In September Charlie and I are planning an anniversary trip to Hawaii —  not Oahu — the Big Island (Hawaii) and Maui.

A few months ago I  reserved accommodations on both islands — a country cottage in Kona on the Big Island and a condo in Kehei on Maui.  I also tentatively reserved vehicles on both islands so we can get around.

More recently I bought plane tickets home from Maui but had not yet purchased tickets to Hawaii.  Finally I was able to secure, on a different airline from our return tickets, reasonably priced tickets to start our visit on the Big Island. So now we have tickets to and from, someplace to stay, and vehicles.

Next on my list is lining up activities for after our arrival as well as transportation between the two islands. I’ve already booked a helicopter tour with Safari Helicopters for the two us to Volcanoes National Park and Waterfalls on Hawaii.

Since we usually like to ride horses wherever we go I’m planning an excursion to the West Maui Mountains to an elevation of approximately 2500 ft. to view waterfalls from a distance, then down to the coastline to ride alongside the Pacific Ocean. (Grand Canyon ride) (Cuba ride) (Iceland ride)

The issue that has me on hold at this time is our plane trip between the 2 islands.  There is one direct flight per day from Hawaii to Maui.  However, Charlie has never been to the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor so I’m going to try to make that happen when we make our move.  The flights don’t seem to be a problem but limited tickets to the memorial are available which can only be reserved 8 weeks in advance at recreation.gov and often sellout immediately.  If we can get tickets then I’ll make plane reservations.

Our sunrise trip to Haleakala is also dependent on extremely limited tickets from recreation.gov which I can’t reserve until the middle of July.  I’m going to make every effort to work some internet magic but I’m not worried since Hawaii has lots of beautiful options from which to choose.

That’s all the progress I’ve made thus far.

Planning a Fall Trip

Jo

I hesitated writing this post because I realized I had not taken many worthwhile photos.  Instead I just enjoyed the ride, the sights, and the commentary.

Charlie and I disembarked from the gangway on the first deck of Enchantment of the Seas.  We needed our ship pass, passport, and Bermuda Travel Authorization to leave the ship and enter Bermuda.

At the end of the pier was a trim man in Bermuda shorts holding up my name. We were expecting to be met by Bramwell Tucker. (I had engaged Mr. Tucker by email when my correspondence to Millard Lightbourne received no response.  To my great surprise and delight Tucker was unable to meet us and instead sent his brother-in-law Millard.)

We boarded the rear seat of his immaculate taxi van for a 4 5-hour tour of the island of Bermuda.  The fare was $50 per hour for 4 hours and up to 4 passengers plus tip. Anything over 4 hours was gratis.  (Ship sponsored shore excursions — about $129 per person ($109 to $169) for a  minibus full of people.  Ours was a private tour.)

From the Royal Navy Dockyard where our shipped was docked we passed the Clocktower building which is now a shopping mall.  The 2 towers are 100 feet high, one having a clock that shows real time and the other showing the time of high tide.

We saw the pink sand beaches, the light house, both high end and low end realty, and some endangered species.  From the friendly waves and toots of traffic horns, it seems Millard was not only well-known but also well-liked.

As he drove he shared with us a wealth of knowledge about his beloved island and answered our questions about the population, the Bermuda Triangle, flora, fauna, you name it.   No subject or question was off-limits.

We stopped at Gibbs Hill Lighthouse where we bought our souvenir postcards — cheapest place on the island — and received change in Bermuda dollars.  (Charlie likes to collect a bit of unique foreign money as a souvenir.)

The houses in Bermuda are pastel hues of yellows, pinks, coral, peach, and greens. Blue and other non-traditional colors were not used as an exterior paint color until more recently. Our guide told us that neighbors always paint their houses a different color from the one next door.

We passed by the popular Horseshoe Bay pink beach and stopped instead at Clearwater Beach on the eastern end of the island which has clear, shallow water and a 36-acre public park with restrooms and a playground. Picnic facilities, shade trees, and gentle water make Shelly Bay a good choice for the smallest of surfers, swimmers, and shell seekers.  The sand is not as pink as we might have been expecting but the beaches were lovely.

We also stopped in the small town of St George’s where we were hoping to buy stamps for our postcards except that the post office was closed.  Charlie ended up buying stamps from the only store in town with a license to sell them.  (We mailed them later at the Dockyard by giving them to another vendor since there were no mailboxes.  We received them at home about 4 weeks later.)

Our final stop was at the Bermuda Aquarium Museum and Zoo where The Wildlife Rehabilitation Program  receives as many as fifty stranded sea turtles each year.
This program has resulted in the recovery and release of many stranded, injured and sick sea turtles. Some are caught accidentally on hook and line, or are injured by large predators such as sharks. Others are injured by speeding boats with propellers that can easily slice through the turtle’s tough shell. Still others find themselves entangled in discarded fishing gear which causes serious injury, if not drowning. Another threat in Bermuda today is ingestion of plastics. We were delighted to see these turtles very close-up.

