Ensenada, Mexico

Tuesday, December 19, 2017

This afternoon we will be docked at Ensenada, Mexico for a few hours.  I plan to walk around town with a few other passengers.

 As we slowly moved in to dock at Ensenada we passed the above rock formations in the bay.

The next several pictures are Ensenada as seen from the ship.

 Above is the area passengers passed through before either heading out on a tour or walking to town.  
     I, Dusty, was so engrossed with walking through town that I didn't think to take any pictures in town.  Sorry!

 This double masted sailboat was slowly cruising into the bay.

The following 3 pictures are the seals on the shore next to where we are docked.

 With the zoom we could see this fountain dancing.

We did not leave Ensenada until about 7pm, so were able to get this after dark night shot. 
Tomorrow morning we will be docked at the pier in San Diego, pick up our Jeep and head back to our winter home at Desert Gardens.  We have completed all 50 states and a few of the Canadian provinces now.

We will dock at 7am in San Diego tomorrow morning.  We plan to disembark about 8am.  We truly enjoyed our trip.

Last 5 days at sea on the way from Hawaii

December 14 - 18, 2017

The next 5 days we will be at sea.  Tic is very sick with a bad case of bronchitis so he basically stayed in the stateroom all 5 days.

This beautiful morning many of us are throwing our leis (flowers only) off the stern/back of the ship.  It was a fun ship tradition to follow. 

Above we are preparing to throw our leis. Below we are in the process of throwing our leis.  Can you see pink bunches just above some people's arms?

I was getting to throw 2 leis, mine and Tic's. Above I'm ready to throw the 2nd leis. Below I was laughing with other passengers having fun after throwing our leis.

Beautiful black & white picture of the mid-morning sun reflecting on the ocean.

 Some gingerbread houses set up in a Christmas display on the ship.

 Above and below are a couple of critter towels left in our room early in the cruise.  

This sunset shows a tanker ship on the horizon.

To help us remember what day of the week it, the crew changed the carpets in all the elevators showing the day of the week.

While Tic was sleeping in the stateroom, I played a lot of cards and or games with several of the new friends we made on the ship.  In the evenings, after I went to dinner, I would bring Tic some dinner and we would watch movies on the television. There were plenty of movies to choose from. I really felt sorry for Tic.

Hanapepe, Kauai, Hawaii

Wednesday, December 13, 2017

Today is our last stop and our last island. 

As we got off the ship, we were directed to enter a shopping area.

We boarded our bus on the opposite side of this shopping area. Our 8 hour tour started at the Wiamea Canyon, also known as the Grand Canyon of the Pacific.

 I took this picture out of the bus window as we were driving to Wiamea Canyon.

 It is a little hazy this morning but the colors in the canyon still stand out.  Below is a close-up of the waterfall on the left side of the above picture.

 I took the above and below pictures as I was turning and looking up the canyon.

WOW, gorgeous!!

I mentioned in a previous post that chickens were everywhere, that includes this island also.

Here we are at Sprouting Horn blowhole. This is the best picture we got of the blowhole.

 Above and below is the coast on each side of the blowhole. The lava rock causes beautiful crashing waves.

Our next stop was the Wailua River State Park.  

We took a boat ride on the Wailua River to the Fern Grotto.

Above and below are pictures as we travel up the river to the Fern Grotto.

 This husband and wife team entertained us.  He sang and she did the hula.  

 This is our walk to the Fern Grotto.  

This is THE Fern Grotto. The flower close-up below is of the flowers in the foreground.

Near the cave opening is a small water fall.

 This cave must be farther away than it looks, because people can actually go inside the cave. Visitors used to be able to go inside. Now only special occasions like weddings are allowed to be held inside the cave.

This couple also sang to us and told us the history of the Fern Grotto.

 We take a different route back to the boat and get to see the waterfall above. Below is the bottom of the waterfall and creek it flows into.

 It is so tropical here at the Fern Grotto.

 On the way back in the boat, we passed this paddle boarder with his dog.  Just in front of him was a girl on a paddle board. The wake from the boat caused her to lose her balance and fall.  I felt bad for her.

This is where part of the movie Blue Hawaii with Elvis Presley was filmed.

We've had a very full day enjoying many of God's glorious wonders.