Friday, June 12, 2009
Sunday, June 07, 2009
Friday, May 8, 2009
Friday, May 08, 2009
9:00 PM
Our flight from Columbus to Minneapolis was fine, as well as from Minneapolis to Seattle. When we got to Seattle, we were hoping our carry-on baggage would be there, and we waited and waited at the baggage claim. I think our two bags were the last two to actually come off the conveyor belt. We were so excited! So we walked over to where the shuttle buses were for the hotels and caught the one to the Holiday Inn Express. We got there and waited in line to check in, only to find out our room was at the Holiday Inn, not the Express. The shuttle guy was nice enough to take us over the Holiday Inn and we checked in and immediately fell asleep. It was about 3:00am EST and Midnight PST. We got back up at 5:15am PST to get ready to head back to the airport and made it this time in plenty of time. We had to try some coffee - so we had a White Chocolate Mocha thing from Seattle's Best - and I don't think the two of us will become coffee drinkers anytime soon, although it seemed like the more your drank it the better it was.
Our first view from the air
9:00 PM
Our flight from Columbus to Minneapolis was fine, as well as from Minneapolis to Seattle. When we got to Seattle, we were hoping our carry-on baggage would be there, and we waited and waited at the baggage claim. I think our two bags were the last two to actually come off the conveyor belt. We were so excited! So we walked over to where the shuttle buses were for the hotels and caught the one to the Holiday Inn Express. We got there and waited in line to check in, only to find out our room was at the Holiday Inn, not the Express. The shuttle guy was nice enough to take us over the Holiday Inn and we checked in and immediately fell asleep. It was about 3:00am EST and Midnight PST. We got back up at 5:15am PST to get ready to head back to the airport and made it this time in plenty of time. We had to try some coffee - so we had a White Chocolate Mocha thing from Seattle's Best - and I don't think the two of us will become coffee drinkers anytime soon, although it seemed like the more your drank it the better it was.
Our first view from the air
Saturday, May 09, 2009
Saturday, May 9, 2009 - Honolulu, O'ahu
After we landed in beautiful Honolulu, we were greeted by our lady from the cruiseline. She escorted us to the baggage claim and then asked us for our baggage tags. "What baggage tags?" I asked, only to find out that we didn't receive the tags that were mailed to us. She instead wrote our stateroom number overtop the airline tags that were already on the bags and said they would be taken to the ship later. We boarded a tour bus and met our operator, Cousin James. He explained that everyone in Hawaii is Ohana, or family, and therefore we are all cousins. We also learned some Hawaiian words such as Aloha or Hello, Mahalo or Thank you, Wiki wiki or Hurry up, Kekei means children, and he also pointed out some areas of interest. He told us that the island is very congested and those people who live outside of Honolulu have to allow sometimes up to 3 hours to commute 20 miles to work because of the bad traffic.
We made it to the pier then had to wait in line for what seemed forever. After we got our room keys, we were ready to head up to the ship. We bought Bobbi Jo a purple and yellow lei and then found our way to our room. We were on the 12th deck and have quite a view from our balcony. There was a letter addressed to Mr. and Mrs. Martinez that was congratulating us on our honeymoon along with chocolate covered strawberries and a bottle of wine. It was mid afternoon, so we were pretty hungry. We went down to the 11th deck to the buffet and had some swordfish and other stuff including some great pineapple. We came back to the room and took a nap, and then went to dinner at the Cadillac Diner. We met another couple, John and Mary from Milwaukee and then went to a welcome show at the Hollywood Theater. There was a comedian and some hula dancers.
Outside our room on the balcony
Port of Honolulu at sunset
Wakiki Beach
After we landed in beautiful Honolulu, we were greeted by our lady from the cruiseline. She escorted us to the baggage claim and then asked us for our baggage tags. "What baggage tags?" I asked, only to find out that we didn't receive the tags that were mailed to us. She instead wrote our stateroom number overtop the airline tags that were already on the bags and said they would be taken to the ship later. We boarded a tour bus and met our operator, Cousin James. He explained that everyone in Hawaii is Ohana, or family, and therefore we are all cousins. We also learned some Hawaiian words such as Aloha or Hello, Mahalo or Thank you, Wiki wiki or Hurry up, Kekei means children, and he also pointed out some areas of interest. He told us that the island is very congested and those people who live outside of Honolulu have to allow sometimes up to 3 hours to commute 20 miles to work because of the bad traffic.
