Day One
We docked in downtown Honolulu at pier II right next to the Aloha Tower. (by now we were experts at noting landmarks for locating the ship!) After more than two months away it felt very good to be back in the US. Aside from declaring as citizens rather than visitors, there were some other benefits to being back home. Like cell phone reception, currency literacy, and an overabundance of signage. After clearing the USDA Beagle Brigade (no food off the ship!) I struck out on my own without a plan or goal. I was just looking to experience that sweet air and temperate breeze.
I ended up finding a couple of guys from the ship at Kakaʻako Waterfront Park where we took the lead from local kids to swim, play, and jump from dangerous slippery rocks. After swimming, on the way back to the Universe Explorer we took the view from the top of Aloha Tower.
After lunch aboard the ship I struck out again, this time with the intention to hike up Punchbowl Crater to see the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. It’s only a two mile trek, but it turns out that Punchbowl is an extinct volcano and is a pretty good sized climb. It took me a little longer than I expected to wind my way through the city and around the crater to the top. It doesn’t seem like they expected many pedestrians from the lack of sidewalk and I did get a golfcart ride from a thoughtful guard near the top. It is a beautiful and somber memorial to those who have sacrificed their lives in service to their country.
The walk back down went much more quickly, and good thing because I was signed up to experience a luau that evening. The excursion hustled us across to the western side of O’ahu to Paradise Cove Luau. The place was obviously a mass-tourism experience and felt a bit artificial as a result, but in retrospect it was actually a very nice and fun event. There were lots of activities (lei making, limbo, fishing) and hula and fire dancing shows with music and good food to enjoy in the sandy beach atmosphere.
Day Two
The next day I linked up with my parents again, they had rented a car with the intention of seeing more of the island. We took a trip to nearby Pearl Harbor and saw the Battleship Missouri and Arizona Memorial. Very interesting relics of an age past, where having the biggest guns on the deck won the day.
After that, we drove North across the center of the island and stopped at the Dole plantation to see where pineapples are born. It was a nice little diversion on our road trip. They had a fine botanical garden, hedge maze, and gift shop!
We continued North to the North Shore of the O’ahu and stopped off in various beaches like Shark’s Cove to get a glimpse of the rockier and more harrowing wave action on that side. We passed the afternoon enjoying each other’s company and the locale. We drove around the Eastern side of the island seeing landmarks like Kaiona Beach and Halona Blowhole to wrap things up.
Day Three
The next day Dad and I took the rental car over to Diamond Head Crater to do an early morning climb up the aging defensive installation steps. It was an early morning and the climb was not insignificant. But the view at the top was spectacular, with Waikiki beach on one side and Black Point stretching out on the other. We were treated first to a rainbow and then a spectacular cloudbreak pouring beams down onto the water.
I had an excursion booked for that day to the Lyon Arboretum and I saw many exotic flowers and plants, capturing interesting photographs of many of them. I tried a local fruit at the behest of our guide and it was… not great? I don’t remember.
I filled the rest of the afternoon by traveling down to Waikiki Beach and walking the length of it and back. It was beautiful, yet crowded. I think that the solitude and peace is really big part of what make a great beach for me. So even one as gently sloping into mild water with soft white sand as this left a little to be desired.
After that it was our LAST dock time, and some folks seemed to want to press as late as they possibly could.
The next port of call for Semester at Sea is