We would make some pretty good advance-men for all you travel bugs out there. I think we were shanghaied the other day on Fiji. We had breakfast the day earlier with this couple from Australia, who own their own farm, and we started to talk about Fiji and what the plans were going to be for the day. Now these people are well traveled. They've even been through Arkansas antique hunting. They told us when they use to come to Fiji they'd take the bus out to Nadi (pronounced Nandi - another stealth language) where all the resorts were and visit the beach. After talking with them, we thought, that sounds pretty good. Go out get some 'resort' time, beach sun and a little internet to continue downloading the first episode of "Lost" for Candice on her i-tunes card. Then come back into town and do some shopping. In the bag!
So much so 'in the bag' that I didn't even consult my personal research notes that I put together before we left the US. The only thing I remembered about my research was that Vijay Singh (sp?), the big Fijian golfer, was from Lautoka, Fiji. (PS - we didn't bump into him. He was from the other side of the island).
So, just to confirm what the hell we were doing, we got off the boat and went to the information booth to confirm our plans. We thought we covered all the pertinent questions; Are the beaches good? Yes. Do you just pay a day rate for use of the resort facilities? Yes. Does the bus go out there? Yes. What resorts are out there? Westin, Fijian Royal, etc. Sounded good to us. So we caught the shuttle into town, stopped in a grocery store for some Coke and to get change for the bus and walked over to the stop.
Nice drive out to Nadi. We knew the resorts weren't on the bus line, so the closer we got to Nadi, I asked this lady which stop we needed to take to walk down to the resorts. She was very helpful and rang the bell for us and we were on our way down the road to the 'resorts.' As we were walking in the hot sun a taxi cab driver approached us and asked if we needed a cab. We told him we were headed to the beach and that we'd need a ride back to the ship around 2:45 p.m. He said he'd take us to the beach and return at that time to take us back to town for $35. We accepted the offer (no time to dicker in the heat) and piled into his car across the street. On the ride to the beach he told us that we was taking us to the best beach. We said 'alright' and were thankful that we took a cab out to the water because there were some turnoffs on the road, it was a pretty desolate road and it would have been quite a hike out there.
So we drive up to this small resort and get out. We're looking for the big resorts but they don't seem to be anywhere around. We're told that we can use the hotel facilities and pool as much as we want. We walked out to the beach and grabbed some shade and chairs by this Australian dude who was waiting for the wet season to be over so he could go back home. Needless to say, the beach is not much to look at. Dark bits of sand mixed with brown made it look dirty but it wasn't. This Australian guy proceeds to tell us this is the worst beach on the island. I said, "Is that so? Our driver told us that it was the best." This guy continues telling us that we can hike out to the Garden of the Sleeping Giant or take a horseback ride on the beach for $20. The conversation turns back to the beach and he tells us that the really nice beaches are on all the surrounding 320 smaller islands that surround the two main islands.
Well we spent so much time getting our money changed, taking the bus and getting out there that we had no time to reconfigure our plans. So, we sat there with our Aussie dude, a little dumb struck, and asked him a few more questions about the beach situation. He pointed out in the far off distance the harbor where all the ferries and boats to the other islands operate out of and said there was shopping too but no beaches at the marine. He said we were better off at this beach than over at the marina. On the other side of the marina were the nicer resorts where we thought we were headed. We debated getting a taxi all the way out there but also realized we'd be that much further from the ship. So after getting in the water we grabbed our stuff and headed up two more 'resorts.' We stopped at the largest, Smuggler's Cove, and went inside to purchase some internet time.
Slow doesn't begin to describe the speed of this internet on Fiji. So slow that Candice decided to give up on the download and on top of that it was draining our battery pretty quickly. We did bring the power source BUT their outlets have a third slit instead of the round hole that the US works off of. So we kept to the email and blog posting. After that we grabbed two chairs out under a shade hut on the beach and relaxed a bit. I started talking with some girls in the pool from Canada that were staying there about this 'beach' situation. They confirmed that you have to get a boat and go island hopping for the really good beaches and even the Westin's beach wasn't much better than the one we were on now.
I ended up taking a walk down the beach towards the marina and on my way back i discovered that the beach we were at really was a nice setting with the mountains in the background and the group of palm trees by the 'resorts.' I went back and got the camera and walked back out to the sandbar for some shots.
