Hawaiian Trip Review: Vancouver to Hawaii 2017

Elliott is up early and ready to ride!  Aloha and Mahalo! (see my new Hawaiian Spartina purse?)


Oh what a day!  Got my packing done and Ken weighed my luggage. It was 49 pounds, just one pound short of the airline allowance!  Whew!!!  Our driver picked us up at 4 AM to get us to the airport for our 6AM flight.  Flight was on time and we had time for breakfast in Atlanta before our connecting flight to Seattle.  We were a bit pressed for time so stopped at Atlanta Hawks bar and grill at 8 AM. They were out of English muffins and bacon!  So much for my breakfast sandwich!

We boarded our flight to Seattle with a middle seat between Ken and me. Mo sat between us and we chatted and laughed for almost the entire 5 1/2 hour flight!  She and hubby Carl are on our cruise. They're from Atlanta and he's a Delta mechanic. We arrived in Seattle and boarded our puddle jumper flight to Vancouver.  I had arranged for City Limos to take us from the airport to the Blue Horizon Hotel in Vancouver.  Perfect!  We checked in to our high floor rooms with quite a view!  The rooms are really nice and large with updated bathrooms and a balcony. Here's the view from our room. 

Following our day of travel that began at 3 AM EST, we decided to have dinner within easy walking distance from our hotel. Located 1/2 block away from The Blue Horizon Hotel, Earl’s Kitchen and Bar (aka Earl’s on Top) fit the bill.  Our party of four had a reservation that I made through Open Table.  We were seated promptly at a booth inside.  There is outside seating but the evening was a bit chilly. This is a busy and lively restaurant with a fun vibe. Service by Naomi was superb!  We enjoyed a variety of menu items. My choice was the Lois Lake steelhead salmon with a side of warm potato salad and I am still smiling. My table mates ordered Hunan Kung Pao chicken bowl, pizza, and crispy chicken with plum sauce. All were first class. Wines by the glass and beer selection did not disappoint.  Earl’s is a “be back” for us!  

Following dinner we headed to London Drugs to purchase sunscreen, shampoo, etc. to bring on our cruise. 

We were up at the crack of dawn Thursday morning and were ready for breakfast!  Having discovered Cafe Crepe on a prior visit to Vancouver, we set off on a 2 block walk. Crepes were yummy as was eggs Benedict.  On the way back to the hotel, Sephora called out to me!  I had forgotten my favorite mascara, They're Real by Benefit!  Roots, a Canadian boutique, also enticed me. One of the signature items at Roots is the Canadian version of the Hawaiian shirt…. Plaid!  

We dropped my bag at the hotel, purchased our Hop on-Hop off tour tickets, and boarded our bus.  We chose the Blue bus because the stops were more frequent. Seating was, however, uncomfortable for Ken, as there is very little leg room between the rows of seats!  We've been to Vancouver twice before, but had never been completely around the city.  Stanley Park with the gardens, sea wall, aquarium, totem poles, and horse drawn carriages was gorgeous!  This along with Gas Town were highlights to me.  

We hopped off at our final destination, Robson Street, where we enjoyed a late lunch at The Cactus Club Cafe. 

My cheddar burger with the signature red relish, was one of the best burgers I've ever had!  Ken loved the teriyaki chicken rice bowl and our wines by the glass were perfect. Service was friendly and helpful and ambiance was nice with beautiful art work and cozy seating.  We will be back!

For our final dinner I booked reservations for our party of six at CinCin, highly rated by TripAdvisor.  CinCin, an Italian restaurant, offers a fine dining experience in a beautifully ideal ambiance.  We were unanimously underwhelmed by the food as we were expecting “over the top”. Perhaps we didn't order the best on the menu. The zucchini blossoms were beautifully presented. Pasta dishes were good but not great. Tagliatelle al ragu, linguine with lobster, and smoked salmon over risotto were ordered. Of those three, the smoked salmon was rated the highest by our group. The lobster linguine was lacking in pieces of lobster meat. The bolognese ragu was fine, but not among the best I've ever experienced.  Wines by the glass were pricey but good. Our bill for two small pasta portions and wine was $100 USD.  I loved the bread and olive tapenade!  

We were up bright and early Friday morning for breakfast at Abode, located in the Blue Horizon.  Excellent!  I ordered Marilyn’s omelette (spinach, cherry tomatoes, caramelized onions, and Grano Padano cheese) which was perfect!  Ken's Benedict was equally tasty. The artisan bread and home made jam were great.  

