Hello from Hilo

Our last stop on The Islands is Hilo on the "Big Island" of Hawaii. From my vantage point, I can see the cloud that covers the volcano, but not the volcano. It might be rainy up there, but it's pleasant on the flat land. 

Looking toward the ocean you can see whales in the distance playing in the water. Alas, I've not been able to take a decent picture of that phenomena. 

This afternoon we pick up anchor and head back into the Pacific where the next stop is Ensenada. The luxury of Verizon "myfy" will not work in Mexico. 

Donuts

It's time to leave Kauai. The pilot boat is along side us, but before work, he's taking a play break. He's making "donuts" in the bay. It looks like great fun. 

Second stop

Today we are Kauai. All the guide books say to pronounce it "cow-eye" but for some reason I do not like it as there is an extra "eee" at the end. 

No matter--we are enjoying a beautiful day on the Garden Isle where it can rain 300 days (or more) a year! Today it is not raining. A good day to see the sites or goof off. We are doing the latter. 

We are "parked" at Nawiliwili Bay. From here  it's a easy walk to the shore where you can catch a free shuttle to the mall or a garden. All you have to do is wait for the bus and have a dollar ready to tip the driver. 

There's an old sugar shed where you can buy island stuff too, in case you should miss a chance to buy souvenirs somewhere else. BTW, there are a ton of places to buy souvenirs. 

But what I like to do is dream about the old PanAm China Clipper. Back before WWII, the clipper made trips to Manila from San Francisco with a stops in Hawaii, Midway, Wake, and Guam. It took 18 hours  to fly to Hawaii in the 2 engine Clipper airships (the whole trip took 6 days-5 legs-and almost 60 hours in the air). They flew low, under 10,000 feet, as the airship was not pressurized. It was a luxury flight with Pullman style berths, and lots of service. I would have loved to take that trip which reportedly cost $1,000 at the time. So today when I saw this little plane flying toward the island I was transported back to 1937. What a thrill to land in Kauai, walk ashore to be greeted by lovely wahines in swaying grass skirts with plumeria leis. Alas, those times are gone, but they are still fun to dream about. 

Today, this is the cruise port. 

Honolulu

We made landfall this morning about 7AM. We are "parked" next to the Aloha Tower in downtown Honolulu. The skies are blue with white puffy clouds interspersed by a couple of gray clouds that are spitting rain when you least expect it. That's what happens in the tropics. It's about 80 degrees and the humidity is about 50%. There's a healthy breeze that is keeping the place comfortable. 

Our "yacht" is a good place to be. This is such a change from northern CA!

On the Grand Princess

Remember I said to watch this spot for another adventure. Well-- we are now on that adventure. After a hiatus from cruise ship lecturing, the other DrC is lecturing on World Affairs. He did his second program this afternoon. We always knew that lecturing was great fun and it still is great fun! 

Our last cruise was on the Royal, the newest Princess ship as well as the biggest. The Grand WAS one of the "big" ships when she was launched, now she feels smallish and cozy! Ships have come a long way in the intervening dozen years. 

What has not changed are the smiles on the staff as they try to continuously feed us. Decks 5, 6, 7 and 14 are food Meccas. Today, the horizon Food Court was featuring 

It's not often you see the flag of Italy done in Jello!

After eating,,one of the next big activities is sleeping. 

I know I was naughty to take these pictures, but these folks really are having a grand time. 

Readers abound on the ship too.  A few are reading traditional books in the library 

Others are reading iPads and kindles. 

There is stuff to do all the time...or nothing to do all the time. We will be in Hawaii in 2 days. Keep watching this space as there's more to come. 

Patience or Bored?

What does a mule do when it rains? 

It stands and stands...then rolls in the mud...then stands and stands. 

Buzzards' Roost

Can you see them? Look from the right hand corner and follow the line to the left. Then you'll see not one, not two, but THREE buzzards sunning themselves on the poles. I'm used to seeing 2 buzzards but I've never seen 3. This must be a safe spot for them. They don't seem to mind me walking by them either. Today I reminded them that I was not their next meal. 

Rain ... Glorious Rain!

To paraphrase a line from Oliver (Food .... Glorious Food) we just enjoyed 4 days of rain! We need far more, but this was a start. As the weather folks say, the 'storm door is open.' We hope it stays open for several more days. 

To give you an idea, here's a picture of our pond right before the storm. 

Notice the dry vegetation and the trees. Also note the narrowness of the pond. 

Granted this picture was not taken in the exact spot (I could not get there as it was just too muddy) but you can see how the vegetation has changed...a tree is down and the reeds in the background are beat up. The storm had significant wind. More importantly, the pond is wider. Water is now on the shelf where it hasn't been in months. 

In addition, the creek feeding the pond has some water in it too. 

If the weather folks are correct, we have another storm coming on Wednesday. Bring it on! Generally, we have 18 inches of rain by now, this year we have less than 4. 

License Plate

I have a variety of photo collections. I love taking pictures of doors and windows. Flowers are another passion for my photographic pursuits. But my first photo collection was license plates and it is probably my favorite. 

The other day I saw a newish 3/4 ton Dodge Ram 4x4 with a different plate. It was not a typical California plate so I took a closer look.  

It was Baja California instead. Last time I was in Baja the plate was white with black letters. It's come a long way. Good job Baja!