Needless to say, we would have needed a lot more time on Fiji to do what we wanted to do since the ship was 1.5 hours away from the marina where these day trips went out of. Fiji is not quite what they advertise in the glossy travel magazines for people visiting by cruise ship. Exotic means not on the mainland not just out in the South Pacific. None of the research I did prior to the trip ever mentioned this fact either. Even after the 20 question session, research, and referrals we still didn't get it right. But all-in-all we salvaged the day, had a good laugh after the shock wore off and came to appreciate the beach we were on despite the fact that it was a FAR cry from what we had envisioned.
Next time we come back we'll know better but for now let us be your advance man -- GET OFF THE BIG ISLAND if you ever decide to visit Fiji!
Sandy
At-least the mountains are pretty.
To answer some of your comments. Grandpa, no more meat on my bones. Despite eating a lot more, I think I am losing weight (lack of Coke-Cola will do that). Jack, there are a couple of bands onboard for the different bars and what not. The main orchestra is pretty good. They do a lot of the stage shows with the dancers and Cunard singers. They also came up for the Neptune ceremony. Katzenjammer was a piano duo that came on for some special shows. Four hands; one piano. They were really good.
crj
Here are some pictures from Pago Pago, American Samoa.
The Old Rainmaker Hotel. Sandy was intrigued by this thing.
Pago Pago Waterfront
The beach we spent the afternoon at.
The harbor was a sunk-in volcano, both sides were flanked by mountains
During our walk out to the beach
Guests nationalities were posted the other day and the UK tops the charts with 945, followed by 385 Americans, 150 Australians, 149 Germans, 82 Canadians, 39 New Zealanders, 21 Netherlanders, 19 French, 17 Switzerlanders and a smattering of Austria, Chile, Czech Republic, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Norway, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden and Venezuela. (oh, and two from Arkansas, ha, ha) Total passengers - 1,861. These numbers will change once we hit Sydney and again in Hong Kong and Dubai.
Crew members are easily outnumbered by the Philippines weighing in at 545, followed by 96 UK, and 75 India. The rest of the crew is too numerous to list. Altogether there are 978 crew members.
Speaking of numbers, our Australian companions posed the question last night at the dinner table if we thought 'ate-dean' people could fit in the liiifffft. Candice and I understood the question but Neil, who grew up in NY, had a hard time understanding anything that was said. After a good laugh and translating the question for Neil we all decided that there was no way 18 people could fit in these ship elevators. Upon leaving the restaurant, we got into the elevator with Leona and Gail and started to discuss just how big this box was and guessing how many people it could actually accommodate. This poor chap standing in the corner of the elevator got drug into the conversation by none other than me. I asked him how many he thought could fit 'in here' and we pointed out to him that the sign inside stated 18. I'm sure all the guy could think of was 'get me out of here.' You really must be careful as to who you get in an elevator with. Or in this guy's case, who you let on the elevator. Did I mention that we had champagne at dinner that night?
We crossed the international dateline last night at 11:06 p.m. and it suddenly became February 8th. Then 54 minutes later it became February 9th. There were 9 passengers on board that missed their birthday. Boo-who, but they had a small celebration for them.
So, technically you guys are now behind us by 19 hours. We will continue to close the gap the further west we travel. Seems that Magellan's expedition of 1519-1522 returned to a Spanish stopover sure of the day it was due to various carefully maintained sailing records. A great debate and arguing ensued when the landlubbers argued the date. This phenomenon generated so much excitement back in the day that a special delegation was sent to the Pope to explain this temporal oddity to him. Thank God Magellan got this all figured out. Needless to say Cunard thought this event was certificate-worthy! (I do consider it monumental when you lose a day and can't find it!)
Now, who goes to Pago Pago and finds a New Zealand half dollar? Sandy Miller, that's who! Candice and I were walking out to the Flower Pot Rock and I found it along the roadside. Must have been some Samoan that pitched it out the window thinking it was useless. Just so happens that I'm going to New Zealand!
We stopped off at a little beach during our walk back to the ship and jumped in the water to cool off. We thought we'd be gritty from the salt water but believe it or not, our skin felt like we had been in fresh water. Candice found some sea glass on the beach and we later rested in the shade at a park and split an orange. It would be very easy to get use to this island lifestyle!
The people of Pago Pago were just as friendly as can be. Very delightful! We stopped by this ice cream bar/cafe to use their internet and purchased a six pack of Coke to take back to the ship. While we were surfing the internet the lady asked us if we wanted to try a coconut milk. I didn't have the heart to tell her that we didn't like coconut but I did decline the offer. But, she went ahead and prepared one for us any way. It was different to say the least. Candice drank most of it and reminded me that it would have been our main diet if we were ever on Survivor.
