Summer Road Trip 2014 Part 1: NM, CO, WY, and SD

June 4, 2014

A bit daunted by our first big road trip with little Hyla, we checked many times over to make sure we had everything she could possibly need while we were out on the road. We got out of the house a little before 8 am and had a mostly uneventful drive north on I-25. We stopped at a rest area just south of Raton to change Hyla’s diaper. While there, I decided it would be a good idea to use the facilities as well. The bathroom was filthy, and there were no paper towels to use to open the door to get out. There were other people in the room, and I tried to wait for someone to finish so she could open the door (it was that bad!), but they were taking forever. There was no available toilet paper, either, since all stalls were occupied. I hemmed and hawed and stalled and finally I just decided to go ahead and open the darned door and deal with it when, as I was reaching for the handle, someone came in. Victory!! And ick to nasty rest stops.

Our next stop was in Trinidad, CO, one of my favorite small towns. While arriving however, we were nearly hit by some distracted woman merging onto the expressway. I was in the left lane as she came in, figuring she’d maybe look there before going all the way over. Nope! I blared my horn and was nearly pushed onto the left shoulder (what else could I do?). She looked horrified and seemed quite apologetic, so I’ll overlook it this time. We did notice, though, that the drivers in Trinidad were particularly bad on this day.

Once off the crazy roads, we stopped briefly at the historical museum where we honed in on a geocache. There was a lady sitting at ground zero, eating her lunch. I decided I better tell her what we were doing so we didn’t seem too suspicious. Turned out she was a former employee of the museum! She was quite aware of the cache, so we chit chatted a bit before dropping off two travel bugs, picking up one new one, and heading on our way.

We were pretty hungry at this point and knew there wouldn’t be much between here and Pueblo, so we decided to make a quick stop at the local Taco Bell/KFC. It turned out to be the slowest one ever!! We sat there for at least a half hour before our order was ready. We did chat a bit with a local, which passed the time. When our order arrived, we scarfed it as quickly as possible (we have places to be!) and hit the road. We got Hyla an order of mashed potatoes and the super soft beans from the KFC side, and those were a huge hit on the drive up, though I would wind up covered in bean juice. Bleh. Still, I was so glad to discover something easy that she enjoyed.

Continuing up, we stopped again in Pueblo to change Hyla and grab another geocache. This one involved climbing a tree! I spotted it, and Nathan retrieved it like a pro. From there we got gas, then continued north of Colorado Springs to Castle Rock. We did the hike to the top (and Nathan made it to the very top, which involved quite a scramble. I stayed below with the kiddo). We snagged 3 geocaches, but I got really nervous as Nate was grabbing that last one at the top because lightning started getting close, and the winds picked up tremendously. I called to him and he couldn’t hear me. I panicked – do I leave him and make it down to the car with Hyla, or what?! Luckily, just as I was about to make a run for it, he appeared. He was so busy caching, he didn’t even notice the approaching storm. Yikes! We ran most of the way back to the car and got out of there before the storm really hit.

From there, we hit drizzle and rush hour traffic in Denver. It seemed more like rush hourS. We inched along forever, wondering if we’d ever make it to our destination. It did give us time to chat and joke and hang out, which was nice, though. We noticed how darned many Taco John’s there are out here, and of course I had to rant about how I’d never eat there because, based on their name, all I can ever envision is that they mix the taco meat in the toilet (john). Blah!! Hehe. (I’m sure Taco John’s is lovely – but I just can’t get past that!) Eventually, the traffic subsided and we shot off, north of town, leaving the rain behind us, too. It was around this time that we started hearing tornado warnings with imminent touchdowns in effect for towns east of Denver and north of Limon. Scary!!! So glad we made it past that, but there were still ominous clouds on the northern horizon. We decided not to risk going too much further this day. The traffic issues kept us a bit behind schedule, so we opted to stay in Cheyenne for the evening.

I’d been through Cheyenne once or twice before, and it seemed somehow nicer this time. I think I’d like to check it out as a destination one day. The downtown seemed inviting, and I bet there’s a lot of geocaching and history to be had. We did try finding a brew pub in a rather sketchy, rail yardy part of town, to no avail. We were getting tired anyway, so perhaps it was for the best. We checked into a Super 8, and while I was tending to Hyla, Nate ran out to get us supper at Little Philly, a sandwich shop down the road. He had a Philly, and I had an Italian meatball, and it was superb!! He was really happy with his, too. It was a great end to a fun first day on the road.

June 5, 2014

Woke up at 7 thinking Hyla was still asleep, but as soon as I sat up, so did she. We scrambled to get ready, grabbed some breakfast downstairs, and ran out the door. Another big day awaited us! We stopped to grab some supplies at the cleanest Walmart I’d ever seen, and then we headed north. There was not much to see along the way besides pronghorn, but since I was driving, I didn’t really see any. The treeless prairies stretched on as far as the eye could see. Our first stop was for gas in the town of Douglas. This town also claims to be the birthplace of the first jackalope, so we just had to go see everything this jackalope-y place had to offer. We visited two of the largest jackalopes in the world, admired the jackalope-themed benches, and then saw the rail museum which allowed us to explore a number of old rail cars. While there, we also snagged two geocaches, of course. Once we’d had our fill of all things jackalope, we continued north, yet again.

The road between Douglas and Gillette, Wyoming is pretty desolate, but surprisingly busy with trucks thanks to the prevalent mining operations in the region. We sped through nearly 100 miles of this desolation before making it, unscathed, to Gillette. We swung into Wendy’s for a quick lunch and then hit the road toward Devils Tower. I’d been through the area with my mom a few years back, and it was just as pretty as I remembered. Gentle hills and bluffs accented the land, and forests started to push back against the persisting prairie. Lakes and ponds shimmered like jewels on this beautiful landscape. After many twists and turns eventually we could see Devils Tower out in the distance. It stood out majestically, reaching longingly for the sky. Once at the gate, we bought an annual parks pass, since we knew we’d be seeing a number of other national parks and monuments on our journey. Then we drove up to the base of the monolith.

