Lessons learned, love shared: Golden Princess to Hawaii 3/27/13

[terrific_surprise]

Tim

 

Here is an article you might find interesting:

 

http://travel.yahoo.com/ideas/hawaii-town-tells-state--stop-sending-tourists-here-230849478.html

 

It reminded me of you trying to park in a suburb of Hawaii. Was it the same place?

 

Thanks for sharing that article, Melody. The place I mentioned regarding the parking problems was Lanikai, which is a neighborhood of Kailua. The beach we went to (Lanikai Beach) is the one pictured in the article's photo, and the island in the photo is the one to which we wanted to kayak. So although the article mentioned Kailua and not Lanikai, it is basically where we went.

 

I do feel sorry for the people who live in that area and what they must go through. But I doubt that they will be able to stem the tide of tourists. The environment there is just too naturally enticing.

 

Tim

[terrific_surprise]

It didn't take long for Terri to start feeling better after I got off the highway and pulled into the parking lot at the Waimea Canyon Lookout.

 

 

With at least four tour buses there, it was so crowded at first that it was difficult to find a place at the rail to take a picture. I recognized several people from the Golden Princess, so I assume that some of the tour buses were from the ship.

 

 

Getting the best view of the scenery at the "Grand Canyon of the Pacific" was worth waiting for, so we stayed there for about 30 minutes. After a while, some of the buses had driven away, so about half of the crowd was gone, giving us more elbow room for pictures.

 

 

There was enough wind to playfully blow Terri's hair around, but it never got out of hand.

 

 

 

As we prepared to drive away from the lookout, I faced a decision. If I turned left to return to Waimea, we would miss the view above the Na Pali Coast. If I turned right to go to the Kalalau Lookout, it would be very unlikely that we would have time left for the river cruise.

Edited November 16, 2013 by terrific_surprise

[roomba920]

Thank you for posting this.

[terrific_surprise]

With only a slight hesitation, I turned left from the Waimea Canyon Lookout to go back down the hill to Waimea. The stunning views of Waimea Canyon which we had just experienced were satisfying enough, and I didn't want to torture Terri with too much more mountain driving.

 

After another ten minutes of driving through the forest, we arrived back at the junction of Waimea Canyon Drive and Koke'e Road. (While I drove, Terri recorded some video of our journey.) Although Highway 550 returns directly to Waimea on Waimea Canyon Drive from this point, I decided that we would return down Koke'e Road (Highway 552) for a change of scenery.

 

Highway 552 seemed to be a better road than Waimea Canyon Drive, but it was busier so I had to go a little slower. (We could have cut off 10 minutes or so by going back down Waimea Canyon Drive.) As we followed the twists and turns back down the hill, we were rewarded with more beautiful views of Ni'ihau, which now seemed a little closer.

 

 

At the end of Highway 552, I turned left on Highway 50, driving a few miles east to get back to Waimea, where I planned for us to stop for lunch.

Edited November 16, 2013 by terrific_surprise

[cr8tiv1]

Just a little bit of trivia about Kauai's Red Dirt:

Edited November 16, 2013 by cr8tiv1

[melody hounddog]

Stunning photos Tim! 5 weeks till our Hawaii cruise. Can't wait!!!! We are taking our two teens. One a senior in high school, the other a freshman in college.

[terrific_surprise]

We arrived back in Waimea at 11:30 -- amazingly right on schedule, to the minute! (I really wasn't analyzing our itinerary quite as painstakingly as it might appear here, but going back through our photos for this review I noticed that the timestamp of a photo which was taken as we re-entered Waimea was exactly 11:30.)

 

I planned all along for us to eat at Island Taco, which we had passed earlier that morning, just before turning up Waimea Canyon Drive.

 

 

I thought that Hawaiian tacos sounded intriguing, and Terri agreed. Having eaten countless thousands of tacos over our lives, somehow it seems we never had the opportunity to try a Hawaiian taco.

 

After parking the car and walking toward the Island Taco building, we first encountered a gift shop.

 

 

Something in the gift shop immediately caught Terri's eye, and for a few minutes it seemed that she had forgotten about lunch.

 

Something caught my eye too (and augmented my appetite): the Shrimp Station across the street.

 

 

Unfortunately, Terri will not eat shrimp, so I quickly dismissed the thought of crossing the street.

 

I hadn't included any time in the schedule for shopping at this point, but I was somehow trying to achieve a balance between "hanging loose" and following the itinerary, so I tried not to interfere with Terri's shopping experience. Eventually, however, I found it necessary to remind her that we had actually come there to have lunch. Terri told me to order for her so that she could still focus on shopping for a while.

 

According to the Island Taco menu board, their tacos feature homemade tortillas filled with rice, cabbage, and cheese. There were some interesting selections like "seared wasabi ahi," but Terri isn't too adventurous when it comes to food, so I figured that the safest thing to order would be the teri chicken tacos (priced at one for $7, two for $12, and three for $17). I ordered two tacos, one for each of us.

 

After about 10 minutes, our order was ready. Although it was served in a to-go container, we decided to sit down at one of their outside tables to eat.

 

 

 

It was a tasty lunch for a casual day on the island, even though the price was more than I thought I would ever consider paying for tacos. Then again, I think those were the largest tacos I had ever seen.

 

After lunch, I planned for us to share a special Hawaiian treat.

Edited November 16, 2013 by terrific_surprise

[terrific_surprise]

Driving just two blocks from Island Taco, I parked in front of Jo Jo's Shave Ice, glad to see people enjoying shave ice in front, along with a broken "open" sign affixed to the door with grey duct tape. (I had been a little concerned when I had noticed a "closed" sign in front of Jo Jo's on our way to Waimea Canyon, having read that Jo Jo's openly proclaims its hours to be based upon unpredictable "Hawaiian time.")

