Day 2 Thursday January 17, 2013 Weather: Partly Cloudy High 58 Low 50 Sunrise 7:12 am Sunset 5:50 pm
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Teachers are Travelers
Breakfast at 7:45 in the dining hall was with a add up table. They add a table for two to a table of four and seat six people at it. Two couples were seated and I became the 5th. No others were seated at the table. The other participants were two couples. One lady was was a 6th grade teacher from Columbus, Ohio. The other couple were also retired teachers, were from Pittsburgh (Outside of the city). I mentioned that I had relatives that lived on the Ohio side of Pittsburgh. They said that they lived on that side too. When I mentioned Darlington, they said that it was closer to Pittsburgh than they were. She had taught 7th and 8th grade and enjoyed the enthusiasm that this age showed. The other lady said that that was the season that she retired . Too much for a 6th grade teacher that was suddenly recast as an eighth grade instructor.
The conversation then rolled into previous cruises they each had been on.
They both loved the New England one. On had traveled up and stayed a period of time there in their motorhome. Nova Scotia was wonderful for a month. This couple also did a Fort Lauderdale to the Baltic curise that lasted 28 days. The other couple had done a European river cruise... which they had enjoyed.
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After breakfast I sat in the big theater and listened two two lectures on Hawaii. One was on the geology, the other was on the features of the big island.
We have a car reserved for Hawaii at Hilo. It should be fun to get out and drive some of this island. Sue is looking forward to going back to the "rain forest" the Botanical Gardens on the big island of Hawaii.
Making Orchid Leis... a free program
I finally got Sue up and she agree to the orchid lei making class. They only let 50 people each day for three days take the class. 90 people got in line 15 minutes early to get a ticket. One per person. Some people did not get tickets. Some got tickets for other than the first day. An older guy came up to me and asked me if I wanted his ticket. I guess he thought that he would stand in line and get a ticket not knowing what he was standing in line for. Once he got the ticket he realized it was not something that he wanted to do. Sure, I took his ticket. So Sue and I both had tickets to the first lei class. The ship's program staff passed out the first 50 to the people that would do the class on the 2nd day when they finished with those that got it on the first day. Likewise on the 3rd day the third set of 50 tickets were passed out. All tickets were passed out on that one line on the one time. The first time we took the Hawaiian cruise I didn't realize that with so many people on the ship it is worth your time to stand in line for the programing events provided.
The first day of the class was this first day at sea. Sue was pretty tired from the big day before, but she got dressed and made it down to the class. There were 10 men and 40 women that took this class. We waited at the fancy pay extra restaurant (Italian) as that was where the classes were held.
At each place on the tables was a pile of purple/pink waxy orchids and a bin with green star beads, one inch star beads, and a long needle that has a hook at the end.
Steps in Making the Lei
1) The stem end of all the flowers need to be removed... pinched off
2) The needle gets threaded through the flower, and 4 green star spacer beads and a one inch straw pieces are also threaded on to they 14 each needle with a hook on it.
3)The needle is hooked through the string (not threaded) and the string is pulled through the items that are threaded on the needle.
When enough flowers, beads and straws are loaded on the string, the lei is tied off and ready to wear. All 50 people were successful- some a little more than others. Some had difficultly with the string fraying. Some had to "backfill" on the other side from where they started to complete the loop.
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After we finished the class, Sue headed back to our home cabin for some afternoon shut eye. Earlier in the day I had Sue sign up for her free 250 minutes of internet time. I left my card on the table and when I returned to the internet cafe, it was not there.
The hotel office on the 6th deck made me a new one and even transferred my coke card to it.... The $57 dollars on the casino account... I had made 17 dollars since it was issued, was transferred back on it too. Thankfully. I started it with $40.
So far the ocean has been very calm for us. As the captain in his noon report each day said, "The oceans are slight."
Sue's back continues to hurt. She opted out of dinner. I thought of mom as the prized dinner entree was lamb shanks.
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Pat's Dinner:
Apppitizer: Bay scallops and shrimp
Soup: Pear Mango with a mint leaf
Main entree: lamb shanks, with brown potatoes, brussel sprouts and zuchinni
Desert: key lime pie
Sue's Dinner:
Hamburger with extra pickles and mustard
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Sue wanted a table where her power chair would not cause people to have to move their chairs in order for her to get out. So far we have not accomplished this assignment.
The table we were assigned to was really a good one for the people. An educator couple in Sp Ed from the UK . Deb is a program specialist and David is a woodshop teacher. The other couple are from the Palm Springs area . They live on a golf course and love it.
Friday (tomorrow) is the first dress up night. Sue has promised to do dinner... then again she love to put on the bling.
I caught a little of the night's entertainment, a ventriloquist that has appeared on the Letterman show. She (the dummy) offered to sing. She said that she was originally one of the Spice Girls.....Ok... the old spice girl......
The movie under the stars tonight had people bundled up in red tartan blankets.... "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" with Judy Dench.
It has been a great cruise so far.
Fruit was delivered to our cabin while we were out..
2 oranges, 2 pears, and 2 kiwis
We went to bed without much swale in the ship... the ship endeavored to make up for lost time at the dock... Full speed ahead!
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