Honey we're home!

Some of you may have noticed I've been off the grid for a bit, most of you probably have not lol.  Well hubby and I were blessed to have taken a cruise around the Hawaiian Islands.
We flew into Honolulu on April 21st then spent the next 7 days cruising around the islands before sailing to Vancouver and flying home last night.  All I can say is amazing! 
We stayed at ILIKAI hotel and suites Thursday night and I highly recommend this hotel. We had a nice clean rather large room (large compared to what I hear most Hawaii hotels are like) and very friendly hotel staff. Friday we headed out to Pearl Harbor...I can't even begin to explain how emotional the memorial was. I was also blessed to meet some Pearl Harbor survivors that were there that day telling their stories and giving autographs. Truely amazing men.
After Pearl Harbor we checked in at the ship, found our room and had some pizza! ahhh ship sweet ship! This cruise we sailed on the Carnival Spirit and once again we were blessed to have fabulous waiters and crew. I already miss them. If you are ever on a Carnival ship and see Anak or Wibiyantha please hug them lol.
Saturday we drove around Honolulu, went to the Dole Plantation and the Halona Blowhole. Fresh Pineapple and coconut for all!
Sunday we were in Kaui and I took my first helicopter ride. For someone scared of heights, this is a big deal lol. It was spectacular. I highly recommend Blue Hawaiian if you are planning to take a helicopter ride on any of the islands. After the ride we drove to the Sprouting Horn Blowhole and down to the Poipu coastline. Beautiful drive but sadly no whales.
Monday was spent in Hilo on The Big Island. Drove to Punaluu Beach to see the black sand and found some green sea turtles relaxing in the sun. The black sand is incredible there. We also traveled to the Volcano National Park, saw old lava fields, walked through a lava tube and found some vents. Sadly none of the lava was visable during the time we were there.
Tuesday was Kona, another part of The Big Island. We hit the coffee plantations, did some shopping and had a wonderful lunch with my Aunt Brenda and Uncle Larry....they were there for vacation all the way from Montana lol. I owe special thanks to Uncle Larry for driving an hour back to the pier to bring us the GPS and Carnival Beach towels I left in their rental car...ooops.
Wednesday and Thursday we were in  Maui. We drove to the top of Haleakala, a volcano that reaches 10,000 feet. At the time we thought it was dormant but found out the next day they have actually put it back on the active list and expect to see lava from it in the next two years! Darn we miss all the fun lol. We drove around some more exploring until it was time to head to the ship for dinner. Thursday we had a morning snorkle tour that lasted 5 hours. We snorkled at Molokini and Turtle Town. Turtle town is a "cleaning station" for green sea turtles. It was fun to swim with them. We also so a HUGE group of Spinner dophins while we were out. Love them.
That is the short version of the trip lol. A great time was had by all but we seemed to always be one step behind the whales, lol one day! I'll try to load some pictures soon. Trying to get back into the groove, get some things caught up at work, calm down our crazy "children", unpack, do laundry....etc. etc. etc. lol.