We flew into Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii on Friday, just to make sure we got there in time. LaVerl was not feeling very well. On the 6 hr. flight over, we were both blowing our noses and LaVerl was coughing. That was a bummer! So we went to bed early and Saturday morning we headed to the Laie, HI temple and Visitors Center and do an endowment session and visit the Polynesian Cultural Center and the BYU HI campus.
We found a little cafe to eat some breakfast.
Hawaii has one of the 13 visitors centers.
The temple grounds were so beautiful with all the flowers!
BYU HI flies all the different countries flags.
Then right down the road is the PCC!
This is the man who started the 'Shaka', the Hawaiian 'hang loose' hand sign that everyone uses to mean lots of things. His hand was missing the 3 middle fingers, so it naturally looked the way we all give the sign today.
We didn't have time to go in, we just walked around for awhile.
They put on a huge luau every evening!
We just ate tacos.
We returned our rental car and got another Uber to the port.
Day 1
We boarded the Pride of America, a Norwegian Cruise Line ship, on Sat. March 2nd around 3pm. They greeted us with a flower for my hair and a shell necklace to wear. We then proceeded to unload our huge suitcases and then find a place to eat! We set sail around 7pm.
DAY 2
We arrived around 8am in Kahului, Maui, Hawaii. We were here 2 days, which gave us lots of time to spend on the island. Here we got off the ship and called an Uber to take us to Akaka Falls, about 25 minutes away. It was a beautiful short hike to the falls and we got rained on a little, but shortly after the sun came out. Our driver was nice enough to wait for us and then drive us to Rainbow Falls.
Getting off the ship, we talked to a local man who told us about a beautiful beach to go to and that we could ride the bus there for free! It was about 45 minutes away, so we also got a free tour of parts of Maui! We had to walk about a mile to the bus station.
We watched these catamarans come and go with people that had been out whale watching and decided we wanted to go, but everything was booked for the day. We had to ride the bus back the next day and it was windy and our tour got canceled. We were sad about that!
So many people on Maui are living in tents on the beach because they have no where to live after the fires that burned Lahina last year!
That night was a really good Hawaiian Culture Show that we enjoyed!
And we were starving, so we ate lots in the Skyline Restaurant!
The end of a great day!!
Day 3
Still on the island of Maui. We left the ship early to catch the bus back to the Whalers Village at Ka'anapali Beach, to do our whale watching tour. It was an hour ride over, and again, the mile walk to the bus depot. Because our tour got cancelled, we got back on the bus and got a free tour of Maui, parts we had never seen before. Maui is 'paradise' for lots of vacationers who have time shares and there are lots of Airbnb's.
We stopped at a swap meet so LaVerl could buy one of the t-shirts that support the Lahaina people in rebuilding after the devastating fires.
Day 4
Today we were on the big Island of Hawaii, Hilo We just spent 1 day here. We didn't want to pay for the onshore excursions that the ship offers, so we walked off the boat and got an Uber to take us around to two different waterfalls. First we went to Akaka Falls State Park. It was a beautiful little hike with two waterfalls.
He cut our spoons from the outside of a coconut shell.
LaVerl was still not feeling well, so we had Mark call in a Rx to a CVS drugstore, just 2 miles from where we were, so we decided to walk. It turned out to be a lot longer walk because the CVS drugstore was really a Long's drugstore that we had walked right on by. A mile later, we are back at the same place. By then it was hot and we were tired. Although it was only 2 miles back to the ship, we called an Uber!
We were also hungry, so the only thing open on the ship at 3:00pm to eat was the Cadillac Diner and we ate so much, we didn't eat dinner that evening.
There wasn't any entertainment on the ship to go to, so we just went to bed early, we were tired!
Day 5
We arrived at 8:00am, on the other side of the Big Island of Hawaii, at Kailua Kona. We would only spend one day here too. This time walking off the ship we found a really nice local guy willing to take us to all the scenic places. He needed another couple in his van, so that was fun to go with someone else. His name was Rene and he was a great tour guide! He quoted us only $60 a person, but he was so nice to us that we tipped him another $40. We had to 'tender' to shore.
The first place he took us to was the famous Kona Coffee, where they grow it, pick it, roast it, sell it. He stopped and picked us coffee berries to show us what they look like.
These coffee trees were growing differently, trellis style.
This makes you want to start drinking coffee!
