Hawaii, episode 12. In which we take our sea legs for a walk.

After our (always) melancholy departure from our first cruise, Mari and I found ourselves with some free time following our walk off the Pride of America gangplank. We had a pretty good idea where we could spend a few hours before checking into the Hilton Hawaiian where unbeknownst to us that morning we would receive our unexpectedly magical 20th anniversary upgrade at afternoon check-in.

That's us up there on the sprawlingly lush Hilton grounds back in 2010 and that's one of my favorite jaunty hats that I would fleamarket find the day following our cruise.

Mari is posing pretty in pink with this past June's tropical blooms and her own boldly-brimmed chapeau while I'm doing my best not to frighten the tropical parrots off their perch with one of my soon-to-be vintage shirts.

During our first visit to Waikiki in 2004, Mari and I discovered the Ala Moana Center, where I would return solo several times that last week of July while Mari was dutifully performing her APA duties at the convention center.

I hesitate to label Ala Moana a shopping mall because it is so much more than that, but it is essentially a shopping mall.

While Mari and I love fleamarketing for so many different reasons, we sometimes find ourselves walking the mall during our travels, hoping to discover local specialties that not only characterize a community, but help us remember our travels.

Like our 2008 spring trip to Minneapolis (another tag-along long weekend for me) during which The Mall of America became an easily accessible daytime "hangout" for this urban hunter-gatherer, I learned that there are shopping malls... and there are shopping malls.

As you can see from my pronounced pose at left, the Ala Moana Center is an indoor-outdoor shopping center that is a unique blend of everything you expect from a shopping center and everything you don't.

Here are some of the resident koi spreading their own aloha spirit to mall visitors. Ain't she sweet?!


As Mari and I were revisiting one of our favorite shopping centers post-cruise, we both experienced a strange sensation. While we had not suffered any level of sea-sickness during our first cruise, even on the roughest days (which were never very rough), we both experienced land-sickness while walking Ala Moana.

Our "sea legs" were a surprise souvenir of our week at sea and I am ever thankful that Mari also experienced the physical sensation that we were still at sea because it was (and still is) rather difficult to describe. Thankfully, the sensation wore off after that first day back on shore and neither of us has experienced it since, at least not to the same degree.

Since that post-cruise visit in 2010, a double-decker Target now anchors Ala Moana at the north end. Alongside my favorite Aloha Flea, the Aloha Shop inside Target is one of the best sites for affordable souvenirs including clothing, household goods, and gourmet foods including volcanic salt for those of us salt collecting gourmands.

Over the years, Mari and I have also enjoyed a variety of performances by local groups and teams including the hula students I photographed above during our most recent visit.

An easy and direct mile from Waikiki beaches, the mall's easy-breezy open-air design never lets you forget your heavenly surroundings and takes full advantage of postcard-perfect weather. Be sure to investigate the helpful site to plan your visit and to check the updated list of ever-changing merchants and restaurants. There is also a calendar of events and performances.

alamoanacenter.com

Browsing is all well and good, but shopping's the thing for amateur fleamarketers like us, and I had a goal during our most recent visit. Actually, I had a bowl goal or a goal for a bowl.

However you put it poetically or rhetorically, I had decided a few months prior to our travels that I was going to treat myself to a koa bowl. I guess I don't need to mention my bowl collection because everybody has bowls for flip's sake (no need to call hoarders-not-so-anonymous). It's not really a collection (is twenty too many?), but there are quite a few bowls in our home. (thirty?)

That's me with my most recent goal-in-a-bowl purchase outside Ala Moana. Perhaps you'd like to sneak a peek inside that yellow shopping bag?

As much as I fear the repercussions, I'm ready for a block party, or at least to put out a different bowl of snacks for each quarter of an ND football game (for the entire season).

This is the newest addition and it will not be seeing a single crispy chip, cheesy puff, nor chocolatey chunk any time soon.

I simply like looking at my koa bowl under the display light in the living room entertainment center. It will forever remind me of the natural beauty of Hawaii as well as serve as remembrancer of my years in education. It is my retirement gift to myself and the photo really doesn't do it justice. The 5-inch diameter bowl appears to glow from within and is so much lighter than it appears. Native to Hawaii, koa was traditionally carved into canoes, but has long been used for carving decorative household goods as well as musical instruments. In Hawaiian, its name implies strength and translates as "warrior." (Might as well be "educator.") Regardless, it was the bowl's simple and elegant beauty under the display light at the Martin & MacArthur shop that made me koa-cave.

