Gas Prices Coming Down

When we went to Williamsburg, Virginia last weekend August 23rd, we were surprised how gasoline prices had dropped. The prices there were about 8 cents a gallon less than what we're paying.

Just think how high prices got before starting to come down. Here in Baltimore, Maryland it got up to $4.13 a gallon but today, August 30th, we're seeing it for $3.35. Today we're driving down to Virginia so we'll probably see it for even less. People on the west coast are still paying a lot more than we are though, over $4 a gallon still. Hopefully, their prices will be coming down a lot more. There's really no reason for us having to pay such ridiculous prices but I'll be thankful that the prices are still lower now!

Colonial Williamsburg

Benedict Arnold overtaking the town.

General George Washington walking by us, thinking about his army and war.

General George Washington riding into town.

Reading of the Constitution

Townswoman at Capitol gate.

Stagecoach

Townspeople.

Basketweaver.

Rooster and his basket.

Baptist preachers.

Alexander's wife pleading for help.

Alan was caught without his wig.

Williamsburg, Virginia

Alan and I decided to take a ride down to Williamsburg, Virginia and see the historical town. There is actually a triangle that consists of Jamestown, Yorktown and Williamsburg but we only had time to see Williamsburg. We started out around 8:00 Saturday morning after dropping Teacup at City Pet Center where he would enjoy a couple of days with his buddies. The drive down was casual and we did hit a few slow downs. One was due to a gawker’s block. A van had broken down so everyone in it got out of it and was standing around until someone came to fix it. It’s strange how drivers will slow down to a crawl just to gawk at something like that. We arrived in Williamsburg around 1:00 and checked into the Super 8 Hotel. It wasn’t by far the Hilton but it had the necessities. The air was stagnant so I turned the air conditioner on and by the time we returned that evening it was cooled off and smelled better.

The hotel wasn’t far from Colonial Williamsburg, only about a mile. Since it was lunchtime we headed to the colonial town and found a good parking spot close to what is referred to as the Market area. Alan took my scooter out of the truck and we proceeded to find a restaurant. We decided to eat at Seasons. The different sections in it were decorated in Colonial fashion. The room we sat in had a large fireplace with a wood mantle and the chairs were upholstered in a mint green scallop pattern. The silverware matched the décor in a shell pattern. Alan ordered a sliced roast beef sandwich that came with au jus and slaw. I had a Rueben sandwich with slaw and a kosher pickle spear. We decided to order dessert, which we never do. I had the crème Brule and Alan had a rich chocolate cake with vanilla ice. We were quite pleased with our meals!
The colonial town was just as it was in the 1700s and no cars were allowed in. If you wanted to get around you could ride in a horse and buggy carriage or walk. I was glad I had brought my scooter or I would’ve ended up not being able to hustle to all the activities. After having lunch, we walked over to the ticket booth to see what kinds of tickets we wanted. We decided on the Capitol City Pass, which gave us admission for one day to most of the historic sites including Revolutionary City. It also included: Orientation at the Gateway Building, Shuttle Bus, Visitor Center movie Williamsburg-The Story of a Patriot, Free parking at the Visitor Center, The Capitol, Revolutionary City area and programs, DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum, Abby Aldrick Rockefeller Folk Art Museum, and Bassett Hall. We could’ve paid a little extra and gotten the Palace/Capitol City Pass, which included admission to the Governor’s, Palace but we passed on it. I ended up purchasing a book that had pictures of all the places. That came in handy since I couldn’t get inside most buildings due to steps. I was able to go into the Capitol building as it did have a ramp but I couldn’t go up the stairs to see the rest of it. The book showed pictures of how it looked. Alan had gone so when I showed him the pictures he agreed that the pictures depicted the inside of the buildings perfectly. Since it was almost 3:00 by the time we finished lunch and got to the ticket booth we had to wait till 3:30 to purchase tickets for the next day. We could, however still walk around town even though we didn’t have tickets as most things were closed by then. We were going to purchase tickets for the Cry Witch program for that evening but it was already sold out. It would’ve been fun to participate in a re-creation of the dramatic trial of The Virginia Witch. We strolled around town for a bit and saw quite a lot. Since I hadn’t charged the batteries in my camera earlier I had to wait till the next day to take pictures. We did go into the Capitol and listened to how the Constitution was written and why. The Revolutionary War was all about Freedom from England. There would be a lot of changes for the people since they would no longer be relying on England for purchases of salt, spices, cloth, and weapons. But Freedom always came with a price. There were 3 problems with the colonial armies: undisciplined men, not enough money, and not enough money. Using native Indians was not an option since they would just assume kill the colonists than fight for them. It was interesting listening to the process of writing the Constitution as it had never before been written down. After visiting the Capitol we headed back down Duke of Gloucester Street and checked out a small outside market. There were ladies’ wide brim hats along with gentlemen’s black colonial hats with feathers in them. There were also handmade soaps and fragrant powders, colonial instruments, like recorders and Jew’s harps, bird jars (used as bird houses), dolls, and other interesting items of the colonial times. I bought a couple of miniature colonial dolls.