Note that I did find the Rainmaker Hotel and believe it or not it is right across the street from the governor's palace, which sits up on a hill. No wonder the politicians hung out there. Yes, that's right, hung out, past tense. The hotel has been closed for good but I got some great pictures of the holes in the roofs and the dilapidated structures. But it does appear that 'Sadie's by the Sea' bought a couple of the buildings and the property around the pool and the liquor store. I guess they made a good choice to give it a new name but for all technical purposes, let's just say that I surfed the internet and watched the Super Bowl at the Rainmaker Hotel. PS: I didn't see or recognize any seedy politicians hanging around but the alcohol was being served.
Sandy
Chris, there will be a charge for $10 on credit card in Samoa.
To put things in perspective, when you guys started watching the super bowl, we were sitting down for a noon lunch. Central time is five hours ahead of us.
crj
Crossing the equator was an adventure. Just one big food fight for adults. Aside from the AState Wigwam, I think it was my first true, all out, food fight. We were towards the end of the queue; therefore in the back of the pollywog firing line. I had a stewed breakfast tomato nail my arm, hash-brown patty hit my shoulder, and various meringues slung on my sunglasses (acting as goggles). I ducked just in time for a large chuck of breakfast conglomerate to soar past my head.
We were suppose to be the victims in this shindig, but here comes Sandy, the little deviant, grabbing noodles off the floor and becoming the assailant. After that the entire pollywog group fought back with whatever we caught.
Sandy and I didn't look too bad after the mayhem, but I still wanted a picture of us "messy." So we ventured through the true carnage of the most atrocious pollywogs to Gail and Leona. Apparently, I looked too clean and was spotted by one of Neptune's pirates. Attack of the noodles. Trying to get away on a deck covered with food was impossible. Pirate and I were slipping all over the place, falling into tables. After Sandy came to my rescue, we jumped into the pool, where a whole biscuit was floating in the water. I took off my shirt and noodles fell out.
The pictures are great. The best ones have noodles suspended mid-air.
Food-Junkie Report
Well, I haven't had a bag meal. A few dinners left me a little under-whelmed, which was easily remedied by a quick trip to the lido.
So far best dinner-Surf and Turf of Filet and Grilled Shrimp. Dessert tonight was a chocolate lava cake (Chris think warm chocolate melting cake, but not in soufflé dish.) The waffles are amazing, the thin ones, plus the syrup is pre-mixed with melted butter. Almost every morning I get one; the waffle cook knows me well. Another highlight is that these British people sure love there cheese = large cheese selection, including boursin. I eat that stuff all day; lunch, dinner, and midnight snacks.
I've seen some weird things onboard, too. Breakfast buffet especially. Who really eats fish and baked beans for breakfast? I definitely had to ask for the American bacon. The first morning we were onboard, I went to get us drinks. First back-story, the norvo virus wreaked havoc on the cruise segment before us, so the crew handled all of the food and drink stations. Sandy wanted chocolate milk, so I walk up and place my order, "chocolate milk." The guy looked at me weird and asked what I wanted. "Chocolate milk." "Hot coco?" "No, cold milk that is chocolate." Another weird look, but he starts to get the milk and then adds hot coco mix to it. Laughing internally, I know this is not going to cut it. I brought the drink back to the table and just started laughing, trying to tell Sandy what her drink was. Unlike Carnival, they don't have the milk in individual cartons, bummer! No dutch chocolate milk.
Put a fork in me and call me well-done
Skin Color: Office White + a Book + Equatorial Sun = Bad News. The back of my legs are lobster red.
Side-note: Heading westward we are gaining hours. So our Fox News watching is really weird. Glenn is coming on at noon and Red Eye (a 2am central show) comes on at 9. Also weird, I'm waking up "early," 7 this morning, but it felt like noonish. We are about to cross the international dateline and lose a day, but then as we keep going west we'll reclaim that day one hour at a time.
crj
King Neptune's court, "Boooo!" in a monty python voice
A pollywog getting his punishment
The pollywog gallery getting our punishment
Candice semi-clean and waving to the camera
Candice being spotted as "clean"...Attack of the noodles
Slip and slide on morning's breakfast. The mid-air noodles are from Sandy.
Sandy to the rescue
No longer Pollywogs, Shellbacks we are
The Carnage!
"The Office" Michael's PT Cruiser
Where Christian Shepard appears out of the trees. circa season one
Plane crash beach, smokey is off to the left
Dharmaville/New Otherton
Me and Jorge Garcia (Hurley)
Sandy and Jorge
The Tempest Hatch Station (also "Cowboy" our guide, this is also a WWII bunker)
The Valley where a lot of Lost was filmed
Hurley's Golf Course - I'm holding the flag
Yes, Sandy has on shorts.
