It was mostly cloudy this morning with a chance of light rain during the day. We did notice that the veranda was soaked, so we figured that it had rained sometime during the late night. It remains very warm with high humidity and light winds.
Breakfast was at 7:30am, but we were in no rush to go out too early this morning. We learned that one of the key Pinnacle Grill staff members went sky-diving yesterday. What a brave young lady as she proudly showed us the video of the dive on her cell phone. Her mother, on the other hand, said what were you thinking??? Jumping with a professional, she said they were at the 14,000 foot elevation. Good grief….her mother was right. Being docked for three full days, the crew has had a chance to go off and have some fun. One of the nicest waitresses in here said she was back to the ship with her buddies at 1:30am. This was her first time to visit Hawaii and wanted to do and see everything she can. Good for her.
We noticed that our TV has been "going rogue" since day one. By that, we mean that the stations were not staying where we had them. For instance, while checking out the dinner menu, the TV randomly goes to a news channel. At least we have been getting better reception since leaving Vancouver, but it still is not right. So we called guest services and they said they would send a technician. Good to their word, a tech worker showed up within minutes to check it out. He was a nice fellow who has worked for HAL for 17 years. He admitted that he has had to learn the workings of four different brands of TV's over the years. He was so proud as he told us the reasons for the outages we have experienced since Alaska. Most of the outages and deliberate shut-offs were explained. But it seems that our TV had different problems which he said he could fix with his remote. By the time he left, the TV seemed to be working better and not doing its own thing. He obviously knew what he was doing. He also added that if the guests do not report the problems with the TV's, it will not ever be fixed. Good to know.
We left the ship at 10am once again and re-traced our hike from yesterday. One thing we have noticed was that the birds we normally see along the canal are few and far between. Most of the wild games chickens are no longer roaming the park area. Today we saw and heard two roosters and a couple of hens with three chicks. There were many little doves, pigeons, a few night herons and the same number of egrets. Missing are the small red-headed cardinals, and although they not native to here, they are a pretty addition to the wildlife.
Somewhere close to the Ala Moana Center, we did spot some of the Java and saffron finches. Among them, we saw one, only one red headed cardinal. It seemed that a larger white pigeon was annoying the little bird as it ate some scattered seeds in the grass. At least we know they are still here.
Our destination was the Ala Moana Center with some possible shopping and lunch of course. One of our favorite restaurants at home is California Pizza Kitchen. However, over a year ago they closed their Walnut Creek restaurant, so we would have to drive too far to go to another one. There just happens to be CPK at this mall, located on the upper level 4 on the Ho'okipa Terrace. There used to be a Bubba Gump's here and it closed. Olive Garden took its place, and we found that place closed now. It was already after 1pm, and we hoped there was not a long wait to be seated. The place was about full, but there was one booth left and we got it. Perfect.
We ordered one seasonal Sam Adams draft beer and one Coke Zero. Lunch was a shared BBQ chicken chopped salad and one BBQ chicken pizza, which made our day for sure. Having a view of the ocean from here, we noticed it had gotten darker and it sure looked like rain was coming. Of course, we did not take the umbrellas. Shopping after lunch produced nothing, but we did get some nice photos of this multi-level indoor-outdoor mall before we decided to go back.
We had intended to walk back slowly, but decided not to chance it. So when we exited at the garage level, there was a taxi right there. Negotiating a fair price, we hopped in and we were back to the pier by 3pm. By the way, the rain never arrived.
We relaxed and worked online until it was time for dinner. Both dining rooms were more than half empty, so we were in and out by 9pm. Appetizers were smoked chicken slices, a Caesar salad and a bowl of wonton soup. Mains were one sliced lamb meal with red rice and mango slices, and the other one was linguini with short rib meat Bolognese sauce. And both dinners were quite good. Dessert was one scoop of vanilla ice cream and a plate of sliced pineapple. We were about the last to leave , and we know why. There was a local group of Polynesian and Hawaiian dancers and drummers doing a one night cultural show in the World Stage. We have seen this show several times, and figured getting some extra sleep would be more beneficial for us.
We forgot to mention that the Shops onboard are closed while we are in Hawaiian waters. Even the casino will remain closed due to local regulations while we are in Hawaiian waters. The casino will open on October 11th.
One more day in Honolulu, then it's off to Maui.
Bill & Mary Ann
