Confusion and Karma!

It's Friday night about 10:00 and just like last week at this time I am sitting on our balcony. Tonight I am enjoying a beautiful Southern Hemisphere full moon and I can see the Southern Cross. Today we were in American Samoa which had one of the most picturesque harbors I have ever seen. There are actually two Samoas, American Samoa which is a US territory and Western Samoa which is an independent nation. We learned from our tour guide Mike that as a US territory they do not have voting privileges for the presidential election which may not be a bad thing with the upcoming election. They do have a non voting congressional representative who is allowed to serve on various committees. Young men and women may also join the US military which per capita they do in a higher rate than anywhere in the 50 states. Their two biggest exports are tuna and NFL football players. We docked in Pago Pago which is home to the worlds largest tuna cannery. Troy Polomeau and Junior Seau are both from Samoa and years ago there was a quarterback named Jack or Jake Thompson who had the very cool nickname the Throwing Samoan.
As I said earlier it is Friday night, however when we wake up it will be Sunday morning. Sometime over night we will cross the international date line. Just like that poof Saturday is gone. I'm a little confused about what that means about my beloved Gators playing their Saturday afternoon game!  Also for all my Adventist friends this offers the perfect excuse for skipping church!
We had a great visit at the American Samoa National Park which for you trivia buffs is the only US National Park in the Southern Hemisphere. While we were at the park we saw some machine gun installations from World War 2. Someone asked if there had been any battles in that area during the war and our tour guide shared a story of some really bad karma. According to him the Japanese navy fired one missile at a US military fuel depot. The missile missed the depot and struck a house and killed the only Japanese citizen living in Samoa at that time......really bad karma!
Still having trouble with pictures. Will try to post some as I get better at it! Whatever day and time zone you are in... make it a great day!

Pictures from American Samoa! Beautiful Island

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The idiots who think they are travelers!

Lava flowing into the ocean!  The big island getting bigger!

We've been gone from Hilo for about 45 hours. We have around 90 hours to go before reaching Pago Pago which is probably when it will be posted. Smooth waters and running right around 17 knots per hour.
I know some folks can't imagine being on a ship for this long for fear of boredom, facebook withdrawals or some other society induced disorder. I personally find it to be incredibly relaxing and stimulating at the same time. Yesterday (Monday) there was a stretch class (more on this later)  a five mile walk around the ship (15 laps), a lecture on the solar system, a lecture on the South Pacific explorers, a blackjack tournament for women that Beth played in (she lost) and a little food interspersed throughout. Today was much more of a relaxing day; stretch class,  another five mile walk, a men's blackjack tournament (I lost) and of course a little more food interspersed throughout. Do as much or as little as you want and food is always at your disposal, what's not to like?  If i want to know what stupid thing Donald said today or how many more e-mails Hillary ordered erased MSNBC and Fox News are readily available although I'm trying my best to avoid them. Who is loving it on the ship are the Aussies and Canadians who are quite amused by it all while most of us Americans are just shaking our head and praying that we wake up from this freak show.
About two hours after leaving Hilo we got a real treat. We passed right by an area where lava was flowing from the volcano into the sea. The ship's captain who has been in Alaska all summer running close to the glaciers got us within 1000 yards all the while keeping a safe distance from the poisonous fumes and the rocky shore line. He made sure to point out that we were in over 900 feet of water just in case anyone was thinking he might turn the ship into a submarine like the guy in Italy did a few years ago. It was an awesome sight watching the big island get bigger!
Now about that stretching class.  Flexibility has never been one of my strengths. Touching my toes from a standing position could only be accomplished if my arms were about two feet longer but that's gonna change!  There is a stretch class offered everyday that I've been attending. Ok, so it's only four days so far, there is progress but also still a long way to go. I'll keep you posted. Beth has gone with me a couple of times but the first morning she sent me off with a kiss and a reminder to try not to be "gassy"!  So far so good, I haven't cleared out the gym!
One last thing for this post. We may have to change our name from "The Traveling Idiots" to "The Idiots Who Think They're Travelers", the folks on this ship are good!  One person we met has been traveling for seven straight months, another one that's been "home" twice for two weeks each time over the past year, a couple with two young kids that are perpetually traveling, etc. We're looking more and more like rookies and homebodies compared to this gang!
Pictures soon!

Wrapping up Hawaii & Early Cruise Observations

It's Friday night about 10:00 PM as I am writing this post. I'm setting outside on our balcony looking at what seems to be thousands of stars while off to my left I can see the Haleakala Crater, the highest point on Maui. The ship has been moving for a little over an hour and tomorrow morning we arrive at our last port in Hawaii, Hilo which is on the big island. We'll be leaving Hilo tomorrow (Saturday) at 6:00 and don't touch land again until we reach Pago Pago, American Somoa which is somewhere in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. On our way there we cross both the equator and the international date line. We will get there on Friday, October 14 at 8:00 AM local time, what day and time it will be where you are I haven't a clue.
A few observations on the cruise so far:
These folks are "travelers" not "tourists".  Everyone we've met has had fascinating tales of their past travels.  When we tell them our story of selling pretty much everything we own and being intentionally homeless they love it and can relate.....we have a boatload of Traveling Idiots!  There are folks like us out there!
Another observation; while we may not be the youngest passengers on the ship Beth put it in simple terms. If we have to abandon ship (hope we don't) and they load the lifeboats youngest to oldest we'll be in the first boat. If they load the lifeboats oldest to youngest we're pretty much goners!
Third observation from the cruise so far; we haven't gone very far!  Got on Wednesday afternoon in Honolulu and didn't leave there until close to mid-night Thursday. Maui is a short distance from Honolulu and while slightly longer Maui to Hilo on the big island isn't far either. Of course all that will change once we leave Hilo.
My last observation is from the beaches of Anna Maria Island back in Florida as well as the Hawaiian beaches. You can make a bunch of bikini's out of almost no material these days!  Not complaining, just an observation!
I hope everyone is safe from the hurricane and is conducting themselves better than the two folks running for leader of the free world!
I'll post again as soon as possible.

