Wellington, Christchurch & Dunedin

Wellington – LOTR In Style!

Alright so Wellington it started off all rainy and terrible and I was thinking ‘Omg, this is going to be horrible!’ Well it turned out quite differently despite the weather!

So we meet our guide and learned a bit about him, I guess his brother got to be an extra in all three movies while he was out of the country. Also learned that many siblings/wives/husbands/children/relatives of the cast and crew and even the crew themselves got to play as extras. As far as I can remember, Elijah Wood’s sister, Peter Jackson’s Children, Viggo’s son, many of the producers and high-end crew and even the writer of the Location Guide and his son got to get into it! Also I learned that you could only get into the crew if you could provide something that the people of New Zeland couldn’t. At any rate since they are so close to filming The Hobbit that really makes me want to move to NZ just so I can be an Extra.  ._.’

So, Our first stop was The Hutt River or in the movie the River Anduin. This is the river where you see the fellowship paddling away in their Canoes and also where Aragorn washes up after being dragged off into the river by the Warg. Now, they did some movie trickery to make this work, filming Aragorn and Legolas going down river and Boromir up river. This put a “cliff” on both sides of where the fellowship was going down the river in order for the scene with the Kings of Stone guarding the river to look correct. The river was swelling with water and dark with agitated mud and sediment and stuff, but you can see where both scenes were done.

Next we went to Kaitoke Regional Park where scenes for Rivendell were filmed. Here they did they did the stairs up into Rivendell and Frodo’s bedroom while he had his stay in Rivendell. There was also a sign post giving the lines for a scene between Elrond and Gandalf concerning Gollum, and that scene was never seen in the movie itself. I took lots of pictures here because of the lovely looking backgrounds and scenery that was around. After we were done there we moved on to more exciting places.

Harcourt Park was where certain scenes for Isengard were done. There is a dark green ribbon of grass where they had taken out the grass and put in gravel for the scene where Gandalf was riding towards Saruman’s tower. Then they also had the part where Gandalf and Saruman are walking through the garden’s and talking and later on is The Orc Tree scene where orcs[or goblins which are actually the same but different heights & looks] are tearing down the trees to feed the furnaces. I am pleased to say that no real trees were cut down in the making of this film! They tailored an already dead tree to be fitted to a hinge so that they could pull it over and then put it back up again and such and I have pictures where they were doing that as well.

Next was an exclusive trip to Ferndale, which is privately owned land and only a few tour groups are allowed to take small numbers of people there. This is where Lothlorien scenes were filmed around a reasonably sized pond and creek. The bridge that was decorated for the elven scenes had been destroyed in a storm and been rebuilt later on. This is also where scenes from Gladden Fields were done. This is where Smeagol and Deagol found and fought over the one ring and went fishing and such. In that scene where Deagol was pulled out of the boat he actually had to jump, and to keep the boat from spinning around they had a diver holding the boat steady. The poor diver was bothered by the eels in the pond and soon quit for the later scenes.

Our last stop was Mt. Victoria where the legendary finding of the mushrooms and the Get off the road scenes were filmed. Since the place was steep and slippery I did my best to show the background of where they had the get off the road scene. This is also where our guide did a little trick photography to make me and my mother look like hobbits and then me really tall and my mother a hobbit and us shaking hands. 8D That was really awesome.

Last place we went was the Weta Caves Workshop. Unfortunately we didn’t get more than a very small museum/shop sort of place since they were using the rest of the warehouse getting ready for the Hobbit. At any rate we got to watch a 20 minute video on behind the scenes of the workshop and everything. I got a few books. The first was The Hobbit, Illustrated by Alan Lee and signed by him personally. The second was all three of the Lord of the Rings books in one and it has the battle for helms deep as the wrap around cover, spine and back cover picture. I also got pictures of all the swords of the fellow ship, Gollum, and Lurtz and Elvish armor and pretty cool looking collectable statue kinda figurines or whatever.

I got some pretty cool shots over all of these scenes and places and we got back to the boat with like minutes to spare!

Christchurch – Horseback Riding!

