Day 121: At Sea

Well, we spent our 121st day at sea doing something some people do all day, every day when they're cruising, but it was our first time this winter. 

We spent the entire day, from when we first awoke, until we dressed for dinner, lying in the sun on the Terrace Deck. This took a surprising amount of effort, what with the frequent sunscreen applications and the hot tub soaks, followed by cooling dips in the Terrace Pool.  I guess we're just not good at doing nothing; in the end, I found it more tiring than than busy-ness that usually fills our sea days. Still, the seas were mirror-smooth; honestly, the bounciness of December and January is all but forgotten. This is cruising the way I love it.

I skipped breakfast altogether, and simply had a blended vanilla latte to start the day while overlooking the wake. Lunch was chips and salsa collected from the Cafe Caribe. But by dinner, we were ready for some real food.  We were in the Piazza at 5pm to watch the 10-minute balance act of Lubo and Lucy.  This is pretty amazing, even if the Piazza buskerfest activities are not normally your thing. 

Building a chandelier out of stemware while balancing it on the bridge of his nose:

Balancing a champagne bottle on a balloon on a sword in his mouth then popping the balloon and catching the champagne bottle on the sword. 

Dinner with Darko was three courses (we were hungry!) accompanied by a full bottle of Korbel, to celebrate our 121st day at sea. We went immediately to the Explorers Lounge afterwards, to listen to the Emerald Princess orchestra play...and maintain ownership of two seats for the popular Ye Olde Pub Night at 8pm. Also tonight:  mentalist Brent Webb did three shows in the Princess Theater. 

The last Ye Olde Pub Night with this cast :-(

We're already in the cabin with fuzzy water and popcorn. There is unenthusiastic talk of going up to MUTS to watch Captain Philips, which we've not yet seen this winter. Or we can just go to sleep early. Nothing wears us out faster than doing nothing all day. 

Day 120: Fort Lauderdale (turnaround day)

So much to report today, some of it cruisy and some of it not...

We didn't make it up in time to watch the ship come in to Port Everglades. At least I didn't. It wasn't until we started shaking and rattling that I finally stirred. I met up with G for breakfast in the Botticelli Dining Room, and by 9am were walking off the ship to go through immigration and start our errands. Of course, because we had things to do, the lines were a bit long and a bit slow, but by 9:45am we were finally on our way. 

Our first stop was Great Clips for the aforementioned hair cut. I had yet a different stylist today, but was quite happy with the results this time (it helped that she had a visual aid. I pulled out the curls on both sides of my head that looked like wings and said, "See these?  They've got to go". And they're gone.). Our next stop was Publix for more foaming hand soap, then Total Wines, where I bought their last two bottles of Franciscan Merlot. Finally, we crossed 17th Street (despite only two ships in port today, traffic was fierce) to go to the post office to mail the box I was sending home.  It only weighed 7 pounds, not 10 as I had hoped, but, for $16 postage, I'm hoping it makes a difference on packing night. We then crossed 17th Street again and stopped into Walgreens, to get hair color to complete Part 2 of my hair project for today (Howard, today's choice was lightest golden brown. 'Cause I know you'll want to know). ;-). 

Our timing was perfect. We returned to Pier 2 about 11:30am and made our way quickly through security, just as the embarking passengers were starting to board. We dumped our purchases in our cabin and went to the DaVinci Dining Room for our 11th embarkation day lunch on the Emerald Princess this winter. G was very happy about that. 

Following lunch, I grabbed a charging cord and went up to my usual spot in the Adagio Lounge to cancel today's homeward bound flights, check accounts, download the news and generally get caught up with the world. When the muster drill started, I returned to our cabin and colored my hair (no disasters) and dressed for the evening. We were on Deck 19 and then in Skywalkers for sailaway. It had not been a particularly pretty day in Fort Lauderdale- 70s, overcast and hazy- so it wasn't a particularly pretty sailaway, but the seas are unbelievably calm right now and the Emerald Princess is as stable as she's been all winter while sailing out of Fort Lauderdale. 

