Tag: Cruise Ship
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Good-bye Cook Islands, next stop the Island Nation of…
Our next stop is visible on the included map. The map shows Samoa, Tonga and the Cook Islands, all of which we have visited, as well as marking our path towards our next port of call. We are headed East / North East. We have several stops planned at various ports that are in the…
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Flat Stanley and Flat Hal tried to find a $3 note and a $2 coin in the Cook Islands
The Cook Islands have their own currency. However, they also accept the New Zealand dollar at a 1 to 1 exchange rate, or equal value, and the New Zealand dollar felt like it was the currency most people were using. As a result, trying to get a Cook Islands $3 note (otherwise known as a…
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Avarua, so many flowers to see as we walked this peaceful community’s streets
Our ship arrived in Avarua on a Sunday. The majority of businesses were closed, and families were enjoying the day together, relaxing, swimming at the beach, enjoy ice cream, and generally seeming minimally aware nearly 2,000 people had come to see their island home. Avarua, Rarotonga, Cook Islands… everywhere we turned there were more flowers,…
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Avatiu, Rarotonga, Cook Islands – A relaxing community to walk around and enjoy the tropical sunshine
Flat Stanley and Flat Hal might not worry much about sunburns, but they travel with someone who does. Today we spent a lot of time finding shade as we walked beneath a powerful mid-day sun to see what this charming community had to offer. We found incredibly kind locals, children swimming, playing and enjoying ice…
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Aitutaki Flowers — a rose by any other name… is just as pretty
Do you recognize the quote I was inspired by? Can you get it right, & know who wrote it? Flat Stanley and Flat Hal have taught me a LOT about birds and flowers this trip. Among other things, the way I look at the world around me is changing. I look up in to the…
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The birds of Aitutaki- at least the ones our cameras saw
Flat Stanley and Flat Hal have seen the Common Myna bird so many times now that he just barely rated a picture, and not a pretty pose to share in our journal with friends. The Pacific Plover is one we are still learning to recognize, so he got a photo, along with new-to-us (though similar…
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Aitutaki… The Cook Islands, did you guess this island nation was our next stop?
Flat Stanley and Flat Hal had a fantastic time at their first stop in The Cook Islands. The water here is amazing, it is different colors based on the depth, if there are coral reefs beneath the water, etc, so it has a variety of colors spread out in an amazing display. The population of…
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Tonga is behind the flat fellas, where to next?
Flat Stanley and Flat Hal have been to the Hawaiian Islands, American Samoa, Fiji and Tonga. Where to next? They are staying in the South Pacific, north of the Tropic of Capricorn… and (unsurprisingly) headed for another island. Where do you think the next stop might be? It only seems fair to give a hint: Vava’u, Tonga…
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Part of traveling is embracing unexpected changes in plans
It is very rare for everything on a trip to go the way it was planned. Whether a flight is delayed, a port is missed, or the ship needs to stay longer than planned in a port for one reason or another, part of traveling is learning how to roll with these unexpected changes. Some travelers…
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Vava’u, Tonga shared their culture and community with Flat Stanley and Flat Hal
Many of the ports Flat Stanley and Flat Hal have visited on their cruise have welcomed the passengers with local music, dance, residents in native dress sharing a glimpse of a life different than ours back home and taking time to talk with us and make us feel not just welcome in their community, but…
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Savusavu Fiji turned in to a day of rainbows for Flat Stanley and Flat Hal
The day started with a rainbow peeking out amidst the sunrise, and ended with a huge rainbow ending in our wake. To some we may have looked like the cruise ship at the end of the rainbow. In between, a rainbow appeared between our ship and one of the islands we were anchored off of —…
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Savusavu, Fiji — even on rainy and foggy days there are new discoveries to be made
Flat Stanley and Flat Hal started their day in Savusavu, Fiji before the ship arrived by seeing the sunrise— but that glimpse of a rainbow above Flat Hal was a warning of rain to come, not just a celebration of the rain that had already fallen. Since the flat fellas don’t do well in water…
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Lautoka, Fiji – where trees can survive in salty water, and Flat Stanley and Flat Hal visited the Western Regional Library
The flat fellas stopped in at the Library and dropped off a copy of Flat Stanley’s original book along with an explanation of the Flat Stanley project, and Flat Hal’s url FlatHal.xyz so they can catch up online… and start following along on the adventures. These two guys have traveled a long distance together. They’ve…
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Samoa and American Samoa are on different sides on the International Date Line.
Samoa is on the same side as Australia and New Zealand. America Samoa is on the ‘other side’ with Hawaii and the rest of the United States. Have you traveled somewhere and changed your clocks because you crossed in to another time zone? Imagine, instead of moving the time just one hour or two,…
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Our Flat Friends toured the bridge of the cruise ship!
Flat Stanley, Flat Halena and Flat Hal toured the ship’s bridge together! The view from the starboard wing of the bridge (the wing extends out past the rest of the ship so the Officers on the bridge can see the pier as we tie up. Don’t worry, the officers turned off the controls before letting…
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Halloween At Sea — the ship is not haunted, but the passengers get up to tricks & treats
Flat Stanley didn’t pack a costume, so he borrowed one of Flat Hal’s shirts and dressed up as him, and Flat Hal dressed up as Flat Stanley! Halloween at sea varies by ship, and passenger. Some decorate, some passengers offer candy at the doors for trick or treaters, and many people bring costumes with them…
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Nawiliwili, Kauai – flowers and birds
Flat Hal and Flat Stanley went in to my backpack and my camera (as opposed to my cellphone) came out, and I started taking pictures of flowers and birds. Often, when I travel, I get to see flowers and birds that don’t grow or live near my home. (These are Plumeria for example) This is…
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Hawaii!
Did you figure out our first stop was going to be Hawaii? There are websites where you can follow the daily progress of a cruise ship. This is one way my friends and family can “follow along” when I travel. In this second map you can see the Hawaiian Islands, and San Diego… we had…
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Sea Day! A fun way to spend a day traveling
Flat Stanley has bumped in to some old acquaintances on our trip, and he and Flat Hal having been making new friends. There is lots of stuff to do on a ship… There are places to play games, with new friends, or those you are traveling with. Or you can find a book to read. …
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All Aboard! Flat Stanley and Flat Hal are taking a cruise!
There are many ways to travel. Planes, Trains and Automobiles used to be the answer for most people… but more and more are going out on boats, and taking cruises on ships. Flat Stanley and Flat Hal headed straight for an outside deck after boarding in San Diego to get a view of the Harbor. A…