Sept. 24-28

Sunday Sept. 24

Another beautiful day at sea. Before we leave our stateroom, we bag up a load of dirty clothes for the ship’s “wash-n-fold” for $35, with a $5 off coupon. Up to the ‘Jammer for fresh fruit all cut up for me, bran muffins, yogurt, and coffee. Next, relaxing in the Solarium (adults only pool) with my Kindle (reading “The Fifth Wave,” by Rick Yancy, another Floridian.) Refreshing dip in the salt water pool. Kind of went rogue today for lunch. Instead of the usual salads, I spotted the carved prime rib roast, and proceeded to load up my plate with various meats and a slice of pizza, of all things. (A pale comparison to Paisans in Madison, my favorite). Anyway, it was all very satisfying. The casino was running a special “low stakes” blackjack at $3 minimum bet, so I want and checked it out, and won $15.

The meat was making me loggy, prompted a nap afterward. Upon rising, I went to the coffee bar and ordered a double espresso to get me kick started again. Another lovely dinner, me Thai-style prawns, and Julie beef Borgenoine (sp?). She was served a huge portion, so I got about half of it. I guess a “meat” kind of day. The show tonight is a piano maestro named Rogerio Tucci. He opened with Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto #1, and did several classical pieces including the Toreadore (sp?) from Carmen among others, then shifted to some popular tunes. A very charming, likable fellow, and a fantastic pianist (Julie bought his CD after the show). And I was really impressed with the RC orchestra, which did an awesome job of backing him up, and all with just one rehearsal.

No casino for me tonight. I figured I already scored with my $15 win earlier in the day, and I didn’t want to tempt the gambling gods twice in one day. So off to the state room for some reading, and off to sleep. This is our final day in the first run of sea days. We dock at our first port of call – Tahiti – tomorrow.

Monday Sept. 25

The island of Tahiti rises up on the horizon as Julie and I take our morning walk up on deck 12. Beautiful sight, and everyone is up early for picture taking and breakfast. Many obviously have shore excursions and want to be the first off the boat. We have a leisurely breakfast and hang back for a while, waiting for the “first wave” to crowd their way off the boat. We leave around 10:00 a.m. and thread our way through the usual tour/taxi hawkers. We cross the busy shore drive with aid of traffic cop, and begin exploring the streets, me keeping an eye out for a tiki bar or at least a coffee shop … anywhere that might have Internet. We have a city map, but it is of little use, because there are no street signs! What the hell? So we stop in couple shops to ask directions, and finally a lovely lady in a pharmacy directs us to a coffee/juice/bakery spot with a very slow and temperamental Internet. Julie orders a smoothie, and I have a muffin and coffee. 1,080 french francs, or about $10.80 U.S. I manage to fire off a couple of emails, but that’s about it. Julie’s portal at Spectrum is so loaded with junk that she can’t even access her email. Gotta get her a gmail account!

We split, and I head for the public market in search of a beer bar. 

It’s busy and noisy, and the one public restroom I find has a guard in front of it. No beer hut. I settle on a café that has beer on the menu, and decide to have lunch there as well. Everything is in French here, and my server is of little help. I eventually settle on a mixed grill platter (more meat!) with taro fries and a side salad. Meat consists of grilled beef, pork, chicken, and a lamb chop, the latter of which I leave most behind because I’m not a lamb lover. My one beer, a local Tahitian brew “Hinano” has good flavor, but is not cold. I pay with credit card, 3,000 French francs, or about $29 U.S. I tour the market in search of a fresh fruit cup, and find one for 320 francs, or $3.20 or thereabouts. I give her a $5, and she has no U.S. change, so gives me 180 francs in change. Damn, now I have to get rid of the change! I toss about half the fruit cup because it is something purple and awful. I eat the bottom pineapple layer, and it is just OK. I buy three “apple bananas” from a produce vendor and get rid of 100 of the 180 francs. I eat those on the way back to the ship, because no local produce is allowed on board. Those are delicious!

I get back on the ship, and strip into my swimsuit and head for the Solarium. I am so thirsty for a cold beer that I pay the $8 for a bottle Corona, and have the bartender put it in in bucket of ice! Refreshing dip in the salt water pool, then finish my Corona. I am just about asleep at this point, so I head for the stateroom and a nap. Still full from lunch, I have a light dinner with Julie in the dining room, consisting of a cup of fish chowder for first course, and a seafood pot die (also on the appetizer menu) as my main course. Finished with a tureen of apple/rhubarb crisp with ice cream. All delicious. Tonight, I finish my bottle of $48 wine, and figure I have gotten about 6.5 glasses out of it. So it saved me some money, because by the glass, the same amount of wine would have cost me around $72.

No casino tonight because we are in port. Also, no show tonight because we are in port until 11:30 tonight, So they are showing “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell no Tales” in the main theater, at 7:30 p.m. Julie and I attend, and that takes us to 9:30, whereupon we return to the stateroom for some reading, and then off to bed.

What are my impressions of Tahiti? The above probably gives you a clue. Like most ports of call, I guess you have to get away from the port city to experience the “beauty.” Tahiti’s port city of Papette (sp?) was noisy, dirty, and disorienting. Most (but not all) of the people we talked with who went on shore excursions reported the beauty. So maybe Julie and I need to rethink the shore excursions and go on a few rather than just ambling around the port cities of these islands. I know … wah, wah, wah. We’re out in the south pacific on this beautiful cruise, and I’m complaining about warm beer. I guess I was just expecting something different along the lines of an island paradise. And for sure it was there (in places) in Tahiti; you just have to get through the first grimy layer of civilization which, of course, is necessary to sustain the modern conveniences the inhabitants (and tourists) have come to expect.

Well, Julie and I are off the Moorea in the tenders (in this instance, the ship’s own lifeboats … cool!) and I’ll see if I can find some cold beer and and wi-fi  to fire off this blog.

Found cold beer, but no wi-fi. Julie and I split at the dock. She stayed put while I took a $5 taxi ride to a nearby “resort” of sorts. Nice little beach with one bar/restaurant, but no wifi. Was picking up signals, but they were all apparently private. Had a cold Hinano for $6 and again got a shitload of franc coins, $4 worth. So I gave them back to the cab driver for the ride back to the dock, adding $1 bill. I think this is the way bars/restaurants get rid of all their change … give it to the American tourists! Anyway, back on the ship and make my way to the 'Jammer for my usual lunch of cold cut sandwich and various salads, and a soft-serve cone for dessert. Whales are surfacing in the harbor, including a mom and her calf. So that is kind of cool. Julie and I reunited and are sitting in the Solarium. It’s 2:15 p.m. Hawaii time, and I am starting to yawn. Time for my mid-afternoon siesta.