The hike to the Lost beach, and Sun!
Right in front of the Lost beach
Mr. Eko and Charlie's church
Survivor beach with all the plane wreckage
We think that is Sawyer's seat in the background
Way too surreal
There she is!
The "Sydney" Airport, Oceanic desk to the right.
Bayan Tree - covers one acre
The main trunk
Sandy and an old whale - not in the casino sense
The whale boats used while hunting
The Black Rock to the left
Bond, Sandy Bond
'007' was the theme in the casino last night and if you hit on "00" or "7" straight up, you also won a martini. I won on 7! So, they paid me 35-1 and brought me my martini. I felt so Bond-ish and international sitting there drinking it. Well, I can't say I'm a fan of vermouth but I kept trying to get an acquired taste for it. Then when Candice and I went up for pizza, the martini lost all it's mystic. Since there wasn't money floating around the table, no James Bond movie theme music being played in the background, and the lack of tuxedos the allure was long gone. Needless to say I left the rest of the drink on the table with the plate of pizza crust up on the Lido deck. I just need them to change it to a Jack Daniel's promo so I can win a free whiskey sour instead!
I've taken up fencing as of 9 a.m. this morning. Quite the sport! More exerting than you think. It was fun and our instructor, Chris, is certified with the British Fencing Board to teach the class. If you can believe it, we had to sign a waiver. I asked if we were signing our 'eye' away instead of our life. It was very safe but deceivingly wearing, hot and sweaty. Other classes to follow once Candice gets her first lesson under her belt, I'll duel her. On-guard!
Pollywogs - We'll be No More!
Pollywog: Someone who has never crossed the equator by way of water. We crossed the equator today, Friday, Feb. 5th, and there is an historic tradition which dates back to the 14th century when the Spanish and Portuguese explorers discovered that the world was not flat. The excitement of sailing into the southern part of the world became a quasi religious/mythological play involving King Neptune and his court for all those who were 'crossing the line' for the first time. Pollywogs would be coated with various nasty liquids found in the bilge of the ship and then suspended by the ankles and plunged into the sea.
Well the bilge that Cunard used today was leftover breakfast foods from the buffet, pasta and whipped topping. After King Neptune and his court 'came aboard' we paraded in and duly kissed the fish! Then the prosecutions started, punishment was administered and the food started flying! What fun! After the ceremony we all got in the pool to wash off and I felt a little sorry for the crew that had to clean up the mess. Needless to say this pool was closed for the rest of day for cleaning. Candice and I thought we survived pretty good until one of the pirates spotted Candice waving to the camera and smiling. Soon she was pinned down on the table and getting the 'full works' treatment. I tried to come to her rescue but the floor was one big slick mess. It was funny and the pictures that Gail and Leona took for us tell the whole story. We'll post them later when we are on land when the uploads won't take so long.
We survived the crossing and received a certificate from the captain that was delivered to our cabin marking our initiation. Just call us Shellbacks from now on! Of course, all this will be played out again as we cross back over the northern hemisphere.
Timing, Postings and E-mails
I think we are about to get our bearings down as far as getting our messages out. We thought we had it all figured out the other day when we had moved the pictures and the text to our jump-drive but when we went to the internet cafe on the ship there was no way to access the computers. I guess they are afraid of catching a virus. So it wasn't as simple as we planned. We have since re-grouped and think we have a plan of attack. We will post text while on the ship and post pictures while on land IF internet is available. So these first few postings will be long and contain quite a few days. Hopefully, we'll get this down pat. We only have 11 more weeks to figure this out! Ha, ha.
Shout Out
Welcome to the Jackson's. Our newest fans on the blog! Welcome to all other first-timers too!
Cyclone
We went through a cyclone last night and on to early this morning. It was in its infancy, so that was a good thing. The Captain announced today that we didn't get a warning soon enough to change course and it was going to be inevitable. So scratch that off my list of things to do in life, experience a cyclone - check. We call our hallway the 'chasm of death' because it squeaks, creaks, and talks so much. This ship was just launched in 2007, so it's not because it's old. I think it is because we have the weight of the life boats on both sides of our deck and that puts a little stress on the boat but Candice thinks its because we are in the center of the boat. Probably a little bit of both.
