Yesterday, Oct 9, my birthday, I took my sweet time in the morning. I even took a nap after breakfast. :) It was already around 1pm when I finally got out the door. I had bought an "open time" ticket for the Fern Grotto River tour, so I could have taken any of their scheduled tour that day, although they recommended the 3:30 tour if I was going to the luau in the evening also. So I had time.
First, I passed by a shoe store and got a pair of Teva hiking sandals. Everything *is* expensive in Hawai'i. But the man who tended the store was very friendly and very helpful.
Then off I went to the river tour. I turned into a parking lot for a park or marina, but there were gates at the entrance, so I was a bit worried that I'd be locked in after sundown. A Hawaiian auntie was walking by (oddly followed by a rooster) so I asked her where I was supposed to park if I was also staying for the luau. She directed me to the other side where there were other cars and a bus. So I parked there and then walked back to register at the building that was behind her.
It looked like I was the first person to check in. But soon, groups of people started arriving. Close to boarding time, a couple from Antioch started a line by the third boat, so I stood in line behind them. We chatted a little and the wife asked if I was traveling alone. I said, yes, it's more fun that way. And the husband commented that I'm courageous.
They sat near the front and I decided to sit at the back so I could see more of the scenery. I took 360-degree pictures and videos with my new camera, but the riverbanks were not very interesting. The only interesting part was a man who fell off his surfboard in our wake, right near me.
Then we stopped and got off the boat to walk up a slight incline on a paved path. Now the scenery changed. There was a variety of interesting trees and plants. It really looked like paradise. I held my camera high up on my selfie stick as I walked the path. A man in a light blue shirt waved and smiled big for my camera. He said he has an older version of "those" but he didn't bring it with him.
I kept following the line of people until we reached a boardwalk of sorts with a landing at the top of the ramp. A waterfall was to the right, half hidden among the foliage. At the landing, you could see a high cliff with ferns, a gap in the stone (that's the grotto), and a taller waterfall. We were entertained with music and dance then we walked back another beautiful path, which looped and joined the earlier path back to the boat. Many people switched seats but I got the same one thankfully.
Many from the boat also walked towards the luau. It was very organized. First, we were greeted by people who welcomed us and gave us leaflets of the itinerary for the evening. Then, those of us who bought tickets online had to be checked against a list. Then as we turned a corner, a young lady in Hawaiian dance costume (a sarong worn low, coconut shell bra, and a flower wreath on her head) placed a shell lei around our necks. Then each party stopped for a photo, flanked by two more teenagers (a male and a female) in sarongs and head wreaths. Then we boarded a train that took us around the property where we saw peacocks(!) and chicken and ducks. The driver pointed out the different trees and plants along the route, as well as the buildings. Then he dropped us off where the luau would be, but it was still early.
The tables had signs on them for parties of 7 or more. I was told that I could sit anywhere where there wasn't a sign. But some places had the cups and napkins laid down. It meant people had already reserved that seat themselves. An older lady who was dressed in the same orange Hawaiian print as the rest of the "family" came by and helped me choose a seat. I picked one right in front of the stage. She was surprised that I chose that spot but I figured I could get better pics from there. She turned down the cup and the napkin for me and I left my water bottle to reserve the seat, then I thanked her and went off to explore.
At the time of the imu ceremony, I went back to the other side of the dining hall to watch, but all the people were already there. Again, I raised my camera high up on a selfie stick to hopefully get some of the goings-on where the pig was raised out of the rocks. As people were walking back to the dining hall, I (and a few others) went in the opposite direction to get a closer look at the pig. It wasn't a whole pig (like in the Philippines) but large parts of it. The emcee said that it would be like pulled pork by the time it is served in the buffet.
I got in line for the drinks and got a cup of guava juice and a cup of ice water. I was the last one to arrive at my table. I said hi to the couple across from me and the guy next to me (his wife was talking to someone else). Three musicians came on the stage. The woman looked very familiar. She might have been one of the musicians on the boat or she might have been the one who told me to look for a spot without a table sign. I definitely smiled at her when she and the other musicians were tuning their instruments and practicing a little when I was rushing to get to the imu ceremony. Anyway, she smiled at me when she saw me in front of the stage. Then as I set my camera at the edge of the stage to record them, she waved and gave me the hang-loose hand sign. One of her companions was a big bearded man who played the bass guitar. (The lady played the ukelele and the other gentleman played the guitar.) The bass player made faces and blew at the decorative palm leaves that tickled his face, and I giggled.