That’s all for now,

Bruce

Sept. 28

I am in the coffee bar sipping an iced espresso. We have left our triple island stop … Tahiti, Moorea, and Bora Bora. We are now steaming (dieseling?) at full speed for New Zealand, and will be at sea for the next four days. When we cross the International Date Line, we will actually lose Oct. 1 altogether! We will go from Sept. 30 to October 2. Seas are choppy today, and as we sail south (the barf bags are out in the public areas), the air temperature is dropping. It about 65 degrees out on deck, and we’ve been told that NZ could be as cool as 50 degree. 

The show on Sept. 27 was an Elton John impersonator named Elton Jack. No shit! He was very good, and and had the Royal Caribbean orchestra as back up. He did a variety of numbers, including Rocket Man, Candle in the Wind, and Your Song. Also some faster paced songs like Saturday Night, and Crocodile Rock. Most in the audience could tell he was wearing a cheap toupee, and indeed during his final bow, he took off the wig and showed his bald head. Very funny.

Well, I wish I had better news for you all, but unfortunately I have caught a case of the crud. Felt it when I woke up from my nap on Monday (two days ago). Been coughing so much that my sides ache. I skipped Bora Bora altogether, though Julie went and said it was pretty. Last night I went through a fever that made me so disoriented, I almost crawled into Julie’s bed in the middle of the night. The fever has broken, and I feel a little better. Took a little nourishment this morning for breakfast. At least I have the next four days to get better.

I don’t know why this always happens to me, but every time I take an extended trip, whether by land, sea, or air, I get sick, whether before, during or after! Too many people crowded together in a small space.

But I will prevail. I have a bridge to climb in Sydney and a reef to snorkel in Cairnes! If there is a bright side to this, it happened during a run of “at sea” days.

That’s all for now,

Bruce

Sept. 21-23

Sept. 21

Sorry, no pictures with this blog entry. I am on ship's Internet, and it is painfully slow.

It is a beautiful second day at sea, the water is a gorgeous lapis blue. I have just finished a light lunch in the Windjammer cafeteria of a cold cut sandwich, pasta/veggie salad, and a couple small dessert slices with coffee. I am in the library on Deck 9 which offers comfy chairs/tables, and a reasonable degree of quiet. It was has been a wonderful cruise thus far. The at-sea routine thus far has been to wake at around 6:30 a.m., dress, then climb the 10 flights of stairs to Deck 12, location of the run/walk track. I then do 15-20 minutes of walking laps. I consider myself “in training” for the Sydney Bridge Harbor climb when we arrive in Australia. Next, a light breakfast in the Windjammer, Deck 11, of bran muffin, fresh cut fruit, a cup of yogurt and coffee. Then back to the stateroom on Deck 2 to change into swimsuit, then off to the Solarium back on Deck 11 (elevator this time). I am really loving having the Kindle along, as this has all my books on it. I have finished a Janet Evanovich mystery/thriller, and am now reading a nonfiction memoir.

 

But to back up a bit, I left off the blog at Sunday evening, Sept. 17. We awoke the next morning at 5 a.m. to get to the Lihue airport by 6 a.m. to return the Chevy Malibu, check our luggage, clear security, and get to our gate. All went without a hitch. We hung out at Starbucks for a while, where I got a free breakfast sandwich by virtue of accumulated loyalty points. Nice. Our plane took off promptly at 8:10 a.m., and touched down at Honolulu on time at 9 a.m. Julie’s cousin, Jeff, picked us up promptly at baggage claim in his extended cab pick-up, throwing the luggage in back. Julie rode shotgun while I squeezed into the jump seat in the rear. In about ½ hour, we were at the Arcadia Retirement Center, where Julie’s uncle Larry and wife Nancy live. We unloaded luggage and took everything to the guest apartment on the 12^th floor. Really nice facility. Fantastic city view from the balcony.


We then went to Larry/Nancy’s apartment on 4^th floor and chatted briefly before our departure to the Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC) where we had tickets waiting for us at the will-call window. (Julie's) cousin, Jeff, offered to drive us to PCC on the north side of the island, which saved us about a $60 Uber ride. Takes about 1.5 hours to get there. It was a long ride because all Jeff wanted to talk about was his computer business and how he’s the best. He sets up computer networks for various businesses all over the island (Oahu) and did I mention he says he's the best? Prior to this, he was a corporate event planner on the island, and he apparently was the BEST at this also. 9/11 forced him out of the tour business (too much red tape after this), and then he went into computers. It was also very boring to me, having “been there, done that” 30 years ago, but some people are just bound to define themselves entirely by their jobs. But I'm not complaining too much. Damn glad for the free ride.

We arrived at PCC at around 11:30, claimed our tickets at the will-call window, and grabbed a quick hot dog at one of the concessioners before hooking up with a guide on our “Ambassador” package. The package included guided tour (our group had 19 people in it), the luau, and the evening show called “Ha: Breath of Life.”  The escorted tour was totally worth it, because our guide knew exactly when to get us in to the “mini shows” put on by all the island countries represented at the Center, and got us good seats for the “Parade of Canoes” show. Hard to name a favorite, but if I had to choose, it would be Samoa. Very funny host/MC  with dry, witty sense of humor, fire dancers, and coconut tree climbers. How can you go wrong?

 

The luau was at 6 p.m., and was completely delicious. Holy cow, do they know how to handle a crowd. Three buffet lines running simultaneously. Two kinds of roasted pork … from the pit and shredded in a spiced au jus. Sweet potato slices, taro rolls (but no poi), broiled fish, all kinds of salads, and desserts, and a variety of soft drinks. The luau included a somewhat hokey floor show where they got people from the audience up on the stage and embarrassed the crap out of them ... I guess this schtick never gets old! After that was the evening show (Ha: Breath of Life) and we had fantastic seats, three rows from the stage, dead center. We could see the sweat glistening on the performers, that’s how close we were. The show was a fairly elaborate and choreographed story of the circle of life. There were about 50 performers in all, so it was quite the extravaganza.

