When we were able to clear the ship upon arrival in Honolulu, Amy, Ashleigh, and I got off the ship and wandered around for a little bit. We had to find an ATM and then decided to just wander around the island for a little bit. We made our way across the city, and found a mall with California Pizza Kitchen. We had been craving some good ole’ American pizza so we knew we were in the right place. And when I looked at the menu and found Strawberry Margaritas I was in heaven. I hadn’t had a margarita in almost 4 months and I was due haha. It was so weird because this was the first port that I actually got carded and my driver’s license actually meant something again. I actually felt like I was at home again. It was nice.
After a day of wandering around the city we sat outside and watched the sunset and got dinner and then just relaxed for the night. We were going to get up really early to go into the city the next day.
The next morning we got up early, got breakfast on the ship and then made our way to Pearl Harbor! I was so excited to go. I have always wanted to see the memorial. We got there and had to wait for the next ferry to take us to the USS Arizona Memorial. So we wandered around the Remembrance Circle and Contemplation Circle, reading all of the plaques and seeing all of the photographs of what happened on that fateful day in history. It is one thing to learn about in through text books, but entirely something else when you are at the actual site where it happened and all of those lives were lost. We were taken by ferry to the memorial and walked through to the wall of names of those lost that day in the USS Arizona. All 1177 names are written on this marble wall in remembrance, with 38 brothers and one father and son. We learned that on Dec 7, 1941, 21 ships of the US Pacific Fleet of the US Navy were either sunk or heavily damaged, and two of those ships still remain in Pearl Harbor today (USS Arizona and USS Utah). Walking through the memorial was a surreal experience because on this day and at this moment, I was standing over the USS Arizona where it was sunk on Dec 7, 1941, still leaking oil 69 years later and this was the event that led to the US’s entrance in WWII. It is such a major part of our nation’s history and I was standing there at the site and had to take a couple of moments to take it all in.
After leaving Pearl Harbor, Amy, Ashleigh, and I walked to Aloha Stadium, about a mile down the road. My dad and nana had been telling me for months about this huge flea market that takes place at Aloha Stadium on the weekends (they used to live on Oahu years ago so they had plenty of tips of things to do and see while here). Unfortunately when we got there we learned that there was a football game later in the afternoon, so the Swap Meet was closed. I was sad, but happy at the same time. I wouldn’t be spending any more money. After Vietnam and China, my wallet was smoking and needed a break, so even though I was sad I didn’t get to see the HUGE flea market, I was happy too.
We had time before on ship time so we were trying to think of something to do. We took the bus back towards the ship because there were some little souvenir shops that we wanted to make it to. So we went there and got some little things and were talking to the vendors and they told us about the beaches and state parks that we could go to, but to watch the time because when we would be trying to come back, there is going to be heavy traffic. So we would need to leave much earlier than we would normally plan to, because going to someplace that is only 15 mins away, can take up to an hour. We didn’t want to stress and risk dock time, so we got some lunch and wandered around the port for a little bit. Then we got back on the ship, changed into our swimsuits and went to the 7th deck to get some tans while lying out. We figured we would do the same thing at the beach, but instead of running around stressing about the time, we can lie out and tan on the 7th deck. I just wish we had more time in Honolulu, because there are a bunch of things I wish I could have done and seen like Waikiki Beach, but I’m sure I will return at some point in my life so it’s okay.
We all sailed over night on the ship to Hilo. When we arrived the next morning, Amy and I made our way to Richardson State Park, a black sand beach on the island. It was not what we were expecting but really cool. When we asked the people at the port for the nearest beaches we were expecting nice white sand beaches with sand and beach for miles, but when we got there, there were black sand and little patches of beach with rocks all around. The lifeguard explained that all of the beaches on the island are similar to this because this is the island that is mainly the volcano island so there is rocks and lava all around. We made the most of it. Within an hour this patch of beach was invaded by SAS. Everywhere you looked there were more and more SAS’ers showing up. It wasn’t that bad though. I saw huge sea turtles which I was so excited about J We relaxed for a little bit and then went back to the ship to get showered and ready. We got tickets to a Luau that night so we got changed and then made our way to the bus to go there. It was an SAS trip so there were about 30 of us who got to go. It was at the University of Hawaii at Hilo. I was a little confused because anytime I thought of a luau I thought of being on a beach, not on a porch. It was still lots of fun though. There were different stations for learning how to make lei’s, hula dancing, tie dye scarf making, and stamp print making. There were so many of us that they needed to break us up, so I started off learning to make lei’s. These weren’t typical flower leis, they were made out of Hawaiian tea leaves and woven. It took some practice, but I eventually learned the hang of it and made a lei. I even wove a little flower into it. I was so proud of myself. Before I knew it, it was time to eat. I was a little nervous because by the looks of the menu, I wasn’t sure I was going to like any of the food. I was talking to one of the coordinators for the event, and he was telling me to try everything because even though it may look like you may not like it, but everything is so good. I even had my dad texting me telling me to try everything. So I went through the buffet line, and took a little bit of everything. From white rice, to roasted pig to squid in coconut milk, I had an array of food on my plate. I tried everything like I promised and to my own disbelief, everything was really good—even the squid. I hate seafood, always have, but for some reason, this didn’t taste anything like seafood. I don’t really know what it tasted like, but it was really good.
