Wednesdays Question #39

It's Wednesday so that means it's question time. There isn't a right or wrong answer to this question as everyone has different opinions on any given issue.

So here's this weeks question:

Most of us have had more than one job during our lifetime. What has been your favorite job? Why?

Little Morris

Mrs. Applebee, the 6th grade teacher, posed the following problem to one of her arithmetic classes:

"A wealthy man dies and leaves ten million dollars.

One-fifth is to go to his wife, one-fifth is to go to his son, one-sixth to his butler, and the rest to charity. Now, what does each get?"

After a very long silence in the classroom, Little Morris raised his hand.

The teacher called on Little Morris for his answer.

With complete sincerity in his voice, Little Morris answered, "A lawyer!"

Hat tip: Phil of Phils Phun

The Mirror

Legend has it that there is a coffee bar in New York where, in the Ladies Room there is a very special mirror. If one stands in front of the mirror and tells the truth one is granted a wish.

However, if one tells a lie *poof* you are instantly swallowed up by the mirror, never to be seen again.

A redhead of questionable looks walks into the ladies room and stands before the mirror and says, "I think I'm the most beautiful woman in the world." *Poof* the mirror swallows her up.

Next a rather large brunette stands before the mirror and says, "I'm the sexiest woman alive." *Poof* the mirror swallows her too.

Then, an absolutely gorgeous blond comes in and stands before the mirror and says, "I think..." *Poof*!

Silly Sunday #19

Are you funny? If so, please join in at Silly Sunday, hosted by Rhonda of Laugh Quotes.

The rules are simple:

• Post anything funny or silly on your blog.
• Add your link on the Silly Sunday linky below.
• If you want more laughs – read some of the other Silly Sunday posts.

Silly Sunday is your chance to share a favorite joke, silly picture, funny quote, amusing anecdote, creative comic or anything which made you smile today – and get a bit more traffic to your blog.

Proverbs - Part II

A first grade teacher collected well-known proverbs. She gave each child in her class the first half of a proverb and asked them to come up with the remainder of the proverb. It's hard to believe these were actually done by first graders. Their insight may surprise you. While reading these keep in mind that these are first graders...

Where there's smoke there's - pollution.

Happy the bride who - gets all the presents.

A penny saved is - not much.

Two's company, three's - the Musketeers.

Don't put off till tomorrow what - you put on to go to bed.

Laugh and the whole world laughs with you, cry and... you have to blow your nose.

There are none so blind as - Stevie Wonder.

Children should be seen and not - spanked or grounded.

If at first you don't succeed - get new batteries.

You get out of something only what you - see in the picture on the box.

When the blind leadeth the blind - get out of the way.

And the favorite: Better late than - pregnant!!!!
Silly Sunday Participants

1. bethere2day 2. da Dude 3. Laugh Quotes 4. Ann 5. Sugar

6. Marg 7. Empress Bee 8. Rajagopalan 9. Barb 10. Traveling Bells

11. Stephen Hayes 12. Jean 13. Sucen 14. Binky 15. Jim

Learn more about Silly Sunday here.
View More Silly Sunday Participants
Get The Code

Powered by... Mister Linky's Magical Widgets.

Proverbs - Part I

A first grade teacher collected well-known proverbs. She gave each child in her class the first half of a proverb and asked them to come up with the remainder of the proverb. It's hard to believe these were actually done by first graders. Their insight may surprise you. While reading these keep in mind that these are first graders...

Better to be safe than - punch a 5th grader.

Strike while - the bug is close.

It's always darkest before - Daylight Saving Time.

Never underestimate the power of - termites.

You can lead a horse to water but - how?

Don't bite the hand that - looks dirty.

No news is - impossible.

A miss is as good as a - Mr.

You can't teach an old dog new - math.

If you lie down with dogs, you'll - stink in the morning.

Love all, trust - me.

The pen is mightier than the - pigs.

An idle mind is - the best way to relax.

