Pacific Island Cruise Holland America Noordam Part II
Pago Pago, American Samoa Sunday, April 18, 2016
What a magnificent island of lush green emerald sharp peaked
mountains! A fragrant floral smell filled the air.
Pago Pago was decorated
grandly in red, white, and blue in celebration of becoming an American
Territory…116 years old…back in 1900…even before Hawaii and Alaska became
states.
Poles were wrapped in palm leaves for the celebration.
Pete, our "comedian" guide
The tour buses were decorated with palm leaves...how tropical is that?
Our guide, Pete, entertained us with hilarious Samoan
tales while we took in the tropical views.
We passed the famous Camel Rock….a
natural structure near Lauli’l that resembles a lonely camel out in the sea.
What do you think?
We passed the Star Kist Tuna factory…the smell was magically
changed to something dead…..Pete immediately said, “I didn’t do that!”
Palm trees swayed in the nice ocean breezes. It was so hot
and humid…as long as the bus moved, the natural air conditioning coming from
the open windows pleasantly cooled our moist skin.
The bus stopped at Two Dollar Beach…a nice spot for some
liquid refreshment. We checked out the warm waters and were thoroughly
entertained by a pleasant Samoan singer and a couple of Samoan dancers.
What a gorgeous hibiscus!!!!
With the sun shining, the beautiful blooming flowers, and the relaxing atmosphere….What more could we ask for?
With the sun shining, the beautiful blooming flowers, and the relaxing atmosphere….What more could we ask for?
Just had to dip my toes in to test the water....NICE!
Returning back to the ship midafternoon we met two Samoan
Park Rangers who took several passengers on a video trip through the local
national park which was closed due to landslides from the heavy rains. The
presentation included many of the natural plants and animals on the island. We
were thrilled to see the native fox bats that they spoke of flying over the ship as we left the
harbor.
The sail away was FANTASTIC! A large group of Samoans came
out to sing and dance on the dock as the ship pulled anchor, moving out of the
harbor. Jet skis and small boats
followed beside the ship tooting their horns and waving a final farewell. The emerald green mountains disappeared into
the misty clouds as we floated out to sea for a five day cruise to Honolulu.
So mighty fine!
Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii, United States Saturday, April 23, 2016-Sunday, April 24,
2016
At 6:00AM Saturday morning Larry and I were up to see the
sun rise and enjoy the ride into the Port of Honolulu! Was it beautiful? FOR
SURE!
Honolulu, the capital of Hawaii, is the southernmost major
city in the United States. In contrast to much of Hawaii’s lush natural
scenery, Honolulu boasts an impressive skyline of more than 400 high rises,
ranking fourth in the nation.
Around 9:00AM we walked about
three blocks from the Aloha Clock Tower Pier to King Street. This landed us
right downtown amongst the numerous skyscrapers in the historic section of
Honolulu. Along the way we passed....
Modern architectural Capitol...compared to the dome buildings back east.
Hawaii's Governor's Mansion
From here we caught bus 20 down to the airport to pick up a rental car that zoomed
us out of the city on the H1 connecting with H2 through the interior of Oahu.
We passed fields and fields of sugar cane, coffee plants, and pineapple plants. We took
route 80 and 99 to route 83 reaching the North Shore, famous for the big
surfing waves. Wow… those waves were huge and strong undertow warning signs
were everywhere!
We stopped to watch lots of surfers and take in the
fabulous sunny day.
A green sea turtle was sunning on the beach….we were so happy
to see one on the beach again. We spotted a couple in 2008 when we met our
girls in Hawaii for Christmas.
We reached our destination, Waimea Falls. While having a
little lunch, a band played some great tunes.
A gorgeous botanical garden featuring 41 zones of the world presented over 5,000 different types of plants along the hiking trail to the falls.
We spotted the Hawaiian Moorehen (endangered), the
Red-Crested Cardinal, and a gorgeous Peacock during our hike while passing
through a traditional Hawaiian village.
The falls were gorgeous….many visitors
were swimming below them.
A gorgeous botanical garden featuring 41 zones of the world presented over 5,000 different types of plants along the hiking trail to the falls.
After our hike we stopped at Sunset Beach and then continued on Kamehameha Highway for the most fabulous scenic drive along the East Coast of Oahu!
Lots of families were
fishing and barbecuing along the waterfront. Public access is granted to every
beach on Oahu. We made a full day of touring the island.
This tree had a sign next to it saying it was over a hundred years old.
After a little dinner we drove down H3 returning the car back to the airport, catching the local bus back to the ship around 10:00pm. Whew! What a day! So many magnificent sights! At breakfast the next morning many passengers from the ship were saying what we were thinking….”We gotta pace ourselves a little more.”
After a little dinner we drove down H3 returning the car back to the airport, catching the local bus back to the ship around 10:00pm. Whew! What a day! So many magnificent sights! At breakfast the next morning many passengers from the ship were saying what we were thinking….”We gotta pace ourselves a little more.”
Sunday morning we walked back to King Street to catch bus 19
to Waikiki. Here we walked through the Hilton Hawaiian Village to reach the beach.
What a fantastic walk!
A Hawaiian Festival was going on with outrigger canoe
racing, paddle board racing, surfing contests and all kinds of interesting
entertainment.
Waikiki Beach
We continued our walk along the beachfront until we reached the
fabulous Royal Hawaiian (pink) Hotel.
Royal Hawaiian Hotel
Larry and I always enjoy going here to
reminisce our past trips to Waikiki. When we visited it in 2008, the hotel was going
through a big renovation....after all it was built in 1927. It was so nice to see it looking so fine today.
After a little lunch we caught the bus back to the
ship and enjoyed a relaxing sail away at 5:30.
So long Honolulu!
So long Wakiki and Diamond Head!
Oahu has so many things to do!
We have already decided what we would like to do the next time we visit! OH MY!
Am I being presumptuous?
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada Saturday, April 30, 2016 Happy Birthday Kristy!!!!!
We had a fine morning sailing into Victoria, walking the deck, and enjoying the views of
Washington State starboard side......and
British Columbia's rocky coast on the port side.
The ship tied up to the docks at 12:30pm.
Since we visited Victoria several years ago with Kathy, we had decided to walk downtown along the waterfront later in the evening to catch the government building all lit up.
We left the ship after dinner and strolled along Fisherman's Wharf.....
We passed a mighty fine marina...with lots of fantastic pleasure crafts.
Quaint little floating homes like the one in the movie, "Sleeping in Seattle", dotted the dock area. I have always thought that living on a houseboat would be a great adventure.
Three seals entertained us for a while swimming along the dock.
Larry spotted another Boy Toy for his wish list....every guy should have three engines.
I remembered the flowers being spectacular the last time we visited. They were very much the same this time....absolutely beautiful!
We enjoyed seeing a parade of hotrods.
Totems...signs of the northern culture in Thunderbird Park
The infamous Fairmont Empress Hotel in the heart of the city...such a posh place.
It got dark around 9:00 and the magical lights came on at the Legislature Building.
We enjoyed our walked back to the ship through the city seeing some remarkable Victorian homes.
We got back to the ship in time to watch the funniest movie.."Into the Woods" with Robert Redford and Nick Nolte....about hiking the Appalachian Trail....Did that plant a seed for another Hixson adventure?
The ship pulled anchor and sailed out of Victoria Harbor at 11:30 pm....tomorrow we disembark for a visit in the lovely city of Vancouver.
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Sunday, May, 1, 2016
I was up at 6:00am full of excitement about our visit to Vancouver....luckily just caught the sun rise as we were coming into the dock.
Larry and I had a stop over in Vancouver for a night before going on an Alaskan Cruise a couple of years ago. After one night here we knew that we needed to come back for a longer stay...we instantly fell in love with the area.
The port was greatly organized...it was an easy disembark.
We enjoyed watching the seaplanes take off and land from the ship.
Our home away from home in Vancouver.
The view in front of our condo...these waterfront condos sell for millions.
On our first day in Vancouver we didn't waste any time...the day was gorgeous so we had a nice walk along the waterway. Vancouver is full of hundreds of walking and biking paths. We planned to attempt exploring many of them.
Spotted Canadian Geese nesting
These giant birds were in a local park.
White bleeding hearts....so unusual.
What a cool structure!
This gorgeous sailboat had broke away from its anchor and was left up ended on the rocks as the tide went out....bet the owner was surprised.
Didn't take us long to go on a bike ride around
False Creek...a lovely place to spend the day
Palm trees are a sign of mild winters
Endless man made waterfalls and fountains are found throughout the city.
Casino
BC Place Stadium
Science World
A boating paradise...numerous marinas
Fabulous views of the snowcapped mountains
Bike ride through Stanley Park
Stanley Park
Brockton Point Lighthouse
Inukshuk...mysterious stone figures found within the circumpolar world using unworked stones in the formation of a human.... meaning"someone was here" or "you are on the right path" created by the Inuit as a form of communication.
This particular one on English Bay was created for the 2010 Winter Olympics meaning friendship and welcoming the world.
Totem Pole Park
Lions Gate Bridge leads to Sun to Sea Highway and Whistler Ski Resort....
One of our favorite drives in the world
An evening walk to Granville Island found....
the spring flowers to be magnificent!
Tree Trunk Carvings in Olympic Park
Laughter is the Best Medicine.... Statues of hilarious laughing characters.
Riding the Aqua Bus to Downtown...very brisk morning...brrrr!
2010 Winter Olympic Torch at Canada Place
Gastown, the beginnings of Vancouver... is full of restaurants and bars today.
Area named for "Gassy Jack"(John Deighton)1868....bar owner who liked to talk.
The Famous Steam Clock built in 1977 to take care of a steam vent problem that was occurring on the busy sidewalk in Gastown. The clock has a whistle chime that sounds every 15 minutes.
We rode our bikes to Canada Place to catch the Sea Bus to Longsdale Quay in Northern Vancouver. From there we took Bus 228 and 227 to Lynn Canyon Park.
What a beautiful waterfall from the suspension bridge!
The ferns were really gorgeous and
we enjoyed a great picnic lunch right on the creek.
The snow capped mountains are so spectacular all around the city.
Vancouver was a fantastic city to end our 2016 adventure in! Although we had a marvelous time...
it is great to be back in Clearwater Beach, Florida.
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