What's up y'all?
Thanks for joining the Travel Tales and Talk podcast with Derek and Makayla.
I'm Derek.
I'm Makayla.
Thanks for listening and enjoy the show.
What's up y'all?
How y'all doing today?
We're back with another episode and we're on our wacky adventures once again, except
this time I couldn't go so I'm kind of disappointed because I've always wanted to visit this place.
So Makayla, why are you in London Rose in Hawaii?
In Hawaii.
Hawaii, that's right.
Hawaii.
That's how you pronounce it.
Yes.
We went to Hawaii to visit a good friend, a childhood friend actually.
And her son.
My nephew.
He's a big boy.
So while you were there, you guys toured the entire island or on one specific island?
What did you guys do?
We stayed on Oahu.
The big, I think that's the big island.
Okay.
That's the one with Honolulu, right?
Okay.
Yes, but first we ended up, we actually left Lexington and we flew to LA for a few days
first.
So, because that flight, oh my goodness, the flight to Lexington to Hawaii is bananas.
I think it was like almost 12 hours or something like that.
I don't know, but I just thought it would be a great idea to break up the trip.
12 hours?
Good.
So we got that flight, Lexington to Los Angeles, but we had to lay over in Atlanta.
You guys went to Atlanta?
Oh yeah.
So we had to fly to the east to go west.
I thought you went to Dallas or something.
No.
Flew straight to Atlanta.
So you went in reverse.
Sure did.
And stayed a couple of days in LA so London Rose could visit the Super Nintendo World.
She wanted to do the Mario, live her best Super Mario World life.
You know what?
We should have her on the show to talk about that adventure.
I didn't even know that was a thing until you guys went out there.
Oh man, yeah.
Because it was nice.
We got the, I paid the extra money so we can go an hour early.
You're giving too much.
We can talk about that later.
Okay.
That's another episode.
I'll give it away.
All right, fine.
So after our three days in Los Angeles, we flew to Hawaii.
That flight you guys from LA to Honolulu was five hours.
That was a five hour flight.
It seems so much closer on the map.
Yeah, when you look at the map you think, oh it's going to be like two hours.
Like an hour flight.
Man, that was like five hours.
Yes.
People don't understand how vast the ocean is.
But yeah, looking on a map you would think two hours, maybe an hour and a half.
This shows you how these maps are tweaked.
But yeah, five hours from LA to Hawaii.
Hawaii, yep.
So you know it was rough because I don't mess around with them airplane bathrooms.
So liquids was at a strict minimum.
So you had to evacuate the system before you left.
Man, I had to hold it like, I'm not going in there.
So yeah, it was good.
The flight was easy.
We made it there and you know your time kind of goes back.
I forgot the difference.
I know from Lexington to LA it's a three hour difference.
So they're ahead of LA?
No, they're behind.
They're behind, okay.
So they're in a totally different time zone than California.
So it's California specific, Pacific time zone.
So what's their time zone?
I don't remember.
We gotta look that up.
That's a good question.
I feel so unprepared, y'all.
My apologies.
No, that's something you don't think about.
I assumed that they would be on the same time as LA.
But I'm guessing because it's a five hour difference, they have to be on something totally
different.
Because I don't think they adjust daylight saving time.
Okay, so I'm looking at my clock right now and it is 1.41 in Lexington.
And right now it is 7.41 in Honolulu.
So what was that, six hour difference?
Something like that.
Wow.
All right, y'all.
So y'all get an idea.
Get an idea of what time it is in Hawaii at this time.
So the time that we landed in Hawaii, my friend picked us up from the airport and we went
straight to the military base so that I could buy tickets to Pearl Harbor, the Polynesian
Center and our passes to cage dive with sharks.
Now why go to the military base, you ask?
Yeah.
Because it was cheaper.
But do you have to be a member of the military?
Yeah, you gotta be a military.
So even though I'm a child of a veteran, and my friend is too, but she's actually still
active duty.
So she was able to go in, use her card and get everything for me and save me a little
money.
So if you do have that perk, if you're in Hawaii and you have a friend that's in the
military, ask them to go on base and get the tickets for you.
So let me ask you this question.
You being a child of a veteran, how could you take advantage of that?
I can't because I'm an adult.
Really?
I thought they give us benefits because you are a child.
I don't have a military card anymore.
I don't have an ID card.
So you need that ID card to make your purchases.
Okay, gotcha.
Thanks for clearing it up for me.
You are welcome, sir.
So after we got those passes, then we went to school to pick up her son.
And then from there, we went to a nearby beach, a public beach.
Shall we surf?
We didn't do anything because we weren't prepared.
All our swimsuits and everything were packed up and it was literally just-
Spare it a moment?
Yeah, just so we could just see the water.
Gotcha, gotcha.