It was getting to be time for dinner so we left and went in search of a family restaurant. There was a Mexican restaurant next to our hotel but Alan’s stomach wasn’t in the mood for spicy food. We went on a quest looking for a Cracker Barrel restaurant as we had never been to one and I had seen a lot of billboards advertising them. We found one and there were all kinds of handmade wooden rocking chairs sitting outside for sale. When we entered the restaurant we thought we were at the wrong place as it was a store but the people inside said it was a restaurant too so Alan put our names down. While waiting I looked at one of their menus to make sure they had food we’d like, otherwise we would’ve gone across the street to a steakhouse. The food choices looked good so we stayed and only had to wait 5 minutes. We were seated at a wooden table. A lot of the tables had small games on them. Alan and I both ordered the pot roast dinner with mashed potatoes and carrots. The meat was so tender as it had been slowly cooked for 14 hours. We also decided on corn muffins instead of biscuits and berry cobbler with vanilla ice cream for dessert. The history behind the name of the restaurant was actually pretty simple. In olden days crackers were sent in large barrels and after they were empty the barrels would be used as a stand that could be used for a checkerboard. People would play checkers in the store. Thus, the name Cracker Barrel is the name of the store and restaurant. When this store was created in the early 60s the thought of having a country store where folks could gather and share stories while playing a game was incorporated with combining a country store with a place where folks could eat.

After a filling dinner we stopped by a 7-11 to buy a couple of small bottles of milk and bottles of water for morning. We kept them in the refrigerator in the hotel room and when we went to drink them the next morning they were ice cold. We watched TV in our room and I ended up falling asleep as usual. I slept good until Alan turned the TV off, then I was wide awake. The mattress on the bed was a lot softer than the one we have at home and my back started hurting really bad. I didn’t have any Ben Gay with me either. I finally fell asleep and woke around midnight to the alarm clock going off. I couldn’t figure out where the off button was but it finally turned off when I pressed one button…but it went off again later and each time I kept hitting the same button. It did that four times before Alan finally got up and unplugged the clock. I tried to get back to sleep but it was no use so I stayed up sitting in the chair so I wouldn’t wake Alan. I finally went back to bed and fell back to sleep but kept waking up throughout the night. I finally got up when I saw it was 6:30 and woke Alan up. We watched some news and saw that it was going to be a nice day but a little humid. We decided to eat at the Pancake House just down the street. I had eggs, grits, and ham. I figured since I was in Virginia I’d try the grits. They were okay but the country potatoes looked better. There was some apple cinnamon jelly, which I tried on my biscuit. It was so tasty that I had Alan put some in his pocket to take home. I saw some interesting booklets that told about things that happened in the year you were born. I picked out one for 1953 and 1959 and we read about the movies, songs, and ads that were out during the time we were born. I found one for my sister-in-law who will be celebrating her 50th birthday this year. I thought she might get a kick reading it. I also found a light blue cap that said Williamsburg Virginia on it so I bought it since I hadn’t brought a cap to wear. There were plenty of postcards to choose from so I found some to send to my mom, grandkids in California and mother-in-law. She didn’t know anything about Williamsburg so thought I’d send her a postcard. I find getting postcards is a safety net for me in case my camera doesn’t work. There was a jar at the register to donate for the health of a dog that had been found, starving and needing medical attention. Alan generously gave money since we’re dog lovers. We ran into a lot of people in Virginia that had a strong dislike for Michael Vick, the football player who was charged with a major dog-fighting ring. How could anyone do that? I’m glad he got convicted; more should’ve happened to him like him being tied up and beaten to a pulp.

