R. Doug Wicker's Blog, page 145

Port 2 Honolulu — National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific

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National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific

Lisa and Al Fittipaldi joined Ursula and me for a ride that would take us high above the towering buildings of Honolulu.  Exiting the bus we still had a bit of a hike to our destination.  Along the way we would find spectacular views of Honolulu and Diamond Head.

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The view from the Punchbowl

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Honolulu and Diamond Head

The sun was settling low on the horizon by the time we reached our objective.

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Entrance to the Memorial

This is a trip Ursula has wanted t...

Port 2 Honolulu — USS Arizona Memorial

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USS Arizona’s final resting place

It’s a short hop, or sail in this case, from Hilo on the Big Island to Honolulu on the island of Oahu.  Ursula and I have been to Oahu too many times to count, as had our frequent cruising companions Lisa and Al Fittipaldi, so this excursion planned by Ursula would forsake the usual in favor of memorializing.  As Al Fittipaldi is retired U.S. Navy (who says Air Force and Navy can’t mix?) Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona Memorial seemed a natural.

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Ursula (cent...

Port 1 Hilo — Macadamia Nuts and a Black Sand Beach

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Richardson Beach

I mentioned that there was a second commercial stop, this one after the Akatsuka Orchid Gardens.  That would be the Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Factory and Tour.

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Not exactly a photo stop, but certainly a tasty one as you can see from the bag of goodies Ursula is holding below:

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Mauna Loa Factory

For a more photo-worthy destination we headed west back to State Road 11, north just past Hilo International Airport, and then east to Richardson Beach and Richardson Ocean park.  It’s ab...

Part 1 Hilo — Akatsuka Orchid Garden

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Akatsuka Orchid Gardens

Our next two stops on the Ricky’s Tour were commercial enterprises, but no less entertaining than what we’d seen so far.  I’ll briefly discuss the second commercial stop in the next article in the series, which will also include a visit to one of the Big Island’s famous black sand beaches.  For now, let’s take a look at the floral delights of the Akatsuka Orchid Gardens.

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Akatsuka Orchid Gardens

The Akatsuka Orchid Gardens are located a short distance outside the Hawai’...

Port 1 Hilo — Kilauea Iki Crater

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Kilauea Iki Crater

Our last look at Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park before we move on.  The overlook of Kilauea Iki Crater is along Crater Rim Drive.  Kilauea Iki may look quiet today, but in 1959 rivers of molten lava flowed along its floor:

1959 Kilauea Iki eruption

The overlook is on the northeast corner of the crater, and in the background you can see the smoking Kilauea Caldera.

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Kilauea Iki Crater

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Kilauea Iki Crater — Kilauea Caldera smoking in the background

Today’s photo gallery of Kil...

Port 1 Hilo — Lua Manu Crater

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Lua Manu Crater

We still weren’t done with Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park.  Ricky had two more stops inside the park.  By the way, Ricky’s Tours gave us a great tour in a comfortable van with time along the way to enjoy the sights.  And Ricky did so at a reasonable price.  You certainly can’t ask for more than that.  Here’s our van, and a shot of Ricky:

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Ricky’s Tour van

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Ricky

Our next stop had appropriate signage:

 

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Lua Manu Crater

The smallish Lua Manu Crater is along the Chain of Craters R...

Port 1 Hilo — Thurston Lava Tube

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Nāhuku — Thurston Lava Tube

Kilauea is not the only attraction within the Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park. Just a half mile from the Kikauea Caldera overlook is the Thurston Lava Tube, known to the locals as Nāhuku. I’m pretty sure that the lava tube did not get its name from famed millionaire castaway Thurston Howell, III, but you never know. Actually, it was named after the Thurston family, missionary Asa and Lucy Thurston and their descendants.

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The hike to Nāhuku

It’s a short hike from the...

Port 1 Hilo — A closer look at Kilauea Caldera

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Kilauea Caldera

The Kilauea Caldera is a forbidding landscape. Hardly a speck of green intrudes into the area surrounding the smoking Halema’uma’u Crater in the distance. The crater itself is 2,530 feet/770 meters wide, 2,950 feet/900 meters long, and is 270 feet/83 meters.

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Kilauea Caldera

And that “smoke” you see rising from the floor of Halema’uma’u? It’s deadly sulfur dioxide gas.

Now for today’s photo gallery of this hellish place and the beauty of the surrounding area:

Filed under...

Port 1 Hilo — Rainbow Falls and Volcanoes National Park

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Kilauea Caldera

Our next stop on Ricky’s tour bus was Rainbow Falls, aptly named depending on how the sunlight hits the spray rising from the Wailuku River.

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Wailuku River

The falls are quite the sight, and it’s very fun composing shots highlighting only certain aspects of the falling water.

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Rainbow Falls

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Rainbow Falls

Still, the complete falls are themselves fun to capture, especially in portrait orientation.

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Rainbow Falls

Check around the area for some beautiful flora, as well.

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Rainbow Falls...

Port 1 Hilo — Lili’uokalani Park and Gardens

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Lili’uokalani Park and Gardens

The Crown Princess left Los Angeles on October 17, 2015. Aboard with Ursula and me were our good friends from Houston, Al and Lisa Fittipaldi. You may remember Lisa and Al from our adventures together on another cruise we did together just last year. That one was to Alaska, and you can read up on Lisa and Al here: The Norwegian Sun Docks in Ketchikan.

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Lili’uokalani Park and Gardens

We arrived five days later at our first port of call, Hilo, on the island of Hawa...