New Travel Plans
Waikiki, Honolulu, Hawaii
17-24 July 2017

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As I was preparing this new blog entry, I discovered that I had not quite finished reporting on the last two days of my travels in Spain in March-April 2017.  I will provide an update on my final stay in Barcelona and my return home to Tucson in the next few days.

Thanks for your indulgence.

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Although my upcoming travel plans do not involve a cruise, they do involve the Pacific Ocean and therefore qualify for blog reporting on LFLatSea.

Will and I have been invited by our good friend and fellow travel enthusiast, Anita, to spend a week with her in a two-bedroom time-share condominium in the Hilton Hawaiian Village Resort Complex in Waikiki.  Besides enjoying the comforts of the condo and its terrace-views, we will also have access to all the facilities at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, which is the largest in all of Honolulu, and centrally located on Waikiki Beach.

I don't know what the wifi facilities will be, but I will try to post new photos directly from Hawaii.  And I surely will post more photos when we return to Tucson at the end of the trip.

Hilton Hawaiian Village

The three of us fly American Airlines from Tucson (lv 11:50am) to Phoenix (av 12:45pm/lv 1:59pm) to Honolulu (av 5:35pm) on Monday, 17 July.  Will and I booked incredibly low-priced first-class tickets on the outgoing and return flights, on 24 April, Honolulu (lv 7am) to Los Angeles (av 3:35pm/lv 7:50pm) to Tucson (av 9:25pm).  The flight amenities include advance choice of meals as well as all the comforts of first class.  We will rent a car for the week, although there is much to see and do within walking distance of the Hilton.

Previous Visits to Hawaii:  1990-2008

Hawaii is one of my favorite places for relaxation and this will be my sixth visit to the islands (and Will's third).  ① I first spent 10 days of Spring Break in March 1990 in Waikiki (at the Waikiki Parc Hotel), with a one-day air tour to Kauai. 

Waikiki Beach 1990

Flying from Oahu to Kauai 1990

Grand Canyon of Kauai 1990

 


② My second visit (with Will) was during Spring Break in March 1992, when we spent five days each in Waikiki (Hyatt Regency) and Maui (Hyatt Regency). 

Breakfast at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki 1992

Waikiki Beach with Hyatt Regency in Background 1992

Pali Highway Crossing to North Shore, Oahu 1992

View from Hyatt Regency Maui 1992

Hana Black Sand Beach, Maui 1992

 ③ In January 1993 I spent three days at the Waikiki Joy (a boutique hotel), located just a few blocks from the beach.  On this trip I was on my way to Australia and New Zealand and took a break from the long flights (I lived in Virginia at the time) and the high costs (using frequent flyer miles to travel round-trip Richmond-Honolulu). 

Hotel Waikiki Joy 1993

④ Visit four was another short stay at the Waikiki Joy in February 1993 on my way home from New Zealand.

⑤ In November 2008 Will and I enjoyed a 15-day cruise on Holland America's ms Zaandam, roundtrip Hawaii from San Diego.  After five days at sea we visited five ports in Hawaii--Hilo and Kona (on the Big Island), Lahaina (Maui), Honolulu (Oahu), and Nawiliwili (Kauai)--before five days at sea returning to San Diego.

Hilo:  Rain Forest 2008

Kona:  Sign for Tourists 2008

Maui:  ms Zaandam at Anchor 2008

Maui:  Lahaina Beach 2008

Oahu:  View of Honolulu from ms Zaandam 2008

Oahu:  View of Honolulu from ms Zaandam 2008

Oahu:  Lunch at Halekulani Hotel 2008

Kauai:  Land's End 2008

Kauai:  Rice and Poi Fields 2008

Future Travel Plans:

14-day Mediterranean Cruise on Oceania's ms Marina, 
7-21 November 2017

Will and Anita and I are excited about our first cruise together coming up this November.  We had planned a 16-day cruise from Lisbon to Rio in November 2016, but Will and I had to bail out because of my fall and subsequent hip replacement in Spain in October 2016.  Anita and friend Deb did make the trip without us and Anita has some wonderful photos, particularly from Salvador and Rio in Brazil.

This 14-day cruise sails from Rome to Barcelona, covering both the eastern and western Mediterranean.  From Rome, we sail to Sorrento and Messina (Italy, one day in each), Haifa/Jerusalem (Israel, two days), Limassol (Cyprus, one day), Rhodes and Gythion (Greece, one day in each), Valletta (Malta, one day), Palma de Mallorca (Spain, one day), ending in Barcelona.  Although I have visited some of these places on previous trips--Israel in 1993, for example--I am happy to see them again and to explore new ports as well.

More details will be forthcoming as we get closer to November.

17-day Australia-New Zealand Cruise on Holland America's ms Noordam, 
5-22 February 2018

On this trip I will be traveling solo, although I am hoping to convince Will to join me.  I visited the eastern coast of Australia and the south island of New Zealand in January-February 1993--a long 25 years ago.  This cruise begins in Sydney, with several stops in southeastern Australia and Tasmania:  Melbourne, Burnie, Port Arthur, Hobart; south island New Zealand:  Milford Sound and Fiordland National Park scenic cruising, Port Chalmers/Dunedin, Akaroa/Christchurch, Picton; and north island New Zealand:  Wellington, Napier, Tauranga, ending in Auckland.

I hope you will accompany me via LFLat Sea on all these adventures.