Kailua-Kona - Wednesday, October 6, 2010

The ship came into port early but this is a place where we are “tendered”. That means that the ship stays out a half-mile or so of Kailua-Kona and we take small boats to shore. Probably the dock area is not deep enough. The cruise lines sometimes select other spots to be able to dock, but this makes it harder for passengers to get around town. When we got off the small boat, we could walk Kailua-Kona’s streets and get the lay of the land. This is the only place where we are not going to rent a car. The airport is eight miles away and there is not a shuttle provided to the rental car location.

We quickly realize that Kailua-Kona is not a sleepy town today. We notice that the beach area has been transformed into an Olympic-type swimming course. Hundreds of athletes are swimming the course. We notice huge signs with “Ironman” on them. We hear so many languages that we cannot decipher. We learn that this is a worldwide competition. Hard bodied men and women are standing around, making the average person look obese. The competition also features a bicycle portion. The bike course is 112 miles long. Not sure about the swimming portion, but obviously neither of us will be entering the race.
We found an older, white-haired guy in a Hawaiian shirt, hawking a “historical tour of Kona”. The tour includes a stop at the oldest Kona coffee plantation, founded in 1850. The Greenwell Plantation is one of hundreds of plantation, although it happens to be one of the largest. It has a processing facility on the property and so other farms sell their beans to Greenwell’s.

We decided to take the 3-½ hour tour. Besides the coffee plantation, we visited St. Benedict’s Historic Catholic Church, also known as the Painted Church. The founder of this parish realized that his primitive Hawaiian parishioners could not read. Being a painting enthusiast, he decided to take important stories from the Bible and paint them into murals on the interior church walls. Although not Michelangelo, the work was impressive. The church also had a parish cemetery, filled with above ground crypts. It wasn’t because of a high water table as it is in New Orleans, but because of the lava. The lava is so hard that it can only be dug down six inches.

We also stopped at the Place of Refuge Pu’uhanua O Hanaunau National Historic Park. Ancient Hawaiian people inhabited this preserved park. Reenactment areas were set up and a walking tour was designed for visitors. It was absolutely beautiful and it was clear why it was a beloved place. Carvings that look like Native American totem poles dot the area. Scary faces on those carvings! They were designed to keep invaders away. The beaches were actual lava rock and people were actually sunbathing on the hard surfaces. It was a rather hot day and so it must have been really warm on those rocks. The park also had some wildlife at home, including sea turtles and interesting birds.

Dennis and I have laughed over the last few days about the Hawaiian street names we have struggled to pronounce and names that Garmin has massacred. Our tour director explained that there are only fourteen characters in the Hawaiian language and one of the characters is an upside down type apostrophe. That explains why we see so few letters in Hawaiian words (King Kamehameha, for example). The apostrophe separates vowels into syllables. The true spelling of “Hawaii” is “Hawai’i”. The “w” is actually pronounced as a “v” within a word. It is pronounced as a “w” at the beginning of a word. So, it is pronounced, “Havai-i”. Enough of the language lesson for today. lol

We learned quite a bit about Kona coffee and now understand why it is so expensive. There is a relatively small area where designated Kona coffee is grown. It is a mere 22 miles north to south and a strip that begins 800 feet from the shore to 2,500 feet wide. Not much land. This specific area has a certain temperature average and up to 80 inches of rain per year. This is compared to only 8-10 inches in the town of Kailua-Kona!
When the coffee bean (more like a cherry) is picked, and is then processed, the volume of the bean ends up only being 1/7 of the original weight. So, a pound of Kona coffee requires seven pounds of beans to be picked. Wow. We also learned that 20% of all Kona coffee worldwide comes from the Greenwell Plantation. Once the beans are processed, they are sold to different coffee companies. The coffee companies actually roast the beans and then label the coffee with their name. The beans, prior to roasting can be preserved for two years.

We were lucky enough to actually see the beans on the trees and Dennis held a couple in his hand. The bean or berry is actually peeled. There are three layers before you get to the real bean that is roasted. The red portion is believed to be very good for you and is well known in the health food industry. A drink is made from the skin of the bean.

We had a chance to taste fourteen different flavors of the coffee (we only tried three). One unique flavor is made from Peaberry beans. Peaberry beans are not typical beans that look like two halves (kind of like a walnut half). Peaberry beans are single. It creates a Kona coffee that is sweeter. Mmmm. I bought a couple bags of this “gold” coffee. It will be brewed for special occasions in the next few months.

