Our last day we disembarked the ship and headed for Waikiki. We were psyched that we found a shuttle that was only $5/person, since the taxi was going to be a flat $25 rate. It took a bit to get to everyone's hotel on the shuttle b/c they were having a parade in Waikiki, but it was cool to be able to see the parade! I think God was giving us an easy send-off from Hawaii, b/c it was cloudy and drizzled all day – made it much easier to be ready to leave! We got a hotel in Waikiki for the day b/c we didn't know what to do with our luggage, plus we wanted to get a shower before we left for the airport. We had lunch at Chili's, then went back to the hotel, where we heard loud planes overhead – what the heck? Turns out they were doing an airshow as part of whatever festival was going on – we could see the planes go over the beach and then again when they turned around behind our hotel. Too cool!
We also took advantage of the free internet at the hotel to finish up a couple of posts and get more pictures uploaded. Around 6:00pm, we headed for the airport. We were the last of 2 couples to be picked up, so we got to go straight there. When we got there they checked our luggage through the Agriculture check, and then we went over to pick up our 27 pound box of pineapples, fresh from the plantation! We didn't plan to keep all those for ourselves, rest assured ;) We got to check the pineapples through to Cincinnati so we only had to pick them up and send them through – too easy!
We had a couple of hours to wait for our flight since our flight crew got in late on the last flight, and they have an 8 hour mandatory rest period before leaving out again. The flight back actually seemed quicker than the flight from TX to HI, believe it or not…and especially to me, since I was able to sleep about 4 hours, while Jarrett only slept about 2 hours – yuck! We had another couple hours to wait in TX before heading to OH, since we couldn't get on an earlier flight, but we occupied ourselves by adding captions to pictures – ha! ;) Then it was off to OH, where we arrived 30 minutes early (yay!) and Mom/Sharon picked us up – thanks again, Mom! After dropping off Mom in Loveland we headed to Georgetown to pick up Zoey! Thanks again to Peggy and David for taking care of our little pup – we're sure she got plenty of spoiling while we were gone!!
So now we're back on the mainland, and it truly was a good length of a vacation – I think we were about toured out! There is no denying that Hawaii is one of the most beautiful places on Earth – there truly is nowhere else like it. It was so amazing to see how diversified the different islands were – they are all beautiful in their own way! It is now one week after we've returned, and I will be picking up the CD and prints of our snorkel adventure, so be sure to check those out in the Kona section of the pictures. All of the pictures should be uploaded by now or within the next couple days, but rest assured, there's nothing like being there to see it with your own eyes – we recommend you all go if you have the chance!!
That's the end of the blog…until the next trip…ALOHA!!
Monday, September 24, 2007
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Relaxing Day in Kaua’i
For the first morning of our whole vacation, we actually slept in this morning! It felt really good to not have to get up to an alarm! We decided to skip breakfast to 
head off the ship to do some shopping. Jarrett had seen a Red Dirt t-shirt, which is dyed with the red dirt in Kaua’i, and he decided he wanted one. We took the free shuttle to the Anchor Cove shops and found the Red Dirt factory outlet, where each of us got a shirt. We also bought some other souvenirs from the ABC store, which is pretty big in Hawaii. After taking a look at the public beach in front of the Marriot, we took the shuttle back to the ship. We debated going to Hilo Hattie, which is a big souvenir store in Hawaii, but decided we didn’t really need anything else, so we opted against it.
