Galveston to New Orleans

About 80km south of Houston we discovered Galveston or more precisely Galveston Island on the Texas Gulf Coast. Galveston is described as a romantic island tucked deep within the heart of south Texas. It's moniker “Playground of the South” applies because the area has 50km of beaches a host of museums and entertainment plus it is the main cruise ship terminus for itineraries around the Gulf of Mexico.

Much of the city was destroyed (at least 6,000 people were killed) in 1900 when Galveston hurricane came ashore together with a great storm surge that inundated most of Galveston Island. One of the early hotel developments following the hurricane was the Hotel Galvez.

Hotel Galvez

Postcard view of Beach Boulevard and the Hotel Galvez, early 1940s

During the 1920s and 30s, the city exploited the prohibition of liquor and gambling. Clubs offered entertainment to wealthy Houstonians and other out-of-towners. Galvestonians accepted and supported the illegal activities, often referring to their island as the "Free State of Galveston".

On the way from Galveston Island to Bolivar Peninsula (by ferry) we passed by Seawolf Park, a memorial to USS Seawolf, a US Navy submarine mistakenly sunk by U.S. Navy forces in 1944 during World War II.

Seawolf Park

Seawolf Park is unique in that it has a submarine USS Cavalla, and the remains of a merchant ship WWI tanker S.S. Selma, and a destroyer escort USS Stewart designed to conduct antisubmarine warfare - the hunter, hunted, and the protector - all in one museum. 

Five hours drive later (and a memorable lunch stop at a Waffle House diner) we arrived in the birthplace of jazz, New Orleans - the Big Easy, also referred to as NOLA. There's so much to see and do here that this is definitely a city we plan to return to in future visits to the States.

Spanish Architecture in the French Quarter

At the heart of the French Quarter is Bourbon Street - the historic, colourful and extremely musical destination that combines residential, hotels, guest houses, bars, restaurants and tourist-oriented commercial properties. Entry to most bars presenting live music throughout every evening is free so long as you buy a drink. Fortunately, the French Quarter suffered relatively light damage from Hurricane Katrina floodwater as compared to other areas of the city and the greater region.

Bourbon Street at night

Since steam powered riverboats have played such a significant role on the Mississippi River from New Orleans upstream during 19th-century, taking our own short cruise along the Ol Man River aboard the last authentic steamboat on the river felt like an important part of the visitor experience.

We caught up with and boarded the Natchez (the ninth steamer named after the city of Natchez, Mississippi or the Natchez people) at the Toulouse Street Wharf. She's a stern-wheel steamboat built in 1975 and is modeled after the steamboats Hudson and Virginia. Its steam engines were originally built in 1925 for the steamboat Clairton, from which the steering system and paddlewheel shaft also came. 

The Natchez also features a steam calliope - also known as a steam organ or steam piano. We were treated to a extended recital before boarding and travelling upstream for several hours.

Steam calliope being played on the Natchez 

The whistles of a calliope are tuned to a chromatic scale, although this process is difficult and must be repeated often to maintain quality sound. Since the pitch of each note is largely affected by the temperature of the steam, accurate tuning is nearly impossible; however, the off-pitch notes (particularly in the upper register) have become somewhat of a trademark of the steam calliope.

On our final morning in New Orleans we caught the St Charles Line Streetcar through the Garden District. This area was originally developed between 1832 and 1900 and is now considered one of the best-preserved collections of historic Southern mansions in the United States.

St Charles Streetcar outside Holy Name of Jesus Church adjacent to Audubon Park

This whole area was once cotton plantations. It was sold off in parcels to mainly wealthy Americans who did not want to live in the French Quarter with the Creoles. Originally the area was developed with only a couple of houses per block, each surrounded by a large garden. In the late 19th century, some of these large lots were subdivided, as Uptown became more urban. This has produced a pattern for much of the neighborhood: of any given block having a couple of early 19th-century mansions surrounded by "gingerbread"- decorated late Victorian period houses.

19th-century Garden District mansion

Late Victorian period house

The next part of our adventure involved catching (with less than 10 minutes to spare) Amtrak's iconic train The City of New Orleans from New Orleans, north through the state of Mississippi to Memphis, Tennessee. After Memphis, it then continues north through the heart of USA to Chigago. The train is also celebrated by the folk music song City of New Orleans written and first performed by Steve Goodman in 1970 and subsequently recorded by Arlo Guthrie.