We made it to the pier then had to wait in line for what seemed forever. After we got our room keys, we were ready to head up to the ship. We bought Bobbi Jo a purple and yellow lei and then found our way to our room. We were on the 12th deck and have quite a view from our balcony. There was a letter addressed to Mr. and Mrs. Martinez that was congratulating us on our honeymoon along with chocolate covered strawberries and a bottle of wine. It was mid afternoon, so we were pretty hungry. We went down to the 11th deck to the buffet and had some swordfish and other stuff including some great pineapple. We came back to the room and took a nap, and then went to dinner at the Cadillac Diner. We met another couple, John and Mary from Milwaukee and then went to a welcome show at the Hollywood Theater. There was a comedian and some hula dancers.
Outside our room on the balcony
Port of Honolulu at sunset
Wakiki Beach
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Sunday, May 10, 2009 - Kahului, Maui - 83 - Sunny
We woke up in Kahului (North Maui) and called our Mom's for Mother's Day and then got ready for the day. We went back to the Cadillac Diner and had the same waitress as last night - and she remembered that we were on our honeymoon. She announced this to everyone as we were walking in and everyone was clapping for us. She then told us to take the shuttle to the mall down the street and then catch the public transport bus to a town called Lahaina. We found the mall and then the bus - which was only $2 for the two of us to travel almost an hour away to Lahaina! Lahaina is an old whaler's village about 25 miles from Kahului on the west coast of Maui. It was exactly what I thought Hawaii would be - gorgeous beaches and great shopping. We ate lunch on the beach at Cheeseburger in Paradise and then spent the day at the beach. We learned that Bobbi is Popi in Hawaiian and Jason is Iakona. We brought the bus back home, ate, and then went to a Eagles Tribute Band concert but were so sleepy that we came back to our rooms, ate some popcorn from the Gold Rush Saloon Bar, and crashed for the night.
Front Street, Lahaina
We woke up in Kahului (North Maui) and called our Mom's for Mother's Day and then got ready for the day. We went back to the Cadillac Diner and had the same waitress as last night - and she remembered that we were on our honeymoon. She announced this to everyone as we were walking in and everyone was clapping for us. She then told us to take the shuttle to the mall down the street and then catch the public transport bus to a town called Lahaina. We found the mall and then the bus - which was only $2 for the two of us to travel almost an hour away to Lahaina! Lahaina is an old whaler's village about 25 miles from Kahului on the west coast of Maui. It was exactly what I thought Hawaii would be - gorgeous beaches and great shopping. We ate lunch on the beach at Cheeseburger in Paradise and then spent the day at the beach. We learned that Bobbi is Popi in Hawaiian and Jason is Iakona. We brought the bus back home, ate, and then went to a Eagles Tribute Band concert but were so sleepy that we came back to our rooms, ate some popcorn from the Gold Rush Saloon Bar, and crashed for the night.
Front Street, Lahaina
Monday, May 11, 2009
Monday, May 11, 2009 - Kahului, Maui - 81 - Sunny
We were still in Kahului for the day today and at 6:00 tonight we will be setting sail for the Big Island. We got up this morning and ate at the Aloha Cafe (the buffet) and then took off for the mall again. We took the bus to Lahaina and hung out at the beach all day. We stopped on the way back and got some real Hawaiian shaved ice which was awesome. We also did a little bit of shopping before making it back to the ship around 5:30. We ate a quick snack at the Key West Bar and Grill and came back to shower before our dinner at the Jefferson Bistro (a fancy restaurant that was part of our honeymoon package). Bobbi wore her pink sun dress and I wore a polo shirt and khaki shorts - but was told at the door that shorts were "not acceptable at the Bistro". I went upstairs and put on jeans, because that is all I had. We sat down and had to try to decide on which bottle of wine to have with dinner. We chose something that had "Aria" in the name from Spain. It was a sparkling wine and cleaned out your sinuses. Needless to say - it was enough for 4 people, not just 2. Bobbi ended up eating asparagus and swordfish, and I had sea scallops and duck. There were other things that the food was on (white/black beans, etc.) but we weren't sure what it was so we didn't eat it. For desert I had chocolate napolean which was some type of chocolate cake but with no flour, and Bobbi had strawberry something - it was light and fluffy. We were laughing and giggling by the end of dinner (and the end of the bottle of wine) because of how silly we looked inside this fancy restaurant with all these other fancy people who actually knew what was on the menu and which fork to use when. When we were all done they brought us a cake they had made us that said Happy Honeymoon on it.
