So Norman and I have been working on keeping ourselves busy so that we keep out of trouble and stuff, but I think this is gonna kill me...I'm tired!! I'm used to being a couch potato and lazing around at night and instead it's run here, go there, visit these people, take this class, train that dog, take that class, there's an activity and on and on. I'm getting too old for this...lol.
Today was fun though. We went to the Logan temple with my Grandpa and Grandma Petersen which was awesome! We were of course running behind (as usual) because I was doddling and cleaning up the oil slick that the turkey I'd cooked for our ward dinner had left on my stove top when we were carving it and moving things around. After the temple we went to dinner at Cafe Sabor in Logan with Jeff and his date. It was soooo fun! Plus I LOVE Cafe Sabor. Jeff doesn't know why I love that place so much and frankly...neither do I, but man! I love their food. After dinner we went bowling. Let's just say that bowling is NOT my strong suite. Luckily Norman and I hadn't ever bowled together and it's probably good we saved that for the engagement...he's too far in now. We had to use our bowling names (of course) and mine is Sha-nae-nae. Katie was Gerta, Jeff was Guido and Norman was Normando. I don't think that will be Norman's bowling name again because when it shortened it to fit it on the screen he became Norma....ROFL....that's right...I'm marrying a Norma....I was Shanae, but it wasn't as good as the Norma was. Any-who...I was showing them how it was done and I managed to bowl a whole 55 the first game. I threw a couple of reverse strikes (total gutters...yup...zero for the whole stinkin' frame) and Jeff said that my name should be Sha-no-no because my bowling stunk that bad...oh man was I laughing hard through all of this. We played 2 games and on the second game I switched bowling balls (this was like the 4th switch mind you) and I got 2 strikes in a row!!! WOHOOO!!! That's right...the second game I bowled a 110...I totally doubled my score with my sweet bowling skills. Norman and I laugh a lot, but tonight I about wet myself laughing so hard a few times. It was a TON of fun. See Jeff...it's not so bad to double with your idiot sister...just look how good you looked :)
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Friday, November 6, 2009
New Orleans Day 2
Well, the New Orleans did kind of redeem itself last night. I went with my smaller group and we walked to the river and checked that out which was cool. Jean had never seen Bourbon Street so she wanted to see it. I thought oh great....here we go again. When you don't have people determined to show you all the bad, the street is actually kinda enjoyable. We went to dinner at Pat O'Brians and that was yummy and they had a cool courtyard with neat fountains and such. We did some shopping at the voodoo doll store...it was funny! Then we watched some street gymnasts. They were actually really funny and interacted well with the crowd. I didn't realize that my camera did such decent video. Here's one of their tricks.
Then we sat at an outdoor patio place and listened to a live Jazz band. It was really nice and relaxing and the weather was perfect. Yup, definitely better than the first night.
Then we sat at an outdoor patio place and listened to a live Jazz band. It was really nice and relaxing and the weather was perfect. Yup, definitely better than the first night.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
New Orleans
Well I'm in New Orleans for a conference and we'll just say I'm jet lagged and tired. Last night we went to Bourbon Street and well...it was...interesting. We'll start with the good part...lol...there were some really cool live bands :) There it was...well...there were some cool things, but it was mostly dirty and stinky and there wasn't much left to the imagination. We walked by "Little Darlings", "Barely Legal" and others where young ladies were waiting to greet you. It was actually more sad to me than anything. I know things like this go on everywhere, but it's hard for me to see such young girls throwing their lives away like that. So many looked stoned or drunk and it just made me sad and very greatful for having such a great family.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Hawaii Part 2
Tuesday October 27th
Today we're at Hilo on the Big Island. We went to the Rainbow falls to start with. They were pretty, but there was more dirt in the water than I thought there'd be. I can't believe how green and pretty it is here.
We stopped at an Orchid farm and all I can say is WOW! I knew I was fascinated by them, but you know...in Utah we just don't have the same types of flowers. I didn't take pictures of me with them, but here are a couple of the flowers.
The Mauna Loa nut factory was fun. They wanted to keep Jeff because he's such a nut (as you can see I tried to look like one, but didn't).