British Hospitality

An American tourist in London decides to skip his tour group and explore the city on his own. He wanders around, seeing the sights, and occasionally stopping at a quaint pub to soak up the local culture, chat with the lads, and have a pint of Guinness.

After awhile, he finds himself in a very high class neighborhood... big, stately residences... no pubs, no stores, no restaurants, and worst of all... NO PUBLIC RESTROOMS.

He really, really has to go, after all those Guinness's.

He finds a narrow side street, with high walls surrounding the adjacent buildings and decides to use the wall to solve his problem.

As he is unzipping, he is tapped on the shoulder by a London Bobby, who says, "I say, sir, you simply cannot do that here, you know."

"I'm very sorry, officer," replies the American, "but I really, really HAVE TO GO, and I just can't find a public restroom."

"Ah, yes," said the bobby, "Just follow me."

He leads him to a back "delivery alley", then along a wall to a gate, which he opens.

"In there," points the bobby. "Whiz away sir, anywhere you want."

The fellow enters and finds himself in the most beautiful garden he has ever seen. Manicured grass lawns, statuary, fountains, sculpted hedges, and huge beds of gorgeous flowers, all in perfect bloom.

Since he has the cop's blessing, he unburdens himself and is greatly relieved.

As he goes back through the gate, he says to the bobby, "That was really decent of you... is that what you call British Hospitality'?"

"No, sir" replies the bobby, "that is what we call the French Embassy."

Hat tip: Frank of Foxxfyrre's Honk'n'Holl'r

More Suthenism's

Put 100 Southerners in a room and half of them will discover they're related, even if only by marriage.

In the South,y'all is singular, all y'all is plural.

Southerners know grits come from corn and how to eat them.

Every Southerner knows tomatoes with eggs, bacon, grits, and coffee are perfectly wonderful; that red eye gravy is also a breakfast food; and that fried green tomatoes are not a breakfast food.

When you hear someone say, "Well, I caught myself lookin'," you know you are in the presence of a genuine Southerner!

Only true Southerners say "sweet tea" and "sweet milk." Sweet tea indicates the need for sugar and lots of it -- we do not like our tea unsweetened... "Sweet milk" means you don't want buttermilk.

And a true Southerner knows you don't scream obscenities at little old ladies who drive 30 MPH on the freeway. You just say,"Bless her heart".... and go your own way.

To those of you who are still a little embarrassed by your Southerness: Take two tent revivals and a dose of sausage gravy and call me in the morning. Bless your heart!

And to those of you who are still having a hard time understanding all this Southern stuff.....bless your hearts, I hear they are fixin' to have classes on Southernness as a second language!

Hat tip: My Alabama buddies Dave and Linda

Wednesdays Question #38

It's Wednesday so that means it's question time. There isn't a right or wrong answer to this question as everyone has different opinions on any given issue.

So here's this weeks question:

Moderation in all things? Or are there exceptions?

More Suthen-ism's

Only a Southerner knows the difference between ahissie fit and aconniption fit, and that you don't "HAVE" them, you "PITCH" them.

Only a Southerner knows how many fish, collard greens, turnip greens, peas, beans, etc., make up "a mess."

Only a Southerner can show or point out to you the general direction of "yonder."

Only a Southerner knows exactly how long"directly" is, as in: "Going to town, be back directly."

All Southerners know exactly when "by and by" is. They might not use the term, but they know the concept well.

Only a Southerner knows instinctively that the best gesture of solace for a neighbor who's got trouble is a plate of hot fried chicken, ice tea, and a big bowl of cold potato salad. If the neighbor's trouble is a real crisis, they also know to add a large banana puddin'!

Only Southerners grow up knowing the difference between "right near" and "a right far piece." They also know that "just down the road" can be 1 mile or 20.

Only a Southerner both knows and understands the difference between a redneck, a good ol' boy, and Po white trash.

No true Southerner would ever assume that the car with the flashing turn signal is actually going to make a turn.

A Southerner knows that "fixin" can be used as a noun, a verb, or an adverb.

