carohs

I debated reservation times for Waianapanapa State Park, (I had to Google that y'all) also known as black sand beach. I ended up choosing 12:30 which was perfect since we made it there about 12:40. We also skipped twin falls and another thing or two so 3pm works too if you're wanting a longer day. Then I do a mild freak out when I realized due to no cell service I couldn't pull up my email reservation. On a hope and vague memory I checked my PDFs and sure enough I had taken the time to download the entry voucher. I was proud of myself. Phew 😅. A word of warning, they don't provide hand soap in any of the bathrooms. If anyone has the 411 on why that is please chime in. We also saw what DH said looked like a squirrel but definitely not a squirrel. It was quick and to the distance so no pic. We learned later that's a mongoose. They were brought to the island to control rat population when cane farming was prevalent. The mongoose failed at their goal and have instead become disease carrying pests. Ohh yikes!

We stopped at Nahiku about 12:15. Got a macnut latte and banana bread for a snack. This would end up being the only thing we ate til we got back on the ship. I'm not gonna cover ship food after all. It's very hit and miss with mostly misses and the hits only being somewhat good but not great. The banana bread was tasty.

There's over 50 one lane bridges. You have to stop and watch for oncoming cars. Lots of tight turns too where you better know and be comfortable hugging the side of the road. DH handled it as well as a local. Most of those bridges also provide an opportunity to see creeks and waterfalls. More drive by Pic 3 bears falls gets it own recognition

Oh, I forgot to mention we got rained on at the arboretum, only a drizzle but it felt great since it had already started to feel quite warm out. 11:25 we paused at Ke'anae Park where we caught some cool waves breaking. Not sure of the weather change helped with the size of waves or if it's always like this. We also got a quick pic of taro fields.

10:45 am another quick stop. This time at the arboretum. DDs favorite is of course the rainbow eucalyptus. DS likes ferns (they're the ones with the fractals). Saw papaya and golden bamboo. I was fascinated by the vines going up and up.

Some pops of color too

I can't post all the pics but the entirety of the drive is green, so green

More Waikamoi trail

About 10am we stopped at a short trail.l for a out 20 min: Waikamoi. No bathrooms but worth stretching out legs.

It's been one long day. I can't believe how many things we skipped and yet still filled our day. Between sight seeing and lack of service I just couldn't update along the way. Total picture count is 580; steps 14.5k. Most pix were taken while moving so I was unable to capture the true beauty surrounding us. The greenery was incredibly beautiful and majestic. I understand now why they say that the Road to Hana is about the journey. I would do it all again.

Sorry I don't have any info on that.

Sorry I don't have any info on that.

9am

We got the clear to debark a few min before 8. We made our way down and were off ship by 8:02 and at the longs parking lot by 8:15. We had reserved an Uber otw and there were lots of cars available. We hopped right in and made it to the airport by 8:30 and now we're at Ho'okipa feet in tide pools.

Coffee review: not as horrible as on the Jewel still not great. But I've become more and more particular since investing in a mill steamer frother and flavor syrups for home. I'm just not gonna get that unless I go to Starbucks.

So catching up now while DH does his morning walk and brings me my joe. Now if he's thinking he might add some Johnny to my Joe but I don't expect so. Yesterday we got a few announcements between 2:45ish that 12 and 13 were ready til maybe 3:05 that all decks were ready. Btw, still haven't figured out who our stewart is. After the Mai Tai I moved on to a Blue Hawaiian, but in between found my children who weren't lost just separated mid relocation without parental notification. Had to have another conversation about the buddy system 😕 and communication. Then we went to put our stuff in the stateroom while we explored, including my phone which needed charging. DH has photos tho I may be able to snag these later. Got a water too; they gave me a 500ml Flow. After exploring, we took a much needed nap, woke up, and caught the tail end of sailaway. Not very many participants.

free-style-daily-2.pdf

I had some technical difficulties yesterday. I assumed it was NCL because their website and user interfaces tend to be horrible but I finally figured out the issue. I could use the app and all but couldn't download until I signed into the network. Once your phone takes you to the Internet page to login, you don't have to log in but you do have to take the additional step of using the network as-is. I really hate the 3 dots, I never see them unless I know I'm looking for em. As soon as I did that I got 152 dailies downloaded to my phone.

Aloha. Ya. If you look closely that says Monday. It's 530 tomorrow all aboard

Odd nickname.. thanks 👍

Anyone know what these twin buildings are?

Found a couple music acts and a quiet spot to chill in, out of the sun. 2:30 and rooms aren't ready.

After the parade we walked to the pier. Good news is it's not as hot as yesterday. Unfortunately it's still 84° and a 30 min walk. Embarkation was straightforward. We got there and it appears a few people were still waiting for their boarding group to be called. We were able to walk right in and head to lunch after checking in. Food was...meh. The brisket actually was really good and so was the German chocolate cake. Lots of toasted coconutty goodness. Kids are checked into Splash after having signed the customary acknowledgement they may hurt themselves. And I finally got a Mai Tai 🙂

Hawaii has lots of princesses

This morning we went to a parade. So fun!