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UP High 1950 alums Pete Manansala and Julius Willis went on a 15-day (October 21 through November 5) cruise to Hawaii with their spouses Vilma and Norma, respectively. Departing from Pier 35 in San Francisco on the Princess Cruises ship Star Princess, they spent five  days on the ocean en route to their first stop (October 26), the town of Hilo on the island of Hawaii, where they toured many historic places including a walk through a tunnel to the heart of a volcano.
The following day (October 27), their ship docked at Nawiliwili on the island of Kauai where they mostly shopped and walked around town.
At their big destination, Honolulu, on the island of Oahu (October 28), they met up with fellow UP High 1950 alumnus Serge Domondon and Serge’s wife Rose, his daughter Liana, and their family friend Scott Dirk. The following is an account of the Honolulu stop as described by Serge:
“We started our ‘land cruise’ from the Ala Moana Shopping Center in Honolulu where we visited Shirokiya, a Japanese department store. There, we watched people prepare various types of Japanese foods.
“We left the Ala Moana (to start our tour of the island) in two groups (two separate vehicles). In vehicle #1 (my car, with me driving) were Julius, Pete, their friend and fellow UP alumnus Cesar Bautista and his wife Lita. In vehicle #2 (my daughter Liana’s SUV which she and her friend Scott Dirk took turns driving) were Julius’ wife Norma, Pete’s wife Vilma, my wife Rose, and (of course) Liana and Scott.
“Vehicle #2 was the lead vehicle as we proceeded to visit several destinations. Our lead vehicle had a good start on us, and as we lagged behind we managed to pass by the Philippine Consul General’s office three times before succeeding to get on the correct freeway out of Honolulu to our first tour stop (there are reasons for this madness but we will not reveal them since our human GPS systems were making good “recalculations” after all). After several desperate phone calls between the two vehicles, we got caught up and reached our first destination. From then on, our “tour of Oahu” became a charm.
“We were not able to visit Hanauma Bay -- a sea life reserve or sanctuary -- because it was closed at the time. We stopped at a scenic viewing spot instead and then went on to see the “Blow Hole” where we witnessed one of the many wonders of nature.
“Our next stop was Makapuu Point where we saw hang gliders having fun taking off from nearby hillsides and landing close to us.
“We visited the quaint old town of Haleiwa which has an “old world” charm about it. Haleiwa (pronounced “Ha-Le-I-Va) is an “artsy” place. As we did at all our other stops, we had a few pictures taken here, but what makes this more mentionable is that we took pictures of ourselves sitting on the famous “Obama’s bench” (named for the fact that President Barrack Obama used to sit here while enjoying a “shave ice” treat with friends during his younger days) which is in front of Matsumoto’s Shave Ice store. Obama’s bench is a popular landmark frequented by both tourists and locals. It was also here that we met some UP alumni who were visiting from the Netherlands -- and we had pictures taken with them as well. Also in Haleiwa, we had lunch at L&L’s Hawaiian BBQ for a taste of local Filipino-Hawaiian cuisine. L&L is Filipino owned.
“We next stopped at the Dole Plantation which is also a tourist spot and where most visitors buy their Hawaiian souvenirs. At the Dole Plantation, we saw why Hawaiian pineapples are the world’s best. We also saw all the many other products Dole is known for.
“From the Dole Plantation, we returned to the city (Honolulu) where – for crying out loud – we saw the Philippine Consul General’s office a fourth time. Of course, seeing the Philippine Consular General’s office was not the reason we returned to the city – we had to return to the city so we could stroll down Kalakaua Avenue and visit the famous International Market Place. Kalakaua Avenue is known as a tourists promenade. All kinds of stores line the promenade, both so-called high- and low-end stores. We also returned to the city so we could stroll down Waikiki beach and allow Julius and Pete to enjoy the scenery of sun-bathers and more sun-bathers. We also returned to the city because that is where Julius and Pete and their party had to go to return to their cruise ship, the Star Princess.
“It was sad having to say our goodbyes at the end of a long and fun-filled day. All along our journey, we not only saw the sights and felt the thrills but we also reminisced a lot about our recent Las Vegas reunion and the good old days at UP High.”
Julius and Pete and their party next visited Lahaina on the island of Maui (October 29), and because Maui did not have a deep-water port, they had to take “tenders” to get to shore and visit historic places as well as shop. Serge suggested that Julius and Pete (and their friend Cesar) play some golf on great golf courses and/or visit Haleakala, Hana, the Seven Sacred Pools, and the Iao Needle, among other spots. Instead, while their wives shopped, Julius and Pete walked and browsed around town and enjoyed good local beer at The Wharf.
The Star Princess set sail at 5:30 PM on October 29 for its return trip to San Francisco via Ensenada, Mexico.
During the 4-day voyage to Ensenada, Julius and Pete continued to communicate with Hot Lava Serge via email. They and their spouses also spent a lot of time enjoying the many shows and performances (and the dining, dancing, and libation) on board, including a big, boisterous and scary Halloween day and night on Wednesday, October 31 and a “New Year’s Eve” party on Friday, November 2.
The Star Princess docked at Ensenada, Mexico at 4:00 PM on Friday, November 3 and was scheduled to lift anchor to set sail for San Francisco at 7:30 PM on the same day. Julius and Pete and their spouses took shuttles to the quaint little town where they had local brew and saw interesting sights while their wives shopped and returned to the ship in time for the last leg of their “long and short” Cruise to Hawaii.
The Star princess docked at Pier 35 in San Francisco on Monday morning, November 5, putting an end to the 2012 Cruise To Hawaii.
Click here to view 36 rotating pictures of the 2012 Mini-Reunion In Hawaii.
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