Okay so I go on my only Solo tour this entire trip! At any rate we went to this one farm where they took failed race horses off the track and saved them from going to slaughter. Once there they find out if the horses are suitable to trekking [trail riding] and train them accordingly. Ones that aren’t suitable to being ridden by different people every day are trained up in their manners and such and then sold on to responsible families. The ones that are Suitable to trekking are also trained up and spend their days trekking, lessons and even some jumping and showing and such. At any rate I got to ride a gelding named Nemo, off the tracker and very well mannered. We went on a loop past the quarry, along the river, along a grassy, tree trail and then back past the quarry and river and that’s where me and the other experienced riders broke off. We did some trotting along to warm the horses up and then made our way down to a grassy area where we did some cantering. Now, having ridden another off-the-tracker TB I can tell you I loved Nemo entirely. His trot was bumpy and fast but it was easy to pick up what lead he was on. I couldn’t sit his canter xD but that’s to be expected. I loved his speed though and he was quick to oblige my asking him to get going and he was obviously happy to take a quick stretch of his legs. At any rate we also got to go out into the shallows of the river and wade around and take pictures and then it was back around and through a few more trails and finally home where I got to take off his tack and brush him down and feed him –though it wasn’t needed of me- and then I had some hot chocolate and we headed back to the boat.

Dunedin – Island Tour

Here we drove around and did a few things and such and whatever. We got to see Baldwin Street which stands in the Guiness Book of World Records as being the steepest street in the world. We went by a few more Maori houses and had tea and lunch. Lunch was… okay… except for the fact that the tour guide automatically ordered BLT’s for everyone… >.<’ The bacon looked undercooked and it had large pieces of tomato, a little bit of lettuce and mayo and A1 steak sauce. I was grossed out and ate all the fries and a coke and my mom supplemented that with a hokey pokey ice cream cone =3. We went to a place where we got to see the Albatross and Seagulls nesting and flying around and then it was down to a place where we got to take 8 wheeled all-terrain vehicles down to where we got to see seals and then penguins. Now there weren’t many penguins just a few sitting on their eggs and a few wandering around the steeply sloped sides beyond the beach. Most of the penguins were out fishing. At any rate what we did get to see was exciting and then of course it was back to the boat in the nick of time and now I’m all done typing this up and posting it. *huffs and puffs*

Auckland!

Okay I have only a brief idea of where I want to start with our tour through Auckland!

And what’s up with all these invisible comments? I don’t bite, I promise =D

Anyway I had to get up at like six for this tour and breakfast warned of a terrible beginning to what I thought was going to turn out to be just as disappointing as some of the other ports… Well that was all thrown out the window the few minutes after I got seated on the bus. Auckland is beautiful, lit up beautifully and as sprawling as any big city.

Our tour guide and driver were very kind and explained everything –the bus driver had his right and left mixed up for the first half of the tour though x3- and did their best to keep us interested. Our First stop was actually an out of the way place with souvenirs. I nagged my mother into getting me ice cream called Hokey Pokey which was vanilla with honey comb [or as I later found out it was butterscotch] that was really REALLY good! –Despite the ingredients- and really creamy and melt-in-your mouth-ish 8D. –Like my hubby on a good day *insane giggle*-

Anyway after that break we went to The Kiwi Culture Show. It had a few people helping out backstage, but really it was a one man crew aided by his animals. We were shown how things were done when people first started settling on New Zeland including sheep herding and shearing demonstrations, the talents of a local pig, the appearance of a donkey and a few problematic chickens and at the very end there was a HUGE  steer/cow/whatever that I guess was being kept as a pet. Also on this guy’s farm land were four hotels, one was made out of a WWII bomber, one was made from a couple of old train cars, another from a 5-6 deck remodeled boat/ship of some kind and the last was made to look like a couple of Hobbit Holes, doors, grassy roofs and all!