I was able to talk them in to letting me take him home with me...it was a close one though :)
Volcano National Park was cool. There were lava fields everywhere that we got to wander around in. I was fascinated by the holes that the lava created and so of course Jeff started making fun of me taking pictures of the holes.
We did go to the top of one of the craters and there was a steam pot, but it's not active lava.
The tour guide kept saying things about a virgin sacrifice and that we should try that, but lucky for us EVERYONE kept thinking that Jeff and I were on our Honeymoon. Yup, people thought I was married to my stinky little brother. It was pretty funny and I would just say that he was my brother and that even though we're from Utah we don't marry our siblings anymore...cousins maybe...but not siblings...LOL! (the cousins thing is an inside joke...Jeff will get a kick out of it...ask him for the details)
There was an awesome lava tube that we got to walk through. Lava tubes are underground and they are canals for lava flow. This is one of the longest ones available to walk through...it was fun to wander through.
May I just add that Jeff was chillin on the deck and this is what I saw...
Please note that he scared EVERYONE off....hmmmm.....
That night we stayed up way late (ok, so it was only like 2 in the morning, but I'm getting old) to see the lava flow. There are sometimes that it isn't flowing and luckily not only was it flowing, but it was REALLY active! The mountain was dotted with orange and red and then where it met the ocean was this huge cloud of red and orange. We didn't get any pictures to do it justice, but we tried.
Wed October 28th
Kona - Big Island
Today we had to tender in to shore. I'm glad that this is the only port we have to do this at. It's not horrible, but it's just soooo much more convenient to be at the dock and be able to walk on and off as you want. Kona is much more dry than Hilo was. It's the dry side of the island and essentially it's a lot of dry lava fields with random resorts popping up in the middle. We went to the Waikola Beach by the Marriot Hotel today. It was actually pretty fun. The beach was pretty and we found a coconut just laying there.
There were some cool trees
We went shopping and grabbed some lunch. There was a sign that said "Please don't feed the birds mahalo" Lucky for us I was eating french fries not mahalo so I shared one with a bird.
Ok, so Mahalo means thank you...we knew that, but thought we'd be silly. Actually the bird scared me because I put my hand down to drop the french fry and the little bugger jumped out and grabbed it right out of my fingers. It was a daring little bird for sure.
We did spend some time and walk to an area with petroglyphs. They were really cool to look at, but it was hot and wandering across black lava on a hot day is even more hot.
It was mostly a shopping and wandering day. We stayed on the coast until the last minute and were sitting in one of the shops common areas for a while. I picked up my backpack and something landed on my foot (I had my flip flops on) and started to move. It was a lizard. I squealed and Jeff laughed. I don't mind lizards, but I didn't know what it was a first because it was pretty small and at first I thought it was a spider.
Thursday October 29th - Nawiliwili Kua'i
Kua'i has the wettest spot in the world on the island and I can see why. It was raining for a lot of the first day we were there. The thing is that it wasn't a downpour it was more of a light mist of a rain. We got wet, but not soaked so it was still fun. When I scheduled the tour I didn't realize that it was a "romantic" river ride...oops...next time I'll read the fine print. Oh well...everyone thought Jeff and I were on our honeymoon, so why not go on a romantic river ride. We hopped on the boat and they played the Hawaiian wedding song and danced and then wondered why Jeff and I weren't all cuddly together. We walked through this beautiful jungle path to this grato (which is actually a lava tube), but was still cool.
Friday October 30th - Nawiliwili Kua'i
Botanical Gardens, shopping, Jeff motion sick, sleeping, cliffs
We didn't go on an excursion today, but believe me we still had adventures. We went to the botanical gardens at the Marriott to start with. The koi were out of control...holy cow! They would come right up next to the sidewalk to get food.
The gardens were really pretty though and it was fun walking through them.
We did walk along the beach for a bit, but there was so much to see that we didn't spend much time swimming. We walked through a shopping center and there was a collectible toy store. We were walking through and there was a stripper pole doll that when you'd push the button, she'd move up and down the pole, the lights would flash, she would sing and ooo and ahhh and spin. I about died of laughter! Jeff has a video of it, but I didn't dare post it on the blog. It was right next to a little kids toy that was a stuffed parrot that would repeat what you said...so funny!