And then we were hungry, time to eat, and we need to get checked into our hotel.
And so we actually stayed that night at the hotel in the military base.
So the hotel, please forgive me, guys.
I don't remember the name, but it was actually the base housing for some of the-
The base housing.
Yeah, that they converted to a hotel.
So our hotel room used to be someone's actual-
Housing.
So we had a full living room, a full kitchen, two full bedrooms.
That's a great idea.
And I think it was one or two bathrooms.
I can't remember.
That's a great idea about whoever thought of that, to turn those into homewood suites
or something.
Yeah, there was a washer and dryer.
I mean, it was actual base housing.
Yeah, very inexpensive as well.
That is fantastic.
So that was nice.
So we stayed there the night, and so that was day one.
Wait, you said you guys got something to eat.
What you eat?
Please don't tell me that.
What did we eat?
I hope it was something local to Hawaii.
Oh, man.
I do not remember the name of the restaurant, but it was a local restaurant.
Okay, sweet.
And we ended up getting something like, I think it was like pancakes or something.
Hey, hey.
Your girl ain't that brave when it comes to food.
You know how we do when we're in a place.
You know Hawaii has a special, they do things differently with their food.
So you should partake in that.
They do, at that exact moment.
You didn't want to.
In time, on purpose.
Your girl wasn't feeling brave.
Okay.
Just give me some Mickey D's.
I was actually looking for a Pizza Hut, but you know, I couldn't find it.
It wasn't Pizza Friday though, was it?
I don't remember.
You played too much.
All right, just day one.
That was day one.
All right, now we're heading to day two.
So day two was time to go to the Polynesian Culture Center.
And you told me about this, and I didn't know this until I started looking it up, but Hawaii
is a part of the Polynesian island chain.
So it used to be a Polynesian nation of its own, then the United States annexed it.
So but anyway, at the Polynesian Center, they educate you on the six different Polynesian
island nations.
Hawaii, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Tahiti.
And this is where they had the Summer Olympics for surfing.
They were in Tahiti, which is awesome.
Nice.
Yep.
And then give me that one one more time.
Anatoa?
What was it?
Aotearoa?
Anatoa?
I think is what they pronounce it.
Aotearoa?
Oh, man.
No, we're screwing it up.
It's A-O-T-E-A-R-O-A.
So this at the Polynesian Center, you experienced they'll condense a thousand years of history
into this one place where you learn about the six different island nations.
Now, each one is different.
You may think they're all the same, but they're all different.
And when they bring you to the Hawaiian portion of this, you're going to play ancient games,
you're going to dance, and you're going to learn how to fish without a net.
I would love to learn how to do that.
Do they use the spear thing?
Did you actually see these people perform this?
Oh my goodness.
I was hoping he wouldn't ask me.
Because I'm curious.
I want to know because this sounds very interesting.
Well, I'll tell you what, I mismanaged my time at the Polynesian Culture Center.
First of all, you need to spend, if you can spend more than one day, like two to three
days there, you're golden.
At least two.
I didn't.
Even though our ticket was good for two days, we only went one.
And then while we were there, I didn't have a plan.
So we just kind of went to one little tent section and spent all our time there and missed
out on all these things.
Because as Derrick was mentioning, when you can go to these different sections and learn,
they're actually demonstrating these things and allowing people in the audience to participate.
So there's like basket weaving.
I mean, you name it, they're doing it.
There's a guy climbing a tree without shoes.
There was a whole guy that got coconuts out of a tree.
He had no shoes, no protective clothes, nothing.
And yeah, so I didn't see them fishing without a net.
I don't know how they did it.
I assume they did it with a spear.
I don't know.
Because we missed out.
Because London Rose wanted to, there was a boat ride and she wanted to ride on the boat
twice.
So we did that instead of, yeah.
Kind of partaking of what they actually had to offer.
But we did have a good time.
But the little bit that we did see was amazing.
So I'm assuming when you go to Fiji, you feel the beat, you do the dance, you become a warrior,
become a field warrior.
Then in Samoa, you feel the heat, they show some muscle and you'll learn some Samoan songs
and dance and you'll also become a warrior.
But this is where you learn how to climb a 40 foot coconut tree in your bare feet.
Sign me up for that.
Go back to Adi Aurora.
So here you learn about the significance of the Moroan tattoos.
I hope I'm saying that right.
And then you test your dexterity by playing with twirling papaya balls, right?
And watch the Moran people dance.
P-O-Y balls.
P-O-Y.
P-O-Y balls.
Okay.
And watch the Moroan warrior dance, the known haka.
Do the haka.
We did see the haka.
It was amazing.
The haka, is this where they, no.
They like ha.
Yes, yes.
They're getting on their legs and stuff.
Yes.
This is what they do before, I think they play football.
Football games.
Yeah, football games.
Yeah.
I would love to see that one too.
Oh yeah, it was nice.
And then in Tahiti, you're dancing another way.
So you swing your hips and try to bite, try a bite and snack a fish and share the love.
And then in Tonga, this is where you-
We did watch Tonga.
This is where they spear fish, right?
So they tossed a spear and they used a spear to catch the fish.
I don't remember them because we were, I don't remember them using the spear to catch a
fish with the Tonga.
They just did a demonstration.
Gotcha.
With the spears and stuff.
I was Googling and they were spear fish.
And then you choose your favorite guest drummer and then you learn how to paddle a canoe.
Yes.
That's what we got stuck.
You guys?
Yeah, London Rose.
Yeah, that was her thing.
This is what y'all did, the canoe?
Yeah.
Okay.
She wanted to, over and over again.
Let me ask you something.
Is this in a controlled environment or you're out in the ocean?
No, controlled environment.
Okay, gotcha.
Yes.
Gotcha.
Yes, so-
I would love to have done that in the ocean.
Get your little canoe.
So what all we did do was we toured the center.
The Polynesian Center?
Yes.
Gotcha.
We rode that boat over and over again and we were just amazed at watching that man climb
the coconut tree with no support.
Did they give you a demonstration like how his feet grabs the tree or did they explain-
They probably did, but like I said, we missed it because we were coming off of one of the
boat rides.
Gotcha.
We saw everyone standing around this tree and clapping and I was like, oh my goodness,
this man's on the tree.
I pulled my phone out just in time to watch him slide down the tree.
I was like, hot diggity dang mucking around with London Rose in this boat for the 18th
time.
A canoe trip.
No, I would love to see that.
So I got to go just to see this dude climb this tree with no shoes on.
It was amazing.
Later that night we had a Luau buffet dinner and then the night show.
They do the fire, the hula dancing and everything.
So you guys were there all day?
Yeah, it was all day affair.
Okay.
It was all day, but keep in mind, like I said, our tickets-
Were for two days.
We did.
We just... And we saw the fire dancers.
Out of everything, the fire dancers were my favorite thing.
Unfortunately, you are not allowed to video or photograph anything in the performance.
Why not?
That's their policy.
So I have no footage of that.
It's just everything strictly in memory.
But I do have pictures of the Luau buffet.
That's when London Rose went to sleep at the table.
So at this buffet, this Luau buffet, did they have the pig?
They roast the pig?
We did not go to that one.
Okay, so I had no idea that your tickets for the Polynesian Culture Center... Oh, they're
in tears, people.
So I just thought, oh, I got the ticket.
I got the Luau.
I'm good.
Uh-uh.
You're supposed to spend extra money to get the one where the pig is roasting in the ground.
I didn't know that.
Okay.
I had no idea.
I figure with the military discount, you get all that-
I thought I did too.
So the person didn't explain that to me.
I was like, no.
What it was, I got the top thing at the military base, but however, there was a different pricing
at the Polynesian Culture Center that wasn't available at the military base.
I was like, you sneaky boogers.
So you could come in, but you could buy that when you got there, right?
I could have had I known about it.
By the time I asked for it, there were no more tickets.
Because I was looking, because all these people had lays, I was like, hey, we didn't get a
lay.
Oh, that's because they're going to this event over here.
I was like, and then a lady happened to hear me ask and get turned away and she took her
lay off of her neck and gave it to me.
Oh, that's sweet.
Very nice.
She was like, oh, I'll just take my husband's.
I was like, oh, gracias.
See how they treat your husband.
So did you get to eat though?
Oh, yeah.
Oh, then that part right there.
Man, anything you can think of that anyone has ever told you, you should eat when you
go to Hawaii, was there.
So they had stations set up, like six different stations and authentic Hawaiian food.
What was your favorite?
I just something dealing with chicken.
I tried so much.
What about London Rose?
Something dealing with chicken nuggets.
She ate chicken.
She wanted chicken nuggets.
She slept through half of her dinner.
Like I said, we had been there all day.
Right, then you got Jack Black.
I just thought about it.
You just flew in five hours on the plane.
I have videos and photos of her sleeping while we're eating dinner.
Oh, and you don't have to actually go to the culture center to enjoy the luau.
You can just pay for...
To go to the luau.
So that's what my friend did.
She dropped us off and then went and did her thing.
And then she came back to have the dinner and the show with us that night.
So I do have some regrets.
What are those?
My regrets are...
That you didn't take me?
Oh, of course.
Of course.
My number one travel buddy, Am.
Yeah, you didn't take me after.
I'm so upset.
So our tickets were good for three days, but we did not take advantage of that.
In our afternoon visit, we were not able to see all the exhibits and not view all the
demonstrations.
So therefore we missed a lot.
And another regret is that I took an offsite tour to the...I think it's the Laie Temple,
which is a stunning Mormon temple there.
Which doing that offsite tour ate up all our time.
So what happened was I did not realize...
So this is not a part of the Polynesian...
No.
There were some Mormon women there saying, this is a free tour.
And I don't know if I didn't hear all of it.
I just thought, oh, here's another tour.
Here's this bus.
It's free.
I'm going to get off.
And it's free.
And then it started to rain.
It's like, ooh, I'm going to use this opportunity to get out of the rain.
We went to this beautiful temple and I didn't realize that it was their ministry for them
to share their Mormon teachings and come join us.
I didn't realize it was any of that.
So they put you on the bus to try to convert you to...
I'm not going to say convert you, but it was to share their faith.
Gotcha.
You know, which is a...you know.
Gotcha.
You know, good.
Good thing.
It was beautiful.
But it was long.
Like I said, it was offsite, maybe 15, 20 minute ride there and back.
And they let you walk around the temple for about 30 minutes, more or less, depending
on how large your group is.
And, you know, so...
But that, like I said, that was time taken away from touring the Polynesian Center.
So that's why we missed a lot of things.
So I would have liked to have known that.
So it's going to be so time consuming.
Yeah.
So my friend, like I could have just asked her, hey, can you write me by here?
I could have saw it on my own later.
So that was that.
So you should have just told me, this is not on my touring list.
I'll have to get you next time.
You know, you always have a list.
You're like, this is not on there.
But I didn't.
That was the thing.
I went to the Polynesian Culture Center without a plan and that's my fault.
The one time I didn't plan and it bit me in the butt.
Gotcha.
Because you always have a plan.
I do.
So I'm shocked.
But I didn't at that time.
So that was the end of day two.
Okay.
So we are rolling into day three and our first visit was the...
Day three.
Hold on.
We're at day three, right?
Mm-hmm.
The Bioto.
I said Bioto, B-O-T-O.
B-O-T-O in Temple.
All right.
Let me stop you here.
Yes.
I don't see anything about sunrise photos.
You always forced me to get up at five and take sunrise photos.
You didn't take none?
Calm yourself.
You didn't take none?
I'm getting there.
Oh, okay.
I'm getting a little disappointed.
Calm yourself.
I'm calm.
So the Bioto, it's really bugging me.
I think that's...
Bioto.
That's what it said.
Bioto in Temple is this beautiful replica of a 900-year-old Buddhist temple.
Correct me if I'm wrong.
They don't actually practice in this temple, right?
No.
It is a...
Right, correct.
It's not practicing Buddhist temple, but people of all faiths are welcome to come there.
So you can just come and pray, worship, meditate, or do like we did, just enjoy the beauty,
because it is breathtaking.
Oh my goodness, that place was beautiful.
So tickets to go there ranges from $2 to $5.
So like $2 for kids up to 12 years old.
Okay, you said you didn't have a plan.
What made you put this on, these threes?
Hold on.
Seniors pay $4 and then adults $5.
So how did I find out about this temple?
Oh, I just...
You know how I did a search of must-see things in Oahu, and that came up.
And I was like, oh, this reminds me of Okinawa.
I want to go visit.
And so yeah, I had my friend, she just took me in London Rose, and we spent maybe a good
hour just walking around and enjoying the place.
It was so nice.
They had a little gift shop on site where you can buy food to feed the fish in the koi
pond, the wild birds there.
So I bought some food in London Rose, fed the birds.
She fed the koi fish as well.
How did the bird feeding go?
Because the last time we fed birds, they attacked us.
These bees birds were a lot more calm.
They just kind of just bounced up to you and ate at your hand.
They didn't swarm all on you and fly on you.
They were very tame.
So we toured the temple.
And if you go to tour that temple, just remember to remove your shoes before entering.
So they have beautiful gardens on the grounds.
We toured those.
We took pictures.
And there was this huge gong that you have to push this log-like thing.
They let you guys do that?
Yeah.
And it goes boom.
Oh my God.
Boom.
Wow.
That's what it sounds like.
It was so beautiful.
You guys have to do that?
You didn't tell me that.
You know what I felt like?
What?
I've ever seen the Want the Knife.
What was the name of that movie?
Annie Murphy.
Golden Child.
The Golden Child.
I felt like I was somewhere at the Golden Child.
I'm so freaking mad.
I would love to do that.
Yeah.
All right.
We can go.
So from there, you guys go to Pearl Harbor, right?
Yes.
Yeah.
That's when the Japanese attacked December 7, 1941.
And then you didn't get to go see USS Arizona, right?
Because conditions were not right.
Yes.
So when you go to Pearl Harbor, there are a couple of things you... I mean, there's
a lot of things you can see.
But there are four things that you should really try to see.
And two of those... Well, I don't know if two, but one for a fact is not included in
your admission price, and that's the submarine.
What was the submarine's name?
Bofen submarine?
Yes, the Bofen submarine.
So they have the submarine that you can actually tour.
We didn't tour.
It was an additional... I want to say it was close to $50.
Okay.
So each... We talked about this before.
I wish they would make Pearl Harbor similar to the museums in DC where they're free because
your tax dollars pay for it.
It's knee to heel over there.
That would have been great.
I don't know.
$50 sounds like it was so much.
I don't remember.
All I remember, I remember clutching my pearls when I saw the price and holding my bag.
I was like, I don't know if I want to pay.
I should have paid it.
I was being cheap and should have just paid it.
But the one thing that I really wanted to see was...
USS Arizona?
Yes, the USS Arizona.
That is the sunken battleship.
Why that battleship?
Because there was more battleships on the property, but that particular battleship was
when it was bombed by Japan was at 1,700 and...
Was 1,102 sailors and Marines died on that day.
So that's almost half.
It was over half.
Over half, yeah.
Yeah.
Out of almost two thirds of the people that died during that bombing died on that one
battleship alone.
Didn't know that.
So yes.
I didn't know that until you told me that.
Oh yeah.
Yeah.
So that's why that one was so important, but it's out in the waters.
It's not where all the other museum places are to look.
So you have to take a boat out there to that sunken battleship to go walk on the memorial
stuff.
But when we went, it was too windy.
Yeah.
And at first I'm like, windy, I just put... And the man was like, ma'am, if it's too windy,
we can capsize.
We can flip over.
I was like, oh really?
I don't know why I wasn't thinking that the wind could knock our boats over.
Don't play with Mother Nature in the ocean.
Just don't do it.
Yeah.
They were like, I'm sorry.
Because it was hot that particular day.
It was so hot I was sweating.
I'm like, Wendy, we ain't got nobody's breeze nowhere.
It was so... Apparently away from all those buildings that we were by, it was windy.
And when I say all the buildings in Pearl Harbor, there are different museums there
that you can walk through.
And surprisingly, the museums were quite interesting.
I found myself reading them.
It should be.
Yeah.
There's a lot to happen at that.
Like they had transcripts of the president.
I forgot which president was the president at that time, but his speech that he wrote,
they actually-
World War II, I think that's Hoover.
They actually shared it.
And they had the revisions on it where they marked out.
Really?
Yeah.
It was quite interesting.
Even London Rose, she was interested.
She was usually not interested in stuff like that.
Yeah.
But she sat and she watched.
She was telling me, hold up, Mom.
I was like, really?
Yeah.
I'm trying to get out here and you want to keep reading this stuff?
It's interesting.
Yeah.
Even if you're not into history of war, it's interesting to see something that the president
wrote, the revisions.
They don't usually release stuff like that.
Yeah.
So I wish I could have partake in that.
Yeah, you would have really enjoyed it.
I would have loved that.
But you're talking about the four things you should do or must do, and that's visit the
battleship USS Missouri, quote unquote, the last battleship ever launched by the USA,
the Bow Fence submarine, great idea there, the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum.
Yes.
And then of course, the USS Arizona.
Yes.
So if you're in Hawaii, is that the big island?
Because they have Nikkei's.
Oahu, yes.
That's the big island.
So when you're on the big island, visit the Pearl Harbor.
Yeah.
It's a must see.
So spend a day, don't try to cram it all in like I did.
Yeah, take your time.
Man, Polynesian Center, Pearl Harbor, spend a day.
Yeah.
If you can.
Probably more than a day.
If the Polynesians-
Polynesian Center, you need to spend at least two days.
If you're going to buy a three day ticket, you should go at least two days.
Just stop.
Yeah, you should.
You should.
And then with all the historical artifacts of Pearl Harbor, I think that's two days easy,
in my opinion.
And so that was day three, but before the end of day three, we were leaving the hotel
on the military base and we checked into the Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort.
Hilton, how does that work?
So we wanted to stay on the beach for a couple of days and-
Wait, wait, wait, time out, time out.
Y'all didn't try to surf now one time y'all were there.
I don't mess around with sharks like that.
I do it in the cage.
They got the baby version of surfing?
I wasn't interested.
I'm not interested.
Hey, I'm not interested in being unprotected in an ocean.
Okay, gotcha.
That's not-
That's not your thing.
Not on my bingo card.
Well, I'm going to try it at least once.
I do you boo.
I'm going to try it at least once.
So we stayed in this beach resort and this was also not in my bingo cards, but we realized
that there is a submarine ride-
You are out your mind.
That takes off right at the back of our beach.
I mean, back of our hotel.
