Travel Diary: Amsterdam Asia Pacific Cruise 2012
Day 7, Friday (9/28/2012) At sea
Today I am grateful for a
wonderful night’s sleep and an early start on the day. By 7 a.m. I had got up, showered,
dressed, posted my blog from yesterday and watched the movie I missed last
night. I like starting my day
early like that so that when I am ready to go out and about I have spent quality
time by myself. Early morning is
my favorite time because the day is fresh and new and so am I.
It turns out that I never came
back to my cabin again until after dinner. This was the busiest day yet. I had breakfast on the sunny side of the ship with a lovely
couple from Austin, TX and talked about history and shared our stories. I sat and knitted with our needlework
group and saw two whales spouting as they swam along side. Lunch came too soon, but I went down to
the Lido pool and lined up for a special Mongolian barbeque. Because I was looking too wobbly for
the long line, one of the crew dragged me out of the end of the line and took
me up to the front where my plate of food was cooked with my choice of
seasonings and oil. It was just
like home cooking comfort food for me after a week of gourmet dining. That left
me with more time to spend visiting with Phil and Florrie, a couple of retired
physicians from Seattle who looked to be on the last of a long lifetime of
cruises. They had raised three
children in View Ridge and after 50 years of living there had moved into
assisted living closer to downtown.
They shared their insights and experiences travelling the world in their
long lives. They were eating
guacamole, corn chips and Hawai’ian pizza, but after a while went inside to get
some dessert.
After a while I went inside
myself and got a sugarless fruit mousse.
It was fresh and tasty. I
found a seat in the sun and had a cup of green tea while waiting for the arts
and crafts class to start and was joined by a woman from Florida who was
originally from Vietnam until she married her American husband in 1965. She told me her story and I told her
part of mine and when the class started, we each made a water bottle harness
with 48 other people. Then I
wandered off to a bar where a trivia contest was underway. I listened to the end when the correct
answers were given out and the winner determined. The questions were really hard. I wouldn’t have been a winner if I’d been playing alone,
that’s for sure. I may give it
another try one of these days.
The next item on my agenda today
was the first meeting of HAL Chorale.
We met in a piano bar where Music Director Matt took suggestions for
musical numbers, accompanied us on the piano, and led us in rehearsing three
pieces. I haven’t sung with a
group in more than eight years and I’m really out of shape vocally, so I sang
with the basses. I must say that I
didn’t sound too bad. Maybe by the
end of the cruise I will have extended my range up to alto. This could be the beginning of a good
thing.
By the time we finished, there
was only half an hour till dinner, so I sat by the window and read some more
out of “Factory Girls”. I’m just about finished. I’ve been just about finished for the
last week, but soon it will happen.
At dinner, it was revealed that Scott had also read “1491” and loved it,
had been a history major and studied law but never practiced. We confessed our shared admiration for
the works of James Michener, Leon Uris and Clive Cussler. And it’s only Day 7. I can’t imagine what further
revelations will appear in the next 68 days.
I see by my clock and computer
that it is 3:49 a.m. Friday morning in Seattle while it is 9:49 p.m. Friday
onboard the Amsterdam as we head south from the Aleutians heading toward
Japan. I just finished watching
the movie “Elizabethtown” with Orlando Bloom and Kirstin Dunst while writing
this. It has been quite a day and
it’s time to sleep again. Tomorrow
we’ll be setting the clock back another hour. I am grateful for that extra hour.
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