The third "Insider's Tour to Tahiti with Dierdra McElroy" is now history.  Twenty-one people  flew to Tahiti on Air Tahiti Nui on January 30th. They came from California, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Nebraska, Illinois, Ohio, Arkansas and from New Zealand. They began as strangers and ended up as friends.   Leading the group was Dierdra "Didi"  McElroy, a well-known U.S. quilter who specializes in the tifaifai (the Tahitian quilt) and her Tahitian husband, Heinui.   The only common bond they had at the beginning was the fact that some of them were quilters and they had learned about the tour from Didi's quilt lectures and had a desire to learn about the Tahiti that Didi talked about in her lectures.   The group learned from Didi and Heinui all about their lives in Tahiti and Moorea and they were able to see a side of the islands that tourists rarely see.  Below and on the pages to follow is a photo journal of their Tahitian adventure - 9 days in Paradise!  This section is dedicated to Didi, Heinui and the Hanere family who made this trip so memorable for all of us.  

Tahiti and her islands are located south of the equator, in the same time zone as Hawaii, halfway between California and Australia.  The idea of the Insider's Tour is to show the group the Tahiti that Didi knew as a child growing up there.   As a teenager, Didi lived in Paea on the island of Tahiti and it was there that she fell in love with the islands, the Tahitian people and the tifaifai, the Tahitian quilt.   Upon returning to the United States, her mother, Roxanne, founded Roxanne Products, the only quilting company that specializes in the Tifaifai.  Didi's husband, Heinui, grew up on Moorea and his family still lives there.   We spent three nights in Tahiti and four nights in Moorea.  At the end of the  tour, the group participated in an all-day Tifaifai workshop where they designed their very own Tifaifais to commemorate their very special trip to Tahiti.   

Waiting for our bags at the Southwest terminal at LAX.  Victoria McElroy, Didi McElroy, Heinui Hanere, Marsha and Jeff McElroy and Stevie Ryer.     

Sixteen of our group, met at the Sheraton Four Points at LAX on January 29th, the night before the tour was to depart for Tahiti.   The rest of the group joined us at LAX or in Tahiti.   We met for the first time over dinner at the Palm Grill at the hotel.  Joining us was Marsha Morton of the InterContinental French Polynesia hotels (left photo, pink scarf).   Returning for their second tour were Warren and Gloria Hall (right photo on the left) of Grandma's Quilts in Palymyra, Nebraska).  Victoria McElroy, Didi and Heinui's daughter, was also on this trip and while in Tahiti completed her rite of passage, celebrating her entry into her teenage years.   Didi had gone through her rite of passage when she lived in Tahiti.     

For more  information about the "Insider's Tour with Dierdra McElroy please contact Chris Meny at chris@yourtravelsource.com or call (800) 597-0594.   CST #:  20378740-40.

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