Jan 3 - Last Day

On the high recommendation of Susan and Joan, we selected Hanauma Bay for our last day. The bay was created by a volcanic caldera whose wall collapsed and allowed the sea to rush in. We are somewhat alarmed when we arrive (at 8:30) and see a semi-full parking lot (they close the entrance when the lot is full). We waited in line to view the nine minute video on how to respect a coral reef. Video wise we head down the hill to the beach where we rent a locker and snorkeling equipment. Lee LOVES the prescription lens diving masks.  The  fish were magnificent! We must have seen thirty different species all with wild colors and shapes. We both agree that we want to snorkel again. We spent about an hour and a half swimming in water never over ten feet deep.

Next is Costco to look for "aloha" shirts. Wide selection for under $20, indeed a good tip.

Back to Kialua for lunch at the Big City Diner, Lee has to have one more Loco Moco. Then back to Susan's to pack and get ready for dinner at Buzz's Steak House.  Buzz's steaks were flavorful and cooked perfectly and their salad bar was excellent. Set the clock for a 0600 with a 0630 departure for the airport.

This has been the best vacation!  To New Zealand and Hawaii, Kia Ora (be well!) and Aloha (goodbye), we will be back... there's too much left to do.

Jan 2 - Pearl Harbor Memorial & Hawaiian Melodies

Jan 2 USA - Susan's friend, Joan, was visiting from San Diego and she suggested we do the USS Arizona  Memorial, the Bowfin Museum, and the USS Missouri today.  We needed to get there before 8 to get in the early tours of the Arizona - they fill up fast.

We got into the 8:30 tour and spent time before the tour walking the beautiful grounds.  One striking memorial was the submarine Remembrance Circle - a stone for every submarine lost in the war and a description of what happened or what was thought to have happened.  Tears well up now just thinking about them all. 

Memorial entrance

Our tour started with the movie which explained in some detail what led up to the attack - some surprising stuff there, too.  Then we boarded a boat that carried us out to where the Arizona and her crew still lay.

It was very eerie and incredibly sad.  There was a list of the 1177 crew members on the back, interior wall of the memorial and Lee found it fitting to look at / read each name. 

Back at the park we wound our way over to the Bowfin Museum.  We took the tour of the submarine itself and then went in the museum.  Joan said to look for her dad's memorabilia.

Her dad was 'Red' Ramage, Commander of the USS Parche. He won the Medal of Honor while he was still alive for an AMAZING attack that I cannot describe here - I could not do it justice.  Suffice it to say that he and his crew used the submarine within an enemy convoy and loaded/fired torpedoes in such rapid succession that hearing about it takes your breath away!    When he was asked about that fight, he said "I just got mad!"  We are so glad we met Joan and wish we could have met her dad!

Mighty MO

One Thick Hatch

We caught a shuttle over to the "Mighty MO", the USS Missouri.  What an historic ship; WWII through Vietnam to being recommissioned (I believe) for Desert Shield!  

The audio tour allowed us to wander all over and discover so much on our own.

We stopped and visited with Cam and Rita on our way home.  It was great seeing them again. 

We got back to the house with a few minutes to change before we went out to a nearby golf course lounge to listen to Eddie Kamae and members of his band, Sons of Hawaii, jam.  The music was varied and wonderful.  There were a number of ladies and a few young girls who got up to hula for some of the songs.  Eddie signed the albums Joan had purchased - and she was thrilled as you can see from her smile.

The band was winding down so we headed off to Buona Sera Italian Restaurant for a fabulous dinner with Susan and Joan. 

This was a very emotional day!

Dec 31 tthrough Jan 1 - Double New Year's!

Dec 31 NZ - The First New Year's Eve started with a lot of sun (Yay!) and a drive to the store for champagne and replacing some items for the condo.  Roads were not crowded; however, the construction around the Countdown we use was somewhat problematic - no turns, no U-turns, no easy way into the parking garage without going around multiple blocks.  So we had a little more driving practice than expected.

There was also a mission to find T-shirts today and that required some walking.  Walked a bit more than expected, but we were able to see someone jump from the Sky Tower.  Di will have to put that off until our next visit - not sure her battered feet could stand the landing.  That looked like such a riot... was very close to just doing it!

We found a wonderful Pub for lunch, the Queen's Ferry Hotel.  They say their fish and chips are the "best in town", but they were the best we had in NZ.  We will go back there the next time we visit!

Fuel for the Celebration

Finally found our shirts at a store down Quay street and returned to the condo to blog, pack (hate to leave!), and then rest up for the fireworks.