Alan dropped me off by the Capitol building while he parked the car. He was able to find a good place to park close by and it was free! Some locals that were walking down the street told Alan about it. He met me shortly and we found a place to stand by the Capitol.
The first colonial person we listened to was General George Washington. This was an interesting interview with him. He answered audience’s questions pertaining to the war. The actor portraying the general was well read in history to be able to answer the questions in such a way as if the real Washington was there in person.

Many test and trials befall the people of America as they create a new self-governing society. Several key events move the people of Virginia toward founding a new independent republic. We were able to join the people in Revolutionary City and experience the turmoil and challenges that confront citizens while shaping a new society and government in the midst of war.

(The date is July 25th 1776) and the reading of the Declaration of Independence is read to the citizens of Williamsburg. This news arrives only a few weeks after Virginia’s representative have adopted their own Declaration of Rights and a Constitution for the new state. There was a small fife and drum band that walked down the street prior to the reading.

(The date is June 18th, 1779) Henry Hamilton, the British governor of Detroit, and other prisoners of war are being held in the Public Gaol (jail). The charges against them are vague, and no evidence has yet been supplied. Hamilton resents being treated as a common prisoner, without the usual provisions allowed for officers and prisoners of war. It was thought he was supplying Indians with goods in exchange for scalps, a lot of them were from children who had been scalped.

(The date is September 15th, 1780) Barbry Hoy, a local woman who followed her husband southward with the army, returns to Williamsburg. Her husband Alexander was captured in the siege at Charleston, and she now seeks work at the King’s Arms Tavern. She tells the story of the war in South Carolina and of the Americans’ grim defeats.

(The date is April 20th, 1781) The town is taken and the British occupy Williamsburg. The American turncoat-now British Brigadier General-Benedict Arnold seizes Williamsburg. Redcoats raise the British flag over the Capitol and announce the rules of occupation.

(The date is July 4, 1781) Running to Freedom. As Lord Cornwallis and the British army prepare to leave Williamsburg, Eve and other enslaved people prepare to go with them. Can Eve convince others to join the more than 600 former slaves who left their rebel masters in the Carolinas to follow the British northward?

(The date is September 28th, 1781) The Promised Land, or A Matter of Faith. Gowan Pamphlet, an African American Baptist preacher, talks about his hopes for the future in a new society where all citizens are equal and where there will be no state church connected to the government as the Church of England had been. A young soldier confronts him with questions of faith in the face of war and world-changing events. Citizens were required to attend one service a month at the Church of England (Catholic Church). They could attend other churches but still required to attend the Church of England.

(The date is September 28th, 1781) On to Yorktown, and Victory. General Washington addresses the citizens of Williamsburg as he prepares to leave for Yorktown.