There was a hurricane in Kua'i in 1991 (I think it was) and it released a bunch of the domestic chickens. The weather is perfect for chickens and they started breeding like crazy. They were everywhere! I tried to act like a chicken to get in closer, but it didn't work.
We left port a little early so we could go to the Napali coast line. It was really pretty. Jeff got motion sick that night for some reason so he wasn't feeling the best, but it was fun to be up on deck.
Saturday October 31st - Honolulu
It's bitter sweet that it's our last day. It's sad that our vacation is over, but I missed Norman more than I thought I would so it will definitely be nice to be home. I was pretty good, but I did spend quite a bit of time texting and calling him...
We went on a Waikiki tour in the morning. It was good, but I'm not a fan of Waikiki...it's too crowded and lots of high rise buildings everywhere. Pearl Harbor was really neat though. We rented the headsets (which I recommend to everyone) and they were very informative and helpful. We could have spent more time there, but we did survive and get to see quite a bit.
If I were to do it again I would have rented a car that final day and then just driven around. I wasn't sure how all that worked at the time though. The car rental places really want your business so they actually will come right to the pier and pick you up if you prearrange it with them. Oh well...live and learn. Good to be home, but the trip was well worth it :)
Today we're at Hilo on the Big Island. We went to the Rainbow falls to start with. They were pretty, but there was more dirt in the water than I thought there'd be. I can't believe how green and pretty it is here.
We stopped at an Orchid farm and all I can say is WOW! I knew I was fascinated by them, but you know...in Utah we just don't have the same types of flowers. I didn't take pictures of me with them, but here are a couple of the flowers.
The Mauna Loa nut factory was fun. They wanted to keep Jeff because he's such a nut (as you can see I tried to look like one, but didn't).
I was able to talk them in to letting me take him home with me...it was a close one though :)
Volcano National Park was cool. There were lava fields everywhere that we got to wander around in. I was fascinated by the holes that the lava created and so of course Jeff started making fun of me taking pictures of the holes.
We did go to the top of one of the craters and there was a steam pot, but it's not active lava.
The tour guide kept saying things about a virgin sacrifice and that we should try that, but lucky for us EVERYONE kept thinking that Jeff and I were on our Honeymoon. Yup, people thought I was married to my stinky little brother. It was pretty funny and I would just say that he was my brother and that even though we're from Utah we don't marry our siblings anymore...cousins maybe...but not siblings...LOL! (the cousins thing is an inside joke...Jeff will get a kick out of it...ask him for the details)
There was an awesome lava tube that we got to walk through. Lava tubes are underground and they are canals for lava flow. This is one of the longest ones available to walk through...it was fun to wander through.
May I just add that Jeff was chillin on the deck and this is what I saw...
Please note that he scared EVERYONE off....hmmmm.....
That night we stayed up way late (ok, so it was only like 2 in the morning, but I'm getting old) to see the lava flow. There are sometimes that it isn't flowing and luckily not only was it flowing, but it was REALLY active! The mountain was dotted with orange and red and then where it met the ocean was this huge cloud of red and orange. We didn't get any pictures to do it justice, but we tried.
Wed October 28th
Kona - Big Island
Today we had to tender in to shore. I'm glad that this is the only port we have to do this at. It's not horrible, but it's just soooo much more convenient to be at the dock and be able to walk on and off as you want. Kona is much more dry than Hilo was. It's the dry side of the island and essentially it's a lot of dry lava fields with random resorts popping up in the middle. We went to the Waikola Beach by the Marriot Hotel today. It was actually pretty fun. The beach was pretty and we found a coconut just laying there.
There were some cool trees
We went shopping and grabbed some lunch. There was a sign that said "Please don't feed the birds mahalo" Lucky for us I was eating french fries not mahalo so I shared one with a bird.
Ok, so Mahalo means thank you...we knew that, but thought we'd be silly. Actually the bird scared me because I put my hand down to drop the french fry and the little bugger jumped out and grabbed it right out of my fingers. It was a daring little bird for sure.