Sadly, we faced more cloudy skies today. Some of the pictures would have been so much more dramatic had we had sun and blue skies. Some of them with white skies will probably end up having a sunset behind them once Dennis is finished working with them in Photoshop. lol

We photographed the historic Hulihe’e Palace and another historic church in town. Dennis took a tender back to the ship and I walked around town a bit longer. I caught the last tender back to the boat. Once everyone was on board, the ship departed Kona.

Our final island will be the northernmost Hawaiian island, Kaua’i. We will be there for two days. It is reputed to be the most beautiful island, with gorgeous waterfalls and beautiful flowers.

Hilo Hawaii - Tuesday, October 5, 2010

We awoke this morning to rain, rain and more rain. Our intent was to tour Hilo Hawaii, one of our two stops on the “big island” of Hawaii. This is the largest Hawaiian island. We checked the weather on the Internet and it didn’t look promising. We have a car rental reserved and are debating whether or not to cancel it. We went to breakfast on the ship, came back to the room and decided to cancel. I was going to get off the ship, catch a bus and do a little shopping. It doesn’t take much coaxing to get me to do that. We spoke with a couple of the wait staff and that was the suggestion of the ladies. No problem. Dennis was going to stay on the ship and just chill.

A half hour later it looked like it might clear up and we began rethinking our plan. Why not give it a whirl? We really wanted to see Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and that would take a car (or a tour bus and we both have an aversion to them). So, we hustled and disembarked. We caught the shuttle to the car rental location at the airport, picked up the car and were on our way. It was still raining intermittently but we persisted in our efforts to see the volcanoes. This park is one of the few active volcanoes. It is a mere 4,000 feet, considerably shorter than the island’s other volcano, Mauna Lea (which towers at almost 14,000 feet).

The volcano park is only 30 miles away. We drive along a very well maintained road (the big island of Hawaii has over 500 miles of road). Upon entering the park, we stopped at the visitors’ center to get the “skinny”. We learned that a number of roads are currently closed due to lava flows and others are closed due to high concentrations of sulfur dioxide. Oh those darn environmentalists. They are going to save us by protecting us from what millions of people have been exposed to over the years. Darn. We drove a mere 2.5 miles of the 11 on the Crater Rim Drive. We were able to see Kilauea Caldera, and the crate of the Halemaumau Volcano. There was a huge cloud of smoke emanating from the center. Pretty cool. Unfortunately, it was so overcast, that the smoke tended to blend in with the very grey sky.

Next, we took the drive down Chain of Craters Road. This eighteen-mile drive descends all the way to the Pacific Ocean, traversing previous lava flows. It also has a “lava tube”, a tunnel that visitors can walk through as part of a rain forest environment.

We continue on the descending road, stopping at Mauna Ulu, a lava flow that was active from 1969 through 1974. We also stopped at Kealakomo Overlook, which gives the viewer a look at expansive areas that include some plant life, lava river flow areas leading to the Pacific. Again, since the weather was far less than ideal, the lighting didn’t give the scene the contrast that would have really made it pop. Okay, I’ll stop complaining…we are in Hawaii and I don’t think everyone back home cares that we are enduring some less than stellar weather. lol

As we neared the ocean, we had an opportunity to actually get close to the water, watching the waves crash violently against the lava shores. Not that long ago, 43 acres of “land” broke away from the shore. Yikes. I didn’t want to get too close. Might end up like Gilligan’s Island, out in the middle of nowhere. We wouldn’t even have the Captain with us. We did get some great shots, however. After taking a number of exposures, Dennis yelled that a huge wave was coming. I turned my back and started running, trying to protect my camera. A huge wave crashed against the shore and pummeled us with salty water. We were both soaked, but we were quick enough to protect the cameras. Wow, now that will be an indelible memory.






We saw this prose about volcanoes on a shirt today:

Stay active.
Keep your inner fire burning.
It’s okay to let off steam.
Go with the flow.
Be uplifting.
It’s all a matter of time.
Have a blast!

Driving along the road, we saw a tsunami evacuation route sign. Gulp. Here we are in a lava flow area and now we see a tsunami sign. Might we be playing with danger? lol

We finished our picture taking and realized that we would need to get moving if we were going to be able to shoot anything else.

We headed back to town, looking for an imposing statue of King Kamehameha, in Hilo. We also wanted to catch a glimpse of Rainbow Falls. Back in town we found the impressive statue. King Kamehameha was born on the island of Hawaii. He is credited with uniting the islands and leaves a family history in the islands.

