While leaving, Patty can't let go of her cell phone and Harry hasn't had his first cigar, but they both will be happier once we are out of L.A. Harbor.
On
the first formal night Harry has had his cigar and Ellen has visited
the ships shops. This is just the start of the cruise and Craig and
Patty seem to have eyes only for each other - as we said, this is just
the start of the cruise.
Craig, Patty, Pat S. and friend Jo all joined in the first night to dance. This was Jo's first cruise.
Our cruise will take five days sea days before we reach Hawaii. The Regal Princess will follow this route through the islands for four days and then return to Los Angeles.
Island of Hawaii
On arriving in Hilo, we rented a minivan and headed to Hawaii's active volcano area at the southeastern edge of the island. We didn't stop at the Kilauea Visitor Center, but drove around the Caldera and down the Chain of Craters Road to the end (red arrows) - lava flowing into the sea buried the end of the road in 2003.
The
Chain of Craters Road traverses down the steep Holei Pali cliffs on
the way to the ocean. It is a rather spectacular view of the green vegetation
and the black lava flow.
Once
the ocean is reached, you can look east across the coast to where lava
is actively flowing into the ocean. Too far down the coast for this
shot. Lava adds about 35 acres of new land to the island each year.
Pat
and Patty climbed over the 2003 lava flow to reach the ocean shore.
Pat and Patty standing on the old road, surrounded by the 2003 lava flow.
There is a lightly marked trail over the field of lava, about 1/2 mile beyond the edge of the flow. Patty and Pat made it to the end of this trail.
Jo
and Ellen made it part way through the lava field, but decided to turn
back because the terrain was so jagged.
On the return journey (blue arrows), we stopped at this crater along the road and Pat is seen here looking over the crater wall.
No pictures were taken within the Thurston Lava Tube (Nahuku), but it illustrates how lava moves along underground.
Just after the lava tube was a trail head leading around the Kilauea Iki Crater.
This is our last view of Hawaii's volcano's, near the trail head. This is the Kilauea Iki Crater and beyond it you can see the Kilauea Caldera, containing several craters.
The Regal Princess passed very close to the active lava flows about 9:00pm and we could see the waterfalls of molten lava pouring into the sea. None of our pictures came out, but it was an unforgettable sight and needs to be viewed at night to fully appreciate nature's power.
Kona, Hawaii
Kona
is much warmer than it appears here, but this is the way to approach
a port.
The
southern end of the island of Hawaii rises to the top of an active
volcano and, in this view, is lost in the clouds.
While
the Regal Princess isn't a huge ship, by today's standards, she is a
very beautiful one. She is going over to P&O Australia as the Pacific
Dawn in October 2007.
Looking along the seawall running around the harbor, it is easy to see places to shop. While the girls are busy we can see how men (Craig) handle the girls incessant shopping.
After sampling the local brew, eating, and shopping; we left Kona in the early evening - hardly leaving any wake behind.
Island of Oahu
On
Oahu our primary stop was Pearl Harbor. We wanted to see the Arizona
Memorial and the battleship Missouri - both key landmarks of World
War II.
This
is considered a cemetery, as well as a memorial, and quiet respect
permeates everything.
Standing over the sunken ship gives anyone pause to think of the fragility of life.
Looking past one of the turrets toward the city of Honolulu.
Harry
on the Arizona Memorial with battleship Missouri behind.
Harry, Ellen, Patty and Craig in front of the USS Missouri.
Stem to stern, the battleship Missouri looks small, compared to the Regal Princess. It just goes to show where ship building is today
However,
I still wouldn't want to mess with those guns.
Running through these hallways during a battle couldn't have been much fun.
This
is the spot where the Japanese surrendered in WWII.
Harry
on the bow; making like Lord Nelson.
Patty and Craig under the forward, 16" guns.
You
can just barely make out Patty standing by one of the gun turrets. The
hinged door is how gun crews entered the turret.
Craig and Harry standing above the bridge and overlooking the Arizona Memorial and Honolulu.
Island of Kauai
Kauai
- the Garden Isle - is, in my opinion, the most beautiful island in
the Hawaiian chain.
This is what the harbor looks like from the ship - don't you wish every harbor looked this way?
We
drove north from the Nawiliwili harbor, up the east coast of Kauai to
the northeast corner, Kileuea Lighthouse Point.
There
is no way to describe, or even take a proper picture of the view surrounding
Kileuea Lighthouse.
These three pictures represent views facing west, north, and east respectively...
Patty & Pat catching some rays. Patty & Craig trying to keep their heads covered.
Hanalei Bay, Kauai
Leaving Kilauea Lighthouse, we drove across the north side of Kauai to the town of Hanalei - yes, it is that town (Puff the Magic Dragon by Peter, Paul, and Mary). While a popular surfing and resort destination, this little town has a much more bohemian feel than larger Hawaiian cities. It is on a bay and in a valley with the look and feel of Vietnamese farmland - for those who have been there.
Just
beyond Hanalei Bay we stopped at Lumahai Beach. It is so pretty that
they filmed South Pacific here in the fifties.
Here's Harry, finishing his daily cigar.
Pat and Patty getting ready to go in.
Patty made it into the water...
...Harry getting pushed in - sort of - by Ellen
...but Pat just wanted to have sun!
Also, Craig...you do what you want,
but I'm staying right here.
While the water was good, the sand was better.
...soon everyone had joined Pat.
Even the camerman got his feet wet, but not in this picture.
Leaving Kauai was difficult, but this sunset was worth the show.
Island of Maui
Maui is the island we knew the least about. It is the second largest island in the chain and we were not going to see too much in only one day. Therefore, we decided to drive to the IAO State Park and then along the northwest coast.
You
can just barely see Pat welcoming us into the garden area of the IOA
State Park. This is a very steep and lush part of the island.
The IOA Needle is the central emblem of the park. It hard to scale, but easily defended and the islanders used it when invaded.
This is Craig at the end of the park trail.
Here Jo and Patty are climbing the trail. A great view of what the natives hiked through daily.
The trail is shown with Patty and Joe in the garden beneath it.
Pat is thinking of climbing this tree.
Patty
is making book on how far Pat will get.
Driving up the northwest coast, we passed this cove where a snorkeling tour from the ship was going on - beautiful free diving here. You can see Molokai island on the horizon.
As we rounded the northwest corner of the island this was the view north. A spectacular mix of colors and shapes.
The islands often make you feel small and rather frail. Here Pat is examining the terrain over some steep ocean cliffs.
Coming back into Lahaina you can see why the Regal Princess is moored so far out. Notice the sailboat aground on a shallow reef in the foreground.
The Return Trip
Harry smoking his daily cigar in front of Characters Bar -- and the view from Harry's seat. Patty, Pat, Jo on the balcony
All dressed for the last formal night - Craig, Patty, Jo, Ellen, Harry
Our head waiter talking to Harry and Ellen.
Dessert tablemates - Miriam and Steve, from Seattle
Ensenada, Mexico
U.S. law states that a foreign flag ship has to make at least one stop at port outside of the United States. Therefore, we stopped for three hours at Ensenada, Mexico, on the way back to Los Angeles.
Entering the Ensenada harbor
As we dock a huge Mexican flag is visible over the city.
The Regal Princess seen from the dock.
Patty standing 'under' the huge Mexican flag.
The Last Night
The last dinner was informal and all the girls were well tanned.
Patty, Jo, Pat, Ellen
Harry - Is this really an 'end of vacation' look?
Ellen: "This isn't soup, is it??