We did spend some time and walk to an area with petroglyphs. They were really cool to look at, but it was hot and wandering across black lava on a hot day is even more hot.
It was mostly a shopping and wandering day. We stayed on the coast until the last minute and were sitting in one of the shops common areas for a while. I picked up my backpack and something landed on my foot (I had my flip flops on) and started to move. It was a lizard. I squealed and Jeff laughed. I don't mind lizards, but I didn't know what it was a first because it was pretty small and at first I thought it was a spider.
Thursday October 29th - Nawiliwili Kua'i
Kua'i has the wettest spot in the world on the island and I can see why. It was raining for a lot of the first day we were there. The thing is that it wasn't a downpour it was more of a light mist of a rain. We got wet, but not soaked so it was still fun. When I scheduled the tour I didn't realize that it was a "romantic" river ride...oops...next time I'll read the fine print. Oh well...everyone thought Jeff and I were on our honeymoon, so why not go on a romantic river ride. We hopped on the boat and they played the Hawaiian wedding song and danced and then wondered why Jeff and I weren't all cuddly together. We walked through this beautiful jungle path to this grato (which is actually a lava tube), but was still cool.
Friday October 30th - Nawiliwili Kua'i
Botanical Gardens, shopping, Jeff motion sick, sleeping, cliffs
We didn't go on an excursion today, but believe me we still had adventures. We went to the botanical gardens at the Marriott to start with. The koi were out of control...holy cow! They would come right up next to the sidewalk to get food.
The gardens were really pretty though and it was fun walking through them.
We did walk along the beach for a bit, but there was so much to see that we didn't spend much time swimming. We walked through a shopping center and there was a collectible toy store. We were walking through and there was a stripper pole doll that when you'd push the button, she'd move up and down the pole, the lights would flash, she would sing and ooo and ahhh and spin. I about died of laughter! Jeff has a video of it, but I didn't dare post it on the blog. It was right next to a little kids toy that was a stuffed parrot that would repeat what you said...so funny!
There was a hurricane in Kua'i in 1991 (I think it was) and it released a bunch of the domestic chickens. The weather is perfect for chickens and they started breeding like crazy. They were everywhere! I tried to act like a chicken to get in closer, but it didn't work.
We left port a little early so we could go to the Napali coast line. It was really pretty. Jeff got motion sick that night for some reason so he wasn't feeling the best, but it was fun to be up on deck.
Saturday October 31st - Honolulu
It's bitter sweet that it's our last day. It's sad that our vacation is over, but I missed Norman more than I thought I would so it will definitely be nice to be home. I was pretty good, but I did spend quite a bit of time texting and calling him...
We went on a Waikiki tour in the morning. It was good, but I'm not a fan of Waikiki...it's too crowded and lots of high rise buildings everywhere. Pearl Harbor was really neat though. We rented the headsets (which I recommend to everyone) and they were very informative and helpful. We could have spent more time there, but we did survive and get to see quite a bit.
If I were to do it again I would have rented a car that final day and then just driven around. I wasn't sure how all that worked at the time though. The car rental places really want your business so they actually will come right to the pier and pick you up if you prearrange it with them. Oh well...live and learn. Good to be home, but the trip was well worth it :)
Monday, November 2, 2009
Hawaii Part 1
Ok, so we're back from Hawaii and we had a BLAST!!! I head to New Orleans for a conference tomorrow afternoon so I can't get everything posted, but I did keep a log of our adventures. Here's part of them...
Thursday October 22nd (Honolulu, Oahu)
Off Jeff and I go to our fun filled vacation. Jeff has never flown before, so being the nice sister I am I throw him on a six and a half hour flight for his first time in the air. Look how excited he is on the plane :)
Friday October 23rd
Today is technically the first day of our vacation. To start it off with a bang we decided to start at Wal-Mart...what vacation is complete without a Wal-Mart trip...lol...actually we needed to get a few things we forgot and while we have a car we though it would be a good time to stop. We got all of the goodies we needed and headed off to the polynesian culteral center. We did see a scenic outlook and stopped there for a couple of pictures. The drive to the PCC (polynesian culteral center) was only 30 miles, but you can't go more than 25 - 30 mph for quite a bit of it so it takes an hour to get there.
The center was a blast! We started by trying to blend in with the natives
That didn't seem to work very well for us though so we just wandered and did our own thing. We watched different dances, went to the movie in the iMax and visited the temple grounds. I LOVE that the PCC has such a church influence. It's hard to explain, but there is a different feeling there and it made it feel more like home. Jeff even ran into a guy he went to high school with who is going to school at BYU Hawaii. We made the coolest fish out of coconut leaves...love them!! The luau was ok and the food was pretty good
My favorite was the night show though. It was AMAZING! There were all sorts of different dancers and then even fire dancers at the end. Holy have some hotties dancing around...literally...I shouldn't say this (don't look Norman), but the main fire dancer had the tighest butt ever...could have bounced more than a quarter off of that. Of course he was in the traditional dress (this little loin cloth speedo thing) so it was very visible...lol...didn't get a picture...should have...dang...On the cruise ship later we saw lots of speedo's, but sadly the age and condition of the people wearing them was different...let me just say that they should have an age/weight limit on the speedo wearing. Jeff made sure to point them out to me whenever they walked by which was frequent.
Saturday October 24th
Before we left we were told that the best place to buy souveniers is at the swap meet at the Aloha Stadium. We were stoked and before we got on the ship we decided to hit that. Sadly, there was a football game today (wretched football) so the swap meet wasn't going on. However, the nice guy at the stadium told us about another one that was taking place up the hill. Off we went and we did hit it and had a blast! I can't say exactly what we bought and for how much because we want you to think that we spent millions on you :)
We rented a GPS for the car and were diligently following it back to the rental car return. When we got close to the airport the GPS said to go right and the signs said go left. What a dilema...to go left or right...I was going to go right, but then last minute decided to go left. In doing so I drove over a part of the road that you're not supposed to drive on, and there happened to be a crunched plastic gas can there. I thought we'd clear it, but alas...I was wrong. Next thing we know we hear this horrible scratching sound under the car as the gas can went for a ride with us. I was a little worried that the car was going to explode, but luckily the can got loose and went back in to the middle of the road for the next unsuspecting victim.
We returned the car and then the nice rental car shuttle driver helped us find the right shuttle service to get us to the ship. Normally I'm so prepared when I travel, but I was tired this trip and have been slightly busy, so we took a risk and just kinda winged it and hoped for the best this time. Actually, it worked out great. The shuttle to the pier was through Roberts tour line and that is who I was told was great for excursions rather than going through NCL...yay!!
Boarding the ship we felt like cattle...mooooove to this line....stand here....mooove over here. Eventually we did get on the ship though. Jeff was impressed by how big the ship was (this is important because later he complained that we didn't get a bigger one when he saw the bigger one). One of the first things Jeff did was find him a woman. She was there for him the whole cruise :)
We had our emergency preparedness drill and Jeff was definitely ready...
Sunday October 25th
Maui - Jeff's quite a fan of the buffet's. I'm still trying to get my sea legs, but it hasn't been bad. I didn't realize that there would be so many free shuttles taking us around when we got off the ship. We thought we'd just wander and see what we could find when we got off the ship. It was confusing and we thought that the shuttles made multiple stops so we hopped on the first shuttle which happened to be going to K-Mart. It really only went to K-Mart...whoops...we made the best of it and shopped AND Costco was right next door so of course we had to pick up some macadamia nuts...what bargain shoppers we are :) We went to a shopping center thing thinking it was a tour thing, but it was just shopping. I did make a wish and open up an oyster and low and behold I got 2 pearls inside...oh wow...how special. It was $7 to open it and then you could buy a setting for it for as little as $70...I think not. Thus, I have these very special and lucky pearls now...lol.
Tonight we went to Halekala Crater. It takes about an hour and a half to drive up to the top and you just wind back and forth up this mountain for what seems like forever. They have open range farming on the mountain so there were cattle everywhere (we'll get back to that) and the road just goes on and on. I was starting to feel queasy when we finally hit the top. It's beautiful at the top!