We returned to the ship just in time for dinner in the dining room.  Our lovely waiters greeted us and served us a beautiful dinner.

• Jumping Through Hoops to Cruise
• Come Sail Away

Jo

After months of renovation the Mormon Temple just outside Washington DC was opened to visitors as it had been when it was first commissioned in 1974. (Construction was started in 1968.)

Charlie, Sug, and I had a parking time of 2:30 on a Friday afternoon which allowed us to enter the temple for a tour.

We were provided with shoe covering booties to protect the light and white carpeting inside the temple.

Once inside we could not take photos however various docents along the tour route were very knowledgeable in pointing out highlights of the building.  Most of the rooms in the temple are windowless.  You can go to the Mormon Temple website to see more photos and information.

Charlie, Sug, and I stopped on the way home at our favorite deli — Parkway Deli on Grubb Road — where I had cheese blintzes, one of my favorite foods that I don’t often have the opportunity to eat.

Jo

Charlie and I have been trying to take our first cruise since 2019.

I had booked us, unbooked us, booked us again, then COVID hit.

We finally boarded Royal Caribbean’s Enchantment of the Seas at the end of last month and took a five day cruise from Baltimore to Bermuda and back.

Then we headed to deck 9 since our stateroom would not be ready until later in the day.  Deck 9 houses swimming pools, hot tubs, a fitness center, a large buffet eating area, and a smaller cafeteria-style café.

The Park Café was one of our favorite areas on the ship since a bite to eat — both savory and sweet — could be had most any time of day or evening. Pre-cruise I had sussed out the immediate eating possibilities since Charlie likes to snack often.

We could not leave the port until every passenger on the ship reported to his/her muster station.  We had already watched the safety video when we showed up at our muster station where our potential lifeboat was positioned.  A member of the crew checked us in.

We boarded around noon but our accommodations were not ready until around 1:30.

Even though we could get into our room our luggage didn’t arrive until after dinner.  Our sea pass was attached to our door which we picked up and carried with us at all times.  It is both an ID card and a credit card for our account on the ship.

We had some time before set sail so we toured around the ship on our own.

When we finally shoved off we and most of the passengers watched from open decks.

We sailed down the Chesapeake Bay under bridges.

Being on the water never gets old for me especially in an area as familiar as the bay.

Finally at 5:30 we entered the dining room and had dinner with another congenial couple who would be our dinner companions every evening.

I ordered both a crab cake and escargot as starters.  The crab cake was not really up to Maryland standard which seemed to distress our waiter.  The snails, however, were succulent and drenched in garlic butter.   After protest Charlie tried one of the little tidbits and finished off the remainder of the dish. Hmmmm.

After dinner we sampled more food from the café and visited various areas on the ship where trivia knowledge was being tested, bands were playing, and everyone was having a good time. Our maiden cruise was underway.

Jo

In order to cruise from Baltimore to Bermuda on Royal Caribbean’s Enchantment of the Seas last week Charlie and I had to fulfil a number of last-minute requirements.

I had previously filled out online a Bermuda travel application from the Island of Bemuda which was approved pending a COVID test for $40 per traveler.

Four days in advance of departure I received an email requesting a COVID test upload which could be accomplished no more than 2 days before departure.  I had already ordered and received “Abbott BinaxNOW™ COVID-19 Ag Card Home Test with eMed Telehealth Services for Travel” from Optum.com.

We were scheduled to travel on Saturday so on Thursday (2 days before travel) Charlie and I took our tests.  I tested first.

I received written confirmation of a negative test in about 15 minutes from eMed labs. I sent Bermuda my results about 8 a.m. A little after noon I was informed that my travel application had been rejected.  I re-sent it not actually knowing the reason for rejection.

Later in the afternoon I sent Charlie’s results which were also negative.  By the next morning I still had not heard about either application being accepted or rejected so I called the toll free number (which is not easily located on the form).  I called early Friday morning, the day before we were set to sail, and held on for 33+ minutes since I was 19th in the queue.  The recording kept saying I had less than 3 minutes to wait.  Anyway I hung on and finally spoke to an operator who took our information and approved both applications.  He immediately emailed them to me.  I accessed both files then initialed and electronically signed them after which a pdf download was available which I both printed and saved.

The issue for denial of my first vaccination information was that it had been password protected.  My second submission was a copy of the result from my phone which was accepted.

Lots of people arrived at the port with all documents except the Bermuda Travel Authorisation [sic] but they were assisted and able to get the authorization before boarding.  Apparently Bermuda had sent 2 employees to help expedite the situation.  It would not have been much of a problem for Charlie and me to return home since we only live 15 minutes from the port, but others had driven hours, even days, to catch the cruise.

As one traveler pointed out — we were already required to be vaxxed and tested before cruising so this is just a redundant authorization from Bermuda which makes traveling more arduous and less peaceful. Sincerely it was a waste of time and money.  Many shipmates have canceled future trips to Bermuda and replaced them with other destinations.

Wish these places that depend upon tourism would get with the program.

Jo