After coming through security for the last time and boarding the ship, we went to the Aloha Café for lunch and ate outside on the back of the ship. We next went and looked at the photos in the photo gallery which had been taken of us throughout our trip on the ship, and ended up purchasing the photos taken of u
s last night at the Luau. After dropping off our pictures in the room, we sat by the pool to listen to music, then played shuffleboard on one of the upper decks, which was fun after we figured out the rules! We hung out in the room for a little while and then staked out a spot on the back of the boat to watch as the ship sailed by the Na’Pali Coast, which is where the intro to Jurassic Park was filmed! It was absolutely amazing – huge cliffs with varying vegetation. After we sailed past the Na’Pali Coast and turned around, we watched the sun set, and then dressed for dinner. After watching the guest talent show, we went to our last dinner on the ship at Little Italy, then packed, and now we’re headed to bed! Tomorrow we disembark and spend the day in Waikiki before boarding a plane back to the mainland! More tomorrow – until then, Aloha!
head off the ship to do some shopping. Jarrett had seen a Red Dirt t-shirt, which is dyed with the red dirt in Kaua’i, and he decided he wanted one. We took the free shuttle to the Anchor Cove shops and found the Red Dirt factory outlet, where each of us got a shirt. We also bought some other souvenirs from the ABC store, which is pretty big in Hawaii. After taking a look at the public beach in front of the Marriot, we took the shuttle back to the ship. We debated going to Hilo Hattie, which is a big souvenir store in Hawaii, but decided we didn’t really need anything else, so we opted against it.After coming through security for the last time and boarding the ship, we went to the Aloha Café for lunch and ate outside on the back of the ship. We next went and looked at the photos in the photo gallery which had been taken of us throughout our trip on the ship, and ended up purchasing the photos taken of u
s last night at the Luau. After dropping off our pictures in the room, we sat by the pool to listen to music, then played shuffleboard on one of the upper decks, which was fun after we figured out the rules! We hung out in the room for a little while and then staked out a spot on the back of the boat to watch as the ship sailed by the Na’Pali Coast, which is where the intro to Jurassic Park was filmed! It was absolutely amazing – huge cliffs with varying vegetation. After we sailed past the Na’Pali Coast and turned around, we watched the sun set, and then dressed for dinner. After watching the guest talent show, we went to our last dinner on the ship at Little Italy, then packed, and now we’re headed to bed! Tomorrow we disembark and spend the day in Waikiki before boarding a plane back to the mainland! More tomorrow – until then, Aloha!
Waimea Canyon
This morning we had a short breakfast at the Aloha Café, then we boarded the bus with Roberts Hawaii for the Journey to Waimea Canyon excursion. Waimea Canyon is considered the “Grand Canyon of the Pacific,” with many brilliant layers of colors and lots of vegetation too. We were very excited to see it. Our tour guide was a little quirky but very informative and gave us lots of info about the island of Kaua’i. On the way we stopped first at a blowhole, which was similar to the one we’d seen before but which had greater height – it was pretty neat. Across the street from that state park there were condos being built, which our tour guide said started at $1 million. Pretty pricey, eh? In the blowhole’s park, there were lots of chickens and roosters, 
which we learned had been let out of their fences during the 1992 hurricane, and which have been roaming around since. Some of them had baby chicks following them around – too fun! We had one more stop at a random gift shop on the way to the Canyon, where we got some Mauna Loa macadamia nuts (a big brand in Hawaii) which were Onion and Garlic flavored…interesting, but a little too strong, so I ate half the bag and threw the rest away – ha! On the rest of the drive to the Canyon we could see the island of Niihau, a smaller island in the chain that is not far from Kaua’i. We learned that at one time about 100,000 people had lived there, but that as Kaua’i began to advance in technology (electricity, plumbing) people began moving off the island, because it is so small and there really hasn’t been any effort to get modern amenities there. Now about 7,000 people live there, and they can come over on Tuesdays and Thursdays to go to the new Costco on Kaua’i!
The view of Waimea Canyon was simply breathtaking – you’ll have to look at the pictures to see what I mean! It was formed over many years by a river, just like the Grand Canyon. The tour guide was nice enough to take our picture with the part that is more vegetated – too much fun!
After viewing the Canyon we headed back toward the ship. On the way we stopped at the Kaua’I Coffee Company, which is surrounded by its coffee fields. Their coffee is good like Kona coffee, and isn’t as strong. They also have lots of flavors!
