Aloha, Y'all!

As we finished our Christmas cruise, our final port of call was Los Angeles (Long Beach, to be exact) and I was really hoping to get to see friends.  It was tough, but I managed to see some really great friends, Daryl Getman and her new husband Kyle Graham.  I've worked with Daryl a couple of times in Maine and we quickly became good friends because she is such a talent and a light wherever she works.  When I got to meet Kyle for the first time years ago I knew they were a great match.  I was sad to miss their wedding this fall, but it was so fantastic to catch up a bit on their life together in LA.  They picked me up and we went to a really nice neighborhood where there was a cute canal lined with homes.  We spent the afternoon just strolling and catching up on each others' lives.  Kyle and Daryl are both people that are intentional about encouraging and building into their friends.  Every time you leave them you feel great about yourself.  ha ha!  This time it was no different.  As I was saying goodbye they were pouring out compliments over me and leaving me a better, happier person than when I said hello to them that morning.  What a gift.

We sailed away from Los Angeles toward Hawaii and I tried to get myself in a good mindset because I knew we had 5 days at sea before reaching land, which meant lots of time to kill.  I was so excited when I got mail later that day, though, because my great friend, Katie Mitchell had sent me a package PERFECT for sea days.  She had thought of everything from movies to books to games and a crossword puzzle book.  The cast has been tearing through the crosswords like crazy!  Ha ha!  We did have a little project for the sea days because this was the beginning of the world cruise.  There was a special 1920's party held for the full world-cruisers that had a fun speakeasy sort of feel.  The girls wore flapper dresses and the guys looked like gangsters and we performed a couple musical theatre tunes while the dancers did a great lindy hop.    

I spent a couple sea days also starting to plan our time in Hawaii.  With it being my 49th state to visit, I was ready for lots of different experiences and hoped it would live up to all those perfect island dreams you have about Hawaii.  The first port of call we reached was Hilo, located on the big island of Hawaii.  I decided it would be a fun day for all of us to get off and explore together so I rented a big SUV for us all.  It may seem like a silly thing, but getting back behind the wheel of a car was such a treat.  I've always loved driving so just having a chance to cruise around and listen to music and have freedom to explore was great.  I picked up the cast from the ship and we went straight away to Rainbow Falls, right in the middle of Hilo.  It is an easy waterfall to get to and doesn't disappoint with it's dramatic 85 foot fall and lush surroundings.  We were so excited to see our first glimpse of typical Hawaiian natural beauty.  

Right next to the waterfall was a small path that led back into some forest areas where there was a GIGANTIC banyan tree.  These trees look almost like a bunch of separate tree trunks and vines all growing together, but they are all, in fact, one tree.  This was labeled as being the largest and oldest banyan tree in the entire state, though, and boy was it huge?!  I was so impressed with its large canopy of tiny branches and its bizarre look.  We just had to climb it to see what it was like.  It's such a unique tree to this island environment.  Next we climbed a little further to the river and rocky outcropping where the waterfall initiates.  It was cool to play around on the rocks and soak up being on land in sunny Hawaii.  

The next location for the day was Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.  We drove about 30 minutes up, up, up until we reached the entrance and visitor's center to the park.  They informed us of the best way to see the park in the time we had and we were on our way.  From the start we could tell it was a different landscape than we were used to.  Almost looking like the surface of the moon, any vegetation around the park was small and specific to the ashy, lava soil it grows in.  We went to an overlook to view the still active volcano, Mauna Loa.  A large crater has formed and smoke billows out from the huge lava lake that is still churning today!  It was awesome to see the largest active volcano on Earth and we learned we were standing on the peak of the highest mountain on Earth as well.  The majority of the mountain is located under the ocean, so it is deceptive, but it is much higher than Everest, in all actuality.  I think everyone has a fascination about the violence and drama of volcanoes, so to see what they can do right in front of me was quite interesting and beautiful.  

We drove to another part of the park where some steam vents spew out steam formed from the underground heat from the volcano all day.  It was really strange, almost looking like a bunch of little fires with smoke spitting out all around us and over the large craters formed by former lava flows and eruptions.  Seeing the stem vents in action was just another reminder that we were right there on top of an ACTIVE volcano.  We went a ways further and hiked a short distance along the edge of one crater, marveling at the sheer height and depth of what was formed hundreds of years ago.  You can hike through the bottom of the crater as well, and the guides informed us that in the summer the heat emanating from the ground can still be hot enough to melt the bottoms of some shoes right off!  We ended up at the Thurston lava tube.  These lava tubes are basically cave-like passageways.  The way lava dries, it tend to dry up on top and then the flowing lava underneath still continues until it forms a tube underground.  We walked through the tropical forest and into the tube.  When we realized the echo around us, we just couldn't help it… we broke out into song.  The five singers did end up doing an a cappella song from one of our shows and some other visitors through the tube were quite amused.  Ha ha!  

It turned out to be a really great day and we ran into some more crew as we were leaving the national park, so we joined up and had lunch all together at a local place called Ken's Pancakes where I couldn't resist getting some coconut pancakes to indulge in the local fare.  Ha!  I wish we had a little more time to hike and explore more, but thankfully there were 4 more days in Hawaii on the other islands to come!  Hoping everyone is staying warm back home.  While December was tough, missing out on family and friend time during the holidays, I will admit that I am MORE THAN HAPPY to be sailing the tropical Pacific during January and February. 

Live rejoicing, 

Tripp