Only Southerners make friends while standing in lines, .... and when we're "in line,"... we talk to everybody!

Hat tip: My Alabama buddies Dave and Linda

Shugah...

Southern women know their summer weather report:
Humidity
Humidity
Humidity

Southern women know their vacation spots:
The beach
The rivuh
The crick

Southern women know everybody's first name:
Honey
Darlin'
Shugah

Southern women know the movies that speak to their hearts:
Fried Green Tomatoes
Driving Miss Daisy
Steel Magnolias
Gone With The Wind

Southern women know their religions:
Baptist
Methodist
Football

Southern women know their cities dripping with Southern charm:
Chawl'stn
S'vanah
Foat Wuth
N'awlins
Addlanna

Southern women know their elegant gentlemen:
Men in uniform
Men in tuxedos
Rhett Butler

Southern girls know their prime real estate:
The Mall
The Country Club
The Beauty Salon

Southern girls know the 3 deadly sins:
Having bad hair and nails
Having bad manners
Cooking bad food

Hat tip: My Alabama buddies Dave and Linda

Silly Sunday #18

Are you funny? If so, please join in at Silly Sunday, hosted by Rhonda of Laugh Quotes.

The rules are simple:

• Post anything funny or silly on your blog.
• Add your link on the Silly Sunday linky below.
• If you want more laughs – read some of the other Silly Sunday posts.

Silly Sunday is your chance to share a favorite joke, silly picture, funny quote, amusing anecdote, creative comic or anything which made you smile today – and get a bit more traffic to your blog.

Instructions for giving your cat a pill:

1. Pick cat up and cradle it in the crook of your left arm as if holding a baby. Position right forefinger and thumb on either side of cat's mouth and gently apply pressure to cheeks while holding pill in right hand. As cat opens mouth, pop pill into mouth. Allow cat to close mouth and swallow.

2. Retrieve pill from floor and cat from behind sofa. Cradle cat in left arm and repeat process.

3. Retrieve cat from bedroom, and throw soggy pill away. Take new pill from foil wrap, cradle cat in left arm holding rear paws tightly with lef hand. Force jaws open and push pill to back of mouth with right forefinger. Hold mouth shut for a count of 10.

4. Retrieve pill from goldfish bowl and cat from top of wardrobe. Call spouse from garden.

5. Kneel on floor with cat wedged firmly between knees, holding front and rear paws. Ignore low growls emitted by cat. Get spouse to hold cat's head firmly with one hand while forcing wooden ruler into mouth. Drop pill down ruler and rub cat's throat vigorously.

6. Retrieve cat from curtain rail, get another pill from foil wrap. Make note to buy new ruler and repair curtains. Carefully sweep shattered figurines from hearth and set to one side for gluing later.

7. Wrap cat in large towel and get spouse to lie on cat with its head just visible from below spouse's armpit. Put pill in end of drinking straw, force cat's mouth open with pencil and blow down drinking straw.

8. Check label to make sure pill not harmful to humans, drink glass of water to take taste away. Apply band-aid to spouse's forearm and remove blood from carpet with cold water and soap.

9. Retrieve cat from neighbor's shed. Get another pill. Place cat in cupboard and close door onto neck to leave head showing. Force mouth open with dessert spoon. Flick pill down throat with elastic band.

10. Fetch screwdriver from garage and put door back on hinges. Apply cold compress to cheek and check records for date of last tetanus shot. Throw T-shirt away and fetch new one from bedroom.

11. Ring fire brigade to retrieve cat from tree across the road. Apologize to neighbor who crashed into fence while swerving to avoid cat. Take last pill from foil wrap.

12. Tie cat's front paws to rear paws with garden twine and bind tightly to leg of dining table. Find heavy duty pruning gloves from shed. Force cat's mouth open with small spanner. Push pill into mouth followed by large piece of fillet steak. Hold head vertically and pour 1/2 pint of water down throat to wash pill down.

