Come sail with me on a virtual cruise to Hawaii on Ruby Princess

[ellie1145]

2 hours ago, RLK33853 said:

We have visited the Park on three different trips and each time we not only return to what is familiar, but always find new and interesting things to see and do at the Park. 

 

Next time rent a car so you can spend time where and when you want - it is easy to drive on the Big Island and there are lots of little places to stop on your tour. 

 

Just outside the gates of the Volcano National park (four or five blocks into the little town of Volcano) is a little grocery store called the Kilauea General Store.  Not only is it a quaint place to stop, but If you want to pick up wine for the cruise ship take a wander through the General Store's selection.  While not overly extensive, the owner is obviously into wine - great selection and price points.

 

Next go outside the store, and attached is an exceptional sandwich shop which makes huge homemade sandwiches.

 

Thank you for those suggestions. For us, the first time we visit a place is a bit of a learning curve, and the second time it’s more familiar and we are able to plan a bit better. I like the idea of hiring a car. That sounds a great suggestion. I like the sound of the sandwich shop too! Thank you!

 

[USCcruisecrazy]

15 minutes ago, ellie1145 said:

 

They are such beautiful flowers, with such a variety of colours and shapes, they are very photogenic. 

 

Oh, talking about Day Lilies reminds me of when we had a house in Florida and we planted them in our garden. So beautiful. We loved seeing them. 

 

As for me trying with an orchid again, I had better tell you about my poinsettia.....

 

A dear friend gave me a lovely poinsettia a couple of weeks ago. It was a splendid example. However, every time I so much as look at it, petals and leaves fall off it. I’ve tried everything - watering, not watering, too hot, too cold, I’ve even spoken nicely to it! But no, every time I enter the room it looks at me and drops another leaf. It is now quite skeletal, with a long bare stem and a few red curling petals....so perhaps I should give orchids a miss..😉

 

Very well, you take the pictures and we shall support someone else growing them.  Maybe you should try a Bonsai tree or Cactus...something harder to kill.  LOL!!

[ellie1145]

Just now, USCcruisecrazy said:

Very well, you take the pictures and we shall support someone else growing them.  Maybe you should try a Bonsai tree or Cactus...something harder to kill.  LOL!!

 

Think you could be right. I don’t want to kill another poor plant....🤣

[CruzinNoony]

What a great tour!!!  If you have already mentioned the guide's information, I missed it.  Please post it again.  We were booked on a cruise to Hawaii in Jan. 2021, but of course, it was cancelled.  We are planning on booking it again in 2022.  I absolutely loved your orchid photos!!  Meredith

[TeaBag]

56 minutes ago, USCcruisecrazy said:

Very well, you take the pictures and we shall support someone else growing them.  Maybe you should try a Bonsai tree or Cactus...something harder to kill.  LOL!!

Actually a silk plant is great!  You can't kill it!  We have a large silk Ficus here and once when we had someone stay in our home while we were away, she dutifully watered it!!  There was a bit of a flood underneath it when we came home!

 

Love all the Orchids.  The first time we were on the big island, we rented a car with another couple and toured many of the places you have posted about here.

[ellie1145]

1 hour ago, CruzinNoony said:

What a great tour!!!  If you have already mentioned the guide's information, I missed it.  Please post it again.  We were booked on a cruise to Hawaii in Jan. 2021, but of course, it was cancelled.  We are planning on booking it again in 2022.  I absolutely loved your orchid photos!!  Meredith

I’m pleased that you are enjoying the tour, and that you liked the orchid photos. 

 

The tour guide was Ricky. You can google him. He has his own tour website. He was really brilliant. 

 

I do hope your 2022 cruise takes place. We might even join you! Covid permitting of course! 

 

 

[ellie1145]

1 hour ago, TeaBag said:

Actually a silk plant is great!  You can't kill it!  We have a large silk Ficus here and once when we had someone stay in our home while we were away, she dutifully watered it!!  There was a bit of a flood underneath it when we came home!

 

Love all the Orchids.  The first time we were on the big island, we rented a car with another couple and toured many of the places you have posted about here.

 

We had a silk fiscus plant in our Florida home too! As you say, you can’t kill them! I had a chuckle about yours being watered by your house sitter. Shows how real it looked!

 

I think the idea of renting a car sounds really cool. Another one for my ‘bucket list.’ 👍

[ellie1145]

Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Factory

 

We drive through the  countryside on our way to the Macadamia Nut Factory. The sky is still pretty dark and gloomy. We pass some impressive houses. 

 

 

 

 

 

 We drive through a macadamia nut orchard, with trees on either side, for nearly 3 miles, before Ricky parks the van outside the visitor centre and gift shop. 

