May 31, 2010

Our shuttle picked us up in the morning at the hotel and took us to the Hard Rock Cafe for our Welcome Breakfast! First, I realize we're taking a lot of shuttles. They come with some of the things we bought on our GoCard, which is like a pass to several attractions. Second, the "Welcome Breakfast" was supposed to be for when we arrived, but I forgot to schedule it so I decided to do it when we got back from the cruise. It's a "Welcome Back" breakfast.

I had done this the last time I was here so I knew the routine. They give you a lei, all welcoming, to take a picture of you and then they take it back. Such a nice welcome, eh?

This is why the breakfast was free. It was fruit, chocolate chip muffins (delicious) and fruit juice. It was enjoyable but not really anything to wake up early to get.

We were given the rundown of all the overpriced expeditions they offer. Entertainment was provided by dancers from the Polynesian Cultural Center. I don't know how that guy smiles like that the entire time he dances. He never flinches.

The shuttle picked us up outside the Hard Rock and took us to the Maui Diver's store since they sponsor the breakfast or something. The tour was pretty interesting actually. We got to see how they design and create their jewelry from corals and gems. It was all expensive so I didn't consider buying anything, but it was pretty!

Once we got back to our hotel and packed up our stuff for later we took a walk around Waikiki to some places we hadn't been yet. We looked at a few art galleries and one was amazing. Peter Lik's gallery was full of large-print landscape photos that were insanely vibrant and beautiful. We both agreed that these made us simultaneously want to get better and give up. Look him up; if you have a chance, go see his work. Nothing compares to seeing it in person.

We went for more Puka Dogs. I changed it up a little bit and got mango relish this time. They are so good... but so simple. It's just a veggie dog on a toasted bun with some (unusual and awesome) condiments.

After walking around for a while longer, we headed to the other side of town and got acai bowls from the organic food place. Another wonderful treat I will miss when we're on the mainland.

There wasn't much to do while we waited besides wander around. This giant tree is in Kapiolani Park outside the zoo. I don't know why it grows like this but I like it.

Eventually our airport shuttle picked us up and took us back to Honolulu International. We were informed of possible overbooking of the flight so we waited in line and volunteered to get bumped from the flight to get vouchers for later travel.

Unfortunately they didn't need us. Even worse, they had given away our seats so we had been reassigned to different parts of the plane. The nice thing was we got free snacks because of the inconvenience.

Another 2,551 miles back to the mainland. I don't know why I'm not scared to fly. Look at all that water.

May 30, 2010

In the morning we waited for a while outside our hotel until our shuttle picked us up to go to Hanauma Bay for snorkeling. We had to watch a "safety" video about swimming around wildlife and the reef.

Once we got down to the beach and goggled and flippered up we were ready to dive in and see what we could find. The water was cold and the sun just didn't want to come out.

The fish start to appear almost immediately one you get near the reef. My goggles kept fogging up so it was hard to see at times. It was like swimming in a fish tank at a doctor's office.

I think this is my favorite fish that I saw. He was pretty big. The reef was beautiful and a little dangerous trying to swim around it in shallow water.

I saw an eel at one point that freaked me out a bit. Its jaw was snapping like he was coming after me so I swam away quickly instead of taking a photo. We stayed in for a while but it was cold and the tide was low so we got out and dried off in the air since we forgot towels.

We had to wait over an hour for our shuttle to come back so we could return our equipment and then catch the bus north. We had to transfer at Sea Life Park so we took the time between buses to check out the marine life. The turtles were coming up to the sides of the rocks and climbing up to people looking in the tank.

My friends, the penguins, were out sunning themselves in the warm mid-day sun. I saw a kid with a dolphin toy walk up to the edge and pretend he was attacking them. I wonder if penguins are scared of dolphins..

Speaking of dolphins, I went to the dolphin show as well. It was the usual dolphins-jump-out-of-the-water-people-ooh-and-ahh thing. It's still cool.

Once our bus finally showed up and we walked around trying to find the kayak rental place for a while we got to where we needed to be. We watched another safety video and then went down to the beach for our kayaks. We took a canal out to the ocean and then paddled out from the beach toward a small island.

It was much easier than I expected to maneuver in the ocean. The waves weren't a big problem. I never thought I was going to tip over like I do in a river kayak. We got out to Flat Island, whose name explains it very well, and then headed toward the other islands off the coast.

We didn't go all the way since we had to return the kayaks by a certain time but the trip out was fun. The ride back was much easier because we were going with the current so we had some time to paddle around and watch the windsurfers.

It was a good trip out even though we had a short time. I would have liked to spend more time and I think I'll try kayaking on the ocean again somewhere.