Once we were back to the ship we got ready for the luau. We left before some of the other people who went to the luau because we booked a ride on the Plantation Train around the luau site. When we got to the luau we both got leis – I got a beautiful orchid lei and Jarrett got a shell lei. Then we went on the train ride. The plantation has fruit trees including mango, banana, coconut and avocado, a cashew tree (did you know the cashew nut is actually the seed of the cashew fruit, and that it must be roasted before eaten because in its raw state it is poisonous?), sugar cane, bread fruit, etc.
We also saw the pigs, donkeys, and horses they keep on the property, lots of palms, the Cook Pine, and lots of the beautiful grounds.
After we got back from the train ride we wandered around the demonstrations and craft tables. They had a couple of sets of boys playing traditional Polynesian games, and there were several craft sites – we got an ornament for our Christmas tree! They also had temporary tattoos, and I got a turtle. We next went to the hut
where they had the pig cooking in the sand. They bury it in leaves with hot rocks around it. It had been cooking since 7:30 that morning They had taken the guts out of the pig, so it didn’t look quite as disgusting when they got it out ;) They also had a little ceremony including dancers dancing with halved coconuts which had been lighted with fire, and a lady singing a Polynesian song with a male Polynesian drummer – very cool.It was an open bar, so you know what that means! We had lots of Mai Tai’s, a couple Blue Hawaiians, and a few LIT’s. That just made the luau that much better – ha!! ;) The food was presented buffet style, and they had broken the pork up like bar-b-que from home – it was really good!
The show was truly amazing. It was the story of the migration of the Polynesian people from the Marquesas Islands to Hawaii. They used the stars, currents, winds and migration of animals as their guide to the new islands. The show included fire dancers, which was also really cool!After the show we headed back to the ship and had a snack, basically just because we could, but also to kill the buzz ;) Next we went to the Newlywed Game, the Liar Show, and stayed for a bit of the Late Night Dance Party – then it was off to bed! We hope to shop a little in the morning, and then enjoy a little more relaxed day of vacation! Until tomorrow, Aloha!
An Adventure Excursion?
Today we arrived in Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii for only a few hours. What an amazing part of the island, though. Our morning started off very interesting.
First, the shore line at Kona is absent of a pier and the water is to shallow for the ship to anchor near the shore. We got our first and hopefully only ride on the life boats. They lowered the orange and white life boats from their positions on the boat to use as tenders for the day. The ship anchored several yards from the shore. This made the tender ride about 10 minutes. The only time I’ve felt queasy this entire trip has been on the tender. The ride is not very sturdy in the choppy ocean. On the outside of the tender it has large words saying 109 passengers as a tender and 150 as a lifeboat. During one of the tender trips we had 70 people on the tender; I’m not sure where the other 39 people would have fit not to mention the other 80 if it was being used as a lifeboat… But I’m sure if the need should arrive for the tender to serve a lifeboat we’ll sit in each other’s laps.
Our second and probably most adventurous portion of this trip came during our snorkeling excursion. Some of you may remember a couple years ago Jill and I went on a cruise to the Bahamas at Christmas. As a Christmas gift for me Jill booked us an excursion to swim with sting rays. If I’ve never told you the story about swimming with the sting rays ask me sometime, but for time sake just use your imagination… swimming in open waters with sting rays, sounds safe right? Well, today’s snorkeling excursion proved to be no safer and this time I booked the excursion (paybacks are hell…haha)!
We met the rest of our group who will be snorkeling with us at the pier. They go over some basic guidelines (no one with heart trouble, back problems, etc). The lady asks us if we all understand we signed up for an adventure tour. Sure, I consider snorkeling in open ocean waters an adventure, so we were okay with the “adventure” part. Little did we know her idea of adventure and ours is completely different. She proceeds to lead us to the Captain Zodiac raft, that’s right I said raft! At this point I’m thinking to myself, how the hell do I get out of this? I don’t want to go way out in the ocean, the Pacific Ocean, in a RAFT! I look around no one else is backing out and Jill seems okay… so by peer pressure I board the raft.