We had arranged shuttle transportation back to Waikiki, and we got off the bus at the first hotel, the Hyatt at Waikiki. We both used their lobby bathroom (thank you very much, Hyatt) and then hit the Uber button and our ride was there in about three minutes to take us back to Arcadia, arriving about 11 p.m., an hour earlier than I thought we would. Up to our apartment, and both Julie and I fell asleep in record time.

 

Tuesday Sept. 19

We set an alarm for 6 a.m., and awoke to get ready to have breakfast with Uncle Larry and wife Nancy. Served buffet style, it consisted of the usual scrambled eggs, a couple of breakfast meats, fruit, pancakes, and more. They also have eggs to order, but we were pressed for time. Uncle Larry is just a couple weeks shy of his 84^th birthday. When he walks, he is bent over at the waist at nearly a 90 degree angle from back deformity/injury. His last name is Weisner, so he is from Julie’s side of the family … a brother to Julie’s mom, Mary, who passed away last year. Larry is retired from the computer industry back in the days before the personal computer, but has been able to keep up with technology and operates a PC, email, and digital images. Nancy is Larry’s second wife, is about 10 years Larry’s junior, and is of Japanese ancestery. They met at a singles event at a local church. Larry has lived in Hawaii over 40 years, and fairly recently moved to Arcardia. It is one of those retirement places with comprehensive care from independent living to nursing home, and they don’t kick you out if you run out of money. Of course, there is a large initiation fee to get in, and that funds the endowment for those who run out of money. I have no idea of the monthly living fee, but I’m guessing around $6K.

 

So at 8 a.m. we must make a hasty exit from breakfast and Uber over to the Marriott Waikiki, which is our pickup point for the city and Pearl Harbor tour I arranged with one of the local companies. We had a very nice bus driver who was also our tour guide who took us to the Punch Bowl cemetery and palace and state capitol and regaled us with tales of Hawaiian culture. We arrived Pearl Harbor at about 10 a.m. and were given our timed tickets for a 10:45 boat ride over to the USS Arizona memorial, preceded by a 20-minute movie of the attack and events leading up to it. We only had about 15 minutes at the memorial, and then we were basically herded into a line for the boat ride back. I think you could stay longer, but to do so would have shortened our time at the other exhibits, so we boarded the boat back to the visitors’ center.

 

From there, we took a short bus ride over to Ford Island, to tour the USS Missouri, the battleship where the surrender between the United States and Japan was signed. Part of the ship, the command tower, was being sandblasted, and thus shrouded in canvas, but we still got to see all parts of the ship you would normally visit anyway, including the main deck, the second level deck where the articles of surrender were signed, and we got to go below decks to see the crew quarters and so forth. All very interesting, and the ship was recommissioned for a while under the Reagan administration, but then finally decommissioned and turned into the museum it is today. It is a mighty big ship, but obsolete in the nuclear age. Aircraft carriers and submarines are the new ultimate weapon of choice for the navy.

 Our tour bus dropped us back at the Marriott Waikiki, and we Ubered (is that a verb?) back to Arcadia for dinner with Uncle Larry and Nancy. Again, buffet style, and the entrees of choice that evening were Ono is a light curry sauce, or hamburger patties with onions and gravy.

You never really have to leave the facility; they feed you 3 meals a day, and have a large variety of activities and interest groups that meet for arts/crafts, etc. Just in the short amount of time, we got a good sense of the “vibe” there, including the grouchy residents, the picky ones, the more happy ones, etc. And they line up a half hour before dinner in a seating area just outside the dining room, and when the doors to the dining room open, a slow-motion stampede of the elderly, many with walkers, files in.

At 7:30 p.m., we summon an Uber ride to the cruise port and upon reaching our destination, wonder if we have arrived at the correct place. There is, literally, nobody here. We walk tentatively into the large building and are informed that the vast majority of passengers have already boarded, beginning at about 11:30 a.m. (for a 10 p.m. departure!). Even all the luggage porters have gone home for the day, and we are left to roll our own luggage aboard. We clear security and obtain our seaport passes in record time. We board the ship, and everyone is partying and having a good time. It seems we “missed the boat” on this one (ha ha!) by showing up late and missing all the pre-cruise festivities. But even in my error, we turned it around to a “victory” because we heard there was a huge computer glitch at about 1:30 in the midst of boarding of such magnitude, that Royal Caribbean reps actually told the crowd of people lined up to “disperse” and come back in about an hour! 

Anyway, we got the luggage to our stateroom and gave instructions to our attendant to separate the beds and bring ice every day, and an extra blanket for Julie because I keep the stateroom as low as the thermostat will go! Then we headed to the bar on the pool deck for a bon voyage drink of pina coladas. We did the muster drill at 9:30 p.m., then went to the theater to a short show where one of the headliners, singer Brian McCann, gave us a little tease of his performance, and the cruise director did a little song and dance and schtick about the upcoming activities. Back to our stateroom. Julie unpacked, but I was too tired and hit the sack.

 Wednesday Sept. 20 – first full day at sea.

We’re up at 6:30 a.m., and I’ve decided to join Julie in a morning exercise regimin I’m called “10/6” in preparation for the Sydney bridge climb. It consists of 10 flights of stairs up the walk/jog deck, and then 6 laps of walking around the ship's jog/walk track, which is supposed to be one mile. I’ve decided on a more conservative daily breakfast of two bran muffins, a plate of fresh cut fruit, and one container of yogurt, and of course coffee (and water to keep hydrated). After breakfast, we go back to our stateroom and change into swimwear and head for the Solarium (adults only). I finish “The Chase,” by Janet Evanovich, and start with “Everything that Remains,” a nonfiction to change things up a bit. It’s a memoir of sorts about two guys, Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus, late ‘20s, who change their lives from conspicuous consumption to something called “minimalism,” and it the process enriched their lives multifold by shifting their energies from the career ladder and cars and houses, to concentrating more on on the things which add true value to their lives … friendships, loved ones, passions, and “missions.” The book was written in 2012, so it’s a bit dated, but still relevant. Their perspectives are a little different from mine, with me being 61 years of age, but lots of good advice and points to ponder as I read the chapters. Did I mention how much I love my Kindle? It’s one of the few “gadget” things that I can truly say adds value to my life!