13. Get spouse to drive you to emergency room; sit quietly while doctor stitches fingers and forearm and removes pill remnants from right eye. Stop by furniture shop on way home to order new table.

14. Arrange for vet to make a house call.
Silly Sunday Participants

1. Comedy Plus 2. da Dude 3. Barb 4. stevebethere 5. Empress Bee

6. Rajagopalan 7. Marg 8. Sugar 9. Jim 10. Laugh Quotes

11. Babs 12. Ann 13. Rocks 14. Traveling Bells

Learn more about Silly Sunday here.
View More Silly Sunday Participants
Get The Code

Powered by... Mister Linky's Magical Widgets.

Feline Physics Laws

Second Law of Energy Conservation

Cats also know that energy can only be stored by a lot of napping.

Law of Refrigerator Observation

If a cat watches a refrigerator long enough, someone will come along and take out something good to eat.

Law of Electric Blanket Attraction

Turn on an electric blanket and a cat will jump into bed at the speed of light.

Law of Random Comfort Seeking

A cat will always seek, and usually take over, the most comfortable spot in any given room.

Law of Bag/Box Occupancy

All bags and boxes in a given room must contain a cat within the earliest possible nanosecond.

Law of Cat Embarrassment

A cat's irritation rises in direct proportion to his/her embarrassment times the amount of human laughter.

Law of Milk Consumption

A cat will drink his/her weight in milk, squared, just to show you they can.

Law of Furniture Replacement

A cat's desire to scratch furniture is directly proportional to the cost of the furniture.

Law of Cat Landing

A cat will always land in the softest place possible; often the mid-section of an unsuspecting, reclining human.

Law of Fluid Displacement

A cat immersed in milk will displace his/her own volume, minus the amount of milk consumed.

Law of Cat Disinterest

A cat's interest level will vary in inverse proportion to the amount of effort a human expends in trying to interest them.

Law of Pill Rejection

Any pill given to a cat has the potential energy to reach escape velocity.

Law of Cat Composition

A cat is composed of Matter + Anti-Matter + It Doesn't Matter.

Feline Physics Laws

Law of Cat Inertia

A cat at rest will tend to remain at rest, unless acted upon by some outside force - such as the opening of cat food, or a nearby scurrying mouse.

Law of Cat Motion

A cat will move in a straight line, unless there is a really good reason to change direction.

Law of Cat Magnetism

All blue blazers and black sweaters attract cat hair in direct proportion to the darkness of the fabric.

Law of Cat Thermodynamics

Heat flows from a warmer to a cooler body, except in the case of a cat, in which case all heat flows to the cat.

Law of Cat Stretching

A cat will stretch to a distance proportional to the length of the nap just taken.

Law of Cat Sleeping

All cats must sleep with people whenever possible, in a position as uncomfortable for the people involved, and as comfortable as possible for the cat.

Law of Cat Elongation

A cat can make her body long enough to reach just about any counter top that has anything remotely interesting on it.

Law of Cat Obstruction

A cat must lay on the floor in such a position to obstruct the maximum amount of human foot traffic.

Law of Cat Acceleration

A cat will accelerate at a constant rate, until he gets good and ready to stop.

Law of Dinner Table Attendance

Cats must attend all meals when anything good is served.

Law of Rug Configuration

No rug may remain in its naturally flat state for very long.

Law of Obedience Resistance

A cat's resistance varies in proportion to a human's desire for her to do something.

First Law of Energy Conservation

Cats know that energy can neither be created nor destroyed and will, therefore, use as little energy as possible.

Kauai

In 1985 I visited Kauai for five days and fell in love with it's beauty. When I returned on this cruise I felt exactly the same. Hubby said it was indeed the most beautiful island. We have plans to return at some point and spend a month during the winter, that way we can explore every aspect of this gorgeous island.
Hubby taking a picture of the two of us before we went to dinner the second time at the steakhouse with the Judge and Paula. See that beautiful necklace? Empress Bee of muffin53 made that and it's even prettier in person. If you want to order something pretty from Miss Bee go HERE. Thank you Miss Bee, I got lots of compliments on this piece.

