Day 10 - Kailua Kona Day 2

We had an excursion scheduled for 8:15 am for a boat tour in a glass bottomed boat so that we could appreciate the fish and the coral reefs of the harbor. We boarded the boat, the Marian, which had 2” thick glass built into strategic sections of the boat. The boat builder’s daughter led the tours and did an amazing job of telling us all about the fish we were seeing and the coral reefs near the shore line. It was amazing. We saw Nemo! Unfortunately, the photos we took didn't really capture the sights we were seeing below but here's the best one I could find.

It was such a clear view of the ocean floor you felt like you were in the water, and I so desperately wanted to be in the water since I had first hand knowledge about how warm it was. But I restrained myself from jumping fully clothed into the water (barely) and enjoyed the 1-hour boat ride around the bay.

Back to the ship and air-conditioned glory. I can’t bear to think about what life was like before AC. Barbaric! Quick lunch and then I decided it was time to finally try the swimming pools on the ship. After being so tantalizing close to the ocean and its warm embrace, it was high time to go swimming. I went up that deck amongst all the crispy critters who have been hanging out there since the beginning of the cruise and jumped into the pool. Such bliss! Such rapture! Such happiness!

I spent 1/2 hour in the pool just floating around in absolute bliss not even caring when it started to rain. Why would I care about rain when I’m already wet, she asks incredulously! I was so damn happy. Life was/is good. After returning to the cabin, Mum and I indulged in a couple of games of cribbage. I won the first round and was totally obnoxious about it with a 24 hand (29 is the highest and extraordinarily rare). Mum retaliated with a win in the next game so my glory was brief. She also ended the game with a “Bing” which is her way of making us insane when she wins. The last peg of the board is the winner so when you do that you are supposed to be gracious (allegedly). Not Tikki-Boo! When she wins, she likes to say “Bing!” to emphasize that she’s just won. You either find it adorable or enraging - there’s no middle ground.

After cribbage, we went on an excursion of the ship. We discovered that there was a group/coven/pride of quilters on the voyage who were hanging out on the 14th deck in their own private den of inequity. How Mum had not heard the cry of the quilters from the 8th deck, I’ll never know. They brought their sewing machines and projects and had been quilting their little hearts out for the last nine days. Of course, Mum (aka quilter extraordinare) had to meet her people so we went on a safari to find their room. Success! We found it, Mum met the lead quilter, and I got the hell out of there as quickly as possible. I didn’t want to get quilter cooties (it’s a thing!).

After Mum returned from her coven of quilters, we decided on an early dinner so we could either watch a movie or see the show in the theater. That was a lovely plan totally upended by the amazingly busy dining room. Dinner was an incredibly slow process tonight capped by the procession of the dining crew. Apparently, at the end of the cruise, the kitchen staff and waiters are appreciate by the guests by having a conga line through the dining room set to rock music. It was fun and funky at the same time. The kitchen and dining staff work their asses off throughout the entire cruise so it was recognition that was earned.

By the end of dinner, it was too late to see either the show or the movie so we went to the music lounge on the first floor and listened to the band and people watched. Why have we not done this on the other nights? The people watching was next level and there was so much to observe - especially the dancing! You could definitely tell in which decade they had their heyday. The 80’s seemed to be the predominant era. Lots of stiff, robotic movement and not a heck of a lot of rhythm. As an 80’s child myself, it was not a proud moment.

Back to the room after that and the prospect of a sleep in since we don’t arrive in Honolulu until 7:00 pm. Until then, Aloha!