Following breakfast we checked out and waited all of five minutes for City Limousine to transfer us to the cruise passenger terminal at Canada Place for cruise check in and embarkation.

This was our second embarkation experience at the port of Vancouver and I was wowed!  Our first experience was horrible but this time we had dropped our luggage, gone through US customs, checked in, and boarded the ship in less than 30 minutes!  Was I ever smiling!

At the Ocean View Cafe we found a table for 6 and ordered our embarkation drinks!  Having the premium beverage package made this a breeze. A couple of slices of pizza, a salad designed from the extensive salad bar, and sorbet completed my lunch!  At 1pm, the announcement was made that our staterooms were ready.  A few minutes after we opened our room door, our luggage was delivered. We met our friends in the Ensemble Lounge for pre-dinner cocktails.  Dinner followed in Blu. My filet mignon was excellent.  Then we sang and danced the night away to Abba music in the Sky Lounge.

Saturday:  breakfast in Blu, followed by a presentation by my favorite naturalist, Brent Nixon, on humpback whales did not disappoint.  Mary Amanda Fairchild, the onboard cultural historian, gave a presentation on the history of Hawaii.  Like her husband, Brent Nixon, she is quite entertaining as well as informative.    Lunch of cobb salad and black bean soup was delicious in the Grand Eppernay dining room.  Next it was time to head back to our stateroom #1610 to read and blog. Tonight's dinner was in Murano, the incredible French specialty restaurant, one of those “must do” onboard experiences.  Fine dining, awesome service and extraordinary cuisine were delightful.  Chateaubriand for two … oh my!  Goat cheese soufflé and lobster bisque equaled smiles!  We enjoyed our experience so much that we missed the evening show in the Celebrity Theater!  

Sunday: another day at sea!  Blu for breakfast, bag of laundry readied, presentation by Brent Nixon on green sea turtles, lunch of spaghetti bolognese and mushroom soup (and cinnamon ice cream!) made for a great morning into afternoon.  As an aside, Ken was run over in the elevator by an electric wheelchair/scooter!  Fortunately he wasn't damaged too much!

I wasn't sure that I would like many consecutive sea days; but I confess that I'm really enjoying them!  Ukulele lessons, hula lessons, lei making, wine tastings, fitness classes, and so many more options to keep us busy! 

Here are a couple of photos of my traveling buddies!  We really kicked our heels up and had a blast!

Days at Sea are relaxing and fun! We took advantage of destination lectures, that included lots of information on the history of the Hawaiian Islands, volcano facts, Hawaiian culture, food, and more.  Presentations by the naturalist were, as I mentioned previously, phenomenal.  I am indeed a fan of Brent Nixon!  He taught us about whales, green sea turtles, dolphins (including the really cute spinner dolphin), and volcanoes. And the sunsets are awesome!

We enjoyed reading on our verandah, leisurely lunches, poolside time when the weather was good, aquaspa time when the weather was a bit cooler, spa time, meeting new friends, and we smiled! 

All in all, we enjoyed our five consecutive sea days; but both decided that more would be too much.  We were happy to finally put our feet on dry land and begin to explore Hawaii.

Kailua Kona – We arrived and tendered ashore; being Elite loyalty members, we met the Captain’s Club Hostess in a designated area and were escorted to the front of the tender line.  The seas were rough and getting on and off the tender boats could be a challenge.  Several on our cruise were injured during the process.

 

We had booked a private tour for our group of six with IslandwideFamily Tours.  Kyle greeted us on the pier and escorted us to his 12 passenger van, which was comfy for our group!  One of our first stops was at Greenwell Farms for a Kona coffee tasting and tour.  I especially enjoyed the chocolate Kona coffee!  The 100% Kona coffee is grown and harvested on the farm. We learned about the entire process, from seeding to roasting.  We saw young plants as well as mature ones.  The coffee cherries were beginning to ripen… did you know that they are red?  Since we would be limited with our luggage weight on our flight home, I didn’t purchase coffee there; but was thrilled to learn that I can order it online! 

Kyle was enthusiastic, fun, and provided a wealth of knowledge about the Big Island.  We stopped at a couple of scenic lookout spots, visited the Kealakekua Bay (Captain Cook monument is here), 

the beautiful Painted Church, and the Pu’uhonua o Honaunau National Park (City of Refuge).

Here's Kyle!

