into the Pacific Theater for the show, Ha: Breath of Life. It told the story of little boy who was born on one island and then traveled to different islands for different events in his life.

They had dancing and story telling from each island as well as finger dancing and hula dancers, along with cool special effects with fire and water. It was so so good! We really didn’t know what to expect, but we all loved it! (Sorry, no pictures or cell phone use during the show)

We had the best time!

Tomorrow we say goodbye to O’ahu and head to our last island, Kaua’i. The scores in the favorite island contest have changed a bit: O’ahu is now the favorite of all four Browns! (No pressure Kaua’i but it’s going to take a lot to upset O’ahu.)