The Rest of Hawaii

Lahaina, Maui

We have been to Hawaii numerous times and have at one point or another seen what there is to see.  So today I elected to stay onboard the ship and rest my knees.  Believe it or not, ones bills don't stop when you are sailing around the world for four months, so I fired up the computer to do the monthly bills. There is no way that you can totally run away from home and leave no trace behind unless you are Jack Reacher (for those that read Lee Child books you will know what I am talking about). 

Michael was on escort duty this afternoon and went sailing on a catamaran in search of whales. He really didn't have to go to far to see them because he saw plenty of whales on the tender ride to shore before he ever got on the catamaran.  It was an absolutely gorgeous day but there was zero wind; therefore, no sailing. Nevertheless, he saw lots of whales and porpoises, had puu puu's and mai tais, got sunburned and had a fine time.  Normally, there would be a really splendid picture of a whale accompanying this paragraph, but all the pictures he took were crappy. Therefore, here's a colorful picture of the sail of the catamaran.  

We finished the evening off with a pleasant dinner with the Rabbi, Richard and wife Marion. 

Honolulu Day 1

We had an overnight here in Honolulu and on our first day we had some additional shopping to do. Why in the world do we have to do more shopping? Well, it seems as though Michael forgot to pack his sandals. So off we trot to the bus stop to ride down to the Ala Moana mall. As luck would have it, the bus was right there and I had to fast walk to catch it (and boy, will I pay for it later).  To get a discount fare on the bus as a senior, instead of showing a card that has your date of birth on it, you show your Medicare card. You could use anyone's Medicare card since there's no picture ID on it; how stupid is that?!?

The weather so far has been absolutely pleasant. It is not too hot, not too chilly, not too rainy, just right!  And now I would like a bowl of porridge please!  We also went to the Verizon store to see about putting Michael's phone on hibernation for the time that we are going to be gone. But Verizon's got some sort of deal where they're going to charge you $15 a month to do that so it is not worth it. Plus they extend your contract for the amount of time that you have it on hibernation, and with the iPhone 6 coming out somewhere around September, I do not want to be delayed in getting a new one. I have to say this is quite a rip off, but we been with Verizon for such a long time and the service is the best for our needs. 

I don't know if you remember that Michael was searching for rubber bands in Hilo; so across the street from the Verizon store was a combination super Walmart and Sam's Club all in the same building!  The Walmart was one the first floor and the Sam's Club was on the second; I have never seen a combination like that before, but it makes sense since in downtown Honolulu the real estate is so valuable. He found his rubber bands, as well as his sandals, so our shopping was complete and we headed back to the ship on the public bus. The afternoon was young, the skies were bright blue, and the sun was warm so that meant -- pool time. 

Tonight was the first ship-wide special event. At 4:30 pm, we were transported to Pearl Harbor for a party on the USS Missouri battleship, which is permanently moored here. This ship is over 70 years old and has been lovingly restored. I was quite amazed to find that the decks were 2" thick teak over steel plating. This ship is famous because Japan surrendered on it in Tokyo Bay, with General MacArthur and many other world military leaders aboard.  Entertainment was provided by the "Andrew Sisters."  There were a few World War II vets attending this party, and for some it was quite emotional. They served puu puu's and mai tais. Upon our return to the ship, the crew was lined up on either side of the red carpet to welcome us back with music and cheers. The evening was absolutely splendid.  Seabourn knows how to throw a party!

And later that evening I did something that I have a hard time doing: I fell asleep before Michael!  

Honolulu Day 2

I had one of the silliest escort jobs I ever had. I was "escorting" about 25 people (including Michael) to Waikiki Beach. There was absolutely nothing involved except getting off the bus, walking to the beach, and parking our keisters down on chaise lounges under an umbrella.  What can one say about beautiful white sand beaches, gentle surf and beautiful weather. This is what is known as paradise. The only thing that would've been better would have been if there was a male masseuse with six-pack abs  giving me a massage on the beach. We spent four hours lazing about, napping, reading a book and bobbing in the surf before returning to the ship.  

And since we didn't have enough relaxation and water time at the beach, we went to the pool for more R & R.  After awhile, we both realized that we had forgotten to do the laundry. This was a good time to do it, but who wants to go inside, running back and forth with such a disagreeable task on a ship. Well, we did it and there will be no stinky clothes for us. 

Don't get to excited about such a hedonistic day. We deserve it and need a totally relaxing day in preparation for the six days we will be working our butts off while at sea on our way to Tahiti. 

We enjoyed a predinner show with local Hawaiian singers, and then had dinner at the Grill with Stan and Linda. 

Kauai

MICHAEL:  I had a splendid excursion today.  I let a group of 20 people through a congressionally-chartered botanical research organization called the Allerton & McBryde Garden.  This can best be described as a living work of art, including water features, statuary and garden rooms that are absolutely delightful. National Geographic traveler magazine calls the garden one of the top 50 must-see attractions in the world.  It is located in Poipu, no more than a couple miles away from where we used to have a condo here.  The garden comprises over 600 acres and is home to more than 6,000 rare and endangered species of plants collected from around the Pacific basin and throughout the world.  After the morning part of the tour, we had a delightful lunch at the Canoe Garden Gazebo.  From here, we took a short, leisurely walk through an adjoining property to see a waterfall that hardly anyone gets to visit.

To give you an idea just how beautiful this place is, they make on average of three television shows or movies here per year.  We walked through parts of the garden that were the setting for Gilligans Island, Jurassic Park, Fantasy Island, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and many others.  After leaving the Gardens, we took a short ride over to spouting Horn, a blowhole that is one of the most popular attractions in Kauai, and something I've seen 27 times before.  It looked exactly the same, up to and including all of the trinkets that they sell right next to it.  On the way back to the ship, we drove through other parts of Poipu, including old Koloa town, and the tree tunnel which still hasn't return to its former glory.  it really was a terrific day.

BEVERLY:  I traded excursions with Michael because I thought I would do a lot less walking on the Fern Grotto tour. What a mistake that was. What a disappointment.  I had been to the Grotto many many years ago and it was fabulous. There would be local entertainment performing right in the cave, with lush ferns hanging upside down from the rocky cliffs.  Today, you can't even get close to the cave; you get to stand on a platform and view the rock face that has some really wimpy and limp looking ferns struggling to grow. As for the cave, I could barely make out the entrance, we were so far away from it. The boat ride on the Wailua River was a yawner.  And I did a lot of walking anyway. Ain't hindsight grand!

    Fern Grotto

    On the Wailua River

   

We stopped to take photos of the famous Opaekaa Falls. 

The evening concluded with us hosting a table of ten, and then we went and saw a comedian/ piano player, who was actually pretty good. 

We have six sea days across the South Pacific Ocean before reaching our next destination, Tahiti.