Travelogue #3 Cruise Day at Sea

TRAVELOGUE
Monday, May 11, 2009
At Sea

Hello everyone ~

Well, today was definitely a “leisurely” day at sea. We slept in (I think jet lag finally caught up with us) and went up to the Lido Restaurant for breakfast, shortly after which it was time for my hot stone massage in the “Spa”. That was my Mother’s Day present from Jim!

The weather has changed dramatically from the balmy heat of Charleston to light rain all day today and quite cool. No more short sleeves – the sweat shirts and jackets were out today! The Lido deck pool has a retractable cover which makes it quite pleasant during the day as it is now all enclosed and completely accessible even though it is raining outside. There is hardly any wind and thought we are moving at 18 knots (according to the Captain), we just seem to be gliding across the calm seas of the Atlantic. It is grey outside, but a perfect day to spend on board the ship and enjoy it. I cannot get over how smooth and almost glassy the ocean is in spite of the rainy weather. Because our balcony is covered, it is even nice to just go out there and smell the fresh air and enjoy.

Jim went to another lector from the same author he listened to the other day with the topic of George Washington’s presidency. The lectures are very well attended and last about an hour. There is a time for questions and answers as well.

One thing worth mentioning on this cruise ship that is quite different from any other cruise ship we have ever been on – there are actually a large number (over 2 dozen) people every day in the library! There are large reading tables with excellent lighting for sitting down with your favorite book. There are tables that are set up with Scrabble games mounted on them and there are tables that have crossword puzzles inlaid on the tops. The majority of the chairs are over stuffed and just perfect to sit back in and get lost in a good book with large picture windows so you can still see as the world passes by.

We caught back up with each other around noon and had a quick bite to eat then I was off to my cooking class with Chef John from the Pinnacle Grill Restaurant in the Culinary Arts Center. There were 12 ladies who took part in this class. It was quite interesting and one of them even taught the chef something! - how to peel an avocado without using a paring knife! The Chef is from Dubai in the Persian Gulf – quite a good looking young man – and quite funny. All of us participated doing something at one point or another during the two hour class. First we made a Frangelico Chocolate Volcano Cake with fresh raspberries – which smelled like rich brownies cooking in the oven while we were preparing the other menu items); then scallops with avocado salad (which actually was more like avocado salad with scallops) and the main course was Asian Chicken and rice-noodle salad with peanuts. We were all given copies of all of the recipes and after all the food was prepared, we each got to serve ourselves a plate and enjoy everything with new friends and a nice glass of wine. They also gave each of us a Holland America Culinary Arts Center apron which we get to keep.

This afternoon Jim and I played BINGO, but we were not among any of the winners. What a shocker! We actually met a woman who lived in El Cajon today who was at BINGO, and her friend won one of the games.

There is only one other couple at our dinner table. Jo and George are from Kansas. She is a retired school teacher and we’ll find out tonight what George did. They are very nice and quite interesting. The food has been very good and the selections are very nice. We both enjoyed a New York steak last night with garlic mashed potatoes and green beans. I had Key Lime Pie for dessert and Jim had a Pear Belle Helen (a sundae with pears).

We will arrive in Newport, Rhode Island around 11:00 a.m. tomorrow and will be there until 11:00 p.m. We have a historic walking tour scheduled for around 1:00 p.m. and then we will be on our own. The weather forecast is for partly cloudy skies and 59 degrees. Because we have to drop anchor out of the harbor, we will be taking tenders into port.