When I packed for Hawaii...I had no clue how famous my slippers would become on the ship. We packed extremely light because we did not check in any bags on the plane. Yes we carried them!!! Whoo whee how was I going to fit tennis shoes, 2 pairs of flip flops, my red high heels and my slippers?? Well I wore my tennis shoes and packed the others along with very few clothes. As my slippers were coupled over my red high heels they had no clue of their famous adventure!!! This is the story of SLIPPERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
As we arrived on Honolulu...Slippers was a happy girl!!! Though she was missing her babies terribly, she knew this would be a grand adventure!!! Mr. Slippers was also very excited as we haven't been on a vacation just the two of us since our honeymoon, about 7.5 years ago. Ahhh a cruise in Hawaii!!! What a treat for us. We were pretty tired from traveling all day, so we tucked in early sat night. Yes, I know, crazy huh!?!?! It's ok though I made up for it later...trust me...just keep reading!!! In all seriousness there are no words to describe the beauty of Hawaii and all that it beholds. Here I will log where we went but there are no words for me to describe its Hawaii and all the things we did.
Our first post was in Maui. We had 2 days there so we rented a convertible mustang (the car of Maui). Everywhere we looked it seemed almost everyone had a mustang convertible! It was silver and a lot of fun. The first day we went to Lahaina to snorkel in front of the Sheraton, on the recommendation a friend who lived there, so that’s what we did. We brought our own snorkel gear and set out; I swam out and snorkeled but the flippers were not my friend so I swam back to Mr. Slippers, took them off and then swam farther out. I always made sure I was around other people and it's a good thing too! I almost became one with the ocean! I got stuck in a current and pulling out of it I got tired so I swam to the corral where people were climbing to jump off. However, the current was so strong on the corral I had to call for help. By the time someone came over I was stable on the corral. He made sure I could get off of the corral and as I started to swim back to Mr. Slippers on shore my asthma started to kick in and I started to panic. Then I started to pray and I asked God for help to get me back. When I was swimming out it seemed everyone had a floatie, noodle etc. Do you think that anyone had one in my time of need??? Nope not a single floatie in sight! So I turned and saw a woman and I asked her if she was standing where she was and she said no and caught on that I was struggling. So she took my hand and helped me swim ashore. Her husband also came to help as he looked at his wife and thought "Wow she caught a big fish and then realized it wasn't a fish it was Slippers in distress!" So he helped. Yes I was a damsel in distress twice. It was very humbling but it did not discourage me in the slightest. I wanted to go back out but I didn't. Back at the ship I learned to Hula and we made a Paniolo (Hawaiian Cowboy) Bandana. Then we ate dinner and watched the Polynesia Show. We then headed to the comedy stylings of Tim Kaminski. He was hilarious but in the crowd was an older lady who was drunk as all get out and she would not keep quiet. He was handling it well...still handling it...still handling it...he couldn't do any of his show because of her, so security escorted her out. It was very um...interesting...the show must go on...so then he was able to get on with his show.
The second day in Maui we drove to the Haleakala Crater. We spent the day up there and it was amazing. We stood in the clouds and learned a lot by talking to the people who worked there. One of the people working there was very knowledgeable and we talked with her for a while. We took a lot of pictures and spent the day there. When we got back to the ship I took the Hula class again and we both made Kukui Nut Leis. We ate dinner at East Meets West (specialty restaurant) and then we saw the end of The Second City Showtime (dinner extended longer than expected). We then went to Bonkers for Bingo. This is where Slippers made her debut. One of the crew staff saw my slippers on my feet, happily sitting waiting for bingo and started to call me Slippers. It spread like wildfire and alas Slippers was born!!! We won the grand prize for Bonkers for Bingo and won a gift certificate for East Meets West.
