Before 06:00 on April 19 we were being serenaded outside of our balcony by a Hawaiian singer, playing ukulele, & hula dancers. What a pleasant wake-up call! We were back in the United States! Our ship, the MV Explorer, docked at Aloha Tower for a two day visit. How easy it was to be “at home.” We used the US dollar, the phones, the buses and cabs, and shopped at Wal-Mart for familiar brands. It is the 50th anniversary of Hawaii becoming our 50th state. Tourism in Hawaii is down by 25% this year; some reports as high as 40%. However, it still looked active and busy and the weather was excellent. A bit of history- when the missionaries came to Hawaii in the 1820s they outlawed the hula and destroyed the temples. In 1872 when Kalakaua was elected King he made the hula legal again. When Kalakaua died his sister, Queen Lil, took the throne. The people loved her but the US overthrew her in a bloodless coup. She died years later in prison. In 1994 Bill Clinton apologized to the Hawaiian people for the illegal overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii which took away their self determination. Now we have President Obama, born in Hawaii, which may affect Hawaii’s sovereignty in a positive way.
Because we docked at such a convenient location we were able to make convenient trips in Oahu over our two days there. We enjoyed good coffee, not available on the ship. We walked a lot over the days, seeing areas that were familiar because we were close to where Tara and Gabe lived. Waikiki was beautiful. Lunch at Lulu’s was a pleasure; we ordered what we cannot get on the ship- great charbroiled hamburgers. Day two’s lunch was at Margaritaville. I went swimming both days and the water was great. We did a little shopping at the International Market Place and on the main street. We had plenty to do for our one night on Oahu. We met friends for drinks, music and sunset at the Halekulani Hotel. We moved on to Tokkuri Tei for wonderful sushi in a small restaurant that was crowded with locals & no other voyagers. Our sake cups were served in boxes. They overflow the cup into the box as a demonstration of abundance. From there we went to Duke’s for a birthday celebration. A huge ship crowd was at Duke’s and it was a great time.
Others enjoyed some things that we have done on Oahu and some that we have not done. Visits to Pearl Harbor and Diamondhead were popular. Many students got tattoos as permanent markers of the voyage. A big adventure for a large number was skydiving, apparently a rite of passage. A few had a surprise chance to see a polo game. Some drove around all or part of the island and came into rain to the north. The Dole Pineapple Plantation with Visitors’ Center was also on some itineraries. Some students in my Foreign Policy class wrote papers comparing their experiences in Hiroshima to Pearl Harbor. Once back on the ship we watched Tora! Tora! Tora! that sadly showed all of the warnings that were missed right before the bombing on December 7, 1941.
Shipboard life continues to be great fun for us. The students complain about academic expectations but that is just not a problem for us. The talent show was an impressive event which featured a great variety of acts including, singing, dancing, slam poetry, juggling and Chinese yo-yoing. A chorus of faculty, staff & lifelong learners sang a song backed up by guitar, djembe, egg (Lisa, of course, but no egg solo) & 2 ukuleles. Hóg was on 1 of the ukuleles, his first gig & in front of several hundred people, no less. The play presented this semester was a Greek tragedy and although well done was an odd selection for our student body. The fund raising auction raised over $12,000 for future voyages, scholarships and supplies. We donated a gourmet dinner for six so sometime this fall we will be expecting six Philadelphia area students to join us at our home. Students did not hesitate to bid up items like a map of the voyage route signed by the captain, the opportunity to be first off or last off the ship in Fort Lauderdale, choice space at the rail as we pull in there, and even a few vacation options. Another fund raising drive is underway now. We have been promised tacos if everyone donates. It is an easy crowd. Another recent event was a dinner with our family of orphans, the students who had no family visitors on our Cambodia trip. (Tristan, note the ties on napkins.) Last night three families competed in Trivial Pursuit for two and a half hours without a final winner. Today is Earth Day around the world. It is the 40th anniversary. 200 million participants are expected to be involved in 180 countries. Taiwan will be unveiling a new packaging product for beverages, India will be pushing for use of paper bags, and Mauritius will turn off lights and go to candle illumination for two hours. We continue to advance our clocks on many nights in order to match our travel to the east. Talk on the ship is focusing more on the end of the voyage. We have two weeks, one port, and the Ambassadors’ Ball left to enjoy.
