We had a quick breakfast at the Horizon Court and at 9:00 headed down to meet a group for our first excursion. After boarding a bus we were on our way to Akaka Falls. At 422 feet its a nice visit, except for 400 plus steps to get to it and back. The vegetation was amazing and our guide Cliff seemed to know not only the name of each tree but what country it came from. I didn't mention to Cliff that Multnomah Falls at home in Oregon is 620 feet.
Next stop was a rain forest zoo. Apparently one side of the island gets 120 plus inches of rain, which makes it the rain forest side. For years this was sugar cane country, both growing and processing. But, as often happens Third World countries (Cliff words) did it cheaper and now it's gone. Anyway, I don't remember the name of the park, but we needed more time than the tour allowed to have a good visit. Last stop was the Mauna Loa Macadamias farm. They have over 2,500 trees, a processing plant and visitor/sales center. We left with a six pack of their finest dry roasted.
It was a long day and we were in bed at 7:30.
Friday - Going to bed that early guarantees getting up early and for me that meant about 5:00. A trip out to the balcony revealed lots of stars and the lights of Honolulu off in the distance. We didn't have an excursion, but there was a plan. First, we had ordered breakfast in our cabin and that showed up about 7:30. This was to be Barb's day at the Ala Moana shopping center
We headed off the ship about 9:00, planning to find a shuttle, bus or cab. In the end we walked the three miles, switching to the shady side of the street when we could in what was becoming a hot and humid day. Ala Moana is a four story shopping center, with three floors of stores and a fourth floor of restaurants. We covered it all and it's all open air. I was hot and tired when Barb called time out for lunch.
Without hesitation we headed for Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, a place we had never been. Barb opted for Shrimp New Orleans, which was about a dozen shrimp broiled with butter, garlic and spices, and served with jasmine rice. She liked it. I had Lt. Dan's Drunken Shrimp, which was chargrilled shrimp and andouille sausage with mashed potatoes and bourbon sauce. I liked it. This was probably the best shrimp meals we've had since Louisiana.
It was during lunch we decided we would not walk back to the ship. We did start by walking to the beach so Barb could stand in the water. She got to about a foot while I took refuge under a nearby tree. Then we started walking in the direction of the ship thinking we would catch a cab. We didn't. Looking at a map I'm guessing we did about 8+ miles in the heat and humidity and it isn't going to get any better. A beer for me and wine for Barb on the balcony turned out to be dinner.
We leave Honolulu at 10:00 tonight headed for Maui.
Aboard the Crown Princess
021° 18' North
157° 51' West
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