We crossed the street and Dennis wanted to photograph some outriggers in Bayfront Park. As we were getting back in the car, I noticed we had a flat tire. Uh oh. Could that have been from the curb I hit as we exited the area where the King’s statue was located? We had to be back to the ship in an hour. I called the rental car place and got an answering machine! We looked in the trunk and found one of those little tires. We got out the jack and the directions. Dennis quickly figured it out and began the task of changing the tire. We didn’t have an option, as it would be very pricy to miss that ship. Within ten minutes he had the tire changed. Thank you, thank you. We filled up the tank and quickly headed back to the car rental location at the airport. We caught the shuttle back to the ship.

We found out that we will be treated to a nighttime sight of the flowing lava tonight. The ship will slowly travel past an area of the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (a spot we could not get near today by car). We have been promised quite an exciting show as the lava flows into the ocean. We were not disappoointed!

Tomorrow, Kona. Since coffee is my all time favorite drink, I can’t wait!

Last Day in Maui - Monday, October 4, 2010

We were off the ship by 8:00 AM this morning. Our rental car was where we left it last night (we managed to get the last spot in the parking lot!) and we were ready to get going. Our first destination is Iao Valley State Park. This unique area features pinnacle like mountains. The park is also filled with tropical plants and flowers. There is also a softly flowing river with a rocky riverbed. Unfortunately, there is a cloud hanging over the park and it is spitting raindrops. The rain isn’t so bad, but the cloudiness isn’t the greatest for pictures. We decide to photograph several spots in the park and keep moving. If we finish our list of destinations today and the sky clears, we might come back.

We leave the park and head southwest to West Maui. Our first stop is a small resort town called Lahaina. It is a quaint, historic town, filled with little shops, fishing spots and beaches. In other words, paradise! We photographed a few historical buildings, some fishing charters and an enormous banyan tree. The tree was incredible. We also captured a Sugar Cane Train that takes passengers on a one hour trip to sugar cane fields.



West Maui has two developed areas that are very popular for travelers. One is Kapalua and the other is Kaanapali. Both were developed as destination resorts, with a mix of villas, condos, hotels, etc. Those of you that follow the game of golf and the show, “Big Break”, may remember Kaanapali as the site of one of the competitions. The golf course is immaculate and well manicured, but it also appears to be very fair. Fairways are wide and danger is minimized. That is great if you are vacationing and golfing. No need to frustrate golfers, especially if on vacation. Wish my golf game had that philosophy at all times. lol

This side of the island focuses on relaxation and beautiful beaches. In fact, the Best Beach in America 2006 is D.T. Fleming Beach Park, just north of Kapalua. It is gorgeous, with strong waves, sandy beach and tree covered picnic areas. We enjoyed our lunch at one of the picnic tables. Talk about a room with a view…

After a couple hours in this area, we begin back towards the east side of the island, where our cruise ship is located. On the way, we dip down a bit and stop in Kihei. We had seen a picture of outriggers side by side on the beach. We wanted to capture that image and we did. The weather near Iao Valley State Park still had heavy clouds and some rain, so we gave up on the possibility of photographing it again.

Along our return drive, we see a sugar can processing plant and sugar cane fields. There is even a sugar cane museum. The smell emanating from the plant was remarkably similar to the familiar smell in the fall in Croswell, Michigan. The town is four miles from our home and it is an offensive and strong odor when the sugar beets are processed. We are thousands of miles from home, but we experience a familiar “scent”.

Despite the cloudiness and precipitation near the State Park, the skies are beautifully blue and sunny near the ocean. Our last stop before we return the rental car is a beach area near Pa’ia called Hookipa Beach Park. This is a world-renowned spot for windsurfing and surfboarding. It is so busy there that the two groups have agreed upon spots in the bay area where they “play”. We were not disappointed. The wind and the waves were fierce; so strong that it was tough to stand and take pictures at times. I had to significantly widen my stance to maintain stability. It was a thrill to see so many athletes enjoy a natural phenomenon. As mentioned a couple days ago, there isn’t an inch of fat on any of these wave lovers. If only I had known about this thirty years ago. Lol

We were ready to call it a day. We filled up the gas tank and headed to the rental car spot. They had a shuttle take us back to the dock. We took a few pictures of our ship, NCL’s Pride of America at the dock before reboarding.

Tomorrow, we visit the “big island”, Hawaii. We will be visiting Hilo on Tuesday and the ship will have us on the other side at Kona on Wednesday.

Beautiful Maui...Sunday, October 3, 2010

We awake to a beautiful shore….Maui! We will be on this island two days. Our plan is to grab something to eat and depart the ship. We have a car rental reservation and hope to tour the island on our own. We also got smart this cruise. Since we won’t be on the ship any day and won’t get a chance to indulge in the incredible feasts, we grabbed some food for lunch and packed it in an insulated cooler. We can eat whenever we want during the day. Hopefully, we will find a great lunch spot along the coast.

