Kaanapali Beach Maui - 9-22

Unfortunately for us, we docked on the other side of the island from what is supposedly the best beach in Maui. So, I signed up for a tour that provided transportation to and from, a beach chair, a free drink and a buy 1 get 1 50% off at 2 restaurants. (Seriously--why couldn't they just offer 25% off a meal so EVERYONE -- even singles --could enjoy? UGH

Anyway, after a most scenic drive, we arrived at the Sheraton for our beach day. There was no one there to meet our bus. The poor driver was on her phone trying to speak to someone to get instructions. There we sat on the bus--getting pissy. Well, at least I was! Finally 25 minutes after we arrived, a guy boarded the bus and was trying to be all cute and funny. We were having none of it. We were  like just show us to the beach pal. Finally, after listening to him drone on we followed him: Across the driveway, down a walkway next to the parking garage, through another walkway and out to an area in complete sun where Mr. Sheraton droned on and on about what we could and couldn't do. We were told we could NOT use the pool but could use the loungers by the pool. WTF?

 The view from my chair on the beach:

 Shortly before it all went to hell!  And I lost my favorite sunglasses.

I asked about an umbrella because the sun was intense and I am still lily white. He says they are $30 plus tax for 4 hours. But he had to go and get a pen to write down the orders. AND he only had 7 umbrellas to rent. Again, whatever, So we waited and waited IN THE SUN for about 20 minutes until he returned with a pen. (Jesus Jenny I would have given him a pen) And again, since we waited so long we were probably at the 3 hour mark for umbrella rental.

No, he cannot accept credit cards. What? My umbrella will be $31.72 or some such nonsense. I said here is $40 bucks, do you have change? Uhhhhhhh. No. How about we just charge you $30. Again, whatever,

I was anxious to get to the beach. I planned on snorkeling. The black rock to the right of the resort was supposed to have the best snorkeling!

I did see the cliff divers warming up for the evening show:

I follow one of his minions to a place in the sand well back from the water. I said, I want to be near the water. Nope, you can have your pick of one of these umbrellas set up here. OK. No where near the snorkeling area and the sand is hot as hell. Like burn the bottoms of your feet through your flip flops hell.

So, off I go down the beach to snorkel. It's too rough. There is minimal visibility and they were afraid people would be sent crashing into the rocks. EFFFFFF Back I schlep to my beach chair, sweating and thirsty. I find a place to get water and NO you cannot use your coupon for water. You need to pay $4.12. I'm about over this place.

But, I go back to the beach and think I'll just get in the ocean. It will be refreshing. OMG I have never felt such a strong undertow. I was in water about to my waist and I saw this rather large wave heading toward the beach. I was completely unable to move back--only sucked out further. And of course, the thing hit me and sent me ass over tin cups, spun me around and deposited me near the shoreline. Holy crap. Then to make matters worse, I couldn't get up and got pulled around dragging my ass through the surf. Ok. Enough fun for me.

I dried off in my beach chair under my $30 umbrella and then headed to the outdoor shower we were 'allowed' to use to rinse off. I think I could spit harder than this stream of water. So, I did the best I could and headed to the restaurant to have some lunch. I will say, the $18 hamburger I had was delicious and very large. It could have easily fed 2 people. I guzzled about 10 cups of 'free' tap water.

The restaurant overlooked the resort's lazy river. Hmmm. They just said we couldn't get in the pool. Plus I saw no one having any sort of wristbands....Hello Refreshing Water! I got into a sort of secluded part of the river and rid my bathing suit of about 10 pounds of sand. I was scrubbing my arms and legs in the water and discreetly reaching into my bathing suit to get rid of more. It was like the stuff was welded to my body. Bleck.  I stayed in for a good 45 minutes and no one said a word to me.

This excursion was the worst I've been on and I do plan on putting a review on Carnival's website. Not that it matters because the ship is now heading to Australia via Tahiti and Fiji. Sigh.

