Travel Journals

Monday, February 26, 2024 Hilo, The Big Island, Hawaii This morning we arrived at Hilo on The Big Island of Hawaii. Thankfully, the ship docked at a pier so we did not have to endure the fiasco we had yesterday with the tenders, which was not very tender. We joined a 4-1/2 hour bus excursion that stopped at 5 sites and it was excellent. First we stopped at a Japanese garden here in Hilo, called the Liliuokalani Gardens, which is a mouthful. Why they couldn’t have just kept it simple and called it “Japanese Gardens,” or something like “栗林公園,“ I don’t know. I was amazed at how authenticity Japanese it was, complete with torii gates, shishi lion-dogs to “guard” the entrance, Japanese style bridges, ponds, and Japanese stone lanterns. I felt like I had stepped off the bus and into a garden in Kyoto! Next we went to a candy and cookie making facility called Big Island Candies. This, too, had a Japanese connection as it was started many years ago by a Japanese family. I assume it is...

Sunday, February 25, 2024 Kona, The Big Island, Hawaii Today we woke up to find ourselves in the harbor at Kona, Hawaii. Kona does not have a pier where cruise ships can dock, so the ship had to drop anchor in the middle of the harbor. That meant we had to use the ship’s lifeboats as “tenders” to shuttle passengers from the ship to land. We signed up for a “History of Kona” excursion that was to start at 10:30AM. Our tickets, however, told us that we all had to meet in the main theater at 9AM, which was 1-1/2 hours before the excursion was to begin! I thought that was strange. But, we went to the theater at 8:45am and took a seat, with what appeared to be about 200 other people. They announced a few excursion groups that allowed many to disembark, and it seemed like everything was going smoothly. I thought that Carnival really knows its business and had this disembarking system down to a science! Sure enough, at 9AM, they announced that our excursion group could head to the tend...

Saturday, February 24, 2024 Kauai, Hawaii Today we joined one of the best optional tours we have ever been on in the over 1 dozen cruises we have been on. I do not count yesterday‘s visit to the PCC as an optional tour, because that was not actually organized through the cruise company; I don’t know how any optional tour could ever beat that!. We were gone from 8:30am until 4:30pm, traveling by tour bus and flat-bottom boat to several places here in Kauai. We traveled about an hour or more to Hawaii’s version of the Grand Canyon in the Waimea State Park . It is considerably smaller than its Arizona cousin, but incredibly beautiful. Next we traveled down to the ocean to see the Spouting Horn Park. There are holes in the lava rock by the ocean, and when the waves hit the shore, some of the water travels into the underground tubes and into the holes to make it look like a geyser. Not quite Old Faithful, which we saw last May, but impressive nevertheless. Our tour guide said that ...

Friday, February 23, 2024 Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii This day did not start out very well! We were supposed to disembark the ship at 9:15am, but for some reason, we were delayed until 10:30am. No explanations, no apologies. Very frustrating and annoying! We had hoped to get to the Pearl Harbor Memorial by 10am, enjoy a couple of hours leisurely exploring the sites there, and then take an hour’s drive to the Polynesian Cultural Center. However, we did not get to Pearl Harbor until after 11am and we felt quite rushed to see just a part of what we had wanted to see. We had a reservation to visit the USS Arizona Memorial but we missed our reserved time slot. But luckily we were able to join another group without too much delay. That was a very moving experience, much like visiting Hiroshima in Japan. There is not much to see at the USS Arizona Memorial, but there certainly is a sobering spirit about it. We had hoped to take a self-guided audio tour of Pearl Harbor. However, after ge...

Wednesday, February 21, 2024 Aboard the Carnival Miracle, Pacific Ocean, Just East of the Hawaiian Islands Today was a beautiful, sunny, warm day on board the Carnival Miracle. It feels like we have finally escaped winter and have entered spring! Even the seas were relatively calm. The Beatles song, Here Comes The Sun, comes to mind. One of the things we love about cruising is the plethora of music venues scattered about the ship. Throughout the day and especially in the evening, musicians playing all sorts of different music can be found everywhere - poolside, outside on the decks, in the many bars and lounges, and in the main theater where there is a musical show or 2 every night. Anne and I especially enjoy going to the evening show in the theater after dinner and then going bar hopping! We review the calendar’s list of events and can choose to listen to country music, modern rock, 60s, 70s, 80s classic rock, Motown, violinists playing various genres, and even an Irish couple...