I'm going to end our Hawaii posts with my beloved towel animals. Our suite was pretty full by the end of our cruise. I told all of them goodbye and also warned them that the room stewards were going to take them away, but that they would remake them for other guests to enjoy. Thanks for coming along on our cruise. I hope you enjoyed it half as much as we did.

The last two towel pieces I intentionally saved for the last piece of this post. The caterpillar was made by Miss Novi (room steward) the first night on board, and the heart the last sea day. We gave her our tip for taking such good care of us for two weeks and when we returned to our suite to pack she had made this heart. It made both of us smile.

Wednesdays Question #37

It's Wednesday so that means it's question time. There isn't a right or wrong answer to this question as everyone has different opinions on any given issue.

So here's this weeks question:

Do you prefer to experience all four seasons or would you be happy living in the cold or the very warm all year long?

Valentines Day

At the office, where I worked, there was an angel there.
Her hair was long and flowing, and her skin was soft and fair.
I wanted so, to ask her out, but I was way too shy.
I thought she was too beautiful, for me to even try.
A few times I approached her, she just smiled and walked away.
I could not get the courage up, and "Hi" was all I'd say.
Then, I had an idea, I would get her home address,
And send a VALENTINE to her, and with it I'd express.

I poured my heart out in the card, and ask her to be mine,
and then I dropped it in the mail, my special VALENTINE.
In just a few short days, I had a response in my mail,
A card with her return address, I started feeling pale.
I opened up my eyes to see, a card shaped like a heart,
And in the center, someone drew, a bloody piercing dart.
I opened up the card to see, if writing was inside,
And when I started reading it, I darn near almost died.

"I'd love to be your VALENTINE, but I think I will pass,
My husband says he'll be at work, to kick your stupid ass.
I'm glad you like my body, and you thinks it's really fine,
My husband says this card is going, where the sun doesn't shine.
In your card, you said there's things to me you'd love to do,
I think my husband's going to do, all of those things to you.
So, have a happy VALENTINES, I'll see you Monday morn,
My husband says on Tuesday, you'll wish you were never born."

Hat tip: Phil of Phils Phun

Kona & Refuge

In old Hawaii, if you had broken a law, the penalty was death. Perhaps you had entered into an area that was reserved for only the chiefs, or had eaten forbidden foods. Laws, or kapu, governed every aspect of Hawaiian society. The penalty for breaking these laws was certain death. Your only option for survival is to elude your pursuers and reach the nearest puuhonua, or place of refuge.

As you enter, the great wall rises up before you marking the boundaries between the royal grounds and the sanctuary. Many ki'i (carved wooden images) surround the Hale o Keawe, housing the bones of the chiefs that infuse the area with their power or mana. If you reached this sacred place, you would be saved. Source: The Puuhonua

Of course we stopped for Kona coffee. You can't go to Kona without having some Kona coffee. It's the kapu.

USS Missouri

We saw the beginning of World War II in yesterdays post and today's post has come full circle to the end of World War II. My father served as a sergeant in the US Army. God bless our service men and women. For those that have served and those that are serving, thank you.

USS Missouri (BB-63) ("Mighty Mo" or "Big Mo") is a United States Navy Iowa-class battleship, and was the fourth ship of the U.S. Navy to be named in honor of the U.S. state of Missouri. Missouri was the last battleship built by the United States, and was the site of the surrender of the Empire of Japan which ended World War II.

Missouri was ordered in 1940 and commissioned in June 1944. In the Pacific Theater of World War II she fought in the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa and shelled the Japanese home islands, and she fought in the Korean War from 1950 to 1953. She was decommissioned in 1955 into the United States Navy reserve fleets (the "Mothball Fleet"), but reactivated and modernized in 1984 as part of the 600-ship Navy plan, and provided fire support during Operation Desert Storm in January/February 1991.