We went to Dinner with Darko about 5:45pm, and I had a wonderful dinner of pasta with spicy tomato sauce topped with chicken breast and broccoli and the last of a bottle of Merlot. THAT is a dinner made in heaven, and it was topped with a dessert made in the same place:  flourless chocolate cake served with a small bottle of Korbel champagne. 

We stopped for a few minutes to watch the Piazza mini-performance of balance act Lubo and Lucy. Lubo balances...everything, on a sword he holds with his teeth. 

Lubo told us as we walked to an elevator together later that he's been doing this all his life, and I asked him if he had balanced a baby bottle on a butter knife held between his gums as an infant. He enjoyed that!

We then continued on to the Princess Theater for the last Welcome Aboard show with this production show cast. As we entered the theater, we ran (almost literally) into several dancers from the new cast who came on board today in Fort Lauderdale and who were standing along the side of the theater. And the first dancer we saw was dear Rodney from Rio de Janeiro, who we knew from last winter's cast. Big hugs, and he asked, "Will you stay for the six months I'm here?"  Oh please...don't give G any ideas.

And that was our day; full, busy but fairly unexciting as it was filled with errands. 

And, on a couple of cruise-related notes:

Look at our new cruise card (below one of our old cruise cards). We had this same color card on the Royal Princess and I didn't like it then and I don't like it now. It looks very platinum to me.  Very platinum.  Whose idea was this?  ;-) (Elites are quite proud of their BLACK cruise cards). 

The All-Inclusive Beverage Package has arrived. I'm typing this directly from a small flyer that I picked up today at the table where it was being sold:

$49 per person per day

Package includes any individual beverage up to $10, but does not include the following:

- Beverages above $10

- Cigarettes and Cigars

- Food retail items

- In-room service

- Mini-bar items

- Souvenir items

- Vending machine items

A 15% gratuity will be added. Bottled wines under $100 are available at a 40% discount. 

That's the flyer information. I was told by a bartender that all adults in a cabin must purchase the package and that kids in the cabin must purchase the Ultimate Kids Package, but I don't have that in writing. 

I cannot imagine drinking enough to make that worthwhile, but I was told that there were a lot of packages sold today. 

Drink on!

And, finally, we're entering new territory again (endurance-wise, not geographically, of course). This is the first time we've cruised for more than 120 days in one winter, and it's the first time we've cruised more than 100 days in a row on the Emerald Princess. 

Cruise on!

Cruise #14: Southern Caribbean

Disregard the directional arrows; we're doing this one in reverse!

Day 119: At Sea

Prepared Wednesday evening, February 26th, but published using fast, free 4G Internet in Fort Lauderdale.

Aaahhhh...bright sun, mirror-smooth seas, not a formal night in sight, and we're staying on board for another cruise. As far as sea days go, this one was as good as it gets. 

We were up and had fulfilled our coffee and breakfast obligations before 9am.   The culinary demonstration by Master Chef Commendatore Alfredo Marzi was scheduled to begin at 10:30am in the Princess Theater, and was being touted around the ship with an enthusiasm akin to a royal visit. After 40 years with Princess Cruises, I guess that Master Chef Marzi is the closest thing to Princess royalty. I knew from seeing him on the Royal Princess in early November that he would be working solo (not with the maitre d' or ship's executive chef), with just two waiters as his attendants. It was great to see that Nelson and Amador, both from the Philippines, whom we've known for years, were on stage with him. It was also wonderful that he chose a Filipino dish, Chicken and Seafood. Pancit Noodles, as the first dish he prepared. Master Chef Marzi said Princess currently has 36000 employees from 78 countries, but the majority (12000) are from the Philippines.  A murmur radiated out through the audience as the wonderful smells of sautéed onions and garlic made their way out from the stage. I love garlic!!

I need a metric-Imperial translator to change centimeters to ounces (or something like that). 

