Fun in Honolulu and on board the ship

Two of the landmarks of Honolulu, the clock tower near the port and the statute of King Kamehameha in downtown, were seen while on the bus tour that returned us to the ship.

Paulette at Germaines Luau honored Cathy Robnik. We were late to the luau because of road construction but they waited for our van to arrive before the luau began. Because we accompanied Cathy, we were given the best-reserved seatsat the luau. I felt like I was accompanying either royalty or a movie star. The hula dancers and the man who used lighted torches in his dance were accomplished performers.

On the ship, we were treated to a reserved table which is the largest one in the dining room so all fourteen of us could sit together for the two hour gourmet meals. l to r are Craig, Don & Suzy, Fran & Bill, Jack & Jeannie and my back. In the other picture are Sharon & Ron, Cathy & John and Laurette & Craig. Terry took the pictures.

If you didn't want the fancy lobster, escargot, lamb, prime rib, or deserts of Cherries Jublilee, Crepe Suzette or Baked Alaska; you could order steak and ice cream off the left side of the menu. When I asked the group what was the best part of the trip, they agreed that it was spending two hours together every night with good friends and good food.

USS Arizona Memorial

The next day in Honolulu we visited the USS Arizona Memorial to WWII veterans. Many Japanese were also visitors. I spoke to one of the young couples who were waiting for the theater to open before riding the boat to see the memorial. When I asked what he thought of the memorial he indicated in broken English that it was a victory for the Japanese. I said, "In my opinion, Nagasaki and Hiroshima would never have happened if the Pearl Harbor had not happened." They nodded their heads. We took each others pictures and waved when we saw each other again.
There were no Miller relatives on the Navy ships when Pearl Harbor was attacked but Terry’s father, Bill Miller, joined the Navy on December 9, 1941 and was immediately sent to Honolulu to clean it up. On the back wall is a list of Navy personnel who didn’t survive including several Millers. Oil on the water was a poignant reminder that the effects of this war are still with us.

The Island of OAHU

In Honolulu, we rented a car with Cathy and John Robnik and drove around the island.

Most of the flowers that are pictured are from the Dole Pineapple gardens. Wildlife included the gecko and snail.

We saw the surfers and big waves at the bonsai pipeline and other beaches. Fran and Bill Rayner joined us for a shrimp lunch at a roadside shrimp farm.

The Island of Maui

On the Island of Mauri, we drove fifty miles of curves as we traveled along the cliffs that bordered the beaches of white, brown or black sand to Hana. The jungle foliage, flowers and waterfalls were magnificent. We saw red and yellow birds whose feathers are attached to the instruments the hula dancers use. It surprised us to see ducks and chickens running wild in state parks.

Terry and I went on a glass-bottomed boat and saw Spinner Dolphins, colorful small fish and coral reeves. Humpback whales and baby humpback calves were so close to the lookout parking spot that we could hear their tails and fins splash as they hit the water.

Trip to Hawaiian Islands

Terry and I left San Diego on February 28, 2009 for a fifteen-day cruise to Hawaii with seven couples that belong to the Boomers club.

On Hilo, the east port of the "big Island" of Hawaii, we went on a tour of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. We saw volcanic steam and black cinders. It reminded me so much of the area around Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park. It even had the same putrid sulfur smell as Yellowstone. Everywhere you look there are beautiful tropical flowers. As we sailed to Kailua-Kona, on the other side of the island, we saw distant fire as the red lava flowed into the Pacific Ocean.

The first thing we saw in the port city of Kailua-Kona was a little grass hut. Terry and I wandered in the 1837 Mokuaikaua church where a docent was explaining Hawaiian history. Across the street, on the grounds of the Hulihee Palace, we watched as artists were painting various aspects of the palace. We couldn’t go inside because it is being renovated from damage from past storms.

Hummingbirds and other Fowl

We were able to boondock under the tree we had spotted in our search for prime camping areas. We were high enough to see the lake on the left side of our RV and the canal on the right while being only a few feet off the road. There were few cars or RVs traveling at night so there wasn’t any noise. The sunny days provided great solar power so we didn’t even turn on the generator.

Since we wanted to photograph the hummingbirds, Terry bought a hummingbird feeder. Normally we don’t feed wildlife since animals that are dependent on humans for food starve when the humans leave the area. However Terry said that that they were eating off the octillio cactus flowers and citrus trees so they shouldn’t have problems finding nectar.

We had many blurred pictures but did succeed in these good photos of the birds around Mittrey Lake.

This week we are preparing for our Hawaii cruise. I get off the ship in the morning and board the airplane for Iowa in the afternoon on the 15th of March so I will have a busy day. In Iowa, I will be attending my granddaughter’s wedding. When I return to my computer, I should have many photos. Aloha!

Yuma Arizona Area

We traveled around the Yuma Lakes Campground in our Suzuki toad looking for a boondock area for February 15 when our 14-day limit is up in the campground. Our plans are to return to the campground for a week and then put the RV in storage and drive the toad to San Diego for a 15 day cruise to Hawaii. When we return to San Diego, I will board a plane for Iowa for my granddaughter Amanda’s wedding.

The ground around here is sandy, uneven and mountainous except for the flat areas with canals running through it. Large areas of lettuce, cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower are grown on the flat fields. Citrus and date groves flourish near the canals. It is amazing to see brown uneven ground on one side of the road while the other side of the road is irrigated and green.

A farmer, Loren Pratt, built a little church with six one-person pews in memory of his wife Lois. Inside the church is a framed prayer, “I especially thank you for my wife, Lois. She has been a true helpmate as we farmed and raised a family together. I pray that many others will use this church to count the blessings you have given them.”

In past years we have pulled off the road just outside the campground and boondocked for our week out in the area called Gilligan’s Island but this year the area seems to be under new jurisdiction and RVers stay for months on the same spot. It is crowded.

We drove to a long term area where people pay the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) to stay for up to 7 months. This costs $180 a year. You do not get electricity but can fetch clean water and dump your black water. Some people use a lot of ingenuity to provide power. In the picture, this man uses wind power, solar power and even has a solar oven and fire pit. Others make sun shields and extend their living in their patios. The little RV attached to this RV is either to provide a guest room or more likely is a hobby/storage area.

The area we found that is nice to boondock in is 7 miles from our campground in an area called Mittry Lake. The time you can RV there is limited to 10 days a calendar year. You can park near the water and see palm trees. A ruby hummingbird flew to greet us in the area of this tree. Can you find it? We couldn’t either but bought a hummingbird feeder so maybe we will get lucky enough to see it again. If we are fast enough we may even get to photograph it.

Boomers

Terry and I spent the last two weeks of January boondocking in the desert near Quartzsite, AZ with more than 147 RV’s, which belonged to the Boomer BOF of Escapees Club.

Boomers like to eat and have fun so the activities centered on those themes. We not only had Happy Hours with snacks, a pot luck dinner, a chili lunch, two wiener roasts, a wine and cheese tasting, pancakes in the morning fixed by Gretchen 2 but we even had pizza fixed in a clay oven and food fixed in Dutch ovens.

Evenings were spent by the fire circle with one night of singing and dancing to 50’s and 60’s songs. A traditional “Geraldine” contest was held.

Meetings were held on techy subjects such as solar power and boondocking. Women held special meetings on women’s issues. The writers had two meetings where we learned more about each other and practiced writing. Crafts, especially beading, was done by several women.

The weather was beautiful with glorious sunsets and even a rainbow after the one dust-settling shower.