Day at Sea

            Tuesday, 26 Jun 2018 –  At 7:30 AM Sally awoke, though she tried to return to sleep; this was the first at-sea day in nearly a week, and there was no reason to “rise and shine” early.  However, Jesse rolled out of bed and prepared to attend daily Mass, which he has been doing most days.  The seas were definitely choppy; Jesse had trouble staying on his feet.  We joked that perhaps Sally had some Viking blood, and he didn’t!  [Actually, many people with ancestors from Great Britain probably have Viking blood, since the Vikings raided the coasts there many times.]   Due to the rough seas, Fr. Paul suggested that we stay seated during the entire Mass – he even delivered the host to us in our seat!

          Soon, we went to breakfast.  Knowing that we would be eating in the formal dining room for both lunch and dinner today, we should have eaten half as much as usual, but of course we didn’t.  Another couple from the Netherlands, Doris and John (translations of their Dutch names), shared their table with us.  They have taken four cruises, mostly of Europe and all on Holland America – so easy because they don’t have to travel far to board a ship.  They have also visited the east and west coasts of the U.S.

At 1:00, we attended the “Mariner Lunch.”  Although we wondered if it might be for first-time cruisers on Holland America, it turned out to be for all passengers.  One such luncheon had been held earlier, so this was probably for the other half.  We sat with Jim and Joyce, of Denver.  When we talked about cost of living, Joyce commented that the value of their house had increased five- or six-fold during the time they have lived there; and there is now an affordable housing shortage in the Denver area.  However, they finally needed to leave because Jim, who wears hearing aids, couldn’t tolerate background “roar” that people with normal hearing don’t seem to mind so much.  (Jesse could tell that Jim had turned down the volume on his hearing aids so low that he hadn’t been hearing very much of our conversation, anyway!)

At 5:15, we went to the same dining room as earlier, this time for the third of three Gala dinners held during this 14-day cruise.  “Gala” means we were to dress in formal attire and eat in the dining room.  Also, “surf & turf” (steak & lobster) was on the menu – for the only time on the cruise.  We sat at a table with five other people: Mark & Priscilla of Las Vegas; Ken & Marge of Denver; and Floyd, a widower of 93, a former salesman who has lived several places in the U.S.  After dinner, we danced for almost 45 minutes, including to a tango – we were tired by the time we returned to our cabin at 8:45.

Although this was the first night when it was clear enough that we could have seen the Midnight Sun, apparently we were too far south now to see it.  However, it was still light at midnight.