From Honolulu

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This is Dianne writing now. I decided to give Bruce a little break and take a turn with our blog. He has been working so hard lately as you can see. (photo)

Our next stop was Honolulu, Oahu. We decided to pay for a hop on hop off trolley figuring this was the best way to see Honolulu since it was our first time here. That was a mistake. The traffic in this city was pretty bad. We wanted to stop at the famous Waikiki beach but that was also very crowded. What were we thinking .... we should have gone out of Honolulu to see some of the island but next time we know better. I am also sorry we missed Pearl Harbor. (pictures )

Next day we went to Kona (the biggest island in Hawaii). We headed to turtle beach to swim with the turtles. I am not sure where the turtles were. It rained. But we had fun anyway. This was the first time in my life I was actually happy to take a bus to Walmart to get some necessary supplies. We have had quite a change in our diet so you can imagine what the necessary supplies were.

So now we are back on the ship for a 5 day stretch to Pago Pago, American Samoa. It is definitely relaxing on this ship. Lets see... what is a typical day. We get up. Bruce is kind enough to get me my tea in the morning. We get dressed and go off to the gym. I have been going to Tai Chi every morning with lifestylist Rynae and loving it. Bruce tells me he runs on the treadmill. Theres always sweaty clothes hanging on the clothesline in the shower so he must be telling me the truth. Then we go for our feeding. (I think Bruce already mentioned the feeding times).

After breakfast there are things to do like Speakers to listen to (The last one I went to was about what really happened on the Mutiny on the bounty), theres a library, digital workshop, cooking classes and other things like Bingo which Bruce has been trying to get me to go to but somehow I just cant bring myself to do that.

There are lots of shows at night. Some good, some a bit corny. We saw a comedian tonight that was quite funny. Lots of old people jokes.

Our room is pretty comfy. I was so glad it was a comfy bed. I need a comfy bed. We have our own housekeeper that cleans our room twice a day, imagine that. He even leaves little chocolates on our pillow each night.

It is really a wonderful treat to go on a trip like this with my husband. After 25 years of being married its pretty good we can share this tiny space and have fun.

Sometimes I just cant believe how big the pacific ocean is. It just keeps going on and on and on. The captain announces each day how many hundreds of miles we go. (We have gone about 2000 miles so far) We still have a long way to get to New Zealand but each day I look out at the ocean with a tear in my eye when I think of seeing our daughter Nicole with Chris standing on the pier waiting for us.

Thats it for now. We miss everyone at home.
Love ya
Dianne

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Photos

Duke Statue
Duke is the guy who made surfing famous in the 30's. His statue at Waikiki beach

Tendering in
We had to take a lifeboat in - no dock

Ship from Walmart
Even got a bottle of Walmart wine for $4

Crossing the Equator
Neptune showed up at the pool to initiate all the first time crew

Dianne relaxing
She had to rest after another big meal

Comments

[Liz]

big sister
Hi you guys, Thanks so much for sending me your blogs. It looks like you are having a great time and it made me smile so much. Dianne you write beautifully. Now I know where Saskia gets it from. Your photos are also beautiful and fun to see where you have been. Please put a photo of your room on the blog so we can see that comfy bed. Love, Liz

[Louise]

Island hopping
How did you manage to not gain weight? The meals look and sound great? Did you learn how to make those cute animals out of towels? Great idea for Christmas gifts. Enjoy! Louise