After dinner, there were musical performances with traditional songs, and hula dancing. It was really cool to experience the culture in this way. I had a great time, and before I knew it, it was time to go back to the buses, to go back to the ship.
After being returned to the ship, Amy and I met up with some friends and hung out with them for a little bit. A couple of them had a little too much to drink, and Amy and I were completely sober, so we walked back to the ship with one of our friends, to make sure he got back okay. Even though that’s not what we planned on doing that night, it was fine because I would have rather known that he got back to the ship okay, then gone with the rest of the group and perhaps have too much to drink myself. It was the last night in the port that we would have and I wasn’t going to throw it away by drinking too much. So making sure that one of my friends got back okay was fine with me.
The next morning, a group of us (Amy, Ashleigh, Ellie, Cole, and myself) went to Waipi’o to look at Kaluahine Falls which is the highest waterfalls on the island of Hawaii. We were planning on taking a van tour or getting ATVs to go to the waterfalls, but when we got there, we learned that it was going to be $60 per person to go in this van to go to the bottom of the valley. It was actually ridiculous priced for the experience that you would have gotten. It was pretty much worth $15. The guy there told us that we could walk but be prepared because it was going to be intense. We were like it’ll be okay, we’ll just walk. It’s only a mile down and then a mile to the waterfalls. Shouldn’t be too bad, right? That’s what we thought, but when we started the walk, we soon learned how intense it was going to get. It was probably the steepest hill I have ever seen. It was physically impossible to walk normally down this hill. You were pretty much leaning back the entire time. We made it about half way down the hill and ran into a couple who was working on climbing the hill and they informed us that the waterfalls were not very visible and were not running with water, like the guy at the top told us. We were annoyed because if we were climbing down this hill to go see the waterfalls and they weren’t even worth it, then there was no point. They told us to go to Akaka Falls, which we passed a few miles back before arriving at these waterfalls. So we decided that instead of making it all the way to the bottom, only to get to the waterfalls, and to have them not even be worth it, that we would turn around, go to Akaka Falls and take our time seeing those ones before heading back to the ship before on ship time. So we started climbing back up the hill. It was pretty much a half hour of hell!!! It was probably the most miserable walk ever. Picture the Stairmaster 8000!! We made it eventually.
We made our way to Akaka Falls and grabbed lunch and ate it while we were there. These waterfalls were really cool, although you couldn’t get close to them. You walked around a route, that took you around to the different waterfalls, and you took pictures from further away. They were beautiful waterfalls but I would have loved to see them up close.
After going to the waterfalls, we went to YogurtLand. It was actually overwhelming. There was a whole wall of soft serve ice cream machines with about 14 different flavors and you take a cup fill it up with as much and with whatever you want. There are so many different toppings to choose from too and then go to the end and then weigh it and that is how much it costs. It was so overwhelming just choosing ice cream flavors, never mind choosing the toppings.
We all stuffed our faces with ice cream and then made our way back to the ship before on ship time.
I had such a great time in Hawaii. I just wish there was more time on each of the islands. I think it was the perfect port to end this journey. It was such a relaxing port and that was much needed. In every other port we have been going, going, going, and to have a port where we can just relax and lay on the beach for hours was perfect.
Now we are sailing back to the continental United States, a place I have not seen since August 26th, 2010 and I could not be more excited. I miss my friends and family so much and cannot wait to be back home with all of you.
Love always,
Kayla <3 xoxo
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