 

 

 

 

There is a welcome sign to those from Ruby Princess which is a nice touch. 

 

 

 

 

This factory is the world’s largest processor of macadamia nuts, and at one time it was a subsidiary of the Hershey Company. It is working hard to become sustainable, and carbon neutral. It has a steam generator which uses plant waste to produce electricity. The nut shells are burnt to produce renewable energy and this helps to reduce waste. 

 

It was in 1946 that the first macadamia nut plantation was planted, but it took until 1956 before the first commercial crop was harvested. It is claimed that these nuts have health benefits, are healthy as not only are they low in sodium, they are a good source of potassium, protein, calcium and dietary fibre. 

 

 

 

Edited December 4, 2020 by ellie1145

[AF-1]

love the chocolate covered ones

[ellie1145]

Just now, AF-1 said:

love the chocolate covered ones

 

 

Me too, I’ve bought an extra packet for you to eat in the van! 🤫

[AF-1]

1 minute ago, ellie1145 said:

 

 

Me too, I’ve bought an extra packet for you to eat in the van! 🤫

nice,  thanks a lot

 

[JF - retired RRT]

14 minutes ago, ellie1145 said:

Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Factory

It is claimed that these nuts have health benefits, are healthy as not only are they low in sodium, they are a good source of potassium, protein, calcium and dietary fibre. 

 

Our doctor told us to eat a "handful" of tree nuts every day to help control bad cholesterol.

I asked him, "have you seen DH's hands?".🤭

[ellie1145]

 

The factory offers a ‘self-guided tour’ of the processing plant via an outside walkway.

 

There is a large gift shop and a cafe which features home-made macadamia nut ice cream, as well as burgers etc. You can get free samples of every flavour of ice cream produced by the company.

 

 

 

 

 

We wander at will before seeing the processing plant. The grounds are beautifully planted.

 

We decide to try the wonderful ice cream and it’s absolutely delicious.

 

After that we walk across to the nut and chocolate processing plant, and climb up the stairs. We walk along the balcony, where there are large glass windows looking directly into the production line. Here, the nuts are husked before being dried to exact moisture specifications. 

 

 

I'm afraid I can't tell you what is going on as there is not much information, and the factory seems almost empty.

 

#

 

 

 

 

 

The nuts are then made into a variety of flavoured macadamia nut products before being packaged.

 

However, it can’t really be described as a ‘tour’ as all you do is look through windows to see what is going on and there is nobody to describe the production. It’s a little disappointing, and I think that this is one part of the tour we could have done without.

 

But on the plus side, at least we got to eat some chocolate covered macadamia nuts! YUM!

 

Afterwards we wander round the shop which has an overwhelming choice of products.

 

There are several flavoured nuts such as dry roasted salted macadamia nuts,  honey roasted, Kona coffee glazed, mango chipotle, and Maui onion and garlic. If that isn’t enough there are dark and milk chocolate covered nuts, dark chocolate and sea salt caramel nuts, milk chocolate coconut nuts, and milk chocolate toffee macadamias.

 

We can’t resist buying some chocolate covered macadamia nuts, but I have to confess that we eat them all before we get back to the ship.

Edited December 4, 2020 by ellie1145

[ellie1145]

12 minutes ago, JF - retired RRT said:

Our doctor told us to eat a "handful" of tree nuts every day to help control bad cholesterol.

I asked him, "have you seen DH's hands?".🤭

 

🤣

[ellie1145]

 

Our tour is nearly over but we have one final stop, which I am looking forward to. If only the weather was better we could go for a swim! 

 

So it's back in the van we go!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But look! There's a McDonalds! Quick, AF-1, shall we stop for a quick snack????

 

 

Edited December 4, 2020 by ellie1145

[ellie1145]

Richardson Ocean Park

 

Back in the van, we drive to our next location, Richardson Ocean Park, which is a marine conservation area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was once owned by Elsa and George Richardson. George was the former Chief Detective of Hawaii, and the land was given to him in recognition of the way he saved many of the Malo family, with whom he had been close friends. 

 

It’s a fascinating story, and a bit of trivia for you (though I know that lots of you reading this are real Hawaii experts, so you probably know all about it already!)

 

Apparently, in 1920, the entire Malo family became seriously ill with typhoid fever. Elena Malo walked to the home of George Richardson to ask for help, and Richardson sailed his boat to their home, picked up the whole family and took them to the hospital in Hilo. Sadly, two of the children died but Richardson continued to support the family as they recovered. 

 

Malo was so grateful for Richardson’s help that he offered George a plot of land to build a house on, and he gratefully accepted. This house still stands but it is now the Richardson Ocean Center. 
 