After that was a drive to lunch at some small little place… Umm, I hated lunch, sixteen dollars for a tiny little piece of chicken and lots of pretty plates and odd tasting embellishments and such… Which I loved the chicken… but it made me think that even what little I did eat made me look like a glutton in comparison to this tiny portion of food. Anyway after that crappy deal we made our way over to the Waitomo[?] Glow Worm Caves where we were taken down and into the Caves and shown around and then there was an awfully short boat ride through the river parts that we could get to since the water was high from all the melting snow and stuff. Anyway the worms glowed in what seemed to be millions, and made for alike a sort of… strip of glowiness that kinda resembled the milky way… and kinda not… *shrug*  One of those things you’ll have to visit yourself to get a good idea of it. [Rant included later]

After that our tour guide admitted to forgetting the water he was supposed to bring so he decided to buy us all ice cream back at the same place we’d gone to before. My mum got Apricot and I got more Hokey Pokey *cuddles my new favorite ice cream* and that was that. I showed mom the poncho I really wanted. It was sheep wool and Opossum fur made into yarn and then made into the poncho and sweaters and shirts and stuff. Anyway it had Opossum fur lining the collar and down the front and it was really soft… and costs over 790$ NZ dollars. Now, for those of you who are Anti-Animal fur wearers and animal-rights activists Please be advised of the Opossum population issue on New Zeland. Opossum’s were introduced on the island by the Australians, since the natural predators Opossums have are lacking on New Zeland so their population spiraled out of control. Ironically the EXACT SAME Opossum is on the endangered list in Australia –which puts up the wonder why they just don’t capture wild opossum’s in NZ and move them to Australia O.o- At any rate it is expected of New Zelander’s to kill any Opossum they get their hands on in an effort to keep the population down. Now as I found out at the Kiwi Culture Show the Opossum’s here in NZ are REALLY different from those you find in America. They are either reddish brown or a lovely ash grey and they have really fuzzy tails, far from the black and gray/white, rat tailed things you find squished on the side of the highway or nosing through your trash back in America.

At any rate… After that we picked up a Chief of one of the many Maori[?] Tribes on the island. In turn we were taken to another Tribe and once there the entire group we were with went through the protocols of the tribe, being greeted, then we were judged for if we had come as friend or foe and once that was over we were treated to entertainment and people were brought up to participate in the dancing. After that we were treated to a really big dinner full of food cooked in an underground oven and it was delicious if a bit much. After that we were treated to a little information about Maori Culture and given a few stories before we were sent off with a few songs.

We got back to the boat about 9:00 and were finally on about fifteen minutes later. I pretty much fell asleep soon thereafter…

Now… When you see signs that say NO PHOTOGRAPHY, NO TOUCHING, NO SMOKING and your guide asks you to be quite you do what?

Umm… was that a flash from a camera? What in the world are you leaning on? And um… why can I hear you all the way at the front of the group? Yes, I caught all three of those, we –as a group- were politely asked not to take pictures, not to touch the rock and to keep ourselves quiet and guess what? A few couples didn’t follow those rules and even one couple was warned that if they continued their camera would be confiscated. -.-‘ Please, for the love of all you consider holy or right, if someone posts a rule it’s generally for a good reason and ought to be followed!

Any way I got a few choppy un-connected Ideas for really short stories so if anyone wants to know what they are I demand tribute! [lol not really, just comment!]

~ A Tired Missy

Off The Shoulders You Go!

After a few internet screw-up’s my net time as gone down from 30 minutes to a mere 10-15 per At-Sea day. I guess there are a lot of old people here that are trying to talk their way into free internet time, so the overall internet-manager for the ship is being strict on such internet based complaints. –Thanks to Mike for backing me up I managed to get some time back but not all of it.- There really hasn’t been much to do lately, their tiny little collection of movies has grown repetitive and it seems all they can book are cheap –and really crappy- comedians. I got to one of them a few days ago and all he was talking about were bad sex jokes. I’m getting tired of being around mostly old and aging couples, it seems all they know how to do around the younger generations is bicker and fight –with a few exceptions- and it’s really wearying.

