Rhapsody of the Seas and Hawaii

Today was a change of pace. A slower start and laundry. American washers won't take Canadian quarters so I only had enough American quarters to do one load of wash. Fine colours and whites together and I hung up the laundry on our lanai to dry. We headed down to the airport to pick up Doug and Dan. After two circles of the airport we found the hourly parking and by the time we walked over to the arrivals they were waiting. They had a marvelous time at their resort on Kona and we tossed the idea about them staying on a bit..but commitments call. They looked good in their complimentary Kona t shirts.
So the word about Pearl Harbor is that you have to be there early to get in, but we thought we would take a chance. Arriving at 11:30 we were surprised to find we got tickets for 12:15. Great, that gave us time to grab a lifpght lunch before heading to the theatre. The place has been renovated and it is so much nicer than before. Room to spead out, well designed exhibits and the film is in better shape since the last time we viewed it. It was not a full theatre and although this ismthe fourth time I have viewed this film it is still very powerful. The group is mostly resectful as we spend our time at the memorial. The oil continues to dot the surface and at this rate will do so for a hundred years more.
We explore a bit when we get back to the mainland and then pick up tickets for the Mighty Mo. They bus us over and we picked up our free audio guides and they take a group photo of us as we board. When we leave a photo package costing $35 is offered to us, but the price is too high and the photo is meh.
We hang around to take the 35 minute guided and over the course of the tour our group of 12 shrinks to 6. Pauline our guide (she's a volunteer) was very informative and was certainly a great intoduction to the ship. I hadn't realized the ship had been put back into service for Desert Storm. nor did I know that this is where the unconditional surrender had been sighed with Japan. Nor did I know the Canadian rep signed the Japanese version on the wrong line creating a bit of contraversy. Thw visit was well worth our time, but after 2 1/2 hours I was ready to head back. We caught the second to last bus and retruned to find our car in one piece.
On Pauline's recommendation we found ourselves at an italian family restaurant and the place was hopping. The food was good and more than filling. It was time to get the guys back to the airport for their trip home.
The drive up Island is uneventful. However the parties are cooking. There is one somewhere across the highway that could be heard for miles. We settle in to review the day, have a drink and watch a cheesy made for tv scary movie. My bed and the sounds of the waves breaking on shore call. Nighty night.

Today we had a trip booked woth Hawaii Nautical on their cat. This was my first time on a cat and it was great! We found our way there with their directions and our GPS. There were only 14 of us. Most were staying at the Marriot and were connected with the big opening of a Disney Resort. One fellow was an editor for Family Circle and was there at the exspense of Disney. There was a light breakfast,  ur we had already had our porriage, but who can turn down pineapple. We were soon out of port andpassed the black pearl whoch is dry do ked undergoing some changes for its next movie. We got undersail and Roger and I sat on the netting to enjoy every moment. We pulled the sails when we neared a dolphin siting. We coasted along and the dolphins came to check us out. They are beautiful in the water and a pleasure to watch. We dropped anchor at the reef for our snorkle. There were turtles who would surface then dive down to the bottom to let fish clean their shells. I am assuming they were wrasses. Among other things I saw  a variety of butterfly fish, a moray eel, a puffer fish, aha needlefish, jack fish, angels, hogfish, white spotted toby and parrot fish. Roger and I were first in and last out. It was wonderful. Lunch was salad, buns, poi buns, meat, cheese, veggies bbq pork, wine, beer or mixed drinks and more. It was no time at all before we were back to port. 
We followed thw driver around to the Ko Olina resort where there are four big resorts and four man made lagoons. There were plenty of fish there as well. We wandered the resort and were stopped by Russel from the Marriott. Roger agreed to a time share presentation in exchange for two addmissions to their luau and two day passes to their resort. I can't beleive he did that.
The drive home was delayed due to a traffic accident, but once passed that we were home free. 
There is boose in the blender and a salad to throw togwther with the chicken we bbq yesterday. Ahhhh...anither dzy in paridise.

It is a somewhat early start today and a hike out to Ka'ena Point. This is the westernmost point of the Island and reachable on foot. We parked at Yokohama Bay which also has an Hawaiian name. We parked at the gravel lot as you enter. Since the car was to sit there for hours this was suggested as thw  best place since there is a military presence there at the entrance to  a satelite location. This will add a km or so to your walk, but....
The trail was originally a rail bed to bring the sugar cane down from Hale'iwa to Honolulu. It has been washed away or at least narrowed in places but quite passable. The ocean was quite active otherwise there are some spots to dabble in the tidal pools. Not today! There is a blowhole that makes a loud woosh and spits water. It gives you a startle as you walk by. Watch for a couple of impressive rock arches as you take in the power of the ocean breaking on the shore.
Near the end you will pass over a largish washout from 2006. You come back to the railbed and you have  reached the fence that prevents feral cats, mongooses, rats and mice from entering the Ka'ena Natural Area Reserve. They are just completing the eradification of the above mentioned pests. The fellow working there said they only got four mice the last time they checked their traps and none of the larger predetors. They use a poison similar to warfarin. They all impavt the nesting birds.
The area has albatros and the Wedge tailed Shearwater. The Shearwater are nesting right now. Their nests are burrows and the birds can sometimes be seen perinf from their burrows. We were also happy to watch two monk seals playing in the tidal pool. The Hawaiian monk seal is among the most endangered of all seal species, although its cousin species the Mediterranean Monk Seal (M. monachus) is even rarer, and the Caribbean Monk Seal (M. tropicalis), last sighted in the 1950s, was officially declared extinct in June 2008.[26] The population of Hawaiian monk seals is in decline. In 2010, it was estimated that only 1100 individuals remain. 
As we look out at the westermost tip oh Oahu we cas see the waves that are rollong in fron New Zealand that hit the west coast line meet the larger waves from Alaska that were hitting the north shore line. Very cool.
This trail is very hot with no shade. We enjoyed lots of water on our trek and some cloud cover on our return hike. five hours of direct sun is a bit draining. We found a smattering of people at Yokohama Bay and our car intact. 
The rest of the day included catching up on my blog, bbq burgers for today and chicken to have cold tomorrow and a swim on our beach. The water was still a bit cloudy for snorkling to observe fish but much calmer than yesterday. The forcast is for quieter trade winds with hot and slightly muggier weather.

