The Na Pali Coast

One of the best things about working onboard the Pride of America is the wonderful people you get to meet who work onboard with you. I have made friends in many departments... That includes the Captain!

Captain Kjell calls me Dorothy because I sing Somewhere Over The Rainbow in our show
Lights, Camera, Music!

We have two Captains that alternate on the Pride of America. Captain Kjell Nesheim, however, has become very close with Production Cast as he makes a special effort to see our shows every week!

Every Friday onboard the Pride of America, we cruise past the Na Pali Coast. The coast stretches 17 beautiful miles on the North shore of Kauai. Many movies, including Jurassic Park, has been shot here and when you see it, you know why. I cannot describe it in any other words but breathtaking and otherworldly. It is definitely a highlight of our cruise.

Fortunately for myself and my fellow castmates, after our afternoon performance, Captain Kjell invited all of us to the Bridge of the Pride of America to see the Na Pali Coast Line.

The valley in this picture is the Kalalau Valley, only accessible by hiking or boat. There are no roads to access the Na Pali Coast.

















We even caught a rainbow on this cruise... Perfect!

Seeing Na Pali every week never gets old and having a new vantage point was a true treat. Captain Kjell is a gem, and I can't wait to see him when he gets back from vacation!

The singers with our Captain!

I hope the pictures I took captured some of this beauty, but there is truly nothing like seeing it in person. Definitely something to add to your bucket list!
Meghan

Touring Kauai

On Thursday morning my parents and I got up and headed for the Waimea Canyon. My dad stopped at Starbucks for me (what an awesome guy!) and we drove up to see the canyon from the overlook.

Of course, we were up for anything, so when we saw a sign for a blowhole called "Spouting Horn" in Poipu, Kauai we had to check it out!












Up we continued to drive until we started seeing the red clay associated with Hawaii. Then, finally, we made it up and around the canyon for this gorgeous view! The Waimea Canyon is known as the "Grand Canyon of the Pacific."

In typical Manahan fashion, Daddy got the best pictures! Check out this awesome shot he took of the waterfall, Waipoo Falls!

After we left the Waimea Canyon overlook, we grabbed some snacks (in Hawaii than means pineapple and mango!) and headed around to see the other side of the island. Fun fact, in Kauai you can only drive around part of the island because the Na Pali Coast National Park doesn't have roads! (Check out more about the Na Pali Coast in my blog post here!) 

But we did come across the Manini-holo Dry Cave! It was one of the most insane things I've ever seen- and I got to walk through it!

It was an awesome day in Kauai! I can't wait for my parents to see the Na Pali Coast tomorrow!

XO,
Meghan

A Day in the Life

On our first day pulling into port, we were delayed by a tropical storm, but we would never let that stop us! A rainy day is choice weather for the Manahan's, even in Hawaii!

So we rented a car and headed off to explore the Road to Hana. As expected, the Road to Hana was much different in the rain than what I experienced in a couple weeks previous. (You can read about that adventure HERE.) But with rain came gushing waterfalls everywhere we turned!

It was positively gorgeous, and because of the rain the roads were pretty empty as well!

Although this wasn't my first trip on the Road to Hana, it was the first time my parents had experienced it, and that was just as fun!

My absolute favorite part of the trip this time around was the blowhole at the black sand beach, Pa'iloa Beach. The water was high, so the blowhole splashed even more water and created a spectacular effect which my father, of course, caught on his camera!

Needless to say, I was pretty soaked after that one! But it was totally worth it! Believe it or not, as soon as we finished our drive along the Road to Hana, I had to perform that night! I had two jazz sets to perform in the gorgeous Skyline restaurant. Luckily for me, my father didn't miss taking pictures of that either!

My wonderful duet partner, Vincent Teschel, and myself

There truly is never a dull day when you perform on the Pride of America!
Always more to come,
Meghan

Seeing Pearl Harbor

The first day my parents got here, I met them bright and early! It was a day that I had always wanted to experience since I was young: We were going to see Pearl Harbor.

Fun fact: When I was in 5th grade, I had an awesome history teacher, Barbie Spraker, and a fierce love of reading. I became irreversibly hooked on books about World War II. My grandfather also served in World War II, and he has always been one of my greatest heroes. To this day, I love to read historical fiction and nonfiction, as well as plenty of biographies. 

It was 7:15am, my Mom was already in line for tickets to the museums, and my Dad was picking me up and buying us coffee.

Pearl Harbor turned out to be an incredible experience, just as I had hoped. We started by seeing the USS Arizona. We took a ferry boat out to the memorial to pay our respects. With our tour group, there were three Navy sailors who I had the wonderful pleasure of getting to speak with. They were in Oahu from Arizona and brought a flag with them that they had raised all over the world. Today, they were allowed to raise their flag at the USS Arizona memorial. 

Luckily, without even knowing the previous story, my Dad was ready with his camera.

We Can Do It!

After we saw the USS Arizona, we headed back to ship for a soundcheck, grabbed breakfast, then returned to Pearl Harbor to see the Pacific Aviation Museum.

The Aviation Museum was awesome. Not only did it have an indoor portion filled with history and airplanes, it had a hangar filled with more aircrafts.

It was incredible. But, this is only the start of a week filled with awesome adventures!

More to come,
Meghan

Hawaii- Manahan Style!

Let’s start this blog out by saying that my parents are hands down two of the most amazing people I know. My parents are creative, funny, loving, encouraging, but most of all, supportive. 

So supportive that they traveled over 5,000 miles to come see me perform on a cruise ship in Hawaii. 

However, for those of you who know my parents, you know that they have never missed me in a performance. On top of that, they have taken pictures, recorded videos, made dinners for me and my castmates, taken us out to ice cream, and generally been the best Stage Mom and Dad ever. (I truly look forward to my Dad asking if he can take pictures of me during that dream Broadway show someday.)

In other words, I am so excited to share all of the truly wonderful adventures I went on during my time with my parents in Hawaii! 

Stay tuned!

Meghan