Day 7, October 4

Friday, Oct 4: Good Morning Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii. We have a great view of Diamond Head from our Balcony this morning. Aloha! Welcome to Oahu, our second day in Hawai'i. We have seen most everything on the island before. So this time we are vising the Bishop Museum, which has the largest collection of Hawaii and Pacific area artifacts in the world. It really was fantastic if you have not seen it. We got one of the many taxis at the port. Unfortunately, I don't think he was very honest as we went in a huge circle, then on the freeway and finally to the museum. He was not happy that he got a very small tip but it was justified because our trip from the museum back to the ship was about half the charge. Anyway, the museum was amazing and well worth the reasonable price to visit. We had a brief introductory tour when we arrived (20-25 minutes) and then we saw the rest on our own. The main building is constructed of lava stone that was shaped by hand, the Koa wood is used for the woodwork and the hardware and tile are still original. This is just an amazing structure on its own. There is also a planetarium on the grounds and our all-inclusive ticket includes all of those show. We saw 3 of the 5 presentations. I love going to a planetarium even though I can never remember where the specific stars are when I look into the sky, it is still fascinating to me. There was a comprehensive gift shop, if only we had room to bring things home! The charming young woman called us a taxi for our return trip to the ship.

The Bishop Museum

Bishop Museum,  Kaneikokala discovered in Hawaii 1905

 Bishop Museum canoe

 Bishop Museum, Feather towers of Royalty

 We made the mistaken assumption that we could get one of the free shuttles into town after our return from the museum. We were wrong, most  of the shuttles have stopped running so a taxi is now the only option, or the bus. We opted out of lunch at the  museum so we just decided to eat on the ship at this point. We grabbed a quick burger, didn't even go to our cabin, and headed out again. This time we are looking for Wal-Mart or an ABC Store. It is hard to believe I haven't seen one yet but I am told they are down in the Waikiki area. This time we had a great taxi driver. Be sure you call Andy at 808-636-0065, when you are in Honolulu or Waikiki, he was the best! He told us Wal-Mart was our best bet and closer AND he waited (without the meter running) for us!!! What a great guy. I'm saving his number in case we are ever back in Oahu. Native born, married to a native born as well. Now back to the ship with our minimal purchases.

Tonight's dinner was delicious. I have seen the Curtis Stone menu items and tonight I tried it - absolutely delicious. Then for dessert I had the Chocolate Journeys, which I have only seen on our cabin TV, decadent! 

Curtis Stone Menu item, fabulous!

Chocolate Journeys Coconut Mousse with dark Chocolate Cream and Crunchy Roasted

After dinner we walked about the ship to enjoy what we could see from the upper decks. Back to our cabin and we realized we were missing the Aloha show so we rushed to that seeing the last 3 performances. Now back in our cabin we see the fireworks going off at the Hilton Waikiki! So it has been a busy and full day. We still have a few hours before sailing but we are exhausted and may not still be awake for our 11p sailing - off to Bora Bora, 5 days at see before arriving. I'll post when possible!!!

Aloha Show On Board

Hilton Fireworks

Bora Bora - Here we come!!!