Umm… I’ve run across the crappiest laptop/system/user combination in the entire world. It’s an upgraded version of my XPS for a very old couple and their near 50 son and the laptop itself seems really jacked up. It’s running 32-bit vista and with just an innocent brush of the touch pad can really screw the poor laptop up like you intentionally did it! –I.e. erasing files without meaning to and never asking the laptop to erase them in the first place and weird stuff like that.-

Then of course I had several people trying to get me to buy internet time for them. Now don’t freak just yet, no I didn’t buy any, I set them straight. I got 500 minutes for 175$ right? About 40 cents a minute that is. They thought that I could get them 100 minutes for 40 cents a minute and kept nagging me until I explained that NO, I CAN’T get them 100 minutes for 40 cents a minute. THEY can pay me 1.50$ per minute, or they can get their own internet. [Which ranges from 500-100 minutes & 175$-55$ accordingly with pay-as-you-go time being 75cents a minute] Finally they got that and left me the hell alone.

My hubby misses me terribly and so do I, I want to hide in his arms just ‘bout now…   ._.’

I wanna play world of warcraft, eat junk food and watch some actual news to add to everything else…

Fiji

Okay so this is short sorry, and I apologize for loosing track of what day it is 0o…

The Fiji tour sucked, terribly >.>’ I have no idea what my mother paid for it but it wasn’t worth the time or money spent. The bus driver was really fidgety and kept moving the bus all over the place, we got a glimpse at the “government” buildings and a stop at a museum that wasn’t half bad. Then we seemed to ride along in what seemed to be severe Colorado/New York New York-type/style rush hour traffic –at noon of all times- and the bus driver went in circles trying to drop us off at a souvenir store that really didn’t have much that was interesting or that we could take through Australia with us. So after that waste of time, me and mum went shopping on our own. I got to take a look at the market –much to my mother’s protest of “Why do you want to go look at fruits, vegetables and raw meat?” >.>’- which told me quite a bit, not much meat, lots of taro root and fresh veggies, mostly pineapple and papaya, LOADS of Bananas xD and plenty of fresh herbs [They’re capable of growing enough fresh food to sustain their families while bringing in extra money, there are lots of banana trees on the island, the pineapples are about the size of a large grapefruit]. At any rate I ended up bringing back four books, one on Fijian myths and legends, a Fijian dictionary, and two interesting novels for the trip back to san fran’ [which is like an all night flight, 8 or 9 hours I believe…] We decided to be bold and get two shells that were carved and painted very prettily and a few other things… All in all it all was good I guess x3 <3 ya peeps!

I think we’re up to Day 20? – Apia, Pago Pago & 2-in-1 Day!

Okay so we’re like… 2 miles from Apia in Western Samoa waiting for an oil tanker to leave from the spot that we’re supposed to be docking in. As –hopefully- you all know the Samoan islands were hit by a tsunami approximately a week or so ago back when we were in Hawaii. The ship I’m on, The Star Princess, has brought supplies of clean water, food, clothes, blankets, pillows among other necessities most of us back in the united states take for granted. They’ve also brought candy –for the kids, a little something good amongst all the destruction- and things like paper and pens and such along with much needed tourism. The Princess ship that was here yesterday has also brought such supplies and both ships are giving 10,000$ each to the Red Cross. The star princess has also auctioned off a navigational chart for this 30 day cruise that brought in an extra 1,450$ and the crew alone from the ship gave another 1,000$. There is a globe up at the purser’s desk-kinda like a help desk on the ship- that people have been putting money in and I dare say there’s quite a bit. The captain has even decided to allow relief workers, -such as those working with/for the red cross- the opportunity for a shower, clean clothes and a good meal –cooked up on the ship of course- which I think is probably much needed. I don’t know what we’ll see today, but I’ll do my best to get lots of pictures –hopefully ones that are more optimistic- and put them up for yall.

Okay well first things first that’s going through my mind, I’ll attempt to sort it out in a moment.

8D Yay for Samoa! Port Authorities have decided to give us a fire dancing show –perhaps in thanks that we showed up and got off and kept things normal as possible?- on the pier. That I’m looking forward to =D

._. I went sea turtle swimming… on accident. ^^;; There’s like this pond that the sea turtles stay in for most of the year where they’re safe and get feed by the locals… and I was attempting to pet one and… well I fell in. xD I startled the poor things away from their dinner of papaya fruit and got wet up to my hips but oh well… I got to pet a wild sea turtle! Mission accomplished!