Our towels
Key West Bar and Grill aboard the ship
We were still in Kahului for the day today and at 6:00 tonight we will be setting sail for the Big Island. We got up this morning and ate at the Aloha Cafe (the buffet) and then took off for the mall again. We took the bus to Lahaina and hung out at the beach all day. We stopped on the way back and got some real Hawaiian shaved ice which was awesome. We also did a little bit of shopping before making it back to the ship around 5:30. We ate a quick snack at the Key West Bar and Grill and came back to shower before our dinner at the Jefferson Bistro (a fancy restaurant that was part of our honeymoon package). Bobbi wore her pink sun dress and I wore a polo shirt and khaki shorts - but was told at the door that shorts were "not acceptable at the Bistro". I went upstairs and put on jeans, because that is all I had. We sat down and had to try to decide on which bottle of wine to have with dinner. We chose something that had "Aria" in the name from Spain. It was a sparkling wine and cleaned out your sinuses. Needless to say - it was enough for 4 people, not just 2. Bobbi ended up eating asparagus and swordfish, and I had sea scallops and duck. There were other things that the food was on (white/black beans, etc.) but we weren't sure what it was so we didn't eat it. For desert I had chocolate napolean which was some type of chocolate cake but with no flour, and Bobbi had strawberry something - it was light and fluffy. We were laughing and giggling by the end of dinner (and the end of the bottle of wine) because of how silly we looked inside this fancy restaurant with all these other fancy people who actually knew what was on the menu and which fork to use when. When we were all done they brought us a cake they had made us that said Happy Honeymoon on it.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Tuesday, May 12, 2009 - Hilo, Hawai'i - 81 - Partly Sunny
This morning we woke up while we were docking at Hilo, Hawai'i which is on the Big Island. We had breakfast and got off the ship early in the morning and were walking towards downtown Hilo whenever Bobbi said she felt as if her back was burning already and wanted some sun screen put on. We stopped and were putting on sunscreen whenever a woman in a white van pulled over and asked us where we were going - we thought it was a taxi taking a woman from the ship and she must have recognized us - but we then figured out that it was actually two locals (Clemente and Jean) that were offering us a ride. we took their ride and they told us that they wouldn't accept any money, but only required that we correspond through letters after we return home. First they took us to Banyan Drive - which was lined with huge Banyan Trees planted by famous people such as Babe Ruth, Richard Nixon, and Amelia Erhart, and a bunch of other important people we didn't know. That connected to a park which had really pretty ponds and bridges which we drove through. We then drove by a fish market and then into downtown Hilo. From there they took us to Rainbow Falls where we got out and saw the falls and took a bunch of pictures. We then drove up to the Boiling Pots, which were more waterfalls where we took more pictures again. Then we drove through an older section of Hilo and out to the Muana Loa macadamia nut factory. Then we went to Big Island Candies where all Clement really wanted was the free coffee and samples of candy. During this whole trip, Jean and Clement were telling us native stories, etc. At the end of all this they asked us to drop us off at the Banyan Drive park to take some pictures. We exchanged addresses, took pictures and walked back to the ship. We came back, ate lunch at the Key West Grill and then headed off for our Circle of Fire helicopter ride. We went to the Blue Hawaii Helicopter place at the airport and randomly were assigned to seat in the front two seats next to the pilot in the helicopter. We flew about 45 minutes over the island - seeing the same waterfalls and parks we saw earlier in the day, but this time from the sky. We learned that people not in the city have huge collecting pools with black tarps that collects all their rain water off their house to be used as their only water supply. Thank goodness that the Big Island receives over 12 feet of water a year, and Hilo is the wettest city in America! We spent most of the time over Volcano National Park which had many different lava flows from different eruptions over the last 20-50 years. You could see entire towns that were destroyed and a select few houses that had survived by luck. We saw one active volcano that has been active for 26 straight years and is still dumping lava into the ocean. On the way back to the airport we passed by the macadamia nut factory, which was neat to see from the sky. Then we came back and had dinner, got some professional pictures taken, and waited up on the deck to pass by the active volcano at night. They turned off all the lights on the boat and when we passed by where the lava is being dumped into the ocean, it was all lit up. It was really cool to see at night, especially having seen it during the day. After that we came back to our balcony to eat our cake and drink the wine they had given us on the first day. We popped the cork and it bounced off the ceiling and bounced around - we could have pointed it out towards the ocean and let it fly if we would have known it had so much force.
