Hawaii, Day 9

Today is Friday, December 27th.  It's our 8th day of the cruise and 9th day of vacation.  Its half over!

Hilo, as we approach

Park along harbor

Today we arrived in Hilo.  We had to do a customs inspection, followed by breakfast at the Horizon Buffet.

Customs inspection aboard the ship since we had already passed through out foreign port, now ready to return back to the United States.

We caught our tour bus and went to see the Mauna Loa macadamia nut company, and three stops at the Hawaiian Volcano National Park.

Mango fields

Arriving at the Mauna Loa Nut Company factory

Gardens at Mauna Loa factory

Buses lined up at the factory

Nut factory.  Not a lot going on the day we were there.

Active volcano from a distance

A little closer view, but for some reason the rangers don't want us getting too close

Mauna Loa, an active volcano, as evidence from the steam coming from a vent

Very interesting to walk through the lava tubes and see steam vents as the rain hits the lava and rises out of the earth.  We had a very nice tour bus, accessible.  Lance, our driver was very helpful.  It was Polynesian Tours run by Greyline.  The park was mostly accessible.  It rained (sideways) until we got to our stops, then stopped long enough to enjoy ourselves.

Lava flows

Not much grows in the lava

Lush vegetation along the way

Very pretty views

Lava tubes.  Not accessible but fascinating.

Came back to the boat had a light lunch of pizza chased by a nice cream cone and went back to the room to craft and watch a little TV until dinner.  We saw Air Force One at the airport on the way out of the harbor.

Air Force One.  President Obama was on his annual Christmas vacation in Hawaii

Homes along the coast.  Some are dangerously close to eroding right into the ocean.

Beautiful coastal views.  But not much of a beach.

DeeAnn had lobster tail for dinner, she enjoyed it.  I had a gnocchi but it was in a gravy and not very tasty.

Appetizer for dinner

Lobster tail for dinner

Chocolate dessert

It was interesting to observe the crew "sanitize" a nearby table.  Looked like there may have been someone that got sick there.  It was pretty rocky once we left port.  We were both a little ill, not sure what.

 Princess describes the tour: "Your journey begins as you board your air-conditioned motorcoach and drive from Hilo, climbing through a lush rain forest, to Volcanoes National Park.

En route, we'll stop at the Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Factory and learn how these tasty treats are produced. Browse the gift shop and sample the nuts or try the ice cream at the snack bar.


Upon arrival at the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, your motorcoach will travel along spectacular Crater Rim Drive, and portions of Chain of Craters Road, disembarking at each lookout point for breathtaking views of the park's major sights. See otherworldly landscapes: twisted lava rock flows, sulfur banks and lava beds. According to Hawaiian legend, it is bad luck to take home pieces of lava rock (and many disbelievers have found this out, as rocks are mailed back to Hawaii each year). Then, we'll travel to the Thomas A. Jaggar Museum. Located near the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, this museum offers panoramic views of Kilauea Caldera and Halema'uma'u Crater. The exhibits explain the history and geology of Hawaii's volcanoes.

Before heading back to the ship, we'll stop at the Thurston Lava Tube. Here, it's a short walk through a prehistoric-looking tree-fern forest to a cave-like tube, a lava tube that was once filled with red-hot molten lava, many hundreds of years ago."

 The ship leaves port at 5 pm. But we get to mark off another state visited on our map!

From the ship log: