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.

First Day in Maui

Now this is what Hawaii is all about.

Back at Hana Beach we enjoyed watching local

children diving off the peir. They were having a blast!

These lonely palm trees on the isle made for an

interesting photo op.

This was on the way back to Hana Beach from Ohio Gulch. The boat

had a difficult time manuevering the turn onto the narrow bridge.

Later down the road it ended up hitting an oncoming car. The

policeman in the car behind saw it all.

You can see the Seven Sacred Pools in this view.

One of many waterfalls at Ohio Gulch

Another view of Seven Sacred Pools

Ohio Gulch also known as the Seven Sacred Pools

Waves crashing against the rocks by Ohio Gulch.

Give me a smile Alan

Alan in line at Tutus at Hana Beach.

Hana Beach

One of many waterfalls on the road to Hana.

Alan checking out a cave...is there a strange animal living in there?

Starting out on the road to Hana

Day Seven-Kahului, Maui-Mostly cloudy, 81’ Maui, the second largest Hawaiian island is referred to as the Valley Isle because it consists of two mountain masses separated by a low narrow valley-like isthmus or neck-of-land. The city lies in the flat corridor between Maui’s two volcanoes, and this is where most of the island’s population lives. Kahului is home to thousands of former sugarcane workers, and home to the last operational sugarcane factory in Hawaii. Maui Tropical Plantation and Iao Valley gives you a great overview of Maui’s agricultural villages, orchards, sugarcane fields and flower gardens. The Maui Ocean Center is an attraction you’ll want to see. Although the stretch along Maui’s coastline is perfect for relaxing, the island has an underlying energy that inspires people to do things they might not do otherwise. Ascend to the summit of the Haleakala Crater or better yet fly over the crater via the Hana-Haleakala by Helicopter. A lot of people enjoy snorkeling at the Molokini Crater. Here are a few fun activities you might enjoy doing while there: going to the top of Haleakala, snorkeling in Molokini or trying you could try your hand at windsurfing. You can also visit another Hawaiian island by taking a ferry to Lanai, the Pineapple Island, set sail with Lanai Catamaran, or tour Lanai on a 4x4 Trekker. You can also soar over the island of Molokai known as the Friendly Isle, taking in their gorgeous sheer sea cliffs on West Maui-Moloki Helicopter. One can also do as we did, and drive the scenic, winding Road to Hana. You can also hop on the Hana-Haleakala Helicopter. Maui’s top show is Ulalena, considered by many as the best show in the Hawaiian Islands. It depicts an amazing story through acrobatics, dance and song. The legends, myths, and magic of the Hawaiian Islands and its people come alive with this breathtaking show.

During our time in Maui we rented a car, as we wanted to take the road to Hana and past Hana to see the Oheo Gulch known as the ‘Seven Sacred Pools’ to non-locals. If you’ve ever seen the movie ‘IQ’ you will remember it mentioned. We took the shuttle to Thrifty Car Rental and chose a nice dark blue convertible. However, since we brought my scooter in the trunk we couldn’t put the top down. That was okay though as being our luck if we’d had the top down it would’ve rained. It was a beautiful day for the long drive that wound around over 600 turns and over 56 bridges. Even though it was only 53 miles it took us about three hours to reach Hana. Halfway to Hana we stopped at a roadside stand and got a snack. It felt good sitting in the shade of the covered hut and enjoying the fresh air. Some children stopped there with their dog but the dog seemed happier staying behind and getting scratched behind its ears by us. After awhile it finally decided to go on home. We stopped several times to take in the sights. There were several waterfalls along the way that I was able to take pictures of. At one stop there was a cave, which Alan thought needed investigating. Luckily, there wasn’t some kind of wild animal making the cave its home. At one area there were people picking some kind of plant and when we stopped I asked what they were gathering and they said watercress. It looked like short little herbs similar to mint. There were thousands of huge bamboo trees so thick you couldn’t even see through them. It went on for miles and miles. We spotted lots of Kukui or Candlenut trees along the ride as well. The views of the ocean were magnificent but we kept our eyes on the road. We finally reached Hana Beach around lunchtime. There were nice facilities for picnicking, restrooms, and even a place where you could order something to eat. The name of the place was Long Board Tutus. I was so proud of Alan as he remembered that ‘tutu’ meant grandmother. Alan had a teriyaki burger and I had a BLT. It was a nice place to take a break before heading on to ‘Ohea Gulch’. The road to Hana was fabulous compared to the road that we had been traveling on to the ‘Seven Sacred Pools’. It soon turned into a very narrow gravel road. I was in tears and didn’t want to go any further but after a quick stop to check out a pretty waterfall and browse at what the locals were selling. I grabbed my sanity and we continued on down the road. Soon we were at the park and after that harrowing drive I couldn’t go see the falls, as my scooter wouldn’t make it down the path. So I waited and gave Alan the camera. He did a splendid job at capturing the falls and took a wonderful beach shot of the waves crashing on the rocks. I had taught him well.