Thanks for being polite and not asking.

On our 20th anniversary trip, Mari had gifted me the koa-inlaid pen pictured below. I love admiring it, but rarely have used it. Like all things collectible, its beauty outweighs its utility so I fear its fate is to be admired, after all. (You realize I collect pens, too, right?)

Sign up at the site to learn more about the beautiful products being made from koa and about the creative and talented artists, to read the blog, and to receive e-mail specials.

martinandmacarthur.com

Ala Moana also offers a great variety of dining options including a favorite of ours, Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. Taking a quick ride on TheBus (Numbers 8 or 13 will get you there directly from the beaches) or hoofing it a mile along Ala Moana Boulevard from the Hilton will also help keep you on budget. While the Hilton and other Waikiki hotels offer the convenience of on-site restaurants, the menu prices can best be described as out-of-sight, especially if you are staying longer than a few days.

Recently, Mari and I took a break from browsing to enjoy a local specialty, shave ice. Not a snow cone and not shaved ice with-a-D, Hawaiian shave ice is unlike any such frozen treat, but entirely like what you would expect from a tropically lush natural paradise. Better than any ice cream (except maybe the hazelnut gelato I had in the Piazza San Marco in Venice).

That good!

A few fun foodie recommendations next time.

Hawaii, episode 11. In which we coast Kauai.

Mari and I were thrilled when our cruise ship finally reached the westernmost stop on our Hawaiian voyage. Although not the westernmost island in the Hawaiian archipelago (that honor goes to the "Forbidden Isle" of Niihau), Kauai would mark the furthest point west NCL's Pride of America would travel during our week as well as the furthest west Mari and I had ever traveled.

Like our Sunday-Monday shipboard stay in Maui, we would dock overnight in Nawiliwili, where we would enjoy two days of shore excursions before sailing back to Honolulu.

Our Thursday "Jewels of Hawaii" excursion saw us tour busing to McBryde and Allerton Gardens in Spouting Horn Park on the south coast of Kauai. The lush nature preserves and bountiful botanical gardens will forever make my barely green thumb even greener with envy when I chance a glance at our own South Texas excuse for a back yard. My parents' agricultural genes missed my generation altogether I'm afraid, but Mari does her level best to keep the yard inviting for our neighborhood wildlife.

Visit the National Tropical Botanical Garden's appropriately lush site to help plan your own outing.
ntbg.org/gardens/mcbryde

So we had reached the final full day of our cruise and Mari and I finally decided to be a little adventurous...

Faced with excursion options that would have us in the water and in the air, we opted for a quiet day on our own exploring the local environs.


You didn't think I had lost my mind (or a bet) and boarded a helicopter, did you?!

Sometimes, NCL will offer an excursion to simply take you into town, allowing you to return on your own at designated times throughout the day. Compared to excursions which involve extended driving and tour guiding, the cost is minimal (but not free).

This was our first cruise, so every day and every port was a learning experience and we quickly learned that in many ports there is free local transportation typically sponsored by local businesses to get you to their shopping centers.

In Nawiliwili there were several such transports available including a nostalgic novelty trolley to Harbor Mall and a more streamlined pedestrian van sponsored by Ross at a massive outdoor retail center anchored by CostCo and The Home Depot just two miles away along Kaumualii Highway.

harbormall.net

Strutting above are some (very) "free range" locals we came across at the shopping center. For some reason, feral chickens are fairly common throughout the islands, so be on the lookout as you are driving or you may get your feathers ruffled.

Sorry, but I just had to.

There was an early sail time of 2:00 PM that afternoon, so we spent just a few hours doing our best to stimulate the local economy that morning and we were excited to find a shop sponsored by an art guild which featured crafts by local artists.

I think my one and only souvenir from the Garden Island is the intricately inlaid wooden dish (about 8 inches square) pictured above left. While it is crafted and hand-inlaid of local wood, I realize it is not koa wood since I didn't stimulate the economy much beyond the $39 price tag.