With cruise director JJ:

With waiters Nelson and Amador:

Amador with the completed Chicken and Seafood Pancit noodles:

After the demonstration, we did the walk-through tour of the galley, and it was fun to see the cooks working on today's meals. 

Carver Napolean was busy turning rutabagas into flowers...

...and the pastry chefs had been busy, too:

After having only fruit and cereal for breakfast and then smelling all those smells, I was REALLY ready for a nice lunch. We went to the DaVinci Dining Room and I opted for the Indonesian Nasi Goreng. G always likes the Brunswick Stew on this particular lunch menu. He comes from Brunswick County, Virginia, the original home of Brunswick Stew (but they call it Chicken Muddle), and though the Princess version is not exactly the same, it's a good replication (and far closer to the original than the taco flavored "Carolina pulled pork BBQ" on the Royal Princess). 

We spent some time after lunch sitting on the shady side of the Promenade Deck. The squeaking of sneakers walking by prompted G to comment, yet again, that he was NOT going to miss the full Promenade Deck on the Royal Princess. There, it really should be call the Sitting Deck, instead of the Promenade Deck, but at least it will be quieter. I later tried to walk on Deck 19, but...well, that's the other side of the coin. It was very sunny and hot up there this afternoon, and walking on the Promenade Deck was a much nicer option. 

I packed up a small box of things to send home tomorrow from the post office in Fort Lauderdale. I'm not sure how much it weighs- probably 8 or 10 pounds- but that's enough to make all the difference in the world on our final night of the cruise when we're trying to divide several months of living between four suitcases of not more than 50 pounds each. 

We skipped pre-dinner drinks altogether tonight, and even wine with dinner. My Check Liver Soon light is flashing, and an abstemious day was in order. We ate lightly for dinner (round 1) tonight, something that is quickly becoming a favorite:  a garden salad topped with sliced chicken breast. Sunset occurred just after 7pm (it's funky tonight since the ship is still on AST but we're sailing through EST territory); we thought at first it might not amount to much, but it surprised us with a bit of color at the very end. 

We were lucky tonight to again have tenor Nik Page performing at 7:15pm, 8:45pm and 10:15pm (instead of a late International Crew Show). We were in the audience for his 7:15pm show. He was once again backed by the Emerald Princess Orchestra, and you know we were happy about that.  When Nik ended his set with "Time to Say Goodbye", I'll admit to getting a bit watery. First, of course, was because so many crew friends are going home tomorrow, but also because we AREN'T going home. Every turnaround day definitely brings on a mix of emotions.

Walking through the Piazza, we caught Radu (the cello player from Playthoven) playing solo sax, and G was mesmerized, so we sat and listened to the rest of his set. Radu and Anca return home to Romania tomorrow, and it will be interesting to see if we get another strings duo on board the Emerald Princess. 

We wandered up to the buffet for cheese and grapes (dinner, round two), and it wasn't until we were back in the cabin and I was getting ready to take out my contacts that I suddenly remembered I hadn't said goodbye to Ana in the International Cafe. Ana has greeted me nearly every morning since we arrived in November with a hug and a two-cheek air kiss, and I will miss her terribly when she goes home to Serbia tomorrow. (Speaking of air kisses, I can do them all...singles, doubles, even triples for the French.  Travel is so educational!). So we walked back down to the IC, which is no short distance from our cabin. Ana told us she would be on the Caribbean Princess for her next contract, so there's a chance this was more a Hasta Luego than adios. 

We're setting an alarm tonight on the remote chance we can get ourselves out of bed to be on deck tomorrow morning for our arrival into Port Everglades. We haven't many more opportunities to do that...

Day 118: At Sea

Our wonderful sunny days continue, and we seem to have left the wind behind, too. Today the seas were smooth and steady, and for that we are grateful. 

