The Grand Princess has successfully completed its Westbound Transpacific Crossing…
Distance from San Francisco to Hilo, Hawaii: 2006 Nautical Miles
A beautiful day in Hilo on the Big Island of Hawaii…Hilo gets a lot of rain but today the gods are smiling on us.
Hawaii from the Grand Princess
Mini-Local Information. Hawaii is really the Big Island because it is bigger than all of the other islands combined. It is approximately, the size of Connecticut. It has several volcanoes (always, in seems under the clouds) and one active one. The town of Hilo seems like a throwback to the seventies and eighties – there are lots of “"healing centers” and yoga facilities. We even saw some Hare Krishna folks chanting down the street – it’s been a long time. There is a block devoted to the Farmer’s Market and the town also sports several thrift stores. Hilo Bay is massive and the ship is docked next to a beautiful lagoon.
This itinerary is being run in reverse with Hilo now being our first port of call. Our plan today, as in October 2013, is to walk the town of Hilo. Although it is only in the high 70s today, the humidity is still pretty high so we are trying to walk in the shade as much as we can.
Along the way, we ran into an interesting work of art…
The Hilo Turtle
We missed the last pre-lunch break Hilo public bus so we sat at the bus station waiting for the next one – about an hour. A passenger indicated she had ordered a cab and asked if we wanted to share the ride back to the ship. In a few minutes, we were back on the Grand Princess.
Lunch in the Buffet – Pizza from the Trident Grill and salad from the Horizon Court.
Spent the afternoon spent reading on deck chairs on Deck 15 (back railing).
Finished “Dust to Dust” by Beverly O’Connor (really liked it and downloaded a second novel – now reading “The Martian” by Andy Weir.
Watched sail away from the top deck – a tug seemed to be pushing the ship –
What is the Tug Doing?
did not see any pilot jump off and the ship made its own way through the pay and through the opening in the breakwater. We got great views of Hilo and the surrounding countryside.
The sail away was very scenic including a very big turn to exit the harbor..
Aloha, Hilo
Hotels along the Bay
Hilo, Hawaii
Ellen Deck 16
The Big Turn
Dinner in Alfredo’s Pizzeria – nothing in the buffet.
We attended another show by Kevin Jordan in the Princess Theater.
Kevin Jordan
Still pretty funny but I think the flashlight thing (a possible reference to his career as a patrol cop) might start annoying people. Nobody likes a bright light in their face.
No “Motor City” this trip. We saw a bit of this show last trip – Motown is not really my thing.
The piano player in the Piazza – Robert Deans – is fantastic – wonderful arrangements.
We also caught a few minutes of Party Band Respect in the Explorers Lounge.
We are on tour tomorrow so we are back in the room to rest.
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