If you have never been on a raft, which I had not, there are no seats. You sit on the sides where there are hand and feet ropes for you to hold yourself in place. We meet our captain and his mate. The captain again goes over all the guidelines and discusses this is an “adventure” tour. I’m really beginning to realize the word adventure is not describing what they in store for us. Once we our away from the pier far enough the captain picks up speeds to 45 mph. A raft in the choppy ocean at 45 mph, not a good idea. We immediately grasp his understanding of adventure when he whips the raft on its side to circle a large boat in the water just for fun and continues to follow the shore line as it curves in and out. Each curve meant the boat leaning to one side where
we had to hang on for dear life. I was holding the hand rope, a handle, and had both feet secured under the foot “safety” rope. I have never experienced anything like this. An adventure for sure!
The cool part, on our way to the reef we see dolphins coming up out of the water and we stop to take a closer look. There were several dolphins and they continued to play for several minutes. Jill even saw a baby dolphin jump up. As we continued on to the reef the captain made another sudden stop, because there were whales in front of us. We watched the whales for at least 15 minutes. The captain told us has been giving these tours for 5 years and this was only his third time to see the whales. The captain and his mate were extremely excited and continued telling us how lucky we are to see the whales. Very cool! Almost makes the raft in the ocean worth it!
Finally, we make it to the reef for our time to snorkel among the diversity of the ocean. The waters are so clear we can see the reef and fish from the boat. We get a little instruction on how to snorkel and we are out of the raft. Jill and I snorkeled close together to see everything. The coral is very colorful and large. There are many types of fish and other sea life. We saw an eel and parrot fish. Jill and I swam away from the reef out to the blue sea and were able to see bigger fish way below us that looked really ugly and mean. They did not seem to care we were there. People have told us Hawaii’s reefs are 2nd best only to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. I’ve snorkeled now both and can say that Hawaii’s reef is very close to the Great Barrier. Not as large as the Great Barrier, but the beauty is very much the same.
After coming back on board the raft, they had snacks for us. Knowing we had an adventurous return raft ride back to pier I opted for no snacks. The ride back did not seem as thrilling as the ride out to the reef. We stopped at a couple lava tubes and saw what is believed to be the rock formation of goddess Pele. Pele is goddess of fire.
Upon returning from our adventurous snorkeling trip we did some shopping along the pier and farmers market. Jill and I both bought kukui nut necklaces. The kukui nuts are native to Hawaii and are worn by men and women during times of celebration.
It was our final tender ride back to the ship where we rested before the night’s entertainment. Tonight was prime rib night at the Aloha Café. We watched one of the ships dance shows and saw the comedian Chris Alpine, who is very funny! We even stayed up late to go to the 80s night dance party.
Tomorrow we arrive in Kaua’i, our last island of this trip. It’s quickly winding down, but I’m sure we have at least 2 more days of splendid paradise remaining. Aloha, for now!
First, the shore line at Kona is absent of a pier and the water is to shallow for the ship to anchor near the shore. We got our first and hopefully only ride on the life boats. They lowered the orange and white life boats from their positions on the boat to use as tenders for the day. The ship anchored several yards from the shore. This made the tender ride about 10 minutes. The only time I’ve felt queasy this entire trip has been on the tender. The ride is not very sturdy in the choppy ocean. On the outside of the tender it has large words saying 109 passengers as a tender and 150 as a lifeboat. During one of the tender trips we had 70 people on the tender; I’m not sure where the other 39 people would have fit not to mention the other 80 if it was being used as a lifeboat… But I’m sure if the need should arrive for the tender to serve a lifeboat we’ll sit in each other’s laps.