 

Speaking of gadgets, I decided to try the “At Sea” data connection offered by T-Mobile (my carrier) in cooperation with Royal Caribbean. I can send and receive texts for 50 cents per text. So I send a text to Dawn in Fort Myers (where it is later in the afternoon already) and voila!, it works! We have a brief but nice text exchange, and it is nice stay in touch with her. This is another tech improvement in cruising that actually works, unlike the wi-fi, which is still unbelievably slow and expensive to boot! Don’t quite know why they (the People in Charge) haven’t figured that one out yet!

After a little reading, I take a refreshing dip in the salt water pool, rinse off in the fresh water shower, and towel myself dry. I have a carved roast beef sandwich from the Park Café, inside the Solarium, but I need something more substantial, so I head to the windjammer for some cold salads, a cold cut sandwich on hard roll, and lemonade. For dessert, a chocolate mousse and a coffee.

More reading, and then Julie and I rendezvous in the stateroom to get changed for dinner, a formal night tonight, but as is our custom we dress casually, but nicely. I simply refuse to pack a suit and tie for a cruise! I have carved beef tenderloin, while Julie goes with the baked salmon.

We change back into shorts and casual tops, and I head to the casino where I proceeed to win 8 blackjack hands in row before losing one, and I leave the casino $42 ahead.

I rendezvous with Julie at the Aurora theater for a show titled “Piano Man” with Brian McCann singing to piano classics by Billy Joel, Elton John, Barry Manilow, Stevie Wonder, and others. A few production numbers by the RC Singers and Dancers are thrown in for good measure. A very pleasant show. My favorite was “Tiny Dancer” by Elton John, which featured one of the RC Dancers schooled in ballet doing a beautiful solo ballet on a darkened stage with a spotlight on her while the McCann and RC Orchestra performed the music. Simply beautiful.

Off to bed.

 Thursday Sept. 21

 

Basically, a repeat of Sept. 20 with a few minor twists. Dinner tonight was a bit of an adventure with veal Osso Buco. Very delicious, sort of like a pot roast. (Had it been a lamb Osso Buco, I would have declined; not a fan of lamb). Served on a bed of polenta, with some green beans. Crab cake for appetizer, and something called “Jaffa Cake” for dessert. Yellow sponge cake with a chocolate mousse middle filling, and an orange icing on top. Very good. We sat a table with about six Aussies, and could only catch about every fourth word they said. A lot of what I was doing was simply nodding, smiling, and says “yes.” There was a lot of ambient noise in the dining room, and the Aussie accents were thick. I think Julie and I are going to request a table for two from now one. We love to be social, but it’s very frustrating not being able to hear and/or understand, especially when you consider the language is English! The show tonight was comedian Dennis Blair, who was mildly entertaining. A PG-rated show in deference to the kiddies in the audience, but I guess Blair will have a “blue” show later in the cruise (and later in the evening). Lost $48 in the casino tonight, wiping out the $42 in winnings the night before. Back to the stateroom and off to bed.

 

Friday Sept. 22

 Changed things up a bit today. Same 10/6 exercise program, and same breakfast or “brekkie” as the Aussies call it. But then attended a lecture about “Gizmos and Gadgets” in the Aurora theater. All very interesting, but much of runs counter to my “keeping things simple” philosophy. Glad for the Internet, and my smart phone has truly added value to my life. But that’s as far as I need to go for now. I don’t think I need a “smart home.” I don’t mind turning on and off the lights and adjusting the thermostat and turning on my TV myself. But cool to know that this stuff is out there, and evolving.

We are crossing the equator later today. There was a silly ceremony on the pool deck to mark the occasion. I didn’t go because this really isn’t my cup of tea on humor. Just another excuse for everyone to buy $12 cocktails and make a lot of noise. My first time in the southern hemisphere and all I know this is the the seasons are opposite ours, and that the water swirls in the opposite direction when going down the drain or toilet!

 

Delicious lunch in the Windjammer of cold cut sandwich and variety salads. For dessert, a slice of peach torte, chocolate square, and a little squirt of vanilla ice-cream-like substance from the machine. Nice little nap in the afternoon, followed by a shower and a shave. Dinner tonight was an AWESOME pork loin rolled with dried fruits in the center and savory gravy, served with potato patty and green beans. Chocolate mousse cake and coffee for dessert.’

Quick trip to the casino where I pick up $57. I am back in the black, to the tune of about $53. The show tonight is Brian McCann, who performs his headline act, singing rock n roll standards, and also musical numbers from Les Miserables and Phantom. Very fine voice, backed up by live 9-piece orchestra, including an outstanding piano player.

Back to the stateroom and off to bed.

Saturday Sept. 23

Today, I must fix a small snafu with travel visas for Julie and I to visit Australia. I thought U.S. citizens were exempt, but apparently not. We get a call from the guest services desks that there is no record of our visas, and to come to the desk to straighten this out. Panic. Have I done all this planning only to be denied entry into Australia  over a bureaucratic fuck-up on my part? But the issue is quickly solved, and RC even handled the online application form for the two of us. Cost was AUS$20 apiece. Kudos to RC for handling this problem, which wasn't even their fault. I bought a "day pass" on the Internet to check our email confirmation from the Australian gov't that everything is in order, and it is. Getting on the Internet for the day also allows me to send you all this blog update!

That is all for now,

Bruce 

Hawaii Sept. 17

September 17th

Hi folks. Going to try to make a short entry tonight because tomorrow Julie and I are going to be busy as a couple of one-armed paper-hangers. We have an early flight out of Lihue to land in Honolulu at 9 a.m. From there Julie's cousin (Joe) is going to pick us up at the airport and take us to the Arcadia retirement center where we can drop our bags. From there one of Joe's friends who is an Uber driver has made arrangements to pick us up and take us over to the Polynesian Cultural Center. We're going to be there all day and all night and probably will not return to Arcadia until midnight. And then the next day is going to be just as busy with a visit to the USS Arizona memorial and tour of the USS Missouri at Pearl Harbor, a quick dinner with Julie's uncle, Larry, and then a ride to the cruise port to board our ship for the cruise. So let's back up and talk about today. 

We got up at our usual time around 6:15, Julie went for her walk well I prepped for the morning. We went back to Daddy O's restaurant partially because it was so good the day before and partially because it is right next to a laundromat and both Julie and I needed some clothes washed. 

Even in paradise, laundry must get done!