On the way back to Hana the road didn’t seem so scary to me but the funniest thing happened. I was wondering what was going on ahead of us at the bridge. There was a pickup pulling a boat and it had gotten stuck trying to maneuver the corner just before the bridge. After about 15 minutes or so it was finally on its way. I had heard a big bang and sure enough the truck had hit an oncoming car that was edging its way around a corner. The funny thing about the whole thing was the fact that a policeman was driving right behind the pickup. Needless to say the man in the car probably wasn’t too happy as it probably was a rental car but at least the policeman was there and could fill out all the necessary information stating that it wasn’t his fault. We had made sure to take out insurance on the car we rented, especially since we were doing the road to Hana drive and had heard it was a tricky one. Since we had lived in the mountains and Alan is a truck driver he had no problem maneuvering the road. When we got back to Hana beach we took our time watching all the school children jumping into the water. They would do all kinds of flips and were having the time of their lives. Oh to be as child in Hawaii! We had ice cream while waiting. We decided to head on back to Kahulului so we could get back before dark. I didn’t want to be trying to go around all those corners and bridges in the dark. Alan saw a sign saying lava tube caves so we turned off. It was past visiting time but the owner said we could go ahead. I didn’t know whether I’d be able to walk much but was willing to try. The owner gave us some expensive flashlights and we headed on out. The first challenge was walking down all those steps made of rocks. At least there was a handrail. I got down to the first level and saw where there were even more steps and these were even worse. There was absolutely no way I’d be able to go any further. As it was, I wasn’t sure I could even make it back up all the steps I went down. I did and the owner was nice enough to refund our money even though he didn’t have to. He was nice and encouraging and told me I at least tried where a lot of people don’t even do that. I was bummed but I can say I did go down a lava tube. I enjoyed the rest of the drive back.

We noticed a long stretch of bamboo trees growing so thick on the mountain that you couldn’t even see through it. They were huge. There was a roadside stand where a man was selling coconut slices that had been baked 24-hours with cane sugar and it was so good! I bought a bag to bring to work. I hope I can get more or else we’ll have to go back to Hawaii sooner than we planned. It was almost sunset and there was a nice park where surfers enjoyed the waves called Hookipa Beach. At first there weren’t too many surfers but as the waves got bigger so did the crowd of surfers. I snapped loads of pictures as I wanted to find the perfect surfer photo and I ended up with several really good shots.

Soon nightfall had come and our tummies told us it was dinnertime. We wanted to find a nice local restaurant where the food was good and not expensive. While driving down the street a wonderful fragrance filled the air and now all we had to do was find out where it was coming from. We turned around and found that it was coming from a small little place in a strip mall called Da Kitchen. We could tell it must be a great place to eat as there were people waiting outside to go in. Alan gave them our names and we went back outside to wait. It wasn’t long before we were seated and we chose some great local food. They served huge portions. We even treated ourselves to dessert. We found our way back to the ship and finding a parking place was a bit difficult but we found one and I had to ride my scooter in the dark. I had Alan watch out for any cars that might not see me. It was around 9:00 by the time we boarded the ship. We had an exciting full day, one that we’d never forget. Sleep came to us easy.