We went and caught our next bus home. It was a long ride back to the hotel. I feel like most of the day was spent either on a bus or waiting for one. So it goes when you take public transportation.

I took a walk along the ocean at night since it's my last night here. The air was warm and the weather was perfect. It was a nice night to look at the city lit up by buildings and tiki torches. I could even see a good amount of stars twinkling above the palm trees when I looked in the other direction.

I came back to the hotel and read until I was too tired to hold up my head. It was a nice and relaxing last night on Hawai'i.

May 29, 2010

We got up and packed up most of our stuff before heading to our last breakfast buffet of the cruise. The place was insanely crowded of course, since everyone was attempting to eat before they got kicked off the boat at 9am.

We finished packing and strolled off the boat pretty easily considering how long the line looked when we got to the disembarkation area. They were mostly just people sitting around waiting.

We got to the Waikiki Grand after a short bus ride and I liked it immediately for the old style. They actually use room keys instead of cards.

The room looked more like a small apartment than a hotel room. It had two refrigerators, a microwave and a stove range. I just liked it.

I feel like I just took some generic pictures to show the hotel since I'm not in any of them, but we went swimming for a while in the pool. It was a little chilly so we didn't stay for too long. I forgot how much fun it is to dive into water. All of the pools I've been to recently have been quite shallow.

We took a walk down the main road along the beach looking for something to eat. Nothing really presented itself and, after looking into some expensive Thai food, we went back to where we began.

Yes, another visit to P.F. Chang's. I got the same amazing curry dish. They give you so much; I only ate about a third of the food and took the rest home. Free rice. That's what does it.

On the way back we perused the International Marketplace for random Hawai'ian items that we might want for ourselves or others. The atmosphere is pretty hectic, like I would imagine an Arabian street market, with people offering deals and calling to you from every side to check out their cart.

We got to see a beautiful Waikiki sunset over the ocean from a block away from our hotel. I took a lot of shots while a crazy guy talked to me. I just ignored him but it might show up in some of my pictures.

I spent the rest of the night reading and watching things online. I didn't know How I Met Your Mother was in syndication.. and on Lifetime??

May 28, 2010

I got up early in the morning and I liked this scene from my window so I went outside to take some shots of it. It wasn't as great as it seemed to my groggy morning eyes but I still liked the line of palm trees. We went and had some breakfast at the buffet and then parted ways for the day.

I took a long walk (in sandals) to the local strip mall and sat in the coffee shop to use their slow, slow internet. There wasn't really anything else to do since we had to be back on the boat a little after noon to disembark. After doing in a few hours what should have taken one, I got a shuttle back to the boat.

As the boat prepared to shove off we had our last lunch buffet and I had an ice cream cone. Because I can. The Indian food they have out is always great. I would prefer it a little more spicy but curry is good at any spice level.

We attended the grand finale art auction in Pink's Champagne Room. There was a lot of great art that I wish I could afford. There was some that I could afford but still didn't think it was worth it to buy right now. Auctioneers have a way of making everything seem like a great deal but I feel like that's not always the case. I did win a picture frame in a raffle though!

Toward the end of the auction I retreated to the coffee bar downstairs to do movie quote trivia. There were some really good quotes that I got and others didn't and a few that I should have gotten but didn't. Where is Chuck when I need him??

The reason we departed our port so early is so we could go by the NaPali coast while there was still daylight. Everyone huddled along the rail on the port side of the boat and took photos as our cruise ambassador (they came up with that name) gave us a thorough history on the coast's formation and uses over the years.

It was a beautiful scene, full of crevices and high peaks. It has been used in a lot of popular movies like Jurassic Park, King Kong and Six Days, Seven Nights.

We went and got dinner and then came back out on deck shortly after to see the sun set. I think this was the first nice sunset I've really seen on the boat.

The sky changed color quickly as we sailed away from the sun (isn't it supposed to be the other way around?) The clouds looked as if they were painted pink and orange on the darkening blue sky. It was a gorgeous send-off for the last night on the boat.

We went to see our art auctioneers since we were both due "free art." I signed up for a credit card and I got to choose a piece just for applying. I have no intention of actually using the card but one of the pieces I got to choose from was my favorite artist in the auction, Annatole Krasnyansky. His work is amazing; look it up! This is the piece that I got.

I also received a free bottle of cham-pag-nee. Thanks, guys. That should last a while..

I finally got in the hot tub after a week on the boat. It was okay. It wasn't that hot and their were too many bubbles from the jets that kept shooting ultra-chlorinated water up into my eyes.

I did some reading and got tired pretty quickly. So ended the last night on the boat.

Our boat did a little ride along the coast of Kaua'i and then came back down around to Honolulu Harbor. I have no idea where it spent all of the time it had to get there.