[cr8tiv1]

 

The local name for this flower is the parakeet haliconia.

 

A little late...but more trivia:  SPAM is a premium gift this time of the year for South Koreans.  

[ellie1145]

45 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

 

The local name for this flower is the parakeet haliconia.

 

A little late...but more trivia:  SPAM is a premium gift this time of the year for South Koreans.  

 

Such beautiful flowers, cr8tiv1, I wondered what they were called. They reminded me of the bird of paradise flowers that are very common in Madeira.

 

I hope I don’t get a tin of spam for Christmas. I hate the stuff, we used to have it served up as school dinners when I was at senior school - spam fritters, yuk! Running in fat. And we had to eat them or we were not allowed to leave the table. I usually ended up palming them off to someone who DID like them. 🤮🤣

[memoak]

5 minutes ago, ellie1145 said:

 

Such beautiful flowers, cr8tiv1, I wondered what they were called. They reminded me of the bird of paradise flowers that are very common in Madeira.

 

I hope I don’t get a tin of spam for Christmas. I hate the stuff, we used to have it served up as school dinners when I was at senior school - spam fritters, yuk! Running in fat. And we had to eat them or we were not allowed to leave the table. I usually ended up palming them off to someone who DID like them. 🤮🤣

My mother was born and raised in the islands. I grew up on spam. Nothing better than spam and eggs for breakfast

[Papa Yoda]

4 hours ago, ellie1145 said:

 

The factory offers a ‘self-guided tour’ of the processing plant via an outside walkway.

 

...

 

There are several flavoured nuts such as dry roasted salted macadamia nuts,  honey roasted, Kona coffee glazed, mango chipotle, and Maui onion and garlic. If that isn’t enough there are dark and milk chocolate covered nuts, dark chocolate and sea salt caramel nuts, milk chocolate coconut nuts, and milk chocolate toffee macadamias.

 

We can’t resist buying some chocolate covered macadamia nuts, but I have to confess that we eat them all before we get back to the ship.

 

 

No SPAM flavoured?!?! o_O

 

DW does like the Maui onion and garlic ones.

[Papa Yoda]

1 hour ago, ellie1145 said:

I hope I don’t get a tin of spam for Christmas. I hate the stuff, we used to have it served up as school dinners when I was at senior school - spam fritters, yuk! Running in fat. And we had to eat them or we were not allowed to leave the table. I usually ended up palming them off to someone who DID like them. 🤮🤣

 

ooooh!!   Chicken Fried SPAM, brown sugar glazed SPAM loaf with whole cloves <- these 2 were staples in our house when I was growing up - yum!  Always reminds me of Monty Python!  

 

[ellie1145]

15 hours ago, Papa Yoda said:

 

ooooh!!   Chicken Fried SPAM, brown sugar glazed SPAM loaf with whole cloves <- these 2 were staples in our house when I was growing up - yum!  Always reminds me of Monty Python!  

 

 

I had no idea that spam could be made into so many things. I’m afraid you would not have enjoyed the Spam fritters at my school. They were truly disgusting. 

 

Love Monty Python! Great to hear you enjoy it too! 🤣

[Papa Yoda]

9 hours ago, ellie1145 said:

 

I had no idea that spam could be made into so many things. I’m afraid you would not have enjoyed the Spam fritters at my school. They were truly disgusting. 

 

Love Monty Python! Great to hear you enjoy it too! 🤣

 

Bloody Vikings!

 

 

[ellie1145]

Aloha, good evening, good afternoon, g’day to all you Cruising Adventurers around the world!

 

I must apologise for being AWOL, but I’ve had a busy weekend. 

 

But I’m back and ready to finish our tour of Hilo. I hope all of you expert Hawaiian cruisers haven’t been too bored, and that my photos have brought back happy memories. 

 

So off we go again! 

[ellie1145]

Richardson Ocean Park

 

Ricky parks the van in the car park in front of the beach. It’s an impressive sight as the sea looks very rough and powerful. The sky is dark and brooding and beyond the sea wall the waves are rolling in.

 

A pretty little bird hops along in front of us, oblivious to all of us getting out of the van. It has beautiful eyes. 

 

 

 

 

Richardson Ocean Park is normally a very safe place to swim as lava from Mauna Kea forms a natural sea wall, providing a sheltered beach. There are rock pools which fill at high tide and provide safe swimming holes at low tide. It’s a great place for snorkelling. There are also freshwater pools behind the beach. 

 

 

 

 

Beyond the sea wall the ocean is much rougher and is popular for surfing, although it is unpredictable and not for the inexperienced. There are sometimes Monk seals and turtles to be seen, but not today.