We avoided the part of the island that has Tsunami damage. I guess it’s to the point where people are still clearing away the rubble and searching for loved ones and such. At least I know that help has been provided as much as possible. The rest of the island is faring well though and the people were friendly –and the children, most still at school, gave us waves and hellos!-

Soo…

Start of the tour took us to Robert Louis Stevenson’s mansion/villa called Villa Vailima. It’s since been turned into a museum after being handed through several different politics and finally ending up with Apia’s government who then made it what it is now. I got lots of pictures of this and of the hill that Robert was buried on and the start of the trail that leads up to his burial spot. Once we were done there we were off again and stopped at a mini-mart where I got some… interesting chips that look like cheetos but they’re called Yumy o’s and came in Cheese and Chicken Flavors… and a coke of course x3. At any rate we got headed on again and got to see a waterfall, lots of sightseeing around the island, Then we got to go see a Bahai Temple which was interesting. I guess there’s only 6 or 7 temples in the world devoted to this specific religion. I got a lot of reading material on it and a few pictures and some post cards and stuff but I haven’t looked at it all yet. Anyway after all that we went to a sort of a beach. There wasn’t much sand to be had, but there was clean water, fishies, tiny crabs, burgers and hot dogs and lots of hungry feral dogs wanting to eat our food. We paid up and headed back towards the boat. Our very last stop is where my “swim” with the sea turtles happened and from there we got to the boat, looked around and got on. The fire dance was mostly at the end and both me and my friend, Mike, got video of it so perhaps when I get back to the states I’ll make a youtube vid and let you all see it. Anyway I got to go help Mike do some stuff more tomorrow. =3

Okay so we went on our tour in Pago Pago and I ended up on a tour that took us around –and past funerals of all sorts and a bit of tsunami damage. As of yesterday there are bodies –and people- being looked for still. Our tour guide was only nineteen, but she gave us plenty of information about the damage and such and about the island. Our first stop was at the First Mission Monument which was the first church on the island after the missionaries landed. There was a funeral going on so we took pictures from afar and then checked out some tsunami damage right across the street. Then it was off to The Slippery Rocks… which was really what they were. Giant rocks along the coast that you could see where they had slid away from the cliffs and out into the ocean because of erosion, more of a picture site than anything particularly historic. The next place we went the tour guides and a few locals sang to the sea to see if they could get either a shark or a sea turtle to appear. I guess the short of the legend is that two women went to the village in that area, staid and instead of going back to their original village they dived into the sea and became the shark and the sea turtle or something like that. [Please correct me if I’m wrong] At any rate those of us staying out of the way off the really rough seas didn’t see anything but it was interesting to learn something of the island’s culture and legends and such. We got our tour guide to sing to us –again xD- by Hip hip hooraying for her lol. Then we went a few other scenic places including this small little stretch of soft white sand that was dominated by two large towering pillars of stone that were capped with lots of plant life and trees and things like that. They were named “Flower Pots” and have another legend connected with them that I don’t remember at this moment. At any rate I took pictures up until my camera batteries died so there are plenty I get to work on linking. I bought a few pretty looking sarongs in the market place and ended up with 33 bottles of varying sodas –after complaining that all mine had disappeared- that various people got me. -18 Barq’s RB’s, 12 Mug RB’s and I found three of my missing Cherry Cokes xD-

Now is the weird day, we cross the international date line at approximately 1:00PM ships time. So Today I have both October 11^th and October 12^th all crammed into one day xD At any rate I wasn’t able to sleep last night cause I noticed that I had a really bad sunburn on the left side of my neck –and a bit on my arms and shoulders but nothing that’s bad enough to be bothersome- and probably cause my mind was on everything and anything ><’ I’ll live I guess… I went and took pictures of the Pastry Buffet they had just outside of where I’m currently sitting and writing all this. The cheese Cake was REALLY good… and it looks like a wheel of cheese with a few mice sitting on it x3. They were gone when I got around to being able to take pictures unfortunately. I might have to go back for an entire slice soon… that was good ><’ Oh! And Mike has agreed to go with me on my LOTR tour 8D yay! Someone else who likes LOTR *happy dance* x3

Day 15 & 16 – Where did I go wrong?

