A Little Pipi and Pupu Never Hurt Nobody!

On Tuesday we woke up early as usual and I took my morning spot on the lanai as I sipped coffee and enjoyed the breeze.  The waves were looking good that morning and there were several surfers out taking advantage of them.  I took a walk with my mom down the street to the post office so she could mail off postcards and then to the ABC store (for about the 5^th time already) to grab some sunscreen and a pair of earrings for that night’s luau.  We planned for today to be a relaxing, lazy day.

Just as our bodies were getting used to the time difference, we finally all got up and out to the beach around 1030 that morning.  The kids spent some time on the sand and in the water until around lunchtime.  My husband rented a standup paddleboard for an hour and he did great on it. He also took our daughter out and she loved it.   I tried my balance and had a fleeting thought that I would take it out a little ways but with the first bobble decided against it.  I have impeccable balance during yoga but couldn’t quite get stable on that damn thing.  The fear of falling off and hitting the rocks below pretty much sealed the deal that I was NOT about to try it.  My son wanted to try it so he climbed up onto his knees on the paddleboard.  My husband gave him a slight push at the same time my son is yelling…”No, I decided I don’t want to do this!” but by that time it was too late.  The waves had started to push him sideways and towards the jetty.  I just know he was panicking inside as he looked petrified and didn’t move a muscle.  My husband had to fumble over the rocky ocean bottom to make his way over there to “rescue” him.  Being that my son is a bit dramatic, this story will forever go down and retold as the time Daddy tried to push him into the rocks.   It’s ok tho,  Adam gets his redemption on day 5.

For lunch we thought we would try the snack shack below our condo.  The beef eaters in the family got burgers, others got steak and rice.  My mom and I do eat some fish so we got the crab salad pita which was really, really good.  Eating from there was cheap and the food was good.  If you are ever in that area of Waikiki beach you need to check it out.  Sorry I forgot to take pictures!

After lunch we decided to all get showered and changed for the luau.  The bus was going to pick us up around 4pm at the Hilton Hawaiian village to take us to Germaine’s Luau.  It was a short walk to the bus area and we got there a little early so I was able to do some people watching.  There was one lady who’s perfume was so strong I felt faint and I prayed that she wouldn’t be on our bus.  Then, there was this younger woman who walked up in an extremely tight hot pink dress which barely covered her you-know-what.  She was not a small woman and I was instantly embarrassed for my children who had to bear witness to the disaster.  When she sat down it was like that Sharon Stone scene from Fatal Attraction however it was not a movie set and she was definitely no Sharon Stone!  It never ceases to amaze me the poor choices people make.

We found our luau guide and boarded the bus.  Instead of Hawaiian music playing, it was more like current pop hits and I was a bit confused but hoped that our guide would be entertaining us anyway during the ride.  The drive to Germaine’s is only supposed to be about an hour however because of the traffic on this particular day, we left at 420pm and didn’t arrive at the luau until close to 7pm!  It was stop and go, bumper to bumper the whole way until we were off the highway. Our guide’s name was Alika (pronounced ah-lee-kah) and had some pretty funny jokes going during the start of the trip.  He must’ve run out of things to say because about halfway through he decided just to engage the Australian group in the back in conversation for the remainder of the drive.  Little did we know how much these Australians would be drinking during the luau….

During the ride we learned some interesting things.  Like…did you know that the Hawaiian term for beef is “pipi”? (pronounced pee-pee) and the Hawaiian word for appetizer is “pupu” (pronounced poo-poo)?  Alika told us that we probably weren’t aware we would be eating pipi and pupu at the luau.  No, no sir…we were not but by golly from the price we paid for this we were going to eat it and like it!

After the long ride, we were herded off of the bus and over to an area where we were all “leid”  (again) and had a picture taken. Our shell leis would serve as a place holder once we made the mad dash to find a seat.  Once that was all over, first things first….drinks.  They give you 4 drink tickets but the drinks are served in tiny cups.  We were able to purchase souvenir glasses that were twice that size and get twice the drink for the same # of tickets.  That’s what we did.  I ended up having probably close to 5 Blue Hawaii’s and a Mai Tai since I had used my tickets and had to finish the rest of the ones my husband ordered but didn’t drink.  All I know is that they were strong and really yummy.

Picture of our Luau Picture

The Luau started with the ceremony of unearthing the pork from the pit.  There’s a fancy name for it but I can’t remember.  I really didn’t want to watch it but my daughter wanted to see so I went with her and grabbed some pictures.  Then they released the tables a few at a time to go hit the buffet.  My plate consisted of regular salad, macaroni salad, green bean salad, lomi lomi salmon salad, coleslaw, sticky rice, fried mahi mahi and the coconut milk custard dessert.  The meat eaters enjoyed all those things plus the pork, teryaki beef and baked chicken.  It was an all you can eat buffet.  I didn’t go back for seconds but my kids sure did.  I was really happy and relieved that they enjoyed the food.

My Plate

The show took place during the entire dinner and myself, my niece and my daughter even tried our skills at the hula on stage.  It was a very, very fun evening and the entertainment was wonderful.  Just perfect for my kids who had never been to Hawaii before.  Some people have called the luau “hokey” and even though it was at some parts, it definitely epitomized the spirit of Hawaii and the Hawaiian culture.

My Handsome Men

The bus ride back was definitely interesting.  Our fellow riders, the Australians (as we came to call them the “drunk” Austrailians) had certainly enjoyed themselves as well. While most of us were on the more subdued side of buzzed and the kids were tuckered out, they were hootin and hollerin like crazy in the back of the bus.  It was quite funny to hear the group of them singing to One Direction’s “You Don’t Know You’re Beautiful” with their slurred Australian accents. At one point their outbursts became a bit on the raunchy and inappropriate side and Alika had to remind them there were kids on the bus.   Thank goodness there was no traffic on the way back!

I took a few good videos of the luau which will be posted onto our YouTube channel as soon as I get a chance to sort through everything!

As we settled in back at the condo I changed into my PJs and poured myself a vodka tonic.  I was able to get some good pictures of the moon over the ocean on my SLR camera (which I will post as soon as I have the chance!) and relaxed with my nook on the lanai.  All was right with the world!