Sea day/ port day...our breakfast routine rarely varies much (provided we awake in time); first to the International Cafe (this is dear waitress Ana's last cruise before she returns home to Serbia for vacation, and she can't stop smiling and hugging everyone), and then to the DaVinci Dining Room for breakfast. In a small departure from routine, I ordered a toasted bagel with lox and cream cheese today, but limited myself to just half. I also snuck chocolate frosted donuts from the IC to hostess Mihaela and waiter Alvin as a treat- but don't tell anyone. ;-)

G and I strolled hand in hand (does nothing for the heart physically but everything for it emotionally) on the Promenade Deck. Other than flying fish, our wildlife sightings have been non-existant this winter. Usually we see dolphins at least once, and so we continue to keep looking for them. Eventually, we returned to our cabin, where the ship was steady enough for me to give G an overdue haircut.  I'm going to get one on turnaround day in Fort Lauderdale. Remember when G thought I wouldn't need to use the discount coupon for Great Clips that expires March 1st?  Something about nutritious food and warm, moist air must be conducive to hair growth. 

I also backed up this cruise's photos from both our iPhones to my laptop, and then backed up my iPhone. I try to remember to do that every cruise, but this was the first time I've done it since January. You've not heard me mention having to do my nails lately; the glitter polish on my toenails continues to wear like iron, and my fingernails are back to their "at home" state (nubs). It does save quite a bit of time every cruise. 

We decided to skip lunch altogether today (it's much nicer to go into the evening hours hungry) and G went to a hot tub on Deck 17 and waved at me to cheer me on as I walked on Deck 19. What a motivator!  The jogging track offered beautiful 35-mile views of the no-foam sea in all directions, and lots of sun. It did not offer one wisp of wind. After 45 minutes, I was drenched with sweat and talked G out of the hot tub as I passed by. Neither of us needed another minute of sun. 

That's how we ended up showered for the evening even before the 3pm Grapevine Wine Tasting. A Gewürztraminer was on the tasting menu today for the first time, which made G especially happy, and we picked up shooter glasses in a new (this winter) design, which made me happy. 

We were dressed formally and in Skywalkers for pre-dinner drinks by shortly after 4:30pm. Although there were no islands to look at, the views were still impressive.  Look how smooth that water is!

On our way to dinner, we spotted the Piazza prepared for tonight's balloon drop. On the last formal night of every cruise, New Years Eve is recreated, with a countdown to a balloon drop at 10:45pm. 

We've stayed awake for it only once this winter. 

After hors doerves in Skywalkers, dinner (round 1) was simple, just a seafood appetizer and escargot for me. Dear Komang made certain I had a special flaky blue cheese roll in our bread basket, 'cause according to him, they're the best for soaking up the garlic butter in the escargot (he's right). 

We raced out of dinner to watch a beautiful sunset from the Promenade Deck...

...then went to the 7:15pm of production show I Got the Music. One of the dancers has had to return home early, and Heather, the crew chief, told us tonight that the singers and dancers have been spending an hour a day working to reblock the shows to accommodate his absence. Sounds painful!

We ended the evening with dinner (round 2) in the buffet, which included lots of shrimp for me, with a pavlova for dessert. 

Before I end tonight, I have a few miscellaneous thoughts:

Master Chef Commadatore Alfredo Marzi came on board in St. Lucia for a ship visit, and will be conducting the culinary demonstration in the Princess Theater tomorrow morning. I saw Alfredo do the culinary demonstration on the Royal Princess and know not to miss him tomorrow. 

There are new, electronic gaming tables in the casino, offering the opportunity for additional betting. In other words, they offer the opportunity for additional losing. We saw instructors training the casino staff on them today. 

And, finally, I overheard cruise friends / blog readers, who were seated by us last evening at dinner, ask our waiters which one was Darko, and told him his reputation from this blog preceded his introduction as their waiter. I asked Darko tonight if that happens often. Oh yes, he said, at least 15 times so far this winter. When I told him I hoped it didn't embarrass him, he tossed back his head and said it was simply the price of fame. And then gave us a big, sheepish smile. 

