We are off to Hawaii and far off lands. Before that we spent 4 days at sea getting to Hawaii. Even though I didn’t have a hard time it was not fun for the kids or the staff. Apparently, one of the crew members jumped ship in San Diego. It was a Honduran woman who left the ship and didn’t return. So, because of this none of the staff were allowed to leave the ship. Well, we were told that they were allowed off in Los Angeles but they were something like 3 hours late. But, this wasn’t their fault. They didn’t realize how bad the traffic could be in Los Angeles. So, U.S. immigration no longer allows them to come ashore in any U.S. state or territory. So, these poor employees could not get off in San Francisco (3 days plus one day at sea), 4 days at sea to Hawaii, 3 days in Hawaii, and 5 days at sea. That’s a total of 16 days without getting off the ship. I felt so bad for them that I bought them souvenirs from both Hilo and Honolulu. They all collect magnets so I became a magnet connoisseur. It gave me something to do. I don’t normally buy anything so this gave me something to shop for.
In Hilo, we went to the University of Hawaii astronomy center to learn about how the ancient Hawaiians used the stars to guide them to the islands and even to the U.S. mainland. Then, we did my favorite Hawaiian thing, eat shave ice – with only Azuki beans and condensed milk. It tasted a little different. It turns out it was coconut condensed milk. Changed the experience a bit but was good nevertheless. We then walked around a bit and found the tsunami museum. That was really interesting. Hilo has been hit many times by tsunamis. The funnel like underwater shape of the bay amplifies the waves coming in. The big tsunami hit Laupahoehoe on April 1, 1946, killing 25 people including students and teachers at a school in Laupahoehoe Point. We heard a school teacher who experienced this tsunami at the museum (she was recorded, not live). It sounded so scary. After this, a territory wide tsunami warning system was established in 1948. Unfortunately, this system didn’t extend to South East Asia when the devastating tsunami took place there in 2004. This is the tsunami that took Nate Burkes’s boyfriend. Ha! Bet you didn’t know that! 😜 But, now the warning system is in place all over the pacific. I don’t know exactly where and I don’t really want to look it up so you can do it and let me know. 😂. Enjoy some sites of Hilo. I can’t believe I didn’t take a picture of my shave ice.
Next, we were off to Honolulu. We were there a few years ago so we decided not to participate in any of the excursions. Instead, Justin rented a room in the Hilton Hawaiian Village so the we could have good internet to get some work done. Yes, we were spoiled by the amazing internet at our San Diego house. Justin met up with a couple of friends from his Japan days (Tom and Josh) and I met up with a friend (Russel) from the “Love Boat” in 1987. Russell always makes time to meet up with us so we are very grateful. Thanks Russell!! We swam in the lagoon and the kids got to ride the water bicycle and I got to SUP. We spent the day in the lagoon of the Hilton Hawaiian Village and just had a fun and relaxing day. Justin and I were talking about how the Hilton Hawaiian Village was always the grand prize for the gameshows when we were kids. Haha. We were trying to tell the kids how iconic this hotel is. And, it’s still in great condition. Japanese are still the big tourists in Hawaii. Russell told us that they did a bunch of training in preparation for the Chinese to come but they never came en mass like other places. I wonder why? Maybe too much beach? They don’t like the sun.
We ate breakfast at this amazing place called the Aloha Kitchen on Ena road. We walked by on our way to the laundry mat and saw that there was a long line there. That was the place for us. The food was amazing, as expected.
We met up with Jenna Hanohano and her family. Justyne and Ambri started kinder together at Barnard. She and her family were able to move back to Hawaii after a stint in the DC area. So happy to see them!
Five days at sea would have been tough but we loaded up on games while we were in San Diego and Honolulu. Justin’s new favorite is Stomple. My favorite is still Sequence. Kids like Clue. We even got -blast from the past – Battleship!!
After five days at sea, we arrived in Papeete, Tahiti. We took the included excursion and we decided that it was not really worth our time. But, hey, it was free. We went to Vénus Point, where Captain Cook and William Bligh set up camp. We also visited Taharaa lookout for a beautiful panoramic view of the coast.
We then broke our trip and traveled early (via a 45 minute ferry ride) to Moorea and stayed in an overwater bungalow at the Hilton Moorea Lagoon Resort and Spa. If you are ever in Moorea, this is the place to be. So so beautiful and just as you imagined French Polynesia would be. Though, most of their tourists are from the U.S. so they should just give up on the French thing. Just speak English, for pete sakes. Be like Rwanda!
On the second day, we took a jet ski and stingray/black fin shark tour. Definitely the highlight of this trip. The stingray are like dogs. They are so happy to see you and come up to get fed. They are not captured, just swimming in the ocean. But, they are “trained” to come when the people come to feed them. I got to drive a jet ski for the first time. It was fun but my right had was numb from “driving.” But, I think I did pretty good!! Captain Cook’s cove was so beautiful. You have to get the view from the water to the mountains. Unfortunately, I didn’t capture that view. Next time!! I’d love to go for a hike but that will have to wait until the next visit as well. Most of my pictures are on the GoPro and I haven’t downloaded those yet. But here are pictures from the island we stopped off to have a snack and break. Stingrays were everywhere. So so friendly!
We went to Rick’s for dinner. Yummy. Parrot fish was the best ever!! So buttery. We had to find an indoor venue for dinner tonight as the kids got eaten alive last night. We had to move our dinner to our room last night Jevyn’s was the worst!
Today, we are leaving our amazing Hilton Moorea but not before we get a paddle board ride in.
Since we have until 5 pm to get back to the ship, we are renting a car to do a self- drive tour of Moorea. It takes about 1.5 hours to get around the entire island and there is only one road around the island so we cannot get lost.
Higman Travels 