 

Before we even opened the door, it was obvious that the people at Jo Jo's "hang loose."

 

 

Pointing out the azuki beans offered as an "extra" on the sign adjacent to the door, I jokingly asked Terri if she would like to try some beans with her shave ice, but she politely declined (as I knew she would).

 

As we walked up to the door, we were greeted by loud rap music, which became even louder when we opened the door. We had heard Hawaiian rap music for the first time that morning on the radio (but the rap music at Jo Jo's didn't seem very Hawaiian).

 

An enlarged newspaper clipping duct taped to the inside wall next to the door declared Jo Jo's to be the "perennial favorite" shave ice in the Best of Kaua'i poll.

 

 

The walls of Jo Jo's were brightly painted with swaths of green, red, and yellow, the colors of the Kanaka Maoli flag (considered to be the original flag of the Kingdom of Hawai'i), which we had noticed flying over some homes in Lanikai and other places. Just before stepping into Jo Jo's, I happened to be talking to Terri about that flag (because it related to a clue I had given her before the cruise).

 

Dozens of shave ice flavors were handwritten on an orange poster board attached to the wall, with a list of 15 "favorite combinations" pasted to the right in strips of more professionally printed lettering.

 

 

Other handwritten notes were attached to the wall in various places, including a note suggesting the three best combinations: tropical rainbow, colada special, and berry berry. We ordered one large colada special (pina, banana, and strawberry coladas with macadamia nut ice cream and coconut cream).

 

"Are you Jo Jo?" Terri asked the attendant (who didn't appear to me to be very Hawaiian). "No," he replied, "Jo Jo is the owner."

 

According to the prices written on a dry-erase board mounted to the left of the flavors, a large shave ice would cost $4, but with all of the extras included in the combination we ordered, our total came out to $8.

 

After taking our order, the attendant stepped away, with the noise we soon heard seemingly indicating that an ice block was being freshly shaved for our order.

 

I had chosen to stop at Jo Jo's not only because I had read that their shave ice is so highly regarded, but also for a personal reason: we had nicknamed one of our sons "JoJo" (from Horton Hears a Who). Although our son had informed us when he was five that he no longer approved of that nickname, Terri couldn't resist buying him a shirt from Jo Jo's.

 

 

In addition to the shirts bearing their name, Jo Jo's also sold dirt-red shirts bearing the message "older than dirt." (On our way to Jo Jo's, we had noticed another business nearby selling "dirt shirts," apparently relating to the trivia Renee provided above in the attachment to post #255.)

 

Jo Jo's also featured a "Chicken info center," capitalizing on the island's ubiquitous wild chickens by selling chicken-themed calendars.

 

When we got back into the car at about 12:35 (over an hour after we had stopped for lunch), I picked up my itinerary to see how far behind we had fallen, realizing that it was time for some tough decisions.

 

In the interest of time, I thought that it would be best to enjoy our shave ice on the road. Terri was quite impressed with the flavor. I was less impressed, possibly because I was starting to get stressed from time pressure, having a difficult time trying to "hang loose" as we headed back toward Lihue on Highway 50, knowing that the river cruise would leave in just over an hour.

Edited November 17, 2013 by terrific_surprise

[cruisemama5]

Thanks so much for your review. Have enjoyed this since the beginning of the original thread leading up to the cruise!

[terrific_surprise]

Thanks so much for your review. Have enjoyed this since the beginning of the original thread leading up to the cruise!

 

Wow, cruisemama5, that's a long time (a year and a half?) to be sharing our story, with all of its ups and downs, tears and laughter. I'm glad I didn't wear out your patience. (But of course, it's still not over!) :eek:

 

I hope your husband has more surprises in store for you soon! ;)

 

Tim

[terrific_surprise]

My original itinerary had called for quick trips to a couple of interesting beaches near Waimea: Salt Pond Park and Glass Beach. But when we got back on the highway in Waimea, I told Terri that we had run out of time to visit those beaches. She was understandably disappointed, because I had given her photos of some of the beautiful scenery at those beaches before the cruise.

 

I was in such a hurry as we left Waimea that I didn't even put down the convertible top. I had put it up when we parked at Island Taco, but I hadn't realized that I had not properly secured the manual latches which held the convertible top to the windshield (the Chrysler convertible we had driven the day before hadn't had any such manual latches). The unsecured latches had previously gone unnoticed because in town I was going too slow, but as the car began to pick up speed, I suddenly realized my mistake when the convertible top began to be blown back by the wind. Thankfully we were able to somehow grab the top and secure the latches before any damage was done.

 

As we continued back toward Lihue, I began telling Terri (between bites of shave ice) why I thought she might enjoy the Wailua River cruise, emphasizing how romantic it would be to hear the Hawaiian Wedding Song at Fern Grotto. Although I had given Terri some cryptic clues about the Wailua River cruise in the previous weeks (such as the clue "a cruise within a cruise"), up to this point I had not yet revealed much about it.

 

I explained to Terri that I did not make reservations for the cruise, so even if we made it there in time to buy tickets for the 2 pm cruise, we could be turned away. I assumed that we should get there 10 or 20 minutes early, to ensure that we had enough time to see if we could buy tickets before the boat left.

 

Knowing that she also wanted to see Wailua Falls (the waterfall from the opening scenes of Fantasy Island), I told her that if we took the time to see Wailua Falls, we probably would miss the chance of going on the river cruise, but if we skipped Wailua Falls, we could make it to the Wailua River Marina in time to see if we could get on the cruise.

