World Travel with Bob: Images from Hawaii

Departing the San Francisco Cruise Ship Terminal

We departed San Francisco on January 19 for a 15 day cruise to Hawaii (five port stops and nine at-sea days). The weather was clear and the afternoon provided an opportunity to join our fellow cruise passengers watching the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers divisional game as we sailed away. As you can tell from the first photo, the crowd watching the outdoor TV screen was quite large.

Arriving into Honolulu

Although arrival was delayed by an hour, we had time to rent a car and drive out to Diamond Head for a hike up the crater.

According to park information, Diamond Head's crater was formed about 300,000 years ago during a single, explosive eruption. In 1908, a 0.8 mile trail to the summit was constructed. Near the top of the hike, you enter an old field artillery bunker built around 1911. The hike is not very strenuous and you see lots of tourists along the partially paved path.

Hiking Up Diamond Head

Returning to the rental car, we drove back to town and tried to squeeze in a tour of Iolani Palace. Constructed in 1882, it was the last royal palace of Queen Lili'uokalani, before an overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom 1893. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to take a tour as we had a fixed afternoon appointment to tour Doris Duke's Shangri La residence.

Doris Duke built her mansion in 1937 with Islamic influences, taking architectural elements from Iran, Morocco, Turkey, Spain, Syria, Egypt and India. Tours of Shangri La are now administered by the Honolulu Museum of Art.

Foot of Banyon Tree, Near Iolani Palace

A Visit to Doris Duke's Shangri La Residence in Oahu

Time to Tender into Lahaina, Maui

For our stop in Maui, we had previously scoped out a short hike to see a couple of waterfalls. Twin Falls is along the road to Hana, about 11.6 miles east of the town of Paia. The parking area is marked by the Twin Falls Fruit Stand.

There are two falls along the well established trail. The round-trip hike is easy and the views of the native plants along the path were beautiful. Returning to the fruit stand, we stopped for pineapple-banana smoothies. A perfect break before getting back in the car.

Hilo, Hawaii

We picked up a rental car at the Hilo airport and got an early start to Volcanoes National Park. At the park, we stopped at the Kilauea Visitors Center and then drove on towards the Sulpher Banks and Steam Vents. At the Steam Vents, we hiked the Ikahi Trail for a short distance.

Returning back to the car, we drove on to see the Jagger Museum and overview of the Kilauea Caldera. The wind was blowing from the Kona coast, so the entire area was covered with what is characterized as "vog."

After a visit to the Thurston Lava Tube, we stopped at the Volcano House for a late lunch. The walk to the lava tube starts in a tree fern forest. Arriving at the tube, discovered by Lorrin Thurston in 1913, you can picture how lava flowed through the area.

The Volcano House is the only lodging and formal dining facility in the park. Built in 1940, additions were made to the hotel in 1949 and 1953. The hotel went under rehabilitation in 2012 and reopened in 2013.

Volcano House, Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii

Port Stop at Kauai

During our port stop in Kauai, we once again picked up a rental car from the Lihue airport and stopped at a couple of sites. Our first stop was at the Coco Palms Resort in Wailua. In 1979, we stayed in a condominium across the street from this resort and for several nights enjoyed watching the torch lighting ceremony while drinking a pina colada. Alas, Hurricane Iniki in 1992, with its 145mph winds destroyed the resort and the buildings remain pretty much as it was, frozen in time.

As an interesting side note, Hyatt Hotels recently announced that it will restore and reopen the iconic hotel in 2017.

Our second stop was at the McBryde National Botanical Gardens, near Poipu Beach. This garden is located in the Lāwa`i Valley. The area supports several different micro-environments, including cool, hot, wet, dry, lake, cliff or meadow. The garden contains native Hawaiian plants and many other plants that have been wild-collected from the tropical regions of the world.

After our garden visit, we stopped for a late lunch at the Living Food Market and Cafe for sandwiches and salads.

Near the end of the cruise, the passengers that had been taking group ukulele lessons put on a show for the ship. We played three Hawaiian songs, of which the on-board hula class participants danced in one.

You may be able to pick me out in the below photo. Hint: taller players are in the rear line.

World Travel with Bob

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Friday, February 7, 2014

Images from Hawaii

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