MARY MARGARET AND BILL’S HAWAII TRIP – NOVEMBER 2010
ALOHA!
On our honeymoon during Thanksgiving week in 1980, we took an NCL cruise to the Virgin Islands. To celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary, for Thanksgiving week in 2010 we flew to Hawaii and took a week-long NCL cruise through the islands. We visited Oahu, Maui, “The Big Island” (Hilo and Kona), and Kauai, and then returned to Oahu to visit Pearl Harbor before flying home.
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 20
After flying from Houston to Honolulu – an 8 ½ hour nonstop flight - we took a shuttle bus to the pier and boarded NCL’s Pride of America. We attended the required passenger safety drill. We were tired from the day’s traveling, and did not attend any on-board entertainment that night. As we sailed out of Honolulu Harbor that evening, we saw the lights of the city receding into the distance as we sailed south toward Maui.
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 21
We rose early and went out on deck as the ship approached the port of Kahului on the north coast of Maui. We were treated to a beautiful sunrise and a rainbow over the island. At 8 AM, we joined our tour group for a bus ride south to Ma’alaea. During the drive, we could see the Haleakala Crater in the distance to our left. At the harbor, we boarded the catmaran Ocean Intrigue for a voyage south to the Molokini Crater for snorkeling. This boat is part of the fleet of the Pacific Whale Foundation. The water of the Pacific Ocean was a beautiful blue. To the west of Molokini, we could clearly see the island of Kaho’olawe. This island is off-limits to visitors: it was used for artillery practice during WW2 and there is still a danger from unexploded ordinance. No boat may approach closer than 2 miles to Kaho’olawe.
The semi-circular dormant volcanic crater of Molokini creates a protected area which is excellent for snorkeling. We donned our snorkel gear and dove in to the 72 degree water. We saw many types of tropical fish. The most numerous was black triggerfish whose fins moved in a waving fashion to propel them through the water just inches from us. Also saw Moorish Idol, Pennant Fish, Goat Fish and many others.
http://www.kaikanani.com/mauifishguide.asp
After about an hour of snorkeling at Molokini, we got back on the boat and cruised over to Turtle Arches near Makena and did some more snorkeling there. We saw two five-foot-long Hawaiian green sea turtles swimming about 30 feet below us. The water was pretty choppy, so we did not swim as long there. Then we re-boarded the boat and had a light lunch on the way back to Ma’alaea Harbor. We visited the Pacific Whale Foundation store before boarding the bus for the ride back to the ship.
That afternoon, we attended the Hula Dancing Class, conducted by our Hawaiian Ambassadors, China and Kaleo. We learned “That’s How You Do The Hula”, and started on “Little Grass Shack” and “The Hukilau”.
After dinner in the Liberty Dining Room, we attended the Aloha Polynesia Show. This was a dynamite performance of traditional South Pacific island music by Hawaiian musicians and dancers. In the audience participation portion, Mary Margaret was selected and got to strut her hula moves onstage!
After all this excitement, Mary Margaret was ready to retire for the night, but Bill stayed up and attended the Beatles Tribute by Toby Beau, the resident rock group on the cruise. Toby Beau had a hit record in 1978 with “My Angel Baby”. Original member Balde Silva and his wife Rennetta took the audience on a musical journey through the Beatles’ career with the songs “I Want To Hold Your Hand”, “A Hard Day’s Night”, “Yesterday”, “We Can Work It Out”, “Nowhere Man”, “Back In The USSR”, “Get Back”, “Something”, “Let It Be” and “Hey Jude”.
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 22
The morning of our 30th anniversary started with a hearty breakfast. Then we joined our tour group for a bus ride to the town of Lahaina on the west coast of Maui. The word Lahaina means “Merciless Sun”. We boarded a tender and rode out to the submarine Atlantis. On the way, we looked northward to Moloka’i and westward to Lana’i. The submarine is not allowed to have a periscope, so the support vessel Roxie radios down to the submarine when it is cleared to surface. We climbed down into the seating area of the submarine. Our pilot was Susan and our guide was A.C. We dove to a depth of 129 feet and looked out the portholes to see fish, coral reefs, several sharks, a ray, and the sunken ship Carthaginian. This ship was scuttled and sunk to create a man-made reef some years ago. After the submarine surfaced, we reboarded the tender and headed back to shore. We visited many of the shops in Lahaina and also saw an ancient Banyan tree, the branches of which gave shade to almost an entire city block. Then we rode the bus back to the ship. We dressed up for our anniversary dinner, and the waiters brought us a special anniversary cake and serenaded us with “Let Me Call You Sweetheart”. We did not attend the on-board entertainment that evening. The ship left Kahului and headed further south to Hilo on the east side of “The Big Island”.