 

By the time I finished explaining our options, we had reached the point where Kaumualii Highway (#50) becomes Kuhio Highway (#56) in Lihue, being a mile or so from Maalo Road, the road to Wailua Falls.

 

Terri didn't hesitate in her response, indicating unequivocally that she would not want to miss seeing Wailua Falls after coming this close, even if it meant that she would miss the river cruise.

 

So, at about 1:20, with no further discussion, I turned left on Maalo Road toward Wailua Falls. Doing the math in my head, it seemed like we might still have a slim chance to make it to the river cruise: 10 minutes to Wailua Falls, plus 5 minutes at Wailua Falls, plus 10 minutes from Wailua Falls back to the highway, plus 13 more minutes to the Wailua River Marina. That's 38 minutes total. Wow, we might have two whole minutes to spare before the river boat leaves!

 

In spite of the time pressure, the drive along Maalo Road was initially pleasant, as we passed a pasture where dozens of cattle were grazing.

 

 

About halfway to Wailua Falls, I saw an orange sign indicating that there was a flagman ahead. Several cars were stopped in front of the flagman, waiting for his signal to proceed.

 

At this point I felt that our chances of making it to the river cruise had just evaporated before my eyes. We would need to go through this construction zone not once, but twice. (There is no alternate route.) That would undoubtedly take much more than just two minutes.

 

But now I could start thinking about my alternate itinerary. Perhaps we could do a little more whale watching and spend a some time at a beach. Even without a river cruise we could have a good time in our final hours on Kauai.

 

Just then a group of cars drove past us from the opposite direction. Soon the cars on our side of the road began to move, being guided through the construction area. But even though we made it through this time without a significant delay, I anticipated a delay on our return trip.

 

We arrived at the end of the road, where the parking area for Wailua Falls is located, at about 1:32. I parked the car and we hurried back to the railing to experience the dreamlike view of the two parallel streams of water crashing into the pool below.

 

 

We took about five minutes to capture the moment with some photos and videos of the waterfall, and then headed back to the car.

 

 

 

I assumed that by the time we saw the Wailua River again, the river cruise boat would be sailing away, so our next stop (other than the presumed delay at the construction area) would likely be Opaeka'a Falls, just north of the Wailua River.

Edited November 17, 2013 by terrific_surprise

[terrific_surprise]

When we reached the unavoidable construction zone after visiting Wailua Falls, we arrived just in time to go straight through with absolutely no delay!

 

Soon we were back at the intersection of Maalo Road and Highway 56 (Kuhio Highway), where I turned left toward the Wailua River.

 

As we approached the turnoff for the Wailua River Marina, it was almost 2 pm. I couldn't see the boat from the highway, so I decided that it was worth the drive into the marina parking lot to see if we had any chance of getting on for the cruise. Seeing a large flat boat (which really was more like a barge with a roof) filled with passengers, I parked the car and ran up to the dock with $40 cash in hand, asking "do you have room for two more?"

 

The captain said he would hold the boat if I hurried, but he informed me that I couldn't buy the tickets at the dock: I would need to go to the office in the building nearby.

 

Motioning to Terri to get out of the car, I ran to the building to buy the tickets. By the time I hurried back to the dock, Terri was there. Moments after we stepped onto the boat, it began to pull away from the dock (the time being about 2:05).

 

Needless to say, we were thrilled and relieved.

 

 

The seating in the boat consisted of six long benches, with room for probably 150 or so people (or maybe 200 if everybody squeezed together). We recognized several people from the Golden Princess, later even seeing two of our tablemates.

 

At the front of the boat, the captain picked up a microphone to narrate the cruise. "Hello," he began, "I'm your captain. Thank you for joining me for this river cruise. Actually, this is my first time." (It was obvious that he was kidding.)

 

After giving us some basic safety instructions, the captain began the 2.5 mile trip by describing an unusual mountain to the right of the boat (north of the river).

 

 

Explaining that Nounou Mountain is known as the "sleeping giant," the captain helped us see where the "nose," "mouth," and other facial features are located.

 

He went on to explain the source of the river, telling us that Kauai receives 400 to 600 inches of rainfall per year (with 714 inches of rainfall recorded in 1982, the year that Hurricane Iwa hit the island).

 

The water in the Wailua River (the only navigable river in the State of Hawaii) is brackish, so ocean fish live in the river, in addition to various shellfish such as Samoan crab (which the captain said is similar to Dungeness crab) and Malaysian prawn.

 

While the captain told us about the State of Hawaii purchasing over 150 yards on each side of the river to preserve its natural beauty, a group of kayakers passed by the boat. For a moment I wished we were out there kayaking too (but I'm pretty sure that thought never crossed Terri's mind).

 

Then the boat passed by the Kamokila Hawaiian village on the north side of the river, as the captain told us about the village and its starring role opposite Dustin Hoffman, portraying an African village in the movie Outbreak.

 

When we reached the confluence of the north and south forks of the Wailua River, the captain explained that the word "Wailua" refers to these two bodies of water flowing together.

 

Turning the boat left to take the South Fork of the Wailua River (downstream from Wailua Falls), the captain pointed out hau trees and kalo (taro) plants growing on the banks of the river. He explained that the kalo plant is the source of the Hawaiian staple food poi, joking that "some of you know poi better as wallpaper paste."

 

After about about 25 minutes on the river, the boat arrived at the Fern Grotto dock.

 

 

The crowd of boat passengers then followed a path amply shaded by tropical trees such as kukui nut, papaya, and banana, and accented with plants like ginger and bamboo.

