Tuesday Night Update ~~ March 2

Tuesday Mid-Day/Evening Update ~ March 2

PRINTED IN OUR TUESDAY MORNING “PRINCESS PATTER” FROM THE NAVIGATOR: On Monday morning, due to an extended low pressure system in the north Pacific moving East towards the west coast of the United States, our course was altered to the South West to minimize the rolling and pitching movements caused by adverse weather conditions. Then throughout the day on Monday, as soon as the atmospheric pressure rose, the wind and swell reduced. Golden Princess resumed her west south westerly track towards the Hawaiian islands navigating in deep waters with a depth of 5000 meters (15,240) feet. On Monday afternoon we passed over what is called “Fracture Zones.” These zones are characterized by rugged escarpments, great seamounts, and very deep trenches which are caused by friction created when the tectonic plates that comprise of the Latin’s crust move against each other. Occasionally these plates move against each other generating submarine volcanoes. Interestingly, the Hawaiian Islands themselves are exposed peaks of a great chain of dormant or active volcanoes.

As of 5:00 p.m. PST on Tuesday Evening: Our sailing trip has gone as follows:
Distance sailed from LA since Sunday evening: 928 miles
Remaining distance to Hilo (arriving on Friday morning): 1,217 miles

Funny Anecdote: I was on the balcony at one point today when all of a sudden I heard a lady next-door (I had never seen nor heard a neighbor up to that point) yell out: “Look at the WHALES!!!!!!!!!!” I was sitting in my deck chair but popped up to look over the railing and then yelled, “Where’s a whale?” She stuck her head over the railing and around the corner to say, “SWELLS. Look at the swells!” (My family and close friends will “appreciate” my faux pas.)

Tuesday Update:
We have had a real good day on the ship. Here’s a run down of what has filled our hours:

6:00 a.m. Woke up and got ready for our day.

7:00 a.m. We left our stateroom to grab a light breakfast at the Horizon Buffet. It is located on our deck and is so convenient. I ate one small banana pancake, one small Belgian waffle, and an assortment of fresh fruit. It was delicious!

We returned to our room after breakfast. Richard got online and downloaded my emails so I can read them and answer them offline. (Feel free to email us a note. We are enjoying hearing from family and friends back home. Long4heaven@cox.net. While online, I was also able to post an update on the blog. I have pics to share but need to figure out how to resize them so I can post them faster and so when enlarged for viewing, they aren’t too large. (Thanks to Robin for the tips she shared and to Richard who helped me to figure out how to do it!)

8:30 a.m. We went to the Princess Theater to get a good seat for the lecture we wanted to attend. It turned out that we were the first ones in the theater and we got great mid-theater seas in the center section. A woman came in and began top set up her camera equipment to video the lecture. I figured she works for the ship. While Richard was out to get our coke cups filled, the lecture speaker, John Maxtone-Graham, came in and came over to speak to the woman photographer. When they were finished talking, I asked Mr. Graham if I could take a picture of him. He asked that I give my camera to the photographer and let her snap a pic of us together. So, that’s what we did. If you see a pic of me with a strange man, it is that picture. He was so very gracious.

Just before the lecture was to begin, a man came in and joined the lady photographer with a camera of his own. Early on in the lecture, Mr. Graham noted that his son and daughter-in-law were in attendance and were videoing the event. That’s who our “neighbors” were in our row. We chatted with the son after the lecture. His name is Ian. He and his wife reside in LA. He was so very cordial and asked us our names and called us by name. Very well bred if you know what I mean.



Mr. Graham gave a wonderful lecture entitled, “TITANIC SURVIVOR.” He shared some griping tales about that incredible “night to remember” stories. Back in the 60’s and 70’s, he interviewed three survivors of the Titanic; 2 crew members and one passenger. The passenger was Edith Rosenbaum (who later married and became a Russell.) She had never been interviewed before and was thrilled to share her remembered experience with Mr. Graham.

