They Don't Grow Like This in Wisconsin

We arrived in Hilo, Hawaii on Monday morning and we had a long day planned aboard a tour bus. Our first adventure on the tour bus was a stop at Rainbow Falls where there was also a forest of Banyan trees. I didn't know what a Banyan tree was until I saw this. Basically, the branches grow long then sag to the ground. They then re-root themselves and the process begins again. This picture shows the base of ONE Banyan tree. The shade created by these monsters is un-real. One tree creates the shade of a small forest. These trees are common in all the islands. In Maui there is a Banyan that occupies an entire acre.

Random Shots

It occurred to me today that there are a few pictures I have not yet shared but do a better job telling the story of our vacation here. I thought I would post a few of the pictures for those who don't care to read my boring descriptions, and instead just want to see some of the pictures.

Kailua Kona...The Big Island

Deep sea fishing in Kona, Hawaii was something I could only see on Saturday morning fishing shows until now. This morning I was on the first tender off the ship and heading for the fishing harbor where there are more charter fishing boats than I have ever seen. Maui Jim sponsors an annual Blue Marlin classic here in June where the biggest Marlin caught in the 4 day tournament will net the winner 500k. The King Kamahamaha Hotel sports two Blue Marlins (mounted of course) over 1,000 lbs.

Today I went fishing with Captain Billy and his first mate Tim. There were 4 other people fishing with me and we all got along great and had a good time. For 4 hours we rotated out of the fighting chair every 15 minutes. If you were sitting there when any of the 5 poles got a bite, you reeled in whatever was on the hook.

The picture here is a 28lb. Mahi Mahi (also known as a Dorado in Mexico and Dolphin Fish in Florida). Here in Havi He, they call it Dolphin Fish. I wish I could tell you I reeled this in but I didn't. The fish was caught by another guy on board named Paul. It was a bit early in the year for the Blue Marlin but we had great fun anyway.

One day I will catch my Blue Marlin, I don't know where or when, but catching a Big Blue is on my bucket list.....

Golfing to Remember

Before heading for our Luau yesterday we stopped at the concierge and made arrangements to play golf in the morning. They set it all up for me and I was given an 8:44AM tee time on the Emerald course at Wailea. The annual skins game is played on the Gold course at the same location but I opted for the Emerald course because it only had 84 sand traps instead of 94 (and they just airated the greens on the Gold course)! I was shuttled up to the Emerald course about an hour early only to find I had my own cart with GPS on board and a hot coffee waiting in the cup holder (I was paired up with three other guys) .

They gave me a set of Nike SQ to play with and plenty of time to warm up on the range before we started. The other guys and I were amazed at how each hole was overlooking the ocean from high up on the hillside course. The course was truely more beautiful than anything I have ever seen. Just to give you an idea, the Merrit club was not even close! The fairways were lined with flowers, lava rock formations, and about 20 different breeds of palm trees. What made the day so great was the fact I was able to play from the fairway almost the entire round! I had one birdie and one par and the rest were mostly boggies (OK, maybe a double boggy here and there). In the end, I shot a 99 and considering the championship course I was playing, I was very pleased!

While I played golf, Peg just lounged at the pool and enjoyed the resort. At the end of the round, Peg and Imet up at the resort and we jumped back in our car for the ride back to Lahaina. We turned in our car and tendered back to the ship. We felt the need to pinch ourseleves just to see if we were really awake or only dreaming (it was that awesome).

The entire Maui experience was just fabulous and I am not sure my words can accurately describe just how wondeful it was. Simply said, it was an experience of a lifetime (not so much the type of experience that makes you want to come back and do it again....too expensive, just the type of experience you will always remember and enjoy every time you think of it).

While getting ready for dinner aboard the ship on Saturday, I looked at Peg and said, "Oh My God, I have to get ready for tomorrow morning because we are pulling into Kailua Kona, Hawaii and I am going deep see fishing on the Kona coast!".