Tuesday we were in Hilo. We did the Volcano and Rainbow Falls Excursion. We had a great guide (Captain Rob) who educated and entertained us with info and jokes while we saw the Kilauea and Mauna Loa Volcano’s. We also stopped at Rainbow Falls, Akatsuka Orchid Gardens and The Mauna Loa Macademia Nut Factory. We had a lot of fun at each of these places. Back at the ship I made a fresh Orchid lei (that I still have) and we ate at East Meets West (using our gift certificate), did a little Hawaiian Language 101, lost in the TV Trivia Challenge :( and then I judged Karaoke. I was the "Paula" and I was expecting a bunch of inebriated people with no talent!! What we got was an amazing American Idol. They were all sober and about 8/10 could sing really well. I mean really well...did I mention that these people could SING!!!!!!! It was awesome!!! Then we went to Tim Kaminski’s Comedy Session. Yes I laughed and laughed and laughed!! He said that I needed to come to all of his shows so that someone was laughing at his jokes!!! Haha..anyone out there can you hear me laughing???? Me at a comedy show...who would've thought!!!!
Wednesday we were in Kona and that was our kick back, become a lobster day! We headed to the beach to snorkel a little and just hang out. It may not seem like we did much but our days were packed off the ship and so many things to do on the ship we had a hard time picking what to do and when to squeeze in eating!!! So we hung out and hung out and saw turtles and hung out!!!! We were in the shade and though sun block was applied it was in fact ineffective!!!! Yes I showed up to Kona a translucent white haole and went back to the ship in a lobster!!! If you kiss me do I become a haole princess??? Back at the ship I made a Lauhala Ribbon Weave Lei. We ate lobster and saw the end of Oh What A Night (eating sure did interrupt our on ship entertainment!) Mr. Slippers then headed to bed and I went to the White Hot Dance Party. Because Norwegian is not a party cruise this is their one night to get down. Yes slippers danced the night away and pretty much closed down the party. Can you imagine me at a dance party? How could I refuse especially when the best DJ, DJ Dynasty, was there. He was awesome!!! Tim Kaminski was there in a rather um…interesting outfit paying penance for his cruel and usual punishment to the cruise director, Doug. Well the older female I talked about earlier showed up and was...well there are no words to describe what she was doing to Tim but it was...well....not for kids...let’s just say that!!! Though Tim did try to ask Slippers for help – really no one could save him from this lady! So anyway...back to Slippers...yes, Slippers danced and danced and danced!!!!
Thursday we were in Nawiliwili Kaua'I, where we kayaked in the Huleia National Wildlife Refuge. We kayaked to the rope that Harrison Ford swung on running away from the natives in Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Last Ark. We then hiked to 2 different waterfalls, the upper and lower discovery (or Jungle) falls. After we took a picture at the lower falls, across from the falls, we saw beautiful and extremely tall bamboo. We then went to the second water fall and we were able to swim in it. It felt good on my sunburn. Although I had applied Kukui Nut oil to it...it still hurt. So yes the cold water was very refreshing!!! During this excursion we saw from a distance where some movies were filmed including: Jurassic Park, Mighty Joe Young, Raiders of the Lost Ark, the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie, etc. Yes, Mr. Slippers was excited about this. When we returned I made a fresh flower hair pick and we headed to the Luau. We didn't pay for the preferred seating at the Luau, we were just hoping for a decent seat. While waiting to depart the Excursion Liason, that we had set up all of our excursions with, came over and handed us a paper with preferred seating. The day we kayaked he squeezed us in as there was only one spot available. Wow!! We were blessed by his generous acts of kindness this trip and in turn brought him some cookies. The Luau Kalamaku was voted best Luau in Hawaii 2009. It was very good and we really enjoyed it, however next time we want to have more traditional food as there wasn't as much traditional food as we would've liked. When we returned to the ship it was time to ‘dance with the stars.’ The Cruise staff were the stars and the passengers were the dancers. Well...do you think Slippers would do such a thing as this??? OF COURSE she did!!! The judges were the Cruise Director Doug, Second City performer Jen and Tim Kaminski. After each round there were 2 couples that were on the chopping block and the audience voted who was to get the boot. Slippers danced to many songs including ballet!!! Yes Slippers version, though noted that she has had some experience in ballet, was equated to the Sesame Street Ballet. Slippers also did her version of a cartwheel and many other fantablous moves!!! It was one of those...you had to be there...the judges did love Slippers. However...Slippers did get the boot...and she came in third place. In the losers lounge where all the losers were interviewed...we were in "Tim Kaminski's Room" ahhh.....let the comedy ring!!!! I convinced the host Andy to let me pretend to be the drunk older female that has made herself known to anyone who had the privilege to witness her charades!!! Oh boy...that lady...so he agreed and I did my bit...and boy did they crack up!!! The crew loved it and both comedians said that my act trumped their entire night of comedy that night! Honestly that was an honor to hear them say that. They are very funny comedians and very talented and for them to say that - was truly an humbling! I know that some of you may be surprised that I can act...right??? I mean all those years in high school where I was just a recluse paid off (oh wait that my husband’s the recluse)...we then ate at Cadillac Diner and headed to bed since we had an early excursion Friday morning. Trust me it was late.