The Pu’uhonua o Honaunau was beautiful and spiritual and we learned much about the history and traditional culture of Hawaii.  We walked around the Royal Grounds, as well as the Place of Refuge.   Ancient walls, ki’i (wooden images of Hawaiian gods resembling tiki sculptures), halau (thatched shelters), fish ponds, beautiful sea scapes, and more are on the site of this national historical park.

Another highlight of our tour was our yummy lunch at Keoki’s Ono Fish and Chips!  The sign outside welcomes you by stating that here you will find the best fish and chips on the island.  I agree because I don’t comprehend how there could be any better fish and chips anywhere!  The fresh ono, lightly breaded and fried … how my mouth is watering now! The homemade tartar sauce perfectly complemented the fish; and of course I even like to dunk my chips in cocktail sauce!  The décor is fun!  We dined outside and it was like dining on someone’s back porch or deck! 

Kyle returned us to the pier; but I just had to visit the ABC store that was located across from the tender pier!  Hawaiian plumeria flower hair clips were calling my name so I snagged a few of those as well as an Aloha plumeria flower lanyard for my cruise card.  All set, we headed back to the ship. 

Following a shower and change of clothes, we met friends in the Emsemble Bar for cocktails prior to our dinner in Blu.  As always, dinner and service were superb!  Probably the most exciting thing to experience was viewing the lava flow into the Pacific from the Kilauea volcano, which has been erupting since January 1983.  It was awesome!  Life changing!  The captain made sure that everyone was able to view this incredible sight; he did a U-turn so that everyone on the ship had a chance to view and photograph the lava flow.  The timing was expected to be around 12:30 am, but in fact we saw it closer to 2 AM.  Yes, I stayed up!  After dinner, we went to the Oceanview Cafe and got a platter of cheese, crackers, and cookies along with a glass of wine each for our viewing party!  This was a highlight of our trip for me!

Hilo – Our second day in Hawaii! Kyle met us by the pier where Celebrity Solstice docked.  Another couple joined our group of six and we waited a few minutes for Mike and Laura.  We boarded our 12 seater van and began our day with Kyle!  Banyan Drive was beautiful!  Banyan and monkey pod trees were everywhere!  We headed to the Hawaii Volcano National Park where the drizzle fizzled and we got some awesome view of the Kilauea Iki Crater, which was smoking! On the drive there, we traveled through rainforests; how awesome is that?  From the overlook at the Jagger Museum, we had ample photo-ops.  What an experience to be so close to an active volcano? 

We went through the Nahuku lave tube, saw (and felt) numerous steam vents, and even Pele’s hair! 

  “Volcanologists call it Pele's Hair, after the Hawaiian goddess of volcanoes, but the golden strands are actually fragile volcanic fiberglass. They're formed when lava is ejected into the air and small droplets are caught by the wind, which then cools and stretches them into very thin strands (from Huffington Post).” 

Following this awesome adventure, we stopped by the Akatsuka Orchid Farm where we saw hundreds of beautiful orchids, including specialty orchids and tropical plants.  We were even given a fresh orchid flower for our hair!  The gift shop was nice too; I found the kukui nut oil that I had been in search of!  Kukui nut oil is a natural moisturizer that has been used for centuries in Hawaii. The Mauna Loa macadamia nut farm was another highlight.  The nut trees were beautiful and the factory and store provided the perfect spot for sampling the delicious mac nuts!  I loved the coconut chocolate ones!  One could also choose from kona coffee glazed, butter candy glazed, maui onion and garlic, honey sriracha, honey roasted, and of course chocolate coated! 

Our lunch stop was the Eagle’s Lighthouse Café, a small locally owned café.  It’s small and busy!  There is only outside picnic table seating, some of which are under cover.  The sandwiches are delicious and HUGE!  Most definitely, two people can share one sandwich!  The chili in a bread bowl was yummy as was the sweet potato salad, made with Okinawan purple sweet potatoes. 

Our stop at Rainbow Falls provided more beautiful photo-ops!  This was truly an educational and fun day in Hilo!  We even spotted a Hawaiian kitty!

Do you see it?

Lahaina, Maui – This was a tender port and we were escorted to the front of the line as we were Captain’s Club Elite members.  We didn’t have an excursion planned; the Kaanapali Beach Break excursion that I had booked was cancelled and we didn’t want to take the Road to Hana Excursion as it was a 9-hour day (and you come home the way you go, so you see the same thing twice).  We decided to save the Hana trip for a time when we stay on Maui and are not on a cruise.  The historic Banyon Court Park is quite remarkable!  Shading the whole park, the trunks and branches provide complete cover.  The park itself was filled with artisans displaying and selling their wares. 

 Front Street is great for browsing, shopping, and dining; there are oodles of souvenir shops, boutiques, art galleries, jewelry shops, bars, and restaurants.  There is something here for everyone!  During our two days here, we had lunch at Lahaina Fish Company and Kimo’s.  Both were waterfront with beautiful views and great menus.

Here’s my Lahaina Fish Company review:  Having read reviews online, we stopped at Lahaina Fish Company for lunch during our two day stay in Lahaina. Oh wow! The Island fish and chips did not disappoint! Fresh fish, perfectly fried, complemented by homemade dill caper tartar sauce and Hawaiian sea salt fries! I was smitten! We also enjoyed a cup of the fresh seafood chowder, which was chock full of island fish, clams, shrimp, and more! Wines by the glass were great. Service was perfect and the view from the upstairs deck was awesome.

A luau was on my "to do" list so I had booked us tickets for the Drums of the Pacific Luau at the Hyatt on Kaanapali Beach.  (this would also get me to this beautiful beach and resort area)!  We were quite disappointed in this luau experience.  It was extremely crowded such that we did not have a good line of vision for the entertainment.  The food was just OK... some in our group thought "K&W" type.  I did enjoy the kalua pork though!  Wines by the glass were not too good.  Can you believe that we left early?  Yep we did and we got back to the ship for a great glass of wine, chocolate martini from the martini bar and music!

 

And here’s my Kimo’s review: I think I ordered the wrong thing! I should have ordered fish and chips but instead I ordered coconut crusted fish with pineapple salsa and was disappointed. Hubby ordered the grilled shrimp and beet salad and was underwhelmed. The ambiance and waterfront setting are great! Service was fine. Next visit I will order fish and chips!  Loved the setting and service!

We enjoyed exploring and I was in search of the famous Hilo Hattie store, a Hawaii tradition since 1963.  I have a dress that my Mom bought there in the early 1980’s.  Unfortunately, there is only an outlet store there now.  I expected everything to be “made in Hawaii” but discovered that it was not.  I was a bit disappointed.  The outlet store is large and has lots of Hawaiian shirts, dresses, and skirts, as well as tons of souvenir items.  I went away empty-handed though.

We did, however, make a nice purchase of Hawaiian made jewelry at Na Hoku!  The jewelry is beautiful and Ken bought me a Hawaiian wave design pendant with a center pearl and diamond wave.  It is gorgeous!

We wandered back to the ship in plenty of time for our 7 PM departure time.  Unbelievably, it was also time to pack our luggage as we would be disembarking the following morning!  How times flies when you are having fun! 

Last morning onboard ship and First day in Honolulu

The following morning, we had our final breakfast in Blu.  I just love their omelettes, as well as the scrambled eggs with cheese!  Following breakfast, we grabbed our backpacks and headed to the Tuscan Grill, which was our disembarkation lounge.  When our number was called, we exited the ship, found our luggage and headed out to meet our driver, Go808Express, to transfer us to the EmbassySuites Waikiki Beach Walk, which would be our home for the next four days. You can see a picture of our room if you click on the link above!

Here's a view from our balcony!

Our rooms were not ready, so we checked our luggage and headed to the pool area for some lemonade.  Then it was off to explore!  The Embassy Suites is nicely located, a block from the beach and near lots of restaurants, bars, boutiques, shops, ABC stores, and shopping malls.  I loved seeing the surf boards lined up, and the surfers in the ocean!   I even got a chance to partake in hula lessons! (where was my grass skirt when I needed it)?

This is a very cosmopolitan area with lots of Japanese tourists as well as tourists from Australia and New Zealand.  The hotels are beautiful and we wandered into several of them.  Getting a bit hungry, we stopped at the Yard House for lunch.  I just loved their cheeseburger and sweet potato fries; the blueberry ketchup was awesome!   

Right across the street from Embassy Suites, and also around two corners, we found the famous ABC Store!  This is not the mainland version of the ABC alcoholic beverage store, but is a chain of convenience stores that have everything from macadamia nuts to wine to sunscreen, to Hawaiian shirts, and more!  They have everything!  To locals, ABC can stand for All Blocks Covered (as there is one on almost every block), Always Bring Cash (as you will always find something to buy),  We purchased some wine and mac nuts and Maui chips to take back to our room for snacks on our balcony!

