“Today your tour will stop at Na Hoku, the best place to shop for fine jewelry. After that, we’ll go to the Pearl Factory, and then we’ll stop for lunch near the Sew Special shop that you can visit for quilting fabric. Our last stop will be at Hilo Hattie’s where you can get your souvenirs and gourmet food.
“We’ll return you to this dock at three o’clock. Since your ship stays the night, you can wander about in town tonight or tomorrow looking for more gifts. The High Shrimp Company says to stop by for a free drink if you show them your room ship key.”
A full size coach bus rolled onto the pier behind our guide.
“Here’s our bus. Let’s go,” she said.
Our tour group comprised of about thirty of us that climbed into the standard-sized bus, which would hold forty to fifty people. After a few minutes of older retired people trying to navigate the high steps into the bus, I found a seat near a window. Trisha and Larry found two seats toward the rear, and we were off.
Our first stop was at the jewelry store.
“You ladies shop. I’ll be over there using the free wi-fi,” Larry said, pointing to an unoccupied wooden bench.
We entered the jewelry store and agreed their prices were too high. However, I did find a cute little dolphin pin that was only nineteen dollars. So, I bought it.
While I was paying for my pin, a heavyset couple bumped into me. Both he and she said their ‘sorrys’ as they worked their way out of the store. Since the place was so crowded with tourists, we were glad to move on to the next shop. I admired a single pearl necklace at the Pearl Factory and decided to buy it for my daughter. The boutique displayed a film on how the pearls are harvested from the clams and prepared for jewelry. But the best place for Trisha and I was at the Sew Special fabric shop.
The colors and floral designs overwhelmed me. Some of the printed ones had hibiscus flowers or palm trees. Others had little Hawaiian girls and small bouquets. So much to see and so little time to buy, I thought. We saw some pre-cut swatches priced at five dollars each. Trish bought five packets and I loaded up with six.
“If you don’t have room in your suitcase, you can put them in mine. I left room for purchases,” Trisha said.
“Thanks, I wish I could take more.”
“I bet they ship to the mainland but it would be expensive,” she said.
“I’ll ask if they have a sister store in the states.”
I laid down my quilt packets and searched for my credit card.
For a moment, I thought I saw the couple who bumped into me in the jewelry store. However, upon second glance, they were gone.
“Do you have a sister store on the mainland?” I asked the sales clerk as another rotund woman squeezed by me.
“We do. Here’s our card. We have one in Las Vegas and one in New York City.”
I took the card from her outstretched hand and handed her my credit card to purchase my items.
“Thanks, you have such beautiful fabric designs here,” I said, signing the receipt.
“Thank you. Here’s your card. Have a good day,” she said and turned to help another customer.
Before I left the shop, I looked around and still couldn’t see anyone that looked like the two who bumped me. Oh well, no damage done.
Trisha checked her purchases and joined me outside of the shop where Larry had found a wooden bench to relax on.
“Come on, Larry. We don’t want to be late for the next bus stop. Our whale watch is in an hour,” Trisha said, giving him a tap on his knee.
“How are we doing on time, Trisha? When is our Whale Watch?”
“At 11:30 p.m. There’s our bus now,” she said.
There wasn’t much room by our feet on the bus for our tote bags. After a half an hour, the bus arrived at the pier on time at eleven am.
Then we scrambled to the pier where the whale watch boat would take us out to one of the bays. We made it just in time as we maneuvered our bags on the seat between us. The boat was about forty feet long and held thirty passengers.
Our boat guide made sure all of us had buckled on life jackets in case the mother whales get too nervous. The enclosed benches held life jackets underneath the row of seats. There wasn’t much room to place our purchases behind our feet, but we managed. We snapped on our life vests. I sure wouldn’t want to end up in the cold water if a whale got too close, but I told myself, you only live once.
After a half an hour, our driver turned off the motor to stop the boat and drift for a moment. All of a sudden, our guide yelled and point toward a spot on the sea. A huge whale jumped up with her calf in tandem. What a sight! I pulled up my camera and began taking pictures with everyone else. Since we all stood on one side I hoped we wouldn’t tip the boat, but it stayed level. As soon as we saw the whales, they dived and disappeared from our view. The pilot gave the motor a thrust and we crept to another area of the bay. Several more whales jumped above the sea surface to our delight.
After an hour, the boat headed back to the pier.
“Wow, wasn’t that great, Susan?” Trisha asked above the roar of the engine.
“You bet. I wish we could have stayed longer,” I replied.
“We can see if the next boat out has room,” Larry suggested.
“Oh, would you, Hon?” Trisha asked.
Larry flagged down one of the assistants and Susan could see the