Our second and probably most adventurous portion of this trip came during our snorkeling excursion. Some of you may remember a couple years ago Jill and I went on a cruise to the Bahamas at Christmas. As a Christmas gift for me Jill booked us an excursion to swim with sting rays. If I’ve never told you the story about swimming with the sting rays ask me sometime, but for time sake just use your imagination… swimming in open waters with sting rays, sounds safe right? Well, today’s snorkeling excursion proved to be no safer and this time I booked the excursion (paybacks are hell…haha)!
We met the rest of our group who will be snorkeling with us at the pier. They go over some basic guidelines (no one with heart trouble, back problems, etc). The lady asks us if we all understand we signed up for an adventure tour. Sure, I consider snorkeling in open ocean waters an adventure, so we were okay with the “adventure” part. Little did we know her idea of adventure and ours is completely different. She proceeds to lead us to the Captain Zodiac raft, that’s right I said raft! At this point I’m thinking to myself, how the hell do I get out of this? I don’t want to go way out in the ocean, the Pacific Ocean, in a RAFT! I look around no one else is backing out and Jill seems okay… so by peer pressure I board the raft.
If you have never been on a raft, which I had not, there are no seats. You sit on the sides where there are hand and feet ropes for you to hold yourself in place. We meet our captain and his mate. The captain again goes over all the guidelines and discusses this is an “adventure” tour. I’m really beginning to realize the word adventure is not describing what they in store for us. Once we our away from the pier far enough the captain picks up speeds to 45 mph. A raft in the choppy ocean at 45 mph, not a good idea. We immediately grasp his understanding of adventure when he whips the raft on its side to circle a large boat in the water just for fun and continues to follow the shore line as it curves in and out. Each curve meant the boat leaning to one side where
we had to hang on for dear life. I was holding the hand rope, a handle, and had both feet secured under the foot “safety” rope. I have never experienced anything like this. An adventure for sure!The cool part, on our way to the reef we see dolphins coming up out of the water and we stop to take a closer look. There were several dolphins and they continued to play for several minutes. Jill even saw a baby dolphin jump up. As we continued on to the reef the captain made another sudden stop, because there were whales in front of us. We watched the whales for at least 15 minutes. The captain told us has been giving these tours for 5 years and this was only his third time to see the whales. The captain and his mate were extremely excited and continued telling us how lucky we are to see the whales. Very cool! Almost makes the raft in the ocean worth it!
Finally, we make it to the reef for our time to snorkel among the diversity of the ocean. The waters are so clear we can see the reef and fish from the boat. We get a little instruction on how to snorkel and we are out of the raft. Jill and I snorkeled close together to see everything. The coral is very colorful and large. There are many types of fish and other sea life. We saw an eel and parrot fish. Jill and I swam away from the reef out to the blue sea and were able to see bigger fish way below us that looked really ugly and mean. They did not seem to care we were there. People have told us Hawaii’s reefs are 2nd best only to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. I’ve snorkeled now both and can say that Hawaii’s reef is very close to the Great Barrier. Not as large as the Great Barrier, but the beauty is very much the same.After coming back on board the raft, they had snacks for us. Knowing we had an adventurous return raft ride back to pier I opted for no snacks. The ride back did not seem as thrilling as the ride out to the reef. We stopped at a couple lava tubes and saw what is believed to be the rock formation of goddess Pele. Pele is goddess of fire.
Upon returning from our adventurous snorkeling trip we did some shopping along the pier and farmers market. Jill and I both bought kukui nut necklaces. The kukui nuts are native to Hawaii and are worn by men and women during times of celebration.
It was our final tender ride back to the ship where we rested before the night’s entertainment. Tonight was prime rib night at the Aloha Café. We watched one of the ships dance shows and saw the comedian Chris Alpine, who is very funny! We even stayed up late to go to the 80s night dance party.
Tomorrow we arrive in Kaua’i, our last island of this trip. It’s quickly winding down, but I’m sure we have at least 2 more days of splendid paradise remaining. Aloha, for now!
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
3:30am, 30 degrees, 10,023 feet
This morning we got up at 2:30am to get ready to go on our excursion to Haleakala to see the sun rise over the volcanic crater. I had been to the sunrise before and knew it was worth it – having not seen it Jarrett wasn’t yet convinced, but he would be in a few hours! We took this excursion through Roberts Hawaii, which is a tour company operating out of the islands. It was significantly cheaper, and would turn out to be the same thing – gotta love a great deal! We took a van to the top with 8 other people – the tour guide said the van would hold 10 Americans or 16 Koreans – ha!! ;)
The drive from the boat to the summit of the crater was about 1.5 hours. We went from sea level to 10,023 feet in that amount of time – pretty crazy, huh? The weather at the summit was between 30 and 40 degrees Fahrenheit, so it was a good thing we knew we’d be doing this before we came to Hawaii – we had jeans and jackets, but it was still cold! It was also pitch black, as there are absolutely no lights around so as not to ruin the view of the sunrise. Also, the air is really thin at the summit – you have to move really slowly or you seriously do get light headed. We heard later that one woman fell trying to come up the steps to the observatory too fast. At the summit there’s also an observatory with lots of telescopes and such, and there are trails all through the crater which can take as little as three hours or as long as three days to traverse – it is absolutely huge.
We got out of the van around 5:30 and stood with about 100 other people watching the progression in the sky until the sun rose. All I can say is…AMAZING! Jarrett definitely knew it was worth waking up early after we saw it!
On the way down the crater we saw the bike riders, about 10 groups of 20 of them, who bike ride down the twists and turns of the volcano road, traveling at around 35 mph – that’s pretty fast for a bike! We did it as a family the last time I was in Maui, and it was amazing! However, there was no convincing Jarrett, so we went up and down the volcano in the van ;) On the way down we got a better view of the crater and the cinder cones inside. From that elevation there was also an amazing view of the island – you could just barely make out our huge ship, and you could see the fields of sugar cane.
After we got back on the ship around 8:30am, we took a nap, ate lunch, and then hung out at the pool listening to the live music from the hot tub until we set sail – it was cool to watch us leave shore from the open deck, with Mai Tai’s in our hands! We then cleaned up again and ate at the Liberty Restaurant, one of the main restaurants on the ship. It is really neatly decorated, and the meal was really good! After dinner we went to hear the comedy of Chris Alpine, which was actually really good! We were finally able to stay up late because we are actually getting used to the time change and not getting tired by 9:00pm – ha!
That’s all for our last day in Maui – until tomorrow, Aloha!
The drive from the boat to the summit of the crater was about 1.5 hours. We went from sea level to 10,023 feet in that amount of time – pretty crazy, huh? The weather at the summit was between 30 and 40 degrees Fahrenheit, so it was a good thing we knew we’d be doing this before we came to Hawaii – we had jeans and jackets, but it was still cold! It was also pitch black, as there are absolutely no lights around so as not to ruin the view of the sunrise. Also, the air is really thin at the summit – you have to move really slowly or you seriously do get light headed. We heard later that one woman fell trying to come up the steps to the observatory too fast. At the summit there’s also an observatory with lots of telescopes and such, and there are trails all through the crater which can take as little as three hours or as long as three days to traverse – it is absolutely huge.
We got out of the van around 5:30 and stood with about 100 other people watching the progression in the sky until the sun rose. All I can say is…AMAZING! Jarrett definitely knew it was worth waking up early after we saw it!
On the way down the crater we saw the bike riders, about 10 groups of 20 of them, who bike ride down the twists and turns of the volcano road, traveling at around 35 mph – that’s pretty fast for a bike! We did it as a family the last time I was in Maui, and it was amazing! However, there was no convincing Jarrett, so we went up and down the volcano in the van ;) On the way down we got a better view of the crater and the cinder cones inside. From that elevation there was also an amazing view of the island – you could just barely make out our huge ship, and you could see the fields of sugar cane.