So we did some laundry while we ate breakfast then put the clothes in the dryer and waited a while until they were dry. Then back to the hotel briefly to get saddled up for our trip to Waimea Canyon. Took about an hour and 20 minutes to make the trip because a lot of it was mountainous driving but we were treated to spectacular views once we got to the top. We took many pictures and we both agreed it was one of the most beautiful sights we'd ever seen.

Canyon View

Another Canyon View

Me and Julie at the Canyon. Windy day!

On the way back to the motel, we stopped at the Kauai Coffee Company to taste some samples (me) and for Julie (non-coffee drinker) to look around. I kind of got zoned in on the espresso roast, and the Peaberry coffee. Peaberry is the coffee that's made from the coffee cherries that have just one bean on the inside as opposed to the usual two. That coffee is about twice the expense, but EXTREMELY flavorful ... full bodied without any trace of acidity. Delicious. We ended up spending about an hour there.

Gettin' stoked on coffee

The Kauai Coffee Company operates on a MUCH larger scale than the processors in Kona. It would be like comparing Miller Brewing Company to the Capitol Brewery in Madison in terms of output. Kauai Coffee even uses mechanical picking machines, which our guide at the small Kona processing plant said didn't even exist!

Drove back to the motel after that and decided on the Kalapaki Beach Hut for lunch, where I had a seared medium-rare ahi tuna sandwich with garnish on a nice homemade roll, with French fries, washed down with fresh-squeezed lemonade and it was simply delicious. Julie had a tuna salad sandwich made with the same fresh ahi tuna and she declared it delicious also. One our way out, I spotted a little gecko hanging out at one of the tables:

Maybe the Geico gecko? It was about 1-1/2 inches long. So cute!

Next, I stopped at a Crazy Shirt outlet in the mini-mall across from our motel (where the ABC store is) and bought another Kliban cat T-shirt:

This will be a fine addition to my collection!

From there we walked back to the hotel and we've just sort of been hanging out since then.

Neither one of us was especially hungry for a big dinner, so I walked over to the ABC Store and got some provisions and had a nice little light dinner in the courtyard of the motel. Julie and I had hummus with pretzel sticks, and macadamia nuts, washed down with a glass of Pinot Grigio, and some dark chocolate for dessert with coffee. Julie had her usual tea and water. We are back in the room now. Julie took her large suitcase down to the car tonight so that she doesn't have to lug it down tomorrow at 5:30 a.m. We have to get up at around 5 a.m., leave here about 5:30, and get to the Avis Rental to return our Chevy Malibu, check in with Island Air, clear security, and get to our gate.

We are kind of sad to say goodbye to the Garden Island but we had a wonderful time and of course we have many new adventures coming up in Oahu, and our cruise with ports of call, and of course Australia.

Will check in again with you all when I can. I'll try to keep an offine diary while on the ship, and send the next blog when we hit a port with Internet.

Bye for now,

Bruce

Hawaii trip Sept. 16

Aloha from the Garden Island of Kauai, the oldest of the Hawaiian islands, and the most lush in terms of botanicals. Julie is on the balcony of our room at the Garden Isle Inn, and I have just awakened from a short nap. Just finished the last of a pint of Haagen-Dazs "Rocky Road" ice cream and am sipping a cup of hotel-room coffee made in a mini-Mr.-Coffee, a poor but ready substitute for the good coffee to be found here. I learned there is Kauai coffee in addition to Kona Coffee!

Sept. 15

But to back up to the 15th (Friday), we awoke at about 6:30 at the Sheraton Kona, and Julie went for her usual walk, while I showered, shaved, and packed my suitcase. We had valet parked the Elantra the night before because the self-park lot was full, and it was still raining. So we had the valet fetch our ride, and went to Lava Java Cafe in downtown Kona for another round of the island-style waffles with coconut syrup and macadamia nuts, and strips of bacon. Coffee Bruce, and tea Julie. Delicious as the first time. Back to the hotel, and I stopped at front desk for a copy of our folio, and to take  one last look around the room. We incurred $320 worth of incidenental charges to our stay, consisting mostly of the daily resort fee ($30), but also parking ($15/day), food, and booze charges.

We took off for the Kona airport approximately 10 a.m.. for our 1:30 flight. We had filled the tank the night before at a nearby Chevron, so we didn't have to do that. We returned the Hyundai to Budget Car Rental, and no tears were shed there! Shuttled to the airport, checked one bag apiece ($25 each) and cleared security, which surprisingly turned out to be a bigger and longer deal than at Chicago. We killed time at the gate reading our Kindles, and we each had a frozen fruit bar from one of the kiosks at the outdoor holding area.

Flight to Honolulu was about 30 minutes, and our second flight was the same airplane, same gate. We had only about a 20 minute wait to get back on the same plane, and we had the same seats as before. Takeoff was on time, and we landed in Lihue approximately 3 p.m. We gathered our checked bags, and took a short shuttle ride over to Avis car rental. This is where things got a little interesting.

They were short of cars due to the weekend, and the lady at the counter wanted to put me in a canary yellow Chevrolet Camaro. I sensed trouble right away, and my fears were confirmed when we got to the vehicle, and I literally could not fit into the driver compartment, which I swear was modeled after the Mercury space capsule. I had to go back and tell the counter lady that I was too fat for the Camaro. She tapped on the keys some more, and switched us to a Chevrolet Malibu. The whole ordeal put us behind about an hour, but a much better car, built for normal people and not contortionists, and a step up from the "Compact class" of car that I had signed up for. Huzzah!

We pulled into our hotel about 5 p.m. Room was on second floor, with no elevator. So had to lug bags up about 16 steps, and into one of the tiniest rooms I have ever stayed in. I joked with Julie that it was practice for the stateroom on the next leg of our journey aboard the Royal Caribbean "Radiance." Our two beds were Ricky and Lucy true twin beds, which I have not slept on since probably toddler-hood. Seriously, I was thinking of switching us into a different place today, but the place has grown on me. It has that funky, "old Hawaii" feel to it, and the lady at the front desk simply couldn't be any nicer.

We had dinner that evening at Duke's Canoe Club, across the roadway on the Marriott Resort property. Pork deluxe nachos for appetizer. Macadamia crusted Mahi with rice and veggies for main course. All washed down with two Mai Tais at happy hour prices. Julie had a cheeseburger and fries with a single Mai-Tai. For dessert, we hit an ABC Store in a strip mall for a pint of Rocky Road, and I found a coffee place with a fresh cup of 100% Kona.

