Day 2 and 3 of the trip

The second night was the beginning of the Pan-Pacific Festival, the event that we were all there for. It begins with a huge street fair, with performers from Hawaii and the Pacific Rim, and with food and vendor shops along 1-1/2 miles of the street fronting Waikiki Beach. We took about 6 kids and went out to explore and try new foods, both Hawaiian and other ethnicities. We had some that was very good, and most of the kids were adventurous enough to try a lot of things that they had never heard of.

We also watched a lot of the performances, and all the kids really enjoyed the Matsuri Drums that many of them used. The music is very agressive sounding, almost as a battle preparation, and it was very neat for them all to be a part of all this.

The next morning brought another early wake up call for a south island tour to Hanauma bay, Sprouting Horn, Pali Lookout and finally to Kailua Beach for some beach time and lunch. The beach was on the windward side, and although rated one of the best in world, it did not have any options for snorkeling as the reef is too far out to swim to. We stayed here for most of the day, just playing in the water, playing some volleyball, having lunch, and then headed back. On the way back to the hotel we stopped at the Punchbowl Cemetary, a national veterans cemetary created in the crater of an extinct volcano. From this vantage point you can see all the way across Hololulu to Diamond Head on the south end. It is a very beautiful location and the burial site for many unknown soldiers from Pearl Harbor and other wars. We also toured some of the other historic locations on our way back through the city, but did not have time to stop at any of them. The history of Honolulu and Oahu would be fascinating to take in if you had the time.

Once back at the hotel, we gathered up some kids and went down to the beach, their first time to actually be able to go to Waikiki Beach and play in the ocean. Some went to lay out, others went to people watch, we went to play in the ocean. The only incident of the whole trip happened here when Joe cut the bottom of his big toe on some coral, bad enough that he had to go to the local clinic and get stiches in it. He did not let is dampen his spirit and continued to have a good time, and even marched in the parade the next evening.

Later this night we went to Germaines Luau. The kids had a good time, and it was a fun event, but it is not something I would recommend for the true Luau experience. Some good pictures from it are up though. After this, we all headed back and got some shut eye after a long day.