Then it was time to get back on the bus for the ride back to the ship. We climbed aboard and about 1/2 way through the ride, all that water I drank caught up with me. And it was also about 59 degrees on the bus. I was miserable and of course, sitting in the very back of the bus and there were tons of elderly people in the front. I was tempted to try and get them to stay in their seats, but I waited my turn and sprinted to the bathroom. (Only after passing it and then asking I had to circle back)

Photos from the bus on the drive back:

I wish I had more time to explore other areas in Maui. The part I visited was solid resorts for miles. I don't think I would ever vacation in this area. Plus, there was a lot of construction all over the places we passed--road widening, new builds etc..Not really my cup of tea. So, I can say although Maui is gorgeous, I don't think it's the island for me. 

Oh and in case you are wondering:

As soon as I got back on the ship, I headed to my room and a shower. OMG Despite having deposited 10 pounds of sand in the lazy river, I probably still had 3 pounds of the stuff in my suit and stuck to me. I had to seriously scrub to remove this crap. I think I took at least, a 30 minute shower. I washed my hair twice too. Wow. 

Back on board, it was our last night and it was packing time. So, I repacked the suitcase and then joined my new friends for dinner again. Yes, I blew off my old table mates once again. We had a wonderful dinner. I had seared Mahi-Mahi. I think I had fish at least 7 times for dinner. We lingered in the dining room talking and laughing and then it was was time to say goodbye to my table mates.

Went back to my room to put my suitcase out so it would be taken off the ship for me. And that, my friends was the end of my cruise except for the overnight sail to Honolulu.

Tubing the Ditch in Kauai 9-21

Let me start by saying OMG and finish with It was fantastic. Today's excursion, as you have read in the title, was Tubing the Ditch. I had seen a YouTube video awhile back and it inspired me to take this cruise actually! So here we go:

Awoke nice and early and had breakfast for a change before I headed off the ship to meet my tour. There were only 20 of us on the tour. We rode in two large vans up the mountain. It was quite the off-road experience, especially since we were in a van. (Almost as bumpy as the zodiac ride yesterday)

We stopped several times for some photos and then it was time to tube. We all donned the mandatory miner type hat with light and these gloves. You also had to wear water shoes. If you had none, they loaned you a pair of Crocs. Reason enough for me to wear my own shoes!

The water was brisk. Men were talking of shrinkage and women were commenting on the ability to cut diamonds! But we all settled into our inner tubes, they released the rope and off we began.

Our ride was about 2 1/2 miles and there were 5 tunnels. What?? That wasn't in the tour description. Oh yeah, the guide said about 80% of the ride was through tunnels. Great.... I have such a love of them. NOT! But now, the miner helmets with lights on them made more sense.  EFFFFFF. But I'm in the water now, what can you do?

Off we floated with our 3 guides. (What a great job huh?) I had my trusty waterproof camera and took tons of pictures and a couple of videos. Not a care in the world...just floating through an abandoned sugar cane plantation.  Placid waters soon gave way to mini-rapids and sent us all spinning and careening into each other and the walls.

Then BOOM, you were in a cave. I was trying to be all serious and imagine how awful it must have been to dig out these tunnels...in a jungle, with bugs everywhere, machete-ing their way through the growth. UGH.  But I didn't think these thoughts for long because it was a wild ride and you hit the sides of the tunnel pretty hard, so you had to pay attention and push off with your feet.

The 3rd tunnel we went through was 3/4 of a mile long and we had to go down a little water slide type thing to get to it. Wheeeeeeeeee. Fun stuff. The tunnel was insane. This one had water dripping heavily from the ceiling and the water was super fast and seemed to go more downhill than we had been.  We were all spinning so fast and bouncing back and forth like pinballs. I couldn't stop laughing. Out of one tunnel, right into the next one. Same kind of ride!

We floated some more and then it was time to enter the last tunnel and told us to keep our lights off. That was interesting. Still the same bouncy ride but no idea when a wall or another tube would be crashing into you. There were even a few mini-rapids inside the tunnel.

Oh and the guide told us, if you get flipped out of your tube, save yourself. Stand Up. The water is only 3 feet deep! LOL

Would I do it again? In a heartbeat. It was worth the money.

We made our way back to the ship after a short stop for snacks and drinks at another beautiful place in this plantation.

I made my way to the uncrowded Serenity area and pool. It was a beautiful day and I had a beautiful view from the aft of the lido deck. On one side a pretty harbor and on the other, brilliant green mountains. I did reapply sunscreen as my back is pretty burned from the snorkeling. I definitely got some sun the past few days.

