To my ear most Hawaiian music sounds like it was written by the same 3 composers; after a couple of songs it all sounds alike. We actually got up and left during the performance, something we almost never do.
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We came aboard a week ago today so we're 1 week into a cruise that will last almost 8 weeks. So far I've read 2 books and will start a 3rd today, a Clive Cussler novel.
While cruising is the primary time I read novels these days, it's something I enjoy doing. Ashore I spend more time scanning for things about which to blog or dealing with the minutia of daily life.
It's time to browse for more reading fodder. The Maasdam actually has quite a sizable library, as large as those on the small former Renaissance Line ships now sold to Princess and others.
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Perhaps you've noticed I'm linking to more NYTimes articles than is customary. It's because access to the online Times is free, it doesn't "burn" costly minutes of paid WiFi like browsing other sources does.
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Our cell phones are Verizon and don't work in Europe. They do work in Hawaii and the other DrC is on the phone with relatives in CA. We're wondering if they'll work in American Samoa, there's no guarantee that Verizon has bothered with the small Samoan market.
I just reread "small Samoan" and chuckled, because individual Samoans are anything but small. If you've seen the two large lads in supporting roles on the Hawaii 50 TV show, you know what I mean. They're huge.
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Later ... we've left Honolulu and are sailing the second of two long reaches of this trip, some 2000 miles to American Samoa. In some ways this is an odd itinerary, with two longish stretched of so-called "sea days" when we're not in port. Mostly an itinerary will have only one such.
We had calm water between San Diego and Hawaii but now we are experiencing some significant open ocean swells on the first day of this leg. We're rolling enough to make some pax uncomfortable.
The other DrC saw a couple of schools of flying fish one day out of Hawaii, as well as a manta ray perhaps 3' across. Fish are unusual sightings. We do sometimes see porpoises which seem to like playing alongside ships.
