Land!!

After being at sea for six days, we finally reached our first port… and it was beautiful! I woke up at 4:00am, to the sound of my vibrating cell phone, letting me know we must be close to land. After that, I was so excited, I couldn’t go back to sleep. So, I got up around 5:00am and joined a bunch of students and staff out on the back deck, waiting for the sun to rise over the ocean, and be the first ones to see Hawaii. My camera was having a good day, so I even got a few pictures. Everyone was so excited to get to Hawaii, and it was certainly worth getting up early to see.

After a rather grueling debarkation process, I was ready to hit the town in search of a new camera. Luckily for me, I made friends with the photographer and hooked up with him and another new friend, the video editor, who was also in search of a new camera. I know nothing about gadgets, so I needed them to help me out. ;) Plus, these are two of the most entertaining people on the ship, so I knew I’d have a good time.

Mission accomplished. We got the cameras, and next on the list was a shave ice and a swim in the clear blue waters of Oahu. We found a nice little quiet area where mostly locals were hanging out with their families. It was nice to get away from the crowds, and it felt so good to finally be in the water. It reminded me yet again how lucky I am.

Since we only had one day in Hawaii, we had a lot we wanted to do. Next up was lunch at a great little Hawaiian burger joint (I had the mahi-mahi sandwich) which was amazing. I thought the food on the ship was good, but maybe that’s because I’ve gotten used to it, and we have no other choice! This was delicious! After that we strolled through downtown Waikiki and the International Market (lots of memories with Kat there, really miss you, Kat!), and finally met up with our SAS friends (the other RD’s), for another plunge into the sea, and some body boarding and surfing. It was so relaxing…… I don’t think any of us wanted to leave.

But, alas, we had to come back to the ship (really crazy story, actually we were almost late, trying to hail a cab in the rain, which is illegal to do in Hawaii, but thank God a nice cab driver took pity on our poor souls and picked us up – was kinda stressful there for awhile). Finally, we made it back to the ship just in time to greet all the students returning from their one day in port (many of whom were quite drunk and/or trying to smuggle alcohol in water bottles, but that’s another story that I’ll save to tell when I get home)

Now, we’re back on ship for another 9 days before we get to Kobe, Japan. Funny that 9 days doesn’t sound so long right now. I guess the little stop in Honolulu held us over. Or maybe the ship is finally starting to feel like home. :)