Once we had explored the visitor center and gotten our bearings, as well as purchased a Parks Passport for Hyla and got her very first stamp, we strapped her into the Baby Bjorn and started the first of our hikes. We decided to start out with the shorter hike that skirted the base of Devils Tower. This is the most popular hike in the park, but despite this, we really didn’t encounter too many people on our way. One couple we did see were staring intently into the rocks at the base. Of course, I had to see what they were looking at, and they pointed out a beautiful and huge gopher snake! Nice spot! We also saw a number of chipmunks and robins. We took in the unique and stunning scenery and grabbed a virtual geocache while we were at it. Next, we decided to tackle the longer trail, also circling the Tower. This 2.8 mile hike took us quite a bit further afield, through prairie and forest, enjoying some incredible scenery from both high above, and down below. Often we would even lose sight of the great monolith. We came across no one on this path, save for some white tailed deer. It was gorgeous, but also hot and tiring. It was so worth it, though. Exhausted, we piled into the van and made our way east to South Dakota.

Ahhh, South Dakota! Hyla’s 14th state and Nathan’s 42nd! I was so glad to be back again and to have the opportunity to explore it with these two. The Black Hills region is just so beautiful and unique, and I was so excited to see some more of it. We drove through Spearfish (the speared fish design on the side of the elementary school was a bit disturbing, but I suppose it goes with the name), and on to Deadwood. Hyla was not happy about something and was crying profusely all the way. Once we got to our hotel, we discovered she had a very dirty diaper which miraculously didn’t smell at all, explaining why we didn’t even suspect it. But man, was it awful. Poor child. We checked into our room at the First Gold Hotel at the northern edge of Deadwood, and when we returned to the car, I discovered a tick on my seat! I’d darned near forgotten about ticks after living in NM for so long. From then on out, I was hyper sensitive to them, checking every inch for another lurker (which we never did find, thankfully). Ick, however.

After tending to the tick, we headed up to our room, which proved quite a trick. The entire hotel is strangely staggered, so we had to zigzag floors a bit to get there. Once we finally got settled, it was nearly 8, and we were pretty hungry and ready to find some dinner. We walked about 5 blocks down to the old west-themed downtown. It really was a neat place – not only was it themed, it felt like this was authentically old west, too. Many of the buildings were historic, so it really was like stepping into the past. We decided to eat at the indoor-outdoor Steakhouse Saloon. Nate had the buffalo burger, and I had the prime rib with some French onion soup that was really sour and weird, almost like vinegar. Yuck. We also tried a new (to us) beer from Crow Peak out of Spearfish: Pile O’ Dirt Porter. It was served in the can and was pretty good. We attempted to give Hyla some mashed potato, as she was still trying to transition into solids, but she was pretty upset about it.

After dinner, we walked around the town a little, marveling at all the tiny casinos with something like 15 machines apiece, residing in the relatively small historic buildings. After pacing the stretch of the main drag, we headed back to the hotel and started bringing all our things up to the room. When I went for that last trip, I returned wondering if our hotel might be haunted. While I was perusing the brochures downstairs, the tv turned on suddenly, even though no one was present. Then, the very elevator I had ridden so easily before started making horrific noises, shaking from side to side, and settling with a tremendous “BOOM” when I reached my floor. I leapt out and decided to look for the stairs next time. We got Hyla into bed with some crying, but as soon as I gave her a blankey, she was out. It was a long, busy day for a baby, but overall she did amazingly well. We were all glad to finally be settled for the night.

June 6, 2014

What a busy day!! We woke up to a cool, misty Deadwood morning and decided to start the day by visiting Kevin Costner’s Tatanka site. Originally planned to be the centerpiece of a large hotel complex, Tatanka is a commissioned bronze sculpture depicting three Lakota driving 14 bison off a cliff, a method of hunting used for generations. The hotel never came to be, but the sculpture is now a destination in and of itself. We browsed the interpretive center and then went out to see the beautiful and emotional artwork. It felt even more spiritual in the gentle chill from the fog.

From there, we headed back to the town of Deadwood where we explored a riverside trail and found two geocaches. Then we grabbed breakfast at an ice cream parlor that boasted 59 flavors. Those flavors did include mixes of soft serve, however. We decided to try these odd soft serve mixes, so Nathan had the amaretto, and I tried the lime, both of which were quite tasty. Then we went into their basement and admired their large model train setup. Hyla seemed to get a kick out of it.

Once we had enough of Deadwood, we dropped off our hotel key and headed south to Boondocks, home of South Dakota’s only roller coaster. I had called a week prior to double check the rides’ operating hours. They told me 10:30 to 6, so we timed it so we arrived around 11:30. Upon arrival, I didn’t have high hopes at all. Boondocks looked like a rundown old tourist trap, and we found ourselves questioning if it even was operating at all. It was a collection of about four storefronts: a diner, a gift shop, and what appeared to be memorabilia museums. The rides were in a heavily fenced section toward the north end of the property, and it was hard to really get a good look at anything. I was concerned that the drizzle was going to put the nix on any ride operation at all – it really didn’t look like the rides had been operational for years as it was. It looked like they were fenced away never to be used again.

I went into the gift shop to find out how to get back there. It took me forever to find an employee, and he really wasn’t all that helpful. He basically told me that the guy who runs the rides should have been there by now and probably wasn’t coming in because of the rain. He suggested waiting until noon, but it didn’t sound good. So we went over to the diner to kill some time. We each had a burger, and while there we chatted with the cook/server for a bit. Turns out he was the son of the owner, and a really nice guy, so that was good. We told him how we’d come all this way JUST to ride the coaster. He was sympathetic, but couldn’t do much. They are quite obviously understaffed, although looking at the place, it’s not likely they get much business as it is. Anyway, the burgers were pretty good, and talking with him left me with a less grumpy attitude, so there ya go. We ran back to the gift shop and talked to the other employee again. He said the ride op still hadn’t shown up and he couldn’t leave his post to run the ride (although it took me so long to find him the first time I went in there, I’m not sure leaving his post really mattered that much). Aurgh. With the flaky and lax business practices this place has, it’s a wonder they’re still open.

