We pulled into Hawaii around 6:30 this morning and immediately launched into immigration services since we had come from a foreign port (Ensenada). It took us from 7:00 to 9:00 am to process all 700 participants through the paperwork. The rotten part was that nobody could leave the ship until everyone went through the line. As a result, the 7:30, 7:45, and 8:00 am tours were seriously late – including mine. I was signed up for the trip around the island that was supposed to start at 8:00 and end at 4:30. We started at 9:30! We could have extended the trip to 5:30 but there were a couple of weenies on the bus who insisted that we return at 4:30. So we had to cut out Diamond Head and another beach whose name escapes me at the moment. What a bummer.
But the parts of the island that we did see were absolutely gorgeous! Our first stop was at the
Nuuanu Pali State Park which had an overlook that gave us phenomenal views of the coast and countryside below. Our next stop was at a cemetery. What the hell? I’ve never thought of cemeteries as a destination point unless I’m visiting a relative or a famous dead person. But this one was actually worth while. The cemetery was divided into religions. Apparently, the dead don’t like to mingle their religions together so the Catholics had a section and the Buddhists had a section, etc. I guess diversity isn’t important in death. The primary reason we stopped was the Buddhist section had a beautiful temple. I’m sure I’ll get my fill of temples in Asia but since this was the first one, we oohed and aaahed appropriately.
We then continued our drive around the coast of Oahu and admired the beaches and water. Our bus driver, Coco the Samoan, did a great job of providing historical facts and stories about the area. We then stopped at a road side establishment that promoted macadamia nuts. I’m not sure why we stopped there since it was pretty much a ho hum stop but I’m guessing that the owners were Coco’s relatives. We got our fill of nuts and proceeded to Brigham Young University of Hawaii. Again – what the hell? I’m not sure why we did this other than Coco wanted to make sure we were getting our monies worth but we were all polite and again oohed and aahed appropriately.
Our next stop was
my favorite – Sunset Beach on the North Shore. We had 15 minutes to get out of the bus and enjoy the sand and water of this beach. It wasn’t enough! The water was so warm and the scenery was spectacular. We were an odd site on the beach though since we were all dressed in street clothes amongst the bathing suit clad crowd. I’m sure we looked pretty stupid but we were so happy to be on the beach that we didn’t care.
After we reluctantly got back on the bus, we headed off toward the Dole plantation. We learned along the way that pineapples are no longer a major crop on the islands since it is so labor intensive. The pineapples have to be planted and harvested by hand and the cost of labor has made it difficult to make a profit. We stopped at the plantation and Coco announced that we were stopping here for an hour. An hour? What the hell? We get only 15 minutes at one of the most famous beaches in Hawaii and an entire hour at a tourist trap? Something is seriously wrong with this picture!
I made the most of the occasion by getting a pineapple-flavored ice cream cone and walked around the area admiring the flora and fauna. This could easily have been accomplished in 10 minutes. After we dragged out the hour we got on the bus and Coco hauled us back to the ship so that the weenies could be back by 4:30.
I took the opportunity to make a quick call to my parents – calling from the ship is ridiculously expensive so I found a pay phone and gave them a call before it got too late on the east coast. It was great to talk to them. I miss having the ability to call up my family whenever I want. E-mail serves its purpose but there is nothing like hearing their voices to pick up my spirits. I had a big grin on my face while getting all misty eyed. A bit of a schizophrenic moment.
After that, rather than getting on the ship, I made a quick run to a drug store for a few more necessities and then found a brewery/restaurant (I’m happy!) where I had dinner. The restaurant was sponsoring Hawaiian music – and not the Don Ho variety (that was in a restaurant across the way). The singer was quite good and the beer was better. I returned to the ship in a very mellow state and found a couple of e-mails from family members. It’s been a very good day.
We set sail at 11:00 tonight. I’m not sure if I will stay up for this event since I’m an old fart and need my sleep. Last night at the lecture, the ship’s doctor warned us that the seas from Hawaii to Japan are going to be 10 times worse than what we experienced from Mexico to Hawaii. Oh Crap! She told us to put our patches on tonight to ward off the seasickness before it begins. You bet your sweet bippy that I’m going to be doing that. It’s been really weird walking around on land today. I have felt like the ground has been moving the entire time and it’s made me slightly nauseous. I just can’t catch a break.
