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.

May 27, 2010

This is a typical breakfast on the boat. I figured I might need the energy for the hiking of the day. They have different kinds of pancakes everyday.

We made our way into town on a free shuttle and then picked up another shuttle that we thought was the bus. It turned out this shuttle just took us to the real bus. We waited for that bus with the roosters that wander the streets. The "real" bus was another shuttle but it ran a longer route.

Once we got to the farthest stop on the bus route, we were encouraged to hitch a ride to the trail head seven miles away. We did just that. A nice couple picked us up (they moved here from New Jersey two years ago, interestingly) and took us up to the top, giving us pointers and directions on where we should hike.

We started on the Kalalau Trail after checking the map and getting some Lychee fruit from a guy that was selling bags of it from his car. It tasted like a grape but not as hard. Very good though.

The first part of the trail was rocky and looked like the entrance to the jungle; just what I had hoped for. The rocks were wet and slippery at certain points from streams that poured over the trail. It soon changed to a dirt path that wound up the mountain in switchbacks before another rocky climb.

We got a nice view of the NaPali Coast from the first overlook of the trail. It ran mainly along the edge of the mountain so we could see the ocean on the right unless we were below the tree line.

After a while we began descending into the valley along the edge of the hills. The view along the coast was great and the low-lying clouds capped the top of the mountains.

When we got close to the beach we were presented with this warning. I didn't want to be one of the tick marks so I decided not to go swimming.

The trail changed direction again and began heading back up into the rainforest. This was the real jungle that I was looking for. There were bamboo groves, giant palm trees, ferns and mountain streams that cut through the path. It's one of the wettest places on earth and it rained on us quite a bit as we walked through. We were warned at a stream crossing that it was a little late and raining for us to finish our trek to the falls but I didn't want to stop.

I'm glad we didn't decide to stop. We finally got a sight of the massive waterfall, cascading down the side of the cliff from an unseen stream above.

The waterfall sprayed a refreshing mist all the way over to where we stood at the edge of the pool.

This is my favorite place so far on the trip. I don't think anything will top this. The hike was long but this was totally worth it. The sound of the rushing water drowned out everything else and it felt like I was alone there.

We didn't want to leave but it had taken us longer than expected to get there and we had to start heading back down the exhaustingly long trail we had just traveled.

We rushed as fast as we could over the muddy ground, rock scrambles and stream crossings. It wasn't easy to move fast with all of the obstacles in our way but we did pretty well. The trail felt even longer on the way back. If I wasn't wet from the waterfall I would have been from sweat after so many steep uphill climbs and the rocks I had to maneuver around, all while attempting not to slip off the side.

Once we got to the bottom it was almost time for the bus to show up and we still had to find a ride back to the bus station. An older couple, Marshall and Joann, graciously let us hitch a ride and then proceeded to chase the bus through several stations since we were too late for the one we had taken before. They dropped us at a stop just before the bus was supposed to arrive. After it didn't show up I called and they sent another bus for us.

We got this bus, which was out of service, all to ourselves, and the ride back to our boat, where the other bus wouldn't even have taken us, only took about fifteen minutes. That's service.

I was so hungry when we got back since I only had a banana throughout the day. We got dinner and I read for a while before bed.

The bus took us most of the way up the beautiful coast of Kaua'i and I wish we could have seen more. Total distance: about 85 miles.

May 26, 2010

I took advantage of the cooks and had this guy make me an omelet. He looks really happy about it. The omelet was tasty and full of vegetables. I've eaten a lot of eggs lately.

The dock area in Kona is too shallow for our boat to dock so we had to anchor offshore and take these little tenders back to the shore. It was inconvenient and hot but it worked.

I found an internet cafe in the town shopping area that granted me unlimited internet if I made a purchase. That was an easy decision since I've been paying for it at Starbucks.

I spent most of the morning in the little cafe area. The sun didn't come out too much so it was shady and comfortable as I updated things, caught up on some shows and had a smoothie and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

After I was finished online I walked around the shopping area a bit and then along the shore before I decided to return to the boat. We were leaving a little earlier today so I had to be back in the afternoon.

We went to the art show and auction on the boat. It was legit, with originals by Matisse, Miro, Dali, Picasso and Rembrandt. There were a lot of well-known artists on display.

Since the prices were in the thousands, I didn't even consider raising my little number to bid on anything, but I did enjoy my time learning a little bit about some of the pieces and wondering why the woman kept running her fingers all over these original pieces of art. I also enjoyed the free champagne. It may have been the rocking of the boat but I felt it after my second little glass.. I'm a lightweight.

Art auctions make me hungry so we got some food and then finally checked out the shuffleboard court that we noticed the first day on the boat. It was a little difficult with the ship rocking back and forth as I tried to aim but it was fun nonetheless.

We played a few games of chess after the shuffleboard games. It's been a while since I've played but I'd like to get back into it.

I spent some time reading my book before I decided it was time to get some sleep for the night.

I think this was and will be our longest trip on the boat since we had to travel past all the islands we've already visited to get up to Kauai. Probably a couple hundred miles.