Stealth Alphabet
Tomorrow, Superbowl Sunday, we will be in Pago Pago. We have discovered that Pago Pago is pronounced Pango Pango. Now we've gone from the Hawaiian language of very few consonants to a language with hidden ones. At least we are not renting a car on this island. As a matter of fact I don't even think there is such an animal on this small island. There is no public transportation so it will be all foot work for us. I will be hunting for this hotel called the Rainmaker Hotel. It was built back in the 60's and is now owned by the government. it is in such disrepair that they tell you, you must stay at least one night for kicks. Doors are off the hinges, shutters missing and the swimming pool is green with algae. It has been dubbed the shabbiest hotel in the South Pacific. They say politicians meet there regularly. I'll check out who is 'in the house' if I can find it and report back to you. Care to lay any bets?
Sandy
I thought I would lay out the details of how/when we are posting.
Our posts are always from events a couple days back. We go to port and do stuff and back in our cabin we pre-type the post. Then when we get internet, we copy and paste into our blog. So that was why there was three posts back to back in Lahaina.
We don't have an internet plan onboard, because the pricing is ridiculous. We are trying to wait until we hit a port for cheaper net time. But our lovely Aussie dinner friends are Gold members on Cunard and get 2 hours free and said we could use them. These posts brought to you by Gail and Leona!
But the pictures will be in another post, because they take a while to upload. Also my Lost episodes will have to be downloaded from iTunes at that time.
Stay tuned, many exciting things are brewing in the pre-typing area!!! Hopefully will be posting in Pago Pago on Sunday.
crj
When we booked this trip a while ago, I knew that Oahu was going to my favorite port, not because its Hawaii but due to a little show known as Lost. Production is filming the second half of the final season on the island, this was a trip of a lifetime. And this post is a COMPLETE INDULGENCE of my Lost fanaticism. Bear with me. This post is probably more for myself and my own memory than anything else, but enjoy reading it.
I think our stop at Oahu was the first time I was ready to get off the ship before we actually could. Even though I was ready at 8 am, we weren't allowed off until quarter after. Once off we had to locate our rental car shuttle, mom called for it and then we just had to wait. I was a nervous ball of energy, chomping at the bit. I knew it was going to be a crammed pack today, and it needed to start as soon as possible. And then the rain came while we were waiting...Great!
The last time we rented a car on vacation, we got "The Office" Pam's Yaris car. So what did we get this time...Michael's PT Cruiser, same color. Finally out on the road, we had lost an hour of possible touring time. And we still had to get out of downtown. You should have seen us. We couldn't pronounce any of the Hawaiian street names; we were butchering them left and right. You thought you knew where you were, but no this street has two "u's" in between the two "a's."
In our trek to the H-1 interstate, we accidentally passed a hamburger place featured in Lost. Season 5, where Sayid and Hurley grab burgers, after Hurley was sprung from the Santa Rosa mental institution. First unexpected, positive note for the day.
We'll pass over the traffic issues and my mental state where I thought the whole day was going to be a disaster. Straight to the plane-crash beach outside of Waialua (honestly, try to pronounce that). The rain had let up by the time we got there and the sun popped out for a second or two. This is the beach that the plane fuselage was placed for the first couple of episodes and the location where Jack's father appears to him alongside some bushes and a tree. I felt like I was looking at a television. Aside from the Lost stuff, this beach was amazing. Away from all the crowds.
Across the road was Dillingham Airfield, where down some winding roads is the Oceanic 815 plane wreckage and the Nigerian drug-smugling plane. The main fuselage was covered up; so no cool shot of the Oceanic logo. But we could clearly see the drug plane.
Also right down the road was a YMCA camp, which is the location of the Other's/Dharma's town, aka New Otherton or Darmaville. It was really bizarre being there. The yellow houses, that Lost fans have come to know, are the bunk houses for the camp (interior shots are done on soundstages). So surreal! I was just waiting for a Dharma jumpsuit to walk by. This area was like the Lost trifecta; the beach, the plane wreckages, and Dharmaville. It knocked down a lot of nerves, because I got a lot crossed off my locations list. (You should have seen the notebook, yes a notebook, that had all my notes and google maps for this jaunt around the island. Many hours of internet research went into Candice's Lost Tour; it beat paying a tour company $150 each. It might have cost me a little stress, but it all worked out.)
