On October 2, 2014 thirteen travelers departed Parsons for Hawaii. They arrived in Honolulu Friday evening and traveled to Waikiki Beach for their evening meal and a good night’s rest. On Saturday they toured Pearl Harbor, the Arizona Memorial and the U.S.S. Missouri. They then continued their tour of Honolulu. They visited the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific which is also called the Punchbowl Cemetery because it is on the floor of an extinct volcano. There are nearly 40,000 graves arranged in concentric circles on the floor of the crater. As they continued to tour Honolulu they stopped at the Iolani Palace which is the only royal palace in the United States. Across the road in front of the Judiciary Building is the statue of King Kamehameha I. Following the tour of Honolulu they boarded the “Pride of
America” Norwegian Cruise ship to travel around the Islands.
The next two days were spent on the island of Maui. There were many shore excursions to choose from. They included viewing the sunset or sunrise from the top of Haleakala Crater which is more than 10,023 feet above sea level, traveling to the old whaling town of Lahaina where you could view the 60 foot high Banyan Tree that covers more than an acre of the city park, or spending time on some of the beautiful beaches. Some of the travelers experienced the “Road to Hana.” The first 30 miles of this road might remind you of Tucker County. It covers a narrow section with 600 curves and 54
one-lane bridges!
The next stop was Hawaii which is better known as the Big Island because it is the largest of all the islands. The first port was Hilo which is closest to the Volcanoes National Park. Travelers were able to get rather close to an active volcano and see the almost constant steam vents throughout the park. Some also got to go through the Thurston Lava Tube which is similar to a cave that was formed when lava rolled into a tube then cooled very quickly. The drive along Crater Rim Drive around the Kilauea Caldera was a chance to see inactive lava flows, craters, and rain forests. Besides the Volcanoes National Park the visitors were able to visit Rainbow Falls and the Akatsuka Orchid Gardens where they promote a $20,000 orchid.
The second port on Hawaii was Kona. The port is not deep enough to handle large cruise ships so the passengers had to “tender” in using the lifeboats from the cruise ship. The Ironman Triathlon World Championships were being held there. Visitors had opportunities to try out a submarine, a glass-bottom boat, helicopter rides, snorkeling or just lounge on the beach. Several in the group visited the Ocean Rider Seahorse Farm were they breed 26 different species of seahorses. Kona is also home to the Kona Brewing Co. where some of the best coffee in the country is brewed.
The next stop on the tour was the island of Kauai also known as “The Garden Isle” because of its lush vegetation and agricultural bounty. Tourism ranks first among the island’s industries, with sugar, coffee, beef, papaya and other exotic fruits also being important to the economy. The island has a 3,400 acre coffee plantation which is the largest in America. Several of the travelers ventured south to the Waimea Bay to view the beautiful gorges cut into the cliffs and to see the goats grazing there. This area of Kauai is often referred to as the “Grand Canyon of the Pacific.” The highlight of the stop on Kauai was the Luau Kalamaku. This was a lovely evening spent with about 800 people having a Hawaiian buffet of pork, chicken, fish, vegetables- including purple sweet potatoes and of course, poi. They were then entertained by the hula dancers and fire twirlers. The dancers tell a story with their beautiful gentle movements. As the ship left Kauai it traveled along the Na Pali Coast which is one of the top 50 scenic attractions in the world. It is an extremely mountainous coast line with many valleys. The entire area is covered with lush green vegetation. This area receives an average of 460 inches of rain every year!
The ship arrived back in Honolulu on Saturday morning at about 7 a.m. The group disembarked about 9 a.m. and boarded a bus for a tour of the island of Oahu. The bus traveled along the base of Diamond Head passing many beautiful
beaches. The variety of landforms in short distances was awesome. There were surfers on Sunset Beach where waves can get up to 50 feet high in the winter season. The final stop was the Dole Plantation. There were many species of pineapple bushes growing on the plantation. The group was intrigued by the rainbow eucalyptus tree with its multicolored bark. The culmination of the visit was the delicious whipped pineapple ice cream.
Lastly, the group headed to the airport for the approximately 12 hour flight home. The group returned home tired but very happy to have this “opportunity of a lifetime” to see the beauty of Hawaii.