Feel at Ease Sea Day and Formal Night

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We had gotten to sleep in because Sharon had gone to the Vigil Mass on Saturday Evening, and we were still recovering from the early rising the day before. We made our way to the Lido Deck and I decided to get fried eggs over medium for the first time on either of our Alaskan cruises. Sharon did the scrambled eggs and crisp turkey bacon, noticing that several others were asking for their turkey bacon to be crisp also. That turkey jerky thing doesn’t quite make the cut!

We made our way to the Explorer’s Lounge to take our daily Sudoku. We’d forgotten to bring pens and were forced to endure using those too-often too-dull ship pencils. As we hurriedly scribbled numbers in cells an Asian cruiser observed “Is this a race?” Sharon conceded that it was and he chuckled. That brief interruption of Sharon’s concentration was all that I needed to announce “Done”. Sharon didn’t finish the second puzzle either, complaining that it’s impossible to do them with these pencils, and looking at her decipher-less annotations, I would have to agree!

We were one of a packed house to see the presentation on our upcoming ports of call Homer and Kodiak, followed by scenic cruising at Hubbard Glacier.

I ordered “The Cannonball” at the Dive In and Sharon got herself a plain hamburger. Our Soda Card is almost half gone, so we’re pacing ourselves quite well with the $50 card. I got a couple of pieces of pizza to have with my burger; also, adding jalapeños and guacamole to my burger. The Lido was out of the pistachio and coffee ice cream we’d spotted when we came up to the Lido. Sharon made do with chocolate as we headed up to scope out some chairs in the Crow’s Nest for Team Trivia.

Our full 6-member team showed up for Team Trivia. Ross gave the running totals by place for the top ten teams. Sharon and I were surprised that our teammates were surprised that we were in first place. Ross wouldn’t say what the margin was; but, Sharon and I figure that it must be by two or three points. We got an extra point when we got the tie-breaker right, the second time that we came in first. The first question was, “What sea has the warmest waters?” Mild-spoken Irene proposed “Red Sea” on her sheet, and if I’d noticed her answer I probably would have chosen the “Dead Sea” having waded in that late last year. Our other team members pushed for the Caribbean Sea. The fact is I should have known “Red Sea” from discussions with scuba divers I met, through Ron (the best man at our wedding and avid scuba diver), and one of the topics they discussed was scuba diving in the Red Sea and about how warm the water was. How do two people who used to work for America’s defense industry miss what country sells the most weapons abroad? And I’m pretty sure that we once guessed right as to what country manufactures the most beer each year. Any takers for Belgium or Germany. Did you consider Australia or Mexico. How about that war-craft exporting US? Well, the US wasn’t the answer again; although, I wouldn’t put that past Ross to try and sneak that by us. If you guessed China, congratulations! In what year did Ford sell its 50 millionth car? The choices are 1949, 1959 or 1969. Did you guess 1959, if so, you might be a trivia contender. It appeared to be coming down to the bonus question. Ross declared that English is spoken in the most countries. He wanted to know what language is spoken in the second most countries. I didn’t hear the clue that it was very close between second and third place (I thought he had said second and first); so, I really didn’t give it much thought. We were all in agreement. Ross did a check on what teams had Canadian team members and was surprised that half of those teams had gotten the answer wrong, admonishing them “Shame on you.” The answer was of course, not our logical answer; but, instead it was indeed “French”!

We went down to the Showroom to watch Dancing with Stars at Sea learn to dance the jive. It was quite entertaining, and the choreography was different than what we’d seen on the Veendam on our New England and Canadian cruise last year. In the end, there were just two men participants left standing in this very lively dance, and one of these men was dripping with sweat.

Then it was time for Bingo. There was some discussion as to whether this was a $15,000 Jackpot Bingo; or, if the jackpot should be higher. Erin the caller thought it should have gone up from the previous game, and took the time to confirm that when Ross had announced the game over the PA, he was indeed right when he spoke $15,000, which agreed with the “today, ON LOCATION” activities guide that we get each day. As it turns out, it really didn’t matter. Sharon and I didn’t come close on any of the games. We sat just behind the grandmother and grandson that we’d eaten dinner with the night before. He was the first to stand in the first game after just six numbers called. As Sharon and I’ve both discovered on this cruise, it’s not always best to be the first to stand. He had also won a bingo on one of the earlier bingo games.

We dressed up for formal dining, so it took us a little bit of extra time to get ready. When we showed up for dinner, they again seated us alone at an inside table right in front of the galley entrance (so not the best spot). After being seated by ourselves (third time in four nights) I whispered to Sharon, “Do you suppose it’s the way we’re dressed that they’re not seating us with others?” Sharon of course, knew I was kidding. What I didn’t know was the woman at the table for two near us, but separated by a floor to ceiling post, also overheard my comment. And about one hour later when they left she leaned over and whispered to me, “You look just fine.” I thanked her, a bit bemused, until Sharon later realized that they’d heard my earlier comment. I had the goat cheese with tomato pastry and the onion and shitake mushroom soup. Sharon ordered the daily steak (again) with the baked potato. I had the halibut with chili aioli. I must say, I’m happy with the halibut that they’ve served on both of our Alaskan cruises, in fact very happy with all of the sea food offerings. Maybe they took to heart the comments from the Alaskan cruise we took with our mothers two years ago and they didn’t serve halibut once. Sharon had the Baked Alaska with chocolate ice cream and I had the chocolate mousse tort.

The show tonight was Encore featuring the lead male and female singers with great singing. Sharon was very impressed with the man’s voice.

After the show we went to the Casino. I sat down at first base again, after waiting for the dealer to finish the shoe for the lone player sitting at third base. I was actually appearing to do quite well, and then I got another of those pesky pairs of eights. It was like déjà vu all over again! The dealer had a five. And I got a third eight, so I split that one as well. Then I got a three on the first hand, making it eleven; so, I doubled down and got an eight. Nineteen isn’t bad against a five (but a ten would have been better for twenty-one). I got six on the next eight and had to stand, and then I got a face card. The dealer turned over a seven, for twelve; but, followed that with a four and then a second four for twenty. My slight lead had evaporated, and I struggled to get back to even, eventually putting together a seven hand winning streak, and decided to take that small profit to the bank. Sharon is still looking for a machine that will payout.

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