Back to San Francisco - November 10, 2013

From Hilo we started for home.  We spent four days at sea.  During that time we saw several groups of dolphins.  The first three days were cloudy and cool, but the fourth day was sunny with very calm seas.  On the fifth day, early at around 3:00, we arrived at Encinada.  This was just a four-hour stay, required by law.  There wasn't much of interest there, and it would have been a rather long walk to get into town, so we decided not to go ashore.  We were glad we did, because soon it became cold and foggy. 

One more day at sea and we arrived early in the morning in San Francisco.

After a day in San Francisco we took the train home.

Hilo (Hawaii) - November 3, 2013

After another night at sea, we arrived in Hilo.  Because we arrived at the port about 45 minutes late, there was total chaos on shore, with people trying to get rental cars and others trying to get to tour buses.  David took the shuttle to the airport to get the car, and we finally set out to visit the Hawaiian Tropical Botanical Garden. 

Once outside Hilo we took a short scenic drive to the garden.  The road was narrow, with several one-lane bridges, and very jungle-y. 

Much of the drive was along the coast.

After several miles we reached the garden. The Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden was founded by Dan and Pauline Lutkenhouse.  They purchased the 17-acre property in 1977 after discovering it's overgrown beauty and wishing to preserve it.  For the next 8 years Dan and three helpers worked by hand clearing out invasive plants, establishing paths, and planting tropical plants from around the world.  Today there are over 2000 species of plants.  The garden opened to the public in 1984 and later a foundation was established to ensure that the garden would be preserved for the future.   

From the entrance visitors go down a rather steep boardwalk to enter the garden.  There is a lily pond and a lovely waterfall.

The garden is full of beautiful and unusual flowers and foliage.   Here are just a few samples.

By the time we left the garden it was lunch time, so we went back to Hilo.  The downtown area was not very interesting, and because it was Sunday, almost everything was closed.  We had a really terrible meal at Ken's House of Pancakes.  We had hoped to see some of the sights around Hilo, but many of them were also closed.  The weather had turned rainy, so we just returned the car and went back to the ship.

Nawiliwili (Kauai) - November 2, 2013

After another night at sea, we arrived in Nawiliwili, which is the port near Lihue.  The name means 'twisted,' which describes the entry to this port.  There is a long breakwater that we had to navigate around, making several hairpin turns.

The first thing you notice about Kauai is how lush it is.  It's called the garden island for good reason.

The second thing you notice is all the free range chickens.  When hurricane Iniki came through in 1992 all the chickens on the island were blown out of their coops.  Ever since then there has been a large population thriving on the loose.  They are literally everywhere.

Once again we had to pick up our rental car.  It was a short walk to the Kauai Marriott, where the rental office was.  The grounds at the hotel were beautiful.

From there we set out for another wildlife refuge. This one we were sure was open.  The road going north (pretty much the only road going north) goes through lots of small towns.  When we got to the town of Kapaa, we discovered that the road was closed for a parade.  Fortunately, there was a bypass road, so we were able to get past it.  It was actually a nice country road, so we didn't mind.

We finally got to the Kilauea Point lighthouse, where the refuge is.  It was a beautiful spot.

The big attraction is the nesting site of hundreds of red-footed boobies.  If you look really closely at the photo you'll see lots of white dots on the hillside. Actually, you probably can't see them. Those are the birds.

There is also a colony of Laysan albatross, but not at this time of year.  But we did see a baby bird in the brush next to the trail.  He was all fluff, so we were unable to tell what it was.

Just as we were leaving, we saw a red-tailed tropicbird, which was gorgeous.

Our trip back was uneventful.  By the time we came back the parade mess had been cleared.  This had been a thoroughly enjoyable day.  The weather was nice and the scenery was spectacular.  We returned the rental car and walked back to the ship.

Honolulu (Oahu), November 1, 2013

After an overnight sail, we arrived in Honolulu in the morning.  The weather was warm, about 82, with a few light showers.

