It was a busy day today. We didn’t do any of the tours because we had done them all before and no escort duty either. So we took the shuttle to Waikiki. I had a nail appointment at 10:30 but we arrived early and there was a Ross store right where the shuttle dropped us off. So to kill time, I managed to buy two aloha tops and Michael bought a holder for all the new pencils he bought for bridge.
I’ve had my nails done all over the world, but this one stands out as rather funky. It was a one person shop that seemed to also be a massage shop that sold Japanese trinkets. They say one picture is worth 1000 words so that is how I’m going to describe my adventure at the nail salon. But what made it really special was that I got a neck massage while I’m getting my pedicure. I decided that I was going to pamper myself today.
It was time for lunch. Michael had plenty of time to explore the area and found a food court that was nothing but Asian noodle shops. It was quite weird. They all sold different variations of the same thing. Next we were off to the Ben Franklin craft store via Uber. There are no Michaels or Joann stores in Honolulu. The Ben Franklin store is a throwback to another era. I got permission from the cruise director to buy $240 worth of knitting supplies for my class and I spent $238!
We Ubered back to the ship just in time to drop our stuff off and get ready for the luau. We had to walk through a very ugly terminal to get back to the ship. I am now using my walking poles when I have to walk significant distances. The pain continues down my right leg and when I get back I’m going to have an MRI to find out why I’m having so much pain. But you all know me, I’m a trooper and onward I go. So anyway, I put on my aloha dress and back we go to catch the bus to the luau with 150 other people from our ship. We left at 4 pm for a luau that’s supposed to start at 6 PM. It took an hour and 10 minutes to get to the west side of the island. The traffic here is horrible.
When we arrived at Paradise Cove, the first thing we had to do was have our picture taken. In order to get the $20 “gift” card, the picture was mandatory. We had the deluxe package so the photos were included. The $20 gift card was for alcoholic drinks or you could buy something at the “market,” another word for touristy junk. It was extremely windy that day, and we were just happy that we did not get rained on as the clouds had been threatening all day. Remember, I said it was really windy. My hair looks like I had my finger stuck in a light sock.
We saw a glorious sunset, the pig being removed from its earthen oven and dancers. I managed to spend my $20 on small cloth bags and Michael spent his on mai tais. Dinner included several salads. The main dinner was so huge no one could eat it. We had a piece of fried chicken, and another piece of chicken, pork, fish, and a couple of vegetables, and a huge amount of white rice. We were entertained while we were eating.
We were so close to the stage that we could feel the heat from the fire eaters. I have several videos of the dancers and the fire dancers/eaters, but I cannot upload the videos because our Internet is so slow.
Day 2: The ship was not due to depart until 2 PM. I had a slow start to the day. Michael took a walk to the clock tower and back and was disappointed that the clock tower was closed. All the shops there have been closed and is now classrooms for a university. This is where we used to dock. Here is a beautiful view of Diamond Head as we sailed away and headed toward Tahiti. We have another stretch of 5 sea days before we see land again.