As the ship set sail, I headed down to my cabin for a long shower. The dinner menu looked really good tonight, so I saved my appetite until 7:45. I ran into a couple in the Martini Bar, outside of the dining room, as I've done almost every night of this cruise and they invited me to their table for dinner. I jumped at the chance as my table mates continue to get on my one good nerve. I should have asked to be reassigned after the first night, but I told myself to give them a chance. HA Next time, I'll go with my first impression.

OK,I wasn't going to comment more on my table mates but just to give you an idea of what I am dealing with, I have my own names for these people.
1. Old Bald Crazy Lady
2. Mama's Boy'
3. The Spitter
I'm stopping right there. You can use your imagination.

After dinner, the casino called my name. This will be the last night it is open on this cruise.Tomorrow, they will change all the slots to take Australian currency. Plus, we are in Maui until 11pm. I am happy to report that the casino was very, very good to me tonight. So good, in fact, that I should be able to pay off my sign and sail charges!! I love three card poker.

And so ends another beautiful day in paradise!

I keep trying to add photos. Mostly having no luck. Be sure and check back in a few days. I am hoping for better internet speed in Honolulu.

Kona 9-20

Kona 9-20

Let me start by saying I should have taken Aleve or something prior to the excursion I took today. It was so fun but extremely punishing to my reluctantly aging self. We loaded ourselves into a zodiac boat. 16 of us and the captain and mate.

We began motoring out of the harbor and as soon as we hit the open water we were told to tuck a foot under this rope on the floor and grab a rope line behind us. JESUS JENNY, this thing went from zero to sixty in like 2 seconds. Everyone was slamming into the person beside them and we were all holding on for dear life.

Right before it all went to hell......

The woman formerly called ‘Rockstar’ by the mate because I chose a seat near the front was now clenching the rope handle with 2 hands and my foot was jammed so tight underneath the rope on the floor, it left marks. Rockstar? Not so much.  Terrified, AARP eligible, woman—you bet.

After what seems like hours, we finally reached the snorkel spot. I unclenched my hands from the rope and gingerly slid my (permanently?) rope indented foot out from the rope and thanked God we finally stopped.

We were at a cove where there is a monument to Captain Cook (that guy got around). Calm, clear water and a large area for snorkeling. The water we jumped into was about 60 feet deep but over where the coral wall started was much more shallow—but you still couldn’t touch bottom.

Oh the fish! Oh the coral! I think I only lifted my head out of the water 3 times in an hour. I just swam around taking picture after picture. It was amazing. The coral was very healthy and the fish were abundant. There was no feeding them going on here either. Very nice.

I hoisted myself back onto the boat via a 3 rung ladder. Thankfully, no one took a picture of that. Graceful it was not! But then no one looked great throwing that one leg over the pontoon and pulling themselves aboard.

There were lots of drinks, fresh fruits and bags of chips and cookies available once we got back on the zodiac. Everyone partook and before I knew it, we were on our way back to the pier. I must have looked especially uncomfortable because the Captain offered me a seat in the back near him. I about leaped out of my seat. 

(Side note: I don’t think I’ve mentioned this before, but I have issues gripping things tightly with my hands these days. They always feel like they need to be stretched or something. I’ve been to a doctor but until they progress much, much further, there is nothing they can do)

Anyway, between all that gripping on the way out and then holding the camera attachment in the water, my hands needed a break. The ride back was very pleasant in the back of the boat. We stopped at a couple of lava tubes. You can really see the different eruptions over the thousands of years these islands took to form. Very different coloring between the different eruptions.

All in all a GREAT excursion and one I would do again—making sure I sat in the back of the boat from the start. LOL

We will be setting sail in a few minutes. Tomorrow morning is Kauai. I am set to do “Tubing the Ditch”. I’m really looking forward to that. I hope my body has enough time to recover.  Oh and I am only a teeny bit burned on my back. I did put on 50 spf sunscreen before we left.

I’m so unhappy I cannot add pictures with this bandwidth. For whatever reason though I was able to send a photo to my nephew.

I just ordered a Reuben Sandwich from Room Service. It arrived hot and delicious and it was free! (Except for a tip)  They have free food and also have added some things you have to pay for. Very reasonably priced though. $5 for an order of wings, quesadillas, and a few other items. You can even get fresh sushi if that’s your thing.

