Port of Call: Honolulu, O'ahu, Hawai'i
Island: O'ahu
Nickname: The Gathering Place
Official Color: Yellow
Official Flower: Yellow Ilima
Island: O'ahu
Nickname: The Gathering Place
Official Color: Yellow
Official Flower: Yellow Ilima
Today we made landfall in Hawai'i - both our nation's and our family's 50th state!
We approached the port with much anticipation...
for several reasons...
Not only had we reached our 50th state (and the first land we'd seen in 4 days), but we were excited to reunite with Hubby, as well...
Because he couldn't be gone the entire length of our trip (2 1/2 weeks) and due to some old maritime law (The Jones Act - something about people not being allowed to board ships that are registered to another country while docked in an American port(?)...I am really not sure...It wasn't a problem in Europe, though - see "Exhibit C" below), he could neither board in Honolulu and sail home with us nor sail the front end of our cruise and leave early from Hilo, so he flew to Honolulu and is island hopping via plane and meeting up with us at each port...
before stopping at the Hawai'i State Capitol, so that B could run up some steps, his 48th set of state capitol building steps!
This building is one of the most unique state capitol buildings we've ever seen...
From there, we made a stop a the breathtaking Nu'uanu Pali Lookout...
It is 12,000 feet above sea level and has sweeping views of both the mountains and the ocean...
After this stop, we continued on to our tour at Pearl Harbor...
It was really something.
I've always known the December 7th date (one of my best friends growing up was born on Pearl Harbor Day), but learned more about the great tragedy and loss of life as I grew up. Only recently did I learn that the memorial is actually situated over the remains of the sunken U.S.S. Arizona...
This has been somewhere I've wanted to visit for as long as I can remember. Unfortunately for many, boat rides out to the actual memorial have been closed for years due to repairs, and I am so thankful that they started running again a few months before our trip.
All I can say is WOW...
To see the list of names...
the remains of the wreckage...
and to stand over the actual place where so many perished...
it really takes your breath away...
where we were able to dip our feet in the Pacific Ocean while waiting for our meal!
for Germaine's Luau, a traditional evening of singing, dancing and celebration...
More {CA, HI & MEXICO} 2019 Fun
We approached the port with much anticipation...
for several reasons...
Not only had we reached our 50th state (and the first land we'd seen in 4 days), but we were excited to reunite with Hubby, as well...
Because he couldn't be gone the entire length of our trip (2 1/2 weeks) and due to some old maritime law (The Jones Act - something about people not being allowed to board ships that are registered to another country while docked in an American port(?)...I am really not sure...It wasn't a problem in Europe, though - see "Exhibit C" below), he could neither board in Honolulu and sail home with us nor sail the front end of our cruise and leave early from Hilo, so he flew to Honolulu and is island hopping via plane and meeting up with us at each port...
Yes, it is a bit of a pain, but it is getting the job done, and it just isn't a true adventure in our family unless Hubby has some crazy way of meeting up with us late or leaving us early along the way!
Regardless... We are sooo happy to have everyone here, in Hawai'i, and not to mention, B was happy to see a plethora of Hawai'i license plates (one of the hardest plates to find back home, obviously)!
We met our driver and set out to explore the capital city...
First stop, the King Kamehameha statue in front of the Hawai'i Supreme Court building...
From there, we cruised by the Honolulu City Lights, a downtown Christmas display...
before stopping at the Hawai'i State Capitol, so that B could run up some steps, his 48th set of state capitol building steps!
This building is one of the most unique state capitol buildings we've ever seen...
From there, we made a stop a the breathtaking Nu'uanu Pali Lookout...
It is 12,000 feet above sea level and has sweeping views of both the mountains and the ocean...
After this stop, we continued on to our tour at Pearl Harbor...
I've always known the December 7th date (one of my best friends growing up was born on Pearl Harbor Day), but learned more about the great tragedy and loss of life as I grew up. Only recently did I learn that the memorial is actually situated over the remains of the sunken U.S.S. Arizona...
This has been somewhere I've wanted to visit for as long as I can remember. Unfortunately for many, boat rides out to the actual memorial have been closed for years due to repairs, and I am so thankful that they started running again a few months before our trip.
All I can say is WOW...
To see the list of names...
the remains of the wreckage...
and to stand over the actual place where so many perished...
it really takes your breath away...
I'm so glad that we were able to go and truly have the complete experience...
Wow, just WOW...
From Pearl Harbor, we made a quick stop at Kapi'olani Hospital, the birthplace of President Barack Obama, our 44th Commander in Chief...
before stopping for a late lunch at the famous Duke's Waikiki...
where we were able to dip our feet in the Pacific Ocean while waiting for our meal!
I'm kind of glad that we never made it out to (and into) the ocean all of the times we've been on the west coast...
It was kind of neat to experience the Pacific Ocean for the first time in Hawai'i!
After lunch, our sweet driver surprised us with special malasadas from Leonard's Bakery...
After a busy morning and afternoon, we went back to the ship to get ready for our evening adventure...
where the kids, my mom and me met back up with Hubby...
for Germaine's Luau, a traditional evening of singing, dancing and celebration...
Because of a slight change in our itinerary due to the forecasted weather, we're looking forward to spending Christmas in Honolulu again tomorrow!