On the way down we were in the dark. I was dozing in and out and it seemed like it was taking forever. I looked up and to my surprise there was a cow in the road as we came around the corner. As surprised as I was the cow was even more shocked. I don't know if you've seen Rat Race where they hit the cow and it's eyes get all big, but let me say from experience that the cow's eyes do get big and they do get a look of "OH CRAP!" on their face. Luckily we were going slow so we bumped it, it fell over and then got back up and wandered on it's way. Yup, had to fly all the way to Hawaii, but Jeff and I can officially say that we've been cow tippin'....ROFL! That was the highlight of Jeff's trip. I was so worried for the cow at first that I didn't get as much enjoyment out of it, but it was pretty funny. There was a guy in the front of the bus sleeping and when we slammed on the breaks he went flying further than the cow did. He was ok too though.
Monday October 26th
Maui - Snorkeling. Today we started with a pretty early morning where we headed out on a smaller boat (still two levels with bathrooms, a bar and a grill, where we did some snorkeling. I was worried about the boat ride out, but it went well and the snorkeling was a lot of fun. we loaded up on sunscreen and compared white legs before taking off. The first spot we stopped we saw lots of fun fish. Jeff got his first official taste of sea water (yummy yummy). I poked my head up to him hacking up a lung and spitting. I guess he turned is head too far to the side and instead of air he got sea water...lol. We got back on the boat and ate some lunch while we headed to the second location. This time there were still some pretty fish, but there were also sea turtles. I of course was off doing my own thing so I missed the sea turtle coming to the top, but I did see one on the bottom. Jeff saw the turtle though and frequently reminds me that he saw the sea turtle up top and I didn't.
We compared white legs...
Then we were off.
I don't have the actual water camera pictures back yet, but will get them posted when we do.
Thursday October 22nd (Honolulu, Oahu)
Off Jeff and I go to our fun filled vacation. Jeff has never flown before, so being the nice sister I am I throw him on a six and a half hour flight for his first time in the air. Look how excited he is on the plane :)
Friday October 23rd
Today is technically the first day of our vacation. To start it off with a bang we decided to start at Wal-Mart...what vacation is complete without a Wal-Mart trip...lol...actually we needed to get a few things we forgot and while we have a car we though it would be a good time to stop. We got all of the goodies we needed and headed off to the polynesian culteral center. We did see a scenic outlook and stopped there for a couple of pictures. The drive to the PCC (polynesian culteral center) was only 30 miles, but you can't go more than 25 - 30 mph for quite a bit of it so it takes an hour to get there.
The center was a blast! We started by trying to blend in with the natives
That didn't seem to work very well for us though so we just wandered and did our own thing. We watched different dances, went to the movie in the iMax and visited the temple grounds. I LOVE that the PCC has such a church influence. It's hard to explain, but there is a different feeling there and it made it feel more like home. Jeff even ran into a guy he went to high school with who is going to school at BYU Hawaii. We made the coolest fish out of coconut leaves...love them!! The luau was ok and the food was pretty good
My favorite was the night show though. It was AMAZING! There were all sorts of different dancers and then even fire dancers at the end. Holy have some hotties dancing around...literally...I shouldn't say this (don't look Norman), but the main fire dancer had the tighest butt ever...could have bounced more than a quarter off of that. Of course he was in the traditional dress (this little loin cloth speedo thing) so it was very visible...lol...didn't get a picture...should have...dang...On the cruise ship later we saw lots of speedo's, but sadly the age and condition of the people wearing them was different...let me just say that they should have an age/weight limit on the speedo wearing. Jeff made sure to point them out to me whenever they walked by which was frequent.
Saturday October 24th
Before we left we were told that the best place to buy souveniers is at the swap meet at the Aloha Stadium. We were stoked and before we got on the ship we decided to hit that. Sadly, there was a football game today (wretched football) so the swap meet wasn't going on. However, the nice guy at the stadium told us about another one that was taking place up the hill. Off we went and we did hit it and had a blast! I can't say exactly what we bought and for how much because we want you to think that we spent millions on you :)
We rented a GPS for the car and were diligently following it back to the rental car return. When we got close to the airport the GPS said to go right and the signs said go left. What a dilema...to go left or right...I was going to go right, but then last minute decided to go left. In doing so I drove over a part of the road that you're not supposed to drive on, and there happened to be a crunched plastic gas can there. I thought we'd clear it, but alas...I was wrong. Next thing we know we hear this horrible scratching sound under the car as the gas can went for a ride with us. I was a little worried that the car was going to explode, but luckily the can got loose and went back in to the middle of the road for the next unsuspecting victim.
We returned the car and then the nice rental car shuttle driver helped us find the right shuttle service to get us to the ship. Normally I'm so prepared when I travel, but I was tired this trip and have been slightly busy, so we took a risk and just kinda winged it and hoped for the best this time. Actually, it worked out great. The shuttle to the pier was through Roberts tour line and that is who I was told was great for excursions rather than going through NCL...yay!!
Boarding the ship we felt like cattle...mooooove to this line....stand here....mooove over here. Eventually we did get on the ship though. Jeff was impressed by how big the ship was (this is important because later he complained that we didn't get a bigger one when he saw the bigger one). One of the first things Jeff did was find him a woman. She was there for him the whole cruise :)
We had our emergency preparedness drill and Jeff was definitely ready...
Sunday October 25th
Maui - Jeff's quite a fan of the buffet's. I'm still trying to get my sea legs, but it hasn't been bad. I didn't realize that there would be so many free shuttles taking us around when we got off the ship. We thought we'd just wander and see what we could find when we got off the ship. It was confusing and we thought that the shuttles made multiple stops so we hopped on the first shuttle which happened to be going to K-Mart. It really only went to K-Mart...whoops...we made the best of it and shopped AND Costco was right next door so of course we had to pick up some macadamia nuts...what bargain shoppers we are :) We went to a shopping center thing thinking it was a tour thing, but it was just shopping. I did make a wish and open up an oyster and low and behold I got 2 pearls inside...oh wow...how special. It was $7 to open it and then you could buy a setting for it for as little as $70...I think not. Thus, I have these very special and lucky pearls now...lol.
Tonight we went to Halekala Crater. It takes about an hour and a half to drive up to the top and you just wind back and forth up this mountain for what seems like forever. They have open range farming on the mountain so there were cattle everywhere (we'll get back to that) and the road just goes on and on. I was starting to feel queasy when we finally hit the top. It's beautiful at the top!
On the way down we were in the dark. I was dozing in and out and it seemed like it was taking forever. I looked up and to my surprise there was a cow in the road as we came around the corner. As surprised as I was the cow was even more shocked. I don't know if you've seen Rat Race where they hit the cow and it's eyes get all big, but let me say from experience that the cow's eyes do get big and they do get a look of "OH CRAP!" on their face. Luckily we were going slow so we bumped it, it fell over and then got back up and wandered on it's way. Yup, had to fly all the way to Hawaii, but Jeff and I can officially say that we've been cow tippin'....ROFL! That was the highlight of Jeff's trip. I was so worried for the cow at first that I didn't get as much enjoyment out of it, but it was pretty funny. There was a guy in the front of the bus sleeping and when we slammed on the breaks he went flying further than the cow did. He was ok too though.
Monday October 26th
Maui - Snorkeling. Today we started with a pretty early morning where we headed out on a smaller boat (still two levels with bathrooms, a bar and a grill, where we did some snorkeling. I was worried about the boat ride out, but it went well and the snorkeling was a lot of fun. we loaded up on sunscreen and compared white legs before taking off. The first spot we stopped we saw lots of fun fish. Jeff got his first official taste of sea water (yummy yummy). I poked my head up to him hacking up a lung and spitting. I guess he turned is head too far to the side and instead of air he got sea water...lol. We got back on the boat and ate some lunch while we headed to the second location. This time there were still some pretty fish, but there were also sea turtles. I of course was off doing my own thing so I missed the sea turtle coming to the top, but I did see one on the bottom. Jeff saw the turtle though and frequently reminds me that he saw the sea turtle up top and I didn't.
We compared white legs...
Then we were off.
I don't have the actual water camera pictures back yet, but will get them posted when we do.
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