City of New Orleans departing New Orleans Station

Hawaii to Houston

Following some more blissfully relaxing days at sea from Honolulu, we've arrived in the beautiful city of Vancouver, capital of British Columbia in Canada. Amazingly the seas seemed to go from calm to completely flat for the majority of this last leg of our passage across the Pacific however (not surprisingly) the temperature also started to drop dramatically as we approached the USA west coast. Since we packed for summer temperatures that put an end to wandering out on deck to enjoy the sea breeze. Someone in charge on board was very careless and we lost an hour each day almost every night of this last leg. Apparently it was to catch up to Pacific Daylight Time. 

Whale watching in luxury

One moment of special excitement in the afternoon of day 19 - we just managed to be in the right place at the right time on the Observation Deck to spot a pod of whales passing us. They were obviously heading for their summer vacation destination in Hawaii. One of the whales very obligingly breached completely our of the water within 100m of the ship!

Whales going on holiday to Hawaii

On our second last night on board, a small group of Piano Bar regulars schemed a little celebration to acknowledge all the fun we'd had with our Aussie pianist, singer and friend Paul. We were also celebrating the many friendships developed with the other of guests who also discovered and became regulars at this fantastic late night venue. Lots of towel animals escaped from their cabins to come and join in the singing on the top of the baby grand piano. 

Towel animals visit Paul C McD at the Piano Bar

Our short stay in Vancouver was chance to regroup and also to take in the whole of Stanley Park experience. On the three previous visits to the capital of BC we've not been able to undertake a thorough investigation of the park 's attractions, including its amazing views and its abundant wildlife. 

A visit to the Vancouver Aquarium was the highlight of day one in Vancouver.  Vancouver Aquarium is very impressive and features a large outdoor section - home to rescued penguins, seals and sea lions, dolphins and also a pair of Beluga whales. 

Beluga whales

The Beluga Whale was placed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List in 2008 as being "near threatened".Of seven Canadian beluga populations, the two inhabiting eastern Hudson Bay and Ungava Bay are listed as endangered.

Beluga Whale being fed

Inside the main building a comprehensive set of tanks exhibited a comprehensive range of the diverse sea life from the numerous British Columbia coastal regions. I've also included some more detail about the aquarium in the side panel to the right.

We saved a Stanley Park exploration for day 2 and hired push bikes get around. A popular (apparently the world's longest uninterrupted) cycle and roller-blade track and footpath for walkers and runners follows the 8.8km seawall/waterline. In addition to this main access path the 400 ha park is criss crossed with walking paths all suitable for bikes and several sealed roads.

Cool Bike Chick

Prospect Point provides some amazing views of 473m main span Lions Gate Bridge (also called First Narrows Bridge) and Burrard Inlet. 

Bulk carrier Orhan passes under Lions Gate bridge bound for Turkey

There's lots of wildlife both native and introduced in the park. The Black Squirrel was introduced from the east coast in the early twentieth century.

Black Squirrel (introduced)

Stanley Park now has a growing population of black squirrels. The squirrels have also thrived and spread throughout the Vancouver area.

Canada geese and their offspring are a common sight particularly in the park lands around Lost Lagoon

Canada goose and goslings

In recent years, Canada goose populations in some areas have grown substantially, so much so that many Canadians consider this bird to be a pest due to their droppings, bacteria in their droppings, and their noise. 

Almost as common are the wood duck or Carolina duck (a species of perching duck found in North America)

Wood Duck (male)

Whilst exploring the dozens of internal trails amongst  the centuries old trees we learnt a little about one of the difficult management decisions in Stanley Park when we came across a pair of (introduced) white swans nesting on the edge of Lost Lagoon. The numbers of this territorial bird species has been expanding and has begun threatening the local fauna.

Nesting swan on shores of Lost Lagoon

The low impact conservation measure being used (we were told by a local "friend" of Stanley Park) was the removal of eggs to cut down on the growth of this species.

It was obvious from the dams being built that beavers are local resident in both Lost Lagoon and Beaver Lake although we weren't lucky enough to see any during our visit. Their natural behavior of dam construction in the watercourse flowing out of the two lakes in the park is having a dramatic impact on the fragile environment of this urban landscape. I've included some more detail about the local Beavers in the side panel to the right.

Stanley Park, Vancouver

Our hosts in Texas (Jeff and Laura) have a property in the far east of Texas on the edge of Caddo Lake. This freshwater lake is a network of bayous that eventually runs into the Mississippi River in Louisiana near Sheveport.

