Last Day in Hawaii - Saturday, October 9, 2010

Early rising this AM…saw the sun rising behind the Honolulu skyline. We docked about 7:00 AM. We caught a breakfast (everyone on the ship had the same idea at the same time…lol) and then gathered our belongings. Gotta say that this was the easiest disembarkment we have ever had on a cruise. NCL does know how to do it so you don’t feel like cattle.

We took a taxi to the airport to rent a car for the day. Our driver knew everything about everything. We spoke a bit about politics and he was well versed on the subject. He even recommended a couple books for reading. Very interesting. It is my opinion that politicians underestimate the intelligence of the average working person. Big mistake.

We easily got our car and were out of the airport parking lot by 8:20 AM. First destination: Dole Plantation. Our goal was to get there before the crowds do. We have heard that it is very difficult to visit the place when a couple busloads are on site. We had a beautiful drive to the plantation. Once there, we found we were there thirty minutes before they opened. We decided to take both the train ride and the garden walk. We were the first riders on the train. The ride traversed two miles. We had the opportunity to see a variety of plants that grow in Hawaii. So many are plants that would never grow in Michigan. There were bananas, macadamias, coffee beans, cacao, lychee, mangos, papayas, and other unrecognizable plants. The soil is so high in iron content, you can see it in the very reddish soil In between the train conductor’s narration, they played Hawaiian music. We also passed the Tanada Reservoir, which serves to irrigate the surrounding land, on our ride. Everyone seemed to enjoy the excursion.

We learned that James Dole came to Hawaii in 1899 and began his business. He built a cannery nearby to process the ripe pineapple. Today, Dole employs 3,000 employees annually and 4,000 employees seasonally. They also have a great gift shop and snack. Dennis and I shared a delicious pineapple ice cream cone. Yum. The Hawaiian word for pineapple is "halakahiki" (remember what I said about 14 characters in the Hawaiian language?).

We also learned that a pineapple plant has three growing seasons before it is done. The first fruit is borne in eighteen months; the second is thirty-two months and the last is forty-five months. The plants grow close to waist high. The Cayenne pineapple is the variety grown for general customer purchase.

The people who plant pineapples can plant 10,000 plants per day on over a half acre. Can you believe it? Next time you buy a pineapple at the store, imagine the poor person that planted the plant. Yikes. They also had photographs depicting those who pick the pineapples. They are so heavily clothed to protect their bodies from the picky, pointy plants.

We enjoyed the walk through the gardens, enjoying bird of paradise, hibiscus, bromeliads (by the way, pineapples are bromeliads), and even an unusual purple water lily. This was so relaxing. We both noticed the unique bark of a gum tree. We saw something like this when we were in the Grand Canyon area last spring but this tree was really striking. It had the absolute smoothest bark and the bark was multi-colored in pale greens, pinks and grays. It was almost like a striped camouflage.

Once leaving the plantation, we head north towards the famed surfing areas. Along the way, Dennis got out of the car and took a few shots of pineapple fields with mountains in the background. Maybe the Dole family is looking for a new label on their canned pineapple and will use one. lol

The best surfing on the north shores of Oahu begins in December, but as we drove past spots where we could view the surfers, we noticed that every available parking spot (and even those places that were not parking lots) were filled with cars and trucks. Their owners were out on the waves, enjoying a gorgeous Hawaii day. The surfers were out so far, we were really unable to photograph them so that you would see more than a dot in the picture. Despite that fact, it was so enjoyable to drive along the coast and see the glorious natural wonder. When you think of waves on Lake Huron on a windy day and then multiply them by ten, that is hint at what these waves looked like. They must be unbelievable in December.

We stopped in a little town called Haleiwa (no, not Halleluia) that was filled with walkers and vacationers. There were craft stands and cute little shops. We saw an artist who cleverly painted Hawaiian scenes on surfboards. Some of the boards were standing up in the ground and created a “picket fence” or panorama. Very cool.

Our last stop for the day was the Polynesian Cultural Center, where many of the Polynesian nations are represented. They have the all American greed culture down pat as we had to pay $9 just to park the car. Then it was $45 each for general admission. Think of this place like a small part of Cedar Point or Six Flags, where an area is dedicated to a certain era. Cedar Point has Frontier Town. The Polynesian Cultural Center had areas representing Samoa, Fiji, Hawaii, Tonga, Tahiti, etc. Each area offered demonstrations and shows at different times of the day. The Center also abounded with gorgeous flowers, waterfalls and man made rivers. You felt as if you were on a Pacific island each time you entered a nation’s area.

We particularly enjoyed the Samoan show. The presenter was not only talented, but also funny. He showed how the Samoans made fire, cut a coconut, shredded coconut and even climbed a coconut tree. He said that in Samoa, the men do all the cooking. Now, I could learn to like that. He said that the men would serve their wife and family and their parents. Once their sons were old enough to cook, they took over and the older man didn’t have to cook any longer. He said that the women of Samoa were very happy. I can see why. He also said there weren’t any men left on Samoa. lol

Another area that was fun to visit was the Hawaii exhibition. They were teaching the hula. I got into it and learned the steps and hand actions. My hips however, do not perform the way the female hula dancers hips performed. They almost appeared double jointed at the hips. Hmmmm….

We took a ride on one of the canoes that traverses the river and enjoyed the scenery from that perspective.

We ran out of time, as we needed to get the rental car back and head to the airport. Everything went as planned and we were waiting for the plane about 1 ½ hours before departure. Watching them load that A330 Airbus makes you gulp. They had more pallets (looked more like boxcars) to load onto that plane. Much of it was probably food for the flight (300 passengers for a nine hour flight) but there also must have been a lot of freight that they were transporting to the mainland for other companies.

Once on the plane, we settled in for our non-stop flight home. We were leaving Hawaii at 6:00 PM and it would be 9:00 AM when we arrived back in Detroit. We would need to sleep on that plane in order to stay in synch. Dennis was successful; I was not. I watched a couple movies, read and dozed. We landed in Detroit, glad to be home but filled with memories to last a lifetime.

If you’ve ever considered Hawaii but thought it too far or too expensive, start saving your money. It is worth every penny. It is truly a national treasure. Hawaiians are friendly, kind and very appreciative of tourists.

“Mahalo” (Thank you) for reading this blog and traveling with us again. Aloha!