What a beautiful evening view from our balcony!

I got a text when our room was ready and Wow!  We were on the top floor in a corner suite and the views were outstanding!  The suite consisted of a bedroom, living room, kitchenette, and balcony.  It was just perfect!

Dinner our first night was at Roy’s Waikiki.  I had read about Roy’s online and wanted our group of six to have a reservation for our first evening’s dinner in Honolulu; so I booked Roy’s.  Here’s my review of Roy’s: After reading the great reviews of Roy's, I made a reservation for a group of six for our first dinner in Waikiki. The restaurant is popular and extremely busy. We were seated within five minutes of our reservation time. Service was ok, not overly friendly or helpful for first time visitors. A couple of us ordered the misoyaki butter fish and did not care for it at all. One ordered the yama mama meat loaf, which was deemed just OK. The hit among our group was the macadamia crusted white fish. Two bowls of spicy edamame were on the table and they were spicy! Though we advised our server that we didn't care for the hot spicy taste, we were not offered a non-spicy version. We were all disappointed in our overall experience.

Day 2 in Honolulu

I had booked the Deluxe Pearl Harbor-USSArizona-Honolulu City Tour with Roberts Hawaii, to make getting there and back easy and hassle free.  It was!  We met the Roberts guide at the Outrigger Reef located across the street from Embassy Suites.  Upon arrival at Pearl Harbor, he gave us our tickets to the Arizona Memorial.  We had about thirty minutes to browse around prior to our scheduled time to enter for our Arizona Memorial tour.  The tour is a 75 minute program that begins in the Pearl Harbor Memorial Theatre with about a 25 minute documentary film and a Navy-operated shuttle boat to the Memorial where you spend about 15 minutes before boarding the shuttle back.  The documentary was very well done.  The Memorial itself is sobering;  you see and read the names of the sailors who gave their lives for our country and are entombed in the sunken ship.  The flags are at half-mast.

 

 I felt humbled to be able to pay my respects to some of our Greatest Generation who gave their lives for us.  We had a quick lunch of hotdogs and soup at the Bowfin Café, before heading back to meet our tour guide. On our way back to Waikiki, we saw the National Memorial Cemetery of thePacific, aka Punchbowl Cemetery, and had a drive through Honolulu. 

Back at the hotel, we showered and headed out for a light bite at Giovanni Pastrami, a casual Italian restaurant and sports bar located across the street from our hotel.  We were quite disappointed in the food quality. Each of our party of four ordered a pasta dish. Spaghetti Bolognese, pasta carbonara, and lasagna were our choices. All were just OK. Ambiance is sports bar OK. Service was fine; but this was definitely not what we expected.  Following dinner, we enjoyed our wine and chocolate mac nuts from the ABC store from our balcony; here's a view of the beautiful pool!

Day 3 in Honolulu:

I had booked a private tour for the six of us online in advance with Private Tours Hawaii.  Adam White, the owner, was quick to respond and get us booked and confirmed.  Greg was our guide and met us promptly at 7:30 AM in the lobby of Embassy Suites to begin our 8 hour full circle tour of Oahu!  Greg was personable, informative, and fun.  We had a great time and learned a lot and saw some amazing scenery, landscapes, and seascapes!  Among our stops was the Diamond Head Lookout, Kahala Estates, Hawaii Kai Lookout, Hanauma Bay Lookout,

 Sandys Beach, Makapu’u Lookout, Nu’uanu Pali Rainforest,

He’eia State Park, Kualoa Ranch, Sunset Beach, Waimea Bay, and Haleiwa Surfing Village.  We had some great food too!  Huli huli chicken at Mike’s, Fumi's Kahuku ShrimpFarm for fresh shrimp (I chose coconut shrimp and it was awesome!),

 Leonard’sBakery for those yummy malasadas, and even shave ice!  We stopped at a shopping village for shave ice and instead of shave ice, I found the palm frond hat that I’d been in search of since day #1 when I saw this young lady sporting one!  It was a good day!

Greg dropped us off and we said our Alohas and headed in for a R&R break before heading out for dinner at Duke’s BarefootBar and Restaurant.  This was a highlight for me, as I had heard about Duke’s and it was on my Must Do list! 