 

 

 

After walking about 200 yards on the well-paved path, we reached the view of Fern Grotto, where we anticipated soon having the opportunity to hear the Hawaiian Wedding Song for the first time.

Edited November 17, 2013 by terrific_surprise

[terrific_surprise]

After the river boat arrived at the Fern Grotto dock, it took about 10 minutes for the crowd of passengers to go down the path to regather at the Fern Grotto observation deck.

 

 

A member of the Smith Family welcomed us to the Fern Grotto, identifying some of the nearby vegetation such as the papaya trees which bloom all year round, ginger plants with their red and pink flowers, apple banana trees with their giant leaves, and kukui nut trees.

 

Kukui nuts, she explained, are useful for more than just decoration. Calling them "1-2-3" nuts, she humorously warned how the number of nuts consumed can produce serious results. She also suggested that we take home any nuts we might find on the ground, but I assume that would have been frowned upon by ship security personnel (perhaps she was kidding).

 

The "grotto" (which, as she explained, means a shallow cave), is about 15 feet high and 30 feet long. Most of the ferns ("kupukupu") were ripped off during Hurricane Iwa in 1982. Although the ferns and other vegetation have grown back, it still has not attained its former splendor. Water trickles over the cave, fed by a perennial spring located about a mile and a half inland.

 

Due to safety concerns, people were prohibited from entering the cave for many years, with most visits being limited to the observation deck where we were standing. She said that it has only been six years since people have been allowed to enter the cave again.

 

Over 10,000 weddings have been performed at Fern Grotto, with people coming from all over the world to get married there (except for Hawaiians, as she humorously explained). Torches light the path for night weddings, with about 200 candles illuminating the cave.

 

 

The Smith Family then gathered together to sing Ke Kali Nei Au, the Hawaiian Wedding song, reportedly made famous by Elvis Presley in the movie Blue Hawaii. (We didn't recognize the song. I should have thought of watching Blue Hawaii with Terri in the weeks before the cruise.) As the group sang, played, and danced, nearby birds added their own music.

 

 

The song was dedicated to anyone who would be celebrating their anniversary, so with our 28th anniversary coming up later that month, we considered it to be dedicated to us. Having learned that it is customary after the Hawaiian Wedding Song to kiss whoever is standing next to you, we were glad for the opportunity to participate in that tradition.

 

 

Then we posed for a picture with the Smith Family group.

 

 

After about 20 minutes at the Fern Grotto, we walked along the second half of the loop path toward the boat, passing through more beautiful vegetation.

 

 

Throughout the return trip to the marina, we were treated to more music and hula.

Edited November 18, 2013 by terrific_surprise

[terrific_surprise]

As the river boat returned to the Waiula River Marina, the Smith Family provided more music and hula.

 

 

Kiddingly introducing herself as "just the janitor," the leader of the group quipped "do you all like Hawaiian music? That's good, because all I know how to play is Hawaiian music." She offered to take requests, but clarified that Tiny Bubbles would be a $50 request (she didn't seem to be kidding about that).

 

Smith Family member Kela danced hulas in the aisles.

 

 

 

Kela's hulas sometimes involved accessories such as twirling sticks.

 

 

 

Even after the boat docked at the marina, the Smith Family continued to entertain the passengers, singing the Hukilau Song while we stepped off the boat.

 

 

Driving away from the marina in our Mustang convertible, it was almost 3:30 pm. (The river cruise was scheduled to end at 3:20, but our cruise likely ended later than the scheduled time because they had to delay the beginning of the cruise due to certain stragglers who arrived at the last minute and hadn't bothered to make reservations.)

 

Our wonderful time on the Garden Isle was almost over. But we would still face one more unexpected adventure before returning the convertible.

Edited November 18, 2013 by terrific_surprise

[terrific_surprise]

I had hoped that after the Wailua River cruise we would have time to visit nearby Opaeka'a Falls, but realizing as we left the marina that only 30 minutes or so remained before the 4:00 pm rental car deadline, I reluctantly turned right on Kuhio Highway, heading toward Lihue instead.

 

Somehow thinking that I would find a convenient gas station on the way back to the airport, I decided to take the most direct route from the marina to the airport, continuing straight on Kapule Highway (51) at the point where Kuhio Highway (56) veered right.

 

In about 10 minutes we were driving by the airport, but we hadn't passed a single gas station. So I continued south on Highway 51 until we reached Rice Street (near the Nawiliwili port). I turned right on Rice Street (retracing the route we had taken that morning after picking up the car), continuing back toward Lihue, where the afternoon traffic was starting to slow down.

 

I had hoped to find gas for less than $4.50 per gallon (having paid $4.34 the day before), but I finally had to settle for a station charging $4.69! By the time I finished paying $21.51 for less than five gallons of gas, just six minutes remained before our 4:00 deadline to return the car! (Putting things in perspective, we had traveled almost 100 miles for that $21.51, so we were paying less than a quarter a mile. The pennies I was trying to save by looking for cheaper gas just weren't worth the extra time it took.)

 

I knew that I needed to turn left from the gas station to get to the airport, but the traffic was so bad that I decided to turn right instead. About a block later, I found a break in the traffic and turned left on a side street, assuming that I could find my way through the neighborhood back to the road to the airport (with the assistance of the map on my iPhone). But the street went into a neighborhood where curved streets repeatedly led to dead ends! Soon it was after 4 pm, and we were getting worried that we would miss the shuttle to return us to the ship! (By now I'm sure that some of you are doubting my previous statement that I am usually a good navigator.)

 

Finally I found my way back to Ahukini Road, which goes to the airport. A minute later (at 4:03 pm) we arrived at the airport entrance, being greeted with the friendly sign "Mahalo, Until we meet again."