Before we left Arkansas, I had booked an hour tour out at Kualoa Ranch. This is the location of Hurley's golf course, the tempest hatch station, and the trek to the radio tower with the French transmission. The website was really particular about being there on time. So we arrived at noon-ish after a long drive along the north shore on highway 83. Two lanes, only got up to 55 mph a couple times. I didn't think we were ever going to make it. But along the way, we spotted the turn off for the survivor's beach featuring the tents, plane seats, and ping-pong table seen on the show, and the tree used in an early episode of Kate's flashback where she and a childhood friend buried their toys and The toy plane (This was some kind of mystery in season one and two. What naive viewers we were. Little did we know what was to come in terms of mysteries!) We had to by-pass these locales due to the time of the tour at the ranch.
When we got there, I signed us in, leaving mom to wipe sand off her feet. Returning to Michael's PT Cruiser, some women were there and we started talking about Lost. While I was showing her the locations of the beaches, Jorge Garcia (Yes, the ranch-composite eating, lottery winner, Hurley, Hugo Reyes) shows up out of nowhere. I really am still not clear about where he came from. I think a car pulled up and he got out. I was throwing my maps on the wet ground and clamoring for my camera in my bag. We got our pictures with him and he talked about how he saw the first episode on Saturday but was ready to see it in HD that night. After he left, that's when my legs went all whoncky. Timing was everything!
So celebrity sighting out of the way, we toured the ranch. Awesome pictures of the valley. A lot of other movies were filmed here too. Including Pearl Harbor (scene with the boy scouts and the planes dipping into the valley), Jurassic Park ("I think they're flocking this way" the kids and the doctor run behind the fallen tree, and Godzilla foot prints.
Trekking the 25 miles back to the survivor beach, we passed the North Shore beaches, including Sunset beach and Bonzi Pipeline. The surf was amazing; and the sun was truly coming out, just in time for our own hike down to the beach. In my extensive research, I found detailed instructions to the Lost beach, because all beaches are public but only accessible by obscure public right of ways to the beach. This one was down a dead end street, mile marker 3 on highway 83 for those interested.
So down the public right of way we went, took a left and a ten minute hike down the beach. And there she stood the beach that I have come to know and love. The sun was shining and kind of setting; it looked just like the show and was awesome. The campsites, including the airplane seats, were there, along with the church structure that Charlie and Mr. Eko built. Mr. Security guard was there, but we were able to take pictures behind the orange fencing. I could have sat there all afternoon, but the day was coming to an end and we still had to re-navigate to the car drop-off downtown, which just so happened to be by the "Sydney Airport Terminal" (the HI civic center) and the "South Korean bridge." In the civic center, I snapped a few pictures and a security guard asked if he could help me...in my head "Nope, I'm just a Lost fan."
We arrived back at the pier with five minutes to spare, before we were suppose to be onboard.
The whole day was amazing. Started our very bleak and filled with a lot nerves and time crunches. But ended with the most surreal beach trip I've ever been on. It was like Disney World for adults
crj
Yesterday, 2-1-10, was Lahaina, today 2-2-10 it was Honolulu and the North Shore. Big waves on the North Shore - double red flags. We saw a lot of fire rescue action going on down on the beaches and snapped some really impressive pictures of the waves. They were having a surfing competition today.
Candice and I did the 'Lost' thing today and I'll let her tell you all about that but we got our pictures with Hurley, Jorge Garcia, out at the ranch where they filmed a lot of the first season and jungle scenes throughout the other seasons. It was quite awesome running in to him and getting a little interaction!
So the car rental today went about as smoothly as possible with one exception, this damn Hawaiian language was too much! Too many K, H, L, A's and I's in their small alphabet. As I was driving Candice was working off of 5 different maps. Most of the maps of the island were general and the detailed maps were just sectional, so it was like a jigsaw puzzle trying to tie them all together. Every street upon first glance looked like it was the street on another map but a closer look reveled that it was one or two letters off. There were some American names to streets like 'Pensacola' and 'Ward' so we decided we'd just map out a way back to the car rental return using only those streets we could pronounce and spell. Ha, ha. We did make it back okay, a few miles more, but that was a-o-k with us! We definitely butchered the Hawaiian language all day! It was quite fun trying to figure out how to say Kaka'ako, Kalakaua Ave., and Kawai'i Kai. We did learn today that if the 'w' is in the middle of the word it is pronounced as 'v,' so it really is HaVaii.
We lose our other satellite TV programing as we leave Hawaii, but somehow we keep getting Fox News, which is great! Cunard knows something about news! Don't know if Fox just broadcast this far out and the others don't or what. It will take us four days to get to Pago Pago from Hawaii running at 20 knots. It took us four days to get to Hawaii from SF running at 18.1 knots. It's out there baby!
