Today, February 2nd, happened to be Groundhog Day. In this part of the world, it really makes no difference what a groundhog would do when coming out of his hole. The reason being that there are hardly any changes as far as the seasons are concerned. It is either wet or wetter, hot and hotter. And to the best of our knowledge, no groundhogs live here.
Sunday (today) was Brunch Day in the dining room once again. Expecting a line up at the Pinnacle Grill, we were surprised to see about half of the customers today. That has more to do with sleeping late we think as the activities of the last week have caught up with most everyone. As a result, the service was twice as good if that is possible.
The South Pacific Cultural Ambassadors are onboard now and conducting dance lessons, sarong tying, and ukulele playing. In the same vein, Kainoa gave a talk on finding the most isolated islands on earth. WE believe we have already visited two of them – Easter Island and Pitcairn. Lecturer Michael Adams delivered a talk on the Titanic. And Kimberly gave her port talk on Nuku'alofa, Tonga, our upcoming port of call.
We kept busy with photo sorting and report writing with a walk on the promenade deck for a break. We have begun to see some flying fish again, and larger ones. There are no birds to be seen anywhere out at sea. However, in scanning yesterday's pictures, one of us discovered there were in fact some red-tailed tropic birds flying back and forth to the island. Most all of the birds were spotted in and around the island were the white terns. On previous stops here, we have seen the elusive high-flying tropic birds, but not that often.
The Captain revealed in his noon talk that we would be losing a day due to the fact we would be crossing the International Dateline around 7:39 pm this evening. There has to be a point where the old day ends and the new one begins. This happens to be on our way to Tonga. The clocks move ahead 24 hours, but will have no effect with our regular clocks or watches. So there will not be a February 3rd….Monday will not exist for us. In addition, he said that despite a tropical storm many miles away from us, we might have some residual effects with the waves and the wind. Expect some rain he said. We have over 600 nautical miles to reach the shores of Tonga.
We had a nice long visit with our former travel host after lunch in the Lido. It was fun catching up on news and recalling the past cruises that we had shared over the years. We also discussed the many changes we have seen over the years as far as HAL goes. Nothing stays the same forever we all agreed.
There is a photo contest in progress with entries for island life, nature, and people. There are only a small number of photos entered so far and it will close on February 6th. That is when the first segment of this grand voyage ends….the second day in Sydney. Prizes given will be a segment video, a voyage album, and an 8 x 10 metal print. Not sure what that is. We do believe there will future contests for each and every segment.
Dinnertime arrived with some good starters like a smoked chicken appetizer and one arancini cheesy rice ball with sauce. Caesar salads are the favorite choice for both of us, followed by mains of pork belly and a cheeseburger with fries. Now that's what we call comfort food. One cinnamon spiced rice pudding was just enough to end the meal.
A young lady by the name of Angie Narayan was the singer on stage tonight. Soulful rhythms and powerful melodies were promised. A little surprise was waiting for us in the room. Our travel agency had gifted each of us with cooling towels to use in the extreme heat of the day. These cloths, like the cute umbrellas, had the agency's name and 2025 GWV printed on them. Great for advertising.
We'll be back Tuesday…..
Bill & Mary Ann