 

 

The car return process went quickly (with only a slight glitch involving the rental being charged to our card instead of being able to pay cash as originally agreed), and we were relieved to see that the shuttle bus had not left yet.

 

By 4:20 (just ten minutes before the boarding deadline) the shuttle had returned us to the port, and we were in a long line waiting to get back on the Golden Princess.

 

(Our angled balcony is again clearly identifiable, directly above Terri's head.)

 

Then a tour bus arrived, making the line even longer.

 

 

It seemed to me that it would be impossible for everybody to board before the deadline. However, the line went extremely fast. At 4:28 we made it inside the building, all the way to the security check!

 

Terri and I were split into separate lines by the security personnel (apparently because I was carrying bags and she wasn't), and Terri was nervous when she realized that her line went to a different part of the ship.

 

"How will we find each other?" Terri asked while she was being rushed away.

 

"Meet at the Piazza," I replied, thinking that my answer was obvious.

 

"Where?" she responded, appearing confused. (Even after a week on board, she felt like she couldn't find her way around the ship without me.)

 

"Deck five!" I called after her, hoping that she would be able to figure it out, and wondering if she would face problems getting through security because of her lack of a government ID.

 

But by the time I arrived in the Piazza, Terri was calmly sitting at a table waiting for me, smiling confidently as she showed me that she had already picked out a tuna sandwich and a ham and cheese croissant from the International Cafe. (My security check had taken longer because of my bags and items in my pockets.) After selecting a mushroom quiche, I sat down with her to enjoy a pre-dinner snack. We followed up that "snack" by sharing a piece of pecan cake, then we went up to the Baja Deck to drop off our bags in our room.

 

Having witnessed the huge crowd boarding so late, I was amazed as I stood on our balcony watching the ship begin to leave the dock promptly at 5.

 

 

I thought that the speed with which the crowd was processed showed incredible expertise on the part of the staff, but later I heard people complain that they didn't like "being herded like cattle." Claiming that they were treated rudely, some indignantly huffed "don't they realize that we paid for this trip? We're paying their salary!"

 

We watched with fascination as the small boat appeared below our balcony to assist the ship in leaving the harbor.

 

 

Although we were enjoying the interesting view from our balcony, we didn't stay in our room for long. Something we didn't want to miss was about to start on the Lido Deck.

Edited November 18, 2013 by terrific_surprise

[terrific_surprise]

Elua's Hawaiian melodies made a wonderful way to enhance the experience of sailing away from the Garden Isle.

 

 

Dave and Leialoha were providing sailaway music on the Lido Deck, so we found two deck chairs nearby while we enjoyed feasting our eyes and ears.

 

 

Meanwhile, the Movies Under The Stars screen displayed beautiful images of Hawaiian scenery.

 

 

Our enjoyment of this experience was slightly lessened when a woman, obviously drunk, began dancing and singing in front of us as Elua sang "Margaritaville." Getting uncomfortably close, she shook her finger at me (and at any other man who happened to be nearby, including at one point Dave himself) to remind us men that it's "our own fault." The whole scene made us laugh, but I did feel sorry for her, wondering if she would be embarrassed after she sobered up.

 

That may have been the only time on our entire 14 day cruise that we saw anybody drunk. Even that same woman seemed quite sober when we encountered her again over the ensuing days.

 

After Elua took a break, we decided to go to Deck 15 for some final photos of Kauai.

 

 

 

Looking forward to hearing Elua again later that evening, we decided to return to our room, where we caught one final glimpse of Kauai from our balcony.

 

 

Then Terri wanted to watch Blue Hawaii on TV, but after such a long day, she was too tired to stay awake. Seeing an opportunity to indulge my insatiable appetite, I decided to go up two floors for a quick visit to the Horizon Court buffet, where one of the interesting items I selected was a cold scallop and asparagus salad.

 

While Terri slept, the sun set over the ocean. But our fun day was still not yet over.

Edited November 18, 2013 by terrific_surprise

[terrific_surprise]

After we sailed away from Kauai, Elua performed a brief set in the Piazza starting at 7:30. Unfortunately, it took too long for us to get ready for dinner after Terri's nap, so we made it just in time to hear their final number as we looked down from from deck 7, two floors above them.

 

 

Nevertheless, that one song we heard, "Going to Maui Tomorrow" was the perfect song for the occasion, with a catchy tune that kept running through my mind. (We recorded a brief video excerpt, where you can also hear Dave Soreff playing steel guitar.)

 

Another song we heard Elua perform earlier that day which set the mood for Maui was "Lahaina Luna," with lyrics like "I am going to the island of the valley, to Lahaina, Lahaina Luna."

 

After Elua finished singing, it was time for us to go to the Canaletto Dining Room for our late traditional dining. We were looking forward to catching up with our tablemates (having missed having dinner with them on the two previous nights), and sharing what we had been doing on the islands.

 

Dining at a table of six seemed to provide the perfect experience for us, even when each couple happened to be absent from time to time (because that gave us all opportunities to get to know each couple separately).

 

The entree I selected from the dinner menu was Asian spiced duck breast with honey-garlic glaze, garnished with baby bok choy, ginger, and potatoes.

 

 

Terri felt more comfortable with the "home-style cuisine" option: steak fajitas.

 

 

For dessert, Terri decided to try the Black Forest cake.

 

 

I chose traditional New York cheesecake with strawberries.

 

 

The "Gift of Gab Game Show" had caught Terri's eye when she read the day's Patter, so after we finished dessert, she wanted to hurry to Explorers Lounge to participate. Terri definitely has the "gift of gab," so we thought that this game would be perfect for her.

 

Getting to Explorers Lounge early gave us the opportunity to sit down and listen to a few songs from Crimson, a versatile soft rock band which seemed to be playing somewhere virtually every night of the cruise. (We often heard them as we were passing by, but we didn't usually stop to listen for long, typically being on our way somewhere.)

 

The Gift of Gab Game Show was nothing like what we had expected. Strange gibberish was displayed on a screen, while everybody in the room had an opportunity to sound out the clue to determine what it really meant. For example, the correct answer for the clue "mile hip czars healed" was "my lips are sealed." Even though it wasn't what she expected, Terri seemed to enjoy the game.

 

I, however, was just trying to stay awake, and the 25 weird clues were not enough to stimulate my mind.

 

Although she was still having fun, Terri realized that I needed to get back to our room, where we enjoyed getting comfortable together as I faded off to sleep humming "I'm going to Maui tomorrow."

 

For more photos and videos of our Kauai day, go to:

http://flic.kr/s/aHsjEPgyGm

Edited November 19, 2013 by terrific_surprise

[roomba920]

Thanks for the beautiful photos, Tim. Looks like the weather is going to be clouded over when we're on Kauai on the 26th, so we'll go with our plan B and drive up to the north shore instead. It was nice to see your photos though, and I appreciate you finishing Kauai before we leave. btw I would've chosen your dinner choices over Terri's too. ;)

Edited November 19, 2013 by roomba920

[terrific_surprise]

Thanks for the beautiful photos, Tim. Looks like the weather is going to be clouded over when we're on Kauai on the 26th, so we'll go with our plan B and drive up to the north shore instead. It was nice to see your photos though, and I appreciate you finishing Kauai before we leave. btw I would've chosen your dinner choices over Terri's too. ;)

 

Thanks for your patience through my many delays!

 

Of course in Hawaii it seems that there is always a good "plan B," so I'm sure you will have a good time on the north shore. I would have liked to go to Hanalei too (and some other nearby spots).

 

It doesn't look like I'm going to reach my goal of finishing Maui today, but I'm sure that you (and any others who are sailing tomorrow) have more important things to focus on today than waiting for my long overdue updates.

 

As I'm sure by now you expect, our Maui story has some ups and downs, and I prefer to take a while to get to the point (believing that often the journey is as important as the destination). But I'll share one "lesson learned" in advance, for any of you who are sailing tomorrow: don't underestimate Lahaina, especially if you have never been to Maui before.

 

Hopefully few people would tend to make the mistake I did, considering the obvious fact that Lahaina is where the ship brings you. But sometimes I can miss the obvious things until it is too late.

 

Smooth sailing to you and all of the Star passengers who will be boarding tomorrow! Perhaps we'll pass you in a hallway somewhere, but in any case we'll be there to wish you "bon voyage!"

 

Tim

[terrific_surprise]

Before I move on to our Maui day, I'll digress momentarily to discuss the balcony furniture. (I wasn't sure where this would fit in best, but I took the following photos when the ship was leaving Kauai, so I'll mention it here.)

 

There has been some discussion on CC in relation to the new balcony furniture and the old balcony furniture, with many people complaining that the new furniture is not comfortable. I assume that during our cruise the furniture on the Baja balconies (including our balcony, pictured below) was the old furniture:

 

 

Balcony furniture on the decks below us (as pictured below) was different, however. I'm assuming that these other decks had the new furniture.

 

 

We found our balcony's "old" furniture to be quite comfortable, and we enjoyed being on our balcony as often as possible. We did not have the opportunity to try the "new" furniture on the other decks, so at this point my only comment about the differences between the two would be that the old chairs on our balcony appear to be more reclined than the new chairs we could see on the other balconies.

Edited November 19, 2013 by terrific_surprise

[Baatman]

Very interesting review. First time I have heard about draining a car battery to run a computer:)

[terrific_surprise]

As the Golden Princess quietly sailed from Kauai to Maui through the darkness, we noticed the lights of Honolulu from our balcony at about 2 in the morning.

 

At about 4:30 am, I left our stateroom to go to the Internet Cafe, needing to print out the "itinerary" for our Maui day.

 

Unlike the previous three port days, I never put together a carefully-timed itinerary for our Maui day. Instead, I just had various notes about activities I thought we might enjoy on Maui. Although I listed enough ideas to cover probably a week on Maui, I knew all along that we wouldn't do most of those things, assuming that most of our day would be spent at one or more South Maui beaches. I figured that our Hawaii experience wouldn't be complete without having time to relax at a beach, and Maui seemed like the perfect place for our beach experience.

 

After picking up the rental car, I planned for us to drive south from Lahaina, taking a brief stop at a roadside location which is reputedly the best place for whale watching on Maui.

 

Then I planned for us to drive further south to Makena State Park. Depending upon the conditions at the beach (including how crowded it was), we might spend most of our day right there.

 

If for whatever reason we got tired of being at Makena Beach, I thought that we could continue south to some additional beaches and points of interest.

 

My plans also included a quick detour to the Maui Tropical Plantation on our way back north to Lahaina after we were done being at the beach. I also hoped that we would have 30 minutes or so to do a little shopping in Lahaina before returning to the ship.

 

Interestingly, the notes I printed did refer to Ka'anapali Beach, just north of Lahaina, as possibly the best beach in Maui and the best snorkeling location. Nevertheless, I never really planned to spend any time there. I guess in my mind it seemed that since we would be renting a car (which in my original plans was assumed to be essential, because of Terri's enjoyment of driving), we wouldn't be making good use of the car if we went to a beach near Lahaina. I also thought that going further away from the ship would get us further away from the crowds (although I should have learned something from our experience at Lanikai Beach).