My little souvenir porcelain plate was all of 49 cents (thanks to a 50% off red tag sale) at my favorite Salvation Army thrift store in South Austin a few years after our cruise and I like to display it with our Hawaiian souvenirs even though I am technically not its original purchaser nor did I bubblewrap nor transport the delicately diminutive (3.5 inch diameter) remembrancer to the mainland.

Back on the ship for our final cruise day (always a melancholy occasion for this sentimental souvenir hunter-gatherer and fleamarket explorer-envoy), I asked Mari to snap me with one of my shipboard meal mainstays.

I know.

I am a fiend for cheese (also for most things cheesy) and the dining room's daily "Cheese Tray" offerings did nothing to shed me of that nom de fromage. Pride of America's daily offerings of smoked salmon for breakfast and jumbo shrimp cocktail at dinner also provided prerequisite protein for enjoying spectacular views like these Friday afternoon sights off Kauai's Nā Pali Coast.

The early sail time that afternoon allowed us to cruise casually along the northern coast of Kauai, home to Nā Pali Coast State Park, before turning back around and setting a final eastern course for Honolulu. The cliffs on Kauai reach 4,000 feet and are set off spectacularly in Mari's souvenir photos by blues brimming their best hues from above and below.

We were not quite ready to leave our floating tropical paradise the next morning, but we did manage to carry away an unintentional souvenir. More on shaking off our sea legs next time.

Hawaii, episode 10. In which we explore the life aquatic.

On the flip side of the Big Island of Hawaii, Mari and I chose to do a little (not so) deep sea exploration when we arrived in Kona on Wednesday. As I have previously mentioned and alluded to heavily throughout our "adventurous" travel tales of fleamarketing, filming, and photographing, we aren't exactly ardent explorers in the physical sense. Scuba and snorkel shenanigans are not our wheelhouse.

While Mari has experienced the (insane) thrill of a tandem skydive (remember, I was waiting back on terra firma (the firma the better) with video camera and insurance policy close at hand), she has yet to wheedle me onto a helicopter tour although I will admit I have been tempted by the immense beauty of natural wonders during our travels. A twin-engine flight over the Hoover Dam to the Grand Canyon skywalk is probably my most adventurous vacation stunt, if you don't count braving the elevator to our 22nd floor Rainbow Tower room in Waikiki.


There are several helicopter tours in the shore excursion offerings during NCL's Hawaiian cruise and I am sure the views are spectacular, but that's just not for me. Among the week's gerundial offerings are canoeing, zip-lining, parasailing, kayaking, horseback-riding, and waterfall-walking not to mention biking and hiking.

With apologies to Mari, we settled on an excursion that took us in the opposite direction of her much-wished-for helicopter tour, a submarine exploration of the surf near our port of Kona. In fact, you can see our ship in the background of the Atlantis sub.

While there was no tour bus that Wednesday morning to take us to our destination, the location of the port and the size of our ship forced us to travel ashore via tender boat. There are occasions when your cruise ship will be unable to dock in port for an easy walk-off disembarkation and in these instances you will board a small boat that usually accommodates between 50 and 100 passengers and you will be safely whisked away to port. That's a tender at right, below our Atlantis submarine.

At right is one of the best views Mari was able to capture that morning. The incredibly clear crystal blue waters of Kealakekua Bay allowed stunning views of the extensive coral reef along the shore.

The sub excursion was a fun learning experience, but it was no substitute for a deep sea scuba exploration or even a casual snorkel. Despite diving 100 meters below the surface, we didn't see many exotic tropical fish, but we did have wonderfully clear views through the large windows surrounding the tourist sub's perimeter.

That Wednesday was also the designated day for my one and only (at the time) authentic aloha shirt (purchased for all of $10 at the Aloha Stadium flea). To this day, it is probably my favorite shirt. I'll have to go back and see how often it has made a blog appearance before I retire it from our travels, but I think it would look amazing in front of the Sydney Opera House, right? Just saying. Until then, it will likely live on.

Not for nothin' but if you've ever cruised, then you have probably met our little friends here, or some of their terry-sculpted kin. For some odd reason, these origami offerings are commonly encountered on cruises and we have often been delighted and amazed at the artistry displayed by cruise staff during turndown service. Our snuggling swans have been betrothed with both Mari's homemade lei and my souvenir shell lei purchased during our excursion to Hana.