;-)

Day 117: Antigua

As I suspected, I did have difficulty getting/ staying on wifi last night. I spoke with the Internet cafe manager this morning after breakfast in the DaVinci Dining Room and he said there was nothing he could do until the contractors were done re-wiring. He also said the International Cafe area had the most stable wifi on the ship right now, so if my blog posts aren't published until the following morning, you'll know why. 

We seemed to be people on a mission today. For some reason, our bag of dirty clothes was already overflowing.  I think it's because we'll wear things, particularly clothes that haven't left the ship, over and over again (thank you Fabreze) and then suddenly- bam- it seems every thing is dirty at once. We've also done some walking to beaches...the clothes that we wear to do that are only suitable for laundry or burning afterwards. We knew better than to think, with two sea days upcoming, that we'd be able to get close to the washers in the laundromat until late the evening on the final night of this cruise. We simply didn't want to wait that long, and it was time for a laundry morning. We have almost discontinued the practice of sending even shorts (on the CLEANING) side of the laundry slip to the ship's laundry. While the shorts are heavy duty enough to stand up well to whatever happens to them, we're having waistband button casualties left and right. I'm getting tired of sewing new buttons on, and I'm certain Raymond is getting tired of pestering the on board seamstress for more. 

G continues to send the T-shirt (below, downgraded to beaches only) to the ship's laundry; it's become a scientific experiment at this point. Here's the T-shirt that was nearly new when we arrived on the ship:

I'll end today's laundry litany by saying this (again):  We consider the passenger laundromats to be one of the best parts of a Princess cruise ship. 

Two loads of washing and two loads of drying took a bit of time, and by the time we were finally done I think we'd both decided not to stick to our original plan of taking a local bus to Valley Church Beach today. Instead, we turned it into a "walking, but not to a beach" day and stepped off the ship shortly after 11am. Our first goal was to find the post office in St. John's (which was only a few minutes walk from the cruise ship pier), and mail a postcard from our cabin steward Raymond to his family in the Philippines (we gave the clerk $1 and received a palmful of Eastern Caribbean coins in exchange). Once that little chore was out of the way, we spent a couple of hours walking around the streets of St. John's and browsing the souvenir stands (which all seem so dirty. Trust me...St. Kitts and St. Lucia have the best souvenir shopping on this Eastern Caribbean itinerary). We handed over our fistful of change to the old man wearing a headdress who drums continuously (continually?  I've already forgotten) from the time the ships arrive until they leave. He's as reliable as the Kings Casino coupons that are handed out in the morning just outside the security gate. Casino coupons, incessant drumming, death and taxes...

As always, my focus when walking in Antigua is primarily on watching where I'm stepping (you could lose a leg in the storm sewers that line each road)...

...but, I'm telling you, Antigua always offers a treasure trove of wisdoms in its signage. I'm going to post just a few gems; until wifi improves, I'm cutting back on photos. 

Community bench message:

This is my favorite sign in the Caribbean, in a different location than we'd seen it last year. The diagram is harious. So is the concept that anyone found doing this would actually have $100 to pay the fine. 

Forget those happy pills...liquor is quicker!

We eventually realized that we were getting hungry, and made our way back to the Emerald Princess. Today's specialty pizza was Hawaiian pizza, which is ham and pineapple. G asked if they could make one that was half pepperoni and pineapple instead, just for him, and they happily obliged. That was a LOT of pizza:

 ...so much that, at 4pm, I said something, I'm sure, for the first time in my life:  "Hurry up and finish eating so we can get ready for dinner". 

Only on a cruise ship.  ;-)

We went to dinner at 6pm and had just garden salads topped with chicken breast. The longer we stay here, the more we're eating like we do at home.  Sunset from our dinner table, over the active volcano island of Montserrat, was spectacular. 

The 7:15pm Princess Theater performer was vocalist Nik Page, from England, new to us. Well, wow!  It's not just that he sang so well; what he sang also appealed. Josh Groban, Elton John, songs from Les Mis, Pavorotti...it was good good good. He was the only featured performer tonight, but when the performer is like him, one is plenty. Also tonight:  the 50s and 60s rock and roll theme party in Club Fusion. 