Because we docked at such a convenient location we were able to make convenient trips in Oahu over our two days there. We enjoyed good coffee, not available on the ship. We walked a lot over the days, seeing areas that were familiar because we were close to where Tara and Gabe lived. Waikiki was beautiful. Lunch at Lulu’s was a pleasure; we ordered what we cannot get on the ship- great charbroiled hamburgers. Day two’s lunch was at Margaritaville. I went swimming both days and the water was great. We did a little shopping at the International Market Place and on the main street. We had plenty to do for our one night on Oahu. We met friends for drinks, music and sunset at the Halekulani Hotel. We moved on to Tokkuri Tei for wonderful sushi in a small restaurant that was crowded with locals & no other voyagers. Our sake cups were served in boxes. They overflow the cup into the box as a demonstration of abundance. From there we went to Duke’s for a birthday celebration. A huge ship crowd was at Duke’s and it was a great time.
Others enjoyed some things that we have done on Oahu and some that we have not done. Visits to Pearl Harbor and Diamondhead were popular. Many students got tattoos as permanent markers of the voyage. A big adventure for a large number was skydiving, apparently a rite of passage. A few had a surprise chance to see a polo game. Some drove around all or part of the island and came into rain to the north. The Dole Pineapple Plantation with Visitors’ Center was also on some itineraries. Some students in my Foreign Policy class wrote papers comparing their experiences in Hiroshima to Pearl Harbor. Once back on the ship we watched Tora! Tora! Tora! that sadly showed all of the warnings that were missed right before the bombing on December 7, 1941.
Shipboard life continues to be great fun for us. The students complain about academic expectations but that is just not a problem for us. The talent show was an impressive event which featured a great variety of acts including, singing, dancing, slam poetry, juggling and Chinese yo-yoing. A chorus of faculty, staff & lifelong learners sang a song backed up by guitar, djembe, egg (Lisa, of course, but no egg solo) & 2 ukuleles. Hóg was on 1 of the ukuleles, his first gig & in front of several hundred people, no less. The play presented this semester was a Greek tragedy and although well done was an odd selection for our student body. The fund raising auction raised over $12,000 for future voyages, scholarships and supplies. We donated a gourmet dinner for six so sometime this fall we will be expecting six Philadelphia area students to join us at our home. Students did not hesitate to bid up items like a map of the voyage route signed by the captain, the opportunity to be first off or last off the ship in Fort Lauderdale, choice space at the rail as we pull in there, and even a few vacation options. Another fund raising drive is underway now. We have been promised tacos if everyone donates. It is an easy crowd. Another recent event was a dinner with our family of orphans, the students who had no family visitors on our Cambodia trip. (Tristan, note the ties on napkins.) Last night three families competed in Trivial Pursuit for two and a half hours without a final winner. Today is Earth Day around the world. It is the 40th anniversary. 200 million participants are expected to be involved in 180 countries. Taiwan will be unveiling a new packaging product for beverages, India will be pushing for use of paper bags, and Mauritius will turn off lights and go to candle illumination for two hours. We continue to advance our clocks on many nights in order to match our travel to the east. Talk on the ship is focusing more on the end of the voyage. We have two weeks, one port, and the Ambassadors’ Ball left to enjoy.
Whoa, is that the lighting from the camera flash, or did you get your face burned up pretty badly? And how did the girl in the photo between you and Lisa keep her hair so "strategically placed" (and why)?
ReplyDeleteLisa, you know Uncle Charlie, Aunt Betty and Anne Rich (Palastra) were living in Hawaii on Pearl Harbor day. The story I always heard was that Anne was sitting on the sidewalk outside their house waiting for the Sunday school bus when the planes came over. (Rosalyn had not yet been born). After the attack, Uncle Charlie's job was to get all of the dependents off of the island. One story was he called a woman and told her because of her pregancy, she would be one of the first to leave. She asked how he knew as she had not even told her husband yet!
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