The area is extremely quiet and is popular as a fisherman's paradise and get away from everything holiday destination. The place is full of critters, many of which come close to the house. The bayou is home to alligators (Helen spotted a small one swimming close to the back verandah), snapping turtles and many varieties of fish including Largemouth Bass (a prized sport fish) and the American Paddlefish. On land around Caddo Lake there are deer, cougars, cottontail snakes, armadillos and squirrils just to name a few.

Big Cypress Bayou runs through Caddo Lake and once permitted commercial riverboat travel to nearby Jefferson from ports such as St. Louis and New Orleans via the Mississippi and Red Rivers.

Big Cypress Bayou

Native to the Mississippi River Basin the American Paddlefish are among the largest and longest lived freshwater fishes in North America. Fossil records of paddlefish date back over 300 million years, nearly 50 million years before dinosaurs first appeared.

American Paddlefish

Fishing on Caddo Lake

The property has a water frontage onto a backwater of the Big Cypress Bayou called Pine Island Pond. The pond is surrounded with Bald Cypress trees draped with Spanish moss. Spanish moss is an epiphyte which absorbs nutrients and water from the air and rainfall and is colloquially known as "air plant". Its presence on the Bald Cypress tree branches creates a stunning and somewhat spooky appearance of the silver-gray strands, hanging like natural Halloween decorations.

Pine Island Pond

The historic town of Jefferson - once a major inland port on Big Cypress Bayou was a thriving city - the sixth largest town in Texas just a few years after the Civil War.  The railway, amongst other things eventually forced the decline of river transport and the significance of the city.

Historic Jefferson General Store

Inside Jefferson General Store

Almost four years ago we visited Kennedy Space Centre (Cape Canaveral) in Florida. During this trip we've been able to also visit the Apollo manned Moon landing program facility in Houston, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) center for human spaceflight activities -Johnson Space Centre.

Johnson Space Center is home to NASA's astronaut corps and is responsible for training astronauts from both the U.S. and its international partners. It has become popularly known by its central function "Mission Control", from the Gemini, Apollo and Space Shuttle Programs.

One of the newest Space Centre Exhibits is the Space Shuttle mockup Independence (delivered from Kennedy Space Centre mounted on top of a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft.

Space Shuttle Cockpit

A restored Saturn V complete with Command and Service Module is housed in a custom built building after it sat exposed to outdoor elements from 1977 through 2004. At almost 3,000 tonnes, 110m tall and 10m diameter, the Saturn V remains the tallest, heaviest, and most powerful rocket ever brought to operational status.

Apollo Command and Service Modules attached to Saturn V

Saturn V explained

Inside the Christopher C. Kraft Jr. Mission Control Centre building, the now historic Shuttle Flight Control Room (FCR) has a new, futuristic look. Upgraded from its honorable service with the Space Shuttle, the famous room has transitioned into what is called MCC-21 – is all-but ready for its future role in supporting NASA’s current and future launch vehicles and spacecraft.

MCC-21

Heading North to Hawaii

Just in case we or any of the other guests on our Trans-Pacific adventure got a little confused by all the time zone changes, we had a magnificent Waterford-crystal globe in the Atrium to help us stay focused on our objective.

The spendour of the Oosterdam Atrium

Pago Pago on the mountainous island of Tutuila, is the de facto capital town (and only significant port) of American Samoa. Despite centuries of European influence, it was very obvious how Samoans have maintained their culture and historical and social customs.

Surf spray off the fringing reefs of the island of Tutuila

Tuna fleet in Pago Pago Harbour

Pago Pago Harbour

This rock is known locally as the Camel Rock because of its obvious shape. I can't see it myself.

Camel Rock 

Nawiliwili Harbour was our first port after American Samoa and is on the Hawaiian island of Kauai.

Kauai - Hawaiian Islands

The mountain at the very center of Kauai, Mt. Waialeale receives so much rain each year that totally unique flora and fauna exist at its summit. Receiving up to an annual record 17.3 metres of rain, this mountain (at least the bit where the rain gauge is located) is claimed to be the wettest place on Earth.

The entrance to the harbour is very picturesque and narrow. I have included the following pictures to show you.