Our dinner table is getting rowdier and rowdier. Neil our 70'ish retired Air Force guy from Arizona is trying to sell tickets to the best table in the house, ours. And Leona and Gail, who are from Australia, are keeping up with him just fine. They invited the captain to join us.
The other night Candice and I were on the 10th floor and we had hit the elevator button for a down elevator since the 11th and 12th floors at the back of the boat are reserved for the "Grilles" people. These are people who paid anywhere from $75,000 to $225,000 per person to go on the same trip that we are on and in suites. (we're just steerage) So, the bell dings on the elevator and not paying attention, we step in. Six people in this elevator asked if we were going up. We said oh no, we need to go down. So, we hopped off, told them 'it was short but sweet' and the doors closed. I looked at Candice and said, "Do you realize that was a million dollars worth of people standing in that elevator?" We had a good laugh! But hey, they are actually subsidizing our cost, so that's another thing that is a-o-k with us! We told this story at the dinner table and it got a big belly laugh. When worlds collide......
Sandy
Third post for one day but you got to catch the internet when you can.
Got up early today as we sailed into Lahaina and it was just gorgeous seeing all the surrounding smaller islands. The whales were busy but nothing to good to see at first. After grabbing some pineapple on the lido deck, I spotted some fins and tails, so I went back out on deck and OH MY GOSH, a family of whales were swimming up to the boat. They probably thought we were their mom. I walked the length of the boat with them as they swam along side. Great pictures, but I only posted one here. Candice slept through this event, but I did try to get her up for it.
Over 400 ships called in the port of Lahaina in 1846 and the debauchery set in shortly after that. So, of course, there is a prison that was built in 1854 and we visited it today. They would bang on a drum every evening and that was the sign for all the sailors to get back on their boats for the night. Those who didn't got arrested along with the prostitution elements. We also caught a bus ride to Whaler's Village and saw the museum. They had brass knuckles made out of whale's teeth.
The Banyan tree that has 16 trunks was outstanding. It is 121 years old and the oldest in the US. It was a gift from India in 1873 marking the 50th anniversary of the missionaries.
Seems the author of Moby Dick, Herman Melville, slipped off his boat one night here in Lahaina and disappeared into the the shadows. He later went on to write his novel about whalers.
Catch you later!
Sandy
(Candice edit: These posts brought to you by Barnes & Noble. Thanks for the free wi-fi!)
I figured I would be one of the youngest on this trip, and I am. There are some children, but that would be a little creepy hanging out with them. I did go to the young adults (18-30) social on the boat, but there was only me and one other girl. Plus, she is getting off in Sydney. Hopefully there we'll pick up more twenty-somethings. There is a plus side to being young on the boat, I standout like nobody's business. Therefore a lot of the staff knows who I am, by name, Miss James.
The majority of the boat is British. Very prim and proper. It was kind of stuffy at the beginning. I don't know if they have chilled out or I've learn to ignore them. The first night in the elevator, "Good evening" said just like in the movies. I'm all about the "heys!, hellos" way less formal. We way don't fit in. Them talking about their sailboats and spending the winters in tropical locales. Oh the stories, I could tell about Arkansas living. Its probably a good thing most British people don't know about fly-over country in the US. Not knocking Arkansas, I love where I live and wouldn't trade it, but we sure get a bad rap in our stereotypes.
At dinner, we get a lot of stares, our table is really loud. Sandy and two Aussi ladies are always laughing. I'm glad we got seated with them, instead of some hoity-toity people.
There is daily trivia in the British pub on the ship. Team play, and let me tell you, those old people are fierce. There was almost an uprising when agoraphobia was pronounced wrong as agriphobia. Whoa, watch out. Mutiny on the poor trivia hostess.
Andrea and John, you two would get a kick out of this trip. Everynight, all there is to do is dancing and later some more dancing. Like formal balls, with ballroom dancing.
The four days at sea have been really nice, a lot of reading and relaxing. Found the library on the ship. Well-stocked, and it had Mac-world magazine. Score! This morning we made port in Lahaina, HI. Another state down, and its one of the harder ones to get. This post is actually getting typed up on the beach. Pictures from HI to come later. I'm getting "Lost" tomorrow. Can't wait, got my google map with locations and downtown is chalked full of them. Hopefully, we'll run into production and Sawyer and Jack. Mom wants to see Locke.
Once we left the DirecTV behind, I thought I would have a vacation from Fox News and politics. Once again, not knocking, just wanted a break of Sandy's comments while watching the news. But Fox News is the one station we have had the entire time at sea. CNN and the BBC all fell off in the Pacific, but Fox stayed strong. So we aren't lacking in the news. No ABC, so my Lost watching will be off a couple of weeks, or as soon as I can download episodes from iTunes onshore. So no spoilers in the comments please.