Well, I’ve been sitting on the back deck of the ship writing this blog and enjoying the sunset as it sets over the water. But it is now 7:30 and the sun has set and I can’t see my keyboard so it is time to sign off. Aloha from Hawaii.
But the parts of the island that we did see were absolutely gorgeous! Our first stop was at the
Nuuanu Pali State Park which had an overlook that gave us phenomenal views of the coast and countryside below. Our next stop was at a cemetery. What the hell? I’ve never thought of cemeteries as a destination point unless I’m visiting a relative or a famous dead person. But this one was actually worth while. The cemetery was divided into religions. Apparently, the dead don’t like to mingle their religions together so the Catholics had a section and the Buddhists had a section, etc. I guess diversity isn’t important in death. The primary reason we stopped was the Buddhist section had a beautiful temple. I’m sure I’ll get my fill of temples in Asia but since this was the first one, we oohed and aaahed appropriately.We then continued our drive around the coast of Oahu and admired the beaches and water. Our bus driver, Coco the Samoan, did a great job of providing historical facts and stories about the area. We then stopped at a road side establishment that promoted macadamia nuts. I’m not sure why we stopped there since it was pretty much a ho hum stop but I’m guessing that the owners were Coco’s relatives. We got our fill of nuts and proceeded to Brigham Young University of Hawaii. Again – what the hell? I’m not sure why we did this other than Coco wanted to make sure we were getting our monies worth but we were all polite and again oohed and aahed appropriately.
Our next stop was
my favorite – Sunset Beach on the North Shore. We had 15 minutes to get out of the bus and enjoy the sand and water of this beach. It wasn’t enough! The water was so warm and the scenery was spectacular. We were an odd site on the beach though since we were all dressed in street clothes amongst the bathing suit clad crowd. I’m sure we looked pretty stupid but we were so happy to be on the beach that we didn’t care.After we reluctantly got back on the bus, we headed off toward the Dole plantation. We learned along the way that pineapples are no longer a major crop on the islands since it is so labor intensive. The pineapples have to be planted and harvested by hand and the cost of labor has made it difficult to make a profit. We stopped at the plantation and Coco announced that we were stopping here for an hour. An hour? What the hell? We get only 15 minutes at one of the most famous beaches in Hawaii and an entire hour at a tourist trap? Something is seriously wrong with this picture!
I made the most of the occasion by getting a pineapple-flavored ice cream cone and walked around the area admiring the flora and fauna. This could easily have been accomplished in 10 minutes. After we dragged out the hour we got on the bus and Coco hauled us back to the ship so that the weenies could be back by 4:30.
I took the opportunity to make a quick call to my parents – calling from the ship is ridiculously expensive so I found a pay phone and gave them a call before it got too late on the east coast. It was great to talk to them. I miss having the ability to call up my family whenever I want. E-mail serves its purpose but there is nothing like hearing their voices to pick up my spirits. I had a big grin on my face while getting all misty eyed. A bit of a schizophrenic moment.
After that, rather than getting on the ship, I made a quick run to a drug store for a few more necessities and then found a brewery/restaurant (I’m happy!) where I had dinner. The restaurant was sponsoring Hawaiian music – and not the Don Ho variety (that was in a restaurant across the way). The singer was quite good and the beer was better. I returned to the ship in a very mellow state and found a couple of e-mails from family members. It’s been a very good day.
We set sail at 11:00 tonight. I’m not sure if I will stay up for this event since I’m an old fart and need my sleep. Last night at the lecture, the ship’s doctor warned us that the seas from Hawaii to Japan are going to be 10 times worse than what we experienced from Mexico to Hawaii. Oh Crap! She told us to put our patches on tonight to ward off the seasickness before it begins. You bet your sweet bippy that I’m going to be doing that. It’s been really weird walking around on land today. I have felt like the ground has been moving the entire time and it’s made me slightly nauseous. I just can’t catch a break.
Well, I’ve been sitting on the back deck of the ship writing this blog and enjoying the sunset as it sets over the water. But it is now 7:30 and the sun has set and I can’t see my keyboard so it is time to sign off. Aloha from Hawaii.
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