POA - Hawaii LIVE Sep 30, 2023

[LouChamp]

Aloha. So happy you are enjoying Hawaii. We love shave ice and a funny story. In NY a shave ice store opened and the sign outside said shaved ice. After frequenting countless times I became friends with the  owner and then nicely told him its shave ice so he changed the sign lol!  Still it is so much better in Hawaii.  Oh…have you had a chance to have a loco moco? It is a hamburger over rice, a fired egg and brown gravy. I know lol but if you have the chance try it. I make it at home. Some restaurants are more creative but the original is the best. It has various origins but is really delicious. All the best!!!

[cruiser2015]

2 hours ago, LouChamp said:

Aloha. So happy you are enjoying Hawaii. We love shave ice and a funny story. In NY a shave ice store opened and the sign outside said shaved ice. After frequenting countless times I became friends with the  owner and then nicely told him its shave ice so he changed the sign lol!  Still it is so much better in Hawaii.  Oh…have you had a chance to have a loco moco? It is a hamburger over rice, a fired egg and brown gravy. I know lol but if you have the chance try it. I make it at home. Some restaurants are more creative but the original is the best. It has various origins but is really delicious. All the best!!!

There's been a product in New York for a very long time...

It's called a Snow Cone

😮

[LouChamp]

12 minutes ago, cruiser2015 said:

There's been a product in New York for a very long time...

It's called a Snow Cone

😮

Exactly!

[cruiser2015]

17 minutes ago, LouChamp said:

Exactly!

So why not SHAVED ice?

Hey, it's New York, baby!

LOL

[carohs]

5 hours ago, LouChamp said:

Aloha. So happy you are enjoying Hawaii. We love shave ice and a funny story. In NY a shave ice store opened and the sign outside said shaved ice. After frequenting countless times I became friends with the  owner and then nicely told him its shave ice so he changed the sign lol!  Still it is so much better in Hawaii.  Oh…have you had a chance to have a loco moco? It is a hamburger over rice, a fired egg and brown gravy. I know lol but if you have the chance try it. I make it at home. Some restaurants are more creative but the original is the best. It has various origins but is really delicious. All the best!!!

Have not! I will keep an eye out for it. 

[carohs]

Aloha from Hilo today. 

free-style-daily-4.pdf

[carohs]

Some ship pictures

 

Deck 5/atrium 

 

Seating throughout 

[carohs]

Hilo from deck 15. Much more picturesque than Kahului

[NellieVA]

Morning!  Really enjoy reading your posts.  We're doing a lot of the same things as you, though we did Road to Hana a day earlier and did Haleakula sunrise yesterday.

 

Question.  Are you renting a car in Kawaii?  If so, where are you overnight parking?  We, too, did the Seaside in Maui.

[LauraAnneC]

Thank you for posting your pics. I’m really enjoying your posts! 

[www3traveler]

Who is the current Hotel General Manager?

[philv]

We sailed POA in September 2022. Loved it so much we are booked for our 40th wedding anniversary in August 2024. Enjoying your post, keep it coming. 😎

[zqvol]

12 hours ago, cruiser2015 said:

There's been a product in New York for a very long time...

It's called a Snow Cone

😮

Not even close to shave ice 

[NellieVA]

We're on this cruise, too, and booked the Volcanoes and Waterfall tour with Big C Tours.  I'll write a review later, but we were VERY disappointed.  Can't recommend this company.

[Anoynmous Phoenix]

Who are the officers on the PoA please?

Was there a Dining with Officers offered?

 

Thanks

 

AP

[carohs]

1 hour ago, NellieVA said:

We're on this cruise, too, and booked the Volcanoes and Waterfall tour with Big C Tours.  I'll write a review later, but we were VERY disappointed.  Can't recommend this company.

What? Dang what a bummer. Def tell us more. And anyone else too on this sailing feel free to chip in your thoughts. 

[carohs]

Alright I think I'm ready to go over the day. Took a few hours to chill in hot tub after coming back. Warm water felt good after walking another 15k steps today. 

 

Starting with debarkation. We were in our rental and on the road by 8:40. We booked a car with National and they don't have a shuttle. Avis and Budget do. I had thought to maybe sneak onto theirs anyway but by the time we made it out of the ship their shuttle had just left. A pair of sisters were also heading to the National counter and the taxi sitting there are minivans. We shared the taxi and split the fare: $16 plus tip.

 

Per the drivers advice we went to VNP first but later on I realized that going to Rainbow Falls first may have been the better way to go. We made it to the visitors center with enough time for a bathroom break before catching the info video at 9:30. The video runs 25 minutes and plays every 30 minutes. 

[carohs]

First stop was steam vents. It was cool to see the big crater and feel the heat of the vents. 

[carohs]

Next we stopped at the Tiki trail where they have another overlook. Only about half a mile long. From here you can also do the crater rim trail if you are prepared for a 3-4 hour hike. Noooo thanks. Oh FYI I detest hiking but I don't mind if I have to walk to get to a destination, as long as it's within reason. For me within reason tends to be no more than a mile. 

[carohs]

We made it to the other side where there's a few more parking spots. This area accesses the CRT and the Thurston Lava Tube. We opted not to move the car and just crossed the street to the tube. I thought it was cool and had really expected DS to be into it. Alas, it was too dark and wet according to the kids. Looking thru the pictures I didn't get any clear ones from inside. I'll blame the low light. 

Found a few interesting plantlife on the walk back to the car. 

 

Trees growing on tree

 

Tree in bloom.

[carohs]

We continued on the drive. We stopped at another overlook right before the stop for Devastation Trail. Truthfully this one could have been missed. It may have been cool but vegetation has grown tall enough to block the view. Devastation we only walked a short way but it was interesting anyway how you can see new plantlife starting to grow where lava has passed before. If you think about it, the islands were all just a field of lava at one point before turning into the rainforest it is today (on the windward side anyway). 

[carohs]

Then we drove on to Chain of Craters Road. In hindsight Devastation would have been the place for a bathroom break. Only one other place to stop onward if you miss your chance here. At this point we started feeling the strain of time so we didn't stop at the first few crater overlooks but I kinda wish we had planned a little better and had. Honestly the thing that would have improved the day the most is having brought a lunch picnic. 

[carohs]

We stopped at several overlooks along the way before ending up at the petroglyphs. What was interesting was the edge of the rainforest. Before it was lava this all used to be rainforest. 

[carohs]

Last stop before calling it quits. This is a sacred place with historical significance. They would carve records of significant events here. They also made holes to bury the umbilical cords after births of babies. It was thought to give them a long life. Something like that, remember I have terrible recollection. The hike is advertised as only 1.5 miles round trip but made in the hot sun without shade to be seen is 🥵🥵. We learned too that Hilo tends to get rain an average of 22 days a month. We got none of that today. The kids did comment that they were walking on black sand but that the beach sand was better (of course). This trail isn't very clear, be prepared for lots and lots of uneven steps. 

[carohs]

We stopped for Loco Moco back in town. Figured hey why not. Was very good for what it is. Still...I'm not a beef and gravy kinda girl. The chicken katsu was super good tho. This is one order the kids split. The sweet potato salad was... interesting. I couldn't decide if this was a side or dessert. Very sweet.