Our final days of vacation were low key. We still had several things we wanted to do
and several places we wanted to see.
There just isn’t enough hours in the day.
After disembarking the Pride of America, we headed to the
airport to pick up our rental car. We
headed straight to the B&B to unpack and search for a laundromat. There are cruise ships that have laundry facilities but NCL requires you to
send your laundry in single bag and it costs a fortune. So instead we went in search of one.
I also had one last taste of Hawaii. We went to Cinnamon’s for breakfast where I had
my usual: pancakes with coconut syrup and eggs with Portuguese sausage.
We spent some time doing laundry while I did some blogging. I finally got a photo of a small car and a surf board!
Later we ventured to the mall in downtown Honolulu; yeah
traffic is Hawaii isn’t fun, so I could get a package of Hawaiian coffee I fell
in love with on our ship. We also shared
a pizza at California Pizza Kitchen. The
mall was really neat. It was several
stories and all outdoors with covered walkways.
I have not seen a mall like this since my trip to San Diego when I was
in high school.
Our final day in Oahu started bright and early with a hike
up Diamond Head. It was about a two mile
roundtrip hike that had 99 plus stairs!
We got there first thing in the morning, as suggested, but thankfully we
missed the Japanese tour groups. They
were mostly on their way down as we were headed up.
Kenyon was a rock star!
The benefit of hiking in Hawaii is that you start at sea level and go up
in elevation. That is waaaaay easier
than hiking in Boise. However, it was
still a hike and it raised your heart rate.
We killed some time that afternoon by driving back to the
North Shore area so I could have one more Matsumoto’s shaved ice. Yum! I
will miss that sugary goodness.
While it wasn’t planned to attend a luau on the last night,
it ended up that way. It was like
squeezing the last bit of Hawaii out of our vacation. I chose Chief’s Luau at Sea Life Park. It was a recommendation from another couple that
had recently been to Hawaii. Chief is
hilarious! I guess he is known for his
cameo on The Amazing Race, but I didn’t watch that season. I really enjoyed his entertainment. The weather was awful. It started raining as soon as we got to North Shore that afternoon and was pouring by the time we got to Sea Life Park. I was not really happy but with it being our last day in Hawaii there wasn't much we could do. When we checked in for our luau the guy told us the weather would change by the time the gates opened. We got lucky! Sure enough it cleared up and made for a beautiful evening.
When they were unwrapping the pig they had us all gather around to watch. Each layer was removed as Chief explained the process of the pig roasting. As the pig was finally exposed this little boy standing next to me says, "Wow. That is weird." I just laughed and told him it kind of was.
I had to get a photo with a “Hawaiian Fire Dancer” for my friend Shauna. She really wants to marry one of these guys. I found the cutest one of the bunch. His leafy attire stunk though so maybe this one isn’t for Shauna. I also never actually saw him dancing with fire.
I had to get a photo with a “Hawaiian Fire Dancer” for my friend Shauna. She really wants to marry one of these guys. I found the cutest one of the bunch. His leafy attire stunk though so maybe this one isn’t for Shauna. I also never actually saw him dancing with fire.
The luau was your typical Hawaiian spread that I saw offered
at most of the luaus I had researched in advance. This was my only time having pulled
pork. It is my favorite dish!
You are also given meal tickets based on which tier you
purchase so I had my drink ticket and Kenyon’s.
The couple across from us at the table was not drinkers so they gave me
their ticket. I think you know already
how happy this made me.
The entertainment was neat but since I had recently saw the
Polynesian show on our cruise it was the same dances from the same countries. The women in the audience were invited on stage so the two gals sitting near us
and myself all took the stage. We did
some “booty shaking” and had a good laugh.
Our Hawaiian vacation eventually had to come to an end. We were ready to head for home and be in our
own comfy bed again.
I am so glad we made this trip and explored the Hawaiian Islands. I am also glad we did it all in one
trip. It was a lot but really neat.
You can read more of my Hawaii travel:
1 comment:
That did look like a nice hike. I liked the leaf hat and I was surprised the pig was so flat-like a pancake! Who took all the pork out?
Rebecca
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