They have 2 fireworks shows in Auckland - one at the Sky Tower and on in the Harbor.  We napped from 8:30 until 11:30 and had our New Year's snack (cheese, pate, fruit, bread) with Moet & Chandon Rose. 

Perfect Seats for the Show

Then strolled onto the deck and watched (and took videos) of the entire Show in the harbor.  WOW!  We could not have slept through that.









Jan 1 NZ - Alarm at 5:30 to shower, complete packing, and clean the condo so we could meet our ride to the airport at 7:30.  Perfect timing - only slightly rushed, but left the condo as we had wanted and as we found it.  Thanks to Chris and Hillary for the use of their wonderful home!

Dec 31 USA - Halfway through the trip back to Hawaii, we reverted back to Dec 31 again.  The trip was long, but we got in about an hour early.  Rented our vehicle and headed for Kailua.  The rental car guy told us to watch out as Hawaii was banning fireworks starting 1/1 so people would be out blasting off whatever they had and the roads would be very smokey.  Boy was that the truth... fireworks set up on one lane of a 2 lane road, fog-like smoke from it all.  It was surreal. 

Had a late dinner at Denny's and went back to Susan's house.  It rained hard at times, so some 'revelers' postponed the blasting until 1 a.m.

Jan 1 USA - We seemed to drag Seattle weather all over the world.  2011 started out a bit overcast, but cleared enough so we were able to take a dip in and relax by the pool in the afternoon. This was a lazy day. 

Dec 30 - Caves, Cows, and Chiefs

Up early again for the hike to SkyCity to join our bus tour to the south. After a few anxious minutes while they tried to find our booking (remember they canceled the day before), we boarded the bus and headed south to the Waitomo Glow Worm Caves. It was good to have someone else take care of the driving and the continuous commentary was enlightening. Peter, our excellent driver, gave us Maori history and explained the words, though he wasn't Maori.  We arrived at Waitomo and were the first tour into the caves. After a 30 minute walking tour observing cave phenomenon (stalactites, stalagmites, columns, etc.), we boarded the boats to float on the river through the dark. The glow worms were incredible. Like thousands of stationary blue fireflies on the roof and walls of the cave. One could almost swear they were under the stars. Touristy but worth seeing.

Back on the bus and a box lunch en-route east to the Agrodome, outside Rotorua. The Agrodome is another touristy place where you board a tractor pulled wagon and feed (and pet, if you are foolish enough) cows, sheep, deer, ostrich, alpaca, ducks, goats, etc.

This is followed by a border collie (ours was named Queen, 18 months old) sheep herding demonstration. Quite impressive - you could almost hear the sheep muttering "we really hate this dog". This was followed by a sheep shearing demonstration that was quite interesting.  The sheep wasn't happy at all, but as long as you keep a sheep off its' feet, they just lay there and are passive. Finally, they showed us how the wool was processed into the final yarn for weaving. The best yarn is merino wool mixed with possum fur (no kidding, possum fur is hollow and provides exceptional warmth).  Possums were introduced to NZ and became a big problem, so it's good that they can at least use the fur.

Onward to Rotorua and the Te Puia Maori Arts & Crafts Institute for Cultural Demonstrations, a walk through the Kiwi House (the kiwi is a nocturnal bird and she was busy there in the dark) and a tour of the thermal areas.  We enter the Maori Center with our guide and she takes us to the meeting place.  It is a fascinating demo... we must choose a "King" (Harold from Pittsburgh volunteered - Lee was considering it) and then the king has to face a challenge - a silver fern leaf thrown down.. our king must pick it up keeping eye contact with the warrior.

The Challenge - keep eye contact!

Challenge Continued

Our king holds up under pressure so we make fiends.  Then we leave our shoes and go inside.

The whole meeting place is carved - amazing!  The weapons and items used in the dance are described along with the culture and each dance is demonstrated.  Whew, quite an aerobic demo!

We then toured the Kiwi House (it was dark, but the Kiwi was working) and strolled to the geyser and thermal pools.

Geezer with a geyser - front

Geezer with a geyser - back

 Most of the artisans were off on holiday, but the weavers and carvers there were interesting to watch.

The tour bus needed to leave so no time for the gift shop.  We had a small snack on the way back and watched the movie "Whale Rider". 

We got back to Auckland at 8 and stopped at the Grand Harbour Chinese Restaurant for dinner. The food was excellent and we wished we'd discovered it sooner especially since it was only a block from the condo.