Then we went to another famous place-Kona Potato Chips. They have the potatoes shipped in from Idaho and then make their chips right here in this little store.
This is a baby pineapple!
Pomelo grapefruit, papaya, avocado & breadfruit.
A statue for Father Damien from Molokai greets visitors.
The "Painted Church" dates back to 1899. The murals were painted by Fr. John Velghe, a yellow fever epidemic had stranded him in Hawaii.
These 'moon flowers' are very poisonous when animals eat them.
These are cocoa pods. They get one ounce of chocolate per pod.
I wish my house plants looked like this!
This was an old port where famous Captain Cook would dock.
The murals on the North wall guide us to a Good life. The murals on the South wall help us understand death.
It was interesting when he showed us that the picture of 'hell' was the most damaged from the heat of the sun.
Just outside the church was a beautiful cemetery.
Then he took us to a chocolate factory/store.
And we got to taste the chocolate they make right there.
These are the different stages of a macadamia nut.
Then he drove us through a McDonalds because only in Hawaii do they sell a Guava pie and it was so good!!
The guy in the pink shirt was Rene, our tour guide.
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On our way back we could see our ship out in the harbor.
After dropping the other people off at the port, he took us up to the Kona Temple so we could see it. It was closed for renovations.
After he dropped us off we went into the little town of Kailua and did some shopping and site seeing.
This was the first church built in Kona. It was made of lava rocks and the mortar was crushed coral.
I bought some earrings and LaVerl thought he'd like this in place of his wedding ring we can no longer find. Its made of KOA wood and abalone shell.
He sure does love t-shirts from whenever we are!!
It is right here in this little bay that the official swim starts for the ironman triathlon world championship!
Then, back to the ship for lots of delicious food and rest! It was a great day in Kona, Hawaii!!
Day 6
We arrived in Nawiliwili, Kauai, Hawaii the next morning. We'd be here for 2 days and we did lots of fun things. The first day we went kayaking up the Wailua river. We went 2 1/2 miles up the river, then got out and hike a mile to a really cool waterfall, called the "Secret Falls" because hiking is the only way to see it! We took an Uber about 20 minutes away.
After 2 1/2 miles up river we left our kayaks and hike into the falls.
We had to cross the river 3 times, but the first crossing was the deepest. I was glad to have my walking stick.
Someone told us that Hawaii didn't have spiders! Well, they do!
We ate lunch up at the falls. We didn't get in the water, it was kind of cold. We ate lunch with the wild chickens, which are all over the island!
Day 7
The next morning we had our last breakfast in the really nice Skyline Restaurant. Then we headed out again and found a nice local guy to take us to some of his favorite places.
Wailua Falls was our first stop.
Kauai has the wettest spot on earth- 451inches a year!!
Then we went to Kauai coffee plantation. Kauai has the largest coffee estate on the island, 3100 acres and over 4 million trees!!
Our third stop was a 'blow hole' on a black lava beach. It's all fenced off now. When LaVerl was there 50 years ago with the pineapple picking boys, one fell into this blow hole and was sucked out into the ocean and he survived!!
There is a sea turtle you can see if you look real close in the middle of the water. We also saw this mama chicken with 6 little chicks!
Our 4th place he took us to was the most beautiful beach on Kauai.
And there laying on the sand was two Big Sea turtles! I was on my phone sending a Marco Polo to the kids and not looking around or paying attention and I hear a guy on a loud speaker saying, "stay away from the turtles". I looked and saw orange pylons in a semi-circle around the turtles, saying, 'do not pass this point'! Oops, I was really embarrassed!
Then down further on the beach, we saw a sleeping, Hawaiian Monk Seal.
Our driver picked me two plumeria flowers, they smell so good!
Our last stop was a really old fish hatchery built in 1430 by the original people on the islands, the Menehune's. The people on Kauai are working to restore it, digging out 26 acres of mangrove trees that have taken over.
Scott was our really nice and informative tour guide for the day.
We boarded the ship after a great day seeing the island of Kauai! The next morning we pack our suitcases, grab an early breakfast at the Aloha Buffet, and get off the boat by 8am. Our flight wasn't until noon, but we didn't know how long it would take to get an Uber, drive to the airport, etc. We were 3 hours early, so we just 'chilled' at the airport. We had a 6 hour flight home, and lost 3 hours, so it was dark and 9 pm when we arrived in Phoenix.