We hit the road again, heading south toward the national parks. Along the way, we stopped at two wineries. The first one, Prairie Berry Winery, was packed to the gills. They had a large tasting counter and quite a few staff. As soon as we walked in, a greeter noticed Hyla and gave her some oyster crackers, which was so thoughtful! Then she ushered us to a spot at the counter to do a tasting. The wines were so unique and very good! Most of their wines were not made from grapes, and despite this, they weren’t cloyingly sweet, either. They had wines made from rhubarb, chokecherry, blueberry, crab apple, buffalo berry, black currant, raspberry, and elderberry, among others. We were so intrigued! We wound up buying two bottles. Then we stopped next door at their new brewery where Nate tried their beers. After that, we drove maybe a block down the road to the Naked Winerie where we sampled their less unusual creations. They also brewed beer, so I did a wine tasting, and Nate did the beer tasting. I wasn’t that impressed with their selection, so Nathan bought a large beer from them. It was a fun time, regardless!

From there, we continued south, driving past the Crazy Horse Memorial, which Nate got to glimpse. Then we drove through Custer, but didn’t really stop. We finally made it to Wind Cave National Park around 3pm. The only remaining available cave tour was at 5, so we bought our tickets and decided to explore the park in the meantime. First we made sure to get Hyla her passport stamp. Then we drove a ways to tackle a loop trail to a lookout tower. On the way we saw quite a few bison, which was exciting! There were even some about 2000 feet from where we parked our car. I was nervous that we might encounter some on our hike, but we never did. We enjoyed some beautiful views from that trail. Sadly, the lookout tower was closed off, but we were still able to see for miles from where we were. It was lovely!

Once we’d completed the loop, we rushed to get back to the visitor center for the cave tour. It was pretty interesting! The guide told us that they named this place Wind Cave because it tends to “breathe.” When the air pressure inside the cave is higher than outside, air will escape, and when the opposite is true, air will be drawn in. The Lakota find this place quite sacred and consider it the place where they emerged from the earth, as did the bison. Wind Cave is also home to a feature known as boxwork, a rare formation of thin calcite fins that crisscross one another. Hyla took this opportunity to be very vocal, enjoying the acoustics of the cave, so we took up the rear of the group, allowing the rest of the tourists to hear better. This was Hyla’s first cave, and I think she really liked the experience. We descended 20 stories during the one and a half hour tour, and it was quite enjoyable.

Once we emerged from the cave, we hurried on our way, always with something new to do. On our way, we drove through Custer State Park and saw enormous herds of bison! They were everywhere, crossing the roads in numbers you wouldn’t believe! We also saw a lot of deer. Driving those twisty, forested roads, you really have to be careful. You never know what’s lurking around that next bend! That contributed to the fact that you really don’t make great time in the Black Hills, despite things not being all that far apart. We really wanted to make it to Mount Rushmore this evening, but it was getting dark, the fog was getting even thicker, and we were all pretty tired. We slowly twisted and turned our way to Keystone where we checked into the Super 8 and then ran over for dinner at the two story BarLee’s. We mistakenly entered on the first floor and were met with a bar. They knew we looked out of place and directed us up the stairs on the outside of the building. We were glad to finally stop and relax a bit, enjoying watching the rain through the window. The food was less than stellar. My club sandwich featured a meat that resembled bologna, the worst meat known to man. Yuck! Hyla was getting cranky, too, so we rushed through our meal. There were so many neat things we’d have loved to do in Keystone, but now was not the time. We’ll definitely have to come back when Hyla is older so we can tackle the alpine slide and mirror maze and sky ride!

We quickly made it back to our room, set off with two other rooms in a corridor, separate from the rest of the hotel. We could hear cricket frogs chorusing loudly across the street, which was really wild because it was only in the 40s outside. It was so cold that MY body was shutting down. Those frogs are troopers! I would have loved to have spotted one. We spent the rest of the evening trying to tire Hyla out and get her to sleep. She was overtired and nothing could stop her. Eventually, though, we all were able to drift off.

June 7, 2014

Another busy day! We actually slept in until 8, and that made a world of difference for all of us. Our hotel was the closest one to Mount Rushmore, so we didn’t have far to go. Once we got there, we explored the area. Unfortunately the fog was so thick that we could only sort of make out Lincoln and Washington and no one else. We toured the visitor center and made sure to get Hyla her stamp. Then we did the hike to the closer viewing area, but that really was no better. Everything was just so foggy. If nothing else, we were amused (or, rather, horrified) by some of the ignorant people out and about this day. For instance, there was this self-proclaimed 27 year-old (that I was sure was in her 50s, but I digress) who was sure that Lincoln was the 2nd president, and no one in her group thought that sounded wrong. Wow! Later she saw a sign stating otherwise, and she seemed quite surprised.

After we did the closer loop, we headed down to the artist studio where we saw smaller versions of Mount Rushmore, including the original design which featured the presidents down to their waists! We ended our tour with a hike back to the car on the peaceful nature trail where we encountered absolutely no one! Lovely!

Our next destination was Custer State Park. We parked at Sylvan Lake, a location Nathan had discovered and wanted to see because of its stunning beauty. We were met with whiteness. Nothing but whiteness. There was so much fog, you couldn’t tell where the sky ended and the water began. It was eerie and really neat, so it really wasn’t all for naught, despite what the ranger at the gate would have you think. We did sort of see some people setting up for a wedding, but you couldn’t even see the altar from the back row of chairs, the fog was that thick. (And there really weren’t THAT many rows of chairs.)

We made our way through the fog to the trailhead leading to Harney Peak, South Dakota’s highest point. It was rather difficult to be sure we had the right trail, but eventually we saw signs indicating we were on the right track. It was a lovely 3.5 mile hike up to the top. The cool weather was just perfect, balancing out the heat created from exertion very nicely. We really couldn’t see very far, but the nearby trees and fog were beautiful. Most of the hike was a gentle slope with a few more strenuous sections, but nothing too ridiculous. Hyla seemed content to ride along in her Bjorn. Eventually we made it to the Harney Peak watchtower and climbed to the top. Fog coated the entire area, so I’m not sure how spectacular it usually is, but today we had a different kind of beauty. There were just a few other people at the top, but it felt almost like we were all alone in the world up there. We explored the watchtower, tried to answer some geocache questions, and started our way back down. Unfortunately, as we started our descent, Hyla started to get extremely upset, and she cried nearly the entire way down. We hurried as best we could, after determining that food nor diaper were the issue. While the cool misty weather was great for us, it was likely that it was just too cool to make it comfortable for her tired self to sleep. We ended up leapfrogging a duo and their two dogs, and I think they were annoyed with the crying, but we did all we could. By the time we made it to the bottom she had fallen asleep, much to our relief.