Lighthouse

Breakwater

Sunset at Nawiliwili Harbour

As I spent the majority of my childhood at a small harbour in North Queensland that exists primarily for the export of raw sugar my interest (and thus this photo) piqued. The sugar industry on Kauai has ceased to exist largely due to the cost of land and labour. The storage shed at Nawiliwili Harbour is one of the few remaining vestiges of this significant periods in Hawaii history,

Raw sugar storage shed - Nawiliwili Harbour

We visited Waimea Canyon State Park, also known as the Grand Canyon of the Pacific - a large canyon, approximately 16km long and up to 900m deep formed not by the steady process of erosion and by a catastrophic collapse of the volcano that created Kauai.

Over time, the exposed basalt has weathered from its original black to bright red.

Waimea Canyon

Spouting Horn is located on the southern coast of Kauai. Wave action has eroded lava rocks on the coastline creating narrow openings. With every wave, water shoots upward when it is forced through an opening and creates a sound suggestive of (a lizard's roar) hissing.

Spouting Horn Blowhole

Honolulu Harbour was also host to Star Princess the day and evening we spent on the Hawaiian Island of Oahu. This is the second cruise ship by this name operating for the Carnival Group. The first was renamed Pacific Pearl and transferred from Princess Cruises to P&O Cruises Australia in 2010. You may recall that (ironically) we berthed in Noumea on the same day as Pacific Pearl.

Star Princess and her "Grand" class sister ships Grand Princess and Golden Princess featured the unique Skywalkers nightclub suspended over the stern - I've read at least one comment that the nightclub makes these "Grand" class ships look like a shopping trolley.

Pacific Star berthed at Aloha Tower Cruise Ship Terminal

The suspended nightclub on Grand Princess has since been removed.

Goodbye Skywalkers 

Bunkering operations in Honolulu Harbour was a whole day affair with the tug Namahoe and accompanying oil field support barge came alongside until an hour before departure.

Tug Namahoe with bunker barge Neena alongside Oosterdam

Pearl Harbor, our primary objective in Honolulu, is a National Historic Landmark and still remains an active military base as well as the headquarters of the USA Pacific Naval Fleet.

The visitor centre consists of several exhibition buildings which describe the history and the drama of the "surprise" attack on multiple US military assets on Oahu (including Pearl Harbour) by the Empire of Japan on Sunday, December 7, 1941.

The highlight of the visit is a short launch trip across the lagoon to the USS Arizona Memorial. Here lies the sunken wreck of the battleship Arizona and the tomb of 1,102 of the 1,177 sailors and marines killed on December 7. Oil leaking from the sunken battleship can still be seen rising from the wreckage to the surface of the water. This oil is sometimes referred to as "the tears of the Arizona".

The shrine within this national memorial is a marble wall bearing the names of all those killed on the Arizona. Many of the surviving crew members have subsequently elected to have their ashes interred within the sunken remains.

USS Arizona Memorial straddles the sunken wreck

The battleship USS Missouri is a late addition to the memorial and is berthed 460 metres from the USS Arizona Memorial. Missouri was the last battleship commissioned by the USA Navy

Those of you familiar with WW2 history will recall that the Japanese formally surrendered to United States on the deck of the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, thus ending World War II.

Plaque commemorating the surrender of Japan to end World War II

The pairing of the Arizona wreck and the Missouri has become an evocative symbol of the beginning and end of the United States' participation in the war.

USS Missouri now berthed at Ford Island

The Pearl Harbour Historic Landmark also features the USS Bowfin, a Balao-class diesel-electric submarine commissioned 18 months after the Pearl Harbour attack. Bowfin served in the Pacific during the remainder of WW2 and was recommissioned for service during the Korean conflict.

Notably amongst the numerous enemy vessels attacked, an unmarked Japanese cargo ship Tsushima Maru was sunk by Bowfin on 22 August 1944 as the ship was carrying hundreds of schoolchildren from Okinawa to Kagoshima. About 1,484 civilians, including 767 schoolchildren were killed,

USS Bowfin

The numerous sea days with warm evenings and smooth seas has been perfect for some evening photography with my new camera.

The twin funnels serve as both air intake as well as an engine and waste heat exhaust.  Up to 5 diesel engines and one gas turbine on board Oosterdam can power electric generators that in turn provide electrical energy to the ships electric propulsion motors, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, freshwater production and cooking plus all the other navigation functions and the hotel electrical load.

Oosterdam's "twin rubbish bins" funnels

Satellite Dish Dome

Moon rising over the Observation Deck

Finally a photo from the Piano Bar on Aussie Night.