The Celebrity 'Millenium' beat us to the dock near the Aloha Tower, so we were a little farther from downtown.  The Aloha Tower is a lighthouse, built in 1926.  At 84 feet tall, for forty years it was the tallest structure in Hawaii.

Our plan here was to visit the James Campbell Wildlife Refuge, which is on the northern side of the island.  We had arranged to rent a car, but we had to get to the airport to pick it up.  We had asked our port expert what the best way was to get to the airport.  He suggested a taxi, costing about $20.  We asked him about the bus, and he told us which one to take.  We figured we weren't in any hurry, and the bus is sometimes a good way to see a city, so we walked a couple of blocks and caught the bus, oddly enough called 'The Bus.'  It cost us $1 each, and we had about a 45-minute tour of Honolulu.

We drove north, passing through pineapple fields.  The Dole pineapple plantation is here, the only commercial pineapple grower left in Hawaii.  They no longer export their fruit, but sell it locally.

The road was lined with some very strange-looking trees.  The branches looked like giant toothbrushes.

We came to a private park called Waimea Valley, where we had lunch.  This is a botanical garden and wildlife sanctuary.  Since we had planned to go to the botanical garden near Hilo, we decided not to pay to go through this park.

As we continued north we passed Waimea Bay, where there was a big traffic jam caused by a surfing competition that was taking place. 

We finally arrived at the wildlife refuge, only to find it was closed.  So we continued around the island.  We returned the car to the airport and took 'The Bus' back into town. 

We did a little exploring on foot downtown.  The supreme court building, completed in 1874, was originally designed to be a palace but the king decided the government needed a place to meet.  The statue of Kamehameha that stands out in front was erected in 1878.

Nearby is the Iolani Palace.  It was built in 1871 and is the only royal palace in the U.S.  The coronation pavilion was built in 1883.  When Queen Lili was overthrown in 1893, the palace became the capitol building and was used until 1969.

We found a Starbuck's for tea and then returned to the ship. 

Lahaina (Maui) - October 31, 2013

Land ho at last.  We've had four days at sea.  At first it was cool and mostly cloudy, but each day was a bit warmer than the previous one, and sunnier.  The last day was warm and humid.

Lahaina is a tender port, so we waited until the crowd thinned by about 9:30 and went ashore.

There isn't a lot to Lahaina.  Just one main street several blocks long, surrounded by neighborhoods.  We walked around looking for birds and anything else interesting.

Lahaina was the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1820 to 1845.  Its main claim to fame is a gigantic banyan tree in the center of town.  It was planted in 1873 and has grown sixteen secondary trunks.  It's the largest banyan in Hawaii.

There are a number of historic buildings in Lahaina.  The Pioneer Inn, which is still in operation, was built in 1909.

The old Lahaina courthouse, built in 1859, is the oldest public building on Maui.

The U.S. Seaman's Hospital, which is now a commercial building, was built in 1833.
























In 1832 a fort was built, after the town was fired upon by an English whaling ship.  The fort was built of coral blocks and fortified with 47 cannons which were salvaged from ships that had sunk in nearby waters.

The prison gatehouse dates to the early 1900s.

The Baldwin house was built in 1834.

We had lunch at a restaurant on the second level overlooking the main street.

By 2:30 we had pretty much done Lahaina, and it was starting to get crowded in preparation for their Halloween festival and parade, so we returned to the ship. 


On board the kitchen staff had been busy carving pumpkins.

Sailaway - October 26, 2013

After breakfast we walked back up to an overlook to get our first look at the Grand Princess.

We did more walking and people watching, had lunch, then boarded the ship at 1:30. Our tugboat did doughnuts in the water while waiting for us.

We were scheduled to sail at 4:00, but we didn't actually leave until 5:00.  By that time the Golden Gate Bridge was shrouded in fog.

As we passed under the bridge, the captain blew the whistle and lots of people on the bridge waved and cheered.

We sailed off into the sunset.  Next stop Lahaina.