Sunrise on Haleakala

One of the things I never got to do during my time in Hawaii was see the sun rise on Haleakala, an inactive volcano on the island of Maui. It was the last week on board for the cast, so they were dying to see the sunrise as well!

My alarm went off at 3am and I headed off to the gangway to meet my car full of adventurers! We kept each other awake until we got to the outlook on the top of Haleakala. Then we set an alarm and slept off the three am drive. 

Sleepy friends on a volcano.

Fun fact: It's actually freezing on top of a volcano, even in Hawaii. The elevation is 10,023 feet! This is definitely the most clothing you'll see on someone in Hawaii. (Except for maybe when it snows!)






The sunrise was not at it's best, but we made the most of an early morning and enjoyed the view nonetheless!

A Vacation In Hawaii? How Original! (Part 1)

Anyone who knows me, knows how much I love surprising people. If I can feasibly pull off a great surprise, I go all out! (Check out part two of my surprise for my best friend Kathryn last year!) This surprise, however, was on a much bigger scale than I think I have ever done.

One of my favorite people from my time working on the Pride of America flew me out to Hawaii to surprise some of our friends onboard! First of all, what a surprise for me! How lucky am I to have such a wonderful friend? Kyle, you're the best! But more on that later!

Of course I couldn't turn down his incredible offer, so off to Hawaii I went!

When I landed in Honolulu, it felt like a dream. Most casts, and all passengers, arrive in Honolulu, Oahu when they board the Pride of America. However, I wasn't in my original cast, so I embarked in Kauai and missed this view!

Getting onboard was hilarious. As I walked with my carry-on luggage to board the ship, my best friend Alexa (one of the many to be surprised!) biked past me. I turned my back quickly hoping she hadn't seen me. She didn't see me, but my friends Andy and Justin sure did! They knew I was coming and helped me get onboard without Alexa seeing me! Thanks, guys!

I got through security, surprised a few more folks as I boarded, and then ran into the embarkation welcome party! On Norwegian ships, dancers and Cruise Staff work together to welcome people onto the ship. I was so fortunate that none of my friends were working, however, I was recognized by the other cast members!

The biggest thing to know about working on cruise ships is how close in proximity you are working and living with the crew. I liken it to living in the dorms your freshman year of college. It's a blessing and a curse, but at the end of the day you end up knowing everyone onboard better than you ever imagined. So, when you disembark the ship or someone comes to visit, you truly feel like you know them. Suddenly, someone who you may have seen in photos or on Facebook comes to life in front of you- and that's exactly what happened!

My new dancer friends promised to keep quiet until I could surprise my friends onboard at the Pool Party later in the day!

I got into Kyle's cabin and got settled. Then, I decided to surprise one of the most wonderful, caring, adventurous people I have ever gotten to work with, Vincent. Vincent, as you might remember, was a performer with me onboard the Pride of America last year. I had the absolute pleasure of getting to sing jazz standards with him every week in the Skyline restaurant. I knew if I wrote a lyric from one of our standards, "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off," on his whiteboard he would know I wrote it.

As soon as he saw it, he texted me, just like I suspected he would. I left Kyle's room and walked down the hall. I knocked on Vincent's door. He opened it, saw me, and shut it immediately! I wished I had recorded his shock, but I know I'll never forget it! I was so thrilled to see my Vincent after almost a year apart!

Next came the biggest surprise yet... The cast! But more on that to come!

XOXO,
Meghan

ps: Had so much fun updating you guys from my phone! What! More of that (and figuring out this Blogger app) to come! XO.

Ode to Kona

By far, my favorite part of my week long cruises in Hawaii are my days off in Kona, Hawaii. Kona is exactly what you would imagine when you think of Hawaii. 



The view of the water is gorgeous, it's the perfect place for breakfast with friends, and did I mention the coffee?! It's the perfect pick-me-up in the middle of the week. It's saturated with color, but calm and rejuvenating. Plus, who doesn't want to see an adorable Honu (Hawaiian for turtle!) or two?

Drinking Kona coffee, the Pride of America, a Farmer's Market, and a baby Honu!

Happy Wednesday!
Meghan

Maui Ocean Center

One of the greatest things about living in Hawaii is getting to see all the beautiful wildlife that lives all over the islands. Turtles, fish, dolphins, and chickens live in perfect harmony with the natives and are highly protected on the islands. 



In that spirit, a few friends and I headed out to the Maui Ocean Center to learn more about all the beautiful inhabitants of the water we sail through everyday.





Hands down, my favorite wildlife in Hawaii are the green sea turtles, or, in Hawaiian, the Honu. These little (and big!) guys are just too cute and so much fun to watch play in the ocean. At the Ocean Center, they have interactive feedings where they feed the turtles a combination of spinach, seaweed, broccoli, and kale! (These guys definitely shop at Whole Foods.) This little guy is only two years old!




Only a little while longer to enjoy these beautiful creatures and the landscape (check out those palm trees in the aquarium reflection!) before I head back to big city life.