Missouri received a total of 11 battle stars for service in World War II, Korea, and the Persian Gulf, and was finally decommissioned on 31 March 1992, but remained on the Naval Vessel Register until her name was struck in January 1995. In 1998, she was donated to the USS Missouri Memorial Association and became a museum ship at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

Source: Wikipedia (USS Missouri)

The Arizona Memorial

A most somber experience. God bless our service men and women. For those that have served and those that are serving, thank you.

USS Arizona, a 31,400 ton Pennsylvania class battleship built at the New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, New York, was commissioned in October 1916. After shakedown off the east coast and in the Caribbean, she operated out of Norfolk, Virginia, until November 1918, when she made a brief cruise to France. She made a second cruise to European waters in April-June 1919, proceeding as far east as Turkey. During much of 1920-21, the battleship was in the western Atlantic and Caribbean areas, but paid two visits to Peru in 1921 in her first excursions into the Pacific. From August 1921 until 1929, Arizona was based in Southern California, making occasional cruises to the Caribbean or Hawaii during major U.S. Fleet exercises.

In 1929-31, Arizona was modernized at the Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Virginia, emerging with a radically altered appearance and major improvements to her armament and protection. In March 1931, she transported President Herbert Hoover and his party to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. In August of that year, Arizona returned to the Pacific, continuing her operations with the Battle Fleet during the next decade. From 1940, she, and the other Pacific Fleet battleships, were based at Pearl Harbor on the orders of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Arizona was moored in Pearl Harbor's "Battleship Row" on the morning of 7 December 1941, when Japanese carrier aircraft attacked. She was hit by several bombs, one of which penetrated her forecastle and detonated her forward ammunition magazines. The resulting massive explosion totally wrecked the ship's forward hull, collapsing her forward superstructure and causing her to sink, with the loss of over 1100 of her crewmen. In the following months, much of her armament and topside structure was removed, with the two after triple 14" gun turrets being transferred to the Army for emplacement as coast defense batteries on Oahu.

The wrecked battleship's hull remained where she sank, a tomb for many of those lost with her. In 1950, she began to be used as a site for memorial ceremonies, and, in the early 1960s a handsome memorial structure was constructed over her midships hull. This USS Arizona Memorial, operated by the National Park Service, is a permanent shrine to those Americans who lost their lives in the attack on Pearl Harbor and in the great Pacific War that began there. Source: Naval History & Heritage

Maui

The picture below is a couple that we recognized on the ship and thought they had been BC4 cruisers last year on the Glory. When we finally talked with them they corrected us quickly by saying they are members of Stockton Yacht Club. Our club cruises into Stockton Yacht Club every May. What a small world.


Our next port of call is Maui, Hawaii. I've been here before many years ago. It sure didn't look the same.

Well it did when we bussed into Kāanapali. I'd recognize that strip of upscale hotels anywhere. The next two photographs were part of the hotel grounds (Hyatt Regency) and to say the hotel was beautiful is an understatement. In checking the room rates it would cost about $500.00 per night for an ocean view. That's pretty pricey in my book.

The luau show was very well done and they have a built in place to perform (Drums of the Pacific Lu'au Grounds). When you click the link you can learn more about the luau and also see the menu. Yes the pig was done in the ground and we got to see them take it out. It was moist and very yummy. There were about 600 guests that evening and six lines for the buffet. It went really fast. The show was based on all the different cultures that ventured to Hawaii and what they believed. The costumes were very colorful and the dances were awesome. We enjoyed this excursion very much.

The most fantastic and exciting part of the Luau was this guy. He was amazing and the video, although very good, just didn't capture all his talent.


A luau (in Hawaiian, lū‘au) is a Hawaiian meal. It may feature fish and wine, such as poi, kalua pig, poke, lomi salmon, opihi, haupia, and beer; and entertainment, such as Hawaiian music and hula. Source: Wikipedia (Luau)

I didn't try the poi...it was purple and I just couldn't do it. The meal was fabulous and plentiful, and you could even have seconds. This was a great taste of Hawaii.