 

Most of the things we had taken on our three previous port days were still packed in my duffle bag, but I planned to bring a few extra items for the beach, including a beach shelter and (though it may sound ridiculous) even a flotation device.

 

But unlike our first two port days, this time I didn't neglect to bring beach towels from the ship. I no longer had any problem locating beach towels to bring. When we had returned to our stateroom after our Oahu day, I had noticed two beach towels on the shelf above the closet. I had been storing other items on that shelf, so it seems like if they had previously been there I would have noticed them. Did our steward forget to put beach towels in our room until the Oahu day or had the towels been there all along?

 

Whatever the case, as we got ready to go ashore to Maui, we were finally prepared with towels. (I had brought the towels ashore in Kauai too, but of course we hadn't put them to any use.)

 

When I went to the Internet Cafe at 4:30 am to print my Maui notes, my favorite crew member, Nan, happened to be behind the counter at the International Cafe. (Nan is the one I had mentioned on post #163, but I had temporarily forgotten his name.) After I had given him a million dollar bill earlier in the cruise, Nan had joked that he could go home at the end of the cruise because he was now rich, so he always enjoyed talking to me. Nan's friend Sammuel was cleaning nearby and asked if he could have a million dollar bill too, and I gladly complied, leading Sammuel to brag that he was now richer than Nan.

 

Later we enjoyed watching the sunrise over Maui as the tenders began being lowered into the ocean.

 

 

 

CD Gavin Chandler instructed Wake Show viewers that when we were ready to go ashore, we must go to the Bernini Dining Room first to pick up a tender ticket.

 

As we left our room at about 6:55 am, Terri wanted to go up to the buffet, but I said that we should first check to see how long we might need to wait for a tender.

 

We arrived at the Bernini Dining Room at about 7:00 am, the earliest possible time to receive a tender ticket. What happened next would be a source of irritation to Terri for most of the morning.

Edited November 20, 2013 by terrific_surprise

[terrific_surprise]

Instead of giving us a tender ticket when we arrived at the Bernini Dining Room, a crew member gave us good news: we could board a tender immediately.

 

Unfortunately, Terri didn't welcome this news, reminding me that she wanted to have breakfast before boarding a tender.

 

"It will be worth the extra cost of paying for breakfast on the island if it saves us time," I reassured her, assuming that we might face a significant delay waiting for a tender if we took the time for even a quick breakfast on the ship. If I had learned something about being willing to spend some money to save some time, that lesson didn't compensate for the lesson I still needed to learn about being more sensitive to my wife's wishes (especially when this cruise was supposed to be for her, not me).

 

Even though she was hungry, Terri followed my instructions, continuing downstairs to the tender boarding area, where we noticed a sign reminding us that that we would be sailing for Ensenada that day.

 

 

Although the pouty face Terri put on for the above photograph was just an act, the thoughts of sailing away to Ensenada really did set a somber tone for our Maui day. We weren't ready to say goodbye to Hawaii yet! (And we knew no catchy songs about "going to Ensenada tomorrow.")

 

Always trying to find a way to focus on the positive side, Terri showed a sincere smile while she boarded the tender, in spite of the fact that things weren't going quite the way she preferred.

 

 

I was kind of embarrassed to carry my large duffle bag, stuffed with various items I thought we might need on the island, onto the tender. Most of the other passengers packed much more lightly for their day on Maui. My embarrassment subsided somewhat when I saw someone carrying what appeared to be a large suitcase. Then I heard them say that they were going scuba diving, and my feelings of embarrassment returned.

 

Within 10 minutes, the tender was full, and began its short trip from the Golden Princess to Lahaina.

 

 

 

Sitting next to us in the tender, a couple showed us amazing photos on their phone which they had captured from a whale-watching expedition the day before, with incredible full-body breaches. (I wish I had asked them to send me a copy.) Even after witnessing such spectacular sights, the couple informed us that they had reserved yet another whale-watching expedition that day in Lahaina.

 

About 10 minutes later, we had arrived at what appeared to be a quaint fishing village.

 

 

In spite of my assurance to Terri that we would eat breakfast on the island, no nearby restaurants caught my eye. Besides, wouldn't it make more sense now to pick up our rental car first, before getting breakfast?

Edited November 21, 2013 by terrific_surprise

[terrific_surprise]

After we stepped off the tender in Lahaina, I checked my notes to see where we should wait for the shuttle to the Alamo rental agency. We had no trouble finding the designated location: the restrooms near the old courthouse and fort ruins.

 

My notes indicated that we needed to call the agency so that they would send a shuttle, but that shuttles would only arrive every 30 minutes. When I called their number, they said that it would be 10 minutes before the shuttle would be there. But the shuttle arrived in about 2 minutes.

 

It took almost 15 minutes for us to get to the rental agency office in Kaanapali, north of Lahaina. The rental process at this office (which handled cars not only for Alamo but also for National) took longer than it had taken on the three previous days, about 20 minutes (but most of that time we were just waiting in line). One couple ahead of us claimed to be renting a convertible to go to Kaanapali Beach -- less than two miles away! (They didn't seem to be joking.) It sounded to me like they just wanted the thrill of showing up at the beach in something classy. (At least they wouldn't need to concern themselves with filling the gas tank.)

 

The rental clerk worked hard to sell me on their insurance, insisting that their insurance is required by Hawaii state law, even after I provided him with information from our insurance company. But eventually, he gave up and allowed me to rent the car with no additional insurance.

