'04 Radisson Grand Voyage-Segment 5

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Where would you find one million gooney birds and forty-five humans all living on a historically significant island? Yes, it’s Midway Island, five days from Tokyo and two days from Hawaii. As we went ashore, we couldn’t believe all the albatross with their chicks on every square inch of this ten mile long island. Midway is mainly known because of the battle of Midway during WWII. Today, it is a bird sanctuary under the US Department of Fish & Game. It also acts as an emergency stop over for jumbo jets between the US and Asia. We were only the first of two cruise ships to be allowed to stop at this island this year.

We always love our visits to Hawaii. This time the Voyager Club took us to Waimea Canyon on Kauai and as “Grand Voyagers” we had a swing dance party on the “Mighty Mo” in Pearl Harbor. We had a wonderful lunch at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel with a view of Diamond Head.

Back on board ship, we have continued our bridge lessons led this segment by Audrey Grant). We have collected a little under two hundred tokens playing the myriad of games and teatime trivia offered. We managed to break even due to our winnings at Bingo, Black Jack, and the slot tournaments we participated in. We were also involved in a fun filled cooking demonstration which was as much about the entertainment value as it was about the finished product. Linda’s team “The Goddesses to the Stars” won a Cordon Bleu cookbook and chef’s outfit. We also entered and won several categories in the digital photo contest.

After Hawaii, we turned our thoughts to numerous farewell events with new friends both passengers and crew, packing more than we started with, and reminiscing about the incredible journey that is almost at an end.

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