Since Hyla seemed content now, we decided to do the hike around Sylvan Lake. It was just fascinating in the fog, from what we could see, and probably spectacular when you can really see it. Incredible rock formations jutted out from its depths, and you could just make out a canoer or two out on the water. We circled the whole lake, exploring shoreside rock formations on the way. We made it back to the car before too long and collapsed, exhausted but happy.

We decided to head up toward Rapid City, calling Boondocks on the way to see if maybe, just maybe that roller coaster was running. Of course it wasn’t, so we chalked that one up as a miss. Seriously, though, it was the hardest darned coaster to get a credit on. It was almost like they didn’t want business or something. Oh well. Maybe next time we’re in the area. Instead we stopped at the third and final winery, Stone Faces in Hill City, to do a tasting. We met the owners and liked their wines second best out of the three. We got a bottle of their Sturgis biker wine before heading back to the Prairie Berry Winery to do a second tasting and get a gift bottle to go.

We finally made it up to Rapid City before TOO long and stopped at their Dinosaur Park to explore and get two geocaches. Hyla enjoyed seeing the life sized dino statues that spotted the hillside park. She even got to ride on a hatchling protoceratops near the gift shop. There were only 5 dinosaurs at the park itself, and the quality of the statues left some to be desired, but it was still a fun place to check out. Being so high up you also get some neat views of the city, and you get to see some interesting houses on the drive, too, so it was definitely worth it.

For dinner, we stopped at the Firehouse Brewery in downtown Rapid City. I remember having seen it with my mom a few years back, figuring we’d probably give it a try when Nate was with. I had the pork schnitzel, and Nate had the gumbo. The beers were ok, but probably some of the lesser ones of the trip. The first one I tried, a cider, really grossed me out, probably mostly because I wasn’t expecting it to be a cider. While we were eating, some ladies were going around handing out corks as tokens for a wine tasting next door. We went ahead and did that after dinner, and again the wines weren’t that great. Still, it was fun.

At this point, we were all pretty tired, so we retreated to the Super 8 in town. Unfortunately they didn’t have extra pillows, it was decorated with clashing greens, and the internet was flaky, which was mostly annoying because we picked this place specifically for the internet. Oh well. Ignoring the shocking colors, maybe it was just the universe’s way of saying “GET SOME SLEEP!”

Hawaii Cruise Part III: The Voyage Home and Ensenada, Mexico

Thurs. March 14, 2013

We had to move the clocks forward an hour last night, so we wound up sleeping in until about 9:30. It was really much needed after the adventures from the days before. Despite taking the day easy, it went by quickly. We went down to lunch around noon after having sat up deck reading (and getting mildly sunburned, as usual). It was beautiful and just breezy enough. I really enjoyed catching up on some reading and attempting “relaxation” as a vacation technique. It’s so out of character for us, but there really wasn’t much else to do, so we had to adapt. After lunch, we headed over to the art auction, which lasted about 2 hours. We’d wanted to see Chelsea’s talk on Hawaii’s changing landscape, but it was sadly over by the time the auction was. Then we sat around reading most of the rest of the day. I was really getting into “Odd Thomas,” and it was about time I read it, too, considering I was an extra in the movie (which has yet to come out to a widespread audience…it’s good, though!). It was cool to read more about what I saw on the set, though a few things still perplex me. We essentially laid around until 5:30 for our daily sushi time. I filled up on pizza, sushi, tasty mashed potatoes, and lots of those wonderful pastry fruit cups. I was so full after all that! I came back to the room, and Nathan went to work off our afternoon meal. I just worked on making myself digest quickly so I could eat more at the formal dinner!

Once Nate returned, I donned my colorful dress, and we headed up to dinner. I had an excellent chateaubriand with a shrimp cocktail and duck consume, chased by a wonderful mousse creation. Then we watched the ship’s Liar’s Club game, which is supposedly big in the UK, in which comedians competed to trick guessers into believing their false definitions of obscure words were right. It was somewhat amusing. We did learn the meaning of the word “pricket,” which is a stabber at the bottom of a candle used for stabilization, hymipygous (born with one buttock), haussehole (hole through which an anchor chain is pulled), and blenophobia (fear of slime). It wasn’t as hilarious as promised, but at least it was educational! Then we retreated to the room to read some more before falling asleep.

Fri. March 15, 2013

Slept in until about 10 this morning, only waking up when the captain’s announcement came in. Took it easy, reading for a while, then going up to enjoy some Mexican food for lunch. Went back to the room to relax some more, and then we went down to hear Chelsea’s talk on dolphins. Next we submitted our guesses in the contests, picking out which diamond was fake and which tanzanite was real. Unfortunately, we both thought the emerald cut diamond was fake, but apparently that was wrong. We couldn’t quite hear the explanation on how to tell real from fake, either. Oh well. We were right on the tanzanite, though! I mean, it’s such an awesome gem, it’s hard to be wrong, right? We didn’t win the draw, though, but that’s ok. One win is plenty!

We spent most of the rest of the day in the room reading. I got a lot of headway on “Odd Thomas!” Then we ran up to get our pre-dinner. Our late morning resulted in only having 4 meals instead of our usual 5. I don’t know how we made it! Well, I made up for it by overeating during the daily sushi course. From there, we went to see our comedian, Robbie Printz. Oh my gosh, since Albuquerque’s comedy club closed down, we’ve been starving for good comedy. We missed out on the comedy show during our last cruise, but this one had plenty of seating available. This guy was hilarious! He discussed cats and wanting to hit other people’s kids in public, and evil automatic toilet flushers (something I could rant about for days!). I related to everything, so much so that I wondered if I’d written it myself! Chelsea was seated behind us, and I kind of wanted to tell her how much we enjoyed her science talks, but I chickened out. Oh well.

After that, we went to dinner, which was nice as always (though I’m not sure the food on this cruise was the best). Then we wandered around the boat, taking pictures, and Nate tried his luck with a dollar on the Kitty Glitter machine in the casino that had been calling us since day one. He won $10! We knew it looked lucky. We came back to the room and read some more. I fell asleep early, but just as soon as Nate was going to turn out the lights, I woke up and wound up reading for another two hours or so. We had to change the clocks forward again, so I was up until nearly 4am!