Oo woah dude… I’m like missing two days along the line… *posts something Terribly short to make up for it* D:!

23rd-1

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Day 11,12,13 & 14 – Bora Bora, Pa-Pe-e-te & Mo-o-re-ah

Yeah I used the –I think- pronunciations of the three places as used by the natives for the title x3 just so you know. [they pronounce EVERY vowel so…]

Okay so…

Bora Bora was… just as it sounds, kinda boring. :S We had no scheduled tour so we decided to go to Bloody Marry’s –which was a restaurant I found out- and were told 20minutes… okay so we start walking, keep walking, 10 min, 20 min, 30 min… nothing in sight that even resembles a restaurant! So more walking 40 min, 50 min, an hour… getting closer… 1 hour and 12ish minutes and finally we arrive! Okay so I needed the exercise but my foot was hurting like a bitch afterward. ><’ [for those of you who don’t know; I had a torn tendon in my right foot, was in a sort of a boot/cast thingy for five weeks and needed –and still need- physical therapy] So all that walking really did a number on my poor foot… fortunately we got a ride back to the dock so that was all good. –or I would have made my poor mamma carry me back x3- The rest of the day was spent being lazy lol…

Papeete we went on a “circle island tour” which was really a loop tour that went to only a very few places and never even got around half the island. We saw a big waterfall that I got some great pictures of, lots of foresty and watery scenes for stock and such. We got to go to a “blow hole” which I guess was an underground cavern that sent up lots of water and mist every time a big wave hit the shore –I wasn’t particularly impressed sad to say- I got lots of pictures and stuff and we got back to the boat in plenty of time to wander and take pictures and such. There were a lot of loose dogs around and some were mighty friendly! We managed to find a place that sold internet for cheap so I managed to talk more with people and decided to wait till tonight to post my short trip info… -and sadly the pictures are still waiting to be juggled around so that I can post some ><’ sorry!- Oh! And we had Tahitian dancers come on board and sing, dance and play music for us and the theatre was PACKED! Lol my friend managed to get pictures and video from it though so perhaps I can make like a you-tube video or something for when I get back! X3 Also I have had the privilege of meeting, in person, the members of a band called Liquid Blue, and even have an autographed CD of theirs 8D. –and I have to admit, Lady Gaga comes in a dead last compared to Liquid Blue’s [Devonne sang lead I believe] cover of “Poker Face” *happy sigh*.-

Moorea was a LOT better! We went to several places including a Tiki Hut Theatre that gave us an insight on Tahitian tribal culture and came with Dance, music, dyeing, and fire dancing demonstrations and lots of colorful costumes and such. =3 Momma got me um… like the sarong sort of fabrics –they call them something different here but they’re much the same thing- with hibiscus flowers, one with hibiscus and dolphins and one that’s black and white with dolphins on it x3. Yay! Something I can just tie and go! –sure makes for easy ‘fresh-out-of-the-shower’ clothes *giggle*- After that was the island’s juice factory –and most of it was rum + something else- and not wanting a repeat of the beginning of the cruise I didn’t drink more than a sip of the juice I was given. We got to take pictures of a whole lot more places and such when the bus stopped and we got my dad a bottle of sand and stuff. We got back to the dock and looked around before heading back to the boat. My only complaint is that the tour guide was both tour guide and bus driver. First of all I couldn’t understand a single thing he was saying; second he was often with either one hand or none on the wheel of the bus. -.-‘Otherwise it was an awesome day!

And for my daddy and all non-believers “And no, I refuse to attempt to spell better c@ud3 1 dun th1nk u c0uld r3d nth1ng 1 typ13d 1f ! sp33l3d b3tt3r… =D” –not in the true nature of l33t/chatspeak but w/e you should get the point.-

Day back at Sea!