Everything goes so smoothly as far as the car rental goes it is scary. We laughed as we saw some chickens outside the rental location at the airport, but we really did get a regular car (Jeep Compass) and not a farm tractor. lol

As we exited the rental area, we see an incredible rainbow. This one is so vivid and sharp; we had to stop for a photo. I broke out into a Judy Garland routine and Dennis quickly begged me to stop. Just jealous. lol

Off we go. Our first destination is Haleakala National Park, home of a million year old dormant volcano. It stands 10,000 feet. As we begin the ascent to the volcano, we face two problems: low hanging clouds full of rain and a road that twists and turns constantly. In fact, as we are driving, I looked at the GPS on the dash and saw the car icon doing a constant 360-degree spin. It didn’t show a road, just the little car and a continual spin. That is an indication of how twisty the road was. As we drove up the road we kept debating whether we should continue. Below us it appears to be sunny. As we go higher in elevation the weather deteriorates. We learned when we got to the summit that the temperature is generally 32 degrees lower than at ocean level. At the summit, we could see lava rock and a barren landscape. In the distance, we see the Haleakala Observatories. These remarkable units have been placed here for defense and environmental studies. This location has been found to be the fourth best air quality spot on the planet! The telescopes in the observatories could see a basketball 20,000 miles away. It is said that ancient Hawaiians would bring young people to this summit to study the stars and constellations. We weren’t sure about the air quality. With the rain and the prevailing wind, it was soooo cold that we couldn’t wait to get our pictures and scoot.

We were able to descend more quickly than we ascended. Thank goodness. We have places to see today.

We are now headed towards the Hana Highway. It is reputed to be one of the “must see” spots on Maui. We plan to take this road to the town of Kipahulu. Charles Lindbergh is buried there. It must be a beautiful place, right? We know that we will face a less than straight road along the way. The map shows some twisting and turning but the drive should be gorgeous. We’ll find a spot to enjoy that delicious lunch we packed.

It is quickly evident that this ride will not be a relaxing jaunt. Rather, it is full of switchbacks, hairpin turns and nail biting cliffs. Without exaggeration, we crossed at least 150 single lane bridges. We are NOT exaggerating. We were not able to drive more than 20 miles an hour at any point. A 50-mile trip took us three hours. Gulp. We have to be back by dark, don’t we? We saw some really neat vistas but we couldn’t pull over because there were never turnouts! We did find a primitive park setting where we did enjoy our sumptuous lunch (in our car). We finally located Lindbergh’s burial place, located on the grounds of a small church. Near the grave was a beautiful view of the ocean. Lindbergh (born in Detroit) was 74 when he passed away.

Near Lindbergh’s resting place was the Oheo Gulch area. Here is a beautiful and gentle waterfall, which falls into a pool. There are a total of four pools and a crowd of visitors is enjoying them. It is an idyllic setting. To be in Hawaii, on Maui on a beautiful day is truly a gift.

We know that we need to get moving if we are going to get back to the ship before nightfall. We dread the three-hour return and the tedious drive. We spoke with the ranger at the Oheo Gulch area, asking her about alternative routes. The only one that we see possible is one that traverses areas where lava flows once moved to the ocean. The rental car company provides the map we are using and it clearly states that we are not to drive in these areas. The ranger however assures us that the road is very safe, albeit slow and unpaved. She tells us that it is a much easier return route and that it will be a comparatively piece of cake. Okay, we’ll take a chance.

We quickly realize why the rental car company advises against this route. Not only is it unpaved; it makes the hairpin turn drive we described earlier look like a super highway. We trudge along at a 10 to 15 mile an hour pace. This is a better route??? Hmmmm

At one point, we see black sheep (not kidding) with horns cross the road at a spot where it is marked “cattle crossing”. They are heading towards the ocean.
Finally, we reach a point where the road is smoothly paved. Yes it is smooth, but straight? Not a chance. In fact, even areas where the road could be straight, it is the most crooked “straight” road we have ever seen. It looks like a drunken construction crew put this one together. It is the poster child for all things uneven, irregular, non-straight. Maybe there will be a math textbook looking for an illustration depicting a non-straight line. lol

The map showed that should be a spot where petroglyphs are located. We didn’t see the petroglyphs, but Dennis photographed a painted rock that he says is a Hawaiian petroglyph. Not sure about that.

We successfully made it back to the ship twenty minutes before sunset. Not quite the day we expected, but interesting nonetheless.