Polly Want Some Culture?

We started our day at 5:50 am and were on route to Pearl Harbor by 6:30 am. After driving for a half hour we arrived and went inside the park to buy tickets to visit the Arizona Memorial. Since it was still early, we ate breakfast at Koa Pancake House. I ordered a red velvet waffle, but wasn’t that impressed by it. Everyone else ordered omelets with different side dishes. Afterwards, we drove back to Pearl Harbor to explore the different exhibits offered. We walked through two rooms that chronicled the events of both the U.S. and Japan leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor. Next, mom and I went on a self-guided tour of a retired submarine. The sub was quite compact on the inside and there were moments I wasn’t sure I’d fit through the “expanded” doorways to each room. The tour had extensive information about the mechanics of the sub and even testimonies from former crewmen about their experiences on the sub. After, we got off the submarine, it was time to visit the Arizona Memorial.

Breakfast at Koa Pancake House

Zach taking a crash course in Hawaiian language

A piece of the Arizona

On the deck of the submarine

After watching a 25-minute movie about the attack on Pearl Harbor (including actual footage from the day), we all stepped on a boat to be taken to the memorial site. The Arizona was a U.S. battleship that was destroyed by dive bombers along with several other ships during the attack on Pearl Harbor. It sank in the shallow harbor and parts of it were visible from the memorial. There was also a wall with all the names of crewmen who perished with the destruction of the Arizona as well as a list of survivors whose ashes were placed in the ship when they died. The entire site was sobering. Once we returned to the main section of Pearl Harbor, we headed north to visit the Polynesian Cultural Center.

Part of the Arizona, the rest is below the water

List of crewmen who died with the destruction of the Arizona

The drive to the Polynesian Cultural Center was very scenic, filled with different types of trees and vibrant shades of green. It felt a little like we were in Jurassic Park or Tarzan. We arrived at the center after about an hour of driving. The Polynesian Cultural Center had all the Polynesian islands represented in specified areas around the park. Each island had its own shows, food, and other activities to participate in. We decided to take a canoe tour to learn about each island. Our tour guide shared tidbits about each island and was full of good humor throughout the tour. After exiting the canoe, we walked around most of the different islands. In Tahiti, we were taught how dance the Otea, which consisted of mostly moving our knees back and forth quickly followed by various hand motions. We also watched an entertaining show in the island of Tonga. The host picked volunteers from the audience to dance and play the drums with him. He was very quick to tease the three volunteers as they tried to mimic his fast paced drum beats and dance moves. It was around 5:00 pm, so we decided to eat dinner.

Some much culture

The Tonga show

We went to a dinner and show in the Polynesian Cultural Center which was one of my favorite parts of the day. Our host, Auntie, made everyone feel welcomed and treated us like family, though she consistently recommended everyone buy the $10 smoothies. The dinner was a buffet of roasted pork, teriyaki chicken, and some other weird fish item I definitely wasn’t going to eat. Zach seemed to enjoy the fish, so I guess it was delicious for seafood lovers, but I was fine sticking with chicken. The show was enjoyable as different dancers and performers entertained us while we ate. Near the end, I received the opportunity to dance on stage with some of the performers. The dance was the same one we learned earlier in Tahiti, so I really just had to remember the hand motions. After we finished eating, we looked through a few gift shops until it was time for the nighttime show.

Our dinner

The show followed the life of a Polynesian native from his birth to the birth of his own son. The show had cool choreography and performers who obviously never listened to their mothers and played with matches as children. There were a few performers who twirled, spun, and even caught lit torches. They were very impressive with the way they handled the doubled-sided, ignited staffs. As the show ended, we all made our way back to the Air B n’ B that we’re staying at to settle for the night.

Tomorrow, we’ll try to cram as many activities as humanly possible before we fly over to Maui to meet the rest of the family.

For a different perspective of today's events, you can read my mom's blog here.