Here is my pre-sunrise photo from this morning:
The sunrise photos this morning weren’t as colorful as pre-sunrise. It has been somewhat rough at sea the last couple of days, pretty windy and with some rain, lots of clouds. But the nice thing about the ship is that you can pick and choose your activities based on how it looks outside. If it’s sunny, you can go walking or lay out. If it’s rainy, you can paint on the balcony (in the case of Krissie) or go to a seminar (in the case of Brian). Today looks like it should be sunnier and smoother weather.
Sergio and Noemi gave me a tip on how to avoid the problem with my camera fogging on the lens when I go outside in the morning—just store the camera and lenses on top of the refrigerator in the room (which is located in one of the closets). The refrigerator generates a small amount of heat, which keeps the camera warm. So instead of going from the air conditioning into the hot, humid air outside, the camera is pre-heated. Works great!
Zumba and ping pong are back on this morning after taking off a day for the bomb drills for the crew yesterday. Krissie and I both go to Zumba at 8:15a, it lasts until 9a, then she typically goes walking on the track and I go to play ping pong with Dan to warm up before the tournament starts at 9:30a. Dan and I discuss strategy on how to beat Wai at ping pong during Zumba class, but to no avail. Wai has been pretty much unbeatable ever since he got his new paddle. He’s a spin player and the new paddle means that every shot is either a slam or backspin. It’s fun competition and Wai is great at helping us get better, even giving us tips on how to return his shots. Dan and I play Wai and James afterward in doubles and after 3 days of 3 games, it is 5-4 in favor of Wai and James. Yet it is 9-0 for the team with their back to the windows (we switch sides every game), so maybe there is something to getting that side of the table when we play Wai? We need all the help we can get.
We won at trivia this morning with 17 out of 20. No tiebreaker, good thing, since we’re not very good at the tiebreakers. Here are the questions we missed: What 20th century head of state has survived more assassination attempts than any other? Francisco Franco (we put Fidel Castro). In Asterix and Obelix cartoons, what is Obelix’s favorite food? Boar (we put dog food). In which film did Marlon Brando make his debut in 1950? The Man (we put A Streetcar Named Desire—funny side note is that it is playing as Movies Under the Stars tonight and it is clearly listed in the Princess Patter as 1951, so if we would have just read our Patter, but we still wouldn’t have gotten it right, then we would have put On the Waterfront). Other tough questions: What is Buddy Holly’s hometown in Texas? Lubbock. What does a lepidopterist study? Butterflies. In the UK they are called stevedores, what are they called in the US? Longshoremen. Who lead the 7th Army into Sicily in WWII? George Patton. In which famous TV series was Frank Furillo the Chief? Hill Street Blues.
Lunch today was Café de Paris Luncheon Buffet. It was quite nice, although I was hoping for more (good) stinky cheeses. That said, this cruise has had a lot of stinky cheese opportunities. On the last cruise we took with Celebrity (on the Solstice), they only offered the really good cheeses in the specialty restaurants, which were a much higher premium ($25-40 vs. $20 here). You can get good cheeses every night as a dessert alternative and about half the nights there is a good blue (stinky) cheese of some type (Stilton, Roquefort, etc.).
It turned out to be a beautiful day today, partly cloudy (or partly sunny—I forget which one is better?) and not as windy or wavy as the past couple of days.
We got 13 out of 20 in afternoon trivia, 15 won it. Questions we missed: What system is named after the person who recommended letting your children cry themselves to sleep? Ferber (we said Spock). What type of dance has double buffaloes, cramp rolls, maxi forts and swap wings? Tap (we said square). What kind of painting is uses watercolors on wet plaster? Fresco (we said frieze). What professional was Art Garfunkel when Bridge Over Troubled Waters was released? Math teacher (we put waiter). What kind of athlete performs a footjam nosepick? BMX rider (we put soccer). What celebrity in 1961 bought a pet chimpanzee named Scatter? Elvis Presley (we put Buster Crab). How many days can a vampire bat go without feeding on blood before it dies—2, 6 or 12? 2 (we put 6). Other interesting questions: Who played opposite Keanu Reeves in Speed? Sandra Bullock. What part of a human is examined with a gastroscope? Stomach. Which is not whole grain—bulgar wheat, couscous, millet or quinoa? Couscous. In tennis, what is it called on a serve when a ball hits the net, but would otherwise be in play? Let. What did Steve Jobs sell to finance his first Apple Computer—VW van, his entire wardrobe or his baseball card collection? VW van. Where in the human body does osteoblast and osteoclast take place? Bones. In darts, what is a ton eighty? 180.
The evening entertainment was Tim Barton playing ragtime music on the piano:
Tim played a variety of ragtime and jazz pieces, also telling interesting stories about many of the ragtime and jazz greats:
We were hoping to hear again from Annette Wardell, the opera singer who performed a few evenings ago. She apparently lost her voice after her performance the other evening. Tim is the leader of the Pacific Princess show band that backs up most of the performers. Tim was a fill-in for Annette, who was not able to perform. She flew all the way from London for just two performances (one early evening, one later that same evening) shortly after joining the ship. Bummer that we didn’t get to see more of her. But Tim did an excellent job of filling in on short notice.
Tomorrow is a port day in Guam. We are renting a car with Lorraine and Chuck.
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