Next up: two sea days, Fort Lauderdale and then (I'll spill the beans now) another cruise. We may be slowing, but we're still going. 

Day 116: St. Lucia

We must have had a following wind last night, because, although the fearsome winds continue, the ship was stable and we slept like babies after our full day on the beach in Barbados. I was up first, and went to the International Cafe (IC) to drink decaf and try to publish last night's post. The wiring work by the wifi contractors from Poland continues, and last evening they were threading cable into the ceiling right outside our cabin.  We used to have a repeater there, but it's now been moved two cabins down, and tonight there was no wifi at all. This morning I was able to get on from the IC; I'll have to see what's going to happen tonight from our cabin. 

Eventually, G met up with me in the IC, and we went together for a light breakfast (cereal and fruit) with Larry from the Philippines and Milos from Serbia in the DaVinci Dining Room.  We then walked off the ship with just a towel and water bottles in my backpack and took a few minutes to use wifi courtesy of a friend who manages a store at Pointe Seraphine. I must take a moment to thank everyone who has emailed me, but one in particular whose message I really needed today (and who I'll mention again before I close tonight). Then we stopped to talk with Cornelius at the water tours desk in the greeting center at Pointe Seraphine. He sells what we consider to be the best tour on St. Lucia, the one that we did last February 9th.

http://www.maximumchilloutslandandseatours.com

We asked Cornelius what the local news was about the recent murder of a British sailor and the attack on his wife during a robbery gone bad on his sailboat off Vieux Fort, on the southern tip of St. Lucia. Let's just say that those involved (who were immediately turned in by family and friends) had better hope Cornelius and anyone else involved in the tourism industry on St. Lucia is not on the jury during their trial. As he said, that sort of thing takes money away from all of them. Finally, an hour after we left the Emerald Princess, we started on our walk. 

Vigie Beach is a long stretch of beach that lies on the other side of the small, commuter airport near Pointe Seraphine (aka the good dock). To get to it, one must walk around the commuter airport runway. It's not far, but it's also not a particularly fun walk, what with walking down the side of the road while cars rush by. People on St. Lucia drive like bats out of hell, though why anyone on a small island needs to rush is a mystery to me. But today, being Sunday, was quite a bit better than a weekday, and we successfully walked around the runway and down to the little airport terminal.  We'd never stopped there before. While all international flights arrive and depart from Vieux Fort on the southern end of St. Lucia, a few commuter airlines operate flights out of the airport close to where the ship docks. 

With four arrivals and four departures today, this is a sleepy little airport!

We then crossed the road and onto gorgeous Vigie beach. G was ready for a beer by then, and bought a Piton beer at the Blue Waters, a tiny bar and restaurant right on the beach. There were such good smells coming from that small shack that we felt compelled to stop for awhile and have some of the chicken being prepared in there for $2 a piece. 

 

Delicious chicken from Blue Waters served with a view of the gorgeous blue waters...priceless!

As we sat there, a man on horseback came galloping down the beach:

The views in all directions were beautiful:

Eventually, we made our way down the beach to the Rendezvous Resort, an all inclusive beach resort that caters to Brits. Though we couldn't walk through the resort, the beaches on St. Lucia are all public, and anyone can use them. 

Guests of this resort can lie on a beach and just plant a flag in the sand when they want a drink. It's a good thing. ;-)

This being a Sunday, the non-resort end of the beach was quickly filling up with locals, and a pick up soccer game was underway.

After a couple of hours, we started walking back to the ship. I can't take a chance and recommend this walk (it's kind of scary when I hear from readers that they keep files on what we do on the islands because they might choose to do the same) because it's not a particularly safe walk, but I know several passengers who have done it quite successfully. 

The narrow shoulder on this side of the street won out over crossing the street to get to a sidewalk on the other side. 

