We could tell the ship was moving faster. Our laundry, which we hang out on the balcony, was gone this morning. I looked for it below and thought I caught a glimpse of my electric orange thong in the middle of a table four floors down. Now I am happy I did not write my name in my underwear.
Around 6 am, Mary woke up and excitedly called me to see the sunrise. I crawl out of bed and make my way to the balcony, where I stand up and capture a photo of the sun rising from the water.
We thought we saw steam, but perhaps it was an optical collusion!
6:04 am, the Almanac was correct!
Having anyone look this good in the morning should be illegal. I looked at the mirror, and it cracked while mumbling something about ugly.
Mary is ready to go at 5:00 am sharp!
At this early hour, I am unsure who is brighter – the sun or Mary!
How can she be so pretty this early in the morning?
6:15 am, and Ol’ Sol was up and beginning to heat the air. We saw a few more whitecaps than when we first got up.
6:15 am, time to go inside and have breakfast!
7:00 am sharp, and there was banging on the door. This 90-pound stewardess carrying 150 pounds of breakfast asked to come in. We cleared the table and offered her some assistance.
Mary and I looked at each other and figured we each ordered breakfast for two. We were amazed at how much food this poor little lady had to carry.
7:50 am and time to run to the SPA and get poked. This time he even put pins in my nose! After an hour, the doc returned to the room and extracted the needles, each with a resounding POP! The girls upstairs now call me the human pincushion.
Oh, dear!
Upon returning to the room, Mary prepared for our 10:00 am appointment with the ship’s doctor to check the patient’s condition. Mary, the ship’s doctor, and the patient quickly review the situation. Mary taught the ship’s doctor about the eye machine; his eye looked better.
The patient is doing OK, and they have a retina specialist who will be waiting at the dock when we arrive.
“Get ready, Paul! I can’t be late!”
We discussed the day and what we were going to do! Doing nothing is very hard to do… you never know when you’re finished.
We are getting used to the ship now. Mary has the signage down pat; we only get lost every other outing.
It’s over here, dear!
We then went to the front desk to check on our excursions and get Mary’s picture changed.
I was asleep when he took this picture!
From there, we went by the grazing fields (called the buffet), where we spotted some large buffalo and several moose the size of small automobiles shuffling back and forth, collecting food and holding onto the plate for dear life. There was a lady with a two-wheeled cart filling up.
What do you call an all-you-can-eat garlic restaurant? Buffet the Vampire Slayer.
Note to self: Do not go to the buffet on rough seas days!
We decided to be safe, got some sliced meat and a few pieces of cheese, and then went to our sanctuary on the 18th floor. We ordered mojitos and headed for our cabin before the 1:00 pm couples massage.
The couples massage was a deal, two for three! Paul kept the girls giggling the entire time. We were so relaxed after an hour of Swedish massage we could hardly walk.
We are now a well-oiled machine.
We were loose as goose and decided to return to our sanctuary on the back of the ship, 18 floors above the ocean.
Mary loved the tile artwork on our way to the aft, but she made it look not very interesting by comparison!
On our way up!
I fiddled with the camera and tried again, capturing everything in color.
It worked!
We received a message from Vicky via text regarding Lahaina/Maui and then read the news on our iPhones. The internet capabilities on the ship were excellent. Shortly after, the Captain announced a change in the itinerary, and we will go to Kona instead.
After struggling with the slow system, I finally ordered drinks from my phone. Within 15 minutes, we had six glasses of Chardonnay, three gin martinis, two salty dogs, and a plain glass of gin. We gave away one of the martinis, and I put away everything except three glasses of wine. I’m feeling good!
Before the order arrived, we were doing just fine.
We skipped lunch in the dining room and went to the cafeteria. I had Indian food while Mary chose a salad and cheese. We were both full after finishing up, and the view from the 18th floor was peaceful. The Indian food was excellent!We returned to our cabin and got ready for dinner at the Grill. On the way, we met the LA comedian, a charming young family man. Once again reminded him that we enjoyed his clean act and that he appreciated the comments. We plan to see him again at the show on Thursday evening.
A very charming gentleman!!
After waiting about 20 minutes, we were finally seated at a window seat saved by the Manager. We had a great time with Linda and David, laughing and chatting for two hours. We started the evening with a bottle of Dom Perigon champagne. It was real; we counted the bubbles. I sang my rendition of “Tine Bubbles” and was offered $50 to stop singing; I took it!
Great fun with new friends.
I tried a different steak, and it was also excellent. It was a twenty-two-ounce ribeye. Mary went for the Filet Mignon and an asparagus side dish.
What’s a tired dragon’s favorite steak? Flaming yawn!
So good!
We were so relaxed that after dinner, we walked for a while, saw our pictures which had been posted, and decided to go to the cabin. We lasted about 13.5 seconds and were old cold until 5:00 am the following day.
We love the days at sea!
