Somewhere around mid-morning, I can start to see the shadowy shape of land on the port side of the ship. It’s covered in fog and mist and I must admit that my first glimpse of Hawaii wasn’t exactly awe-inspiring. Later, someone said that it was Molokai, one of the minor islands, but I don’t really know for sure. After more than four days at sea, I was hoping for more! As we continued to sail, the fog started to lift and more land came into view. Eventually, I could see the distinctive shape of Diamond Head, the icon that says “Honolulu”. As we approached closer, I could make out Coco Head and before very long, the harbor and the city itself. Now we’re getting somewhere!Unfortunately, we didn’t dock until noon so there was limited time to see the sights. Greg and I had opted for an afternoon “Natural Highlights of Oahu” tour. We would see a bit of Honolulu but mostly we would cover the countryside. My first impression of Honolulu, as we drove through the city, was that except for the palms it could be any other big U.S. city. Construction was everywhere and the traffic was terrible. Not what you think of when you visualize Hawaii. It seemed that we were never going to actually get out of the city. We did get a brief glimpse of Waikiki Beach as we drove along. It’s not as pretty from land as from the ocean. Eventually, we made it to the open road and the scenery started looking much better.
Our first stop is the Diamond Head crater, reached by driving through a concrete tunnel constructed by U.S.
military forces during World War II. Once inside the crater, there’s not much to see, just grass and trees. But the size of the thing is pretty impressive. After a brief stop, we continue on to Halona Point (site of the blow hole), Makapu’u Beach and Pali Lookout. Finally, some really gorgeous scenery, just what I was expecting to see. All in all, it was a nice excursion and I got some good pictures. Once we returned to the ship, Greg and I decided to use 
what little daylight was left to visit the Iolani Palace, about a fifteen minute walk from the pier. We took a few pictures of the palace and the statue of King Kamehameha just across the street. We got back to the ship a little before dark.Dinner that evening was an island-style barbeque on the Lido deck and everyone was encouraged to wear appropriate dress. In my sixty-six years of living, I’ve never owned an Aloha shirt. But, in the spirit of the trip, I went shopping. Not being one to do things half-way, I now own two of the aforementioned shirts, along with several shell necklaces! I’m not quite sure if I’ll find an appropriate occasion for them once I get home. Dinner was fun, however, and I blended right in with the crowd.
A very strange thing happened before we reached Honolulu. Captain Peter Bos made an announcement that we would be complying with an Hawaiian seabird program during our time in the islands. This meant that all outside lights would be turned off and curtains drawn so that light didn’t escape the ship. It seems that some of the birds navigate by moonlight and become confused by the bright lights of the ship! Now, my first thought was that any bird that couldn’t tell the difference between the moon and a cruise ship was too stupid to survive in any case. Seems like natural selection would get them eventually. But, for the next few nights, we sailed in blackout conditions. I sure hope we saved a few…..
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