We woke up about 6am this morning, and G immediately left the cabin to start his day, but our plan to meet outside the Club Restaurant when it opened for breakfast at 7:30am afforded me the opportunity to spend a few extra minutes in bed. We moved clocks back an hour last night for the first time, so eventually I'll be up and at 'em at 6am, too, but I am not there yet.
Running into Douglas Pearson first thing this morning in the Club Lounge reminded me that today was a huge day, not just for Brits but for anyone who values dedication and perseverance as Queen Elizabeth II is marking the day she becomes the longest reigning British monarch. I am a bit sad to be missing all the news related to that, but I did go to afternoon tea today and had a scone topped with jam and cream in her honor.
So, back to our day sailing across the Pacific Ocean en route to Hawaii...
Immediately following breakfast, G and I sat for a few minutes on the deserted Promenade Deck (on a sea day! We love this ship!). So peaceful. A headwaiter from last year said it best: this tiny ship lacks the tension of the bigger ships. There is no stress, no clock watching, no lines...just peaceful and companionable cruising. Given the opportunity, I would cruise all my cruises the rest of my life on the Pacific Princess.
I went to Douglas Pearson's lecture on Maui in the Cabaret Lounge at 9am. Douglas had a lot to say; I barely made it to the 10:15am paper crafting session in the Deck 4 atrium before it started. The wonderful thing about our cabin location is that we are just one cabin away from the atrium. It's been so convenient both yesterday and today to simply return to our cabin to grab the scissors (that I use to cut G's hair) for several of us to use in paper crafting. (Must remember to wash the Elmer's glue from them before using them!) Today's projects were a greeting card and a bookmark. Now, bookmarks are among my favorite things in the world and I have a collection of them at home, some that I've made, others I've received as gifts and still others that I've collected from our travels. I guess that, on my list of the things that bring me joy, I should have included bookmarks, but that's okay...they will fit in my shoebox, too. ;-)
G was napping when I returned from my crafts session, so I grabbed his iPhone and my iPad and moved into a (as Douglas calls them) comfy chair in the Deck 4 atrium to Air Drop a couple of photos from his phone to mine (his iPhone 6 Plus really does have the superior camera). I have discovered that, in the atrium just 15 feet away from our cabin the WiFi signal is considerably better. So I also took advantage of being there to try to publish a photo to my blog from the first two days of our cruise. I decided that, if a photo could be uploaded in less than two minutes, I might try to upload more. Well, it took less than a minute per pic, so I did get a few inserted into my blog posts for the past couple of days. Not a lot, mind you. The nature of our cruising is that I can't afford to wait until I return home to post photos because it would simply never get done, as inundated as we are with tasks when we first get home after an extended trip. But I also can't use valuable internet time to post too many while I'm on the ship. The necessary compromise is that they are fewer than I might wish, but better than nothing.
As I was sitting in a comfy chair in the tiny atrium uploading photos, three couples, obviously one of them dance instructors, were having a private tango lesson. I had no idea what this was about but, sitting there, with that tango song from Scent of a Woman playing quietly in the background, watching these couples dance was just the most enjoyable thing and epitomizes the relaxed, laid back atmosphere on this ship. That the male instructor had his slicked back black hair tied in a tiny ponytail and his long legs perfectly encased in fitted black slacks that accentuated his...never mind. Let's just say the whole experience of sitting there was a memorable one.
So give me a moment, please, to remember it.
:-) ___________________________________________ :-)
I returned to our cabin to collect my newly awakened, comparatively slightly rumpled husband for lunch in the Club Restaurant. I ate lightly- just gazpacho and a baked yellow bell pepper- to leave room for the formal tea I knew was only a few hours away. G had a 1:30pm commitment (ukulele lessons, round 2 in the Casino Lounge, they added another chord so they're up to five now and can play Tiny Bubbles) and I took advantage of the solo time to go up to Deck 10 overlooking the pool to walk. A duo called the Walking Miracles was providing live music poolside which I thought was especially appropriate as it was a miracle I was actually motivated enough to be walking.
There's a short story to be shared about the Walking Miracles. Yesterday, I saw in the Princess Patter that there would be an activity called Walking Miracles in the Casino Lounge. Then I saw it again today scheduled for poolside, and was surprised that this same event was offered twice in two days. Honestly, I thought it was that clinic/seminar selling shoe inserts conducted by the spa on every cruise, and just assumed that they must be trying to reduce their shoe insert inventory before we arrived in Tahiti where everyone wears flip flops. Then, further down in today's Patter, I saw that the Good Feet Walk In Clinic was being held in the spa this afternoon and the light bulb finally flickered on. Walking Miracle...Good Feet. Oh tell me you wouldn't have been confused too!
G and I reconnected and returned to the sunny side of the Promenade Deck, our legs in the sun and our bodies in the shade. Captain D had announced in his noon update today that the temperature was around 65F, and, for the first time today I wore shorts but still need my fleece pullover to be comfortable outside (or inside, for that matter). In fact, while lounging on the Promenade Deck, if I felt chilly I focused on my legs in the sun; toasty, and I thought about my body in the shade. This is a temperature that offers something for everyone.
G, who cares not one bit about formal tea, scones and British royalty but does care quite a bit about me accompanied me to tea in the Club Restaurant at 3:30pm. Really, it was more about the photo op, and the fact that, forever more, we will recall exactly how we celebrated the day that Queen Elizabeth II became Britain's longest reigning monarch. God save the Queen!
(Henry, our waiter at dinner at 5:30pm, seated us for tea at 3:30pm. We asked him to forget that, a mere two hours later, he'd be serving us a four course dinner, and he promised it was our little secret. Good man, that Henry!)
We had enough time for a relaxed clean up for the evening, and were in the Pacific Lounge for the Elite Lounge at 5pm ('cause we had a 90 minute break in the food and had to fill it with...food). Tonight's featured drink of the day ($5) was the Chairman of the Board, and, interestingly enough, it was paired with smoked salmon and toast points. I checked the menu for later in the cruise, and, sure enough, the drink Rob Roy will be paired with steak tartare. Now, before I started frequenting Elite Lounges, I would have found nothing amiss about that, but now I know that something, somewhere has been lost in translation. No matter though, because I don't drink either of those manly drinks.
We were surprised, upon entering the Pacific Lounge to hear live music and a full dance floor. Apparently the three couples I saw this morning in the atrium are part of a larger dance group, and there, wearing the same black slacks and tiny ponytail, was Mr. Tango. Elite Lounge with a bonus!
Dinner with a view at 5:30pm when the sun sets at 7:18pm is a really wonderful experience. I enjoyed Szechuan shrimp, and the broccoli I ordered to accompany it was prepared with ginger. The same Princess food we've had multiple times previously has had a very different- and excellent- twist on this cruise.
Sunset was a bit of a let down after last night's spectacular showing but the entertainment in the Casino Lounge more than made up for it. Pianist Tom Franek was funny and clever and incredibly talented. He said he has videos of his performances at www.TomFranek.com and you might enjoy seeing a few of them.
Afterward, we spent some time listening to piano entertainer David Crathorne in the Casino Lounge before calling it a day. After two days at sea; we're as relaxed as old rubber bands. It's taken almost 100 cruises, but I might finally have the hang of them. ;-)
And, before closing, I have a quick word about something I would never have imagined would be of importance on a cruise ship...
I mentioned last year that I had purchased an iPad. In fact, I now use it to prepare almost all of my blog posts, which is 642 times easier than preparing them on my iPhone as I did for years. While I might have recognized this device's value for blogging, the twins, thrilled that I had a new toy for them to play with, had immediately installed a game called Clash of Clans (COC) on it and said they'd "get me set up". They were quite disappointed when, time after time, they'd visit me only to discover I had not done one single thing with this great gift they had bestowed on me. Finally, they left one day with a final remark. "You know, NeeNee, Sam's grandma is already at Town Hall 7" (I was at, perhaps, Town Hall 3 at the time, and only through their efforts).
The challenge was on. Not to be outplayed, COC became my new favorite game. It was, as McGee had warned me, very addictive. Fast forward to yesterday. Waiting to enter the Club Restaurant for dinner, a boy of about 8 or so was standing ahead of me looking at his iPad. I asked him what his favorite game was, and he said it was COC. Well, that started the conversation, and, during our dinner last night, his cousin of about the same age suddenly appeared at our table with his mother. She explained that he had to meet this lady who was at Town Hall 9 on COC. I spent the next five minutes being grilled about my base and my clan and what level my dragons are and what level my walls are and what level my mortars are and my upgrade strategy.
G remained silent through all this, observing the interaction. He had no idea what we were talking about, but I think he was unsurprised that I could hold my own with this 8 year old boy. Tea parties, Barbies and frilly dresses...these are not my forte. But Fantasy Football and Legos and Clash of Clans...totally within my comfort zone.
My new friends returned during tonight's dinner with their grandma and her camera. They had asked me to bring my iPad with a screen capture of my COC base, as well as my clan name. I found myself posing for photos with them while I held up my iPad with the picture (much to the amusement of everyone around us).
I think I may have started something here. ;-)