Soon it was my table's turn to go to the buffet. An older gentleman in a wheelchair was directing us to go farther because there were six buffet lines. I got some salad, a little bit of poi, a cucumber salad, and some raw salmon salsa, breaded fish, chicken adobo, roasted pork, and teriyaki beef. And a slice of pineapple bread. At the dessert table, we were handed a small plate with rice pudding and a slice of coconut cake. I added a slice of jell-o and pineapple cubes. Then back to my table.
Everything was yummy! At the imu ceremony, the emcee said that, in Hawaiian, "ono" means yummy. So everything was ono!
The lady who helped me find a seat came around to ask how everything was. And I told her that everything was delicious. She was also talking to the couple across from me, but soon she was focused on me. She asked if I'm an "islander", and I said I'm Filipina. Then she lit up and admitted that she's half-Hawaiian (on her mother's side) and half-Filipino (on her father's side, from Pangasinan). She introduced herself as "Auntie Celia" and I told her I'm Lea, but she said something else with a different pronunciation so I said it again. Then she took off the flowers in her hair and said she would give them to me. They were a special hybrid of hibiscus that she developed. Then she explained where the flowers are supposed to be worn. She said I should then wear it over the right ear to tell people that I'm "available". But I protested that I'm not available because "I've been there, done that, and don't wanna do it again!" She joked that she could put it at the top of my head instead. But she eventually pinned it to my hair high above my right ear. :) Then she kissed my cheek and I thanked her profusely. It wasn't so much for the flowers, but she has a way of making people feel very welcome. (I looked closely at the flowers later that night, and they were definitely unique! They had a second set of smaller petals near the tip of the stem in the middle.)
Selfie with shell lei and hibiscus over right ear (flipped and cropped).
I had just started on the desserts when the emcee came on stage with a Hawaiian dancer. He explained some stories and traditions and the young lady danced them. He got the audience to participate by asking about the people who were celebrating anniversaries, who are on honeymoon, and who were celebrating birthdays. I didn't raise my hand, which is a good thing because he later got the other birthday celebrants and the children to come on stage and dance the hula with the dancer. :D Then the musicians played again as we finished our meals.
It turned out that the *real* show was in the theater area (which is a beautiful setting with a pond under the stage) that I had visited before the imu ceremony.
As I got up from my chair, the uke lady gave me the hang-loose sign again as she smiled warmly. Then I turned around the stage and the bass player waved. I waved back. And the uke lady waved also. I felt like a long-lost cousin who came for a visit. :D
We lined up to head into the theater. There was a small crowd just outside at the table where they were selling the photos they took earlier. I decided to keep going to get a good seat. Most of the front row was taken, but the far left was empty so I sat there. The lady next to me was snobbish and she stayed a good two or three feet from me, which I liked. I thought that I could set up my camera on the little raised platform, but the first dancers stood there, so I used my little tripod and selfie stick instead.
The show was choreographed and designed well. The lighting and the stage effects were professionally done. They included Hawaiian, Tahitian, Filipino (tinikling!), and Maori dances. Even a haka! The only give-away that the dancers were all family members is because the males were too diverse, in different heights and sizes and skill level. Some were barely teenagers and seemed to just go through the motions.
The dances were done either at the platform right in front of the audience or the main stage in the middle of the pond. A small grove of trees and plants on the left side also served as a dance area for one dancer. "Pele" and a "night" dancer appeared at the top of the "volcano" with fire at its edges and waterfalls flowing from it.
It looked like the "Smith family" was a big extended family. And I wondered if they were all really related by blood or by marriage. And everyone participated in the family business doing multiple roles.
After the show, I purchased my photo and followed the crowd back to the parking area.
And so ended my birthday. :)
Today, I slept practically all day. Tomorrow, a helicopter ride early in the morning.
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