All in all? More. Fing. Water. >|

And I guess someone broke the only pool that my friend Mike can get into. The poor man’s ex-military and has so many problems that getting into a normal pool isn’t doable and the pool that he could get in and out of has um… like ramps or long sloping stairs instead of a ladder so it makes it easier to get in and out of. I guess some stupid old person broke it and it’s slowly being fixed and has been that way for quite a while from the sounds of it. I managed to fix his computer though :O yupyup! I fixed something for once! –that wasn’t personal/relationship problems ^^;; – and he’s happy! Now we get to brave the harsh reality of Windows Movie maker >.>’ –mostly so that he can get ALL of his hours and hours and hours of video into one long viedo- He wants to make a movie w/pictures for the group of ladies that he came with on the trip –keep in mind he’s 47 and the women all over 70 xD- but he’s not as tech savvy as he sounds… so… I’m like his tech support lol. Anyway it’s been fun so far… nothing really exciting though… naptime I guess… after my Logan[Wolverine]/Harley[Minx] intro for Fox is all typed up…

Days 7,8,9 & 10 – Sleep before the Storm!

Okay so these last few days have come and gone and they weren’t spectacular in any way really… we didn’t really go to many night shows or anything. I mostly slept most of the day cause of boredom and there were some minor things that either kept me off the internet or from doing something I wanted to do… umm… let’s see. Last night I watched X-Men Origins; Wolverine. That was pretty interesting, I personally enjoyed it since now I can play him with my friend Fox and not feel like a complete and utter fool xD. Umm today was rocky and the ship was pitching and rolling like a bucking bronco. We have like… Gale force winds combine with what looks like –to me, the one with bad depth perception- to be 12-24 foot swells. And that’s all working to the point where the water’s tossing the boat about even with the help of stabilizers and the thrusters and the engines and blah blah blah. You can see at some points that the back of the boat is being shoved sideways by the wind while the front of the boat has to turn into the waves. Thankfully if this carries on into the night I know of several people who have Dramamine[?] the little motion-sickness drugy thingy, so I can take that if I need it. I hope I won’t need it but… eh… and we’ve run through several storm areas as well, so it’s rained and shook the pools out of their um… pools xD so everything’s gotten wet and watery and blah blah blah, you get the point. Tomorrow I believe is Bora Bora and I don’t think me and my mom have anything planned… which may be for the best. I want to know what is going on in the other ports we’re going to visit cause of Samoa and American Samoa getting hit by the Tsunamis could affect weather our shore excursions are still on or have to be changed or whatever.

Day 5 & 6 – Aloha Hawaii!

Okay so the past two days before this have been spent first in Hilo Hawaii on the big Island Hawaii. We were originally supposed to go see waterfalls and then up to see the volcano. Instead we ended up going to the Macadamia nut plant they have there on the island. We got freshly roasted and salted samples of the nuts –and ohhh boy were they AWESOME!- Then it was off to the Volcano, we slowly climbed –me having to equalize my ears every 500-1000 feet or so ><’ – We were shown the steam vents but did not stop there, from there we were taken several spots. One was to the rim of the Caldera that had a giant steaming pit in the very middle of the crater that was in the middle of the caldera. –by the way a crater is any “hole” smaller than a mile across in diameter and a caldera is any Natural “Hole” two miles or larger in diameter.- I guess we weren’t allowed closer because the caldera was also putting out threatening levels of dangerous fumes. –And I honestly didn’t want to die xD- but we were also taken to several places where we could take pictures of hardened Pahoehoe and Ai-Ai lava right next to each other and I got some sweet stock photos 8D –and textures and blah blah blah- I have LOTS of pictures… unfortunately my laptop doesn’t seem to want to read my memory card so I can’t show them to you =( sorry. But we got back and then went to walmart x3 At walmart we got several 12-packs for most of the rest of the voyage until we can get to Newzeland. We also got more macadamia nuts lol and a few other things we’d been lacking. My Cherry Coke box decided to split in half on me >< but fortunately a few nice fellow cruise passengers lent me a few bags so all 12 cans got on board with little problem xD we went and saw a juggler who did some humorous jokes and made fun of the old people in the first few rows of the theatre lol. He was amusing –and ended up balancing and juggling ontop of a ladder on rocky seas. My applause to him!-

