We arrived at Rockefeller Center this morning at about 7:30 and parked in our usual prime spot, ready and excited to go to the Weekend TODAY show.
Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort & Spa Director of Marketing John Limper, Marriott Resorts Hawaii National Group Sales Sally Halm and Wailea Beach Marriott Resort & Spa General Manager Bill Countryman posed with SI (Shave Ice) before we headed out to the TODAY show plaza.
Here's John right outside the Weekend TODAY's barricades. Can you see our Spirit of Aloha bus?
Even SI (Shave Ice) couldn't resist getting in on the action!
Meteorologist Janice Huff of the Weekend TODAY stepped outside the TODAY show studio and walked toward us and saw all the fresh flower lei on everyone in the crowd.
Janice said she got lei'd on camera during the live taping and was thrilled to receive a fresh orchid lei. She and her husband are frequent visitors to Hawaii, and we were happy to bring Hawaii to her!
Janice was gracious and full of aloha towards us that she invited us into the NBC TODAY show studio. What a thrill! For SI (Shave Ice), he wanted to feel what it was like to sit in an interview chair at the network TV station. Luckily he didn’t melt under the heat of the bright studio lights.
After the Weekend TODAY show ended, we all took a picture with Janice. We wanted to keep this moment alive in our memories forever! Here's Bill, John, Bernie Caalim, Janice with SI, Bill Arnold, Sally Halm, and Paula Butler.
Janice loves Shave Ice. Her favorite flavor is cherry.
That was our second time back at 30 Rockefeller Center where the NBC TV studio is located. It was only on Friday when Maluhia and Candace took time out to pose for our camera at the NBC Plaza where TODAY co-host Matt Lauer and NBC Nightly News Brian Williams were chatting and greeting fans.
On the plaza in the corner, the Polynesian Cultural Center troupe --- Lena Lehua Siaosi, Candace Faamuli, Farwyn Sakulsinghdusit, Maluhia Prescott, Halam Ah Quinn and Nephi Setoki --- were out in the subzero wind chill --- wearing rubber slippers with their aloha wear and nifty “Marriott’s Spirit of Aloha Tour” windbreaker jackets. Can you spot them wtih our Spirit of Aloha sign?
Marriott's Vice President of North Asia, Hawaii and South Pacific Ed Hubennette, Bill Countryman, Kaua'i Marriott Resort & Beach Club Director of Sales and Marketing Jay Heidenreich, and John Limper cheered on as well.
We then boarded our Marriott bus conveniently parked on 48th Street, right there within steps from the NBC Today Show plaza and headed for CBS TV studio for the CBS Early Show. As soon as we arrived, we rushed to the CBS plaza where PCC took position right in front of the camera’s view.
We then saw co-host Harry Smith wearing his baseball cap walk towards the TV crew awaiting for his arrival. His co-host Maggie Rodriguez joined him as well.
When the cameras rolled, Harry and Maggie saw our PCC dancers and musicians and walked over to them for a lei greeting on camera. Our Spirit of Aloha sign could also be seen on camera. After the camera and lights turned off, Maggie did a few hula movements behind the scenes.
As the crowd dispersed, we all went to the street corner waiting for our bus only to bump across an officer from NYPD. We told him we were from Hawaii and then we greeted him with aloha and a lei greeting.
From there went into the 24-hour Apple Store — also located on the CBS plaza. Little did we know that there were a handful of Apple employees who relocated from Honolulu to New York City to work in the new Apple Store. The aloha spirit thrives because PCC did an impromptu hula dance not only for the Apple Store employees, but also shoppers.
Hana hou PCC!!!! Oh... what were we doing in Apple? We wanted to warm up a bit inside the heated store instead of waiting on the corner of West 57th Street in the freezing cold.
-- Marriott's Spirit of Aloha Tour team
While the rest of the world freezes in a snow storm, Maui hotel resorts offer a great way to sun yourself on the beach in the middle of February. Get away and warm those frozen toes in the sand. You'd be surprised by how affordable it can be. Hawaii hotel rates have never been lower, spurred by the economic down turn. A winter's get away has never been a better deal. Sip pina colodas poolside at some of the best hotels in Hawaii while your friends are shoveling their driveways and praying for spring. Come back with a tan from a winter vacation in a Waikiki beachside hotel. Hawaiian living at a Kauai hotel is the perfect getaway.
Shave Ice has finally hit the big time. The Spirit of Aloha mascot was recently a guest on the NBC Today show. Meteorologist Janet Huff is a big fan of Maui hotel resorts and couldn't resist chatting up Shave Ice about his homeland. Considering the shakedowns that have pummeled Wall Street lately, it's amazing how many businesses these days are using packages for hotels in Honolulu for networking these days. It makes sense when you think about it, though. Honolulu hotels have never been more affordable, so why not hit the vacation destination for your next business trip?
