Day 24 of 111. Oahu, Hawaii
The last stop on our tour was the Dole Plantation. It is almost like a Disneyland with a train ride, a huge maze, and best of all soft serve pineapple ice cream (just like at the Enchanted Tiki Room at Disneyland). Coming into the parking lot, our guide pointed out the interesting bark of the tree. He called it Rainbow ______ (I forget). We saw a beautiful Hawaiian quilt as well. I made the mistake of sampling the coconut/mango hand sanitizer… I still smell like a fruit salad. It was a terrific day. We are onboard now and leaving Hawaii. I can see Diamondhead out my stateroom window. Aloha!
Day 24 of 111. Oahu, Hawaii
The next few stops sort of blended together for me. Justin, our guide, was very knowledgeable about the nature we were seeing as well as the history and culture of the island. Some of the highlights for this section was driving by the Kualoa Ranch which has been the background for many motion pictures including Jurassic Park, Godzilla, 50 First Dates, and many others. We passed a beach where Tatoo used to say “Ze Plane, Ze Plane”. We saw big red leaves which come from the tropical almond tree and lots of chickens because they are one of the pre-contact (pre-Capt. Cook) species which are protected by Hawaiian law.
We also stopped at Sunset Beach where a surfing competition just finished and another beach where we saw a green sea turtle. We are not allowed to touch or disturb the turtles for the turtle’s sake, but also because you can get nasty diseases from them (chlamidia, herpes, and salmonella). This turtle had a herpes growth on its neck. More interesting from a distance. We also passed an interesting-looking McDonalds restaurant because the region required all businesses to fit into the old town look.
We stopped for lunch at Fumi’s Shrimp Farm and Drive In. I actually had Chicken Katsu (because I really like chicken katsu) but what caught my eye was the graffiti or messages left by pst visitors on the leaves of the large tree over the picnic tables. For dessert, I got to try Rainbow Hawaiian shaved ice. The white ball of ice was pulled out of a freezer and onto it was squirted blue (vanilla), yellow (pineapple), and red (strawberry) syrups. I was impressed at the great color mixing going on as the syrups dispersed through the ice. Lovely and tasty.
Day 24 of 111. Oahu, Hawaii
We are on an excursion today called the sights and tastes of North Shore. We wanted to get a chance to see some of the sights outside of the city. Our ship is docked near Chinatown next to the Aloha Tower, but this bus trip today will visit some beaches and the Dole Plantation. Our first stop (and probably my favorite) was the Byodo-In Buddhist Temple. It is located above a cemetery and there are several different buildings from various religions located here. The temple itself is beautiful and you can sense the serenity and peacefulness when you enter the grounds. As you make your way around a large circular walk, you first come across a huge bell… probably 12 feet high. There is a log on ropes you can use to ring the bell. It’s deep resonanting sound is soothing rather than jarring.
A short walk farther along the circle brings you to a Koi pond just below a meditation gazebo. Again, I enjoyed the quiet time watching the fish swim and hearing the bell in the background. The main temple was next. Out of respect, we were asked to remove our shoes. Inside there was a large statue of Buddah looking down on the visitors. Some of the other visitors burned incense so the temple had a pleasant smell as well as a quiet and peaceful ambiance. After the temple, I felt a need to rush since we promised to be back on the bus at a certain time. A quick stop in the bathroom and an even quicker look inside the gift shop was followed by a brisk walk back to our little bus. I did stop to take a picture of a yellow hibiscus flower with a red center… the Hawaiian state flower.
Day 23 of 111. Honolulu, Hawaii
Being in Hawaii, we HAD to attend a luau (Hawaiian for Party). A free drink was included with the meal and one of the choices was a Blue Hawaiian which I never had before. It was pretty and pretty tasty (but not very strong, luckily). The food was great. We tried a little of everything, including the poi which tastes pretty good when used as a dip for the pork. The dancers were fun to watch and the end of the show included a fire dancer who was excellent. It was a very fun party.
Day 23 of 111. Honolulu, Hawaii
This morning, we took a tour of the Arizona Memorial and the Battleship, Missouri. In Pearl Harbor, there are several memorials associated with the bombing on December 7, 1941. The battleships that were harbored there were named after states of the union. The Arizona was hit with a bomb from the surprise attack by the Japanese that ignited the ammunition on the ship and killed over 900 men. The ship is the grave for these men and a white memorial was erected above the ship. It is a very somber trip to visit the site and most people mill around and you can see that they are pondering the events that led to that memorial.
We next went to the Battleship, Missouri (Big MO) that was the site of the surrender of the Japanese to the Allied Forces. The document of surrender was signed on the ship and we were able to see the spot where it happened. These two sites represent the beginning and the end of World War II. There was a place to eat next to the Missouri, so we split a Loco Moko which is a couple of scoops of rice with brown gravy, a hamburger patty and a fried egg. We split one serving because it is pretty heavy, but tasty.