Stateroom Zoo

Every day our steward made us a different animal. How they have time is beyond me but their work is extraordinary. Most of these are self explanitory but the last one is a ???? Patti thinks its a whale. I don't know.

San Diego Model Railroad Museum

Burried in a grand museum in the heart of Balboa Park is a wonderful spot dedicated to the model world of trains. We met Rick, a worker on the HO railroad who was kind enough to give us the super secret special grand tour of the unseen areas of the still under construction layout. The Tehachapi Loop shown in the top photo is the signature element of the layout. 26 scale miles are planned with 11 still to go. We saw the under layout pathways used to dispatch and wire the still expanding empire. Many areas are finished but miles and miles of areas are yet to be worked. The layout operates for visitors as can be seen by the super chief and cab forward led trains. This complicates the construction of the largely unfinished mezzanine level that contains the loop and resides on the level above most of the finished scenery.

Ensanada

A perfect end to a perfect cruise. Last stop Ensenada, Mexico. As the sun sets we prepare to debark in the morning. A final port of call, this time just 60 miles south of San Diego. We stay aboard as other passengers warn us not to go to Mexico at night:)

Nightlife

Here we ae in one of the many night spots on the boat. Entrainment was provided by a Sinatraesh group of a piano player/singer, bass, and a drummer. Great vocalist and a wonderful time as the seas rolled by during the late evening hours

Departure

Sadly our stay has ended but we are sent off with wonderful memories of Hawaii and a RAINBOW!

Maui

Today was our final stop on beautiful Maui. The coastal harbor of Lahaina has room only for the ship's tenders so we motored in on one and enjoyed the day. Seas were rough and the crew seemed a little rusty so there were some tense moments and some fairly severe banging about but all ended well. Maybe that's why they put up the cross. We enjoyed lunch at the local tourist spot across from a beautiful park and had a sunny, restful day in paradise (unlike those poor folks that ran aground on the reef).

Waikiki

No trip would be complete without a stop in Waikiki. The main road goes right by the beach. The lighthouse in on one of the flanks of Diamond Head near the southwest tip of the island.

South Shore of Oahu

We completed our trip around the island with some dramatic views of the ocean. Volcanic beaches, lava tubes turned into blow holes by the surf, and look of at the beach where the famous beach scene in From Here to Eternity was filmed were all showcased by the wonderful Hawaiian sunshine. This shore was produced by the Diamond Head volcano. On a clear day you can see Molokai in the distance.

Oahu Temple

We headed south on the east coast of Oahu and visited a beautiful Hawaiian burial ground. The Japanese government donated the construction of this temple. It is nestled against a sharp volcanic ridge and has a large pond surrounding it. The grounds are as beautiful as the temple. The black swans were striking!

Oahu

We took a 120 mile grand circle tour of the island today. After a breath taking view of the eastern shore from a 1300' overlook we came back through a tunnel cut through the mountains, past Pearl Harbor and on to the Dole Pineapple plantation in the central valley and the North Shore surfing mecca. There are wild chickens everywhere on the island and this was a good looking specimen. The central valley was formerly a sugar cane production area until the sugar beets put them out of business. Now the cane fields are mostly just weeds abutting emense crops of pineapples. The pineapples are so good you can't eat one without the juice running down your chin. According to our guide they only send us the bad ones:)
The surf was up and the waves were huge and dozens of tiny surfers were having a ball. Mile after mile of perfect coastline with waves that only seem to break in certain areas and not in others giving the surfers safe passage back out to catch the next wave. Seems like a paradise to me. No wonder its so popular.

The scenery of the big island

t


We toured the island today. The beauty is incredable. The area of lava and the resulting black sand beach is part of the 1994 flow that destroyed the village that stood here. Few houses remain. The flow, as if by some divine hand, came down the mountain to within yards of the ocean then made a 90 degree left turn to engulf the villiage then turned again to fall into the sea. Fortunaatly the lava was very slow moving and no one was injured.