More Adventures in Hawaii

Tuesday, 4/25 - Hilo, Hawaii (the big island). I got up about 6, the wake-up call came at 6:45. Went to Skyline for breakfast, where we were warned that omelets and waffles could take 1/2 hour to prepare, in case we had a shore excursion. We ordered anyway, and there was no delay. Went to the theater and shortly got sent down to find our bus. Before we boarded, they handed each of us a 'box lunch' and a can of water. Because of my knees, we were offered seats in the front of the bus. We stopped at a Japanese garden, a statue of Kamehameha, Rainbow Falls, Akaka Falls, the zoo (where we ate our lunch), a macadamia farm gift shop and a candy shop. Had to take a detour to get to Akaka Falls, and missed the turn to the falls, so had to turn around on a busy hiway. Got back to the boat about 3:30 or 4:00, went to the talk on our next port of call. Back to our room until 5:30, when we went to Skyline for supper. Long line to get in and had to skip dessert to get to the comedy show, which was good. Back to the room, read for a bit, then went to bed.

 

Wednesday, 4/26 – I have forgotten the names of the rest of the ports we visited and the islands they were on. My notes don’t include that information. We’re still touring Hawaii, and probably hitting the islands to the north and west of the Big Island.

I got up at 5:30 because I woke up. The wake-up call sounded at 6:30, and John got up. To the buffet for breakfast, then to our room to pick up stuff for our day ashore; water, our shore excursion tickets, and so on. Went to the theater to be ready for our excursion. To get to our excursion, we had to get on a tender boat and be ferried to the shore. Once there, we found our tour guide, jumped in his van, and we were off for a "Scenic Taste of Hawaii". First, we went to a coffee farm, where John bought an expensive lb of coffee ($46). Then to a farmer's market, where we bought a book, 2 jars of local jelly, a facial scrub and a bottle of essential oil (TiTree). At a macadamia nut farm, John found a lb of coffee was going for $64! (He didn't get any.) Then to a park on the beach where we got a box lunch and drink for lunch. Then back to the port for a tour of the Kona Brewing Co, where we sampled 4-5 different beers. Got dropped off at the pier about 4:05, and the line waiting for a tender ride back to the ship was a mile long. The last tender was leaving the pier at 5, and they were loading tenders as fast as they could. Once we got to the ship, we went to our room, to relax before our specialty dining reservation at 8:00.

I was not terribly impressed by the French food offered by Jefferson's Bistro. Mostly, I wondered how I was supposed to eat it. Even for the baked pear I got for dessert, I had to ask for a knife so I could cut it up and get pieces on my spoon.