Sat. March 16th, 2013

Slept in. A lot. We really had to enjoy the sleep we’d be getting now because who knows the next time we’d be able to do that. The dark interior room really helped, since we usually never quite knew if it was actually daytime or not. It was a perfect little cave. I did consider getting up several times, but I opted to wait until I heard the captain’s daily announcement. When that happened, we turned on the lights, and I read and read and read. I finally finished “Odd Thomas!” It was very good, with some nice twists (though I thought more could have been utilized). I still don’t know why there was a toilet in the living room on set (and even having seen the movie, that wasn’t cleared up, nor shown), but at least I know who most of the characters I saw were.

We each showered and slowly got up, making it to Chelsea’s seal and sea lion talk at 1pm. From there, we got some food, and then we were off to read some more. I had grabbed a news brief paper from downstairs (which talked about how “Breaking Bad” is bringing revenue to Albuquerque, of all things!), and we sat up at the Hemispheres lounge, watching the waves go by. Eventually, we retreated to the room where Nate read more, and I took a nap on and off. Not too much of interest happening today. I was torn between starting a new book, writing one of my own, or writing this trip report. At least I took notes on the trip! Around 6:30, we headed up to see the show in the Century Theater, Band Artistique, which was a duo from Quebec who sometimes work with Cirque du Soleil. It was…odd. It started with operatic singing, and then some juggling, and then some throwing things all over the stage, mixed with awkward comedy. I’m not sure I liked it, but it was certainly different. After that, we changed for dinner and met our British tablemates for some good conversation. Dinner was pretty good, offering a number of things I may have liked to try. I had some beefy lasagna of sorts, and Nate had the breaded pork. The seafood crepe appetizer was phenomenal. After we left, we stopped at Michael’s Club so Nate could do the whiskey tasting. He was the only attendee, so we had a private discussion about whiskeys with the server. Eventually, a small band came in to play violins to us alone! It was lovely! What a nice way to end the night.

Sun March 17, 2013

After a series of odd dreams including one about the Cosby Show and life on an idyllic farm, I was awakened by the Celebrity band practicing on stage below us and the vacuum running in the hallway. We really have no way of telling time around here, but with the time change last night, and the fact that we were up until nearly 3am reading (this time it was an extremely thorough pregnancy book), I had no idea it was already so late. We had a 10:15 talk on oceanic microorganisms that we wanted to see, so I just threw on some clothes in preparation to go down. The talk was pretty good, though short. It probably wasn’t worth getting Nate up for anyway, so it’s good he was sleeping in. After the talk, I went and had breakfast alone. I thought about how much like the dorm cafeteria the buffet was, and about all my friends who worked there. I already had a good rapport going on with some of the staff here, so it really did bring back memories. I wandered around after this, exploring deck 10 and chuckling when I discovered the bridge was on 10 forward. Then I returned to the room to read a bit as I waited for Nate to get up.

Once Nate was up, we ran upstairs for a quick lunch before heading down to check out $10K bingo. It was $49 a pop, so we decided not to do it. We headed over to the final art auction instead. The check in girl always remembers us, which is nice. The main thing we came away with on attending these art shows is everyone LOVES Peter Max. Nate and I were unimpressed, though. We just don’t get it. We saw some great paintings of boats in a harbor at sunset that looked like photographs. How that isn’t better than Peter Max and his finger paints is beyond me. Oh well. The raffle was cut short when someone passed out in the front row. Scary! I hope he was ok, but of course we never heard.

We went up for “tea” (aka sushi course) and ice cream after that, then retreated to the room to relax with not much else to do until dinner. I wound up taking a quick nap after doing some reading. Then we got dressed and headed down to our final formal night dinner which featured lobster tail, baked Alaska, and a few unexceptional soups, salads, and appetizers. We had a great time talking with our table about art and restaurants at home and such. While eating, they had a parade of all the food service people, as we swung our napkins around (potentially gross and unsanitary). After dinner, we walked back through the gallery, trying to find all the hidden “Ns” on the Thomas Kinkade paintings. We took some after dinner pictures of us in our finery and then headed back to our room. On our way down the hallway, we encountered one of the art directors coming around the corner from our room (where there are only 3 rooms) and hoped he was dropping off a raffle prize, since they didn’t do the raffle when that man collapsed. We giggled about the possibility that we won something as he strode by, but alas, nothing awaited us in our cabin. We came back to the room and chatted a while before reading some more. Falling asleep was a challenge that evening due to the pitching and dipping of the ship, coupled with the bingo game going on in the theater below us. I had a fitful night’s sleep. I just couldn’t get comfortable, had to deal with our room moving in spirals, and had weird dreams including a scary one about being chased by people with clubs in Ensenada, Mexico after our car was totaled. In fact, I woke up screaming “Help!” Haha! There was also one about road tripping to Mexico, and then trying to board my friend Jeanine’s cats at Lucky Paws. How strange!

Mon. March 18, 2013

After much waking and struggles to sleep, I finally got up when I heard the 10am captain’s announcement which indicated dolphins were swimming with us. There was no way we could have gotten to a viewpoint in time, but I hoped that maybe we could see more as the day progressed. I was really hoping we’d get to Ensenada early, as previously promised, but it looked like 8pm was our ETA, so we decided to miss dinner and risk our lives on the dark streets of Mexico. We quickly got ready and ran down to enter a guess in the “price the diamond necklace” contest. Nate was one of the closest – it was over $5000, and he guessed $4201. I guessed $3500. We didn’t win the drawing, though.

We went up to lunch and wound up talking to a lady about animals, specifically her cat. After lunch, I decided that I’m tired of eating. It just seemed like a chore. The weird thing is, after all the pigging out we were doing, I was able to see my ribs in the morning! I’m not sure how that happened, but cool!

After lunch, we went to see Chelsea’s final talk on the temperate boundary and tide pools, which was informative and enjoyable as always. Then we went up to get ice cream (their coffee ice cream was the best!). From there, we decided to look for dolphins, but we determined it was too cold and windy, as usual, so instead we got our books and retreated to Hemispheres Lounge. Upon arriving, we ran into our tablemates, which was great because we’d probably miss them for dinner tonight, so we said our goodbyes. Then we got prime seating at the front of the ship, looking out over the vast expanse of ocean. Nate proceeded to read, but I couldn’t keep my eyes from the waters, and it paid off! After less than a half hour, I saw them!! A huge pod of dolphins came our way, diving and playing in the wake. It looked like they were going to crash into the ship! I alerted everyone around us to them, and everyone was enthralled. They looked so small from deck 12. I recognized them right away with the fins and well-timed splashes. I didn’t get great pictures, but I got some neat video. What an experience! I had a hard time reading after that, trying to find more. Other people claimed to see others, but I couldn’t make them out. We were up there for several hours and didn’t see much else, so our timing was incredible! I also saw a large sea bird flying with the ship, which was exciting being so far from land. It’s hard not to be distracted by the open seas and one’s thoughts.