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 23
We entered the port of Hilo and docked. We joined our tour group on a 15 passenger van for a trip to Volcanoes National Park and then to Akaka Falls. Our tour guide was Al, and his comments were very informative and helpful all during the day. We went first to the Jaggar Volcano Museum, and looked out over Kilauea Crater, which is still venting clouds of sulphur and steam. Then we visited some other steam vents and saw several craters from the van. At the steam vents, a group of school children did a native Hawaiian chant. We walked through the Thurston Lava Tube, which was created when hot lava flowed out through the surrounding rock. Then we stopped for our hike to the crater. We hiked for about a mile and a half over volcanic rock, seeing many unusual rock formations, including “lava trees”: trees which were overrun by hot lava and encased in black rock when the lava cooled. The hike was fairly arduous, but we climbed up to the rim of the dormant crater, which appeared to be about 150 feet deep. From the rim of the crater, we could see Mauna Loa to the west and the coastal lava flow area to the southeast. Then we started the long hike back to the van. On the way back, I found a volcanic rock shaped roughly like the state of Texas. I took photos of the rock. Placing the rock on top of a small mound of volcanic rock, I performed a brief ceremony, claiming The Big Island for the State of Texas, proclaiming that The Big Island should henceforth be known as “Far West Texas”. My punishment for this heinous act was a bad sunburn on my neck. We drove out of the park and then back through the town of Hilo. As we drove back through town, Al told us that the town of Hilo had been struck by tsunami waves in 1946 and 1960. Our next stop was Akaka Falls State Park. The waterfall is 442 feet high and is quite an impressive sight. We also saw a second waterfall, Kahuna Falls. The area inside the park is like a rain forest, with many colorful flowers, towering trees, vines, bamboo, ginger trees and a rushing stream. On the drive back to the ship, we stopped at another site with 2 large banyan trees next to a house decorated with colorful surfboards. We reboarded the ship and enjoyed another great dinner. We turned in early after our tiring day of hiking and sightseeing. As the boat sailed around the south end of the island, we looked out our windows and saw the red molten lava flowing down into the ocean, causing huge clouds of steam.
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 24
For our day in Kona on the west side of The Big Island, we changed our original plans: since we had already experienced a great snorkeling trip, we decided to cancel the snorkeling in Kona and go instead on a bus tour called “Historic Kona”. This also gave us a chance to rest up a bit after the volcano hike. The port of Kailua is not a deep water port, so we had to board tenders to get ashore. Our bus driver Jan told us interesting stories of the history of Kona, including the story of Captain Cook’s fateful final journey to these shores. Our first stop on the bus tour was the Royal Kona Coffee Mill and Museum, where we sampled various varieties of the coffee and learned about the coffee growing and milling process. There are many small coffee farms on the island. As we reboarded the bus, we looked out across Kealakekua Bay and could see the Captain Cook Monument, marking the place of his death. The next stop was Saint Benedict’s Church, built in 1889. A Belgian priest hand-painted the murals that decorate the interior of the church. We then drove to Pu’uhonua o Honaunau, “City of Refuge”. This place was a safe haven for persons who violated “kapu”, the sacred laws, if they could reach it before being apprehended. Here we saw restorations of the original structures and statuary. We also saw a sea turtle on the beach. Then the bus returned to Kailua and dropped us off at Hilo Hattie’s, where we did some shopping and then caught a shuttle back to the pier. We ate lunch onshore at Tante’s Restaurant and did some more shopping before returning to the ship via tender. After dinner, we saw a great Four Seasons tribute show by the “Oh What A Night” tribute group. We were especially entertained by the antics of the lady across the aisle from us, who must have been the world's biggest Four Seasons fan. Then we went downstairs to see Toby Beau do their tribute to The Eagles, doing nice versions of many Eagles favorites. That night we left The Big Island and cruised north toward Kauai.
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 25
We arrived in the port of Nawiliwili on the southeast coast of Kauai on Thanksgiving morning. We were greeted by rainbows as the sun was coming up! After breakfast, we met our tour group and headed by van through the town of Lihu’e and on to Po’ipu Beach, a trip of about 10 miles. Po’ipu Beach is the southernmost point of Kauai, and has soft golden sand and good waves for surfing. We were ready for our surfing lessons! After a brief orientation, we picked up our boards and headed down to the beach. Mary Margaret did well, and was able to stand up on the board while catching a wave. On the other hand, Bill provided some great entertainment for the onlookers on the beach as he tried to enter the water: the waves knocked him down; the leash got tangled around both legs; he hit the board; the board hit him; and this sequence repeated itself several times. Bill was finally able to ride a couple of waves in to the beach, riding the board lying down.
