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Hi, it's all about the adventure... ((*_*)) 
Feb 27, 2009 08:00 PM Hawaii 50......
It's luau time.
Well the day has finally arrived to disembark. When I got down town, after being in a room with no windows for eight days I decided to upgrade my hotel room for a sea view that overlooked Waikiki Beach (this always sounds better than it is). I should have been staying in the Marriott, Hyatt, Hilton or Sheraton as they had unrestricted views of the ocean. But as it happened it really didn't matter in the end. I sat on the balcony and sipped my champagne in celebration. I had done it, I just completed my first cruise and it was brilliant; even with the ups and downs.
I headed to Diamond Head Crater to get some views of Honolulu; it only cost $1 to do the hike that takes just over an hour.
As I went back down to Waikiki Beach I could see my home for the last seven night setting sail with all new people about to have the same experience.
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Feb 26, 2009 08:00 PM All good things must come to an end
This island (Kauai) has to be my favourite and to top it off I went whale watching and saw a whale breach. I saw dolphins, monk seals, turtles. I watch the sunset as I cruised along the Na Pail coast and at that moment I could not ask for anything else. It was a magical time! But as quickly as it started it would end at 7am tomorrow morning I would be kicked off this ship.
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Feb 25, 2009 08:00 PM All has been redeemed
This holiday is so different from when I normally travel. I am enjoying it but I've taken some knocks.
In my attempts to make a last bid for finding something wonderful to capture me, I headed for Waimea Canyon, what they describe as the Grand Canyon of the Pacific and finally I can say all is forgiven. It really lived up to how they billed it and had a great time until I ended up at a macadamia nut factory when I thought I was going to die. But really what should a person who has a sever nut allergy be doing at a nut factory.
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Feb 24, 2009 08:00 PM Bobbing along the beautiful briny sea...
Ok so now I am determined to have a good day. I've decided on going sea kayaking, a bit of snorkelling and then a ride in one of those Atlantis submarines - but not necessary in that order.
I paid for my submarine ride only to find out I could have saved 50 dollars if I'd booked it through a tour company - grrrrrrhhhhhh. And the sales woman gave me this wonderful sales talk of how wonderful the coral fields would look; the wonderful colours, the magnificent fish etc. Only to be told when I got on board that because of how deep the water is the coral is monotone. I felt cheated, after that I couldn't even be bother to go snorkelling I just headed for the buffet.
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Feb 23, 2009 08:00 PM Another day, another island
All the islands seem a little different - one has active volcanoes, the other very wet, the other full of sunshine etc. On Hawaii (it seems funny that the state of Hawaii also has an island called Hawaii) or the Big Island in Hilo it is much wetter and the weather is more changeable. Before I came I was advised to bring an umbrella and a rain mack.
After not having very exciting last few days, I decided to book myself onto a tour, so that I could see some of the sights. But yet again I was disappointed. I think I should have really taken a helicopter ride because I wanted to see the volcano up close with molten lava and the tour I eventually did only took me to a crater with steam permeating. I think Mother Nature has played a nasty trick on me.
Even during the evening when cruising pass the volcano it was dead as a door nail, no colour no rumbling no nothing. I am so disappointed. All this money to see steam....
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Feb 22, 2009 08:00 PM Cycle or not to cycle, that is the question?
I woke up this morning with the passion to head for the volcano in Haleakala National Park and cycle down. But by the time I hit the breakfast buffet, the thoughts just dwindled away. I'm so easily influenced....
Instead I headed to Wal-Mart to get a few supplies. I have just figured out that at each port, the big stores on the islands provide a free bus shuttle to their store - how smart, for a captured audience. So I took a three minute bus ride up the side of a dormant volcano and ended up in Wal-Mart and then Safeway.
They did however, have a great tacky souvenir shop and outside of the flea market I went to in Honolulu Wal-Mart were the cheapest.
This is exactly what I like when I travel, find you self in the same place you shop Monday to Friday - NOT!
But other than my choices - I really think Maui is a really lovely island and I would love to return in the future.
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Feb 22, 2009 08:00 PM Part 2.....
Being in paradise and not knowing what to do is my new dilema. The idea of cycling down a volcano in the sounded like a really good idea; but as this holiday was more about resting then physical activity, I had to tie my hands behind my back so that I wouldn't sign up for this activity. I love cycling so much that this is probably something that I will regret for the rest of my life, as teh pictures of the area look just perfect. I was going to use Haleakala Bike Company as it was recommended, but all plans changed so the best way to experience paradise was on the beach or in a hot tub.
Btw - the picture used isn't mine.
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Feb 21, 2009 08:00 PM Maui Gold!
I’m told that this refers to their pineapple, but it could also refer to the sandy beaches that are available on Maui.
This place seems to be the play ground of the rich and famous, with activities of golf, the pristine beaches, you name it; you could probably do it in Maui. Maui is a prime spot for whale and dolphin watching, but I didn’t do it, snorkelling, canoe/kayaking, submarine tours, fishing, and of course surfing; however I didn’t do anything but end up on a beach somewhere, before heading to Wal-Mart.
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Feb 20, 2009 08:00 PM Stepping back into history
The day before I left Tobago, Pearl Harbour with Ben Afleck was on TV, and I watched the attached. That kind of set the scene for the day; I headed to Pearl Harbour to get a first hand view, and it was quite moving. I took the naval launch out to skeleton of the Arizona where over 1900 service men died in the attack on one battleship. As I stood watching over the ‘casket’ I saw the oil floating on the surface of the water and it was like coming full circle of where started in October and visiting Hiroshima.
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Feb 19, 2009 08:00 PM Ahola, hang loose man, Aloha!
My first view of Honolulu was last night as the airport shuttle took me all over Waikiki Beach, visiting all the hotels. There is a number 19 bus (cost $2) that takes about an hour from the airport but they will not let you board with luggage. This shuttle turned out to be operated by one of the major Hawaiian tour companies – Robets Hawaii and cost around $15 return. But as you enter Waikiki the buildings get taller and the density of hotels increase. But it really seems like a happening place to be. I was so happy that I opted for a beach hotel and didn’t end up in the city.
After dropping my bags at the hotel, I went in search of dinner and the place was really buzzing. Quite a few of the shops were open including ABC Stores, which is probably on every street corner that offers souvenirs for sale as well as general supplies. I was really bad because in the end I didn’t fancy sitting in a restaurant so I ended up in Mickey Ds; sometimes it is nice to see the local various and this included a spam sandwich as well as Maui gold – pineapple.
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