Aloha! We have just finished up with our Hawiian portion of our cruise and had a fabulous time! We saw Honolulu, Lahaina, and Kona over the course of three days. We had great weather and definitely are a few shades darker after spending so much time in the sun!
Honolulu, Oahu: DAY 1
After being at sea for five days, we were excited to be on land for two days in Honolulu. Since we arrived a day early, we didn’t have much planned for our first day there. Dad decided he would not ride his bike the first day and the three of us would walk into town together. “Walk into town” makes it sound like this was a short stroll, a little jaunt at most. When in reality, we walked 12 KILOMETRES. (To be fair, that includes the walk BACK, but still). Spencer and I were not prepared for this, so he was in flip flops, I was in chacos, and by the time we were halfway into town, I was already walking in bare feet and Spencer had blisters. All part of the fun. Despite the footwear challenges, the walk was beautiful. The streets are clean, the people are friendly, and the scent of fresh flowers wafts in the ocean breeze. I tried to focus on this aspect of Hawaii instead of cursing the long walk to Waikiki Beach through the industrial areas of Honolulu.
Eventually, we made it to the beach and it was just as I remembered it. Clear crystal water, white sand, and lots of people buzzing about. We were all so tired and our feet (read: Spencer and I’s feet) needed a break! So we stopped for a drink at a restaurant that overlooked the ocean and had a perfect view of Diamond Head. Spencer paid $13 USD for a pina colada but it was worth it for the view alone. Afterwards, Spencer and I went swimming in the ocean while Dad sat in the shade and people-watched. The water felt like a bath tub it was so warm!
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| Waikiki Beach |
Then, we began the journey back home. By foot. I’m still not quite sure why we didn’t just get a bus. I mean, it’s not like we didn’t know how far it was going to be. But, once I’ve done something halfway, I feel like I need to finish it. In order to reduce the wear and tear on our feet, Spencer and I switched shoes. One of the things I love about being married to Spencer is that we can share clothes, including footwear. So I put on his flip flops, and he wore my chacos. There are men’s and women’s chacos, but I think Spenny pulled mine off pretty well!
As we were walking back, we had to ask for directions. When the locals heard where we were going, they kept saying “That’s a long way, though!” and I would say “Yes, we know, we walked into town from the same place already today. Can you just tell me if we are headed in the right direction?” and they would repeat “That’s a long WAY though!!!”. Anyway, we eventually made it back after a few water breaks and several back and forth switching of Spencer and I’s footwear.
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| Didn't realize this is what I looked like for the whole walk back..Thanks, guys. |
Honolulu, Oahu: DAY 2
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| Putting the bike together |
The big adventure of Day 2 in Honolulu was getting Dad’s bike off the ship. For those of you who don’t follow me on Instagram, Holland America has a new rule that they don’t allow bicycles onboard. They are considered a “prohibited item”. This is a new thing and Dad would not have booked the cruise if he had known this beforehand. In the past, he brings his full size bike on board, and goes cycling in each port, bringing the bike on and off the ship and storing it in his stateroom without an issue. However, before we left, Dad decided to bring his collapsable bike (what I refer to as his “clown bike” because the wheels are so small). He put it in a suitcase and it made it on the ship without any issues. However, we weren’t sure how it was going to play out taking it on and off the ship. (Ship security is similar to airport security, so every time you come on the ship, you have to put your items through an x-ray machine and go through a metal detector). We had many many many discussions about the different ways this could go and how we would deal with the different scenarios. Strategies included:
1. We play dumb and just act like we didn’t know that you couldn’t bring bikes on. Does ship security even know about this new rule? Perhaps they, themselves think making a bicycle a prohibited item is silly and don’t care either way. (The problem here is, of course, that if ship security does confiscate the bike then we are out of luck).
2. We could get ahead of it and pre-emptively ask the hotel director if we can bring on the bike, being that it’s collapsable and won’t cause any disruption to other guests. Surely if we are honest about it from the beginning, they will make something work. (Dad vetoed this immediately because…he’s Dad).
3. Go with the whole “I’m a 3 star mariner and I’ve cruised on Holland America a million times, this has never been an issue and I am never going to come back if you don’t let me bring my bike on!!!”. Cruise ships never like to have unhappy customers. Surely, they don’t want a guest complaining, especially one that has been loyal to Holland America over the years. (The problem with this of course was, Dad would have to be aggressive with strangers and…I feel like that’s not his strength. He agreed.)
4. Ok, Ok, there’s a bunch of old people on this ship, right? With walkers, wheelchairs, scooters etc. We say it’s a mobility device! Mobility devices are exempt! Correction: it’s a land mobility device. He only needs it on land, not on a moving ship. Problem solved...
You’re not going to believe this, but we ended up using Strategy #4 and it has been successful. To be fair, it is technically a mobility device that helps my Dad move around on land. He just had surgery on his ankle (he is always prepared to show security his scar if they question it. This has never been necessary), so walking more than…well, let’s say 12 km can be tough for him. As we walk off the ship, security asks to look inside the bag and, well, it does look like some sort of wheelchair because the seat is buried deep in the bag and it has small wheels. We even ramped up our commitment to this strategy and Spencer now carries the bag for his “poor, crippled, father-in-law” who is literally wearing cycling shoes. It’s actually quite hilarious- when they ask Spencer what’s in the bag, the words “It’s a land mobility device for my father-in-law” just rolls of his tongue. Like a “land mobility device” is an actual thing.
The most hilarious part of all of this to me was Dad walking off the ship with it for the first time and telling me “you can barely notice it”.
It reminds me of a show I used to watch as a kid called, “The Big Comfy Couch” where every item in the show was oversized. This is the oversized canvas grocery bag that Dad carries around with a small (but very heavy) bicycle inside.
Anyway, the point is, Dad can spend his days riding his bicycle and outsmart the system at the same time. Win/Win.
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| Happy Camper! |
Spencer and I spent our second day in Honolulu checking out the “Ross: Dress For Less”. It was fabulous. Weirdly, Spencer didn’t seem to think this was the highlight of the day. Then, we took the bus (couldn’t do another 12 km walking day) into Waikiki, went to a cafe, walked around downtown, and drank champagne while appreciating a beautiful view of the ocean.
Lahina, Maui
We had plans to rent a car in Lahaina and do the Road to Hanna. However, when we got off the ship, it turned out that the car rental place that was supposedly right in the main town square was actually a 12 minute drive away. And we were not walking on the highway to get there. So, Spencer and I walked around downtown Lahaina which is so quaint! We went in and out of shops, art galleries, and souvenir shops after getting iced coffee from a little kiosk. We then found a beautiful hidden beach where we spent the afternoon laying in the shade under a tree. We usually start looking for a happy hour somewhere as soon as 2:00 hits. It is too hot to be in the sun and a perfect time to cool off. We found a great spot overlooking the ocean and we had some chardonnay. It was wonderful. 
Meanwhile, Dad was cycling up mountains in the hot sun. I don’t have many pictures from him because he says "it’s too hot to take pictures". Anyway, it was a beautiful day for all three of us!
Kona, Hawaii (Big Island)
Kona is famous for one thing: coffee! So of course, the first thing we did when we got off the ship was get coffee and it was delicious. I got an iced coffee with homemade island honey and macadamia nut syrup so that was a treat! Spencer went snorkelling while I laid on the beach. We were fortunate that there was a little cove right by the tender drop-off point so we were able to spend most of our day relaxing. We walked to Kona’s “downtown” where we had another coffee and used the internet. And then it was happy hour time! Although, as you can see, almost all of our hours are happy ones here. We went to a little bar, had a drink, and then met Dad back at the tender port. (We always get off the ship and on the ship together because of the bike situation). Dad was definitely…tired. And hot. And sweaty. And described his day on the bike as “punishing”. My response, of course is: “Well Dad it’s hot, but I mean it’s not that hot”. He loves this. He basically spent the day cycling in the blazing sun surrounded by black asphalt and lava rocks. He was doing the iron man cycling route (I guess Kona is famous for hosting the iron man too, not just coffee). He wasn’t able to do the full route due to time constraints and, well, the crazy hot temperatures but as I told him, he definitely rode more than any other person on the ship. He did not re-apply sunscreen as often as he should’ve during the day, so he got a little sun burned and was very tired. Thankfully, he knew he had five sea days to look forward to before he was out on the bike again.
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| Our view of the ship while we caught up on some work! |
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| The man choosing to bike instead of going to the beach. |
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| Happy to be snorkelling! |
Our evenings are spent going to the dining room and seeing the show each night. I thought Spencer and Dad had reached their max when it came to ordering food (5 appetizers, two soups, two mains etc.) but now Dad has taken it to the next level and orders TWO of the SAME appetizer (in addition to the other four). The two of them are still getting along splendidly and my Dad has now introduced Spencer to the wonderful world of prunes. Yes, you read that right: prunes. Spencer is now apparently obsessed with them. My dad had to tell him to take it easy. To quote him, “I have to limit myself to three a day”. Other than prunes, however, Dad does not limit his food intake at all. In the morning, he usually has three plates from the buffet (that he carries all at once which is quite embarrassing. Why go up multiple times when you can get it ALL in ONE trip??). Anyway, he told us about this one time that he got his porridge and fruit. My dad’s strategy is to put his porridge in a bowl which he then puts on a big plate. Then, he fills the surrounding area around the bowl with as much fruit as possible. It’s like a wreath of fruit around a bowl of mush. THEN, as his final item is half of a grapefruit, he usually has nowhere to put it, so he just puts it on top of his porridge. (See picture).
Anyway, one day he set down his tray and noticed that on his right hand side, there was another plate that looked exactly the same as his! He thought, “Wow, this person really knows what they’re doing - finally someone understands how to work this buffet!”. Then he realized it was a mirror. He was looking at his own plate in a mirror.
On that note, I will say goodbye! We hope you are all doing well and send our best wishes from the high seas!
Love,
Annika
P.S As I mentioned before, my mom LOVED Hawaii. She went so many times in her life and always talked about how much she enjoyed each trip there. So here's a little pic of my beautiful mumsie on one of her many trips to these beautiful islands! We miss you and love you!
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| <3 |