Sunday, Sept. 16

We awoke at around 6 a.m., Julie went walking. I showered a shaved again. For breakfast, we found a place in a strip mall up the road called "Daddy O's Restaurant." Oh, my Lord, awesome breakfast. Julie had a half order of stuffed French toast. I had a special consisting of a half order of Loco Moco, accompanied by a half order of the stuffed French toast and a two mini-stack of pancakes. The latter two generously laden with fresh fruit and whipped cream. We will be back!

Julie and French toast

While at the restaurant, I called the Allerton Gardens to find out their reservation load for the day, and was happy to learn it was very light. So that's where we decided to go. It was either that, or Waimea Park and Canyon. Back to the motel and saddled up. We made it to the Gardens in time for the 10 a.m. guided tour. $50 apiece, which I thought was a bit pricey but, hey, I am getting old I guess. Our guide, Matt, spent about 2 hours with us on a walking tour, and the gardens (which are divided in "rooms" per the whims of John Allerton) were almost as spectacular as I remember them from my 2002 trip there with (late wife) Gwen. I say "almost" because I remember there were more orchids last time. Also, this time, the tour did not include a stop at the Allterton home and beautiful front yard leading to the ocean. I guess now, the folks at the Garden only do this on the "sunset tour" which is more money. We did, however, get to the see the home and yard from the road during our "shuttle" portion of the tour. Here are a couple of pics from the gardens:

One of many orchids throughout the gardens

"hearbeat fountain" in the Mermaid room

Bruce and Julie at one of the Moreton Bay fig trees

On our way out from the park, we stopped at Spouting Horn as long as we were on the south end of the island. Beautiful spouts today. Here is a photo I took:

Spouting Horn. The waves enter caves under the rocks and push up through holes in the lava rock

Next, we stopped at a place called "The Beach Club" for a 1:30 lunch,. This was a place picked blindly from the satellite GPS, because my cell phone was completely useless on this part (southern tip) of the island. It turned out to be an awesome pick! Great food, upscale yet comfortable interior with open patio windows overlooking a popular surf spot on the island. It is at this point that it strikes me how awesomely gorgeous this island is. If I may paraphrase from the minimalist Colin Wright, he says it better than I could:

"It is unfairly beautiful here. I feel I could set my camera to a 10-second shutter release, throw it up in the air, and whatever photo it takes would be award-winning."

We each had the grilled fish sandwich, sitting on a made-from-scratch bun, with vegetable garnish and pineapple tarter sauce on the side. Mine washed down with a Kona blonde brew, and Julie's with ice water. Simply delicious.

Back at the hotel, and now I am on a quest for lilikoi pie, as recommended by my neighbor, Jim Koch, back in Janesville, The little hole-in-the-wall restaurant here in Lihue where Jim tasted it is closed for business until late September. But our very nice desk clerk here at the motel informed us of the source of that pie, that is a little Chinese cafe/bakery in Hanapepe, about 15 miles west of here. Julie has decided to join me on the quest, so we set off in the Malibu for Wong's Cafe and Bakery. Success, and we each had a slice in the bakery. Good, but not mind-blowing in my opinion. It is a chiffon pie, so it is very light and airy. But great flavor from the lilikoi (passion fruit) and a decent crust. I came back to the motel with a slice of their macadamia nut cream/custard pie for later.

This evening, we opt for a light dinner by selecting items from the ABC Store across the street. I had a snack pack consisting of sliced Boar's Head salami and Provolone cheese, atop Ritz crackers, and a half split bottle of Korbel brut champagne. Julie bought peach yogurt, and caramel and chocolate popcorn mix. We ate outside under a canopy at our motel. For dessert, I had the macadamia nut pie and a cup of Kona. All was delicious. We are now back in our motel room for the night.

So that is it for now. Tomorrow is Waimea Canyon. Hope everyone is well.

Bruce

Hawaii trip Sept. 14

 Thursday, Sept. 14


Well, we have just one more day here before we must say goodbye to the Big Island, and say hello to the Garden Isle of Kauai. It’s been a lot of fun. We just returned from a tour/tasting at a coffee farm/processing plant. And we have a sunset cruise/dinner booked for the evening. But tomorrow, we must arrive at the Kona airport at about 11 a.m. to return the rental car and get checked in for our 2-part flight departing Kona about 1:30.




Last night was a little “weird” with dinner because of that late lunch we had. Neither of us was particularly hungry around our usual eating time of 5-6 p.m., so Julie went to watch part of a hula dance competition taking place at our hotel. People are here from all over the U.S. doing the hula! It’s not quite “Dancing With the Stars,” but it looks like great fun, and there’s folks here from Kansas and Iowa and all over competing in this thing … mostly women, but a few guys here and there. I did not go, but Julie said it was great fun, and judging by the looks of the competitors walking around the hotel (mostly seniors), a great way to stay flexible and in shape, too! I stayed in the room and worked on the blog. Eventually, I did get hungry and after some hemming and hawing decided to simply go the one and only restaurant/bar here at the hotel called “Rays on the Bay.” Our hotel had given us a coupon for two complimentary cocktails, so I ordered two Mojitos, normally $12 apiece, so I got $24 worth of free booze. I then ordered “Da Burger” off their menu, which was a ½ pound burger with all the usual fixin’s including Gruyere cheese, which was really yummy. Some kind of sweet sauce rounded it out to “Island-ise” it, and that was served with fries. I texted Julie a couple of times to join me at the bar, and she finally made it and we got her a cocktail too, something called, “It Takes Two to Mango,” get it? No rum (surprising) but shots of two different flavored vodka, vanilla and mango. Add some kind of fruit juice (probably pineapple), ice, and blend it into a smoothie. Then, she ordered a sampler plate of three different flavors of sorbet, then topped that off with a small bowl of mixed nuts. Like I said, a weird dinner. I thought that the ½ pound burger eaten at about 8 p.m. was going to wreak havoc with my stomach in the middle of the night, but I was OK.



