Seek Shelter Immediately

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Our bags were picked up Friday evening, so we had only carry-ons to pack Saturday morning. For me, that meant electronics: laptop, Bob's iPad, my camera. We were up early enough to watch our arrival in the port of Honolulu, lovely and peaceful in the soft morning light. After showering, we sat quietly on the deck with our coffee.

The ship's docking activities continued below us, and we watched the ship being refueled from a floating station, with a long boom surrounding the area to contain any possible leak. The morning was peaceful and we were ready to leave our stateroom by the 8:30 a.m. departure time assigned to us.

The emergency alert hit each of our cell phones almost simultaneously:
Extreme alert BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. Jan. 13, 8:07 AM.
Bob and I immediately had the same thought: that we were in a very vulnerable position, sitting just above a refueling operation. Time for a quick mental Hail Mary. I learned later that Bob had said one too -- the automatic response for Catholics of our generation.

We decided to leave our stateroom immediately and learned that everyone else had received the same alert. The captain announced that the ongoing disembarking process would be suspended until more information was available. His voice was unemotional and confident.

We stood near the gangway with everyone else, and everyone was very calm. I did reflect quietly and thought that our affairs were pretty much in order, so I was not really worried. Perhaps 10 minutes later the captain announced that the alert had been sent in error.

38 minutes after the original message, we received the retraction:
Extreme alert There is no missile threat or danger to the State of Hawaii. Repeat. False alarm. Jan. 13, 8:45 AM.
Later in the day, we learned that the world had reacted in outrage and people in Hawaii and elsewhere had indeed panicked. An airport employee told us the situation there had been somewhat chaotic after the initial alert.

As we reflect on the incident 48 hours later, we realize that there is really nowhere to go in Honolulu, where population is dense and the entire city seems overbuilt. I hope this incident results in a review of alert procedures all over the country. Apparently someone "pressed the wrong button" -- actually, I think this was a dropdown menu choice, involving the use of a non-drill template. Who has the authority to send people into a panic like this? Surely there should be a strict protocol and better controls, not only in Hawaii but possibly in other states as well. Maybe this is is yet another wake-up call.

January 31 news story.  This article summarizes what I suspected. The false alert seems to have been a combination of sloppy protocol, confusing procedures subject to individual interpretation, problem employees and, most important, weak and ineffective management.

Last Day on Kauai

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Friday was our last full day on the Pride of America and preparations were already being made for the next onslaught of passengers. Sales in the gift shop; instructions for tagging bags and getting off efficiently the next morning.

Some got off the ship for a last time but we didn't. I felt better and went for a morning swim, where my only companion after 15 minutes or so was a little girl of about nine who loved the water and followed my lead swimming back and forth -- couldn't really been called lap swimming in such a small pool. The water was cool, not cold as it had been earlier in the week. Very refreshing.

We  sailed in mid-afternoon, along the beautiful shore from Nawihili to Hanalei Bay. Humpback whales appeared periodically in the choppy waves, and while I missed my last chance to capture a good picture, I enjoyed the view.

Sunset, our last in Hawaii, was breathtaking. It was a great day.

Kalapaki Beach, Kaui

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Thursday was a hot day, and the sun’s rays felt good. I’d had the shivers for a few days so I was particularly happy to leave the ship without a jacket.

Kalapaki Beach

We took the cruise ship’s trolley, driven by a woman as blonde as a native Minnesotan, to what was labeled as a “shopping center”, and I guess it was – for cruise ship passengers. Lots of colorful clothing, none of it made in Hawaii. Bob bought a baseball cap to supplement the one he had forgotten in our stateroom.

We crossed the busy highway – where drivers actually stop at crosswalks – and walked over to Kalapaki Beach where I had photographed surfers from the ship a little earlier. Duke’s beckoned, but we walked up the hill through the Marriott property first. Lovely buildings and grounds with wonderful landscaping and a number of upscale shops.

Time for a drink (Pinot Grigio for me, skinny margarita for Bob) at Duke’s, where we sat at the bar with two pleasant women from San Diego. Peggy and Heidi were both football fans who had an interest in the Vikings-Saints game on Sunday. Both have a Minnesota connection: Peggy lived somewhere in Minnesota as a young child and Heidi has an online MA degree in Education from Concordia.

Back to the ship for cocktails on our favorite Deck 11.

Kona, Hawaii

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After whimpering that I just couldn’t make it to shore, I put on my rarely used big girl face and pulled  myself together. Because of the port of Kailua-Kona itself is too small to dock a large ship, we had to get to shore by tender. By mid-morning, tickets for the tender boats were no longer required and we simply got on a boat and pulled away from shore toward the port.

