FLIGHT FROM MAINLAND IS UNEVENTFUL
By Bob Van Leer

  (AT SEA OFF HONOLULU, HAWAII, FEB 27, 1993) - Our cruise ship, S.S. Constitution, left the dock at Honolulu just after 9 p.m. this evening and is now out at sea. Astern of the ship, Diamond Head is silhouetted against the glow from the city. Betty and I arrived in Honolulu this afternoon after an uneventful flight. We left from Arcata this morning on a commuter plane, transferring to a DC-10 wide body jet in San Francisco for the flight to Honolulu which was scheduled for four hours and 46 minutes but arrived a half hour early.

  The flight was completely uneventful and, after arriving, we took a cab to the pier and boarded the Constitution.

ALL PARTICIPATE IN A LIFEBOAT DRILL
By Bob Van Leer

  (AT SEA OFF HAWAII, FEB. 28, 1993) - Today was spent at sea getting organized on the ship and engaging in a few activities.

  One was a lifeboat drill required by the Coast Guard. We all put on life preservers and trooped to assigned lifeboat stations to be counted. Lifeboats were partially lowered to the level of where we would board in case of an actual emergency. Our assigned lifeboat appeared to be about 30 feet long with 1500 cubic feet of space and the painted sign on it said its capacity is 150 persons. If actually loaded to that capacity it would look like the pictures we have seen on TV of boatloads of Haitians. Still, if the ship was sinking, the lifeboat would look pretty good.

   Most of the day we cruised around an area of ocean southeast of Honolulu.

  This area was protected waters mostly surrounded by the islands of Maui, Kahoolawe, Lanai and Molokai. Part of the area is known as Pelican Banks, a shallow bank much frequented by whales. We saw a number spouting and rolling on the sea.

  Maui is almost two islands. It is two volcanic mountains connected by a land bridge not many feet above water.

BUT OPEN FOR BUSINESS - AND NEEDS IT
By Bob Van Leer

   (AT SEA OFF KAUAI, HAWAII, MARCH 1, 1993) - Sept. 11, 1992 , is a date engraved in everyone's memory on Kauai. This is the date Hurricane Iniki savaged the island with winds of up to 200 miles per hour.

  The island is now recovering but signs of the damage are visible almost everywhere. For weeks after the hurricane hit, the island was closed to visitors. But it is now open for tourists and the locals wish more of the tourists would come back.

   One local businessman said the tour ships such as the one we were on were providing the only cash flow on the island. Many hotels were closed but the ship brings it own bedrooms.

HAWAIAAN LUAU SERVED IN EVENING
By Bob Van Leer

  (MAUI, HAWAII, MARCH 2, 1993) -We arrived at Kahului, Maui, at 7 this morning and entered the harbor. There is quite a bit more room than at the harbor on Kauai.

  Maui is called the Valley Island because it is basically two mountains connected by an eight mile wide isthmus. The main activity of the island is on the isthmus. Here are the port, airport, governmental center and much of the agriculture. The business and political heart of Maui is the Wailuku-Kahului area on the east side of the isthmus.

WHALES ARE PLENTIFUL OFF MAUI
By Bob Van Leer

   (AT SEA OFF MAUI, HAWAII, MARCH 3, 1993) - Our party split up today. I wanted to go snorkeling but couldn't convince anyone else.

  So the five of them (Betty and my sisters and husbands, Bud and June Pallardy and Lou and Ruth Chiodini) rented a car and went touring the island.

  The snorkeling boat was a 58 feet long catamaran that took about 25 of us to the small island of Molkini. The island is crescent shaped and the snorkeling area is the water in the cove made by the crescent.

   Molokini is the top of a volcano that just made it to the surface. It is a marine preserve and Capt. Chris Dennis, in his instructions, said we were to look but not touch. No souvenirs.

  We left the dock shortly after 7 a.m. and the wind was blowing pretty good already. Captain Chris said this was standard Maui, a 15-25 knot trade wind. But not to worry. Haleakala, the 10,023 feet high volcano that forms the south part of Maui blocks the wind from Molokini. And this is just what happened.

FIERY LAVA BOILS IN PUU OO CRATER
By Bob Van Leer

   (HILO, HAWAII, MARCH 4, 1993) - Today we explored volcanoes - by helicopter in the morning and bus in the afternoon.

  We continued our tour of the Hawaiian Islands, this morning and docked at Hilo, Hawaii, referred to as the Big Island, is large enough to be considered as two regions instead of just one island. Hilo, on the east coast, I the rainy side. Kona, on the west side, I more of a place for tourist.

TOUR OF ARIZONA MEMORIAL LAST EVENT OF CRUISE
By Bob Van Leer

   (AT SEA OFF KONA, HAWAII, MARCH 5, 1993) - Today was our last full day on our cruise ship, S. S. Constitution. Our ship anchored off Kona this morning after a short cruise from Hilo, on the other side of the island of Hawaii.

  Although on the same island, the climates are radically different. Hilo's rainfall is over a hundred inches but Kona is much dryer, and much warmer. The temperature today was in the 80s, the first really warm day we have had.

   There is no port on Kona large enough to accommodate the Constitution so the ship anchored offshore and we were ferried onto the island by a smaller vessel.