For Thanksgiving evening, we had tickets for the Luau Kalamaku. We wore Hawaiian clothing that we purchased on board the ship, and kukui nut leis that we bought at Hilo Hatties. Arriving at the plantation, we boarded a train which took us on a leisurely ride through the property, where we saw crops such as sugar cane and fruit trees, and animals such as hogs, horses, cattle and chickens. Then we made our way to the luau facility, which was a large covered open-air facility that seated over a thousand people. Mary Margaret tried twirling the bolo balls that the hula dancers used. The ceremonial pig was brought in and the feasting began. Our Thanksgiving meal included Hawaiian specialties like shredded pork, fish and poi, as well as turkey cooked Hawaiian style in an “emu” (underground pit) and cranberry sauce. After dinner, we enjoyed a vibrant theatrical performance, which told a story of the early settlers of Hawaii using drama, dancing and music. After the show, we returned to the ship and called it a night. Unfortunately, we had to miss out on Toby Beau’s show “Never Too Old To Rock and Roll”.
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 26
Our second day on Kauai began with our boarding a tour bus for a trip to Waimea Canyon, which is known as “The Grand Canyon of the Pacific”. On the road to the canyon, we could see the island of Ni’ihau across the Kaulakahi Channel. Ni’ihau is a private island where the ancient way of life is preserved, with no modern conveniences, and outsiders may not visit. Two other small islands were visible nearby. We reached the canyon overlook (3400 feet elevation) just before the view was obscured by rain clouds. We were able to take some photos before the clouds and rain descended. On the way back to the ship, we stopped at Kauai Coffee Company, where we sampled their coffee and saw coffee trees and the roasting machine. We also stopped and saw “Spouting Horn”, where waves crashing on a hollow rock formation shoot water high into the air. Nearby was a seal basking the beach. Then we returned to the ship, which soon left port for the voyage to Oahu. After a nice lunch in the Skyline Restaurant, we put our luau clothes and leis back on for the Hula Graduation ceremony. Before receiving our diplomas, we joined the class onstage and danced our 3 dances. The performance was captured on video and broadcast on the ship’s TV channel later that evening and the next morning. We had to miss Toby Beau’s Jimmy Buffett tribute show.
In the late afternoon, the ship cruised by the fabled Na Pali coast on the northwest shore of Kauai. This was a spectacular sight of a continuous wall of thousand-foot cliffs towering over the ocean, with the sun creating dramatic shadows on the crags. The sight is only visible from the sea or by air, so we felt very privileged to see this. The ship turned around and passed the cliffs again on the way to Oahu, so we walked around to the port side and drank in the scenery one last time. We also saw another gorgeous sunset!
That evening we attended the “Farewell Variety Show”, which included many of the entertainers who had appeared onstage during the cruise. Oh What A Night, a magician and comedian put on a great final show; then they were joined by Toby Beau, the Hawaiian Ambassadors and then the Captain and members of the crew for a grand finale.
Then we returned to our cabin and did our final packing of our luggage and shopping bags.
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 27
Breakfast was our final meal on the ship. After breakfast, we went up on deck and saw sunrise over Honolulu as we cruised back into the port. Then we joined our tour group in the Hollywood Theater and proceeded to the terminal, where we picked up our luggage and placed it on the bus that would be taking us on the Pearl Harbor and Honolulu City Tour. We rode to Pearl Harbor and took photos in the area around the Visitor Center, including the submarine Bowfish and various Navy missiles. When time came for our 10:15 tour of the USS Arizona Memorial, a tender boat took us out to the Memorial. It was a very moving experience to visit the site where 1,177 men were killed in defense of our country. We could see the USS Missouri docked further ahead on Ford Island. After we returned to the Visitor Center, we had a snack and visited the bookstore. We were enjoying our visit so much we almost missed our bus! The bus driver’s watch was more than a little fast, and the bus was pulling out of the parking lot as we were walking toward it. We flagged him down and thankfully he stopped for us, because all of our luggage was stowed on the bus. We proceeded through Honolulu to the Punch Bowl, where the U.S. Military Cemetery of the Pacific is located. Thousands of American heroes are buried here. Watching over the graves is a magnificent statue of Columbia standing on the bow of a boat, holding an olive branch in her hand. We then drove downtown past the State Capitol building and the Governor’s Residence, stopping at the Iolani Palace, built 1879-1881. A statue of King Kamehameha stands in front of the Judiciary Building across the street.
Then we drove to the airport. After going through security, we enjoyed lunch at the Lahaina Chicken restaurant in the terminal. Our flight for home left at 7:25 PM Saturday Honolulu time and we arrived in Houston at 6:20 AM Sunday Houston time.
In summary, we set foot on or had a visual sighting of each of the Hawaiian Islands. We enjoyed our Hawaii adventure, and were thankful for the opportunity to see beauty of the 50th state for the first time.
“A HUI HO” (till we meet again)