Marina Del Rey, northern Summer 2022

Marina Del Rey Hotel is expensive these days. It had a makeover a few years ago - the shell of the buildings remain much the same with renovations focusing on the interior. But we had to go for old times sake. 

A marina, especially one the size of Marina Del Rey, produces glorious sunrises and sunsets.

Sunrise, Marina Del Rey Hotel

Sunset over a cloudy day, Marina Del Rey Hotel

Sunlit masts as daylight wanes on a cloudy day

The Warehouse Restaurant is a short walk from the hotel, located on the edge of the marina.

Waterside view of the Warehouse Restaurant

And you can dine in or outside. 

Great beers

The Warehouse Decor

Great wines

The food is delicious and the service is excellent.

Crab-stuffed salmon

Seafood salad

If you want to make your own lunch or get picnic supplies, Ralphs and Trader Joes are very close by.

Kaua'i to O'ahu

Deck 11 stern - gathering place

Once the anchor is raised we always meet up with our travel buddies on Deck 11, stern. It's the best place to view the stunning natural beauty of the Hawaiian Islands. And it's the best place for photos. Here we are on Deck 11, settling in for happy hour.

Knox and Julz

David and Jenny

 A special experience, exclusive to Pride of America passengers, awaits as we leave Nawiliwili, Kaua'i. 

Kaua'i - The Garden Isle - view from Deck 11

We don't immediately head for Honolulu, because first we take a whole-cruise excursion to the stunningly beautiful, stunningly rugged, Na Pali coast.

Na Pali Coast - erosion creates a valley

Na Pali Coast - rugged volcanic landform

Na Pali Coast - narrow sandy beaches

Na Pali Coast - endpoint (headland)

One more sleep and we will wake up to the coast of O'ahu. The timing is no accident.

Diamond Head at sunrise

Early risers will be treated to the iconic, sunlit silhouette of O'ahu's volcanic crater, Diamond Head.

Honolulu, O'ahu

Packed and ready to disembark, there is time to enjoy our last breakfast at the outdoors section of the Aloha Cafe on Deck 11, stern.

Deck 11, stern (American flag)

Lockdown 2020

Our trip to Hawaii had to be postponed indefinitely. 4 days in Kona, 4 days in Lihue and 10 in Waikiki were cancelled. April would find us hunkered down in the inner Brisbane suburb of New Farm marking time while the world focused on finding remedies for the Covid-19 virus that is relentlessly, stealthily sucking the life out of unsuspecting humans.

The world was not ready for a pandemic. Vaccines take time. Governments were thrown in to crisis mode.  As my mother often quoted “The situation doesn’t make a person, it reveals that person”, and  Covid-19 is revealing the true leaders of our nations. The smoke and mirrors that may have worked for some in the past are no match for Covid-19.  

Fortunately, lockdown in April has not been harsh in Brisbane with autumn temperatures ranging 27-30 C (low 80s F). Exercise outside was always allowed. The local grocery stores eventually found their groove and are providing safer shopping experiences. The Brisbane City Council maintains a bevy of beautiful parklands and most of the inner Brisbane suburbs have easy access to the Brisbane River with its scenic walkways and bike paths. Holidaying at home with our music collections, craft collections and internet has been rather fun.

Here's a snapshot of our month in Lockdown.

Early morning walks at sunrise set the tone of the day.

Brisbane River, near Merthyr bowls club

It's autumn here, so while the abundance of the rose gardens in New Farm Park had passed

Rose gardens, New Farm Park

the brilliance and beauty of late bloomers cheered the soul

Pink Rose, New Farm Park

The downstream outlook from the jetty near the Sugar Refinery Apartments is a go-to view of the river that fills my cup and invigorates my mind.

Teneriffe river walk, Brisbane River

Upstream has a pretty nice view too. During WWII the government decided that sugar was an essential commodity that had to be reserved. Output at this refinery was doubled 1940-1945.

Sugar Refinery Apartments, Teneriffe

It was always good to see the city cats operating on the river. With plenty of outdoor seating they would appear to be the safest form of public transport at the moment.

City Cat near Sydney Street, New Farm

Scenes of dogs on leashes and kids cycling with their parents helped you feel connected to the rest of the community.

River walkway near Sydney Street City Cat Stop

Sewing fabric face masks for the people I cherish helped me feel connected to my family. My darling 4 year old grand daughter wore her mask to the Covid-19 testing clinic. She was required to have a test because she presented with a sore, inflamed throat (the test was negative thankfully). And grandpa wears his mask to the fruit and vegetable market.

Homemade face masks - using free online patterns 

Guessing in late March that hair salons would be closed because physical distancing while having a hair cut would be almost impossible, I ordered hair clippers online so we could do it ourselves. I  YouTubed how to trim a 7.5 cm (3 inch) undercut, encouraged my husband to watch the video too (kind of like homeschooling) and last week he did it for me. He did a superb job. It blends in beautifully with the rest of the 'do'.

Undercut trim at home

It was also fun to buy a ukulele online for my grand daughter who is turning 6 very soon. It has already arrived at her home address and she loves it. We are lucky her big cousin already knows how to play the ukulele because she can teach her how to do the island strum. The simple chords for Happy Birthday will be a good start.

Simple chords from Ukulele PuaPua, Waikiki

As of 3^rd May confirmed Covid-19 cases in Queensland, Australia total 1,034; with 113,601 patients tested. So far six people have died. For Australia as a whole there have been 6,801 confirmed cases since late January, with 95 deaths.

