Day 67 to 70 17th to 20th March 2011

A few issues at this end have stopped me from blogging but everything is fine now so recommencing with this catch up blog covering the last few days.

Currently we are sailing from Honolulu to San Francisco and are due to arrive on 24^th March. The weather is a touch windy with the passage being rougher of the last few days than since we left Southampton. Although today it has settled down a good deal. Tonight we planned to eat in the Pennant Grill which is an open air restaurant on the rear of the ship but this is obviously a poor choice if the weather is bad. We will need to wait and see.  Happiness is also that they are showing a recording of the Sunderland versus Liverpool match at 4.30 today assuming satellite links are working.

Yesterday we were in Honolulu and took the shuttle bus into the main shopping area where we had lunch in Bubba Gumb’s Scrimp restaurant. This was typically American with blindingly fast service, lots of noise and local people eating colossal meals. After lunch we walked down to Waikiki beach which was about 15 minutes away and saw Diamond Head, the extinct volcano. The beach was miles of white sands with lots of families having a day out. Inland from the beach are a row of 5 star hotels. It was a pleasant day for walking with some cloud keeping the intense heat at bay. We got an extra few hours in Honolulu since the ship needed to refuel.

We now have several days at sea on the last leg of crossing the pacific. After San Francisco we travel south to Mexico and through the Panama Canal before the final crossing of the Atlantic. It feels like we will soon be home and the trip has raced by.