After we got back on the ship around 8:30am, we took a nap, ate lunch, and then hung out at the pool listening to the live music from the hot tub until we set sail – it was cool to watch us leave shore from the open deck, with Mai Tai’s in our hands! We then cleaned up again and ate at the Liberty Restaurant, one of the main restaurants on the ship. It is really neatly decorated, and the meal was really good! After dinner we went to hear the comedy of Chris Alpine, which was actually really good! We were finally able to stay up late because we are actually getting used to the time change and not getting tired by 9:00pm – ha!
That’s all for our last day in Maui – until tomorrow, Aloha!
Note about Pictures
Hello all!
We just wanted to let all of you know that we are having trouble uploading pictures from the ship. As it looks right now, it will probably be Saturday before we are able to upload the rest of our pictures to the internet. Hopefully you can hold out until then! ;)
Aloha!
We just wanted to let all of you know that we are having trouble uploading pictures from the ship. As it looks right now, it will probably be Saturday before we are able to upload the rest of our pictures to the internet. Hopefully you can hold out until then! ;)
Aloha!
Hana Coast
This morning we arrive in Maui for a 1 night 2 day stay. We are up before the 8AM docking and had breakfast at the Skyline Restaurant. This restaurant was a nice treat, because they take your order at the table… no buffet this morning!
After breakfast we left the ship to board the Alamo rental car shuttle taking us to the airport rental location for our vehicle. Today, we decided to try a Jeep Wrangler. We chose the deep red one with a soft top. Jill and I spent about 20 minutes trying to figure out how the top came down… You know, it is necessary to have the top down for the entire time of renting a car in Hawaii, right?... Well at least we think so! We gave up our attempt to remove the top and asked for help. A lady at the rental stand was nice enough to put it down for us. I just hope they don’t expect me to put in back up when we return the Jeep.
The car is situated and we are off for our day of driving the famous Hana coast. It is a beautiful scenic drive along the coast line. Along the way are breathtaking views of the beaches, ocean, waterfalls, and flora. Did I mention they have white, red and black sand beaches in Maui? This is my first time ever seeing black sand beaches. The black sand is actually crushed lava rock from the volcano.
Before we turned onto the Hana coast we made a couple stops to purchase everything we need for a picnic. There are very few town stores along the Hana coast. The nice lady at Alamo told us to stop in the small town of Paia for the best fried chicken on the island. Fried chicken, just what we wanted for our picnic. After a quick stop at K-Mart for water, Maui style chips (made by Frito-Lay), cooler, ice, and our stop at Paia’s Mini Mart for chicken we were set for the 60 mile drive.
Never in my life have I driven 60 miles filled with 600 curves and 59 one lane bridges (those numbers are correct according to AAA). The Hana coast sways in and out along the shore. Many parts of the road narrow to one lane and all bridges are one lane where you yield for any traffic coming across. The speed limit for most of the road is 15 mph. Almost everyone traveling along the coast are tourists in their rented Jeeps, convertibles, or vans if it’s a family. We stopped for lunch about half way along the trip at a place overlooking the coast and ocean.
About ten miles after this spot, I got to see my first black sand beach. As I said, the black sand is crushed lava rock. There was black sand mixed in with a lot of smooth lava rocks at the edge of the beach where the waves break, rubbed smooth by the crashing waves. The sound of the water hitting the rocks and rolling back into the ocean was like nothing we’d ever heard before – all of the rocks would smack together, and you could hear them settling back down after the water drained out of them. Amazing. At this location we also saw a blowhole – a natural formation where water is pushed upward through the rocks, looking like the blowhole of a whale. After our stop here we drove the rest of the trip to Hana and beyond to the 7 pools, making many stops for pictures. Just before the 7 pools, we saw the most amazing waterfall we’d seen yet – probably 20-30 feet tall. The Hana coast truly is a chunk of paradise. 
The roundtrip drive down and back the Road to Hana took us about 8 hours to complete. We re-embarked the ship about 7PM. After quickly cleaning up we headed to the Aloha Café for a buffet dinner. Tonight we tried the salad, pizza, carved ham, polish sausage, and entire assortment of desserts.
