On the Diamond Princess

We have just landed at Hilo, Hawaii for the 4th time this year! And, it's the first really nice day we've had in Hilo. Hilo is on the wet side of the Big Island, so it rains here a lot...but today we have sun with just a few clouds. There might be a sprinkle today, but not a rain! That's different. (As an aside, I don't know why the picture is coming out yellow...but it is?!?!?)

The four day sail to here has been very pleasant. The Diamond Princess is a huge floating hotel with just about everything to offer. She has a Grand Casino, theater, several night clubs, bars and shops everywhere you look, and people. She has lots of people. We have a "full complement" which means about 3000 passengers and 1200 crew! We've never been on a ship this large. We paced off the "walk" from the stern elevator to our bow room...it's a whopping 300 steps or about 900 feet! The hallways are excellent examples of one-point perspective! I've not been walking the Promenade deck this trip as there's no need too...all I have to do is walk to and from our room a couple of times, and I've walked a mile without really trying! I've also been trying to take the stairs instead of the elevators. We are getting our exercise in on a regular basis.

While Hilo is having a wonderful day, we've had 4 gray days at sea, which we thought was unusual. Generally, the first day out of LA is gray and the seas are rocky, but the sun shines thereafter and the seas are calm and everyone is poolside trying to get a tan before they hit the islands. This crossing has been different. The seas were calm, the sky was gray and the temps cool, so folks were poolside, but they wore towels or blankets to stay warm!

We celebrated Chet's birthday during our first formal night. The dining staff sang him Happy Birthday and presented him with a personal birthday cake and card. I don't think he was surprised, but he did have fun.

It's always good to be in Hawaii. Yesterday, for Thanksgiving, we sat back and thought about how lucky we have been this year. We've had good health, good travels and good friends. It's hard to beat that! We wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving.