Hello Hawaii

Hawaii = American Paradise

After almost four months in Alaska, the eagerly awaited final cruise came the first week in September.  On September 7th, we set sail from Vancouver for the last time. Both Jeremy and I certainly appreciated Alaska but after four months of living the monotonous weekly schedule, especially when we sacrificed a sunny summer, we were ecstatic to head for the tropics.  On September 10th, we spent a much anticipated six hours in Long Beach.  Thanks to mom and dad Bernard, Eric and Miriam Bernard and our dearest family friend Sonja, Jeremy and I escaped our life on the cruise and briefly lived a semblance of normalcy again - just the refresher we needed for the last leg of our contract. We ate a delicious breakfast, walked around the shoreside village, played in a hat shop and culminated the ideal day with some good ole Mexican food on the bay. Oh how I've missed Mexican food!  Funny the things I've missed living on a ship - authentic mexican food and real southern BBQ.  Anyway, it was wonderful to spend a day close to home! 

The four sea days leading up to Hawaii were utterly painless: calm waters, sunny skies, and rapidly passing minutes. I think we were all so happy to experience warmth and sunshine again that being at sea was not a bother but instead a very welcome change.  A few of our bosses from Stiletto Entertainment, the casting agency for Holland America, came onboard September 7th.  Since we are the original cast of "Back to Broadway," and therefore the model for all future casts, Stiletto wanted to perfect our blocking and the technical aspects of the show.  Although we had all been dreading rehearsals, I'm actually thankful because the daily schedule helped pass the time.

On Thursday, September 15th, we arrived in sunny and warm Hilo, HI...or so we thought. Prepared for the tropical heat, Jeremy and I ran outside in our Island best only to discover, to our great chagrin, that Alaska had followed us here. It was overcast and rainy the entire day in Hilo!  However, we didn't let it put a damper on our first day in paradise. Jeremy and I joined our cast friends Kurt, Kassie and Justin and the five of us took a taxi out to the beautiful Akaka Falls state park. It's a lush rainforest park with a trail leading to the 400 foot cascading waterfall. After the park we had the taxi take us into downtown Hilo for some traditional Hawaiian food at a local dive food stand. We walked around downtown Hilo for awhile, embracing and enjoying the cooling light mist when suddenly the sprinkling rainfall became torrential downpour.  We had been planning to walk to a nearby black sand beach so thinking the rain would subside, we headed for the beach. The rain just kept coming but honestly it added to the experience of swimming in the volcanic heated ocean.  Already soaked, we then walked the 30 minutes back to the ship and it seemed like with every minute the rain came down harder and harder. By the time we got to the ship, we were laughably dripping but with huge smiles and a wonderful memory.

The next day we woke up in Honolulu where the sun was shining without a single rain cloud in the sky.  Justin invited us to spend the day with him and his friend who lives in Honolulu. Her name is Dayna and we are now indebted to her for the unbelievable tour of Honolulu she gave us.  The plan was to drive to the north shore of Oahu and spend the day at Dayna's friend's beach house. So, Dayna picked us up and first drove us to a mini-mart to stock up on some goodies for our beach day. We got the necessaries- a 6 pack of Blue Moon,  Kona coffee glazed macadamia nuts, Pringles and Doritos.  Dayna bought pineapple vodka to make us her famous tropical cocktail and she also bought all of us a favorite Hawaiian snack: Spam Musubi.  It's a piece of teriyaki glazed spam on rice and wrapped in seaweed, basically like spam sushi.  It was delicious! That's right mom, I ate the spam and I loved it!  Next, we drove to a local fruit stand for some fresh pineapple, coconut, mango, dragon fruit and fried bananas. Then it was on to the beach house and on the way we passed coffee farms, the Dole Pineapple Plantation and even Pearl Harbor off in the distance.  I wish I had a picture of our priceless faces when we drove up to Dayna's friend, Daniella's, beach house. It actually belongs to Daniella's future father in law who used to be the president of Mattel.  This was not your average beach house. I can't wait to post pictures of this multi-million dollar home on it's own private North Shore white sandy beach. We set up a picnic on their picturesque outdoor porch, drank our pineapple cocktails and walked the mere 20 feet to the sand. I didn't think the day could possibly get any better and then Daniella walked out of the house with snorkeling gear, fins and body boards. We had this pristine beach to ourselves and lived it up all afternoon. Unfortunately, we had to be back on the ship by 5:00 but on the way to the ship Dayna surprised us with another treat. I had read that Oahu's North Shore boasts some of the best shrimp in the world and all along the road we saw shrimp shacks, stands and trucks.  Dayna took us to her favorite shrimp truck, which was a total ghetto dive truck, and generously ordered their famous garlic shrimp for all of us. We ate it in the car on the way back to the Volendam and I'm sure that car still reaks of garlic!  I know I did for a few days but man was it worth it! So far, Honolulu rivals Pattaya, Thailand as my favorite day in port. 

On Saturday, September 17th, we had about six hours in Kona and of course the number one thing on our minds was Kona coffee.  After scouring the nearby streets for the best coffee, I went back to the pier for a snorkeling excursion. Unfortunately Jeremy couldn't go and I know I would've  enjoyed it all the more had we been able to go together, but at least we snorkeled in Honolulu and planned on snorkeling in the other upcoming ports. The tour was billed as Captain Zodiac's raft and snorkel expedition, so part of the fun was the high powered maneuverable raft we went out in.  Had the excursion just been snorkeling, I would've liked it but it wouldn't have been that memorable. However, the raft guides gave me and the seven guests the gift of a lifetime. Let me preface this gift by reminding you of my ridiculous excitement in seeing all those dolphins from the ship in Alaska. I have always had an affinity for dolphins and seeing so many, albeit from far away, was exhilarating. Well, as our raft driver was speeding us to the snorkeling cove, we passed a large school of dolphins. We were out in the open ocean and our guide said, "Who wants to jump in and swim with these dolphins?" Can you believe it?!!!  People pay hundreds of dollars to swim with dolphins in a pool and we put on snorkels, slid out of the raft, and swam with about 20 dolphins in the middle of the Pacific!  And we swam not once but twice when we came upon another large dolphin pod. What a dream come true.  

We now have five more sea days until Samoa. I finished reading "Gone With the Wind" and watched the movie...twice...but the second time with commentary. Now I'm reading "The Thorn Birds."  I absolutely love having the time to read. I must say I feel a little guilty writing these blogs because I'm writing all the best parts of our cruise lives. But believe me, there are plenty of sacrifices and although we don't take for granted our good fortune in this opportunity, we are definitely ready to be home and live our normal lives again. After a break I'm sure we'll be ready to go out again. To Europe :) 

We love and miss you,

J & J Bernard