A Sunny Day in Kona

Wednesday morning we arrived in Kona on the other side of the Big Island. The ship arrived in the early morning and because of the shallow waters, it anchored in the bay and we had to ride lifeboats to shore. This is called tendering for those of you who may not know because I certainly didn’t know until this trip.

We got up and got our showers and ate breakfast before getting our tender tickets and heading out to shore. Parasailing was on the agenda for the day and so after we arrived on land, we went and checked in for our noon parasailing trip. We had a little time to kill before we had to meet the boat to go parasailing, so Justin and Daddy went swimming in the ocean and I sat under a shade tree. Eventually I got up and wandered around town and bought a few gifts for people.

We all met back up around 11:00 a.m. and headed over to the parasailing boat. In addition to the three of us, there were three other people from the ship parasailing on our trip as well, a couple from Australia and a girl from Florida.

The Floridian was the first to go up in the air and next was Justin, then my dad and then me. We all went up on the 1200 foot line. The Australian couple went together and was the last ones up and went up on the 800 foot line. I think most everyone got dipped in the water at the end of their ride up. It was the first time any of the three of us had been parasailing and I think we all really enjoyed it.

After we made it back to shore, we parted ways again, Justin went off to find some food and walked into town and then did some more swimming, meeting loads of new friends along the way. My dad and I walked into town a little ways as well, stopping at one of the local jewelry stores.

I had seen that there was a local store where you could pick out an oyster, have it opened and have whatever pearl was inside turned into a piece of jewelry. I love pearls so this peaked my interest and I decided I wanted to give this a go. The lady at the counter let me pick a coupon out of a basket and my coupon was for 50% off my pearl. The pearls in the oyster were $14.95 and so my oyster/pearl was around $7.50.

I picked out an oyster and then the girl working the counter (Lorraine) and I tapped it three times and said “Aloha”. This was for good luck and the god of the pearls or something like that. She opened it up and there were two white pearls inside! I wanted to have the pearl from my oyster set in a ring, but since there were two inside, I decided on earrings and then decided to open another oyster. In the second oyster were two black pearls! The girl at the counter was super excited. Lorraine said the black ones were very rare and they almost never get them and she showed them to all the other girls working in the store and everyone was super excited. Since I had picked two oysters with two pearls inside, I asked if this often happened. She said no that usually there was just one inside.

So, I decided to have the black pearls set as stud earrings and then have one of the white pearls put into a ring. Lorraine then picked a third oyster for me so I could try and get a bigger white pearl for my ring. This third oyster only had one white pearl inside and it was whiter and shinier than the “twins” from my first oyster. However, I ended up using one of the “twins” for my ring. So, I came home with black pearl earrings, a nice pearl ring and two loose white pearls all for $185. The experience itself was a lot of fun and now I have great pieces to remind me of my trip to Hawaii.

My dad and I piddled around town a little more and stopped to get some sushi which I didn’t think was too good, but my dad loved – go figure. We perused a few more shops and then came back to the ship where we showered and dressed for dinner and did a whole lot of nothing else.

We leave Kona and the Big Island tonight (Wednesday) and will arrive in Kauai tomorrow morning. Tomorrow we will split up as I am taking a helicopter ride and Justin and my dad are visiting the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. Until then, aloha!   

Richardson Beach, Rainbow Falls and Volcano National Park

Tuesday morning we arrived in Hilo on the big island of Hawaii. We woke early and got our showers and breakfast and headed out for the day. I had booked today’s trip for us before we left home. It was a trip to Richardson Beach, Rainbow Falls and the Volcano National Park with some other stops along the way.

The boat doors opened around 9:00 a.m. and it was a mass exodus to get off the boat. We were to meet our tour at 9:15 a.m. for a 9:30 a.m. start. I found our meeting point right away and we were soon gathered up on a bus; however, we were only on the bus for about five minutes as we soon got dropped off at a van with a man named Phil who was to be our guide for the day.

The day started with just three of us and Phil. Our first stop was Richardson Beach which is a black sand beach. It was a really lovely spot and Phil explained to us the history of the area and what types of animals and fish and coral could be found there. It was a spot that is used for snorkeling, diving, surfing and swimming. Also, on occasion, seals and sea turtles will beach there for some sun. At these times, the area is quarantined off so that no one will bother the wildlife.

