My 'countries visited' map

Extreme Meeting!

MICHAEL MALONEY and PAIGE HEMMIS with Tiny Kona at LAX.
(she was a little star struck!)

Here's to some BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE!

I just HAD to get this post out, although nothing is in order any more...
Sorry, it's taken me some (seriously LOOONG) weeks to get back to you! I will catch you up a bit more later with what is going on, but I finally got a card reader and have my photos at my fingertips!

Here's the story.
The ship arrived at Long Beach about 7 a.m. on the 2nd of December. We glided into the berth and after getting very little sleep, I had breakfast and got all my stuff together to get off the ship (and there is ANOTHER post to tell you about WHY I was up all night...it's pretty EXCITING!).
Mom and I had transfers to the airport, but we ended up having to get on different busses because we were flying out from different terminals. Because of that, I didn't get to properly say bye to mom, so I told her I would come to her terminal after I checked in since my flight was a couple hours after hers.
I ended up checking in (thanks Southwest airlines, for flying 2 bags for FREE!) and rushed over to the terminal where mom was departing from. I was walking toward the security area past the check-in gates when lo and behold, I spied some CELEBRITIES! It was none other than Michael Maloney and Paige Hemmis from Etreme Makeover: Home Edition!

Of course, being at LAX, it was probably inevitable I would spy SOMEONE cool, but no matter, I spied these two beautiful people and just HAD to stop and introduce myself!!

I was talking a mile a minute (surprised?!) and they were both EXTREMELY nice and affable and seemed genuinely interested in my stories and even were kind enough to get their picture taken with Tiny Kona! (they actually even ASKED if they could get their photo taken with her and were glad to give me permission to use their likeness on my blog - woohoo!)

I promise to be back soon with more ports of call and other tales or random people stories.

I'm baaaaaack

Did you miss me? I'm sure you did - and I missed YOU! I am home, safe and sound, in Maui. I have SO MUCH to tell you, too!
I will eventually tell you about -including photos- all the ports I went to since the last post - including Hawaii! I will also add some of my adventures in Arizona where I spent the entire month of December - new babies and grandchildren, friends, family, Christmas trees, presents, food, food and more food!
I wish all of you, my BELOVED blog followers, a very happy new year - and new DECADE!
HAU'OLI MAKAHIKI HAU!!

Tiny Kona says: wait till you see who I met at LAX!!!

DUNEDIN

Dunedin was such a special little town. We got off the ship and went to the 'iSite' to figure out what to do. We signed up for a tour, and it turned out perfectly as we were the only people signed up for that time (me, mom and TK). The pictures explain many of the things we saw, but I will tell you a little about Dunedin. It is actually a little college town- and any of you who are thankful for healthy teeth can thank this little place since it's the birthplace of modern dentistry education. I think that is one neat piece of trivia! Enjoy the photos and explanations...

This is the steepest street in the world. Look it up. It's true. It's called Baldwin Street and here are some fun facts:
Since 2002, a further charity event has been held annually in July, which involves the rolling of over 30,000 Jaffas (spherical candy-coated chocolate sweets). Each jaffa is sponsored by one person, with prizes to the winner and funds raised going to charity. ( I didn't buy a jaffa, but wanted to).
They also have a footrace to to top and back down again, every summer, called the 'Gutbuster'!
A cottage built in the 1800's by a stone mason with 'scrap' stones he saved over many years of working in the quarries. He put odd stones aside to one day build his retirement cottage. If you look closely you can see the aren't uniform in size.
One of the many cool buildings in the 'Octagon', which is basically the town square.
The lighthouse as we head out of the harbor. Albatross were flying everywhere and I was SOOOOO cold out on the deck!
Cruising out of the harbor. It was actually pretty long and narrow, with the town situated at the end.
The new rugby stadium being built. I saw the other stadium that they are playing in, very cool but no chance to get a photo. As you know, rugby is the national sport of NZ. They are know as the 'All Blacks'. In contrast, the soccer league is known as the 'All Whites'.
Up on that hill again, looking out towards the hills. It's too bad you can't see the sheep that were scattered here and there.
This monument was at the top of that same hill. It was the only actual stop we made on the bus tour we took.