So after a good night’s sleep, we awoke around 6 a.m., and after Julie’s walk we went down to the hotel coffee shop for a light breakfast of cinnamon rolls, fruit, yogurt, and coffee/tea. We talked about what to do this final day, and decided on a coffee plantation tour, a visit to Hawaii’s first chocolate shop, and I booked a sunset cruise/dinner. We’ve been to Greenwell Farms, a coffee farm/processing plant. It is Hawaii's oldest continuing operating plant, going back to the 1870s. Opened by an English settler who had originally intended on raising cattle. Here are a few pictures:






Danielle, our tour guide with torn jeans, next to a coffee plant.







Husk/cherry (bottom) and the two beans encased in a soft pulp




The husks (also called the cherries), are peeled off by a machine. The cherries (which used to be thrown away) are shipped off to another processor and turned into a powder that is sold as a health supplement which has six times the antioxidants of blueberries.



The husked beans are then placed on huge concrete slabs where the pulp in fermented away, and the beans dried.







Coffee beans drying on giant tables. There's about 500 pounds here.





Learned a few things on the tour. For example, dark roast coffees (including espresso) actually have less caffeine than lighter roasts. A strong, rich flavor might seem to indicate an extra dose of caffeine, but the truth is that light roasts actually pack more of a jolt than dark roasts. Second, don't store your coffee in the freezer, like I've been doing the last five years. Store in an airtight container at room temperature. Third, let your boiling water in the teakettle sit for a couple of minutes to bring it down off the boil to about 180 degrees or so.


After the tour, I gave Danielle a fiver, and told her put the money toward a new pair of jeans that didn't have holes in them. *


I had a couple more samples back at the storefront, while Julie bought a can of "Kona Red," one of the brands of powdered coffee cherry antioxidant. Back to the hotel, where we relaxed for a while, then off to the pier for a little shopping before our sunset tour. On the way there, it began to pour rain. I'm talking buckets. We got to the pickup point for our cruise, and called the office to make sure we were at the right place, and the lady said the sunset cruise was cancelled due to weather, and that we would be receiving a refund. Damn! This also scuttled the trip to the chocolate shop, which is at the same pier where we were going to catch the boat. But Hawaii's Original Chocolate Factory has shops on all the major four islands. So we will hit that later!


So, when all fails, EAT, right? We were both kind of hungry anyway. We figured we would pick up a little snack before the cruise (perhaps chocolate?). So we headed back to Jackie Rey's, our first-night restaurant where the food was so good, and feasted on happy hour specials. When we got there, the place was practically empty, but in less than half an hour, the place was packed. So I'm not the only one who thinks "food" when all else fails, but I'm usually the FIRST to think about it! Anyway, we had tropical drinks, spring rolls, crabcakes, clam chowder, fish tacos, and lilikoi cheesecake for dessert (with Kona coffee of course!) while we watched the sky above open a vein of torrential rain. The tab came to $91 plus a tip. Worth every penny, especially knowing that at regular non-happy hour prices, the tab probably would have been $40 more!


We are now back at the Sheraton. I got the front desk to print our boarding passes for the island hop tomorrow to Lihue, Kauai. Our plane leaves Kona at 1:25 p.m., with a changeover in Honolulu. Barring delays or cancelled flights, we should be in Lihue around 3:30.


That's all for now.


Bruce



* Just seeing if you were paying attention. I'm not so old as to not know that pre-ripped jeans are a "thing" right now. But I AM old enough to believe that it's ridiculous! Honestly, though, I handed Danielle a fiver and thanked her for a GREAT narration. She really knew her stuff.

Hawaii Days one through three

Aloha everyone. Hope everyone is well. This is (sis-in-law) Julie’s and my third day on the Big Island of Hawaii. We are having a fantastic time. I was up at about 6:15 local time (1:15 p.m. Central Time), showered while stomping some clothes*  to get the sweat out (very humid here). Julie is out for her morning walk, and when she returns we will figure out a breakfast plan, and then it’s “hang out at the resort day.”

Monday 9/11

But to back up, let’s start at Monday morning, 2 a.m., on 9/11. My landlord, Gary, drove Julie and I to the Van Galder bus depot in Janesville, where we caught the bus to O’Hare. We were both “pre-checked” by the TSA for the express line through security, so we made it to our Alaska Air gate in no time flat. Boarding began at 5:15 for the first leg of our flight to Seattle. The plane was full. In a little less than 4 hours, we were sitting at a restaurant in the Sea-Tac terminal (“Dish D Lish”) having breakfast paninni (me sausage, egg, and cheese; and Julie the same but with bacon), I added a cranberry muffin, and of course I had coffee …. Wonderful coffee. There is no shortage of great coffee in Seattle! Mine came to $14.

We boarded an airport underground train to transfer to our terminal to catch the Air Alaska flight to Kona. Again, packed, but Julie and I lucked out by having the only empty seat between us on the whole plane. We were in the last row on the left side of aircraft, by the shitters, but that was OK because the engine noise helped drown out the cacauphany of crying/screaming infants/toddlers, or which there were many. Why anyone would take an infant/toddler to Hawaii is beyond me, but of course we live in the age of “take your children everywhere.”

We touched down in Kona at 3:30 local time about ½ hour late, deplaning down actual stairs to the tarmac (no jetway) just like the “old days.” We retrieved our baggage outdoors, offloaded direct from the luggage trailers. Caught a short van ride to Budget rent a car and procured our wheels for the duration of this leg – a Hyundai Elantra. Took about ½ hour to reach the Sheraton Kona Resort, where we had to do a room switch because they gave us a room with a single King bed when I had requested double beds. They got us switched in quick order. The AC was working well, and thank heaven for that because it is REALLY humid here. Julie immediately switched from long pants to shorts while I searched Yelp for a nice dinner place. We chose Jackie Rey’s Ohana Grill, about 6 miles from our hotel. We had a wonderful meal, basically splitting an appetizer, meal, and dessert right down the middle. I had a Lilikoi martini for a cocktail. Lilikoi is Hawaiian for passion fruit, and they put it many things here. For appetizer, we had Thai-themed pork spring rolls. For main course, we split a seafood trio that contained shrimp, crabcake, and grilled Ono. Served with mashed sweet potato and sautéed vegetable medley. For dessert, a brownie sundae covered in a fudge/peanut butter sauce. Everything was delicious, and I had a French press of Kona coffee along with my dessert.