At one point, I started to feel bleh, so I went back down to the room briefly. Nate decided to work out, and after puttering around in the room for a bit, I decided to get sushi. He met me there, and as we were eating, I noticed some land out in the distance. Islands!! And I could even faintly see the mainland even further through the fog. We retreated down to Hemispheres again and watched as we passed between two islands, the one on the right had towers or crosses, and the one on the left had a lighthouse. We SLOWLY inched toward Ensenada in the distance. I’m sure we could have made it sooner had they wanted us to, which was unfortunate. That was really the only disappointment of the trip.

Once we started inching into the docking bay, I ran to get my coat, and then I went out on deck 14 to watch our arrival. It was, of course, quite dark by the time we got in. I could hear seals or sea lions barking on the adjacent dock. Not too far from us waved Mexico’s largest flag which was enormous! I was able to get some pictures of that. They finally let us disembark at 8pm, and Nate and I ran down, a bit wary of what to expect. We got off onto the pier and were greeted to a madhouse of a market where I wound up purchasing 103 peso ($8) sapphire blue hoop earrings. We never passed security into the land beyond, so I’m not really sure I can count this as having visited Mexico. It was most disappointing, much like being in a layover at a foreign city. Had we gotten there early in the day as originally planned, we could have seen more. Oh well. I made sure to touch plants and dig in the dirt (that was roped off, incidentally) just for good measure. We found some old mussel shells, too. Then we hovered for a while on the pier, inhaling Mexican air, before re-boarding the ship. We decided to have one last go at the buffet and ate Indian food while overlooking Ensenada. One final ice cream run, and then we decided to play some ping pong. We played two games, and I WON the second one! That’s the FIRST time I’ve ever beaten Nate at ping pong! Granted, I always give him a run for his money, but this time I prevailed! This elderly couple saw us playing and didn’t understand that I’d scored a particular point, and the man was all, “At least you’re better at oceanography.” Apparently he thought I was Chelsea, which I found hilarious – it’s like he psychically knew we were in somewhat of the same field. I think we even heard his wife chastising him for mistaking me as they walked down the stairs. Too funny!

From there, we climbed up to deck 14 again to look out over the city, pondering the strangely timed stoplights and wondering if the cop cars we saw were driven by crooked cops. We then settled in for the night, packing for our departure tomorrow and preparing for our 60 nautical mile trip back to San Diego. It had been a wonderful trip, and we’re so lucky to have done it!

Hawaii Cruise Part II: Four Days in the Islands

Sun. March 10, 2013

I woke up before our wakeup call, probably around 5:30, because I was paranoid that we’d oversleep. I took my shower and got ready. We managed to run down for breakfast before disembarking the ship. Before that, though, we went topside and watched as our ship docked the last few feet. Hawaii at last! We gazed out at Honolulu, observing what appeared to be a marathon running by on the coastal road. The city appeared quite pretty, and we admired the architecturally unusual skyscrapers not far from our dock. It was extremely cloudy and was raining on and off, but that didn’t detract from the beauty of this place. Coming from the land of endless sun, if anything the rain made it all the more beautiful. I called my mom to make sure things were going ok back home, and they were, much to my relief. I was worried about her and the snow they’d been getting back in Illinois, but it sounded like things were just fine.

After breakfast, we found it was no trouble to get off the ship. We waited around for our tour bus (# 420, which would be a source of amusement for stoner types in attendance) and took that through the streets of Honolulu to Pearl Harbor. We were allotted about 5 hours there, and at first I wondered what we’d do with all that time. It turned out those 5 hours weren’t nearly enough! We started out looking at the museums and other sites around the memorial’s center. Then we watched a movie on the bombing before getting on a boat (after a slight hesitation created by the rainy weather) which shuttled us out to the Arizona Memorial site. The ride was awful! The rain was torrential, the ship had no windows and was open to the elements, and it was cold with a relentless wind. We had to sit in puddles, and I was soaked to the marrow. Luckily, once we stopped, it was warm enough to tolerate. The memorial site was interesting – you could see the ship below the surface of the water and see the oil plumes escaping from it. We spent about 20 minutes or so there before being shuttled back under better conditions. From there, we had to catch the bus for the USS Missouri. We took a guided tour which only covered a fraction of the massive ship, and then we were free to explore it at will. It just went on forever, and just when you thought you’d seen every nook and cranny, a whole other section would seem to appear out of nowhere. It was fascinating! We definitely needed more time to see things below deck in their entirety.

Once back at the Pearl Harbor Memorial, we had just enough time to visit the gift shop where I bought my obligatory patch. Throughout our excursion, I spent lots of time trying to spot a bird I’d seen as we were pulling up the first time in our tour bus – a gray and white cardinal-shaped bird with a scarlet head. It turned out to be a red crested cardinal, and I’d see more elsewhere on the island. I loved all the birds we saw, though. There were lots of unusual pigeons, in particular. We also saw some gigantic snails which were cool. Leave it to me to be more interested in the wildlife than the history. It was all so interesting, though.

After our excursion, we returned to the cruise ship for lunch. We were absolutely soaked, so we took this opportunity to grab some rain gear before heading back out again. We wandered around the neighborhoods surrounding our port. Due to the rain and the fact that it was Sunday, we didn’t get to see as much as we’d have liked, but we had a great time anyway. It felt very safe, though somewhat deserted. Our first plan of attack was to seek out a mailbox, and in doing so, we finally ran across those cardinals! It was meant to be! Then we went down and saw Iolani Palace, the only royal palace found in the United States of America. We also saw a number of famous statues including King Kamehamea and Queen Lili Uokalani. Then we walked around the state capitol, which is one of the few that strays from the typical state capitol design most states adopted. Instead of having a rotunda, it’s basically a simple, rectangular building, rather humble and unobtrusive. It’s surrounded by water filled with all sorts of tropical fish, which, of course, held my extreme interest.