This is right after the submarine implodes going to the Titanic and you going to jump
on a submarine?
It was a week later.
I don't know why I didn't-
I think I'm invincible.
No way.
I don't know what goes on in my brain, but in my brain I think I can do anything.
So this was about a week or two after the whole Titanic submarine debacle and I tell
Derek, hey, guess what we're going to do?
London Rose and I are going to go to the Atlantis submarine ride.
And why Kiki?
We literally had to just walk out of our hotel room, cut a right, go to the edge of the beach
and bam.
And London Rose, she was all for it.
Really?
We're going to go on a submarine ride?
Yeah, girl.
I'm like, y'all just so watching news.
Just like the submarine we saw at Pearl Harbor.
We going hot diggity dang.
Y'all look nuts.
I happily paid that money.
It wasn't even making the connection like, girl, you slick in danger.
Anything can go wrong.
You're going to be under the ocean.
I'm like, dude, you're not going to wait until they have a hearing about these imploded submarines
before you get on one?
Nope.
We're going on a submarine ride today.
I just thought it would be super fun to do.
And I was right.
Hello.
It was so much fun.
We learned so much.
I learned what the port side was.
What is the port side?
I don't remember.
I don't know.
I learned at the time one side means white.
I mean, right and one is the left.
So you have port and you have the stern.
That's a boat though, right?
It's port.
It's called.
You're going to make me look at that.
Port and the bow and the stern and the thingy thing.
I would think it would be different in the submarine versus the boat, but I'm sure they're
the same because they're both ocean dwelling vessels.
Right.
Okay.
What you got?
Yeah, it's in here.
What?
Where you talk about the Titanic submarine explosion.
We're trying to look up.
Don't worry about it, baby.
It is really bothering me.
Oh, no wonder.
I see.
Okay.
What are the directions?
The directions.
Not the cold directions of a submarine.
Stern, the bow, port side.
That's all I know.
And I got that from the wire.
Oh my goodness.
Port side and starboard side.
That's what it is.
The port side is the left and the starboard is the right.
Okay.
Because our captain was constantly saying that.
Right.
He had to learn really quick.
Yes.
And then we talked about how you couldn't see red under the water because of it has
to do with the light.
Oh, okay.
Red isn't visible on the water for certain.
I forgot what it was.
We kind of watched the color come out of our clothes.
It was really interesting.
It was very, very interesting because London Rose's shoes, she had on red crocs, but when
we got down deep enough, her crocs looked blue.
Really?
That's amazing.
So what we learned was that with Atlanta Submarine Ride, they took us down and we saw sunken
boats, sunken planes, sunken machinery things.
So what they do is some of the stuff is natural, but most of it was bought by the company and
dumped there.
So they would get a plane and they would quote unquote poke holes in it and let it sink right
there.
This is to help build... This is so we can have stuff to look at.
Oh, I thought it was for the fish.
Well the fish too.
So when we were down there, we would see fish on the bowels of boats, turtles.
We even saw sharks down there.
It was quite amazing.
Very beautiful.
Sharks.
If you're feeling brave, if you're willing to go 400 feet underwater in a submarine,
check out Atlanta Submarine Rides in Waikiki.
And then after we left there, we went to the mall in Waikiki.
Really?
Okay.
At the mall, we found Chick-fil-A. However, they did have the Hawaiian versions of their
food that we tried out.
And the food was very delicious, way better.
It tastes different.
Sure did.
Okay.
And we saw a dance troupe was performing on their stage.
In the mall?
Uh-huh.
So in these malls, they have pretty much the same stores.
Oh yeah.
Got you.
And then they also have tour guides, like buses that you can take tours of downtown
Waikiki.
So we did that so we can kind of see our area for where we were staying.
And then that night, there was a fireworks show off of our hotel.
The hotel does this every night?
Yep.
Okay.
We were too tired to watch.
Because the next day was the day that we leave, but it was also our sunrise tour shark cave
dive.
Oh Lord.
So I had to go to sleep.
I had to be at the beach, I think by seven o'clock in the morning.
And the location was like 50 minutes away.
And bless my friend, without complaining, she took me.
She got up and drove us there.
Wow.
So they don't have this right at the beach where the hotel is?
Nope.
We have to drive out.
It's North Shore.
Okay.
So Waikiki's Southern Shore?
I don't know.
Don't quote me on that.
But I just know that if you know anything about Dole, like the Dole Pineapple Plantation,
it is about two, three miles away from Dole.
It's out, out far there.
So the North Shore is called North Shore Shark Adventures in Haleiwa.
Haleiwa.
It's a whole different city.
Haleiwa, Hawaii, to go cage diving with sharks.
So we come there and-
You have a deaf wish.
We get on this boat.
It's about, how many of us?