After we left Richardson Beach, we drove along a road that had Banton trees along the sides. The trees were planted by various celebrities such as Richard Nixon, Babe Ruth and Cecil B. DeMille. The road led up to a Japanese garden which was another stop for us. The garden is very large and is often used in movies, according to Phil. While we were at the garden, we had two other couples join us on the tour. They were also from the cruise ship, but had booked their trip after getting off the boat whereas we had booked in advance.

Our next stop was Rainbow Falls which was a large waterfall. I’m not really sure why it’s called rainbow falls and to be honest it wasn’t much more spectacular than any of the other waterfalls we have seen on our journeys, but it was still nice. I suppose I should have looked for a sign describing the area; but, alas, I did not.

We then made our way to a tasty spot called Big Island Candies. Here they had mostly cookies and a few candies which Phil told us not to purchase because they would be cheaper at a spot later on in the day. It was a nice stop, however, and we were able to sample lots of cookies and some Kona coffee. You could see the assembly line of workers through glass and they were all busy boxing up cookies.

An orchid flower garden was our next stop and I cannot remember the name of it, nor am I going to attempt to spell it out. I do know it started with an A.  Here we ladies got orchids to pin in our hair. Did you know if you are taken you are to pin the flower above your left ear and if you are looking for someone then you are to pin it above your right ear. I, obviously, pinned mine on the right.

The next stop of the day was Volcano National Park. We actually made four stops in the park. The first was at an overlook of the lava flow and it also provided a distant view of the active smoldering volcano. The second stop was of a lava tube. This was a 14-16 foot cave/tunnel made of solidified lava. It was nice and cool in the cave and it was very interesting to walk through.

We then stopped at a spot where there was steam coming out of the ground. These two spots which are side by side do not give off a sulfuric smell typical of volcanoes. The steam, however, is from the volcano and is 100-125 degrees Fahrenheit. We were able to stand beside it and feel the steam which was like being in a sauna. Oddly enough, when Phil revved the engine of the van, the steam rose up higher and thicker. It was rather bizarre and interesting.

Our final stop in the park was close to the active steaming volcano which we had seen from a distance. This time we were about a mile away from the steam rising up from the ground. There was also a museum there which showed different kinds of lava rock and how lava is studied, etc.

When we left the park, we went to the Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Farm where I had some Chocolate Macadamia Nut and Kona Coffee Ice Cream, both of which were good. I bought some chocolate covered Macadamia Nuts as well. This was our last stop of the day and Phil dropped us all off at the ship after this stop.

I would be amiss if I didn’t mention one other thing. One of the gentlemen that was on the tour with us was not only a survivor of the Holocaust, but also an American WWII veteran. He escaped Nazi Germany and came to the US and became a soldier. His parents and only sibling, a sister, all died at Auschwitz. His father had made a menorah and hidden diamonds in the bottom of it. The menorah was shipped to a storage building in Belgium to keep it out of the hands of the Nazis. The storage building was bombed, but his aunts dug through the ash and rubble and found it and shipped it to him. Once he received it, he discovered the diamonds inside and this was how he got his start after his service in the military ended. He was an amazing man and we all feel lucky to have met Mr. Norbert Freidman, a member of the Greatest Generation.

Sunrise Atop Haleakala Crater

To say we had an early start on Monday is putting it mildly. Monday was our second and final day in Maui and our activity for the day was watching the sunrise atop Haleakala Crater which is a little below 10,000 feet high.

We were scheduled to meet our group at 3:15 a.m. so I made plans to shower the night before and just jump up the next morning, brush my teeth, put on some shoes and head out. When we told Justin what time we needed to meet the group, he determined he needed to get up at 1:15 a.m. in order to have enough time to get ready. Thankfully we convinced him that a shower and 10 varieties of cologne was not needed to watch the sunrise or bike down the volcano which was also part of our excursion.

I set my clock for 2:45 a.m. and ended up getting up a few minutes before it went off. I was ready to go soon after and waited on the menfolk to finish getting themselves ready. Sadly, I woke up feeling rather dreadful. Before I left home, I started feeling sick and went to the doctor and I’ve been on an antibiotic ever since. Apparently it’s not doing much good though because I now feel even worse and like my chest is full of congestion. It’s just as lovely as it sounds. I will power through, but man I am hoping for some better health soon.

