Day 5, August 11, 2002 - Sunday

A fairly quiet day, today. I was very fortunate to be able to go to church with Vienna this morning. I figured out the bus system to the nearest LDS church. It was actually easy after a few phone calls to "The Bus." It was so refreshing to get a little spiritual nourishment after all the excess. Of course, it was very much like all the LDS churches I've been to with a couple of exceptions. First, the ward I attended was surprisingly large, bigger and growing faster than any I have ever visited. They have had 46 baptisms since the first of the year - five since yesterday, which is amazing to me. Second, they started each class, meeting, or talk with "Aloha" and the congregation giving their "Aloha" in return. That was a neat experience. It was so nice, though, to sing familiar hymns and take the sacrament with all the wonderful people and in this lovely paradise.

This afternoon I relaxed and talked to my mom while Andy called his mom. We enjoyed touching base with those we love. To decide on where to eat for dinner, we turned to our handy TV Station guides which tell all about restaurants and other attractions sponsored by local hotels in the area. The Chief's Hut sounded good and it was right next to the House Without a Key that we loved so much last night, so of course it would be great. Well, the atmosphere was beautiful but the food was mediocre and the service sub-par. (do you think I should be a restaurant critic?) So, we have learned not to trust the handy TV guides. But, the evening took an upturn when we went to Cold Stone Creamery for ice cream. Yes, I know we did that last night but "if it ain't broke, don't fix it," right?

Walking around the Grand Hawaiian Shopping center, we met up with Robyn, the Pleasant Holidays agent that helped us so well on Wednesday. We enjoyed seeing her again and telling her how much we were enjoying Oahu. She was happy to hear that we were having a great time. Once more she elated: "You guys are so cute!" We ended the evening with something I didn't really want to do in Hawaii. We saw a movie. I have personal issues with seeing movies when we're in such a beautiful place, like this. But, we were at a loss as to how to spend the rest of the night. We'd been shopping a lot and the beach seemed uneventful so we backed down and saw "XXX," an OK summer flick but no deep messages. Tomorrow we will rent a car and start exploring more of the Island. We're looking forward to seeing what Oahu is really like outside the really touristy Waikiki.

 

 

Writing by Jenny Wood ~ Web Design by Andy Wood