Maybe about 10 of us.
And London Rose, it was one little girl that was like maybe a year younger than London
Rose.
And these two little girls, London Rose and this little girl.
And we just go out into the ocean and we pretty much watch the sunrise.
I have beautiful pictures of that.
Okay.
And it was just so serene and beautiful and made me nauseous.
And I realized, oh girl, you get seasick.
You didn't take any germinol?
I was, nope, I was not prepared.
So I'm sitting there just-
Allow me to interrupt here.
So what time was this in the morning?
7.
7 a.m.
You got there at 7, got on the boat at 7?
Yeah.
Or was the water cold or-
I wasn't touching the water at the time.
Oh, when we got in-
When you got in?
I don't even remember.
Because it was just the whole shock of sharks.
So let me tell y'all, we get out in the middle of nowhere.
When I say middle of nowhere, we couldn't see nothing as far as I could see but water.
And the guy says, oh yeah, we're at our spot.
But none of our sharks are here.
It's completely empty, which means that there are tiger sharks in the water.
I was like, tiger sharks?
Aren't those the sharks that eat anything?
Yes, they are.
So I was like, we had to see Galapagos sharks.
Why can't you see tiger sharks?
Because the tiger sharks would have been too dangerous for us to be in the water with.
But you're in a cage.
If there are no fish in the water, we don't get in the water either.
Okay.
And I was like, what?
But they have a guarantee that you will see sharks.
So we had to leave the tiger sharks.
And then we went about a mile or so away.
I would love to see the tiger sharks.
And that was the moment I thought, wow, this may not have been a good idea.
Another one of your great ideas, baby.
When he said that, I look over at my child like, oh my goodness.
I'm feeding her to the sharks.
Oh my goodness.
So then London Rose, she's starting to back out.
Mama, I don't think I'm able to do it.
And I was like, baby, you can do it.
Just try it.
Just get in there for a minute or two.
Just try it.
That child is smart.
They divide us up into two groups.
Because the little girl that she was with said she was scared she wasn't going to do
it.
So all of a sudden London Rose is scared.
So I'm over here rolling my eyes like, woman, get your little scary kid away from mine,
messing up our adventure.
So me and London Rose and that little girl are in the first group, right, in another
family.
So what they do is they drop the cage in the water right next to the boat.
So you climb off of the little ladder that's attached to the boat and you go straight into
the cage.
Gotcha.
You hold on to the cage and then they push you out into the ocean with an arm.
They extend the arm.
So I get in the water and I move around to make room for London Rose to come in.
The time it took me to fix my camera, I had my cell phone in a bag to take pictures and
videos.
The time it took me to fix my phone and turn it on and turn around, London Rose is already
climbing out.
Okay, mom, I went in for a minute.
She went in where?
She went in the cage for about a good two, three minutes.
And jumped right back out.
She came right back out before they extended it out into the ocean.
Her and that little girl.
She didn't see nothing but water.
She said she looked, she saw sharks, she got back out.
Did she see sharks?
Yeah.
The sharks were there.
Okay.
They were swimming around us.
How did they attract the sharks?
Just by showing up?
I honestly think they used chum.
I don't remember because I don't remember seeing blood or anything in the water.
I do remember the guy saying that they're just used to when they're here in the boats,
they know that people are coming, so they just come.
Okay.
But like I said, I don't remember seeing chum in the water.
Gotcha.
But anyway, so we get out there and what people don't tell you about being in a shark cage
is you don't think about it, but the water is choppy.
It's wavy.
Imagine being in one of those water beds when you're like a kid and how you're always moving
around.
Yeah.
Yes.
You're constantly moving around, which means you're banging against the cage if you're holding
on it.
So put it this way, the next day my legs were covered in bruises from me banging against
that shark cage.
That's why I didn't get mad at London Rose.
How deep did they have the shark cage?
Not deep at all.
Okay.
Just the top.
I think that's because you were at the top, you would've went down a little bit.
It probably wouldn't have been so bad, but also the slats in the cage, like the bars,
were pretty darn wide.
I was able to stick my foot through the bar and thinking about it like, hey, London Rose's
whole arm and foot, everything could have went through that bar, so it was a good thing
she did get out the water.
I was like, that's when I had a moment like, hold up, if one of these sharks are feeling
ambitious they can come and take a nimble out of me if they wanted to.
I don't think their head would fit through the grids, would they?
Their noses could.
Oh, their noses don't have teeth.
But like I said, our foot could slip through.
Okay.
And they can just come bite.
I just got, it was very humbling to watch the sharks swim under the cage, under my foot.
Because like I said, the first couple of minutes of my videos, just me tumbling around in this
cage, but you can see these sharks clearly swimming by the cage and under the cage.
And it was like, whoa, they were pretty darn close.