We found our group and were picked up and taken to the headquarters of the outfit we were using for the ride up the mountain and the bike ride down. We signed our lives away and watched a safety video and were given a Danish and then up the volcano we went. We arrived at the top around 5:00 a.m. maybe. I honestly don’t know, but it was about an hour before the sun rose. It was freezing at the top. I don’t know what the official temperature was, but I was dressed in layers, with a stocking cap and thick gloves on and was still shivering. So, in case you were wondering, not all of Hawaii is warm and tropical. We all found spots along the guardrail and watched as the horizon changed colors from black to blue to pink to bright orange. Once the sun was above the clouds you could hardly even look that way because of the brightness. The official sunrise time was 6:17 a.m. but because of the cloud coverage, it was a few minutes after that before the large orange ball made an appearance.

We then loaded up the van and went down the volcano a ways before they put everyone on a bike. I, believe it or not, decided not to ride. For one, there were 29 hairpin turns and it was a road I was not familiar with (obviously), secondly, it was raining and since I was already feeling terrible and I’m not really interested in feeling worse, I thought I might be best to just stay as warm and dry as possible.

My dad and Justin geared up and got on bikes. I noticed that my dad seemed a little shaky/wobbly on his bike and at the first stop, two miles in, he abandoned and got in the van with me and another lady. Can’t say that I blame him; he probably hasn’t been on a bike in over 20 years. Justin, however, stuck it out the whole 27 miles. He rode through wind, rain, and sunshine and he had a great time. We made a couple of stops for pictures and educational information along the way. Twice along the roadside I had to have a natural break. I guess you could say I left my mark on Maui.

The ride ended at the beach where the temperature was much warmer and we were able to shed some of our layers. At this point I’m sure everyone was starving because I know I was. My blood sugar had actually gotten too low right before everyone got on the bikes and a nice lady from Australia gave me a granola bar she had in her bag. Y’all, the Canadians and Australians always come prepared. As it turns out, she is actually a diabetes nurse, so if I had to guess, she probably always has an extra something on hand for herself and perhaps others. Our next stop was a place that sold burritos. Justin got one and it looked and smelled great. Even as hungry as I was, I opted to not get one and hold out for the free food aboard the boat. I did peruse a local shop while folks were eating, and bought a hand painted Maui Christmas ornament. A while ago I decided to collect Christmas ornaments from all my journeys. The sad thing is I don’t often remember that this was my decision.

After everyone ate, we loaded back up in the van and were dropped back off at the pier. My dad and I went and got a bite to eat, and Justin went to the room. After we ate, it was most definitely nap time and I slept for a couple of hours.

It was a nice experience to watch the sunrise at Haleakala Crater – something I will most likely never forget. Tonight we pull out of Maui and tomorrow morning we port in Hilo and will be taking a tour of the Rainbow Falls and Volcano National Park. It’s sure to be another fun adventure.

The Road to Hana

On Sunday morning, our boat was scheduled to dock in Maui and we had to be out by 8:00 a.m. to meet our excursion guide for the day. I got up at 5:30 a.m. and showered and got ready to go. The men finally rolled out of bed and got ready and we were eating breakfast by 7:15 a.m. We went to the buffet and there were lots and lots of people there. Long story short, Justin couldn’t find us and we couldn’t find him and I was doubtful he would even make it on our trip.

I left a note for Justin telling him that he needed to meet us outside and finally got in touch with him once he got to the room and got to his phone. Thankfully he made it in time to go on the trip with us; however when we got outside he decided to make a pit stop and then got lost finding us. Another long story short, the whole tour was waiting on Justin.

The excursion was the Road to Hana which has 617 turns and goes through the rainforest and past a lot of waterfalls and also runs along the ocean. The trip took the whole day. We departed about 8:15 a.m. and returned around 6:00 p.m.

The scenery was gorgeous and the road was, well, curvy. Originally, my dad had planned to rent a car and drive it himself. Thankfully, he decided against that and booked a tour for us. Our guide was Richard and he was very knowledgeable about all the flora and fauna in the area. He also showed us the properties and driveways of various celebrities, including Oprah and Woody Harrelson.

