Photography tour Honolulu

Had a private tour today with Alex Wilson of Oahu Photography Tours. There were just 9 of us from the ship. He picked us up at 10:00 and we went all around the entire island, stopping at a bunch of places to take photos, culminating with a gorgeous sunset near the Bonsai Pipeline. We got back at 7:30 tonight, just in time to grab some Hawaiian BBQ being featured in the Lido.

I've included some of my favorite photos taken with my iPhone today.

Tomorrow is a shopping day over at Ala Moana shopping center. We've a relatively early all aboard at 3:30. I might spend some time at the beach too. We'll see.

Hilo Hawaii

We had an on time arrival in Hilo - 7:00 AM. It had rained here yesterday - 9 inches! Locals were saying they hadn't seen that much rain in decades. Wow. Good thing that was yesterday and not today.

I rented a car for the day and by 8:00 I was off on the highway headed for waterfalls and botanical gardens.

There were intermittent rain showers, but hey, rain lover that I am, I loved it.

It was also good to get in a car and drive again. Although I was given a little putt putt car, it was fun to zip around. I can't complain - the car cost me $36 all in. Plus it had a USB port so my phone/camera was kept at full charge along the way. Thanks Dollar!

In addition to scenic beauties I also needed to find a bookstore. I was in search of book 4 of a series I'm reading. It took 3 stores to find a used copy but I was successful!

After the book find, I had about an hour or so left before turning in the car, so I did what all good cruisers do - I went to Wal-Mart! The ship even runs shuttles there. Now, don't get all judgy and stuff on me. When you're away from home for four months, there are things - little things - that you need along the way. Like a second sports bra for when the only one you brought is in the ship's laundry, being made to smell nice again. And then maybe some bottled water. I also love Hawaii's Wal-Mart because in their sewing department they have beautiful Hawaiian fabrics for sale. Can't find those on the mainland. I bought a couple of yards of a pretty pineapple pattern. They also have great Hawaiian clothes for both adults and kids, a great place to find nice gifts for a not-inflated price. And it's all made in Hawaii too, so there!

The pictures are from my travels today - Akaka Waterfalls, Umauma Waterfalls, Hawaii Tropical Botanical Gardens (I highly recommend going there - really beautiful), highway scenery, and of course, I took Snort out with me. He had a great day too.

The Hawaii license plate photo has to do with my road trip this past September with my friend Bobbie. We played the license plate game and got all the states except Hawaii. Not quite during the road trip, but a Hawaii plate at last.