Day 4 Hawaiian Cruise

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Day 4  October 30, 2011
Forecast High 79 Low 62 Sunrise 6:50 Sunset 6:29
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Checked email: had responses from the girls. Also Natalie. The cleaning ladies were back. Natalie liked them. Connection speed slowed way down.
At breakfast I ate in the formal dinning room and was served a very strange version of Huevos Rancherios. Chopped tomato fresh salsa on the side. Eggs serced over a quesadila filled with green peppers and a large dollop of refried black beans accompanied.
Breakfast dinners included a couple from Pennsylvania. The wife had a white mennonite prayer cap. The husband a trimmed beard. Also there was a couple from Florida interested in horses, with the husband a police attorney. A couple from Rockford Illinois and an insurance salesman from Bakersfield completed the table. He was rather outspoken regarding California politics and its solvency. I let him have his right wing platform. It died without a second.

I met a truck driver from Hemit. He and his wife cashed in their LA home and bought a brand new one from the proceeds in Hemit. Hemit is a high desert city east of LA. He helps cook for the American Legion . He grills hamburgers and hot dogs with fries... price $4.00. Even then some of the members don't want to buy. The American Legion supports itself with bingo but no bar.

Sue and I booked the botanical gardens excursion for the next day when we dock on the big Island of Hawaii at Hilo. It is scheduled to leave the port at 2:30. Its the last one of the day. There were 4 other times. They use a van to transport the people to the location. The excursion office called ahead to see if there would be room for the wheelchair. They said that they could accommodate it.

The ship's naturalist was selling her own book after her lectures in the big theatre. It is all photos she took herself of natural Hawaii. She autographed it for us. She is selling it off to pay for her college loans. She is form Portland. She was a naturalist for the park service in Alaska before doing the princess boats. She was up on the Kenea peninsula. She was also stationed for 2 years in Ketchikan.

Dinner:
Pat: Carbmeat in a martini glass with pieces of orange
        Cold coconut soup in a hurricane glass
        Surf and Turf- Filet with four large Shrimp -tails on
        Cherries Jubulee- Flambe with vanilla ice cream

Sue: Two hamburgers from the terrace via Pat's room service

We set our clocks back again for tomorrow wake up . We are supposed to be dockside at 9am in Hilo.