Happy Birthday to Amy, our lovely dog-sitter, on Tuesday!
crj
Pictures from Sandy's Post
San Fran from the Boat, People living on top of people!
The view from our cabin window. Once again, a major upgrade for us. Don't knock it.
"Ohhh, Swanky!"
Alcatraz Island from the back of the ship.
We got all checked in on the boat and unpacked. These cabins are much swanky! Our window DOES have a view! Not just a view of the life boat.
We were medically screened as we got on the boat. Seems someone brought the Norvo virus on the ship from New York, so the boat has been scrubbed down and has probably never been cleaner. Every time you enter a food venue you get a squirt of Purrell. Of course I did a once over the entire cabin with good ol' soap and water on the door handles, phone, TV control, handles, etc. The cabin has now passed the Sandy test. No one seems to be sick, so I think they nipped it in the bud.
We were delayed leaving San Fran due to the fact that they could not locate a crew member. Let's hope they wait on us if need be! Passing under the Golden Gate Bridge was really neat. Something about ships that brings people out of the woodwork. Plenty of people waving to us from the bridge! Felt like we could have just reached up and touched them.
Well just as we had suspected, we are outliers on this boat. Some of these folks are old. I think I need to brush up on my CPR, if you know what I mean. Candice went to the under 30 get together yesterday and there was one other girl named Trisha there. Our DJ, Graham Cracker, hosted that party. He says when we pick up the Aussie's it will get wild since they advertised the trip as a pub crawl. We'll have to see if Graham Cracker has any Lady Gaga on hand. You know, shake things up a bit. The average age right now is 60 and the other day some couple in the elevator thought that Candice and I were some of the violinists on the boat.
We got a special invitation to the full world cruise dinner with the President and General Manager of Cunard Cruise Lines, Peter Shanks, and the Master and Senior Officers when we are in Melbourne, Australia on February 22nd. It is a black tie dinner starting at 7:00 p.m. and they are arranging the carriage for us. Oh those British, they can make transportation sound so glorious! Our itinerary stated that we were going to be leaving Melbourne at 6 p.m. but apparently they changed it to midnight to accommodate our dinner. It will be held at the National Gallery of Victoria. I had read that we would be getting a couple of special dinners but I had no idea they would be held off the boat! So THAT is something to look forward to. If the dinner lives up to the standards of the invitation, we are in for a BIG time!
Cunard has a museum on board and it's interesting to find out that the cruise line was inspired by Samuel Cunard who started delivering mail across the Atlantic 165 years ago. So, that means there is hope for the United States Postal Service! Can you imagine sailing the USPS? The first Cunard cruise had 450 passengers and 300 of them were millionaires and their staff. My how times have changed!
First day at sea was cold so I decided to get two loads of laundry done. Launderettes are on our floor, the fourth, through the eighth floor. I went down the hall three times and kept coming back to more people in there using three washers and three dryers. I guess everyone had the same idea. I decided I had to outwit this system and concluded that everyone below us was coming up to our floor to use the laundrette so, I needed to head up to the more expensive cabins on floor 8. i figured those people wouldn't be doing their own laundry. I was wrong and on top of that there are only two washers and dryers up on that floor. Cunard is thinking the same way I do. So, I finally got laundry going on the 8th floor and the 7th floor.
It's amazing who you can bump into doing laundry. I met a lady from Wales and she told me that she and her husband owned a boat that is docked in the Mediterranean. They spent the entire month of October in the Maldives and then sailed to Portugal, around to Spain and over to France. I also saw men ironing and doing laundry duty too! Wow, where have all the good men gone?
There is a web cam on the Cunard site, www.cunard.com click on Queen Victoria and you will see the link for the web cam. Won't see much while we are at sea but when we are dock you should be able to see something.
Got to listen to an Apollo 9 astronaut on Friday, Russell L. Schweickart. He was one of the first astronauts who tested the process of transferring astronauts in space from a lunar space craft to their command center. He also was in charge of and tested the solar panels in space for the Skylab station. One solar panel tore off when they lifted off and he said that was a 21 billion dollar mistake. Doesn't count like much today but back in the 70's that was the 'b' word. Now we're using the 't' word. Cunard has two or three lectures a day. So, it's vacation with a little bit of expanding your knowledge!
Going ashore on Lahaina today and will post some pictures.
Sandy
