Saturday, October 20, 2007

Drums of the Pacific Luau: February, 2001


I made reservations for the Luau at the Hyatt Regency, and we arrived about 4:50 PM. We loved walking through the airy, luxurious lobby and plush grounds, with highlights being the penguins improbably living in a chilled environment within view of the tropical beach, and the swimming pool area with its enormous waterfall.

The Drums of the Pacific Polynesian Luau combined great entertainment with fantastic food for $78 per adult, $51 for teens and $35 for children. The stir fried vegetables and roast pork were two stars of the buffet, but everything tasted great, including desserts like chocolate macadamia nut pie.

From the opening drums and torch lighting, we could tell we were in for a first class show. An invitation to learn the hula brought more people from our table than any other, although Jay and Jered decided to learn how to open a coconut instead. Julie, Amy, Jacque, Kendra, Kelsey and I gave it a hip-shaking go, dancing to the words of “Going to a Hukelau.”

Rollie and I tried to get in on the coconut lesson but arrived too late. Instead, we serendipitously found ourselves next to the pit when they dug out the Kahlua Pig. It looked kind of gross but tasted delicious.

The dancers brought to life the rhythms of many islands, such as Samoa and Tahiti in addition to Hawaii, with exciting dancing and costumes. There was one dance about the legend of the creation of woman, which I believe came from Tahiti, and it was particularly lovely. A Polynesian chief did a remarkable fire dance. The Hyatt gave Jacque and Cheryl video tapes of the show, because they were celebrating birthdays. We all agreed it was a great show.

After the luau, we went back to our room for another night of ice cream and cards. At 11:00 PM, Jacque, Kendra, Kelsey, Julie, Jay, Amy Jered and I went for a swim in the ocean, although Julie and I didn’t go at it as enthusiastically as the others. Two inflatable rafts, which Jacque’s hotel neighbors left for her when their vacation ended, proved to be a big hit with the kids. Back in the room, Jay and I watched the last part of “The Tonight Show” and even a little of Conan O’Brien before bed.

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