You were in their environment.
I was.
I was in their home.
And especially when the arm extended the cage out into the ocean, so we were away from the
boat.
Because I was thinking, oh man, this is kind of hard.
I want to get out.
Yeah.
And just when I thought that they had that, there we go out in the ocean.
I was like, oh man, I'm stuck.
That's how I felt.
I'm stuck.
I'm in here now.
I am stuck.
London Rose is waving at me, hi mommy.
I'm like, but hey.
But you had fun.
It was fun.
It was very humbling.
It's on the bucket list.
I did it.
I marked it off.
Look, I flew an airplane before and I swam in a shark cage with sharks.
I'm really jealous.
I think I'm going to do the shark cage.
I'm checking that off.
You will be by yourself.
Except I want to do the tiger sharks.
No, I don't think they'll allow that.
I want to see real sharks.
So mind you, that was also the same day that we were leaving Hawaii.
What?
Yes.
That's why I scheduled my cage dive that morning so that I had enough time to go back to the
hotel, take a shower, and then go to the airport and fly out.
And that's what we did.
And we left Hawaii and flew back to Los Angeles.
And then back to the next.
And that was that's that's Hawaii.
We learned Hawaii at the Polynesian Culture Center.
They were very particular with pronunciation.
It's not Hawaii, Hawaii.
Hawaii.
Yes.
Unlike my uncle back in Memphis.
What?
Because it's Hawaii.
Oh my goodness.
Anyway.
Oh, I almost forgot.
We also visited the Iolani Palace.
On the same day you were leaving?
Yep.
I had to squeeze it in.
Okay, get it in.
So the Iolani Palace is the only royal palace located on US soil.
Makes sense because Hawaii was his own country.
It was.
The US took over.
Oh my goodness.
What?
It's just a fact.
So when we went, it was closed.
So they had the gates locked and everything.
So but it's still breathtaking.
Okay.
From what I was able to see through the bars.
Okay.
Even with it being closed, can you just visit Monday through Friday?
Do they have tours?
Yes.
Okay.
So if you go online, look up IolaniPalace.org.
They will tell you when you can visit, how much it costs, the attire, what you can wear.
What you can wear, what you can't wear.
Yeah, it is a palace.
It has a dress code?
Yeah, it's a royal palace.
Oh wow.
Okay.
Like don't play with them now.
Is it still active?
Is it like the City Hall of Honolulu or something?
Or is it just a tourist site landmark?
I don't know.
Even online it says it is the living restoration of proud Hawaiian national identity and a
registered national historic landmark.
It is located at the corner of King Street and Richard Street in downtown Honolulu.
Okay.
It's a must see.
So if you're in Honolulu, you got to stop by.
Yes.
And some of the royal family is still alive people.
So really?
Yeah.
It wasn't that long ago that we took Hawaii.
I guess they're descendants.
Yeah.
Are they treated like royalty by the Hawaiian people in the US?
The Hawaiian people.
Okay.
But you know how, yeah.
That's another story for another day.
There we go.
But what is interesting you guys is located directly across the street is the statue of
King Kamehameha statue.
Who is that?
One of the kings.
Okay.
And that statue is at the building of the Hawaii Supreme Court.
And what is that?
What's the purpose of that?
Yes.
Well, if you are a Hawaii Five-O fan, it is the location of the Hawaii Five-O headquarters.
You know what?
I always thought those as TV.
I didn't think that was a real thing.
Yeah.
So the TV show Hawaii Five-O, all of the exterior shots of the headquarters was shot at their
Supreme Court.
Wow.
Which was that building that faces the Iolani Palace.
Learn something new every day.
Yeah.
I thought it was a studio set and they just took pictures of it.
It's an actual place.
Yeah.
Their Supreme Court.
Sweet.
And it's a museum.
So you can visit, but just understand that it's not going to look like the Hawaii Five-O
set.
That was filmed somewhere else.
Gotcha.
Okay.
But yeah, because when we got there, I thought I was going to be the only one to take all
my pictures.
Uh-uh.
A bunch of people.
There were so many people there taking their selfies and I was like, oh, okay.
I'm not the only nerd here today.
A bunch of people going, book them, Dan-O.
They were.
I knew it.
Oh my gosh.
I had corn balls.
I knew it.
So that's your trip to, well, that's y'all trip to Hawaii.
Hawaii?
Hawaii.
Oh my goodness.
I hope I can go next time.
Yeah, me too.
All right, guys.
We'll talk to y'all later.
If you made it this far, you are the true champion.
You could have been anywhere, doing anything, but you instead chose to spend your time with
us.
And for that, we say thank you.
Thank you.
I'm Derrick.
I'm Makyla.
Rate, like, and subscribe.
Do good, be good.
Until next time.
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