Gorgeous Oahu and Kauai

***This post is out of order.  The post on Maui is coming soon, but thought I'd post this one now!***

The ship headed onto Oahu and to Hawaii's capital city, Honolulu.  We were all excited for the port because it was our first overnight port.  This may not seem like a big deal, but we haven't had a chance to go out all together at night at a restaurant or bar for 2 months.  First, though, I was so excited to meet up with friends living in Honolulu.  Our dancers, Sergii and Anastasia joined me as I met up with Ryan and Lindsay.  Lindsay and I have a very close mutual friend, Katie Mitchell, and Ryan is a  marine and stationed in Oahu.  They came and picked us up from the cruise ship port and drove us toward their home on the North Shore.  It's always nice when you have someone showing you around who calls the area home.  We got some great insider tour guide info.  Ha ha!  

I was excited to soak in the sheer beauty that the island possesses by hiking.  We went started on a hike to the "pillboxes", little shelters from past military use that are perched high atop the ridge line of mountains that drop into the ocean.  The trail was really fun with some tough spots, but really great payoff in the form of dramatic views.  It was nice to be able to see the island from high above and take in the crazy scenery.  It's all just so foreign to me, but the huge mountains and lush greenery look like a typical dream vision of an island, tropical paradise.  It was a hot day and we had a lot of fun visiting and catching up, but the real treat was lunch.  Ryan and Lindsay took us to what looked like a simple gas station.  (Thanks to growing up with my dad, I was getting excited for what local treasure may be hidden inside.)  Outside hung a sign that read "FRESH POKE."  Poke (pronounced poh-kay) is small pieces of raw seafood that have been marinated in different sauces and vegetables.  Behind a deli counter the man working explained to us that we could choose whichever meats we wanted, whichever poke we wanted, etc.  I ended up with a piece of seasoned, grilled corn on the cob, a lamb skewer, and fresh spicy ahi tuna poke over rice.  It was one of the best meals I've had on this contract.  We sat at a picnic table outside and enjoyed the simple, but delicious food and fantastic company.  

You can see the "pillbox" from our hike in the top right corner.

Later the day took us to a huge mall, which was a welcome piece of civilization after being at sea for so long.  The cast all spent quite a while enjoying some retail therapy before heading back to the ship.  Thankfully when you port somewhere like Honolulu, your route back to the ship is a walk along Waikiki Beach.  We sat for a bit on the beach and enjoyed the sunset before heading to the ship to get ready for the night.  I took more advice from Lindsay and Ryan and we made  reservation for a large group of us at Uncle Bo's, a tapas style restaurant.  The food was truly spectacular and from there we were ready to head out on the town!  With full force we started on our way to find the great nightlife we had been seeking.  We quickly realized it was a Sunday night, though.  One after another we found closed bars and clubs, but eventually we found a bar open.  I would say 95% of the bar was populated by ship crew, which really just made the night that much more fun.  It was a bizarre place, but we made it fun, dancing and acting goofy and letting loose for a night.

The next day started with an awesome brunch and more time on the beach.  I was glad to walk around for hours and enjoy the view and my last few days with phone access.  I got to catch up with lots of friends and family and see Honolulu at the same time.  Soon I headed back to the ship, off sailing to our last Hawaiian port of call, Nawilili, Kauai.  Referred to as the Garden Island, Kauai is known for being the greenest and most awesome scenic island of Hawaii.  It has been the backdrop for hundreds of films because it still retains so much of that rugged, natural beauty that you imagine from the Hawaiian islands.  If we had more time here i would have LOVED to do a dramatic hike, especially along the famous Na'apali Coast, only accessible by foot.  But we didn't have a ton of time for the day, so after a tip from a guest, we decided to splurge and book a helicopter tour to see the island's sites!

I had never ridden in a helicopter, but the company, Blue Hawaiian Helicopter Tours, was SO nice and our pilot was obviously very experienced.  He had grown up on the island and did around 1,000 flights each year around his beautiful home.  What a great job!  The 5 singers and our production manager all took off in our helicopter, complete with Bose headsets to hear and talk to each other and a soundtrack playing of perfectly dramatic, Hawaiian tunes.  As we took off I was literally screaming because it was just awesome.  What a crazy sensation to just raise up and lean forward and head up over the landscape in such a small aircraft.  We saw our ship as we sailed away from the developed area of Nawilili and toward the crazy mountains and remote coastlines that form Kauai. 

One of the first things we saw was a rainbow and we made a circle to fly around it, which was wild.  Seeing it from above we could see the full circle of the rainbow.  Then we ended up heading toward our first waterfall of the day.  This happened to be the waterfall where the scientist flies in dramatically and lands to enter Jurassic Park in the movie!  It was awesome.  We immediately started singing that iconic theme music as we circled over the gorgeous waterfall and started spotting one waterfall after another all around the bright green foliage and jungle below.  

Welcome to Jurassic Park.

Next we headed over the "Grand Canyon" of the Pacific, Waemena Canyon.  It really looks similar to the Grand Canyon and I couldn't believe it was there among the lush greenery all around.  Finally the moment we were waiting for, dramatic music came on as we came up over a ridge and around a corner to reveal the Na'apali Coast.  One jagged ridge after another covered in wild jungle dropping into white sand beaches for miles and miles.  The mountains jutted out into the ocean, forming dramatic valleys.  It was one of the few times I can remember having my breath taken away.  All of us just went silent at the sheer magnitude and perfect beauty in front of us.  Our pilot started taking us in and out of the valleys, which really dwarfed us and made us see just how massive these hills were.  We flew over the open ocean and watched humpback whales and sharks swimming along the coastline.  

Na'apali Coastline.  Truly stunning.

Eventually we headed around the coast where the movie "South Pacific" was shot and up directly to the top of the island, usually covered by clouds, that helped reveal the crater which formed the island.  We flew right into the crater and into the biggest dramatic waterfalls.  We were surrounded by huge, sheer cliffs that seemed to reach straight up to heaven thousands of feet.  While we were flying in that area I spotted another helicopter and couldn't believe how absolutely TINY it looked.  I realized they were just like us.  We couldn't realized how small we were compared to the majestic cliffs we were flying next to.  

Spot the other helicopter???  

It was honestly an experience I'll never forget.  We had a great meal afterwards, but nothing could have ruined that day anyway.  I came away from it loving this earth and creation so much more and realizing what a gift it all is.  I also came away saying… "I must go back to Kauai!"  Ha ha!  Those hikes are calling my name, for sure.  What a life-changing experience and one I will take with me for years to come.  I was sad to say goodbye to Hawaii, my 49th state to visit.  What an unbelievable place. 

Live rejoicing, 

Tripp