Hilo Hawaii

Finally we see land on the 5th day and we are all excited about getting off the ship to explore Hilo. Coming into port was awesome as it had been so many days of just the ocean, a container ship and the air drop of blood. We were back in civilization and it felt good, not that we minded the sea days.

The first vehicle we see is the ambulance that took the lady to the hospital that had the medical emergency and had the blood drop from the Coast Guard. She was the first off the ship and rightly so.

While we were waiting for the bus to our excursion it rained to beat the band. It rains a lot in Hilo each year (about 130 inches per year).

We had already set up an shore excursion to Volcano National Park, so we were looking forward to seeing an active volcano...from a distance that is. Little did we know that a couple of people that we had met on the ship were taking the same tour, so we hung out together all day. Meet Dave and Linda from Alabama. We just loved them both. Notice the short sleeves? Yes, it's warm in Hawaii.

The next picture is a sight seen all over Hawaii. The ponds and gardens are just beautiful and most of all plentiful. Isn't this just gorgeous? I thought you'd think so.

Mauna Loa began erupting between 700,000 and 1,000,000 years ago and has grown steadily since then. Like all of the Hawaiian islands, Mauna Loa has its origins in the Hawaii hotspot—a plume of magma rising from deep in the Earth's mantle. The hotspot remains in a fixed position, while the Pacific Plate drifts over it at a rate of about 4 inches (10 cm) per year. The upwelling of the hot magma creates volcanoes, and each individual volcano erupts for a few million years before the movement of the plate carries it away from the rising magma.

The hotspot has existed for at least 80 million years, and the Emperor Seamounts chain of old volcanoes stretches almost 3,600 miles (5,800 km) away from the hotspot. Currently, the hotspot feeds activity at five volcanoes: Mauna Loa, Kīlauea, and Hualālai on the Big Island, Haleakalā on Maui, and Loʻihi, a submarine volcano south of the Big Island and the youngest Hawaiian volcano. Mauna Loa is the largest of these, although Kīlauea is currently the site of the most intense volcanic activity. Source: Wikipedia (Mauna Loa)

Sea Days

Day two started four days of sea days. The photograph above was our first sea day and hubby found it necessary to take a picture of me on the balcony in my robe. Bless his heart. We had 2,300 miles of ocean to cover before we would cruise into Hilo, Hawaii. That's a lot of ocean to see and during that four days we found it very exciting to see this container ship passing us. Everyone was excited. After a bit there weren't any birds. There didn't seem to be anything but miles and miles of water. Well that's because all there were were miles and miles of water.

We decided to get to know the ship a bit better and spend some time getting to know some of the crew. What a delightful bunch of folks we found too. Two of our favorite people were Miss Nancy and Wayon. They worked the Atrium bar and we spend a bit of time there each day. In the afternoons we would read sitting by the big windows (see the second photograph) and in the evening before dinner we would have some champagne. These two took very good care of us during the entire cruise. Miss Nancy made sure that we always had our favorite champagne and Wayon was always nearby if we needed anything.

On the afternoon of our much awaited Steakhouse dinner we saw this lovely rainbow. Hard to take a great shot, but it sure made us smile. The second photograph is the Filet Mignon that I had that evening. It was absolutely wonderful too.

Saturday, Sunday and Monday evenings found us in the Pharaoh's Palace watching the shows. I wish I could remember what they all were, but I can't (they didn't list the shows in the FunTimes other than Showtime Early Seating. They were fabulous shows each and every one.

The biggest excitement on the cruise to our first port of call was a medical emergency that we just happened to watch while we were working out in the gym. Each morning we would use the treadmill for an hour and we saw a Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules circling the Spirit and found out later that Coast Guard had delivered blood to a sick passenger. Read the story HERE. When we arrived in Hilo the first passenger off the ship was this lady. An ambulance was waiting at the port. She's going to be just fine, and that's great news. Below is the only video I could find about this airdrop. This plane made somewhere around 8-10 trips around the Carnival Spirit before it flew back to its base. Tons of excitement for the entire ship.