As you can see, we were kept busy running around town to hear all these events. By the time it was over it was lunchtime. I wanted to go to hear Mrs. Washington speak about life after retirement from the presidency but then we wouldn’t have had time to eat, as it was a 105-minute talk. We went to Seasons again for lunch and ordered the sandwiches we had eaten there the previous day but didn’t have the slaw. Instead, Alan and I shared a chicken quesadilla…it was so good! We didn’t have dessert this time either. After lunch we walked around the Celebration store in Merchants Square. I found a wonderful straw hat like the one I use to have especially when I was on vacation. Since I had thrown it away after getting ruined in the Barbados rainforest, Alan bought it for me. After all it WAS his fault it got ruined. I told him we should’ve bought some rain ponchos. Alan found a vacation hat also. At first he wasn’t going to buy it so I told him I would buy it. He then agreed since he had bought mine. The store I my hat in had all kinds of goodies in it and Alan referred to it as a ‘woman’s store’. There were some Amish clothing and jewelry, little girl infant dresses, and other fun stuff. There were some funny little old wrinkled lady marionettes too. From there we went to the Barnes and Noble bookstore to check out books on Williamsburg. There were so many to choose from and I had a hard time deciding on one. I kept asking Alan for help but he just told me to pick one. I ended up buying the first one I had looked at. It has a lot of pictures and interesting facts in it. I opened the book and as we passed different buildings I was able to find out what it was and how it looked inside without actually going inside.

We passed by a Colonial Garden and Nursery. They had all kinds of vegetables and plants including pomegranate trees. Other buildings we passed were: the Shoemaker, Lumber House, Magazine & Guardhouse, Harness & Saddle maker, Courthouse, Printing Office & Bindery, the Geddy Foundry, Milliner & Taylor, Raleigh Tavern (eatery), Coffeehouse (just discovered), the Kings Arms Tavern (eatery), Silversmith, M. Dubois Grocer, the Mary Stith House, Gunsmith, Wigmaker, and Blacksmith. We also visited the Bruton Parish Church and Churchyard where there were old cement tombs. Some had even been brought over from England. A couple of gravesites belonged to a couple of unknown Confederate soldiers. Since we hadn’t bought the pass that included the Governor’s Palace we walked down the gravel path leading to it, hoping to catch a glimpse inside the gate. It has a small pond outside and the grounds looked beautiful according to pictures in the book I had bought. There was a circular drive in front of the Palace and a long Palace Green that went all the way past Nicholson Street to Duke of Gloucester Street. I couldn’t really see much through the gate. From there we walked along Nicholson Street and passed a small park where a couple of horses were resting under the shade of a large tree while taking a break from carrying passengers in the carriage. More horse carriages were coming out and even a surrey and stagecoach. We passed a townswoman making different bandages out of linen. Some even had eyeholes that were used on the faces of burn victims. I stopped to talk with another townswoman weaving a basket. One unusual round basket was sitting on the other side of the steps from her. I asked the gentleman standing there what kind of basket it was and he said it was for the rooster that was tied next to him. It even had a pouch to keep the chicken feed in. The lady described how she prepared the strips for weaving when the white oak bark was green but waited till the oak was dry before working with it. It was beginning to get hot so we headed to the bakery to get a couple of ice-cold root beers. They were the best I had ever had!

It was about 4:00 and time to head on home so we called it a day and said goodbye to Williamsburg. We had a great time and it was a wonderful way to spend our weekend. We walked to the car and I took one last picture of Shields Tavern. I thought my sister-in-law would get a kick out of it. We drove to a Wawa for gasoline since it was only $3.36 a gallon. We went inside and bought a couple of large plastic cups filled with soda for our long drive home. I took a picture of the gasoline prices to send to our daughter who lives out in California and paying around $4.50 a gallon. We had a pleasant drive home. Traffic wasn’t bad either. We had a couple of slow areas. One was caused by a fender bender in the center lane and people were standing outside their cars in the middle of the freeway…how stupid. We got back in the Baltimore area around 7:00 and started looking for a place to have dinner. We didn’t feel like McDonalds. Alan got off the freeway and headed down Hwy 1 and we proceeded to look for a restaurant. We found an Applebee’s that was open so we turned into the mall and parked. We ordered a small steak with shrimp, mashed potatoes and a salad. The Olympic Closing Ceremonies was on TV so we were able to watch some of it. The sound was turned down so we couldn’t hear the 226 children from around the world singing the Olympic Anthem. The ceremony was just as grand as the Opening Ceremony had been two weeks earlier. Poor Alan was served a bad steak so I gave him mine. I’m not much on steak anyway and the potatoes tasted like paste so we didn’t eat them either. The salad was very good so at least I had enjoyed it. Alan told our waitress about the food and she did make an adjustment to our ticket. The glass of milk filled me up so I was good to go. It was around 10:30 by the time we got home since Alan had to stop and buy some eggs at the store for our breakfast. We had driven by his work and saw that his rig wasn’t out of the shop yet so he wouldn’t be working Monday. That meant we could enjoy breakfast together! All in all our mini vacation weekend was a fun one. We got to get out of Baltimore and enjoy some historical places, enjoy good weather and each other’s company.