Midway through the trip, we stopped at a flower garden to eat lunch. We had barbecue chicken breasts, macaroni salad and tossed salad with Ranch dressing, all of which was very good. All the ladies received a flower from the garden owner. I don’t remember the name of the flower, but it had no scent until you squeezed it, and then it had a lovely citrus smell.

After lunch we continued our journey to various waterfalls and some swimming spots, but the water was high because of recent rains and therefore we could not swim. Soon after, we stopped at a winery that had pineapple wine. I tried it and it was very sweet and had a nice flavor.

The winery was our last stop and it took us about an hour after that to get back to port. It was another great and adventurous day in Hawaii.

USS Arizona Memorial and Boarding the Ship

On Saturday morning, we checked out of our hotel and began our journey to Pearl Harbor. We were using Google Maps on my phone to guide us to our destination and well, it wasn’t the most reliable way to go. I had typed in Pearl Harbor before leaving and the GPS took us to the Naval Base. So, we turned around and then ended up at Hickam Air Force Base. We were U-turned around at the Air Force base and the nice airman told us how to get where we were going.

I had bought our tickets for the narrated tour and trip to the memorial way back in the fall some time. We were scheduled for the 9:30 a.m. tour and after being lost for an hour or so we just made it in time to pick up our tickets and get in line to start our tour with a movie about the attack on Pearl Harbor. After the movie, we got on the ferry and headed over to the memorial.

We got to spend about 30 minutes or so at the memorial which was a very moving and humbling experience. We then caught the ferry back to the main park and completed the rest of the narrated tour. Not long after our tour to the memorial, they stopped taking people over because of high winds. So, we were very lucky to have been able to make it over before the Navy called off the tours.

The narrated tour was very interesting and seeing the replicas of boats and artifacts pulled from the water and the photos from the bombing was all so interesting. I love learning about the history of our country and so it was a really great trip for me.

We finished up at Pearl Harbor about 12:15 p.m. and then we made our way to a Wal-Mart because no trip is complete without visiting the local Wal-Mart. The one we went to was in a downtown like area and there was a parking garage and y’all, this Wal-Mart was absolutely packed. My dad needed some socks, Justin needed some water shoes and I needed some more contact solution because my eyes have been bothering me and I was concerned I might run out.

We made it out of the Wal-Mart in one piece, dropped off the rental car, and caught a cab to the cruise ship. We got checked in rather quickly and soon grabbed a bite to eat because both Justin and I were rather hungry. 

The rest of the afternoon was spent piddling around and keeping ourselves occupied. I went down to Guest Services to ask about internet minutes and the laundry. The wi-fi on the boat is unfortunately, not free and so I bought a package of 250 minutes for a whopping $100. Y’all, that’s the price for three months of internet at home. I had read before coming that there was a laundry onboard and was disappointed to discover it’s not a do it yourself laundry, but a Norwegian Cruise Line will do your laundry for a price laundry. Sadly, I’m stuck paying to have the laundry done because I brought very few clothes with me in anticipation of doing laundry at night.

At 7:00 p.m. we went to dinner in one of the dining rooms. I had grilled shrimp and a salad and cheesecake for dessert. It was all very good. After dinner my dad and I went to see the show in the main theater which was a magician and I’m here to tell you that he wasn’t that good. I almost got up and left a few different times but it finally ended and I was glad. We then went back to the room and called it a night.  

A Day at the Polynesian Cultural Center

Our first full day in Hawaii was a great educational and cultural experience and I think we all had a really enjoyable time. The morning started with breakfast at a spot called Eggs and Things. We each had eggs and some kind of meat, and either potatoes or pancakes. We sat outside and across the street was Waikiki Beach. We enjoyed the nice tropical air and watching the people pass by.

After eating breakfast, we got in the rental car and headed to the Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC) which was a little over and hour away. On the way, we saw a sign for a Shrimp Shack and when we got to it, we stopped so that Justin could grab something to eat. The Shrimp Shack was a food truck and Justin had the coconut shrimp. He let me try one and it was very good. Once Justin finished his meal, we jumped back in the car and headed back towards the PCC.

My dad had booked our PCC tickets in advance so he picked them up at Will Call and we were soon beginning our journey. The PCC has “villages” of all the Polynesian islands on its 43 acre spread. The islands represented were Samoa, Fiji, Tonga, Tahiti, Hawaii, and New Zealand. Each island village had shows and demonstrations throughout the day and all of them were extremely interesting and informative.

