Day 6 Hilo, Hawaii

Today turned out to be a very nice day…  We had a shower or two but nothing to put a damper on the day.  I went to the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park with 3 other guys from the ship.  We rented a car and headed out….  The park was very nice, I have been there on a number of other occasions.  After leaving the park we headed to Rainbow Falls and Peepee Falls or the boiling pots.  The scenery was magnificent.  I did manage to survive the day with my damaged knee.  I may have to start taking it easy, things are not getting better.  Bummer!  Oh well, I did have a great day…  Tomorrow, Honolulu Hawaii!

 

Day 5 At Sea

Today was probably the best pool day yet…. The only problem was that I had to visit the doctor.  Had a bit of an accident yesterday afternoon and screwed up my knee….  Something like a tear in my meniscus….  That is just what I needed on the beginning of a 7 month voyage.  Oh well, I’ll see how that works out when I visit Volcanoes National Park outside of Hilo Hawaii tomorrow….  Tonight was a very special occasion. Jim & Carol Hausman, friends for the 2012 World Voyage were unable to make it this year so they invited a group of their friends to get together and have dinner at the Pinnacle Grill.  It was a wonderful evening, highlighted with meeting some wonderful people.  Great day!!!!

Day 4 At Sea

Another wonderful day at sea….   The weather turned out to be great.  The morning started out as quite overcast but the sun soon came out and made for a hot sunny day.  We turned the clocks back for the 3^rd time tonight so I am 6 hours behind Eastern time back home…  Tough not to get up early.  This evening was, as usual, a wonderful dinner with my friends.  Cruise is going very well.  The major event of the day for me was the fixing of the internet connections near my cabin.  The Communications Officer, Lex, was very tenacious in attacking the connectivity issues and found and fixed the problem this afternoon…. We all are very thankful for his, and the rest of the team’s efforts….

 

Day 3 At Sea

Well, I must admit, that I am quite pleased how the Grand Pacific & Far East Voyage for 2013 has started out….  Not only have I been able to connect, once again, with my Holland America family, everything so far has been wonderful.  The food, service and entertainment have all been top notch.  I believe they have taken it up a notch or two since I was last on for the World Voyage….  It is noticeable.  The weather today petered out on me a bit…  the sun was replaced with rain & overcast skies for various times during the day.  It was a delightful day none the less.  I even attended a photography lecture given by my friend and professional photographer David Smith.  If any of the photos I take from this point forward are less than satisfactory I assume we can just blame David.  Sorry David!!!!  This evening was very nice, it stated out with the Captain’s Welcome reception and toast followed by a wonderful dinner.  Rene, the Spa Manager hosted our table and everyone had a great time.  Then it was off to the show followed by my dedicated, very late night blog update….  It was an excellent day.  I am loving these days at sea.

 

 

Day 2 At Sea

It was a beautiful day poolside on the ms Amsterdam….  Had to get out of the strong breeze but it was wonderful.  After a relaxing day I joinned Leslie & Handler in the Crow’s Nest for drinks before dinner.  We were very pleased to see that Pub Trivia was moved to 6:30 so Serendipity could play from 7:00 until dinner at 8:00.  They are great….  Dinner, once again was fabulous…  We were joined by Dave & Anna Smith which made for a fun evening.  So far the voyage is grand!

 

Day 1 Los Angeles, California

What a great day!  The day to embark the ms Amsterdam finally arrived.  I got on the ship early and immediately started seeing old friends.  It is like a homecoming, just perfect. I spent the day balancing my time between sitting poolside taking in the perfect sunny weather and getting unpacked.  The sail away after our lifeboat drill was fun, again connecting with old friends and meeting some new ones.  Before dinner I went to the Crow’s Nest and joined Leslie & Handler for drinks.  It was fun but a bit disappointing than Serendipity, the fabulous group that plays there wasn’t scheduled to play until later…. Apparently they have been replaced with Pub Trivia, hmmm….  N eed to work on that!  Dinner was great, wonderful to dine with my friends Brad, Gloria, Jim, Jessica, Leslie and Handler. The food was amazing!  I went to the show after dinner which was a welcome/introduction show… well done!  Then I tried to do my blog…  couldn’t connect so…. You are getting it now.  It was a  great start to my voyage and now it is time to relax & enjoy…