Our Do-Over Day, A Bonus

Saying goodbye to Hawaii, parting is such great sorrow....

Alan enjoying some shade at the zoo hut.

Kamoto Dragon

Lions

Termite Mounds

Osterich

Zebra and Giraffe enjoying the afternoon sunshine.

Dama Gazelles

When I saw these doves eating side by side this large

tortoise I thought, "now this is what sharing is

all about, isn't it?

This is what you call a lazy pig...warthog actually.

Elephants enjoying some company. Not many visitors

on a hot Monday afternoon.

These cute critters kept looking at

us as if we were their entertainment for the day.

Can you believe the name of this strange bird

is the Secretary Bird?

The zoo had lots of birds, these were sun conures.

Minagano gum trees grow very tall.

Alan standing looking at a mindano gum tree.

These large bird statues almost look real, don't they?

Entrance to the zoo.

Pigeon nesting. Alan and I watched as she and her

mate worked on the nest until it was just right. We watched it

from the day we first arrived in Hawaii and again on the day we left.

What a beautiful place to say 'I do'

Bride and groom having pictures taken right on the beach.

Local surfers meeting.

Surfing instructor, care to take a lesson?

Surf's up!

Here a father and son are swimming in the protected area by the

sea wall on the beach and see the fish as we toss some food in the water.

We visited this Starbucks which was right across

the street from the beach at Waikiki.

One of many colorful sailboats on a beautiful day in Waikiki.

A protected swimming area where families gathered. This was

located at the end of Waikiki Beach. People on the pier

could enjoy watching small fish swarm around any food tossed to them.


Day Ten-Our ‘Do-Over’ Day

We woke up refreshed and went to the dining room for our breakfast and chose seats opposite the Oceanarian. The buffet was fabulous! There were all kinds of eggs, fruits, pastries, cereals, juices, potatoes, and of course coffee. We took our time eating and enjoyed the morning. Afterwards, we went over to the beach. Alan had his swimsuit still so found a nice place to we relax in the park and I watched as he inched himself into the refreshing coolness of the ocean water. There were lots of want-to-be surfers taking lessons and I was able to get some great shots. Alan finally relaxed in the water and floated on his back, enjoying the sun. This was the only real beach day we’d taken. I chose to not go into the water; after all I was the photographer.

After his dip in the ocean we went to the Honolulu Zoo and enjoyed going around looking for the animals that were trying to keep cool in the shade. My favorite stop was at the tortoise house where I got a kick watching birds feeding right next to a huge tortoise. I made sure to get a picture of it too.

From the zoo we went to the International Market to see if I could find a sticker to replace the one I had bought earlier that was coming off the front of my scooter. We found some and I decorated my scooter with all kinds of Hawaiian stickers. I also found some pressed penny machines and got several pennies for Diana. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find them to mail to her as I put them someplace when I got home. They’re probably with the black pearl I can’t find. While at the International Market Alan asked if I would like something to eat since we wouldn’t get anything on the plane but I declined. Later I wished I would have gotten something to eat as we ended up eating some lousy Chinese food at the airport. We went to the ABC store by the hotel where Alan found a tee shirt to wear on the plane since our luggage had been sent the previous day. I also found some neat gold key rings that had names in both English and Hawaiian. They were really neat key rings so I got one for both of us. I should have gone ahead and gotten ones for Diana, James, Emily, Derek and Michael at the same time. I ended up looking up the phone number of the ABC store in Honolulu and ordering them after we returned. They mailed them to me after checking with other stores, as they didn’t have all of the names I requested at one store. It was kind of exciting getting a package from Hawaii. Alan’s name is Alena and mine is Kalena. Interesting how our names are so much alike.

When we got to our Gate we had to wait for awhile before the doors were opened. We were both hoping we might be able to spend another day in Hawaii but alas we didn’t and had to end our time in Paradise. We boarded our plane and once up in the air were served meals. I went into sleep mode or at least tried to on the way to Houston. There was a crying baby and prayed that it would calm down as it was sitting right next to Alan and me. Now that’s something to remember whenever you’re on a plane. Pray if there’s an annoying person sitting next to you like a child or baby and believe me God will answer your prayer. Be sure to pray in a positive way though. I prayed that God would calm the child and that its ears wouldn’t hurt and that it would be able to fall asleep…it worked! When we got to Houston we got a bite to eat at the airport and once again it was gross. Why does airport food always taste so gross? I got a muffin at Starbucks so that was at least good. We both took short naps and arrived back in Baltimore around 2:30pm. Our luggage had arrived the day before and was safe. Now it was back to reality but we’ll have lots of memories to cherish and will definitely be returning to Hawaii again someday soon.

ALOHA~UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN

H TI MEE AGAI H

Back in Honolulu

Painting of native Hawaiian dancers, another

paintinng by our cabin.

Another Hawaiian painting that hung by our cabin.

A painting of adorable Hawaiian children.

The grill outside the Hukilau Cafe was a popular spot

especially in the morning serving up any kind of omelet you desired.

The Hukilau Cafe where casual dining was held.

One of many Hawaiian murals on the ship.

Day Nine-Honolulu A poem called I’ll Remember You by Kui Lee was in the Freestyle Daily with these words dedicated to the Officers, Staff and Crew of the Pride of Aloha:

I’ll remember you
Long after this endless summer is gone
I’ll be lonely oh so lonely
Living only to remember you
I’ll remember too
Your voice as soft as the
Warm summer breeze
Your sweet laughter
Mornings after
Ever after, I’ll remember you
To your arms someday I’ll
Return to stay
Till then…
I will remember too
Every bright star we made
Wishes upon
Love me always, promise
Always;
You’ll remember too
I’ll remember you.

The last day of our cruise just happened to be Mother’s Day and I thought it would be nice to find a place to enjoy a nice brunch. We disembarked and had to call Thrifty Car Rental to see about getting a shuttle. We finally got there and we ended up being there for 2 hours trying to get everything straight. Apparently since Alan wasn’t the one that reserved the car but was driving it they had problems with the paperwork. We didn’t have problems at any of the other times we’d gone to Thrifty on this trip. It was so frustrating and finally they gave us a discount for having to wait so long. We got on our way late and we had originally planned to go to the Hawaiian Cultural Center but when I found out how far it was I told Alan that we could cancel that. We then tried looking for a restaurant and it was hard to find one since we were already on the highway and there weren’t any signs of a restaurant anywhere. We found lots of fast food places but I wanted to go to a nice sit down restaurant. We stopped at a Starbucks and had our latte and frapaccino and asked if there was one close but they didn’t know of any. While we were there I was able to buy a couple of Starbuck gift cards that had Hawaiian hula girls on them. Marie, who works at the Starbucks in Baltimore we go to wanted one so we got one for her and then I decided I’d like one too. After leaving there we decided to head on back to Waikiki and try to find a place there. At least they had a Denny’s that we knew we could go to. We drove down the road to where we saw a sign saying Mother’s Day Brunch so we pulled over and asked if they were still serving it as it was 11:30 and the parking valet said yes so we handed him the keys, got my scooter and away we went. It was a very nice hotel and we found the buffet area only to find out that it was closed so I ended up ordering some fish tacos. YUK! I couldn’t eat them, as they were too spicy. We had waited over an hour for it to be delivered so by that time the luncheon buffet was open so I got some salad from it. It seemed like everything was empty from the buffet. This just wasn’t my day and it seemed like everything was going wrong. We left there and went over to the Royal Hawaiian and had some drinks and that seemed to help. The first drink I had was a Shirley Temple since the drink had been created at that hotel especially for Miss Shirley Temple, then I had another drink that was a little more grown up. I began to feel better.

It was getting hot so we headed on down to the beach. We found a parking spot close to the park and walked down towards the little food hut. Alan went to Starbucks to get biscotti to feed to the fish. We always enjoyed feeding the fish. We headed back to Thrifty Car Rental to turn in the car and on the way stopped at Hilo Hattie’s to exchange the shirt Alan had bought the first day we arrived in Honolulu, the one that was a woman’s shirt. They had no problem exchanging it. Then we were on our way to the airport. We walked on to our Gate and then were told our plane was being switched so we had to hustle to another Gate. It sure was a good thing I had my scooter. Shortly after arriving at the Gate there was an announcement that there weren’t enough seats for everyone since it was a smaller plane and asked if anyone wanted to volunteer to stay in Hawaii. Alan asked if I wanted to and I agreed it was a good thing. He went up to the attendant and told her we would volunteer. They put us up in a 4-star hotel in Waikiki right on the beach across the street from the beach with an ocean view! They also gave us vouchers for all our meal since we wouldn’t be leaving until the following night and a $600 airfare voucher towards a future flight with them. I had to call my boss and let her know I wouldn’t be at work on Tuesday but that wasn’t a problem. It seems after a day filled with so much going wrong we were given a ‘Do-Over’ day. It was around 9:30pm by the time we arrived back in Waikiki and we were able to relax and brush off everything from the day before.

Day Two in Maui

Painting of actor Clark Gable with pretty hawaiian girls.

One of many murals on the ship depicting various actors.

Karen enjoying the last hula which was a Tahitian one.

Hula to the song Where I live there are rainbows.

Everyone gave a good performance of 4 different hulas.

Karen getting ready for the hula class recital on ship.

Rainbow over the island of Molokai.

Alan getting us some pure cane frozen drinks. I had mango.

Sugar cane and fruit stand outside Lahaina.

Kulanaoka Beach outside Lahaina, Maui.

Breakfast at McDonalds in Lahaina consisted of spam,

eggs, and rice. It was really good!

Artwork done on mulberry bark.

The process takes several months to complete.

Alan at Banyan Park in Lahaina. This is the largest banyan

tree in the country and covers an entire acre.



Day Eight-2nd day in Maui-Partly cloudy, 83’ Today, we decided to take a ride out to Lahaina so we grabbed our things and headed off to the car. I was so happy that I had my scooter as the walk to where we had to park the night before would’ve done me in. I opened up the map to see where we needed to go and soon we were on our way. It was a perfect day. This drive was a lot more casual then the one to Hana. It reminded us of the countryside in Oregon. Once again I had forgotten to grab one of the six CDs I’d bought but at least we could find a radio station to listen to. It didn’t take us long to reach Lahaina, about an hour. I charted out the walking tour so we could decide where to park. Before parking though a quick stop as Mother Nature was urging me that now was the time for a visit. We found a parking spot right down from the park and paid for 3 hours. Alan unloaded the scooter and away we went. First stop was to Lahaina Banyan Park where we saw the largest banyan tree in the U.S. We found out that each of the vines hanging from the tree could root itself and become an extension of the tree. This had happened so many times that this tree took over one-acre! Some of the limbs were so heavy that poles were placed to help hold them up. It’s amazing how one tree can look like many trees. They make fantastic shade trees. There were a lot of handcrafts for sale in the park. I stopped to listen to how an old woman made her craft of hand painted wares on bark from the mulberry tree. The process took about 2 months from start to finish. I almost bought something from her but since we’re downsizing I figured I’d pass this time. From the park we walked down the road by the water and took in the sights. It was already starting to get hot and Alan was getting tired so we stopped at McDonald’s for breakfast. In Hawaii Spam is a major food staple so I ordered spam and scrambled eggs. It came with rice instead of hash browns. It was quite tasty and it was nice to sit in the air-conditioned building. Afterwards, we went to Hilo Hattie’s to see if I could find any Hawaiian stickers to put on my scooter. It was a quick stop so we left to return to our car as time was running out. We almost didn’t make it in time and we didn’t want to pay more parking fees. We hopped in the car and drove on down to Kulanaoka Beach. In the distance we could see the island of Molokai. It was a pretty little beach with picnic tables and even a small inlet where the water was only about 2-feet deep, nice for small children to play in. We stayed there about half an hour while Alan took a walk around and then headed back on the road. Along the way we passed the Oowau Juice and Fruit stand so we stopped where I got a fresh cane smoothie. All the fruit looked so good, they even sold sugar cane stalks. Our ship would be leaving around 2:00 so we headed back to return the car. It was a good idea renting a car while here so we could take our time and do whatever we chose to do. So many times when you’re on a tour it tends to be tiring as it’s rushed.
Around 4:00 the ship would be passing by Molokai and Kalaupapa and then at 4:30 was the Hula Class Graduation Ceremony. I donned on my pretty red Hawaiian dress and wore the shell lei from our vow renewal ceremony and pretty flowers in my hair. There weren’t too many in the audience that I could see but I was busy making sure I did the movements correct. Alan did a good job of taking lots of pictures from different angles. It was a lot of fun and at the end of the four-dance performances we were given a certificate. I’m glad I took part of it, even if it wore me out. There was a platform on stage that I used to sit on between dances. The last dance was the Tahitian one and it about did me in. I wasn’t even sure I’d be able to say anything at the microphone when it was my turn but after letting most of the class go ahead of me I was able to say my name, where I was from and my profession. It was nice having my scooter close to the stage to get in after the ceremony. I would recommend to everyone to be a participator when on vacation and enjoy yourself.
After an exhausting performance we headed down to the main dining room as we had been told by the staff member that lobster and prime rib were going to be served. We had even made reservations for this night but what a disappointment when we opened the menu and didn’t see it. When we asked the waiter he said that it had been served the previous night. The couple sitting with us at the table was misinformed as well. Wouldn’t you know, the only night we didn’t eat on the ship would be the night that lobster was served. We definitely let the front desk know of our disappointment. Hopefully, the lobster was like the rest of the food that had been served on this cruise, not mouth-watering and flavorless. So I ended up ordering the Wahoo fish again like I had most of the nights. After dinner, we went to the Stardust Theater to watch Jeffrey Daymont, comedian/juggler. The only thing funny about him was that he couldn’t juggle; he kept dropping anything he tried to juggle. Talk about cutting expenses, NCL must have found this joker on a street corner with a sign saying, ‘will work for food’. He was so bad that we walked out on his show. We’ve only walked out of a show one other time in all the cruises we’ve ever taken. Usually, the entertainment on cruises is pretty good but this guy was awful!
After the juggling show was the Crew Talent Show but we didn’t even stay for that. It probably was good. So we went back to our cabin to pack our bags. I had bought so many new dresses that I was wondering if they would all fit in our bags along with all the souvenirs. I’m always good at packing and we were able to fit everything in our check-in luggage and carry-on bags. We set our bags out and one thing I noticed right away is there weren’t any Comment Cards. I guess the ship didn’t hand them out since they knew it would probably not be favorable. I did make a list of my comments to share with our travel agent and to post on the Cruise Critic board online. We knew this wouldn’t be one of the best cruises from the get go since it was NCL and then later finding out we would be on their last cruise before switching the ship’s name and itinerary. But even so there were some things the staff could’ve done to make it more enjoyable for the guests as well as themselves. All in all though we had a wonderful time on the islands and that was our main goal. We watched Rocky Balboa on TV for our last night on the ship and soon fell asleep to the memories of Hawaii.