We also managed to find time to geocache, finding two, explored a cathedral, and walked down to the botanic garden. We managed to find some shelter from the rain while there, and in doing so missed out on actually touring the garden as they closed shortly thereafter. From there, we walked down through College Walk, over through Chinatown which was impressive, and then through the Fort Street Mall. Nothing was open, being Sunday, but what we did see reminded me a lot of Australia. We eventually found ourselves at the Aloha Tower Marketplace, which was also mostly closed but did have a smattering of things that were open. We wandered around here for a bit, and Nate got an authentic Hawaiian shirt. We also picked up some souvenirs before stopping at Gordon Biersch’s for beer (for Nate, of course), and an appetizer/dessert platter we shared. It was great! Oh, before we ate, Nate wasn’t feeling that great, so we stopped for a MINUTE only to be approached by some unsavory character that could have very well been on drugs. I swear, wherever we go, people always approach us, no matter how unapproachable I try to look. (Which is apparently not unapproachable at all!) Oh well, at least no trouble came from that.

We headed back to our boat as darkness started to settle. We really didn’t know what else to do at this hour. We still had about 5 or 6 hours left before departure, but we were soaked and tired. It felt like a full day. We got back to our room and promptly went back down to the theater to see a rather mediocre puppeteer and a pretty decent pianist John Pressler perform. We took the rest of the night easy, eventually going down to have some dessert and sushi. Then we wandered around deck a bit before calling it a night. We were beat!

Mon. March 11, 2013

I heard the 6:15 alarm go off, and I was so not ready to be awake. I am convinced people need to wake naturally to be at their full potential. I showered and got ready, and we went up deck to see if we could find some humpback whales. Were we in for a treat! We saw several, and a few breaching, too! While we were taking in the beauty of the scene, I got an annoying work-related phone call from an insufferably obnoxious person, but I eventually got over that. Somehow that guy always knows how to ruin a moment. We had a quick breakfast before going down to get a number for our tender boat to Maui. We didn’t have high hopes for being on the first boat, but we got it! Off we went, and on the way a retired couple struck up a conversation with us about cameras and travel. They’d been all over and highly recommended Turkey and Chile. I’d never really given Turkey much thought before then, but I always thought Chile sounded amazing. What fascinating people! I feel bad because I rarely remember faces, and I knew the entire time we were talking to them that I’d probably not remember them upon our next meeting. And that’s why I don’t generally make eye contact around the ship! Haha!

Anyway, we docked at Lahaina and started walking through this charming, New England-inspired town to find the Hertz Rental Car facility. It wasn’t a particularly long walk, and once there, we only had to wait for one family ahead of us before we got our vehicle, a Nissan Sentra. In no time, we were off, driving down the coast toward Haleakala National Park. Before long, while looking out at the water, I noticed a whale splashing and breaching 3 times, so we stopped to try to get a picture. That was to no avail, sadly, but it was cool to have seen! We also stopped to play in the surf a bit.

Continuing on, we drove most of the way across the island, passing field upon field of sugarcane, toward Haleakala, climbing higher and higher in elevation. We drove to the highest point on the island, ascending above the clouds in fact. While up there, we saw the observatories and marveled at a seemingly alien landscape, dotted with shiny silversword plants. I made a quick run to the bathrooms which contain signage to not drink the toilet water. Good to know! Haha! From there, we took a small hike to see the crater from above before taking a longer hike down the Shifting Sands trail. It was amazing! It really felt like we were on Mars or something. So alien and beautiful! The only downside was the inevitable sunburn I acquired.

One of the things I desperately wanted to see out here was Hawaii’s endangered state bird, the nene goose. Well, on the drive down the mountain, Nate suddenly pulled off the road because, there, in the grasses, was a pair of them! I was able to get out of the car and get some pictures. How exciting! The drive down was also exciting because we were driving through the clouds and couldn’t see very far ahead of us on this winding, steep road. On top of that, people seem to think bicycling down this road is a good idea, so we had to take care not to hit anyone. Kind of scary! But we made it and no bikers were harmed on the way. We were glad to get down again and experience the more tropical side of Maui.

We decided to drive the scenic Road to Hana, or at least make it as far as we could, before returning to the ship. On the way, we stopped for lunch in Paia’s seafood market restaurant. I would have had a field day trying all sorts of things if I weren’t pregnant, but I was paranoid that everything had mercury in it, so I steered clear and had chicken, I believe. From there, we drove half way down the Road to Hana. Looking on a map, you’d think surely you’d have plenty of time to get there, but the road is so windy and narrow, and you have to go pretty slow to avoid an accident. We did encounter many speed demons, however, but luckily we got through unscathed. The road was gorgeous, snaking through forest and affording some great views of the ocean, too. Waterfalls abounded, as did wildlife. We even saw 2 mongooses crossing the road! We were surrounded by idyllic landscapes. At one point, though, we got to experience one of the harsh realities of the island: the plight of domesticated animals. While we never encountered one of the famous pigs, when we stopped at a rest area to use the washroom, the grassy area and forest surrounding it were teeming with cats and chickens. In fact, there were three people out there feeding them. It turns out one of the ladies comes to this spot three times a week to make sure they’re fed. Thank goodness for her! It is obvious that the people on this island don’t have a clue when it comes to having pets. They just discard them any old place and forget about them. A lot of these animals are quite used to people and would still make great pets. We need someone to come in and educate the populace as well as improve the shelter situation. So sad.

Around 5pm we realized we needed to start heading back if we wanted to return our car and get back to the ship in time. We made it back to Hertz by 6:30, which allowed us time to stroll around Lahaina some more. There used to be a tiki bar in town, and we paced up and down the main street searching for it, but apparently it was gone, or at least closed on Mondays. So sad, even though I couldn’t have properly enjoyed it anyway. We stopped into a few shops, getting some gifts and post cards, wandered some more, and stopped into a shaved ice shop, which seemed to be all the rage in Hawaii. This place was even cooler because it served shaved ice on top of ice cream. Yum! While there, I hurriedly wrote out postcards. We had the shop to ourselves almost until the end, which was nice. After that, we hung out under the gigantic banyan tree. It seemed to have dozens of trunks and vine like appendages all around. It was magical and amazing. We tried to find a geocache that was nestled in one of its many nooks, but someone was camped right at ground zero, so that was a bust. It was awfully dark anyway, so we returned to our ship via one of the lifeboats, which was used to tender. Wow, was it stuffy in there! And loud! Crazy, rowdy retirees. As for me, I was sweaty, smelly, and self-conscious, so it made for an interesting ride. Once we made it to the ship, our boat started experience some severe choppiness. It was bouncing all over the place, and I’m amazed that no one got hurt getting off. I was happy to escape that treacherous lifeboat and be back on our ship.