I know it says I'm in Dunedin, New Zealand, but I really and truly think I have been transported to SCOTLAND!

TINY KONA'S TRUISM of the Day...If it's not Scottish, it's CRAP!

New Zealand

Also known as 'KIWI land', I have a whole week of posts I need to get organized - serious stuff, my friends! I am doing my best (and just look at what I am working with-namely my whacky self) and will hopefully spit one or two posts out each day.
Anyway, here is a point of trivia about New Zealand, that may give you a chuckle...
There are about 4 million people living in these islands... and about 400 million sheep!
Here's my tribute to the sheep... Awww, so soft and cuddly and cute..

Makes ya just wanna put that nice wool sweater on...

TINY KONA'S TRUSIM of the Day...400 M sheep? That's a lotta lambchops...

That's entertainment/ Part IV (i think)

More entertainers have been filling our evenings with music, laughter and enjoyment. Here are of few of my favorites... Radim Zenkyl.

Mandolin virtuoso in addition to playing a myriad of flutes. I'm sure you have never heard of most of them since they are from eastern European mountain ranges or remote island jungles. That's what makes it so cool, since Radim has a passion for learning all types of flutage (is that EVEN a word?!) This guy is musically gifted, of course, but also has an interesting life story - escaping from Czechoslavakia as a young adult, winning the U.S mandolin 'champion' award a few years later, speaking 5 languages and even having a talent in trick roping! A sweet guy that was a joy to listen to (and watch) and I hope to see him when he performs in Hawaii. A funny sidenote - he knew where mom lived, her little town in northern California is a place he has played at a couple of times! Small world...

This is 'Black Tie'.(L to R: Susie, Yuri, Valerie and Constatine)

Hard to describe this quartet of talent. Constatine is married to Susie. She plays cello and he sings opera. Yuri is 'Con's' brother - he's also a singer and the comic relief. He is married to Valerie, a most awesome pianist. They are a conglomerate of Greek/Russian/Aussie and Sri Lankan goodness! ( I won't get into their genealogy here, but with such varied cultures coming together, it was a blend of happy musical delight. What a fun and entertaining, not to mention extremely talented, bunch. And Yuri was SO FUNNY as 'Patsy', I am still laughing at the mere thought of it! (think Monty Python). I hope to see them again one day, in the capacity of their musical performance, for sure, but just as much as the nice people they truly are.

I can't remember these guys' names. Was it the 'Uncommon Boys'? Maybe the 'Unstoppable Boys', or the 'Unremarkable Boys' - no, that wasn't it! It was 'Un (something) Boys' and they were AWESOME! Very entertaining and their voices harmonized incredibly! They did one show that was a take-off of 'Jersey Boys' (that's the Broadway musical about Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons). It was the BEST! The second show they did a Les Mis song that brought me to tears because of their incredible voices.

Then there's Willie Tyler and Lester.

The photo I took didn't turn out (dead batteries didn't help), but there's a story I will tell you about this entertainer. The name may actually ring a bell with you, as they have performed for years on TV, etc. Willie is a ventriloquist and Lester is his 'pal'. The show was entertaining, then, of course, there needs to be some audience participation. I get chosen to come up on stage and put my forearms through holes at the back shoulder seams of a jacket - becoming Lester's arms (yes, that would be the dummy). I had to do the usual crazy arm motions that would accompany this kind of schtick. It was pretty fun actually, and after the show people came up to me, asking if I was a 'plant'. I guess I'm just THAT talented, BWAHAHAHA! I'm sure you can look them up on-line to see if there is any familiarity, or to see how normal my hands would look at the end of Lester's sleeves! I think Tiny Kona would have done an excellent job had she been available. Oh, and just for your amusement, the photo I TRIED to take was Willie holding Lester and Lester holding TK, like she was HIS dummy. Too bad the picture didn't turn out because the premise was funny...

TINY KONA'S TRUISM of the DAY... They were called the 'UNEXPECTED BOYS' (you twit)

Towel Animals

I'm thinking this is a rabbit...

A hanging monkey

Aw, Dumbo...

A stingray!

Our cabin stewards are so good at making animals out of towels. I think they are pretty talented, as you can see from these examples.

TINY KONA'S TRUISM of the Day...It's fun to have someone to talk to-on my level.