Friday, April 11, 2025
We were not in a hurry this morning. We have been to the Volcanic National Park, Rainbow Falls, the Macadamia Nut Factory, and the Orchid Farm so our plan today was just to explore closer to the ship.
We were greeted as we came into port with a beautiful full rainbow. It lasted quite a while. Once we finished admiring the colors, we made our way to the main dining room for breakfast.
After breakfast, we walked out to the port area to ask about the pick-up point for an Uber. We just had to walk past the security area and go to a building up the street. Very short walk.
Our destination was the Lili’uokalani Garden, a 24.5-acre park that is named for Hawaii’s last reigning monarch, Queen Lili’uokalani. It was a mile and a half from the port.
Despite the high humidity, we had a pleasant 2-hour stroll through the park. One of the most interesting moments was when we met a young man with a dog. The dog’s name was Ula’ula which is a Hawaiian word for Red.
The dog was frantically searching the rocks for a mongoose. You could hear the mongoose chittering, and it was making the dog crazy. The young man said the dog always searches but can never catch one.
If the dog had been with us, he might have been successful as we spotted a mongoose running among the roots of the Banyan tree. But it did manage to elude two toddlers who tried their best to catch it.
We just strolled the paths looking at the plants and birds.
Our next stop was Coconut Island which was just over a walking bridge from the park. There was very little beach, but the people were enjoying it. We walked the path that circled the small island.
We walked over to the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel and was able to summon an Uber back to the port. Coming back, the Uber driver was able to go through security and take us right to the pier entrance. We just had to show our ID’s and ship card to security.
We had lunch on the ship at the New York Deli and then spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing by the pool.
Our evening was spent eating dinner in the Lido and then we went to the Rolling Stone Lounge to finish out the evening.
It was a very nice day for our first port in Hawaii.
Tomorrow – Maui
