Hawaii!!

Hawaii was absolutely incredible. We had to much time off the ship, we really felt like we were on vacation. We certainly spent money like we were on vacation. Or spent like sailors, I guess.

Our overnight in Maui was incredible. I rented a car for both days, a little subaru impreza. Map in hand my friend Blanche and I explored quite a bit of the island. On the first day we went had a fantastic breakfast on the beach in Napili Bay (white and milk chocolate chip macadamia nut pancakes - hello!!), then went up to Honolua Bay for the best reported snorkeling on the island. After getting pretty sunburned I got checked into my hotel and got ready for the evening - a Luau on the beach with a lot of my friends from the ship. The Luau was so cool - the atmosphere is almost TOO perfectly Hawaiian, with palm trees, tiki torches, native people, and a sunset on the ocean, and the food was awesome. I loved the hula/ploynesian dance show that they put on, too. After the Luau I headed back to my hotel, and had a nice walk on the moonlit beach before taking my much-anticipated bath and crashing in my big, real bed. :-) The next day I picked up Blanch at the pier at 7am and we headed for the "Highway to Hana", to get as far as we could before heading back to the ship that afternoon. We tried fruit and banana bread from the roadside vendors, and made a few little treks to some small waterfalls and pools, and had a dip in one of them. The coast highway to Hana is absolutely breathtaking, and we made it about halfway around before we needed to start back.

In Kauai I didn't have much time ashore, but did manage to get to the beach, and went out to watch the sunset over the island as we sailed away. Kauai is so green and wet...over by the mountains it rains almost every day. I saw the unique hills on the north side of the island that are so recognizable in movies filmed there.

In Honolulu I did something I never thought I would ever do. My friends in the cast and I went skydiving off the north shore of Oahu! I still can't believe I fell out of a plane at 10,000 feet....but I have the photos and the DVD to prove it. :-) It was certainly a rush - but I didn't freak out nearly as much as I thought I might. I stayed pretty calm the whole time. Of course, you've gotta scream as you make the initial jump, otherwise its no fun. :-) We all went tandem, so we were hooked onto a pro who handled the parachute and the landing on the ground. It was a huge thrill....if I did it again I'd do it without the photographer so I could focus on the feeling of the freefall and enjoy the scenery more. But I don't know if I'll do it again....that remains to be seen. :-) I'm pretty proud of myself for trying something new that scares me! After getting changed back at the ship I went out on the town with the girls from the cast. We got all dressed up and went out to dinner at a restaurant in Waikiki, and then went out dancing until the wee hours. It was so much fun!! The next day I went to Pearl Harbor in the morning and visited the site and the Arizona Memorial. It was a very moving and emotional experience for me, and I learned a lot. That evening I visited the mall with my friends, did some more shopping in Waikiki, walked along the beach in the moonlight, and went out to dinner and dessert again with some of my friends. At 9:30pm we reluctantly trudged back on board, hating every step.....we all wanted to stay in Hawaii forever!!! It really had started to feel like we didn't work on a ship and were just vacationing in Hawaii....the overnights made it really awesome. We sailed away aroun 11pm that night, and I went out on deck to watch the lights of Honolulu and Waikiki disappear into the night. Goodbye, Hawaii! I hope I get to come back someday!

Almost there!

We will finally be in Hawaii tomorrow!!!! I can't wait! It has been around 80 degrees for the past couple days, with gorgeous blue skies. It already feels tropical, and tomorrow I'll get my first sight of the islands. We start on the big island tomorrow, in Hilo. Unfortunately we have a rehearsal to work around, so I won't have as much time as I'd like, but whatever happens I will enjoy being in Hawaii. I can't wait to watch my first official Hawaiian sunset and take pictures!

The crossing has gone by very quickly so far, these 5 sea days have really flown by. Keeping busy helps a lot. The big test will be next cruise, with a total of 12 sea days....we'll cross that, well, ocean, when we come to it. :-) Thankfully the sea days are broken up into 2 segments so it'll be manageable.

We worked with a comedian/vocal impressionist named Roger Behr this week, who is apparently pretty well known. He was easy to work with, and told the band jokes before and after every show. A lot of them went over my head, but I appreciated the thought.

I met a fellow trombonist yesterday - he recognized me when I was walking around the ship, and is probably the only person on board to notice that I used a different trombone for Lionardo's show than for Roger's. I love meeting people like that. :-) It makes the extra effort I put in to bring that second trombone along feel worth it. There really are some shows that sound much better with my F-attachment large bore. Hooray! Ok, no more trombone-speak.

Well, I will do my best to post throughout my days in Hawaii, but don't be surprised if I wait til the end and then play catch-up. I plan to be very busy and have lots of adventures. Hawaii, here I come!!!