Travel Tuesday: The Polynesian Cultural Center, April 11, 2025

When we went to Hawaii for the Hapalua, the other things we wanted to do was to climb Diamond Head, go to the big island, visit Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, and go to a luau. I read about a few different luau options and heard good things about the Polynesian Cultural Center. 

It had activities, recreated villages, shopping, a luau, AND a nightime show. Sure, it was a long day out, but we could take a bus back and forth and it seemed both fun and weird. 

And we LOVED it. 

First we caught a bus from near our hotel -- nice, easy, and comfortably air conditioned. It's also possible to book a circle island tour option, but that leaves at 6:30am and the day was going to be long enough. We therefore drove straight there, but hey, in Oahu it's pretty once you get out of town!

We had booked the Aliʻi Lūʻau package, largely to guarantee good seats at the show. After grabbing a quick lunch in the Hukilau Marketplace (yep, now you can probably hear Bing Crosby, too), we went into the center itself. 

I don't think I realized how big the center is, and I didn't really understand that a "group guided tour" was, well, a big group guided tour. 

We rode the canoe to the far end of the park with our very, very nice guide. It was pretty, of course, but we were itching to explore on our own. 

We told the guide we were just going to do our own thing. Let's just say she did not seem surprised. 

We visited villages, saw a big beautiful boat, lots of carvings, and watched different dance performances and even a drumming competition that had everyone in stitches. 

One highlight for moe: one of the areas had a display on Hawaiian quilting. I'd never seen any close up and it inspired me to get a pattern and give it a go. (Okay, give it a go SOMEDAY.)

Eventually it was time for the luau. Now, when we were planning the trip I looked into ordering a lei greeting -- but it just seemed like a hassle. So this is a genuine grin because we were greeted with a lei before the luau!

The performance told a story about Liliʻuokalani, the last queen of the Hawaiian kingdom. There was a royal procession and a beautiful elder woman walked on stage in Victorian dress. A teenager at the next table gasped, "The QUEEN of Hawaii is HERE?!?!?" Full disclosure: the same thought flitted across my mind for a second before I remembered she had been dead for over a century.

Fun fact: Liliʻuokalani wrote "Aloha ʻOe"

There was excellent dancing, too, and the food was great -- lots of vegetarian options, including tofu poke. Oh, and we were served smoothies IN PINEAPPLES. We are still using the souvenir bamboo straws!

two big smoothies, one in a pineapple

After dinner we took a trolley (think oversized Disney World parking tram) a mile or so away to Lāʻie, HI to visit the very pretty LDS temple. We learned more about the history of the center itself, and a fun story about the Hukilau song. 

In 1865 the Mormons purchased a 6,000-acre plantation in Lāʻie and dedicated a temple there in 1919 -- the first build outside of the continental US. When the temple accidentally burned down in 1940, the local church members decided to start a hukilau as a fundraising activity. 

A hukilau is an ancient Hawaiian fishing method in which a large net is laid in the ocean with lengthy ropes extending to the beach tied to each end. Long leaves, or lau in Hawaiian, which are bound along the length of the ropes, flutter in the water and help scare the fish into the net as the community pulls (huki in Hawaiian) the ropes, gradually bringing the net to shore. --polynesia.com

Hundreds of people attended the first Lāʻie Hukilau to watch traditional music and dance, feast at a luau, and even help huki the nets. The success inspired Jack Owens to write The Hukilau Song. 

What a wonderful day for fishing
in the old Hawaiian way,
where the hukilau nets are swishing
down in old Laie Bay.
Oh we're going to a hukilau,
a huki huki huki huki hukilau.
Everybody loves a hukilau,
where the laulau is the kaukau at the big luau.
We throw our nets out into the sea,
and all the ama-ama come a-swimming to me.
Oh we're going to a hukilau,
a huki huki huki,
huki huki hukilau.

These hukilau continued off and on for years, and helped inspire the creation of the Polynesian Cultural Center itself. 

After wandering the grounds for a bit, we took the trolley back to the center and went to the Pacific Theater for the HĀ: Breath of Life show. No photography was allowed, but the show was great -- storytelling, singing, dancing, great production values, and really well performed. A highlight in an already excellent day! 

pre-show view from our seats

Eventually we piled on to the bus for the long ride back to Waikiki. We'd had a fine, weird day out. Would I recommend it? Absolutely. Do I need to go again? Nope. Was the Aliʻi Lūʻau Package worth it? Absolutely. 