The restaurant is a tribute to the legendary Duke Kahanamoku, who grew up swimming, surfing, canoeing and bodysurfing. In 1929, Duke rode a monster wave for 1 1/8 miles at Waikiki and is known as the Father of Surfing. 

Our party of four really enjoyed our dinner at Duke's! I ordered the Huli huli chicken with pineapple relish. It was delicious! Others ordered the kushiyaki kebab, grilled skewers of teriyaki chicken, steak, peppers, onions, and zucchini with roasted pineapple salsa. And one ordered the sautéed mac nut opa, which brought a big smile! We enjoyed the famous hula pie for dessert!  About that pie?  If you go to Duke’s you must order the hula pie!  This is a monstrous slice of macadamia nut ice cream on a dense chocolate cookie crust, covered in fudge dotted with big chunks of macadamia nuts and then topped with whipped cream. It’s heaven sent for sure! As you can see here, it's all gone!

Day Four Honolulu:

Following our Embassy Suites complimentary breakfast, we headed to the Trump International Hotel, located directly across the street, to meet our Hawaii Food Tour guide for the famous Hole-in-the-Wall Food Tour.  Being a foodie and having been on numerous food tours in cities in the U.S. and abroad, I was really looking forward to this tour.  Our first stop was Royal Kitchen for baked manapua.  

 Manapua are little buns that are steamed with Chinese sweet pork roast (called char siu).  In addition to char siu, there are a number of other fillings including Okinawan purple sweet potato, curry chicken, kalua pork, and more). We made our selection of manapua and sat at little concrete tables, where we sampled them.  I chose kalua pork and it was quite good.  Ken had the sweet potato one and liked that too. 

 

Our next stop was the Liliha Bakery, where we sampled coco puffs.  A coco puff is a cream puff shell filled with a rich, buttery, chocolate filling, topped with a Chantilly frosting.  Liliha Bakery sells over 5000 of these little coco puff pastries every day.  They WERE yummy!

Following this, we headed to Chinatown for a walk.  We had about 5 minutes to smell the flowers at Lin’s Lei Shop; this wasn’t long enough as some in our group wanted to purchase leis.  Then we went to the Ying Leong Look Funn rice noodle factory.  This is a small place, owned by Fu Ying Chee for over 50 years.  This factory turns out thousands of pounds of rice noodle sheets each cay. We watched the workers hand folding and stacking the noodles. 

Following this stop, we headed to our “hole in the wall” … it was sort of a covered patio between two buildings where we could stand or use the small portable seats that were provided.  We basically stayed here while the guides went off to various Chinatown restaurants to bring back food to sample.  We sampled a stir fry noodle dish and Korean bbq chicken.  Then was perhaps my favorite, a caramel banana lumpia! 

Next up was some ahi poke with half moon dumplings; neither of these was a favorite of mine; but most others in the group loved them!  (I’m just not a fan of raw fish and wet dumplings).  And then I became brave, as I tasted rambutan “red  hairy balls” fruit!   

It was OK… the Maui gold pineapple dusted with li hing powder (preserved plum powder) was quite tasty!  Following this we were served roast pork and char siu which was yummy.  This culminated with cocktail time, lychee-vodka-pineapple smoothie.  We toasted with the Hawaiian toast Okole Maluna (buttocks up… or as we say it bottoms up)!

Our final stop was Leonard’s Bakery for those wonderfully delightful Portuguese doughnuts known as Malasadas!   They make you smile.  After this, we were returned to the Trump Hotel and we made our way back to Embassy Suites.

We were sort of “full” from all of the food and so planned a later “meet up” with our friends at the complimentary cocktail time at the Embassy Suites pool.  We enjoyed a glass of wine and headed off to The Yard House for dinner.  This time I ordered the classic sliders and once again the sweet potato fries with blueberry ketchup, and a ranch salad.  All were yummy!  Do you see a pattern here?  Ken enjoyed the pastrami reuben sandwich with a slide of clam chowder and he also met a new friend!

Day 5 in Honolulu:

We enjoyed our final breakfast at Embassy Suites!  We got out check-out time extended by 1 ½ hours from 11 AM to 12:30 PM.  This helped as our flight didn’t leave Honolulu until 9:30 PM!  We checked out around noon and left our bags with the bell service.  I headed out one more time to the ABC store and Na Hoku for some gift items that I had been considering.   Before leaving Hawaii, I had to purchase some of the beautiful koa wood jewelry at Na Hoku.  The acacia koa is a species of flowering tree, endemic to the Hawaiian islands.  Historically, it was the material of choice for carving ocean going canoes.  Na Hoku had a variety of beautiful sterling silver and koa wood pendants, set in their Hawaiian designs. 

