The Boiling Pots

This past Tuesday in Hilo, Hawaii a few friends and I headed to the Boiling Pots. The Boiling Pots is a place located off of the Wailuku River, about a mile and a half north of Rainbow Falls. The Boiling Pots have their own falls, however, the Pe'epe'e Falls.

While this area can be dangerous while flooded, we made sure to go on a bright sunshine-y day! We swam through the first couple "pots" (pools created by lava flow!) until we got to where you can see the waterfall!

Meghan, Billy, and David before swimming to the falls!

Meghan pretending to be Ariel with Abe, the cliff post-mud fight, pre jump,
and Meghan and David swimming to the falls!

Abe was our guide, and we followed him out to the falls! (The Boiling Pots are Abe's favorite adventure spot in Hawaii!) We swam out, walked under the falls, had a big mud fight, and jumped off a cliff into the water! Then we coasted (Heel's Up!) back down the falls with the current. We were WIPED after, but what a blast!

After our day of adventure's in Hilo, we all went to a "family" dinner at the Skyline restaurant on board the Pride of America! I love these boys! I can't believe our adventure time is about to come to a close!

XO,
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

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

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