The Story of Us: 2013 Part 4 Cruise

At the Big Island Candy Factory we were met at the door by a super friendly staff member, who immediately offered fresh sweets and coffee! The facility is clean and modern with large windows through which we observed staff creating a variety of hand-made chocolate treats. The Thomas A. Jaggar Museum is a museum on […]

The Story of Us: 2013 Part 3 Cruise

The 318-foot-long Olowalu Tunnel on the Honoapiilani Highway along Maui’s southwest coast west of Maalaea Harbor was built in 1951. It is the oldest highway tunnel in Hawaii. On the mauka (inland) side of each portal is wire netting to keep rocks from falling onto the roadway. Mai’Poin’a ‘oe Ia’u Beach Park is a quiet […]

The Story of Us: 2013 Part 2 Cruise

As we docked in Maui, the sun was coming up with dense cloud cover. As it began to peeked through a hole in the clouds, it was as if it was burning a hole in the clouds. Finally, the sun won and the sky opened up to a bright sunny day. The Coast Guard came […]

The Story of Us: 2013 Part 1 Cruise

A cruise was a great way to see the best of the main islands: Maui, Hilo Kona and Nawiliwili. The itinerary provided over nights in several of the ports, so there was plenty of time to get out and enjoy the islands without having to rush back to the ship. We arrived early, 11:30, so […]

The Story of Us: 2013 Part 7

This was a day to celebrate Lupe’s birthday, but it did not start off well. We first had to make a visit to Urgent Care. While Lupe visited with the doctor we visited Island Snow Shaved Ice, just next door to urgent care. This is where I found out I love Hawaiian shaved ice. What […]

The Story of Us: 2013 Part 6

We arrived at Pearl Harbor Visitor Center operated by the National Park Service. It was free to the public with a museum with exhibits about the attack. On the center’s grounds, along the shoreline, are exhibits and a Remembrance Circle. The Circle pays tribute to the men, women and children, both military and civilian, who […]

The Story of Us: 2013 Part 5

Our day started at the Honolulu Museum of Art, the orientation center for Shangri La tours. Shangri La is an estate own by Doris Duke, who at 12 inherited about $100 million dollars. In the 1930s, during her around the world honeymoon, she purchased the five acres overlooking the Pacific Ocean and Diamond Head now […]

The Story of Us: 2013 Part 4

We stopped in at Tropical Farms, located on Kamehameha Highway with the Pacific Ocean on the backside of the building. This is a touristy shop but it was worth the time to stop. We sampled great coffee and macadamia nut tastings to help us decide which product to buy. There were also free macadamia nuts […]

The Story of Us: 2013 Part 3

We were told to be sure to check out “Gus” the huge Banyan tree on the beach side of the hotel. We had seen Banyan trees as we traveled the island but none as large as “Gus.” The courtyard between the two main buildings were beautiful. Our first visit to Waikiki Beach we had drinks […]

The Story of Us: 2013 Part 2

In October we were off with the Rotchfords to Hawaii to visit with their daughter and her family, Carmen, Jamie, Ian and Connor. Steve and I flew to Dallas, where we met up the Fred and Lupe. Fred had arranged for us to fly first class. In Dallas we waited in the American Airlines Admirals […]