How are all of you northern Californians holding up in the rainstorms? It looks awful from what we are seeing on CNN.
Alex was wearing the full black and white gangster look, complete with fedora on New Year's eve. He was in the lounge last night dancing away and I am enjoying getting to know him.
The computer system is blessedly behaving itself this morning. It is much, much faster when it is working than the old system (given the increased price, it should be).
We started the new year off right with Roz directing traffic for the trivia team yesterday. We were the sole winners, and because it was a sea day there were twice as many teams competing. How sweet it is! Token count is now up to about eight.
We saw at least four big pods of dolphins yesterday. They were leaping entirely out of the water and were traveling lightning fast. One lone dolphin was tearing alongside the ship and stopped just before it shot into the side. The water is so clear you could see them swimming underwater between the times they surfaced. I've never seen such a great dolphin run as I did yesterday.
Weather here is perfect. It was windy on deck so we got to play "chase your lettuce" at lunchtime again as it blew off your plate. Cream dressings were in order if you wanted to make it back to your table with any semblance of salad. Patrick & the boys had cooked up a special lunch for us, including a caviar station, crab legs, mussels and one terrific roasted ham. I missed the brats and beer.
Arnold was standing by the caviar station next to the chilled vodka saying "Well, why not??" as he handed them out to those who wanted one. He lit up with a big smile, Suzanne, when we sent him your regards. He's got a cosmo waiting for you whenever you can come aboard. I haven't met Arnold before this trip and he is one great bartender.
Big time nap yesterday afternoon. Had to be ready for the after dinner festivities (new year's resolution for me).
We had our Ken night at Latitudes and it was so enjoyable. They served small bits of all the items family style. There's a lazy susan on the table so everyone can take what they want. They also had those great Riedel tumblers for the wine on the table. Man, it tasted much better in those glasses.
Afterwards, we made it through a couple of songs in the show lounge and then it was time for Voyager Lounge. I miss Perry Grant on this trip but we still got some big band swing in. Heck, we managed a Mexican polka while we were at it. Dag came down to visit for a few minutes. We docked in Puntarenas around 10 last night. The crew was thrilled - extra shore leave for them. I understand there was one medical evacuation last night (heart problem) so there was an extra reason to get here early.
We got a scare the second day out as Gary's mom needed to be hospitalized. She's stabilized so as of now it looks like we won't need to fly home early. Talk about service - the ship's staff got the message from Ft. Lauderdale, went to the trouble of finding us onboard and personally told us we needed to phone home, right now. Nothing short of amazing.
I've got a date with the ibuprofin after I sign off. Those cosmos get me every time. Today is the return of the canopy ZIP LINE tour with several of the LCTers. Tonight we are passing Mariner on her way to Fort Lauderdale and have lots of antics planned for 11 pm. I'm wondering if or when someone will moon them (or us) in the moonlight.
It is a terrific group on board and a wonderful cruise, indeed.
Cheers, Anne