 

Emphasizing that we needed to return the car by 4 pm sharp, he handed me a car key. I needed to use the remote to locate the car myself.

 

Our Maui convertible was a Chrysler, identical to the car we had rented on Oahu. As had been my practice with the previous car rentals, I took a couple of minutes to record a video of the vehicle to document any pre-existing blemishes.

 

Before driving away, I tried to put the top down, but instead an error message appeared on the dash. I went back inside to tell the attendant about it, so he came out to fix some problem in the trunk before we were able to put the top down.

 

At 8:15 we finally drove away from the car rental agency, heading south on Highway 30, back toward Lahaina, with our stomachs still empty.

 

 

We caught many glimpses of the Golden Princess as we traveled down the highway.

 

 

Views of the nearby island of Lanai also enhanced our enjoyment of the journey.

 

 

From the beginning, our Maui experience seemed to have an even more vibrant ambience than our adventures on the other islands. It seemed to me that what made Maui so unique was not so much its renowned valley: something seemed enchanting about the fact that we could never escape the realization that we were (in effect) not just visiting one island, but several islands. No matter where we went on Maui, we were always able to see another island, with South Maui often appearing to be another island. (Of course, if we had traveled on the eastern coast of Maui, we would likely have had a different perspective.)

 

As we traveled back through Lahaina, we didn't notice any restaurants where we would have wanted to stop to eat, so I just kept driving. We didn't want to take the time to search for a restaurant on Lahaina's side streets, assuming that we would find something along the highway.

 

We were disheartened when we encountered a construction zone just south of Lahaina, but we were relieved that it didn't cause any significant delay.

 

About 25 minutes after leaving the car rental agency (having traveled about 17 miles so far), we saw signs for a "scenic point" on the ocean side of Highway 30. (This is 11-12 miles south of Lahaina, about 2 miles after the highway passes through a tunnel.)

 

We still hadn't had anything to eat, but I suspected that the "scenic point" was a whale watching area I had read about, so I pulled off and parked.

 

Just a few minutes later, Terri captured a somewhat fuzzy photo of what might have been a whale (I think the behavior it exhibited might be classified as "lunging").

 

 

According to a plaque posted near where we parked, from November through May these "Gentle Giants of the Sea" can "often be seen from this point, caring for their young which are born here each year. Watch for their spouts and broad flukes as they surface, sometimes very close to shore."

 

 

A sign displayed at a nearby information booth documented that a breach and pec slapping had been viewed there earlier that day.

 

For the next 25 minutes or so, we continued searching for more whales, but the few splashes we noticed did not seem to be particularly significant. (These whales seemed far less active, or much fewer in number, than the vast multitude of whales we had witnessed from the Halona Blowhole two days earlier.)

 

Even when the whales were quiet, the view of South Maui, Molokini, and Kaho‘olawe made the experience beautiful.

 

 

Terri had been enjoying the search for whales, but getting something to eat was becoming more of a priority. It was already after 9 am!

Edited November 22, 2013 by terrific_surprise

[terrific_surprise]

Just a few minutes after driving away from the whale viewing area alongside Highway 30, we came to the Ma'alaea Harbor Shops and Restaurants, where the Maui Ocean Center Aquarium and Pacific Whale Foundation are located. The word "restaurants" on the sign was a welcome relief to us, but our sense of relief didn't last long. For some reason (which I don't particularly recall), we quickly ruled out the restaurants there.

 

Then we noticed a nearby Carl's Jr., reluctantly deciding to go through their drive thru (even though eating fast food in Hawaii was never part of our plans). But seeing that their breakfast burritos cost over $5 was enough to motivate us to get back on the highway. As hungry as we were, we weren't willing to pay over twice what we would pay at home for something that wouldn't be the slightest bit Hawaiian. And the longer we waited, the more we really wanted something worth waiting for.

 

My iPhone pointed me to some interesting restaurants in the town of Kihei, just minutes away, so we got back on Highway 30, taking the turnoff for Highway 310 a couple of miles later.

 

Driving along busy Highway 310, we could see cloud-covered Haleakala straight ahead.

 

 

Highway 310 soon brought us to Piilani Highway (Highway 31), which soon brought us to the restaurants we were seeking, conveniently located in a shopping center right on the highway.

 

We finally arrived at the Piilani Village Shopping Center in Kihei, parking near the food court at about 9:30. But just before that, Terri received an important phone call which lasted about 15 minutes, delaying our breakfast a little longer.

 

 

Of the various food options available at the food court, we chose Maui Tacos, having enjoyed our first taste of Hawaiian tacos the previous day. But the food at Maui Tacos was quite different, living up to their slogan "It's Mexican Food with Mauitude."

 

 

The salsa bar at Maui Tacos had plenty of "Mauitude," with selections like "Maui Firedancer," "Pineapple Paradise," and "Hula Heat." I typically enjoy salsa that is very spicy, but I must confess that some of their salsas were much too hot for me. (The somewhat mild Pineapple Paradise ended up being my favorite.)

 

 

I ordered breakfast burritos, which came with tortilla chips. While I was ordering, something else caught Terri's attention, which would eventually become a source of irritation to me (I guess after I irritated her by delaying breakfast for so long, it was appropriate for her to turn the tables on me). We finally began eating our breakfast at 10 am.

 

 

The birds nearby were getting a little too friendly with us, but Terri enjoyed the interaction, rewarding their misbehavior with bits of her chips. Meanwhile, she caught some good photos of their antics.

 

 

By the time we finished eating, I was beginning to wonder if we would ever make it to a beach that morning, especially because of what had been occupying Terri's attention just before the meal.

Edited November 22, 2013 by terrific_surprise