 I made my decisions and headed to the ABC store for some koa wood bookmarks, Hawaiian sea salts, and another bottle of that lovely kukui nut oil!  All of this last minute shopping inspired hunger so we headed back to the Yard House for our final Waikiki lunch.  Though I'm not a connoisseur of beer, the Yard House has many choices!

Roasted turkey sandwich and tomato bisque perfectly satisfied me!  The Embassy Suites got us a limo to the airport around 4 PM.  We arrived there and checked into the Delta Sky Lounge where we could eat and drink and rest comfortably until time to board our flight.

The flight was on time and we arrived in Seattle at 6:30 AM!

Seattle, Washington

We booked a package at the Inn at the Market inSeattle that included a limo transfer from the airport to the hotel.  Our driver was there to meet us in baggage claim, just as our luggage came off the carousel.  Arriving at the Inn at the Market at 7 AM, we did not expect our room to be ready.  Miraculously it was ready!  We were indeed happy campers!  We headed to our room, and hit the bed for a nice nap!  

This is a view of the waterfront from our hotel room!

 Once rested, we took showers and went to Bacco Cafe for brunch.  Bacco is associated with the Inn at the Market and is quite good.  They serve from 7 Am – 3 PM.  I enjoyed quiche and Ken had eggs benedict.  Once sustained, we wandered around, going into Nordstrom.  Why Nordstrom?  Two reasons: First is that the store in Seattle is the flagship store.  Second is that Nordstrom carries Canada Goose.  I’ve been desiring a Canada Goose parka ever since I saw the Range Rover advertisement with the beautiful woman in a red Canada Goose parka dog sledding in Alaska.  (the ad WAS for Range Rover, but what caught my eye was the parka; I had to do a fair bit of research to determine the brand of the parka)!  Well… I found the Canada Goose parkas and tried several styles on; but (fortunately I guess), they weren’t quite as wonderful as I had expected.   

The price tag is high for these coats so it had to be something unique in my mind to warrant spending that amount of money on a coat that a girl in North Carolina probably doesn’t need anyway!  Ken was smiling when I shook my head “no”. 

For dinner this first evening, we headed across the street to Steelhead Diner.  It was excellent!  As we have dined at a sister restaurant, Blue Acre Seafood, we wanted to try Steelhead Diner.  I recommend making a reservation as this is a popular spot. The house appetizer of smoked salmon and capers on crisped bread was yummy! We ordered the Alaskan razor clam chowder which was delicious with lots of clams, potatoes and bacon. I'm a fish and chips fan and my Alaskan cod was among the best I've ever had! The naughty clams were superb too... Naughty Nellie Manila clams with preserved orange, ham hock and fennel. Service by Melanie was top notch and our wines by the glass were perfect. The location by Pike Place Market offers nice water views. We will be back!!!

The highlight of this Seattle visit was getting together with Ken’s brother and family.  They picked us  up at the hotel and we went to Wild Ginger for dinner.  Wow was the food great!  Wild Ginger is one of Seattle’s top restaurants and I can see why.  We were served a variety of dishes “family style”, including Nam's spring rolls, fragrant duck, seven flavor beef, wok roasted lamb c hops, and sichuan green beans!   Everything was perfect, including the wine! 

The following morning, we got a cab to the airport for our flight home.  Flights were on time; the only slight kink was that we had to circle for about 30 minutes upon arrival in Wilmington as another plane had hit a coyote on the runway, causing a delay in our ability to land.  Our bags arrived and our driver was there; next stop home sweet home!  It was nice to be back in our own bed and we were happy that we would  pick  up Zoey, our Maltese dog, the next morning!

Final Thoughts

Hawaii?  Would I do it again?  Maybe, but I’m not rushing to go back right now.  It was beautiful but the Caribbean islands, located so much closer to us in North Carolina, are just as beautiful in my opinion. If I go to Hawaii again, I would like to spend several days on each island as they are all so different!

A Repositioning Cruise with multiple consecutive sea days?  Would I do it again?  Yes indeed; but only 5 consecutive sea days max!  In fact, I have already booked us on a Transatlantic cruise from Ft. Lauderdale to Southampton for April 2019!