Kauai
2007

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6:30 am: breakfast (three pieces of cold pizza from last night's dinner and two Riesen candies)

8:00 am: rent surfboard

8:30 am: hit the ocean!

9:30 am: after getting hit back by the ocean a few dozen times it's high time to call it quits; but with a big grin on my face for sure. And this time we got pictures.

This is so much fun! I wish I had another week to try and get better so that I could consistently stand up on this thing... As it is, I can balance about fifty percent of the time and get pitched the other fifty percent or miss the wave entirely.

Tonight we went to a Luau. At 'Smith's Tropical Paradise' if you can believe it. :) It was really well reviewed and we figured what the heck so off we went. And guess what, it was a blast!

When we pulled up I was a bit bummed as the rain had started and although it was not hard, it was steady. Everyone was huddled under the roof at the entrance but luckily the place had umbrellas - what genius.

They run you through this 'photo gauntlet' as soon as you enter; one host throws a shell necklace around your head and then another poses you with this guy and girl in native outfits and yet another snaps a picture. Then it's off to the 'train' which was this whacky, motorized, fun park looking thing that seated about 20 people and putted around the gardens on this little paved path. During the drive we got to see all the various kinds of vegetation and hear about their history, how some were introduced to the island and their use by the native people.

After the train pulled up to the main building where dinner was going to be served, we had almost one hour to walk around before the food was going to be served. By now the rain had stopped and it was fairly warm so this was pretty fun. Shelley noticed two outrageous signs on trees... (see below).

In the main hall there was a stage, row after row of dinner tables, two bars and a huge food serving area. We kind of chilled in the hall while most everyone else went outside to see the unveiling of the pigs that had been steamed in banana leaves underground just across a creek. they h ave this down to a science obviously as three pigs were pulled out of the ground and carried over to the serving area.

Now things got rolling! One bar was entirely dedicated to Mai Tais and they were handing them out as fast as they could mix them up. People were grabbing two or three at a time! The other bar was serving several kinds of beer, red and white wine and all the popular varieties of booze. AND IT WAS ALL INCLUDED! That's right, no limit... The combination of 'free liquor' and 'all you can eat buffet' is a scary thing.

The place is really owned and run by the Smith family and it seems that the number of family members must be substantial because they were some of the dancers, the MC, a bartender, etc., etc.

We ended up sitting next to some very nice people and chatted while this miss thing swished her way across the stage in an obvious case of preferential familial treatment. But it was pretty fun to watch after four Mai Tais, two glasses of white wine and a beer. :| And all the tiki torches all over the grounds were really beautiful.

Then it was off to the theater where we were treated to dances from just about every Pan-Asian country there is. This was kinda weird... Chinese dances? They even had the dragon with two guys in the costume that danced up the isles of the bleachers. C'mon. Fun to watch, just a little odd at a Hawaiian Luau. To me anyway.

Then home. We hit the hay pretty hard that night.

	Martin: Our car was a bird poop magnet! Every single day it was covered... Shelley:
	Martin: Oh yes, that's me; the next 'surfer guy' poster boy. Not. Shelley:
	Martin: Trying to stand up... Shelley:
	Martin: Almost up... Shelley:
	Martin: Where did Martin go? All I see is his board... Shelley:
	Martin: Salt water up the nose but still smiling. :) Shelley:
	Martin: The massive 'soft-top' board that we used. Shelley:
	Martin: Surf shirt = a good thing. Shelley:
	Martin: Shelley getting ready so school me. Shelley:
	Martin: Shelley:
	Martin: Shelley paddling out. Shelley:
	Martin: Shelley pushing herself up on the board. Shelley:
	Martin: Almost there... Shelley:
	Martin: Also still smiling. Shelley:
	Martin: Check her out! Shelley:
	Martin: Shelley:
	Martin: This couple in the ponchos had the biggest feet I have ever seen... Shelley:
	Martin: Don't take a picture of me when I'm not ready! Shelley:
	Martin: There, now I'm ready. Shelley:
	Martin: Rare Asian duck? Horribly disfigured radiation victim? You make the call. Shelley:
	Martin: Shelley:
	Martin: Hey, look at me. I'm Anthony Bourdain on some crazy trip about to eat God knows what... Shelley:
	Martin: You hear that Travel Channel? If you want to pay me to go places and stuff my face I am _so_ there. Shelley:
	Martin: Another 'Smith' cracking jokes as he wiped the rain off of the train seat. Shelley:
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	Martin: Shelley got really good at taking pictures of us with the camera at arms length. Shelley:
	Martin: But she's not 100 percent there yet tho... Shelley:
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	Martin: Nothing says 'tropics' like coconuts in a tree. Shelley:
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	Martin: "Monkey Nut"...?! No idea; none whatsoever. Shelley:
	Martin: "Gold[en] Shower Tree" Just when you thought it couldn't get any better than Monkey Nut. Shelley:
	Martin: What's cooler then buying a pooka shell necklace at some flea market? Having one given to you by a native boy in native dress at a Luau while actually in Hawaii. Shelley:
	Martin: Our dinner table. Shelley:
	Martin: The crowd gathers in eager anticipation for the unveiling of the pigs... Shelley:
	Martin: The band. Shelley:
	Martin: The happy couple; after four Mai Tais. Shelley:
	Martin: In line for food. Shelley:
	Martin: In line looking out across the grounds as the sun sets and the clouds break up. Shelley:
	Martin: Miss thing leading some sort of native version of the electric slide... Shelley:
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	Martin: Two more Mai Tais and some wine and been later. Shelley:
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	Martin: That's a dancer. Whatever... Shelley:
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	Martin: Hawaiian? I didn't think so. Shelley:
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	Martin: That's the Chinese dragon. Shelley:
	Martin: And again. Shelley:
	Martin: Hard to see but these guys had on the coolest masks. Shelley:
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	Martin: So many cultures, all on one small stage... Shelley:
	Martin: Shelley: