Honolulu, Hawaii USA

 Honolulu, Hawaii USA  

April 18, 19, & 20, 2025

Arriving in Honolulu  Harbor, we docked right next to the Aloha Tower Lighthouse, a different dock than our February stop in Honolulu.

This Hawaiian hula dancer always has fresh leis on her arm.

Our highschool friend, Mike Connelly, met us at the port and took us on a fantastic tour.

Our first stop was Nico's at Pier 38.

Excellent seafood.

                           Sailboat Marina

                             Intricate statue 

               Surfers adjacent to Diamond Head

          This guy was fun to watch. He was soaring above the water.

             I was happy to spot a Hawaiian Red Crested Cardinal.

          Such a picturesque gateway to the beaches.

King Kamehameha 

He unified the Hawaiian Islands into one kingdom in 1810.

Iolani Palace was built in 1882 by King Kalakaua and was the home of the last reigning monarchs and served as the official royal residence.

Downtown Honolulu has really grown with so many new skyscrapers.

Oahu is a typical Pacific Island when it comes to spotting chickens. They are even in downtown Honolulu.

When walking back to the ship we crossed a bridge and spotted some colorful tropical fish. SO COOL!

Our favorite islands are the Hawaiian Islands.

        Mike took us to this famous lookout on our  last evening in Honolulu.

It was very windy, but the views went on for miles 

 The next day we ubered to 45-680 Luluku Road which led us to Foster Botanical Gardens.

                   The mountains were lush.

We enjoyed playing a few tunes with the Traditional and Bluegrass Music Society who meet annually here for a weekend jam session during the Easter holidays.

Our timing was perfect to be able to play bluegrass with the local Hawaiians.

What fun!

One gentleman even loaned me his autoharp that was missing a couple of strings....and needed tuning....

the thought is what counts!

This lady was hilarious! She played a kazoo as well as her guitar and also sang an original song.

Lots of laughter occured.

  We also met the coauthor, Caroline Rice, who wrote Tony Rice's biography with Tim Stafford. The book is called Still Inside: The Tony Rice Story.

Little did we know that when Larry and I read this book that Jay had loaned us, that we would actually meet one of the authors.

How exciting was that!

This gentleman played a dobro... guitar style.

We had so much fun until...

it started to rain.

        Some birds joined us under the tent.

The session came to a quick end because many folks we're heading home...some back to Maui and the Big Island after a full Easter weekend of jamming.

We got back to the ship that had been undergoing a full scrub down. Divers spent the full three days in Honolulu cleaning the bottom of the ship in preparation of going into Alaskan waters. The captain didn't pull out until after 8:00, giving them 4 additional hours to scrubb.

                     
     Our last look at Oahu...right after sunset.