In my last message, I mentioned that I had been told by more than one passenger that there was a lady who lived full-time on the Amsterdam.

Last night as I was heading toward our stateroom, I saw her! I had just approached the elevators when an elderly, but apparently spry, lady admonished an employee to get off the elevator so she could get
on. Well, in all fairness, the young man was already getting off. He was pushing a cart bearing a few bottles of beer. This rather bossy passenger went on to announce that beer was not good for people. After the woman was spirited away by the elevator, the young employee confirmed for me that the outspoken lady was “Dolly.” He added in a lighthearted fashion “She thinks she owns the ship.”

I promised that I would tell about our Hilo adventure and have been procrastinating in doing so because it was not what most readers would expect that Mary and I would have done. Because of work being done on the diesel generator none of the elevators were running. Our disembarkation was delayed for a couple of hours. By that time, the “Lido” was serving lunch. (There are two main sources of food, the
dining room which is a ‘sit down and be served situation’ and the Lido which is more like a huge buffet.) Mary had the man behind the sandwich counter make her a sandwich while I helped myself to a ready-made sandwich already packaged to go. Mary packed her specially made sandwich in a carry case she had purchased a few days earlier. I put my sandwich in the complimentary tote bag provided by the cruise line. The tote bag proclaims “Holland America Line SAVOR THE JOURNEY”.

Finally, it was time for our shore adventure! Hilo is a town located on the actual island named ‘Hawaii’ which is also referred to as the ‘Big Island.’ Holland America had arranged thirteen official shore
excursions for passengers to experience the beauty of the island and to observe volcanic activity. We had not signed up for any of these tours. When we got off the ship we immediately boarded an
exceptionally nice bus. The bus took us directly to Wal-Mart. Yes, I said Wal-Mart.

We went to Wal-Mart because Mary wanted to purchase more minutes for her cell phone. I went along for the ride but it was a good thing I did because, unlike Wal-Marts on the mainland, in Hawaii customers must load the minutes themselves. Wow! I was technologically more adept than Mary. Even though I had never loaded minutes on a cell phone before, with only a moderate amount of coaching, I was able to install 120 minutes on Mary’s phone. In case any of you have such an opportunity, you purchase a card which is a cross between a credit card and a lottery ticket. You scrape off the coating which reveals a string of numbers which you then input into the phone and the minutes are loaded.

Mary and I both appreciated the fact that although Hawaii is many miles away from San Diego, our cell phones worked there. After we had accomplished our electronic mission, we went on to other things. Mary thought she might find a bathing suit that she would like more than the one she had brought from home. Our efforts were futile in this regard but it was an interesting learning experience.

We both assumed, incorrectly, that Hawaii would have a year-round bathing suit season. The sales woman explained there was a small supply because the season was over. I bet the high-end shops had a
generous inventory of bathing suits but not Wal-Mart.

I could not find any difference between the Hilo store and the ones in San Diego. The reason it has taken me a while to write about our Wal-mart excursion is that it struck me as bizarre to go so far to visit a place which was virtually identical to the one close to my home. Really, I would be hard pressed to explain this if I did not reflect on the ‘Signature’ shops onboard our ship.

I have to admit that I am not what you would call a “high-end” shopper. The write-up for one shop tells me “Find one-of-a kind treasures at Mirabella, a luxury jewelry boutique featuring high-end watches and pieces from noted designers.” There is also a photo gallery which also has a studio where passengers may pose for portraits. There are a variety of shops located on the fifth deck or “Upper Promenade.” Besides jewelry, one may purchase souvenirs, clothing, perfume, liquor, beauty supplies and shiny statues of wild animals. There is one very small section of the liquor shop dedicated to what passengers may have forgotten to pack. I think this is why many of the passengers went directly to Wal-Mart. I was told items sold on the ship cost twice as much as on shore. This turned out to be true. I realized that we needed a little clock in our room. I found the ideal one for $9.99 with the sundries at the liquor shop on board. A woman at dinner last night bragged that she replaced her favorite, but broken, clock with one at Wal-Mart for $5.00.

Remember the sandwiches Mary and I brought on our shore excursion? We ate them in the Mc Donald’s at Wal-Mart. Mary likes the coffee there. Somehow I found this luncheon kind of amusing.

Here is a thought about the volcano excursions. When I was six years old, I saw a documentary on television about volcanoes and it created my fear of volcanoes. At the time, we lived in Ventura and I was convinced the mountain behind our house might erupt at any time. I did not know the right word for volcanoes and called them “bull cannons.” It was understandable that my parents could not reassure me on this fear since they did not know what I was talking about. Maybe it was just as well I went on the Wal-Mart excursion.

Something interesting happened as we awaited the bus to return to our ship. I struck up a conversation with an elderly lady who was sitting on the bench next to me. She told me that she had been in Hilo since 1957. I told her that it was my understanding that tourists would take pieces of lava home as souvenirs but this has been discontinued. The woman told me to do that would bring bad luck. She then told me she was living in paradise. I wanted to tell her she was wrong because I live in San Diego which is PARADISE. I restrained myself.

Editor’s Note from Bonita: Helen just crossed the International Date Line, having sailed from Hilo, Hawaii to Honolulu, Oahu. She has been at sea since January 28 on her way to Majuro, Marshall Islands