Friday we did a Kauai Back roads 4x4 Adventure. Here we saw the Jurassic Park posts from the wooden gate that was in the movie along with the now field, but at the time where the lawyer got eaten off of the toilet and the area where the T-Rex escaped his pen. We also met Nicole our tour guide, who happened to live in La Mesa and Mira Mesa, so we reminisced a little. We also talked about the ghetto schools we had attended. Yep good ol Kearny (me) and Gompers (her). As we went on the hike (more of a nature walk) we ate off the plants on the side of the road and discussed the beautiful scenery. We went to canals that were so high neither of the guides had seen it that high, as the previous day it had been low. That's one of the amazing things about Hawaii, the different climates and the weather one day completely different than the next day. Kauai has the wettest spot on Earth, over 350 inches per year, which we went to. We also saw the desert on the Big Island and the Rain Forest on the Big Island. Ok…back to the Adventures of Slippers... We came back to the ship and I talked with Malu - she was one of the Hawaiian ambassadors on the ship. We got to know her and just love her. We had our final Hula rehearsal and then we went and played pool games. Now for those of you that have made it this far…CONGRATS!!! Wow thanks for sticking with me...I would like to announce that Mr. Slippers participated in the pool games. Yes one and all he sure did!!! We then saw the Na Pali coast. You can only get to it via helicopter, boat or backpacking. It has been the background for quite a few movies as well (backgrounds for Jurassic Park, and the beach where they filmed South Pacific). Mr. Slippers was very tired because Slippers had kept him up past his bedtime the night before, so he went and took a nap. Slippers went and ate dinner and then went to the Farewell Variety Show and the Kanikapila and Hula Graduation. At the Variety Show I finally got to see Murray. He was hilarious!! Mr. Slippers met up with me at my Hula graduation. We then went back to the room because there was a lull of activities on the ship and we fell asleep. We missed a show I wanted to see :( but we woke up and went to dance. (well Slippers went to dance and Mr. Slippers went to watch) and instead ended up talking to some of the crew. I absolutely loved the crew on this cruise. Jen (comedian from Second City) asked me if I had had any experience in theater. I asked does high school count?? She said yes and I said I had some directing experience as well, we chatted for a short while and then we headed to bed.
That night I got a letter from Jaclyn whom I had become friends with along with many other staff. She just wrote to me and said it was fun having me and to keep in touch. I ran into her sat morning before we disembarked, which was nice so I could say goodbye. Some other comments from the staff were a blessing to me. They said that people like me make their job worth it and that it makes it much more fun for them. It was funny because one of the bottle service staff would always say hi and call me Slippers. We even saw him in town when we had to buy a camera battery charger :(. He said even Slippers goes shopping!!! I saw him when I ate dinner alone and Mr. Slippers was napping and I finally asked him his name. Yep Patrick...thanks for always saying hi!!!! I loved that they called me Slippers!!! The passengers called me Slippers too. I'd be walking around or sit for a show and people would say hi Slippers or there's Slippers. I would in turn say where did you see me? And start up a conversation. Though I did talk to many people just to talk to them - I loved meeting all the people that I could, though not everyone I talked to called me Slippers. To all of the cruise staff and entertainers - you made the cruise a great experience for us and we are so thankful for meeting all of you!!! I do hope we meet again!!!! AAAALOOOOOOHHHAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
To my mom, my in-laws and my bff – thank you so much for taking care of my babies. We are so truly thankful to have you in our lives. No words can express our gratitude!
Im sure there will be more to add and I will as I remember it!!!