We left the ship yesterday. it was pretty painless. The car rental location was just around the corner and we were on the road earlier thsn planned. With one wrong turn we got on our way out of Honolulu and heading up Island. We were early to our apartment, but that gave us time to get groceries. I got help tp pick out a good papaya and discussed preparing a very cooling looking veggie. We decided I should go to the Japanese place in Ala Moana shopping center and try it there. We got moved into the Makaha Beach Cabana and we are very happy. We are on the 9th floor and have a great view of the ocean and the mountains. The beach is right at our doorstep! the trade winds are blowing and the waves are ..well they are quite powerful. With some hesitation we took the plunge and found ourselves having a great time being tossed to and fro. The kids have their boogie boards and are fearless as they throw themselves into the surf, When it came time to clean up for dinner I must have had more than a cup of sand in my swimsuit. We had a homemade stirfry on the stove and a margarita in the blender. it was a good day!

Our first port of call was Hilo where we had booked a bike trip with the ship. Doug did't feel well and they refunded his money in a heart beat and the rest of us set off. We rode by van to the volcano and went up to view the caldera and visit the museum. From there we visited steam vents and they were hot. I was standing back from the railing around the vent and got a blast of steam in the face that clouded my glasses and made my cheeks red. We drove back down and loaded geared up. The bikes were nice and they had helmets for us and optional raincoats. It was showering off and on so we opted for a jacket.  The ride was great. Most was level or down hill, but we did have one longer hill climb. We made stops along the way where our guide gave us lots of facts about the volcano. We also went through the Thurston Lava tubes where we fiund the second set of tubes is no longer open and here we brought flashlights. At this timw the skys opened and the rain came down in huge drops which had us drenched to the skin. It was great!
Our next stop was Kona where we wandered for a while then g rabbed a taxi to turtle bay. there were lots of differnt fish and we had fun. A quicktaxi ride back got us to the ship on time.
The third port was Maui where we had a car booked. We first picked up our tickets for the Feast at Lele luau and headed up to get our car. They asked if we wanted to upgrade to a convertable. No.... Then they offered  it to us for the same price. how could we say no. I  love convertables now!!!!
We headed up the coast. First stop was Napili Bay to look for turtles. No turtles, but we had fun exploring some tidal pools. Back in the car we continued on as far up Island as we were allowed to go in a rental to enjoy the views. The next stop was a beach with decent waves that gave us time to get used to the surf without being knocked about to much.  Back in Lahaina we found parking for $12 for the night and slowly made our way to the Luau. It was awesome. Unlimited drinks...I tried a few....and a smaller crowd that were served at  the table rather than a buffet. The amount of food was overwhelming and all very good and well....a great variety. The first dances were Hawaiian and so was the food. Then Tahitian dancers and food, then Roatoan and lastly Samoan...then dessert. It was all great and the best was yet to come...it was a short walk back to the tender to the ship. 
Day two in Maui is a drive to the Iao Vlalley. We walked up to the needle and explored a bit before we went down to the park. The door sign says they open at 11 on Sunday and it was about ten two eleven. However another couple not reading the sign walked into yhe building and set the alarm off. Go figure..it wasn't locked. The couple made a quick getaway and no one showed up so we gathered the information and did our own self guided tour. The map and landmarks are not well laid out.. but we enjoyed our walk. We got Dan his coffee and headed back to Port. We dropped Dan and Doug in town and roger and I got the car back and took the shuttle back to town. The line up for the tender was to long so we went for a drink. 
Next port was Nawiliwiliwhere we picked up a taxi. The ride was short and we were at our stop for our adventure of the day. We were tubing the ditch. So we were oufitted with helmets and lights as well as gloves. We were loaded into Swiss military vehicles. Kind of like a big jeep with two benches in the back with seatbelts that don't work. Our guide was funny and chatty and we learned there was a family from Arizona, us and a couple from Washington state. We left the road and went through a locked gate onto an acreage. The road got worse and then worse again. We teached our starting point and piled out. We went up a ramp and down to the ditch where we kind of backed up and dropped butt first into our tube. The ride was fun...slow at times...down a grade and faster...through tunnels..through wide stretches and narrow ones. It was fun!!! It took a while, but the ride was over in no time. We enjoyed a light lunch before our drive back to the start. 
We pulled into Honolulu the next day. Dan and Doug left for their time on Kona and we decided to stay on board and enjoy some R&R.