80 Days till Paradise

Fun Facts: Hawaii’s nickname is the “Aloha State.” The word “aloha” is derived from the Proto-Polynesian, alofa, and its meanings include “love,” “compassion,” and “mercy.” Aloha is used both as “hello” and “goodbye.” (Thanks to http:// facts.randomhistory.com/2009/04/03_hawaii.html)






Sunday morning I opened the paper to the travel section and there was a big article about Hawaii, the island of Oahu, specifically. You can access it at http:// www.orlandosentinel.com/travel/sc-trav-0630-alternativeoahu-hawaii-20150623-story.html . I thought it was interesting. It made me think about what we might plan to do during our 2 days in Oahu. At first I considered renting a car and traveling around the island independently. As I did some research I discovered the cost of renting a car was not too bad ($40- $50). Then I discovered that the hotel we are staying at charges $37 per night to park, plus gas and the attractiveness of car touring starts to diminish. 





One of the paid attractions that have received very good reviews is the Polynesian Cultural Center. I would encourage you to check out their website http://www.polynesia.com/ Visiting the PCC immerses you in Polynesian culture. They also have an authentic Luau in the evening. The staff, who portray their island culture, are mostly students from the Brigham Young University Hawaii. The PCC also offers a complete day experience that includes an Island Circle tour (stopping at 10 different locations) narrated by PCC guide, admission into the Cultural Center, a Luau and show in the evening and return to your hotel. The cost for this package is $156.96. If anyone is interested in this, and we book 10 days prior to the start of our trip, we would get a 10% discount ($145.50 tax incl. per person). Aloha :-)