Rainbow Falls
This morning we woke up while we were docking at Hilo, Hawai'i which is on the Big Island. We had breakfast and got off the ship early in the morning and were walking towards downtown Hilo whenever Bobbi said she felt as if her back was burning already and wanted some sun screen put on. We stopped and were putting on sunscreen whenever a woman in a white van pulled over and asked us where we were going - we thought it was a taxi taking a woman from the ship and she must have recognized us - but we then figured out that it was actually two locals (Clemente and Jean) that were offering us a ride. we took their ride and they told us that they wouldn't accept any money, but only required that we correspond through letters after we return home. First they took us to Banyan Drive - which was lined with huge Banyan Trees planted by famous people such as Babe Ruth, Richard Nixon, and Amelia Erhart, and a bunch of other important people we didn't know. That connected to a park which had really pretty ponds and bridges which we drove through. We then drove by a fish market and then into downtown Hilo. From there they took us to Rainbow Falls where we got out and saw the falls and took a bunch of pictures. We then drove up to the Boiling Pots, which were more waterfalls where we took more pictures again. Then we drove through an older section of Hilo and out to the Muana Loa macadamia nut factory. Then we went to Big Island Candies where all Clement really wanted was the free coffee and samples of candy. During this whole trip, Jean and Clement were telling us native stories, etc. At the end of all this they asked us to drop us off at the Banyan Drive park to take some pictures. We exchanged addresses, took pictures and walked back to the ship. We came back, ate lunch at the Key West Grill and then headed off for our Circle of Fire helicopter ride. We went to the Blue Hawaii Helicopter place at the airport and randomly were assigned to seat in the front two seats next to the pilot in the helicopter. We flew about 45 minutes over the island - seeing the same waterfalls and parks we saw earlier in the day, but this time from the sky. We learned that people not in the city have huge collecting pools with black tarps that collects all their rain water off their house to be used as their only water supply. Thank goodness that the Big Island receives over 12 feet of water a year, and Hilo is the wettest city in America! We spent most of the time over Volcano National Park which had many different lava flows from different eruptions over the last 20-50 years. You could see entire towns that were destroyed and a select few houses that had survived by luck. We saw one active volcano that has been active for 26 straight years and is still dumping lava into the ocean. On the way back to the airport we passed by the macadamia nut factory, which was neat to see from the sky. Then we came back and had dinner, got some professional pictures taken, and waited up on the deck to pass by the active volcano at night. They turned off all the lights on the boat and when we passed by where the lava is being dumped into the ocean, it was all lit up. It was really cool to see at night, especially having seen it during the day. After that we came back to our balcony to eat our cake and drink the wine they had given us on the first day. We popped the cork and it bounced off the ceiling and bounced around - we could have pointed it out towards the ocean and let it fly if we would have known it had so much force.
Rainbow Falls
Wednesday, May 12, 2009
Wednesday, May 13, 2009 - Kona, Hawai'i - 83 - Sunny
Today we were in a port city called Kona. We woke up this morning and had to take a tender boat to shore. At breakfast though, our waiter asked again if we were on our honeymoon. We asked him what gives it away that we are? He said its pretty simple - at this time of the year you are either "Newlywed, or Nearly Dead". He said that everyone is either very old or very young, and its easy to figure out why someone is on the cruise. We thought that was hilarious. So after breakfast we headed for shoreside. After arriving at the tender pier, we went shopping for a while and then went walking for what seemed forever trying to find a good beach. Instead, everything we found was very rocky. We went back to a very small beach at the tender pier and layed out for the day. We tried to swim but the water was very cold, so instead we just got a good tan. In the afternoon we went Snuba Diving, which is a cross between snorkeling and scuba diving. You are hooked to a 20 foot air line that is attached to an air tank that floats in a raft on the surface of the water. Everything else is like scuba diving. We both had a hard time getting used to breathing through a regulator underwater - your body is so trained to hold your breath underwater that you end up gasping and not being able to breathe. Once we figured it out though - it was a blast. Unfortunately we spent almost all the 30 minutes figuring out how to breathe. Our tour guide sold us another oxygen tank though and let us go for another 30 minutes. The second time around was way better. We sank to the bottom where we saw all kinds of fish swimming all over the coral reef. It was very pretty and very surreal. We got back to land and did a little more shopping and then had to get back on the boat. We dressed up after dinner and had some professional pictures taken, then went to a Beatles tribute concert.
