Terry Ambrose

Writing is like a good barbecue sauce, if it ain't bold, it ain't worth doing.

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Friday Fotos – Honolulu sunrise on the horizon

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This Honolulu sunrise was our first Hawaiian sunrise on the cruise!
After five days at sea, it was nice to see land again, especially when it involved a beautiful sunrise.

This Honolulu sunrise was our first sighting of land after five days at sea on the MS Noordam. We’d sailed from Sydney originally and spent the first two weeks of our cruise traveling to and from New Zealand and then around the country. After our return to Sydney, we sailed to Honolulu with stops in New Caledonia, Fiji, and American Samoa.

It had been an exciting—and eventful—trip. We’d seen sights we might never see again, visited islands of lush beauty, and enjoyed wonderful food and service. I’d also spent a few days in quarantine when I was infected with the Australian flu during the first two weeks of the cruise. With Hawaii in sight, however, I was looking forward to spending time on Oahu and enjoying each morning’s Honolulu sunrise.

Want to see more photos from our trip? Here’s a link where you can check out all the entries in our travel journal.

Friday Fotos – Waikiki at night from Ala Moana Park

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Waikiki at night from Ala Moana Park

This photo was taken on our last night in Honolulu. On the days we took the Hop On-Hop Off tour, we discovered how close our condo was to Ala Moana Park. So, on our last night in Honolulu, we decided to take a walk over to the park. We were amazed at how easy it was. We’d expected having to deal with traffic, but there’s a bridge with a pedestrian walkway that makes the trip very easy. As the sun set and darkness set in, lights in the city across the water sparkled.

Want to see more photos from trip? Here’s a link where you can find all the entries in our travel journal.

More photos from Honolulu

Friday Fotos – Waikiki lights from Ala Moana Park

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Waikīkī at night
On our last night we walked over to Ala Moana Park, where the lights of Waikīkī were shining brightly.

For our last night in Waikiki, we decided to take a walk to Ala Moana Park from our condo and check out the Waikiki lights. To our surprise, the walk to Ala Moana Park and even Ala Moana Mall, was an easy one. The park is a vast green space on a peninsula that sports plenty of activities. We caught the outrigger canoe club coming in. Watching the crew members jump off the canoe into the water when it was time to take the canoe out of the water gave us a momentary chill, but then we remembered this was Waikiki and Hawai‘i where the water is about ten degrees warmer than in San Diego.

Even though it was dark, there were still plenty of people enjoying the evening. Even some of the tour busses come here to park for the night. They’re done for the day and the parking lot is gigantic, so there’s plenty of space to line them up. And then there were the Waikiki lights as a backdrop. All those skyscrapers lining the water create for a beautiful display of lights.

More photos from Honolulu

Travel Journal – May 8 – We (almost) did Diamond Head

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In all the trips we’ve made to Hawai‘i, we’ve never hiked Diamond Head. With four days in Honolulu after our cruise, we decided to get adventurous and make the hike up Diamond Head. We’d heard stories about the climb and read up on what to expect. I would have liked to have done this hike earlier in the day, but we took the Hop on, Hop off bus to get here and were limited by their schedule and our own laziness (we missed the first run of the bus).

Diamond Head is a volcanic tuff cone with an elevation of 761 feet. For someone who is in good shape, this isn’t that much elevation but, as the saying goes, my biological clock is ticking and this hike was a stark reminder that I am not twenty, or even thirty or forty.

Our hike began at 200 feet elevation, which is where the trailhead is. We made it up past the first set of stairs, 74 in all, and through the 225 foot tunnel. When we came out the other end of the tunnel, we looked up to the right. Ninety-nine steep concrete steps seemed to stretch on to the sky. Those steps take you to the lowest level of the Fire Control Station. At this point, you might ask how many more levels are there? The answer is four. Which means there are more stairs—I think it’s another 136 altogether, more trails, more heat, and more sun.

When we turned around, we were hot, tired, and felt like our skin was baking. The line of people going up Diamond Head resembles a row of ants. Some of the people were in good enough shape to make it to the top. Others, like us, not so much. If you’re thinking of hiking Diamond Head, do a few things first. Prepare by climbing stairs—lots of them. Second, go early in the day. After ten, there are a lot of people who show up to make this climb. And third, have lots of patience. This is a long, slow climb and because of all the other people who are there and the narrow width of the trail, your pace may be determined by someone else, not you.

Want to follow along on our journey? Here’s a link where you can find all the entries in our travel journal.

Photos from our Diamond Head hike

Friday Fotos – Kauai Coastline and its spectacular beauty

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The Kauai coastline just north and west of Kapaa has a beauty all its own. This section is a beautiful place to walk or just hang out and watch the shore. This photo was taken in 2015 and I doubt it much has changed. There are enough rocks and the surf isn’t as good as on other parts of the island, so there are few surfers or swimmers. But from shore, this is a beautiful view.

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Friday Fotos – Iao Valley waterfall on Maui

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Our last trip to Maui was in 2015. It rained heavily the night before, so the rivers were flowing and the waterfalls falling. We had no idea when we decided to go visit the Iao Valley on the other side of Maui that we were going to be headed into more rain and clouds that would make the valley feel like a dream.

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