Jay D Weaver's Thought for the Week

Aloha!

Kilauea Volcano

In February of 2001, my wife Mary and I spent a week on a Hawaiian Cruise. We sailed on the S.S. Independence owned by American Hawaii Cruise Lines. The cruise landed on four different islands, including Maui, Oahu, Hawaii, and Kauai.

We had a wonderful time. We visited several craters, including Kilauea, the home of the fire goddess Madam Pele. It is the only active volcano in the Hawaiian Island chain. It was exciting walking on the lava bed of an active volcano. Steam was venting from holes all around us. Later that evening we saw the lava flows from aboard ship as we circled the island of Hawaii. What a beautiful sight to behold.

Another exciting day was spent on a whale-watching expedition. We had hump-backed whales all around us. I got some wonderful photos of the whales.

The beauty of Hawaii is hard to describe. The plants, flowers, birds, and animals are exquisite. If you have never been there, it is worth the trip. It was very tiring. Flight time from Ft. Myers, Florida to Maui, Hawaii is almost twelve hours. It took several days to get our clocks re-adjusted. The human body does not adjust very well to a five-hour time change in a fourteen-hour period. It was a wonderful trip, but it was good to be home.

Even though the SS Independance is no longer sailing the islands, there are other ships on which you can cruise the Hawaiian Islands. I received a review of the PRIDE OF ALOHA from Bruce Murray. If you are interested in reading it and checking out his gorgeous pictures, just click here. Don't forget to come back to this site. - The Old Professor

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