The next day we were in Lahina[Maui] Hawaii and we meet a friend at the dock… well before that it took nearly an hour longer than planned to even get off the boat -.-‘ the port authorities showed up late and only cleared the tourists with tour groups to get off at first, about 7:30 or later or something the rest of us were allowed to get off. Jacki, the friend, took us to her tiny –I mean she slept in the main room which was also the kitchen and computer room- house on the side of the mountains. I should have taken a picture of the view… but didn’t >.> I got distracted with free internet lol. At any rate I got to call my hubby and wish him happy birth-day and got to hear him rant about the government doing just as it does –screwing everyone over- and then I got to go up into the mountains along a road I later found out was called Hana[?] and I guess it’s something like 617 turns, 56 miles long and takes three hours to traverse… and in some parts it’s a single lane road with NO GUARDRAIL, overlooking STUNNING views of the island’s coastline. I wish I could have taken more pictures than I did, but the ones I got suffice for me =3 I’m happy! I got to learn a little of the Hawaiian language. I guess there was also a 6.2[?] earthquake over in Indonesia –I think- that ended up in a tsunami that wreaked havoc in Samoa so some of the shore excursions are either canceled or being re-done and people have died in other countries became of it –the tsunami and/or earthquake- and I’m saddened by that. Fortunately Hawaii only had a few inches to a foot higher tide than normal so there was no major damage to the islands. At any rate EVERYONE was supposed to be back on the ship by 4:00pm that day… well… because some of the tours were late getting out they were late getting back… and the lines were long and we had to take the life boats out to where the ship was and such we ended up finally leaving around 5:30-6:00ish. I got some… iffy pictures of the islands as we were sailing away but I was exhausted. We were going to watch a comedian… but at 7:50, 25 minutes before show time, we kinda… forgot and kept sleeping and missed both sittings lol… oh well…

As for miscellaneous news…

Last night was TERRIBLE! Why? Well think, you’re on a flat bed… and suddenly the head of your bed tilts 30 degrees up from the floor and thunks back down so violently that everything in your room creaks under the strain. Yup… that’s what it’s like to run INTO large waves and then land on “flat” water… lol… and it sounded like something large and heavy was BEATING against the hull of the ship >< Plus we’re over the bow end of the ship so that made it even more terrible… we were going at like… 21-22.5 knots an hour last night to make up for lost time in Hawaii.

Any way… -and I dunno weather to be proud or ashamed- but I believe I ended up getting tipsy the first sea day 0o. Why? Well I got a pina colada, asked SPECIFICALLY for a non-alcoholic one and my mom got one with Alcohol in it… and I think they ended up putting Alcohol in both… cause I got a nasty headache and could barely keep my balance and all the next day I was much the same, terrible headache and nasty time trying to keep my balance…. Yup… accidentally got both drunk –to a degree- and a mild hangover. *sighs* I haven’t had one since… *snuggles my root beer lovingly*

Okay well… since my computer is acting up you’re just going to have to grin and bear with it since there are no pictures to be had… >.> Sowwy!

Day 3 & 4 – Ramble

Okay so I have some short rants about the ship…

The first is there is a total lack of teens on this ship, most people are either 2-13 or over 21 and up. There’s like… no one that I’ve meet that even knows what lord of the rings is, let alone what world of warcraft, roleplaying or the internet is. >.> Old people need to expand their horizions… really… The entertainment is a mix between interesting and really, really boring. There are a few people around here that I particularly enjoy… but they aren’t entertainers. Nope, lol. My mother was bullying me about laying around all yesterday and It’s all “Dude, there is like… nothing that interests me on this ship at this current moment in time tyvm.” Lol I’m enjoying my vacation by being lazy! At any rate I’m enjoying myself and getting awfully confused xD I thought today, the 27th, was the day we were going to Hilo… but that’s tomorrow. I really haven’t gotten my sea legs yet and I guess that and the time changes are really doing a number on my body >< I fell asleep at 8:30ish local time last night and woke up at 3:00am this morning feeling ready to go… -.-‘ I made myself sleep till 8:40am lol  and then wandered. Then I got up and saw and did a few things which included a demonstration on fruit carving and such and the other was the art auction. And then of course I got cornered by Douglas, who’s the guy who did the island culture “lecture”, and we got to talking. He’s awesome x3. I gave him my blog/e-mail… mmm wandering thoughts… and I think I smell food cooking >< *wanders off so I can eat and post this later*