Travel Tuesday is a project I'm working on to get old photos and memories out of notebooks and onto this blog. 

Travel Tuesday: New England, September 6-9, 2024

To quote the adorable Jonathan Richman, "Oh, New England"....

Finishing my 50 States Challenge was a long-erm goal -- and for states 48 and 49 we needed to go all the way across the country to Vermont and Maine. Wil and I made it an extra long weekend, had some fun, but in the end were very happy to go home to our kittens. 

We flew into Boston, picked up a rental car, and then drove to the outskirts of town and stayed in a nondescript hotel in a tech office park. How nondescript? Wehave no photos or any memories apart from a late night visit to a food courts / self-pour place where we had decent pizza and enjoyed playing with the pour-your-own machines.

Next morning we drove to Vermont, stopping off at Skyline Drive, a private toll road to the top of Mount Equinox. It seemed just silly enough to do, so we paid the toll and drove up. 

The road climbs 3,848 feet over 5.2 miles, but driving up didn't seem very steep, or even very long. We got to the top and got out to stretch our legs and enjoy the views. 

Their season runs from Memorial Day to the end of October -- with the prices highest in October. Why? Leaf peeping. I bet there is a lot of autumnal glory on display at that time of year!

When you buy your token to go up, they hand you a little "Driver Safety Checklist". It notes that for the descent, you should put your car in the lowest year, stay under 20 mph, pump your brakes, and stop at the rest areas.

they were NOT lying

Not gonna lie, it was a little scary going down -- because we could smell the engine and brakes getting hot. But we made a lot of stops, luckily didn't have a lot of other drivers, and made it to the bottom safely. 

Then to Manchester, Vermont -- a super cute town. But we really just picked up some provisions and went to our gorgeous little hotel, the Manchester View. With views like this from the balcony, why would we wander around town? 

The next morning I struggled through the Maple Leaf Half Marathon - ugh - and then we headed on to Maine. Of course we had to stop at the Vermont Country Store -- in part because we were a little surprised it existed. It was huge and sprawling and of course we bought some cheese straws...

... some mac and cheese ...

and had a photo op at the Kissing Bridge.

Soon we arrived in Ogunguit, Maine, which is a delightful seaside town. We stayed two nights at the Ocean Acres Ogunquit Motel, and loved it. The rooms were clean and comfy, and they had TWO pools -- one indoor, one outdoor, and both had HUGE INFLATABLE FLOATIES. My main goal for the day was to relax and refuel, so we pretty much hung out at the pool (why, yes, I would like to sit on the inflatable unicorn thank you) and went down to Billy's Chowder House for a very delicious dinner. I think we got the best table in the house -- a corner in the bar area, surrounded by windows. 

Billy's Chowder House

perfect spot for the sunset!

Next morning we headed out early to run the Pumpkinman Half Marathon -- a much much nicer experience, which left us on a bit of a high. 

We came back to the hotel, cleaned up, and then rode the Ogunquit Trolley all around town. We went all the way out to Perkins Cove so we could stop at Barnacle Billy's for their famous rum punch.  

this is stronger than you might think...

Now, maybe it's because it has been a couple of years, or maybe it's because of the rum punch after running a half marathon... but I don't remember anything else about this meal. I assume we ate? Maybe? Or maybe we just had the drinks? But we wandered around the very cute shops of Perkins Cove for a while and then caught the trolley back to our hotel. 

Later we walked the 7 minutes to the footbridge and relaxed on the beach. 

I bet it would be PACKED in sunner! 

Next morning we headed slowly back to Boston. You know I always say the journey IS the destination, and I love looking at maps for oddly named points of interest. We stopped in York so we could cross the Wiggly Bridge: 

it is, indeed, Wiggly

We also stopped in Salem and visited the surprisingly moving Salem Witch Trials Memorial (as well as a kitchy gift shop...). 

We got to Logan airport, enjoyed the Sapphire Lounge (oh how we wish we had one in Seattle...), and even got upgraded on our flight home. 

note that I'm wearing my 50 States jacket!

For a trip designed for completion, this was perfect: nice independent hotels, cute side quests, and STATES 48 & 49!!!

Travel Tuesday is a project I'm working on to get old photos and memories out of notebooks and onto this blog. 

Starry Night Stitch-a-Long, part TEN

I told y'all that we were going to be in this for the loooooong haul. This is the tenth check-in for this project, and I'm not even a quarter of the way done. 

Last time I had gotten here: 

And here's where I am now: 

It really doesn't look like I've been working on this for months! Here's a wider view:

By our next check in I'll have the next little column done -- and be finished with one of four big chart sheets. I did notice that the next "column" is only 7 characters wide, so I might even sneak a peek at the top left chart. We'll see. 

I'll post again on this project in three weeks. Until then, join me and check out what my fellow stitchers -- Avis, Claire, Kathy, Margaret, Megan, Deborah, Daisy, Cathie, Linda, Mary Margaret, Helen, and Cindy -- have been up to. 

P.S. The secret project gets delivered next weekend, so I'll include a pic in our next check-in!

Travel Tuesday: San Francisco Torchsongs and Tiki Weekend, June 5-7, 2026

 As a teenager I had a "holy trinity" of pop stars: Adam Ant (#1), Marc Almond (#2), and Bryan Ferry (#3). Marc and Soft Cell aren't very big in the US, so I had only seen him twice, back in the late 90s/early 2000s. In 2025 he toured as an opening act for Simple Minds, and in 2026 he toured as the opening act for Human League. So of course we went to the shows -- including a weekend trip to San Francsico to see him play at the Warfield -- a classic venue. 

As a bonus -- and maybe the bigger part of the weekend -- I planned a Bay Area tiki crawl, including a chance to visit the Trader Vic's Outpost at the San Jose airport... something only possible if you fly in or out of SJC.

We flew into SJC early on Friday, landing around 9:30 and walking straight down the concourse to Trader Vic's. We sat at the bar, admired the cute theming, and ordered a couple of cocktails -- including the SJC-specific cocktail and mug, the Pilo Pilo. Yes, it was early... but we were on vacation!

Our bar neighbors and the bartender were friendly and funny, and it was probably the most delightful airport bar experience I've had. Well worth flying in to SJC rather than SFO!

We took a car into town, got early check in at our very swanky, historic hotel: The Marker, Union Square, dropped off our bags, and went for a walk.

It's been a while since I've been in SF. Like all big cities it has challenges, but I loved walking around for the weekend and never felt unsafe. 

Our first stop: Li Po Lounge in Chinatown. 

Li Po opened in 1937 and is essentially the same -- the cave entrance, the red doors, the curved bar, the red lanterns. It's a little time capsule, slightly updated by some rope lights and new beer signs... and a renovation of its gorgeous hexagonal lantern sign outside. We settled in at the far end of the bar and of course had the famous Chinese Mai Tai -- a steal at $12. One of the ingredients is baijiu, a sorghum-based spirit we tried in Beijing several years back. It tastes and feels like the epitome of firewater. The clientele was a nice mix of locals and tourists, presided over by a feisty and friendly woman. 

While in the neighborhood we swing by the tiny Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory and then equally tiny Lucky Creation Vegetarian Restaurant for a late lunch. It was a little cramped and we struggled because EVERYTHING IS VEGETARIAN -- rather than, usually, just one or two things. Paralyzed by choice, we had excellent noodles and a mushroom dish that we ended up having to take home to the hotel because it was too big for us to eat. 

Next stop: Pagan Idol... though we popped in to a weird "startup cafe" sponsored by a "startup insurance" company that was full of people sitting alone at tiny tables, typing furiously on their laptops. Weird. 

I think Pagan Idol was having an off night. Schedule mishaps meant they opened late, and the very good, very cool bartender seemed to be on the back foot the whole time we were there. That said -- the drinks were clever, carefully made, and delicious -- and when we asked if a drink with a "secret recipe" had grapefruit in it (which Wil can't have), the bartender swapped it out for something else. 

Daywalker. The secret recipe contains grapefruit juice.

Quarantine Order

Mr. Hanalei; an delicious replacement

The interior was beautiful -- upturned ship's hull, "portholes" with swimming fish, a kraken glass chandelier. The crowd was a little less cool, but it was early on a Friday night, we were in the Financial District, so maybe that's to be expected. We were sad that the back room wasn't open (again, scheduling), but I would go back some other time to check it out. 

Later that night we went to the Warfield to see Soft Cell (and Alison Moyet and Human League). The sold-out show was hot and sweaty and dancy and very fun. 

