Our first port of call was Honolulu on the island of Oahu, which is the most populous island with approximately 1.4 million people.  Its also probably the most visited island because of its Pearl Harbor history.  Although Kathie and I had been on Oahu previously this was our first visit to Pearl Harbor.  From top to bottom, left to right....approaching the island of Oahu, USS Arizona memorial, gun turret on sunken battleship, tombstone of surviving shipmates who wanted to buried on the Arizona, a model of the sunken Arizona, a recovered Japanese aerial torpedo that is the same type that sunk the Arizona and the 17 ton anchor that was recovered from the Arizona.

Our second day on Oahu was one of exploration.  We rented a car In Waikiki and headed across the island to the windward side and then drove North.  Our first stop was the Byodo-In Japanese temple which is located inside of a Japanese cemetery.  Rather than tell you the history of it I'll just let you read it for yourself.  Here's a picture of the temple and the big, big Buddha the temple was built for.  Then it was further up the road to the Macadamia nut farm where we had our picture taken with our friend Rose while giving the famous and ubiquitous wave known as the Shaka.

As we continued North up the windward coast it was one park after another.  From top to bottom, left to right we have Kualoa park, beach and Chinaman's Hat.  Then further up the coast we have the crowded :-) beaches at Punalu'u and La'ielohelohe.  Further along up the coast we have a fish pen in Kahana Bay which is a  native Hawaiian invention.  With all of that traveling we developed a big appetite and what better way to satisfy it than stopping at the Aloha food truck serving delicious and fresh shrimp dishes.  We're almost done now so just a few more places to see.  First up is La'le Point and right next to it was the Ko'olaula sea arch.  Our final stop was a "sweet" one as you can tell from the smile on Kathie's face.  We're at the famous Dole pineapple plantation and Kathie's enjoying a Dole Whip while strolling the grounds and looking at a red pineapple plant.  We're pooped by now and you probably are as well.  Next stop is the island of Kauai.

Our stop on the island of Kauai was an important one for Kathie.  Most of you probably know that Kathie was in an OB/GYN medical practice in the south San Francisco bay area.  Her 30 year partner in that practice was Chris Litwin-Sanguinetti who now lives, with her husband John, on the island of Kauai.  So on our first day in Kauai, Chris and John visited us on our ship.  We took them on a tour and then treated them to dinner.  You've already seen pictures of the ship so I won't bore you with those.  The second day Kathie and I did our requisite tour of the island.  It started with a 25 cent bus ride to the local Target where Kathie replenished her supply of hair shampoo.  Then it was a short walk up the road where we stopped at the Royal Sonesta hotel and toured their grounds and then a final stop for a photo op at Kalapaki beach.  We finished the day with Chris taking us on a tour of the Grove Farm museum and homestead where she volunteers.  From top to bottom, left to right we have the grounds of the Royal Sonesta and Kaanapi beach.  Then a few pictures of the inside of Grove Farm main house built in the mid-1800s.  At one time the Grove Farm was a 32,000 acre sugar can plantation.

Our third stop was a quick one day stop in Maui.  As usual Kathie and I couldn't pass-up a good deal so when we found out that the bus service on Maui was free for those over 55 we had to go for it.  Kathie was anxious to find a great snorkeling beach so we hopped on the express bus and after an hour's tour of the Maui shoreline we arrived at Kaanapi beach.  Kathie donned her snorkeling gear and had an exciting experience with a couple of aggressive sea turtles. 

Our last stop was the big island of Hawaii.  Given the size and the incredible number of things we were fortunate that our itinerary gave us one day at the port of Kona and two days at the port of Hilo.  Kona is the touristy stop on the big island and it is known for its snorkeling beaches.  Kathie selected the beach at Kahalu'u Bay and after a few forays into the surf she was happy with her picture taking results.  You can take a look at her efforts and judge for yourself.  From top to bottom, left to right we have snorkelers at Kahalu'u Bay, surfers at Kahalu'u bay (can you see our ship in the distant background), Yellow tang, convict tang, clown unicornfish and spotted bottlefish.

After Kona we headed around the North end of the island for our two day stop at the port of Hilo.  On day one we rented a car and headed 30 miles South to Volcano National Park.  The Kilauea Iki volcano had been on/off active before we arrived but the day we were there it was only steaming.  Naturally a few days later it began to erupt again.  Here's a few shots of the crater (400 feet deep), the steam coming from the crater and shot from a live cam with volcano erupting.

To get a real feel for what this and the other four volcanoes have done to the landscape over the years, we needed to take a drive on the Chain of Craters Road. This is a 20 mile drive that takes you from the Kilauea Iki crater down to the Pacific ocean. As you drive through the various lava flows, one on top of the other, you get a feel for how many eruptions this island has experienced over the years.  There are two types of lava flows that you see as you are driving along the road.  Type one is the Pahoehoe flow which has a somewhat smooth, ropy look to it and type two is Aa flow which has a dark black crunchy crust.  From top to bottom, left to right we see Pauhi crater, a Pahoehoe flow with a Aa flow on top, geologist Kathie studying who knows what :-), a Ohia lehua tree which is Hawaii's state tree, a lava tree which is formed when flowing lava stacks up on either side of a live tree and then over time the actual tree disintegrates leaving the stacked up lava flow, a lava tube also known as a lava cave which is the main highway for molten lava to flow further downhill, a flow of Aa lava heading towards the ocean and finally the Holei Sea Arch on the Pacific coast.

Our final day in Hilo and Hawaii was spent on a short walk away from the ship.  We walked through Banyan Tree State Park on our way to Liliuokalani Gardens which supposedly is the largest Japanese gardens outside of Japan.  Here's a picture of one of the many Banyan trees in the park, this one of some note because it was actually planted by THE Babe as in Babe Ruth.   Further along we walked into the Japanese gardens which were nice but nothing particularly special except for the sighting of the Nene bird, Hawaii's state bird.  Our last stop and the end of our Hawaiian adventure was the adjoining Coconut Island.  It's claim to fame is the fact that its been overwhelmed by at least four tsunamis.  The picture of palm tree on the right shows the heights as the various tsunamis with the highest one being at least 26 feet high...that's a lot of water.  As we leave Hawaii here's a picture of the sun setting I took through the window in the dining room on the ship.