Not even sure I will make it to dinner at 7:45 and even less likely I will be awake for the comedy show at 10:30. Sigh. Aging is certainly not for the faint of heart. And I once again proved to myself, that despite thinking I am the same person I was 25 years ago, I most certainly am not. The hottub is calling my name. 

TTFN

Jilly

Hilo 9-19

What a FABULOUS day I had in Hilo. I booked a tour with “MaryLou’s Big Island Tours”. I found them on Trip Advisor and the reviews were not wrong! I toured with MaryLou’s husband, Ken and he was a wonderful guide. We experienced so many things in our 7 hour tour.  The day was mostly sunny and breezy.


We drove through the town of Hilo and looked at all the amazing Banyan Trees. Most were planted by famous people and have plaques stating which person planted them. We saw trees planted by Babe Ruth and Amelia Earhart. The trees are just massive and found all over the island.

First, we drove up to the Mauna Loa Volcano. It’s about 4000 feet above sea level and it’s active! We drove through the State Park and were able to get some wonderful pictures. You could actually see the lava sparking at times, but I was not fortunate enough to capture that in a picture. The lava is up to the top of the crater right now and a thin crust has formed on the top.  It’s actually quite chilly on the top of the mountain. 69 degrees with a stiff wind.

Next we drove down the mountain a bit and viewed the volcano from a distance. However, there were hiking trails down to this blackened cooled area of previous lava flows. We could just make out some hikers in the distance.

Further down the mountain was an area of destruction from what I believe was an eruption less than 50 years ago. It was amazing to see the blackened lava rock slowly being colonized again with trees and wild flowers.

This is a very cool painting of Pele. Her eyes follow you no matter where you moved in the room.

Next up was a walk to and through an ancient lava tube. A very cave-like place that was quite drippy inside! You could see the roots of the trees on the surface hanging on the ceiling of the tube. We walked through a bit of rain forest to and from the tube. The size of the ferns and trees were amazing. And a lot of stone and fallen trees were covered with this beautiful vivid green moss.

I think this tree branch looks like a bird!!

Lunch was purchased from a little dive on a side road. They made their own bread. I had a wheat, cranberry macadamia nut bread that was out of this world. Turkey, cheese, lettuce (leaf) tomato and onion. YUM It was huge and I only got a half!
Interesting flags flying at the Deli

Onward we trekked to a local coffee plantation for some excellent Hilo coffee. Yes, Hilo coffee! I got a medium sized medium roast. Woohoo was I amped up. Good stuff. Very, very expensive per pound. But a cup was reasonable at $4.50. The place also had chickens—not to kill but for eggs. I believe Ken said they had 200 or so. All non-GMO everything on this island.

The fruit trees….OMG It was Tahiti all over again. So much fresh fruit growing wild everywhere. And the rule here is that if the branches extend over to a public area, that fruit can be picked. Also, we were told that if you see fruit laying on the ground at someone’s house, all you need to do is ask if you can have some and they will usually tell you to take as much as you want. We saw humungous grapefruit, limes, avocados, mangos, bananas and a few others I know I am forgetting.

The flowers were also stunning. We even stopped at an orchid farm. They were some of the most beautiful flowers I’ve ever seen.

We took a tour of the Mauna Loa macadamia nut farm. And yes, I did buy some nuts! Whether they make it home remains to be seen. For now, they are sealed up!

The Rainbow falls was very pretty but unfortunately, not producing rainbows while we were there. But, still I got some nice pictures.

Finally, we went to a black sand beach! AND the BEST part, we saw turtles in the water very close to us. They were feasting on the algae rocks!!! And I got some pictures!!

We made it back to the ship about 5:40—ten minutes past all aboard. No worries though, they were still unloading a large bus when we pulled up. 

Once aboard! More exciting news! The captain said about 10pm tonight we will be passing the lava flow going into the ocean!   SO, SO excited about that.

These are just random photos I took on our drive around the island.

It's about 10:30pm here and we just passed by the lava flow down to the ocean. That was so cool to see that. So much steam where it met the water. You could see the orange glow for miles. 

Tomorrow we are in Kona and I am going snorkeling! Very excited to do that. Hope the water is not too choppy!

I'm heading to bed now. No nightlife tonight. I have an early wake-up call in the morning!