We turned in early tonight. We will be up at 2:30AM to board a bus viewing the sunrise… yeap Jarrett up at 2:30AM to watch the sunrise, which it does everyday 365 days a year. We will be traveling to the summit of Haleakala volcano (not active) for an incredible view of the sunrise.
It has become very clear that pictures cannot capture the vast beauty of these islands. Thanks to digital photography when I take a picture I can immediately view it and I think to myself that is not nearly as pretty as what I’m looking at. This is truly you a place you have to experience first hand to fully appreciate.
After breakfast we left the ship to board the Alamo rental car shuttle taking us to the airport rental location for our vehicle. Today, we decided to try a Jeep Wrangler. We chose the deep red one with a soft top. Jill and I spent about 20 minutes trying to figure out how the top came down… You know, it is necessary to have the top down for the entire time of renting a car in Hawaii, right?... Well at least we think so! We gave up our attempt to remove the top and asked for help. A lady at the rental stand was nice enough to put it down for us. I just hope they don’t expect me to put in back up when we return the Jeep.
The car is situated and we are off for our day of driving the famous Hana coast. It is a beautiful scenic drive along the coast line. Along the way are breathtaking views of the beaches, ocean, waterfalls, and flora. Did I mention they have white, red and black sand beaches in Maui? This is my first time ever seeing black sand beaches. The black sand is actually crushed lava rock from the volcano.Before we turned onto the Hana coast we made a couple stops to purchase everything we need for a picnic. There are very few town stores along the Hana coast. The nice lady at Alamo told us to stop in the small town of Paia for the best fried chicken on the island. Fried chicken, just what we wanted for our picnic. After a quick stop at K-Mart for water, Maui style chips (made by Frito-Lay), cooler, ice, and our stop at Paia’s Mini Mart for chicken we were set for the 60 mile drive.
Never in my life have I driven 60 miles filled with 600 curves and 59 one lane bridges (those numbers are correct according to AAA). The Hana coast sways in and out along the shore. Many parts of the road narrow to one lane and all bridges are one lane where you yield for any traffic coming across. The speed limit for most of the road is 15 mph. Almost everyone traveling along the coast are tourists in their rented Jeeps, convertibles, or vans if it’s a family. We stopped for lunch about half way along the trip at a place overlooking the coast and ocean.
About ten miles after this spot, I got to see my first black sand beach. As I said, the black sand is crushed lava rock. There was black sand mixed in with a lot of smooth lava rocks at the edge of the beach where the waves break, rubbed smooth by the crashing waves. The sound of the water hitting the rocks and rolling back into the ocean was like nothing we’d ever heard before – all of the rocks would smack together, and you could hear them settling back down after the water drained out of them. Amazing. At this location we also saw a blowhole – a natural formation where water is pushed upward through the rocks, looking like the blowhole of a whale. After our stop here we drove the rest of the trip to Hana and beyond to the 7 pools, making many stops for pictures. Just before the 7 pools, we saw the most amazing waterfall we’d seen yet – probably 20-30 feet tall. The Hana coast truly is a chunk of paradise. 
The roundtrip drive down and back the Road to Hana took us about 8 hours to complete. We re-embarked the ship about 7PM. After quickly cleaning up we headed to the Aloha Café for a buffet dinner. Tonight we tried the salad, pizza, carved ham, polish sausage, and entire assortment of desserts.
We turned in early tonight. We will be up at 2:30AM to board a bus viewing the sunrise… yeap Jarrett up at 2:30AM to watch the sunrise, which it does everyday 365 days a year. We will be traveling to the summit of Haleakala volcano (not active) for an incredible view of the sunrise.
It has become very clear that pictures cannot capture the vast beauty of these islands. Thanks to digital photography when I take a picture I can immediately view it and I think to myself that is not nearly as pretty as what I’m looking at. This is truly you a place you have to experience first hand to fully appreciate.
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