After the show we went out for a nightcap at Zombie Village. t's in a very rough part of the Tenderloin but only blocks from our hotel, so we went. No danger en route, just a little sadness, really. But the decor and little tables were cute, the staff was friendly, and the drinks were legit good. 

I had the Disco Banana and Wil had the Curry'd Favor; they may well have been the best drinks of the day. 

The next morning we rode BART to the Mission district for my favorite SF food: the veggie burrito at Taqueria Cancun. Years ago, when I was in grad school, we all were obsessed with the food writer at the East Bay Express. His favorite burrito was from Taqueria Cancun, so I've been getting one on every SF trip every since. I even took my inlaws there when they visited from the UK. As usual, it was perfect. I sometimes worry I build it up in my memory, that it's not as good as I remember. But it is. Wil says, "We need to remember to order one and split it" and I just say NO. I want it all, even if I feel stuffed for the next hour. 

Rather than pub crawling in the Mission, we decided to walk over to the Richmond district to go to Trad'r Sam. A nice, long, urban walk to burn off that burrito! We crossed the Golden Gate Park panhandle, getting trapped without a walkway on the main road, and with no way to cross... until we found a little path that took us down to JFK drive. While there, we caught a glimpse of NAGA -- a worthwhile diversion!

Eventually rolling up at Trad'r Sam I ordered a very tall mai tai that, despite being served in a hurricane glass, was quite tasty. Wil had some sort of ice cream drink that the very cool, relaxed, and dedicated bartender re-made because she is "a bit of a whipped cream snob". It was beautiful and tasty. 

As it was pretty early in the day there were only a handful of other people in the bar, including an older guy who walked in and was immediately served a Bud Light -- so it's clearly a local's bar, too. I like that. 

Afterward we did something just for Wil: we hired a Waymo driverless car for the ride back to Union Square. It was nerve-wracking at first (how does it all work????) but it was simple an seamless and we ended up taking 4 that day. It's fun to watch the steering wheel move and see how the car responds to lights, other cars, cyclists, and pedestrians. We felt totally safe in the car, and got used to them on the streets. 

In the early evening we took a Waymo to Smuggler's Cove, which was AMAZING. It's is, honestly, the best cocktail bar I've ever been in. We arrived just before they opened and joined the line, and then headed immediately downstairs. Wil grabbed a small table and I got in line for drinks. I had a Rum Barrel (and souvenir mug), Wil had a Painkiller in a different mug, and later (because we got to chatting with several very fun people) we had a Flotsam Fizz in a crate mug that matched our table. 

Rum Barrel and Painkiller

Flotsam Fizz

Next up was Last Rites. Their vibe is "cargo plane crashed in a jungle" -- metal fuselage, jump seats, parachutes, vines. We got two odd little seats at the end of the bar and started to peruse the menu.

Wil noticed a handful of golden ceramic pig mugs and asked the bartender what drinks came in those. Bartender said they were leftover from a promotion earlier in the year, that they had held a golden milk mocktail but he could add booze or make any drink in them. We asked if they were for sale, he said no, but that they seemed to be disappearing...

After a brief pause, Wil said, "Oh, don't make us be the bad guys!" And the bartender said, "Maybe I'm being the GOOD guy!"

So he made us two golden milk cocktails in the pigs. We tipped well on our card, and also scraped together what cash we had, handed it directly to him, and slipped the now-empty piggies into our bag. 

Note: I am not the sort of person who steals mugs. I love tiki mugs and usually buy one at a good tiki bar. We were clearly being invited to take them and that's why I felt okay about it. 

Then it was time for our last stop of the night: dinner at the Tonga Room. 

I have wanted to do this for decades. I paid extra to book a good table and everything. And... it was meh.

Food was okay. Service was courteous and prompt. Band was wedding singer quality and took two lengthy breaks in the 90 minutes we were there. Drinks were also just okay. I realized that I wanted TOO MUCH from the dinner. If we hadn't had amazing tiki drinks at the last two places it might have felt better. But I never have to go to the Tonga Room again. 

Out early on Sunday to head to SJC, which meant we could have a farewell drink at Trader Vic's before getting safely home. 

Yep, that was a lot of cocktails. It's not our usual thing (though I am aware that I also just posted about a little cocktail crawl at the TWA Hotel...) but seemed the perfect frame for our SF trip. 

Travel Tuesday is a project I'm working on to get old photos and memories out of notebooks and onto this blog.