Our port of call for the next two days is the state's capital Honolulu on the island of Oahu. It is the largest city of the Hawaiian Islands. The state flower is the hibiscus, the state's tree is the kukui, the bird is the Nene goose, and the fish is a triggerfish called humuhumukunukauapua'a or......humuhumu for short.
Skyscrapers and sandy shorelines describe downtown well. You can head to the mountains to see waterfalls and rainforests with hiking and biking trails. A "must see" is a visit to the Pearl Harbor Memorial and USS Arizona Memorial to pay tribute to the 2390 military and civilians that were killed in the December 7th, 1941 attack. We can guarantee that an excursion here will be something you will remember forever. We also visited the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum, the Aviation Museum, and the Battleship Missouri Memorial.
A few tours offered on our two- day stay here were the Waikiki Turtle Canyon Snorkel trip for 3 hours and $190. The hop-on hop-off trolley (aka ho-ho-bus) was $96 with four stops, and enough time to see these sights. Waikiki on your own was 5.5 hours for $50 to shop, dine, or just relax on a beach somewhere.
The Zaandam sailed into the harbor by 6:30am and was docked portside by 8am. We were not thrilled to be portside to the terminal, since normally we are docked starboard and we have the view of the harbor traffic and the sunsets. As it turned out, if we ignored the roof of the terminal the view beyond it was nice. We stayed onboard working online until the major inspection by the US Coast Guard began at 9:30am. This was a big one and the Captain had mentioned it yesterday hoping it would not disrupt the cruise too much. By 10am, we had had enough of the whistleblowing and left the ship for our long hike to Waikiki and beyond. We estimated the walk was 5 miles, more or less.
It was going to be a hot day town with temperatures near 80 degrees, 73% humidity and 6.9 mph winds. Light rain was in the forecast, but it was not a factor today. Of course, we packed umbrellas and that would ensure no rain would fall. For the first time ever, we spotted a table inside the terminal entrance with three pumper bottles of something. Looking closer, they were two types of sunscreen (30 and 50) along with a bottle of aloe vera for sunburn. Great idea but hoping that no one had an allergy to the lotion. We use it every day, so did not take any.
From Pier 2, we passed by several businesses to Kewalo Basin where the opening shots of Gilligan's Island were filmed ages ago. The little marina houses the tour boats and fishing vessels for the tourists. Across the boulevard, we saw what was left of the old Ward Center, the first shopping district of Honolulu years ago. It was in the process of being torn down and hosed with blasting water to keep the dust down. It appeared to be the parking garage at the far end. What will be built in its place is a mystery to us. The property is more than likely worth a mint.
The Ala Moana Beach Park starts here with the canal on one side, grassy fields in the center and beachfront. Some ancient trees exist yere like the baobabs, sausage trees, and banyans. The grassy area is full of birds like the pigeons, small doves, egrets, night herons, chickens and a couple of little non-native red-headed birds. There used to be many more of these imported songbirds, but we only saw two. Maybe they left during the recent tropical storms.
The Ala Moana Mall is across this highway, but we will save that for tomorrow.
Crossing the bridge over the canal, we arrived at the beginning of the Waikiki hotel stretch with towers so high, the ocean was blocked from view. Passing several iconic hotels, we entered the Hilton Hawaiian Village, making a rest visit and then strolling through the hotel lobby, gardens and shops. The pools in the back were full of guests and Waikiki Beach was full of sunbathers getting toasted. A new cafe was being built where the old netted -for- birds restaurant used to be located.
The Atlantis Submarine ride was leaving from a pier here. We were happy to leave the busy sandy beach and head towards Fort DeRussy Beach Park, and the US Army Museum complete with an outdoor display of heavy artillery. Our destination was the Hard Rock Cafe, a few more blocks up from the beach. We were seated upstairs at a table by the railing with a good view of Luxury Row, a string of high-end boutiques across the busy street. We enjoyed a couple of beers and a Coke Zero or two along with a shared Legendary smashed burger with fries. We had to shoo two hungry pigeons away to keep them away from our food. Netting the balcony would be wise here.
The place filled up quickly due to the fact a football game was about to start back east....Chicago we believe. Our timing was good since we left before the patrons got too loud and crazy. There is a Tommy Bahama store next door, so we made a stop there and found a nice new silk shirt to purchase.
Knowing that we will be here again tomorrow, we decided to take a taxi back to the pier. With five days of ports in a row, we had to save energy to do it all. We were back onboard by 3pm, only to find that there were two JLG rigs with the ship's workers painting the ship's aft side. The noise from the dual beeping lifts was most annoying for those of us that like to relax on the veranda. I needed ear plugs which I could not locate. There were many of us out on the verandas and most all of us retreated inside the rooms. Calling the front desk did no good since no one was answering the phone. I gave up after 20 minutes of waiting. I just wanted to know when the noise would stop. It continued into the dark of night and did not stop until 8pm or so. Want to bet they will be back tomorrow morning? And yes, they were.
Dinner for us was supposed to be in the Pinnacle Grill, but knowing the staff might want to go onshore, we cancelled our 8pm reservation. There were a few items we liked on the regular menu, so it wasn't a big deal. One of us ordered the wonton soup, and the other salad. We both had the Gochujang braised pork ribs which were dripping with the best BBQ sauce. Two light desserts were tiramisu ice cream and one small parfait glass with assorted fruit. Showtime featured The Drums of Polynesia with the spirit and cultures of both Hawaiian and Polynesian song and dance. We have seen this rousing show several times and found it fun.
Bill & Mary Ann