Aloha!
Meghan

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

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

The Road to Hana

Last Sunday a few of my friends and I rented a car, and ventured out on the Road To Hana.

The Road to Hana is a long winding road in Maui, Hawaii complete with an estimated 600 turns and 54 one-lane bridges. It is certainly an all day trip, complete with hiking trails, beaches, arboretums, and waterfalls. Needless to say, all of us were really excited to see the beauty Hawaii has to offer.

One of the first places we stopped was the Keanae Peninsula. There, we checked out the beach, climbed the rocks, and, my favorite part, walked through through the arboretum. The arboretum was filled with native trees and plants. The Rainbow Eucalyptus was a huge draw, and many people who were traveling to Hana stopped to check out these beauties.

This is the Rainbow Eucalyptus tree! (Or, Eucalyptus degulpta)

Once we were in the arboretum, we decided to walk down toward the water we could hear running below us. We took the "adventure is in the journey" theme of the Road to Hana to heart and hiked down the creek to get back to our car.









The greatest part of the Road to Hana is the waterfalls. There are so many of them, and most are just off the highway! Our first big falls that we stopped at along the way were the Upper Waikani Falls. Here, we decided to get a lovely family photo.

Left to Right: Chris, Myself, Sam, Michiko, and Trevor

Next stop, a black sand beach! We stopped in Wai'anapanapa State Park and enjoyed the Pa'iloa Beach views, and the rich history and legend of the land. 

Pa'iloa Beach from above, Lava caves, and the Pa'iloa shore

Waves crashing on lava rock on Pa'iloa Beach

Wai'anapanapa Park was stunning, and it took a lot of willpower for us to leave! But there was much more to see and only a few hours of daylight left!

Wailua Falls was our next stop. These falls were stunning, tall, and cold! We even got a chance to hike down the the base of the falls, swim around, and stick our feet in the water! It was gorgeous!






Last but not least, we stopped at Haleakala National Park. Here there are the Seven Sacred Pools, or the 'Ohe'o Gulch. The view here is beautiful, and when we arrived the sun was casting a beautiful light on the incredibly blue water. It was simply perfect. 

And, as if that view wasn't enough, we were blessed with a rainbow to complete our incredible day on the Road to Hana. 

Thanks for sticking around for all of this post! I know it was a long one, but I just couldn't imagine leaving anything out! All the photos were taken by me, with some assistance by the wonderful Trevor Rex!

More to come!
Meghan

An Early Morning in Waikiki

This morning my fellow cast member, Qiana, the ship’s personal trainer, Chris, and I got off the ship at 7am with bicycles and a craving for a good breakfast.




We biked our way out to Waikiki Beach in Oahu and found a wonderful restaurant called Hula Grill. I had the croissant french toast with fresh cut strawberries and a fresh fruit smoothie. It was delicious! I love eating breakfast, and the thirty minute bike ride to Waikiki made is taste that much better.

After we finished our breakfast, we walked along the beach for a bit before heading back to the ship. (Qiana and I had to do our soundcheck!) As we started getting closer to the ship, we happened upon a parade!

Hawaii is gorgeous, but it is mornings like this with exercise, great food, amazing views, and even better company that remind you that you are living in a place people call paradise.

Happy Memorial Day!

This morning the production cast singers all sang God Bless America and the National Anthem on the pool deck to celebrate. The Captain and a few of our Officers put fresh flower leis in the pool in remembrance and our Hawaiian ambassador, Kaulana, said a dedication.

Your Production Cast Singers!
Left to Right: Qiana, Kennen, Felix, Myself, Vincent, and Chase!

So many veterans came and thanked us for singing, which actually surprised me. They were the ones who fought for our country and risked their lives for our freedom, the very least we could do was sing the National Anthem. It was very sweet of them, though, and I was so glad to have a positive impact on an important National holiday. 

Aloha from Honolulu!

Arriving in Hawaii is a big deal. The energy of people excited for their vacations, newlyweds on their honeymoons, and the first timers, like me, who are ready to explore something new is overwhelming. 

I really can’t believe I’m here. There is a six hour time difference from Eastern Standard Time to Hawaii-Aleutian Time. But, there is too much work to be done before sleep can be had! So, of course, I found a Starbucks, where I’m currently updating this blog, and so I could get coffee!

I know there will be more to come!
Meghan

Expect the Unexpected

So, in the last 48 hours, I have left Florida, flown to New York City, seen some of my best friends, celebrated a friend’s birthday, and found out that I am moving to Hawaii for six months.

As unexpectedly as this adventure began, I found out today that I will be joining the cast that I was swinging as Production Cast Principal on the Pride of America.

Life in musical theatre really turns upside down when you least expect it.

So, tonight I am getting my life in New York together because I fly down to Florida to see my family for a few days before heading to Hawaii. Hawaii!

I already can’t wait to share all of my Hawaiian adventures!
Meghan