Our ship sitting off Lahaina, Maui

Hula Pie at Leilani's, a long standing tradition when we visit Maui 

Maui from our balcony on the ship

Laundry, Haircuts, Flu Shots and Peanut Butter Sandwiches

Today we say "Goodbye Kauai"!  We fly from here to Honolulu and check in on the MS Noordam for the next 33 days of this adventure.  We actually spend the first night in Honolulu, then go to Maui on Friday, Hilo (Big Island) on Saturday before heading south towards Australia and New Zealand by way of a few islands scattered out in the Pacific.  If by chance you want to follow along there is a fun website called seascanner.com that tracks the current position of all crusie ships.  Simply enter Holland America Cruise Line and Noordam when prompted. 
Yesterday's highlight was renting a kayak and doing a nice paddle up the Wailua River to the Fern Grotto which is a very cool little state park that I think is only accessible by boat.  It's been a great stay and it's hard to believe that we've been here nine days, but it's time for the Traveling Idiots to move on!
Even though we no longer have a house there are certain "household chores" that we still have to take care of periodically and have spent the last few days taking care of some of them.  We did laundry last night so we're starting the cruise with all clean and fresh clothes.  Remember we're very light packers. We both have one carry on and one backpack so an occasional visit to the laundry is necessary and I'm sure appreciated by those around us.  Sometimes our room tends to look like the Beverly Hillbillies have moved in with laundry hanging out to dry everywhere but it beats dragging around a bunch of extra clothes.
Beth got her haircut here the other day and it looks great.  She describes her cut as being the first cut a student would learn in haircutting school. Well whoever cut it the other day learned her lesson very well!  Now I know what you're thinking, "Kent who styles your hair when you're traveling"?  It's no different than it's been the past 12-15 years, Beth does it.  The clippers travel with us.
Yes, we got our flu shots in Kauai!  Why?  Because that's where we are and it was time.  I hope that Joe W. (Roll Tide) and Leanna V. back at Texas Health Huguely are proud of me for being proactive instead of them having to chase me down.
Tomorrow starts what is at times a ridiculous "food orgy".  If you've been on a cruise you know what I mean.  Well, food is readily available all over Hawaii and we've had some great meals at some fun little "diner and dive's" type of places as well as a couple of nice restaurants but food isn't cheap here so we've done what most who are here for a little while do and visited the grocery store.  Peanut Butter, Bread, Cup of Soup, Yogurt, Grapes, Banana's, etc. can stretch the budget quite a bit!  It's a part of who we are!
I hope to get one or two more posts up before we start our five day stretch of sea days before arriving in Samoa.
To all my friends and family in Florida and up the east coast please stay safe, it looks like you're in for some rough weather!

Just another day admiring the secenry at the beach

I went to a high school football game last Saturday afternoon.  It was the Kauai Red Raiders vs. the Waimea Menehunes.  What's a Menehune?  In Hawaiian Mythology they are people described as dwarf in size who live deep in the woods and their favorite food is bananas.  That shouldn't strike fear into the opposing team but they whipped Kauai.  It was Kauai's homecoming so it was fun to see all the festivities.  It was a little different than a traditional Texas high school homecoming, no obnoxious mums!  The feature item at the concession stand was a Spam Bowl which was Spam over White Rice, I passed.

My good buddy Craig Kerr texted me during the game from a six man game back in Texas.  He was amused to learn I was at a game on Hawaii at the same time and was getting ready to text him when I recieved his message.  Thanks for thinking of me Craig!

The Fern Grotto.  It was about a three mile paddle up river to get here but well worth it.

Laundry Day!

Cock-a-doodle-do!

We're really enjoying our time here on Kauai!  We're staying at a Marriott property in Kapaa which is pretty centrally located on the Southeast side of the island.

As I had mentioned previously, this island is quite different than the big island. The most dramatic differences are how lush, green and tropical it is here, hence the nickname "the Garden Island".   One of the other notable differences here is also the number of chickens roaming around everywhere. That's right, I said chickens!  There are tens of thousands of them all over the island.

There is an interesting and it seems factual story of how the chickens came to rule the roost on Kauai. It dates back to 1992 when a strong hurricane hit the island and destroyed many of the residents chicken coops. Once those chickens got a taste of freedom I guess they decided to do the biblical thing and "be fruitful and multiply".  They've done it well and while I'm sure it's an annoyance to some high tone and uppity folks I think it's kinda cool.  It's fun to be sitting out by the ocean here at the hotel and have a half dozen or so chickens hanging out with you.

We've also driven pretty much around the island or at least as much as you can.  The road doesn't run all the way around because of the cliffs along the Napali Coast area.  From the Waimea Canyon area  on the Southwest to where the road ends at Ke'e Beach on the Northeast side of the island. A few nice beaches, good food at high tone places like Porky's, Bubba Burger, Kountry Kitchen, Chicken in a Barrel and shave ice at Jo'Jo's. It's pretty darn spectacular!

One of the tens of thousands of chickens on the island! 

Kilauea Lighthouse

Wailua Falls

Sunday Sunrise at Coconut Beach, Kauai

These were taken this morning between 6:00-7:30.