Hawaii

Wednesday, 3 February

Well, Hawaii is behind us and we have been remiss in keeping you up to date. Truth is we were so busy on Maui and in Honolulu that we were just too tired to sit down and write up our blog.

We had a great time on Maui. We got up promptly that morning so we would be ready to get an early tender to the shore. While we were having breakfast, we were surprised to see so many whales. The ship nearly tilted with all the people watching. Three came right up alongside the ship, we guess mother, father and baby. They really put on a show for us, spouting, porpoising and flipping with their tails coming out of the water and slapping down. Because of the whales being so close to the ship and in the waters nearby, the tenders could not leave right away. We were in the first group to get off the ship and went to the harbor and met Carol Beydler, her sister Mary and brother-in-law Norman who came into the same harbor we were in but about 20 minutes after us. Carol had hired a car and Norman drove us all over the Island. Maui is absolutely beautiful, especially with all the flowering bushes. It was hot and sunny and we could not have had a better time if we had planned it. It was nice at the end of a lovely day, sitting in the harbor, eating onion rings, having a drink, and just watching the people while we were waiting for our tender back to the ship. Maui is famous for onion rings. Carol and family had bought groceries to take back to their small island, Lanai, because there are no real grocery stores on the island. It was interesting to see all the people that had done the same carrying all their purchases on the ferry back to their island of residence. Thanks, Carol, for such a nice day. We really enjoyed it.

We sailed overnight and woke up the next morning in Honolulu. This is surely a nice way to see the world. While having breakfast we could see Diamond Head and the downtown area. Our ship docked alongside the Aloha tower so we could walk right off the ship into the city We took out our phone to call Sherry and Terry Tankersly and before I could dial they were calling us. Did we forget to tell you that it was absolutely pouring in Honolulu. The rain was heavy and the island was covered with clouds, which hid the mountains from us. When we got to Pearl Harbor Sherry ran and bought us ponchos so we could be protected from the rain. We could not get out to the Arizona because they were working on the docks, but we did get to see a documentary on the Pearl Harbor attack and wander around the museum area. We did see the Arizona memorial from the shore but were disappointed that we could not get out to it. We still enjoyed being there despite the rain and other difficulties.

Terry and Sherry treated us well by driving us around to places like the Punch Bowl and we ended up having lunch at the American military hotel on Waikiki beach. After lunch the rain stopped and the sun came out, so everything was much better. We drove along the coast and saw the ocean, surfers and kite surfers, whales, and some beautiful areas. Once again we were struck by the beauty and variety of the flowers and bushes and we also saw white pigeons. All the flora and fauna were so interesting to us. Again, Sherry and Terry treated us well and showed us many interesting sights in beautiful Hawaii. They have learned a lot about the island in such a short period of time. Thanks Sherry and Terry for showing us such a good time. After comparing our day with others on the ship, we think we had the best day of all.

Today they had a boat race in the deck swimming pool. People had made boats from things on the ship and they had to float from one end of the swimming pool to the other. The entries were graded on design, seaworthiness, and cargo carrying ability. I think those who participated had a good time. One ship was made by two little boys, but it didn't make it past the first seaworthiness test but they took it well. They lost part of their cargo as soon as their entry hit the water. Too bad.

So aloha. Now we are on a four-day sail to Pago Pago in American Samoa and will blog again after we have been there.