Aloha From The Ladells

After 5 days at sea, we arrived in Hilo on the Big Island of Hawaii on Friday, January 10th.  We were greeted by whales surrounding the ship as we entered the Port.  We took an excursion to the Volcano National Park which was fabulous.  The opportunity to see an active volcano up close and personal and to witness the power of Mother Nature is extraordinary.

Next, we cruised overnight to the island of Maui and experienced another early morning greeting by the whales around our ship as we entered the harbor at Lahaina.  We spent the day by ourselves.  We walked to a nearby beach and spent the morning there.  In the afternoon, we explored the town of Lahaina which is located on the waterfront.  There are beautiful galleries, shops, parks, restaurants and bars there to enjoy.  Late in afternoon we stopped at bar and grill called Moose McGillicuddys which we were surprised to find that it still exists after our last visit to Maui 27 years ago.  It looked exactly as we remembered it.  Last time we were there was a family vacation with Hayley and Stephanie.  We enjoyed the cold beer there and the reminisced about our last visit.  How could it possibly have been 27 years ago?

Our next stop took us to Honolulu on the island of Oahu for a 2 day visit.  We took a 1/2 day tour on Sunday morning to Pearl Harbor that was a very moving experience.  After watching a short film on the history of the attack which included graphic live footage, we visited the USS Arizona memorial.  The sunken wreckage of the battleship Arizona where there are almost 1,000 sailors entombed in the hull still leaks oil and gas after 72 years.  It is said that the trickles of fuel are the "tears of the lost seaman".  The memorial is a very touching tribute to the men and women who lost their lives in that attack.

Later that day, Seabourn treated us to an incredible event aboard the USS Missouri battleship which is moored in Pearl Harbor.  "Big Mo" is the battleship on which the Japanese signed the treaty in September, 1945 after surrendering.  We had cocktails on deck while a band played patriotic music.  We got to tour the battleship.  It was a beautiful moonlit night on board this proud battleship.

When we returned to the Sojourn that evening, we heard party music playing as we passed through the terminal.  When we turned the corner, we were greeted by the Sojourn's wait staff dancing and greeting us with a tray of "Cosmos" and welcoming us back on board.  We are constantly amazed at how they treat us like Rock Stars.

On our second day in Honolulu we toured the natural wonders of the island of Oahu including Diamond Head volcanic crater, rain forests, mountain vistas and beautiful beaches.  Later in the day, we went on our own to visit famous Waikiki Beach.  We ended our visit with a cocktail at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel overlooking Waikiki Beach with Diamond Head in the background.  It was a very "Hawaii Five-O" day.

Our last stop in Hawaii (and the U.S.) was on the beautiful island of Kauai, known as the Garden Island.  We took a tour to Waimea Canyon which is often referred to as the "Grand Canyon of the Pacific".  We saw other beautiful sites around the island.

The temperatures have been in the 70s and 80s with some light rain -- perfect weather for our visit.  The Pacific Ocean looks so very "pacific blue" against the backdrop of the lush green mountains rimmed by black volcanic cliffs and beautiful beaches.  The bonus of seeing whales spouting and breeching, sea turtles frolicking in the surf and beautiful exotic birds make it hard to believe that we are still in the U.S.  HOWEVER,  at every stop the passengers have been offered a free shuttle to Walmart.  We have seen a number of passengers return to the ship carrying the familiar Walmart bags!

We leave for a 6 day sail to French Polynesia.  We will be traveling 2,437 nautical miles at a speed of about 15 knots.  TAHITI HERE WE COME!!!