Today we were in a port city called Kona. We woke up this morning and had to take a tender boat to shore. At breakfast though, our waiter asked again if we were on our honeymoon. We asked him what gives it away that we are? He said its pretty simple - at this time of the year you are either "Newlywed, or Nearly Dead". He said that everyone is either very old or very young, and its easy to figure out why someone is on the cruise. We thought that was hilarious. So after breakfast we headed for shoreside. After arriving at the tender pier, we went shopping for a while and then went walking for what seemed forever trying to find a good beach. Instead, everything we found was very rocky. We went back to a very small beach at the tender pier and layed out for the day. We tried to swim but the water was very cold, so instead we just got a good tan. In the afternoon we went Snuba Diving, which is a cross between snorkeling and scuba diving. You are hooked to a 20 foot air line that is attached to an air tank that floats in a raft on the surface of the water. Everything else is like scuba diving. We both had a hard time getting used to breathing through a regulator underwater - your body is so trained to hold your breath underwater that you end up gasping and not being able to breathe. Once we figured it out though - it was a blast. Unfortunately we spent almost all the 30 minutes figuring out how to breathe. Our tour guide sold us another oxygen tank though and let us go for another 30 minutes. The second time around was way better. We sank to the bottom where we saw all kinds of fish swimming all over the coral reef. It was very pretty and very surreal. We got back to land and did a little more shopping and then had to get back on the boat. We dressed up after dinner and had some professional pictures taken, then went to a Beatles tribute concert.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Thursday, May 14, 2009 - Lihue, Kauai - 79 - Partly Sunny
We landed at the green island of Kauai early and it was beautiful. There are only about 60,000 people that live on the island and it is mostly uninhabited. We started out by kayaking down a river that was right off the bay where the ship was docked. We saw a lot of different things like mangroves, burial caves, royal fishing ponds, and where various movies were filmed. For instance there was a rope swing down the river that was in the beginning of Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones swung across it when running from the natives. The river was very relaxing and refreshing. After we got out of the river we went on a hike through the jungle and saw many different plants and flowers. We took a van through the jungle to a picnic area where we had some guava right off the tree, which we didn't really care for. After that we went on another hike to the first of 2 waterfalls. The first one was about a 20-25 foot waterfall with a small pool where we just took pictures. The second waterfall which was further away and deeper in the jungle. It was much larger, about 50 feet high. We took more pictures and then swam underneath the waterfall and in the catch pool. The water was very cold and not very clear but it was awesome. We went back to the picnic area and ate lunch and learned about more movies that were filmed there. Among the cliffsides and fields there were movies like Jurassic Park, and shows like M.A.S.H. We came back to the ship and ate some lunch then went to the beach. We spend the rest of the afternoon at the beach (the nicest one yet). It got a little cloudy so we went back to the ship and ate dinner, then went back to the beach to shop a little more and then we sat on the beach for the evening. We came back to the ship picked out or portraits to buy, ate some popcorn, and called it a night.
Ancient Burial Caves
Kayaking
We landed at the green island of Kauai early and it was beautiful. There are only about 60,000 people that live on the island and it is mostly uninhabited. We started out by kayaking down a river that was right off the bay where the ship was docked. We saw a lot of different things like mangroves, burial caves, royal fishing ponds, and where various movies were filmed. For instance there was a rope swing down the river that was in the beginning of Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones swung across it when running from the natives. The river was very relaxing and refreshing. After we got out of the river we went on a hike through the jungle and saw many different plants and flowers. We took a van through the jungle to a picnic area where we had some guava right off the tree, which we didn't really care for. After that we went on another hike to the first of 2 waterfalls. The first one was about a 20-25 foot waterfall with a small pool where we just took pictures. The second waterfall which was further away and deeper in the jungle. It was much larger, about 50 feet high. We took more pictures and then swam underneath the waterfall and in the catch pool. The water was very cold and not very clear but it was awesome. We went back to the picnic area and ate lunch and learned about more movies that were filmed there. Among the cliffsides and fields there were movies like Jurassic Park, and shows like M.A.S.H. We came back to the ship and ate some lunch then went to the beach. We spend the rest of the afternoon at the beach (the nicest one yet). It got a little cloudy so we went back to the ship and ate dinner, then went back to the beach to shop a little more and then we sat on the beach for the evening. We came back to the ship picked out or portraits to buy, ate some popcorn, and called it a night.
Ancient Burial Caves
Kayaking
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