A typical trip hazard with the opportunity for disaster:

By the time we returned to the ship, we were starving. After no lunch yesterday, a rather small dinner last night and a light breakfast his morning, those pieces of chicken on the beach didn't go far. First though, we had to do a serious wash up, first hands, then sandals, then hands, then feet, then face, then hands, then hands and hands. Something about St. Lucia just always leaves me feeling gritty. 

We did a mix of pizza (G) and buffet (me); today's buffet had cioppino as an option, and that's my favorite. Once fed, we returned to the cabin for a rest. G napped; I didn't.  I think I've finally caught up on my sleep; frankly, I'm happy our party obligations are completed for this cruise. Two parties in two nights almost finished me off. Instead, I started this blog post (yay!) before 10pm at night. 

We showered, long showers in hot, hot water. That's been a little hit and miss lately, and while I can handle one lukewarm shower (we're on a ship, after all), two in a row make me cranky. But there was plenty of hot water for everyone tonight, and we certainly enjoyed it after long walks and the beach on St. Lucia. 

We went directly to Dinner with Darko. It was finally Italian night, which is a welcome thing after a day on a beach. Franciscan Merlot, penne arribiata with chicken breast and broccoli, and a cheese plate for dessert made for a very happy me. We had a few minutes afterwards to sit in the Piazza and listen to cello and violin duo Playthoven perform. Anca and Radu are returning to Romania after this cruise, and we will miss them. 

Also leaving soon:  the production show singers and dancers. The new team comes on board on February 27th (I think), and will perform two of the four production shows next cruise while costumes are being altered. That means that two of the four shows this cruise are being performed by the singers and dancers for the final time. I have no way of knowing which ones they're performing for the last time, but they were all certainly *ON* during tonight's performance of Disco:  Blame it on the Boogie. We enjoyed it more than ever. 

If we had even a little more energy, we would go to the 10pm showing of Captain Phillips on the big screen (Movies Under the Stars, or MUTS). It's certainly a perfect night for it up on the open decks. But I'm not certain we'll make it...

Two things that I need to mention before I close:

First, we entered a souvenir shop for G to buy a postcard stamp and mail a postcard (the post office in Barbados had closed yesterday by the time we'd returned from the beach). While he was handling that transaction, I spotted this sign. For us, it says it all:

We've given the Los Angeles to Los Angeles world cruise next January a lot of thought, but we simply aren't world cruisers. We'd like to someday cruise from Singapore to Cape Town, or Singapore through the Suez Canal, the only portion of a world cruise we're missing, and I'm sure we will. But, for now, we simply can't handle the sea days that are inherent on a world cruise. Maybe someday (but I doubt it). So this plaque hit just the right note at the right time. 

And, finally, another right note at the right time...

I received an email today that bolstered my spirits and renewed my determination to continue to blog for every remaining day of our winter at sea. You see, I've been at this for four months (counting the posts at home), and, except for those posts at home, have two-fingered typed every word on my little iPhone 4S. I had been considering saying "Ditto" from here on out, but this email from Patty changed everything. I hope she doesn't mind me sharing this with you:

First, nice stuff, nice stuff, nice stuff that makes me blush and then "... your life with G sounds so happy.  I look forward to your continuing updates; however long that may be."

Patty, thank you for your very kind thoughts. Between you and I, my life with G in 160 sq. ft. sometimes hasn't been all sunshine and romance. In fact, the most frequently heard comments in our cabin have nothing to do with proclamations of love, and everything to do with the fact that we share one tiny bathroom. ("Don't go in there for awhile" and "Do NOT stand between me and a toilet right now", and I'll leave out the assignation of each to the appropriate person). But, yes, I know how fortunate I am to share these experiences with my best friend, and we are very content to be spending our winters this way. Though not everything we do is fun, there is fun in every single day.  And I will keep typing every night, until I'm finally typing in our own bed again. 

Our own bed. 

Our own pillows. 

Our own TV with our own DVR.

And high speed Internet. 

And a big bathtub. 

And a shower big enough to bend over to shave my legs but with a ledge so I don't have to. 

And a toilet for each of us with more to spare. 

Life is good wherever we are.