I'll model that a little better for you next time as we finish up our first cruise with some simply spectacular views.

Hawaii, episode 9. In which we blow off some steam.

About five weeks before our recent revisit, the tropically calm and peaceful Big Island of Hawaii had other plans as Kilauea began erupting a prolonged eruption that would last just over three months. Our photo above (thank you, fellow cruisers from Washington, DC) is from our Big Island shore excursion back on July 6, 2010. That Tuesday saw us up early and headed onto our tour bus that would first take us to Volcanoes National Park where we would see the beauty and massive power of both Kilauea and Mauna Loa.

 

 

The natural landscape at this national park is unlike any other and appears almost other-worldly. Surrounding the volcanoes, though, among the ever-growing ash heaps are verdant signs of life that struggle constantly to break through the dried lava. If there's one valuable lesson I learned from my film-favorite lovably romantic recycler, Wall-E, it's that green is gonna grow no matter what.

I also learned that I'm a sucker for cinematic romance in whatever futuristic form it may take, even if it is computer-animated.

We made several stops throughout Volcanoes National Park that morning, and even though I was on vacation, nothing was more educational to me than seeing our amazing planet at work.

Another stop allowed us to explore the depths of a lava tube. At left I am about to walk into the tunnel that was long ago created by molten lava escaping an eruption. Below, I have been caught once again by Mari in my best auteur pose documenting our location. As I've mentioned previously, there has been a cleverly-crafted iMovie for each of our journeys since that first 40th birthday visit to London. I enjoy revisiting and reliving our travels while editing video footage even if Mari and (sometimes) Mamita are my only audience.

Mari and I did our best to include Mother Nature in our selfie here.

Be sure to visit the park site in advance of your visit.

nps.gov/havo/index.htm

Our shore excursion to the national park was a memorable and vivid learning experience and I am ever grateful for the opportunity to visit. It occurs to me now that I should probably take this blogportunity to brief you about shore excursions.

Since this would be our first cruise, the entire week-long Hawaiian islands tour served as a valuable learning experience for us and would prompt our interest in further cruise vacations. We learned a lot that week both on and off the ship.

When you book a cruise you are mostly just selecting your cabin and sailing date. Most everything else you need aboard ship will be included. There are exceptions, of course, like special meals, sugary beverages, and service fees so be diligent about reading brochures, exploring websites, and making phone calls to clarify exactly what is included in the cost of your cruise. When you dock in a new port it is exactly like traveling to a new city with completely new experiences available to you, should you decide to leave the ship for the day. Of course, you are welcome to stay aboard and enjoy all the pampering and relaxing you can stand, but should you decide to explore the local port, you will want to take advantage of shore excursions the cruise line has selected for you in advance.

Once you have selected a cruise on the NCL site, for example, you can click the "Things To Do" tab, then select the port, and you will be offered a selection of excursions available the day you will be in port. Helpful information such as a tour description, cost, and activity (or non-activity) level is available to help you make the most of your day ashore.

I find passenger reviews especially helpful and am always quick to post my own following our return home. Typically, Mari and I have wanted to take advantage of organized tours with local guides so we can see the most in our limited amount of tourist time. Other times, like a glorious July day in 2013, we decided to hoof it on our own in Mykonos once we hit the beach and spent an amazing day exploring the Aegean isle. Best baklava ever! We also like to look for excursions that allow for some free time after a guided tour, like another giorno glorioso we spent on that Mediterranean cruise shopping (and eating) Florence.

There are always a wide variety of offerings to satisfy anyone from casual cruisers to ardent adventurers. As for me and Mari, I would classify us as ardently casual. Regardless of your vacation activity level predilections, you would be wise, especially on a large cruise, to research excursions in advance and reserve your selections early to ensure availability.

You also have the option of paying for excursions in advance of your cruise to help you stay on budget during your travels. Otherwise, you may be faced with a sticker-shocked departure as you pay your final balance at disembarkation. As you might have expected, I like to plan and prepay whenever possible. On our last few cruises with NCL, Mari and I have found all our shore excursion tickets awaiting us in our cabin when we arrived. In Copenhagen last year, we were also greeted with a waiting bottle of bubbly to help us celebrate our anniversary. Although we have cruised with one other line, Mari and I favor NCL for their consistent (and effervescent!) commitment to customer service.

On the typically (very) early morning of your excursion, you will make your way to the ship's theater and wait for your tour to be called, then you will disembark and walk to your tour bus.

One last bit of advice: be on time. Have respect for your fellow passengers and especially for the dedicated staff aboard your ship and with the local tour company who have painstakingly planned your very full day.

On the Big Island of Hawaii that July Tuesday, Mari and I would also visit Akatsuka Orchid Gardens where these amazing live orchid plants were on display and available for sale. A living natural museum, the Gardens showroom brims with color and heavenly scents. My photos are but a pale sampling of the vibrant and lush tropical offerings. Most of the plants were priced very reasonably about twenty dollars, but I deemed the rare $500 orchid above worth a priceless photo of her own.

Be sure to visit the colorful site for your own tropical tour and to learn about the many mail-order offerings. An engagingly educational blog is also available.

akatsukaorchid.com

Here, Mari is modeling her own handcrafted creation. Mari took advantage of hula and lei-making classes aboard NCL's Pride of America, some of the many planned activities aboard ship. I was likely in the ship's library or soaking up a beach read out on deck.

We stay on the Big Island, but go cuckoo for Kona next time.

Hawaii, episode 8. In which we are hui pu with nature.

Now that I see the above photo again after eight years, it reminds me so much of our more recent (2017) souvenir photo from one of the black sand beaches in Iceland.

FYI, my pineapple shirt did not make the Iceland voyage, although one of my Aloha Stadium Flea favorites did make aloha appearances during our European travels last summer.

Gotta spread the aloha love.

Although oceans apart, these black sand beaches remain for us a reminder of how small a world this pale blue dot can actually be and the six thousand miles (and seven years) separating these photos but a moment in my history. Like that day tour in Iceland, Mari and I would spend our second Maui day exploring the abundant beauty of nature with a welcome overabundance of natural green and blue hues leading the way.

Our second shore excursion in Maui was another full-day adventure which consisted largely of a coastal drive along the very definition of a long and winding road hugging the north shore of Maui fifty miles from our port in Kahului to the easternmost point of the island at Hana.

In case you are wondering, yes, those are surf boards on my shirt.

The Road to Hana is without a doubt one of the most scenic shore excursions offered to NCL cruisers. Even though you are in the capable driving hands of an expert local guide, the drive itself is not for the faint of heart. I have already talked about being from hearty seafaring stock, but if you are prone to landlubbing motion sickness as well, you would do well to avoid the eight-hour long round trip road trip which will bounce you along the narrow but heavenly-viewable shore-hugging route.

Here's a good view of the route you will follow at an island-steady 30 MPH whether you are safely ensconced in a 15-passenger tour van like we were or in your own island rental.

Twists and turns (and turns and twists) and single-lane bridges abound, but the view's the thing and I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to ogle tropical views instead of driving warily through them. As much as I enjoy a picturesque driving adventure, there's nothing like sitting back and soaking up the landscape.

Besides, there was a refreshing stop at a local winery along the return route and there would be some local (pineapple wine, of course) refreshment to enjoy as well.

Our heavenly Maui road trip was heavily laden with frequent but brief stops for souvenir photos at lush waterfalls, rainforests, state parks, and beaches. We almost lost Mari (and my new digital camera) to the slippery surrounds of the waterfall she snapped here, so it is definitely a priceless photo.

I thought I would let the photos (and views) do the talking today, so sit right back and you'll see the tale of our island tour unfold.

See ya on the flip side...

Aloha, once again.

If you've been following along (completely engrossed, of course) for the last few years, you realize that this laid-back, let-someone-else-do-the-driving, join-a-tour-group attitude is not really my thing.

No reservations?
No fleamarkets?
No souvenirs?

Okay, there would actually be souvenir shell leis purchased from a local crafter at the perilously photographed falls, but there was no itineraried shopping during our Maui day.

Island life got the better of me, I guess, and somehow managed to make me forget the things I always try too hard to remember.

Mari caught me above in my best auteur pose filming the surf.

Once again, Mari's (lava-sanded) toes are giving you their best high-fives until we meet again to hang ten.

A Big Island aloha next time.