He also talked about Violet Jessup, a “stewardess” on the ship whom he interviewed in 1970. Her story also was amazing. And he told the Titanic story of James Bissett. I want to look up each of these on the internet to see what I can learn.

10:00 a.m. The Captain came on over the ship’s system to update us on the weather. He said that since last night, our weather isn’t quite as dynamic and that we are back on our scheduled course but that there are still some large swells and to use caution when moving about the ship. We are sitting in the theater so aren’t bothered with the rolling of the ship.

10:05 a.m. We attended the cruise director’s seminar on Island Oahu and the city of Honolulu in particular since that will be our Saturday port of call. It was very informative and interesting. We didn’t get out of there in time to go watch the fruit and veggies carved and the flower arrangement demonstration. No big deal.

11:00 a.m. We caught an early and light lunch so that we can enjoy afternoon at 4:00 this afternoon. We will attend the formal dinner this evening probably at 7:00.

12:00 Noon The sun is glorious this afternoon so we sat out on the upper deck of the pool and soaked some up some rays while basking in the warm sunshine. The Captain came on to update us on the weather. It is 68 degrees and we are experiencing 30’ swells. We feel them, especially when walking, but they haven’t made us feel bad in the least. We thank the Lord for blessing us with folks who are praying for us and for the wonderful medicine called Dramamine. The captain said we have some 1350 miles to go before we reach Hilo on Friday. Thankfully, we are thoroughly enjoying the long voyage. (We are traveling at about 25 miles per hour. Doesn’t that sound every so slow? It’s not as slow on water as it is on land!)

1:30 p.m. We have been running around since we got up at 6:00 a.m. so are in our cabin for a bit of rest time.

2:00 p.m. Rest time didn’t last long as we remembered that we wanted to attend the Naturalist’s talk about the Hawaiian volcanoes. It was very interesting. The “Ball Room Dance Class” was next on the agenda in that area so we stayed put and watched some two dozen couples learn to do the Cha-Cha. I was tempted to ask Richard to go up there with me, but GRACIOUS… I have enough trouble walking without tripping on my own two feet so decided I had better leave well enough alone. We enjoyed watching from the peanut gallery.

3:30 p.m. We went to “Afternoon Tea” and had a delightful conversation with a sweet little couple from Wisconsin. Tom is a retired Lawyer and Kit is a retired real estate agent. They were both married for many years to their first spouses who passed away. They met and have been married for 10 years. They were as cute as could be and we enjoyed their company. We were the last 4 people to leave “Afternoon Tea.”

4:30 p.m. We stopped by the gift shop and then came on back to our cabin to rest a bit before the formal dinner at 7:00. Afterwards, we are going to one of the lounges to hear a “virtuoso” musician. You’ll never guess what instrument. Harmonica? Doesn’t that sound delightful? If we don’t like it, we can always leave and “come home” early.

5:30 p.m. We are back in our room catching up on Fox News (Richard), typing emails and blog entries (Susan), and resting a bit before we get all dressed up for our formal Captain’s Dinner at 7:00.

PRAYER REQUEST: I had an opportunity to witness to a 76-year-old lady (JANET) and her 55-year-old daughter (SADIA) from England. The Lord opened the door so that I was able to ask if they had assurance of Heaven were they to die tonight. They both said “no.” I began to witness the gospel to them. They were very resistant to it because Sadia came down with Chron’s Disease at age 9 and has had a very difficult life with her physical problems. They both blame God for Sadia’s illness and can’t get past the fact that HE let her, as a little girl, be so sick and to suffer so much for all of these years. Anyway, I haven’t seen them again but would appreciate your prayers for them that someone would come along and witness to them when their hearts would be receptive to hear the truth of the gospel and to receive Christ.

7:00 p.m. We have determined that we aren’t hungry so aren’t going to dress up for dinner tonight and are going to hang out in our room. This will help to off-set the scones we had with our tea this afternoon. Signing off for today!