A Grand Arrival

We arrived at the Grand Wailea Resort about 12PM and were greeted with flowers around our necks and the now all to familiar word....ALOHA! We spent the afternoon walking the grounds in amazement and swimming at the pool. We took the picture above from the Lanai and enjoyed relaxing before walking to the resort next door.... to a Luau. The resorts in Wailea are absolutely beautiful and at least one step up from the Kaanapali Beach resorts which are also very famous. I made arrangements to play golf in the morning. We were so tired after the Luau that we ended up crashing at about 8:30PM and got a good night of sleep for the day ahead.

Land Ho...

After days at sea, we finally have the image of land outside our stateroom balcony. We never really made much of a deal out of seeing land, but I woke up early before sunrise just so I could sit outside and watch as the ship sailed between Molokai and Maui and eventually into Lahaina harbor on Maui. You never saw so many happy people as there were this morning....because we were able to load onto tender boats and step foot onto land once again. Ironically, it was on some of the most beautiful land anywhere to be found on earth.

I called Enterprise who quickly came to shore to get me from a local resort hotel and within 45 minutes, we had a Mustang convertible for 39.80 per/day! I picked up Peg as she landed on her tender boat and we headed for Wailea which is about 25 miles down the coast from Lahaina.

Somehow, being on land made us feel normal once again.....

Endless Days at Sea

5-8-2008 Ships Log (Really Bill's Log) Thursday 287 nm Northeast of Maui, 2023 nm from Ensenada Mexico

Well we have learned first hand what it is like to be at sea for a week. The ocean surely is massive. A couple of days ago at about the 1/2 way point of the journey, we spotted some sea gulls flying over the water. We later leanred that the only way such life exists this far from land is by ship. The gulls latched onto a ship somewhere and eventualy left (at the wrong time). They find after flying for hours that there is nowhere to land and live except in the water! We were told the birds eventually just perish. It was a very weird feeling to be 1,000 miles from any sort of land whatsoever.

There is today, much anticipation amongst the people on the ship because at sunrise tomorrow we will be anchored off the shore of Lahaina, Maui. There has been Hawaian hula dancers and performers on the entire trip with us so they have everyone in the Hooky Lau mood. We will be anchored in Maui for two days as the ship will not leave for the big island until very late Saturday night. The time is now 5 hours earlier than CST (Chicago). The captain had us turning back the clock (an hour) every other night. Peg and I are now exhausted and ready for bed at about 9PM each night!

I spent an hour in a golf simulator yesterday and played Pebble Beach (18 holes) and learned that the damn simulator is very acurate and measured my game very much like it is in real life...I shot a 105 for18 holes. I would love to have one of those things in my basement!

The ship is beautiful and we have come to know it well. Peg and I took a walk around deck 5 today and saw the Helipad. The captain told us that medical emergencies is the primary purpose of the Helipad and also noted that if an emergency ocurred at sea while we were 1,000 miles from land, he could only hope that the medical staff on board could handle the situation as no helicopter would / could make the 1,000 mile trip to the ship. We have had two emergency announcements this week known as "Alpha Alpha Alpha" over the intercom system. They say "Attention...Attention.....Alpha Alpha Alpha...Dining Room, Port Side Table #408or Casino". An emergency team rushes to these locations and does whatever they can. When we first heard the call, someone at dinner said, "What does Alpha Alpha Alpha mean?". I said I don't know but it didn't appear the call was for a Triple AAA gathering of some sort! We still don't know what happened and how the poeple involved are (the crew is very quiet about such things). For all we know, there is more than just food in the on board refrigerators!

So today we are relaxing once again and enjoying the thought of being on land tomorrow. It hasn't quite sunk in that we will be walking on some of the most beautiful land anywhere to be found. Peg and I are staying at the Grand Wailea Resort for both days (about one hour from Lahaina) Our dinner table friends have been there and tell us it is one of the most beautiful resorts anywhere on earth. I tell business associates everywhere I go, that I only work for one reason....and that is to go on vacation. We laugh about it as they see a picture of an island and a cruise ship on my powerpoint presentations, but those closest to me....know it's TRUE! If you are reading this blog, please know that my only regret about this experience, is that you are not here with us to enjoy it together.