View from the street, Kona

The ride was short and pleasant. There are lots of shops, restaurants and bars only steps from the dock, including several ABC stores, where I restocked my supply of cold medicine. The air was hot and humid, but not oppressive. The scene felt like a movie set rather than a “real” place, with all the tropical colors and nautical themed goods on display.

Another day, it would have been fun to explore the little streets farther away from the water, but we settled on drinks and an appetizer at a breezy oceanside Fish Hopper. Altogether enjoyable.

Same Old Leopard

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Last Thursday, we sat on the bus beside a woman who had a terrible coug ah. She looked so ill that she couldn't possibly have recognized herself in a mirror. While I was at least somewhat sympathetic, knowing that she and her husband had paid plenty for this three-day tour of Oahu, I was also a little angry, because I was afraid of contracting the same ailment. Sure enough, I began to feel sick at Pearl Harbor on Friday. I thought about the many days I used to miss work because of colds, and more days when I showed up, spreading germs to co-workers. I also wondered about military personnel on deployment. I suppose you have to show up, no matter how you feel.

I felt progressively worse through Wednesday, staying upright with Dayquil. I was so sick that I swam only once and hardly did a damn thing all day. Port tours were out of the question. Two days I didn’t even make if off the ship. I’m sure I spread the virus to other passengers, but not to Bob, who has an immune system that should be studied by immunologists or whoever does that kind of work.

I thought about other trips and places all over North America and Europe I have fallen ill with one thing or other. The list is so long you’d thing I spend my life on the road. Fortunately, the cold began to lift during the night, and by 4:00 a.m. I felt pretty good and I am jubilant! No need to “make arrangements” this time.

Hilo, Hawaii

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Well, I spent the first part of the day wishing I could have stayed in bed and, from early evening on, waiting to go to bed. I coughed and sneezed all day so any excursion, even going the short distance into Hilo, was out of the question. Nevertheless, the day was pleasant and my husband didn’t push me overboard, as I must have been tempted to do under similar circumstances.

Nippon Maru

We went to the 12^th deck to watch the Nippon Maru, a former Japanese training vessel now a museum, is visiting the islands to celebrate 150 years of Japanese presence in Hawaii. So, a baby born in 1868 would have been about 73 by the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor, and yet these people – and, I guess, their children and grandchildren – were interned during WWII. It's all so sad.

We skipped lunch and took a break in our stateroom, where the bed seemed less inviting in the midday sunshine. We sat on the balcony and watched the work in this busy port. We saw several dozen new trucks being driven away by men who arrived by the vanful and immediately boarded one of the trucks. We also enjoyed the activity around the sailing ship Martin Sheen. The actor is a supporter of many environmental causes, including this one, and the ship is named after him. I imagined (for a short time) that Martin Sheen was in the dinghy going to shore, but quickly saw that the older man in the boat was not he.

By late afternoon, we found ourselves once again in the pleasant space on the 11^th deck, outside the Aloha Café. Instead of afternoon tea, which I really needed, I had  Johnnie Walker Black, and the cold symptoms subsided for several hours. The Beaupre Aerial hat with the Skyjack logo on the side was, not for the first time, a good conversation starter. We met Ron and Tracy from Fergus, Ontario, not too far from Stratford, which we know well.  Very pleasant company.

We left port in the early evening. The ship rocked gently all night. I woke up Wednesday morning anchored off the port of Kona, feeling a letter better.

Paia, Maui

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Golden retriever and her master

My cold gets worse every day so an all-day excursion was out of the question. We decided to take a cab to Paia, where the driver dropped us off at Baldwin Beach Park. I kind of wished I'd brought my suit. However, the waves were full of sand and we had the most fun watching a golden retriever play with her master.

We walked into town. By then it was getting kind of hot (but nothing like Mexico or the Caribbean), so we took the cab driver's advice and went to Charley's, Willie Nelson's "favorite spot on Maui". Pretty good local beer. We ordered the salmon cake appetizer, which was perhaps a little hot, especially for Bob.

I booked an Uber for the ride back to the ship. The driver, Philippe, is the son of a French father and African American mother. He grew up in Orlando and speaks perfect French -- or, at least it was perfect for our brief conversation in French. I was stupid, though, and booked Uber Select, so ended up paying more for the ride than I should have. No matter. We're on vacation.

Swam in the surprisingly chilly and refreshing pool and spent the rest of the afternoon on the 11th deck in the stern of the ship. Cocktails (scotch for Bob, bourbon for me) were delicious.

We left port at 6:00 p.m., as scheduled. By then, the air had chilled and we returned to our stateroom fairly early. The sound of waves and the ship's engines are a lullaby to me, so I slept well.