Hard to believe that as a young girl I was terrified of going out in dad’s boat on Big Stone Lake, but that rocking seemed a lot more dangerous. Maybe it’s more about the difference between dad and the ship’s captain. This seems like a ride at the fair.
They closed off the outside deck earlier in the day. After dinner I took a walk around it. Something about the waves and the sound of the ship crashing its way through (crashing is way too strong a word) thrills me. I was the only one on the deck probably because it was a windy 13 C, whatever that translates to. Cold, I think.
To avoid some of it the Captain took the channel through some Scottish isles. Infinitely better ride. . Once we were back in the Atlantic again the ship began its familiar rock.
The idea of a Sea Day is to relax and enjoy being on the ship. Nonetheless, the phone rang around 7 and the Marys were ready for breakfast. Then Terry and I attended the Explorations talk about Faroe Islands and Iceland.
After that it was the Art Tour of the Ship. I felt sorry for our slightly sea sick guide. Maybe it was that or maybe he just didn’t speak English as well as some, but he was having a hard time. I decided it could have been one of his first tours, but I have no basis in reality for that. He kept talking while we were wobbling behind him and unable to hear. He had to repeat a lot and he lost quite a few of his followers.
The Jewel has 5.3 million invested in paintings and sculpture. The centerpiece in the central lobby spans 7 decks. It’s an artistic rendition of the Northern Lights, which our guides tell us we may see in Iceland or we may not. It depends on the weather which right now is forecast as cloudy.
He introduced us to Lady Grace in the casino who is the patron of undiscovered fortune. Supposedly if you touch her your chances at winning are better. The forward staircase theme is art of light. Without light these works of art are simply black or dull and unattractive. One, a collection of individual points of light, turns out to be different cities from 10,000 feet above. The mid stair case has a landscape theme, one a painting from 19th century, the next a photo enhanced to feature clouds, fields, rain hitting the stream as a young lady arches her back over it. Not sure how she got up from that position.
The guide’s favorite was a computer enhanced photo of a deer in a forest. I’m not sure which part was enhanced, deer or forest. Who would have guessed that photographs could be so creative and expensive? NOT ME!
The spa has a Thailand theme. Deck 11 has 6 or 7 paintings of Thomas Kinkade, made more valuable by his recent death and on sale for up to 1700.00. An 18th century bell without the clapper hangs in the Solarium.
The Digital Camera Basics class was sponsored by the nerds of the Photo gallery. It was standing room only. They explained the difference between an optical zoom and a digital zoom and theoretically which selection was best for different subjects. However when I tried to put it into practice I’m not sure I did it right. One lady asked what setting is best for bus shots. . The answer was sports and action. One of the problems is their images don’t exactly correspond with mine.
However I take a lot of bus shots. Uncle Vint would be proud. He was the pioneer of the bus shot, much to our dismay and his delight. His videos were more likely to cause sea sickness than this ship – at least for me. But he was a pioneer. At least it got me to look at my camera more closely.
The rest of the day I spent on the back deck watching Scotland go by. Terry rested in what passes for a lazy boy here. Then it was time for dinner and a show, Livewire, Irish Celtic husband and wife team who play the guitar and violin and sing mostly Irish songs.
During the show I was seeing 4 of them instead of 2. Entertaining but alarming. We decided I probably just needed to get some sleep, as difficult as that was for me to accept.
Here’s another good thing about the two bedroom suite I like to complain about. Every, and I mean every, room has its own individual thermostat, including the bathrooms. Given my proclivity for cold when I’m sleeping and the narrow range of acceptable temperature when I’m awake, it comes in handy.
Terry actually got up this morning - 1:30 a.m. – to watch the Cowboy game. Funny how they can broadcast sports for the guys but they can’t figure out how to get our favorite reality shows. We are forced to depend on email updates about who is HOH in Big Brother and who is on the block. I know that probably doesn’t sound as important as a football game, but it is to some of us. Really football is just a reality show with different rules. It’s all about the guys.
Today’s events remind me that it was probably good things worked out the way they did. I would have hated for the relatives to be seasick. And that extra room has come in handy for writing blogs, watching late night TV and listening to country western music without bothering anyone else. If you know what I mean.
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