The PCC opened at noon and the shows and demonstrations ended at 5:00. We got to see everything but the movie that my dad wanted to see. They also have a lagoon which runs through the middle of the place and we took a canoe ride on it. It was nice and relaxing.

After we saw our last show of the day, we headed to the Luau. The Luau we attended was put on by the Samoan village. There was entertainment including a 13-year old boy who twirled some sticks of fire. They gave some various groups of people headbands made from coconut leaves. My dad got one because he has a March birthday. The food at the Luau was good. It was buffet style and there was salad, rice, rolls, various meats and some dessert.

Once the Luau was over, we made our way over to the last event of the night which was an hour and a half show called Ha, The Breath of Life. All of the islands represented participated in the show and it was really good. There was all kinds of dancing and singing and chanting and twirling of fire. It was great.

The show wrapped up around 9:00 p.m. and then we headed back to the hotel. We arrived back at the hotel around 10:30 and called it a night. It was a really fun day!

Justin chowing down on some coconut shrimp

 At the Samoan Village

Fire at the Luau

I promise I have some better pictures than this. 

These were from my phone and the easiest access at the moment. 

22.5 Hours Later

We've arrived. It was a long, long day, but we made it safely without any problems and our luggage arrived too which is even better. You just never know sometimes.

Thursday morning started at my usual time of waking up at 5:00 a.m. I figured I would pack last minute supplies and try to clear one more show off the DVR before leaving. I was successful on both counts. I was also successful in placing my bag of garbage in the neighbor's bin because I didn't want it sitting in my bin for a week or two.

My dad and Justin arrived about 7:30 a.m. to pick me up. Justin was having some packing issues in that he had two rather small suitcases and an odd assortment of toiletry items. Bless his heart, the guy hasn't flown in a plane since before 9/11 so he didn't know he couldn't bring a 32 ounce shampoo and conditioner along with him, or two full size shaving creams, or three full sized colognes. Long story short, I gave him a large duffel bag to pack all of his things in and some Ziploc bags for the toiletry items he was taking with him and we convinced him to leave his jumbo shampoo and conditioner at home.

We finally hit the road to Nashville close to 8:00 a.m. and stopped to have one last Southern meal along the way, breakfast at Waffle House. We made it to the airport and got checked in and through security with an hour to spare. Our first flight was to Detroit and lasted a little over an hour. The layover in Detroit was only 50 minutes. So, by the time we made a pit stop and walked to the next terminal, it was time to board the plane.

The flight from Detroit to Seattle was about four and a half hours long. We had TVs on this flight, only mine didn't work; but, Justin and Daddy were able to watch the basketball tournament and CNN and I just listened to music and perused the latest issue of Southern Living. When we landed in Seattle we only had about 30 minutes to catch our flight to Honolulu. By the grace of God, or luck or something, our flight came in two gates over from where we needed to be to get on the next flight. So, again, we had time for a pit stop and Justin and Daddy grabbed themselves a cheeseburger as well.

The last flight of the day was six hours long. Thankfully Delta gave us our choice of free movies on this flight. I watched Frozen (yes, again) because it's really good and then watched Gravity which wasn't as great as all the critics made it out to be, at least in my opinion. I started watching Thor, but was dozing off so I stopped it and watched an hour long Michael Buble special instead and it was really good. My dad watched The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and The Book Thief which he said was great and I hope to watch on the flight home. I'm honestly not sure which movies Justin chose.

We arrived in Honolulu at 8:40 p.m. local time, which was 1:40 a.m. at home. We were exhausted and worn out. We retrieved our luggage, picked up our rental car and made our way to the hotel. We were all in bed by 10:30 p.m. local time which put me awake for 22.5 hours. It was a long day, y'all!

I slept okay but not great, but am very thankful for the rest I did receive. At the hotel we are at, we have three beds and mine is in a separate room so I can shut out all the snoring for a little while. We are all in the process of getting ready to start our day. Today, we are headed to the Polynesian Cultural Center where we will go to a Luau. I'm betting at some point today Justin will dance with a Hawaiian woman. You'll have to stop back in tomorrow to find out.

A scary selfie by Justin 

Flying over the Rockies

We saw about 17 hours of sunlight yesterday.

 Finally, it sets over the Pacific.