Last Day in Kaua'i - Friday, October 8, 2010

This is our last day on Kaua’i. The ship departs from port at 2:00 PM. In an unusual itinerary, the ship will actually head in a northwesterly direction along the Kaua’i coast so that everyone on the ship can see the beautiful Na Pali coast. Once we are at the coast and everyone on board has an opportunity to see this area that is only available for viewing via boat or helicopter, the boat will turn around and head south towards Honolulu.

We ate breakfast and then decided to catch a shuttle to do a bit of shopping. At the last minute, Dennis bailed on me and hopped on a trolley that would go towards the beach. Camera in tow, he was hoping to get a couple shots of the cruise ship and some beautiful scenes along the shore.

Did a bit of shopping and just people watching. I know this may be politically incorrect but I am going to say it anyway. If I offend anyone, I am sorry. One of the best things about this cruise was the fact that every sign we saw, every piece of information we read was in ENGLISH. No Spanish subtitles. It is amazing to me as the Hawaiian language is spoken on the Islands BUT they use English as the language of commerce. Why can’t we do that in the rest of the United States? There, I said it.

After browsing, I called Dennis because I realized the beach was right behind the shopping area I was walking. We connected. I told him that we should run to each other when we saw each other on the beach like they do in the movies, but he didn’t see it my way. lol

We walked along the beach and enjoyed the beautiful flowers and green areas around the nearby Marriott hotel. On the property was a sign, hanging next to a dangling coconut.
The sign said:




If the coconut is wet…it’s raining
If the coconut is swaying…it’s windy
If the coconut is hot…it’s warm
If the coconut is cool…it’s overcast
If the coconut is blue…it’s cold
If the coconut is shaking…earthquake
If the coconut is gone…hurricane

Too funny.

We ran into a Vietnam vet trying to make a few bucks who was making birds and flowers from coconut tree fronds. This guy was really talented. Too bad the delicate creations won’t make it in our luggage.

We headed back to the ship, ready to head back to Honolulu. Kaua’i is a beautiful and peaceful island.

At about 5:30 PM, we reached the Na Pali Coast area of Kauai. It was as gorgeous as we imagined. This is the spot where we tried to get a photograph yesterday and were foiled by clouds. Now we were at sea level and despite clouds at the top of the mountains, we had a clear view. We photographed the scene from our balcony and were even able to get the cabin steward to take our picture. How lucky we are.

The ship will be back in Honolulu at 7 AM tomorrow. We will rent a car again and drive to the north side of Oahu before we depart for home in the evening. I need to practice my “Aloha”.