Aloha from Hawaii!

Aloha! We have recently returned from 11 glorious days in Hawaii! After arriving in British Columbia on September 20, we decided to put our motorhome in storage for a month in Maple Ridge, B.C while visiting with family in Vancouver. A big shout out to the fine folks of Maple Towing and Storage for their kindness! After vacationing in Vancouver for a bit it was time to venture on and hit another of the Pacific Rim States.....Hawaii! On October 8, we left Vancouver for the 6 hour flight to the third largest of the Hawaiian islands.....Oahu!

The view from our hotel balcony

Oahu, which means "The Gathering Place" truly was a gathering place, or at least where we stayed on Waikiki Beach in Honolulu. We were amazed at the huge numbers of people vacationing in the supposed "off season" and the large number of high end stores along the main strip.....Louis Vuitton, Coach, Kate Spade, Cartier, etc...etc... Our first day and a half there we explored the beach, some of the local bars and restaurants as well as local Hawaiian entertainment. Then we decided it was time to get out of Dodge and beat the crowds! We rented a motorcycle and armed with Google

Waikiki Beach

Maps headed out into the countryside to see what the REAL Oahu was all about! And what we discovered was simply beautiful; forested mountains, quiet beaches, and lush rainforests. Another highlight for us while in Oahu was the opportunity to visit Pearl Harbour and the place where World War II officially ended. We enjoyed our time in Oahu but, having never been to Hawaii, we were curious about the other islands. What were they like? Based on a teacher friend's recommendation, we decided take a 7 day cruise of the other islands with Norwegian Cruise lines and sailed out of Honolulu on October 12 headed towards......Maui!

Snorkelling in Oahu

A fun way to get around!

A beautiful Japanese Temple

Visiting the Missouri

A beautiful sunset over Waikiki on our first night in Oahu

First day aboard NCL Pride of America

I have to say,  Maui was one of our favorite islands and we were happy to be in

port for two days. The first day we went ashore and hooked a limousine ride to Lahaina and the second day we decided to rent our own car and do our own

excursion. At just $49 a day, renting our own vehicle proved be a cheaper

alternative to purchasing pricey excursions from the cruise line and we actually

were able to see and do more than the mobs of tourists who were all herded into shuttles and buses and whisked off for hours and hours on end. One excursion that came highly recommended was the Road to Hana and that was what we decided to do! Rated as one of the most scenic drives of Hawaii this excursion was most certainly about the

Hoping to see these guys in November

journey and not just the destination, although the town of Hana was one we would definitely return to. The 62 mile drive of twists and turns, jaw dropping cliffs and scenic waterfalls was one that we will never forget. We even had some time to relax on beaches at Maui before boarding the cruise ship for our next destination......the big island....Hawaii!

Our home for 7 days!

A huge Banyan Tree in Lahaina. The main trunk is to the left with 16 different trunks growing from the original!

Going underground into a Lava tube

                         Some sights and sounds from the Road to Hana!

This lady made us a bowl from coconut leaves!

Beautiful Rainbow Eucalyptus trees

Hilo was our first stop and one that proved to be very interesting. We decided to rent a car again and we visited Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. At Kilauea, the site of the 2018 eruption, we could see how the caldera had dramatically changed the landscape of the park, adding an additional 865 acres of landmass to the existing island. What was most interesting however was the 38 mile drive along Crater Rim Drive which descended 3700 feet to the coast, ending at the 2003 lava flow. Though lava cannot be seen

Lava fields extending to the ocean

today, the lava fields, fissures and craters were amazing to see and one could only imagine the magnificent sights of an erupting volcano. During our travels we also had an opportunity to go underground and tour an ancient lava tube and also stopped at Punalu'u Black Sand Beach where the sand is made up of small pitch black fragments of lava.

Our last day and half was spent on the Garden Island of Kauai. Kauai is an amazing island of emerald valleys, sharp mountain spires and jagged cliffs. Again we rented a car and immediately headed towards Waimea Canyon.Known 

as the Grand Canyon of the Pacific, we were in awe of the landscape and the beautiful waterfalls. We also stopped along a 15 mile stretch of sand called

Kekaha Beach and played in the waves before continuing on our journey towards Poipu Beach where we watched an interesting phenomena known as Spouting Horn. Kauai was absolutely beautiful and relatively quiet. On our final evening aboard the Pride of America, the Captain cruised along the NaPoli Coast voted by National Geographic as one of the 50 most beautiful places in the world to visit. As we sailed off into the sunset that evening, we felt blessed and fortunate to have visited one of the most beautiful places in the world. Tomorrow morning we would be docking in Honolulu and disembarking from our seven day adventure on Pride of America.

                                          The spouting horn!

                            Having fun in the waves on the beach in Kauai!

Cruising the Na Poli coast

As we begin to pull in to the port of Honolulu after 7 days at sea, the sun begins to rise over the city. We have had an amazing vacation in this beautiful rainbow state. Mahalo!

                                    Until we meet again!