TRAVELOGUE
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
At Sea (Somewhere East of Cape Cod)
Good morning everyone~
Tuesday evening – continued -
Before we left Newport, Rhode Island last night at 11:00 p.m. and before we were off to dinner, we were treated to a beautiful sunset in Newport Harbor and a sailboat regatta, with probably a dozen or more sailboats turning and displaying their bright and colorful spinnaker sails in the light winds as they made their turns and headed back to their marinas. Rose Island Light Lighthouse was on one side with the massive expansion bridge in the background, and as the tide lowered, the water around the lighthouse became like thin glass and just glistened as if it were a mirror with the pinks and oranges of the sunset.
Dinner was enjoyable, as usual, and then we went up onto the Lido Deck where the ship staff was having a “pool party” at 9:30 a.m. It was basically a dessert party with three types of dessert fountains – chocolate, white chocolate and caramel - with homemade marshmallows and fresh fruit to indulge in. There were several ice sculptures and numerous tables with carvings of white chocolate and massive silver trays filled with a variety of delectable desserts from canapés to miniature cupcakes to miniature tartlet’s filled with a cream and topped with fresh strawberries and kiwi fruit. There was a band playing in one corner and a few people were dancing. For whatever reason, they had part of the roof retracted which made it a bit “brisk” up there, and so we came back downstairs and settled in for the evening.
Now to this morning - Wednesday -
Even though I should have been sleeping soundly at 5:00 a.m., I woke up early and got up to look outside to see what the new day was bringing weather wise and I was treated to one of the most magnificent shows that Mother Nature was giving me alone (or at least it appeared that way)! As I looked off of our balcony, to my right was a partial moon hanging in the sky, still glistening light on the still waters of the Atlantic. To my left, a soft glow of pink began to lighten the morning as the sun rose. The seas were literally like glass with not a ripple in the water. Every once in awhile there would be a group of a dozen or so small birds flying low across the water. Everything was calm and quiet and the stillness of the morning was just unimaginable.
Then, all of a sudden, for me and what appeared to be me alone (because I didn’t see anyone else hanging out on their verandah at 5:00 a.m. in the brisk air) my show began! I was given a show from a pod of Atlantic Great Right Whales and dolphins. The reason they are called “Right” whales is because back in the days of hunting and harpooning the whales, they were the “right” ones to harpoon. I was out on the verandah for over three hours, took a multitude of pictures (only getting a few good ones) because these magnificent mammals very methodically kept their distance from the ship as we glided slowly through the calm waters. Because these are a protected species of whale, the ship is only allowed to navigate through these waters at much reduced speed. We were somewhere off the coast between Cape Cod and Nantucket which is the habitat for The Great Right Whale.
As the morning progressed, I eventually woke Jim so he could enjoy part of my “free” whale watching adventure. At one point, he went up and got us coffee and tea and also took in the view from the Crows Nest (the observation area towards the bow of the ship on Deck 12). At 7:45 a.m. the sun is high in the sky shining down on the mirror of glistening water below. The pod of whales and dolphins disappeared as time went on and there I was standing outside on my verandah – nightgown, black socks, black coat with hood, gloves and a plaid wool blanket and, of course, camera in hand! I guess I could have been the comedy show for the whales and dolphins!!
This morning I had my second culinary class with Chef John while Jim had another in his series of lectures on George and Martha Washington. There were only 7 participants in the cooking class today. The menu was fabulous and I cannot wait to come home and make it! We started with a Shrimp, Jicama and Mango Salad with a Dijon vinaigrette. Our main course was a Chile-rubbed Red Snapper with Cucumber Salad and dessert was fresh berries with lemon mint syrup served over fresh vanilla ice cream! The flavors of the herbs he combined to make the rub for the fish was extraordinary. I’ve never had such delicious red snapper in my life. We partially cooked it in the sauté pan then finished it in the oven. It was so moist and firm and the flavors of the rub just made it fabulous! This time, Chef John let us have our wine during class rather than waiting until we were all finished – so that was fun too.
Jim’s Trivia Team won today, and he enjoyed showing of his bonus “Dam Dollars”. When you participate in certain events, you earn Dam Dollars just for showing up – and if you win – you get more. Then, at the end of the cruise, you can turn them in for souvenirs and things that you just cannot live without!
After I finished my cooking, I went in and worked on the newest jigsaw puzzle for awhile, then meandered over to the casino, where I sat down at the push and shove quarter machine (the machine that you drop your quarters into and it pops up inside and drops, then as the quarters accumulate, they are pushed and shoved to the front where eventually they will fall off and that is your payout. Well, today, I won the big roll of dollar bills ($50!!). I sat there for about an hour and as time went on, more and more of a crowd was gathered around me until there were about a dozen or so of us just waiting to see that roll of money drop when the right quarter was put into the machine…and it finally happened and everyone cheered and raised their hands and clapped. It was a lot of fun – my only regret was that Jim was not there to share that with me. But, as I was walking down the hall going back to the room, he happened to be about 100 feet ahead of me when I turned the corner, so we went back up to the Crows Nest and had a celebration cocktail for such a nice day.
It is about 7:15 p.m. here now. I am sitting at the vanity desk and looking out our verandah, there is a slight wind and waves of maybe one foot high out there – not much at all. There is not a cloud in the sky tonight. It is very peaceful. Tomorrow we will anchor at Bar Harbor around 7:00 a.m. and will tender into town. We are looking forward to being there again. There is a comedian performing tonight, so we are probably going to go listen to him for awhile after dinner. Surf and turf tonight!
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