Tuesday, February 20, 2024 Aboard the Carnival Miracle, Pacific Ocean Today the seas returned to relative normalcy. The captain announced that the swells were still around 10 feet high, but the wind was much calmer (though strong). For the past 3 days, all passengers have been confined to the inside of the ship. Deck 10, which is entirely outside and exposed to the elements, has been closed. But today the captain lifted the restriction and we were able to go fully outside. Must have been that 5 bucks I slipped him when we had our photo taken with him last night. Anne and I enjoyed a pleasant walk around Deck 10, which goes around the perimeter of the ship. It was a bit windy, especially walking into the wind, but walking in the opposite direction was…a breeze! This morning we attended a Hawaiian language class. We are not exactly fluent in the language yet, but at least we can say Hello, See you later, Thank you, and No problem. That is, we can say those expressions, some animal w...

Monday, February 19, 2024 Aboard the Carnival Miracle, East Pacific Ocean Today we continued our rockin’ roller coaster ride on the Carnival Miracle, and I suppose it is a Miracle that we are still afloat! Just kidding - it’s not that serious! But the captain did announce that the wave swells were 12 to 15 feet, and I could feel each and every one of them! As the ship climbed up the crest of a wave, it felt like I had suddenly put on an additional 200 pounds of weight, momentarily causing me to vow to cut back on my food consumption on this cruise! But as we slid down the other side of the wave, I immediately banished that obscene idea as I felt as light as a feather, almost weightless. What a ride! Today was Presidents’ Day onbaord the Carnival Miracle. To honor this special occasion, the ship held a traditional, old fashioned Presidents’ Day Trivia Contest. Sample Question: What are George Washington’s wooden dentures made of? A. Wood B. Human teeth C. Animal teeth D. Meta...

Sunday, February 18, 2024 Aboard the Carnival Miracle, East Pacific Ocean This morning I slept in until almost 8am! In the “real world” if I did such an irresponsible thing, I would feel guilty, like I was completely wasting away my day. But the amazing thing about being on a cruise is that I did not feel the slightest bit of guilt whatsoever! This is the life! Is THIS the real world?! Yesterday when we checked in to the cruise, I asked the checkin staff if it was possible to get a cabin upgrade to a larger room. After all, I explained, how could Carnival possibly deny such a request from this cute, young couple celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary on their ship? We were told that it might very well be possible because the ship was only carrying about 2,200 passengers (out of capacity of over 3,000). We were told we should check with Guest Services after boarding the ship. We waited in line almost an hour, only to be told that we would have to come back after 5pm to se...

Saturday, February 17, 2024 Aboard the Carnival Miracle, North Pacific Ocean We spent a few quiet hours with Douglas and Stephanie’s family this morning in Newport Beach. Then we hopped on a Lyft and went to the cruise port in Long Beach, California where our beautiful ship, the Carnival Miracle, was waiting for us…along with close to 3,000 other people. Our checkin went without incident, and by 12pm we were relaxing on the deck by a pool, enjoying a delicious buffet lunch (Guy’s Burgers, a Carnival Cruise staple) while listening to a couple of musicians serenade us with oldies but goodies music. It’s good to be back onboard a cruise ship again, since our Christmas cruise 2 months ago! Around 1:30pm we could get into our ocean-view balcony cabin on the 7th floor, and after a delightful nap, our suitcases arrived at our room. We spent some time unpacking and getting our room organized just so, before we took a tour of the ship. We both agreed that this is going to be...

Friday, February 16, 2024 Newport Beach, California Today Anne and I started our 50th Wedding Anniversary Jubilee Celebration! Actually, our 50th Wedding Anniversary will be July 20, 2024. But we are starting this Jubilee Celebration in February. We flew to Southern California this afternoon, and we will stay one night with our son’s family here in Newport Beach. Tomorrow we will board the Carnival Miracle cruise ship for a 15-night cruise to Hawaii and back. I suppose it’s an appropriate name for the ship. Indeed, it’s a Miracle that Anne has been able to put up with me for these 50 years! We will spend 5 days traveling from Long Beach, California to the Hawaiian Islands and visit 5 islands. Finally, we will cruise back to California, with a stop at the island of Ensenada, Mexico. Twenty-five years ago, we celebrated our 25th Anniversary in Maui, Hawaii. So it’s appropriate that we celebrate our 50th in Hawaii, too! We enjoyed a delightful evening with Douglas and Stepha...