Queensland's collective isolation efforts to “flatten the curve” are now being rewarded with the lifting of certain restrictions. We can break out from our house arrest and go on a picnic or shop for non-essentials. But wait, there are three golden rules that must be followed:

1) Hygiene and social distancing (1.5 metres) still applies; 2) Stay within 50 kilometres from home; and 3) only household members, or yourself and one other person can attend that picnic

Schools are still open for children of essential workers or vulnerable students. This will be revised on May 15. Playgrounds remain closed. Queensland’s borders remain closed.

More updates can be found at Health.gov.au

Cruising the Hawaiian Islands

The Pride of America cruises the Hawaiian Islands all-year round; embarking from Honolulu on a Saturday evening and stopping at Maui for two nights, Hawaii (The Big Island) for two nights (Hilo and Kona) and Kauai (Lihue) for one night. The other two nights are spent cruising the Pacific Ocean. On the way back to Honolulu the ship takes a detour to showcase the spectacular Na Pali Coast. Below are a few photos I took on our recent trip (when I remembered to pack my camera for the day).

Maui

We took a scenic bus trip to the beautiful town of Lahaina. Stores of well-known brands such as Patagonia and Lush and waterfront restaurants stretched along the main street from the Banyan tree to the small outlet mall. We had lunch at Lahaina Fish Co, just a few doors down from Kimo's Restaurant. I had the MahiMahi fish plate - cajun seared over brown rice topped with tropical salsa and balsamic drizzle.

Banyan Tree, Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii

 

View from the Lahaina coastal walkway - puppies playing fetch

Walkway along the volcanic coast, Lahaina, Maui, HI

 Locals crammed into the back of their ute, Lahaina, Maui, HI

 

Hawaii, The Big Island

It was a bleak morning the day we arrived at the Port of Hilo. Thick cloud blanketed the hills and together with the lava landscape the atmosphere was dark and eerie. We were soon to learn about Pele, the goddess of Hawaii's volcanoes.

The view from the ship's balcony, arriving at the Port of Hilo, The Big Island, HI

Lava rocks along the coastline, Hilo, Hawaii

 

The work of Pele - A lava mound with the imprint of a tree inside

 

Walking on lava - Hilo, Big Island, HI

After the lava tree mounds we visited a lava beach - nothing like the golden beaches of Queensland, Australia - they were lava grey and very pebbly (it couldn't be called sand by any stretch). But the sun did finally shine as we arrived at this beach and it was very tempting to take a couple of the smaller pebbles for keepsakes. Our guide convinced us that it would not be wise to do so; it would likely make Pele angry. She recounted stories of the bad luck that fell on such hapless visitors who dared to remove what Pele had created. I have a little anecdote of my own to add to the Pele stories: we took the lead on this trek to the beach because a young boy had been stung by a bee and needed the guide's assistance. As we arrived at the edge of the ocean I spotted what I thought was a shiny piece of blue paper...the only made-made object on the beach. It was a very light-weight poncho still in it's packaging. I felt the warmth of Pele shining on me and accepted it as a gift.  I was very glad that I didn't disappoint her by taking a tiny pebble as a souvenir.

On our night cruise to Kona, we were treated to the spectacular coastal scene of intense heat and steam caused by hot lava mixing with the sea water - Kilaeua.  Pele was putting on a show for us. We were too far away from the site for a decent photo but there is a picture in my pinterest folder, Take me there.

Since it was cold and rainy for most of the time we were docked at Hilo, we were heartened to learn that our next stop, Kona, was sure to be sunny and warm. We were also excited by the fact that tenders (small orange boats carried on our ship) would be ferrying us across to the shore because there was no place to dock a cruise ship at Kona harbor.

 

Sunrise - arriving Kona, Big Island, HI

Tender boats ready to serve

View of Kona through the front window of the tender

View from Kona foreshores - searching for a cup of Kona coffee

Pride of America anchored and waiting for our return

Kauai

The sound of a rooster greeted us as we docked at the port of Nawiliwili (near Lihue), Kauai. It kept crowing. Later we realised that there was more than one rooster. In fact there were many chickens and roosters free ranging across the island; they had escaped during a hurricane. We also learned that the underground sport of cock fighting was alive and well on Kauai.

Kauai had several attractions for us. There was a beautiful beach in walking distance from the port with a Duke's barefoot bar close by. There was a well-stocked yarn shop called Twisted Turtles across the road from Dukes in Lihue. While there were plenty of natural wonders to explore on Kauai we chose the Wailua river boat ride to the Wailua Falls and Fern Grotto. Next cruise we'll do the Waimea Canyon.

Wailua River cruise

Ginger plant with pink flowers, Wailua River State Park, Kauai

  

Fern Grotto (Cave), Wailua River State Park, Kauai

  

At the viewing deck - Fern Grotto, Wailua River State Park, Kauai

 

The beach at Lihue, Kauai - sailboards, canoes, volley ball

The view from Dukes Barefoot Bar, Lihue, Kauai

  

Leaving Nawiliwili Port, Kauai

 

Flashing my new Kauai T-shirt - Deck 11, Aft, Aloha Lanai Bar

 Honolulu

On the way back to Honolulu we did a detour to the majestic Na Pali Coast. We viewed it from the Gold Rush Saloon, Deck 11, mid,  as we toasted the Pride of America for taking us on a most amazing journey. We were sad the cruise would soon be over but we were excited about spending a few more days in Waikiki before heading home to Brisbane, Australia.

Just one more magnificent sunset on Waikiki Beach, Oahu, HI