Julie and spring rolls

By the time we returned to our hotel room, we’d been up for 24 hours. I showered, at the same time stomping T-shirt and Jockeys to get the sweat out. I packed light for this trip, thinking each t-shirt and J-shorts would last two days. But no way. With the humidity here … well, I’ll let you use your imagination. We hit the sack around 9:30 local time, and fell asleep quickly, especially Julie who went out like a light. I woke a couple of time with leg cramps from sitting for so long in an airline seat designed for a 100-pound Asian, but was able to fall back to sleep quickly both times.

Tuesday 9/12

We awoke at about 6:30 a.m. local time. Julie went for her usual morning walk while I scouted a breakfast place. We chose a place called “Island Lava Java” known for their island-style waffles and pancakes, which means smothered in coconut syrup and macadamia nuts. We each got that, along with a couple pieces of bacon, and I had Kona coffee while Julie had tea. Absolutely scrumptious. We discussed options for the day, and decided on Volcanoes National Park, about a two-hour drive from us. We got to the Park around 11 a.m., and we were able to get into the Park free (normally $25) because Julie has one of those “senior passes” to the National Park System. Hooray! We were immediately informed that a good section of the “Rim Drive” was closed off due to noxious and potentially hazardous gas plumes escaping from the Kilauea caldera, which is still considered very much an active volcano even though it “blew its top”   ages ago, and there have been numerous major eruptions since then, the latest in 2014.

So anyway, we made our first stop to the Thurston Lava Tube because I wanted to be sure Julie saw that spectacular wonder. Wouldn’t you know that the tube was also partially closed due to electrical problems with the lighting system. But we got to walk about 100 feet into the tube, then turn around and come back.

 

Bruce in the lava tube

 

 

We then had to reverse direction on the roadway and make our way to the Jagger nature museum, which was as close to Kilauea as we would get. We could smell the fumes all the way from the museum because the wind was blowing toward us, and the huge cloud of effluent spewing from the vent made film deposits on our glasses and all the glass of our parked car. The park ranger at the museum/visitor center warned that long-term exposure could actually cause problems to the extent that limits are imposed on park rangers on the time they spend outside. Meanwhile, the museum installed giant air filters to clean the air inside. While there, we witnessed a “mini” eruption where we saw the base of the plume turn red, and a giant cloud of vapor/gas spew into the air. Very cool!

 

 

Noxious gas from Kilauea

 

 

We exited the park, and on our way back to Kona stopped at the largest black sand beach in all of Hawaii (both the state and island because Hawaii the island is the ONLY island in Hawaii the state that has black sand beaches). There are several black sand beaches on this island, but the largest and most famous is Punaluu Beach, which was on our way to Kona. We took off our shoes and socks and went into the water up to our knees just to say that we did it! It was really amazing to see this for me also, because I had never been here in my previous two trips to the Big Island!

 

Punaluu Beach

 

 

We got back to the hotel room and Julie wanted to wash her hair before we set out for dinner. So while she did that, I looked for another dinner venue and decided on “Splasher’s Grill” located on a jetty of land where many of the big cruise ships dock. I had some doubts about the place, but Yelp rated it four out of five stars, so we went. The food was good, but I have to say paled in comparison to the night before. Julie had the grilled catch of day, which was some kind of steak fish that I can’t remember, but it reminded me of swordfish. I had a captain’s platter, which had shrimp, a battered white fish, and a crab cake. I also ordered an appetizer of coconut shrimp. We requested a table change at the outset, because the live music was too loud, and I think this pissed off our waitress, because we requested seating in a section that wasn’t hers. So the service was spotty at best. We skipped dessert for fear of waiting into the wee hours of the night. I guess keep this in mind when requesting a table change!

We got back to our room about 8:30 and I was exhausted from all that driving. Not that it was particularly a long distance (about 2 hours each way) but it was because the road was so twisty/winding, uphill and down. I really had to pay attention, and my right leg in particular was sore from alternating between the gas and brake pedals so often. I lay on top of the bed and fell asleep. Woke momentarily after about an hour or so, and Julie called over from the next bed, “Bruce, why don’t you get ready for bed.” I mumbled something, took off my T-shirt, rolled over and went to sleep. I never turned down the bed for the entire night!

Wednesday Sept. 13

Up at about 6:30 again. Julie went for a walk while I scouted for a breakfast place, and this time we went to “Kalikala Cuisine,” again down by the cruise ship dock. This seems to be “restaurant row” for some reason, at least the places I’ve been finding on Yelp. Again, we both went for the waffles with coconut butter and lilikoi (passion fruit) syrup. Served with an egg made to order, and 2 strips of bacon. Coffee for me, tea for Julie. Delicious, and we got to view the ocean and the people fishing from an embankment. Big cruise ship was just pulling in. Beautiful view, and the food was wonderful.

We decided today was “chill by the pool day” and that just what we did. From about 11:30 to 4:30. I read one of Janet Evanovich’s Kate O’Hare/Nick Fox series, called “The Chase.” Rollicking good read, while I sipped a couple rum ‘n’ Cokes. I finished about 20% of the book. Love that Kindle! Had a light lunch in the tiki bar where Julie and I split a club sandwich wrap with chips. Delicious. Despite staying in the shade and applying sunscreen, I have a pretty decent sunburn going on, especially across the chest and torso. Damn these Norwegian genes. We simply don’t tan; we burn. Showered off the sunscreen. Then went to hotel minimart for some Aloe gel and applied liberally. Also got a small can of Pringles because I got a sudden craving for them (they are gone now) and a diet Coke. Feel better already; marvelous stuff that aloe gel. Don't know what we'll do for dinner tonight; maybe something light, because we did the club sandwich wrap about 3:30.

 I think that just about wraps it up for now.

 Bruce

* The whole notion of “clothes stomping” is something I came up with while traveling on my own and keeping wardrobe to a minimum. I get the shower ready, then put the stinky clothes in the bottom of the tub. While showering, I soap up and start stomping on the clothes as though they were grapes. The runoff from the body gets the clothes soapy, and then I continue to shower to sufficiently “rinse” the clothes. When I’m done toweling off my body, I wring as much water as I can from the clothes, and hang them wherever I can to dry. Usually takes a day, shorter if I can get them out on a sunny patio for something. (Sister) Dawn and others think this barbaric, but I have read travel journals/blogs where other guys (yes, and some gals) do this when they travel, and think it’s an excellent “travel hack,” at least until you can get to a proper washer/dryer. You decide!