After we stopped at our room, I ran to guest services to mail the only postcard I wasn’t able to send from Lahaina, and then I ran to the top deck to call my boss about that crazy message from earlier. From there, I got some dessert and chatted briefly with the cafeteria workers. I grabbed Nate a chocolate ice cream cone and had to run back to the room as it dripped all over me, leaving a trail of evidence. Haha! That’s how warm it was. We decided to go up for dinner, where I got some Indian food and avoided the sushi for once. Then we played some ping pong before going up deck to watch a Tahitian dance show. From there, we returned to our room to recover and look forward to a quieter day in Kona tomorrow.

Tues. March 12, 2013

We arrived in Kona, and it was overcast, slightly sunny, and never actually rained all day! What a nice change of pace. It took us forever to get our tender due to choppy water, and it seemed rather unsafe when we did board the lifeboat. One woman fell unceremoniously. I was grateful that it wasn’t me. The boat, as usual, was hot and lacked circulation. I was mighty glad to be off of it. We walked several blocks to find Kona Brewing Company where we had lunch. Nate and I shared a shrimp, artichoke heart, and tomato pizza and were joined by some adorable geckos that frolicked on the bamboo next to us. I was glad to get a lot of pictures and video of their antics. Nate enjoyed the beers and got a pint glass to commemorate our visit. From there, we found a nearby geocache – our last one of the trip. We did try to find one more at a large banyan tree, but there were tons of muggles and we just weren’t finding anything.

Next, we wandered about a mile down the road to find Don the Beachcomber. It was SO hidden! We finally found it on the far side of a hotel, facing the ocean. When we found it, we were treated to outdoor bar seating. I was so excited to see they had a flight of mai tais! We’ve always talked about, if we should ever open a tiki bar, having a flight of drinks to sample, much like brew pubs do with beers. This was the first time we’d ever seen such a thing! And of course I couldn’t have any! (Ok, I had a sip of each, but just a tiny sip.) They also had a good selection of other tiki drinks. Our waitress was great, and she made me a virgin raspberry and passion fruit drink which was delish. And when she found out I was expecting, it was on the house! How great!!

After Don’s, we wandered around some more, did some shopping, and just made it back to the ship. We’d gotten used to late night departures, but we had to be back by 4:30 this time around. We hadn’t gotten off the boat until a little after noon, so Kona felt a little rushed, but we didn’t have any excursions to worry about, so ultimately it was the most leisurely day yet. While waiting to board our tender boat, they handed out cold cloths – a very nice touch! The tender back to the ship was just as harrowing as the one in the morning, but at least, being seated at the back this time, we enjoyed a cool breeze.

That evening, we ate more, enjoyed the sights of Kona before taking off, and saw more whales! Then we participated in an onboard contest. We had to guess the karat weight on a tanzanite stone, which just happens to be one of my favorite gems. Nate guessed within 1 karat and won the draw! I got a $125 bracelet out of it! Way to go, Nate! We had a great dinner and then headed up to the top decks as the evening progressed to see the active volcanoes on the big island. This was one of the main reasons we chose this particular cruise. We wanted to see the lava in action! We really didn’t get all that close to it, and it appeared mostly like red dots on the horizon, but it was still pretty cool to see. I wish I had brought binoculars, though! Eventually, we’d gone too far to see much, and the cool breeze was telling us to get back inside. It had been a great day!

Wed. March 13, 2013

Hilo! They say it rains 330 days of the year here, and this was no exception. Luckily, no tendering was necessary. We ate a quick breakfast and ran down to the theater to meet with our excursion and head off the ship. We were in a van with 9 other people, led by Shawn, a native Hawaiian. He was a stitch and kept things interesting. We especially enjoyed his commentary on the new Walmart and various fast food establishments in Hilo. He was a wealth of knowledge and often talked of his crazy pregnant girlfriend, which honestly made me look like a saint in comparison. Hehe. (I really think I was one of the lowest maintenance pregnant people around.) The only problem with this excursion was the fact that I needed to use the bathroom ALL the time! As soon as we got off the bus at Volcanoes National Park (the main attraction of this excursion), then as soon as we got back from the lava tube tour. I especially struggled with the 4 mile hike we took down onto the lava fields, as there was NO WHERE to go, bathroom-wise. I tried to not let it detract from the amazing experience.

The tour was really neat – we walked through rainforests, we could see Kilauea steaming in the distance, and then we headed downward into the basin where an eruption had occurred as recently as the 1950s. We walked amongst cooled lava and got some great pictures. Then we hiked back up again. It looked rather daunting from below, but it was a pretty easy switchback trail through the rainforest again. We didn’t see any wildlife while in the basin – there were quite a few steam vents, though, which probably kept them at bay. We were the first to make it back up to the top where we waited for the rest of the crew. Once everyone was accounted for, we went to the Jagger Museum where we had a great view of Kilauea. We toured the museum, got a patch at the gift shop, and enjoyed some turkey wraps provided by the tour guide. It was starting to get drizzly, and we made it to the van just as the rain was starting to pick up.

After leaving Volcanoes National Park, we drove through the torrential rain to Akaka Falls, an amazing waterfall that is twice the height of Niagara. The rainforest here was even more impressive than at Volcanoes. We got absolutely soaked while here, despite having rain gear on this time around. It was really worth it, though. Once everyone had their fill, we headed back to the boat and made it just in time for our 4pm departure. Nate saw some breaching whales as we departed, and I think we both saw dolphins tail slapping, too! We ate (as usual) and stayed in our room reading a while, listening to the Liverpool Knights show thundering in the theater below us. It actually sounded pretty good, featuring songs from the 1960s. We did dinner again, and then went to the cinema to see “The Odd Life of Timothy Green,” which got me weeping because I was in a weepy mood for some reason. Then we read some more and hit the hay. It had been a wonderful 4 days in Hawaii!