The Ala Moana Shopping Center has an annual tradition of its own - the daily production of The Christmas Gift of Aloha.* Every night through the holidays they stage a surprisingly long musical show (for a mall gig, 30 minutes) with a large cast, complete with impressive costumes and prop tricks. At the end of the show, they make it "snow" from the top of the outdoor mall by blowing tiny bubbles into the air for 10 minutes. I'd read a lot about it but hadn't seen it. We braved the shopping crowds one night last week and I came away pretty impressed. Folks take their seats around the show early, and some families turn it into a picnic dinner complete with blankets and food. A theme in the show is the "Candy Cane Train" and the mall runs a Candy Cane Train for kids. We had hoped Robbie would love it so we bought him a ticket for a special nightly affair - the train runs through the mall after the show sandwiched between a parade of characters and props from the show. Robbie of course loved looking at the train, but once we plopped him down in a car and then buckled the seat belt, he lost it. He cried and cried, and when stickers didn't work to calm him down (!) the staff began to quietly hint that we could probably get a refund or re-sell one of our tickets to anyone standing by. As he continued to cry, they politely and firmly reminded us that it was an extra long train ride, and we couldn't be in the train nor alongside the train. OK, OK! We pulled him off. Noel found another Dad hanging out who was willing to buy our ticket and we opted to follow the train and the show from a distance. One of the stickers is shown above. Note it says "I rode..." Well, if my photoshop skills were better, I would have some fun with that, for now we'll leave as-is. Here's Robbie in line prior to the big cry, when we were more optimistic! Note he's tagged like a garment in coat check so that the right people pick him up afterward. 
* In a strange and news-making event here, the popular playwright of the annual show was killed in a DUI accident two weeks ago. Around 3 in the morning she got on the H1 freeway in the wrong direction. She drove for a few miles going the wrong way, cars swerving madly to miss her, until she hit someone. She was killed and she severely injured a woman in the car she hit. Authorities say her blood alcohol level was 3 times the legal limit.
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