Land Ho! (Tomorrow)

The sliding door to our balcony is open and the sea is roaring just outside.  Cruising is such a wonderful reminder of the vastness and power of the oceans.  It's truly amazing to be in the middle of nowhere, no land in sight.  It's awe inspiring and sometimes overwhelming.

Last night's irrational musing was 'what if the ship is overtaken by pirates'?  I know - it's ridiculous, right?  But - just in case - I thought about the drills we do at the schools all the time.  We'd draw the dark blinds, turn off all lights and silence everything and stay in our locked cabin until instructed otherwise.  We could even 'double lock' ourselves by sitting on the bathroom floor and locking that door, too.  Then I realize 'they can shoot through anything, you know'.  I went to sleep (thankfully) shortly after. I slept fine - just my usual 3AMish awakening with a hot flash (or two) and crazy musings until I drift back to sleep.  The gentle rocking of the ocean is something I'm starting to enjoy and might miss when we get home.

I have no idea why my mind wanders to the places it does but I do realize, hugely, that I am totally and completely overwhelmed by newness.  This entire adventure is new and I feel rubbed raw a lot of the time.  Not that we're not having a great time 'cuz we are.  But my mind feels constantly on alert and tired from all the new things to think about.  Example:  if you come out of the elevators, our room is a right turn.  If you come off the stairs, it's left.  But if you cross to the other side of the ship and forget that - and then forget to cross back at some point as you meander back, you are going to put in a lot of steps getting to/from where you want to be.

Today felt like a really busy day.  We had breakfast and I headed to the casino for a bit. Then I met J. and we played Bingo.  I WON $44 on a 4-corner Bingo - sadly, sharing the $144 jackpot with 2 other ladies but still - we paid $69 for both of us to play (including a new t-shirt) so we were only $25 in the hole after my win.  We tried for the $2000 blackout pattern grand prize but no one won.  It went back down to $200ish when it didn't hit after a certain number of calls.

After we came back to our room, we headed to lunch and from there, went straight to the spa.  We purchased the 'thermal suite' package which gives us access all week to sauna, hot swimming pool, cold swimming pool (which I won't go near), jacuzzi and a viewing deck with heated (tile topped) chaises.  I didn't really care for the chaises - weird angle for my neck - but enjoyed holding my beloved's hand in the jacuzzi and then sitting in the deck chairs watching the bow of the ship move up and down.  It's incredibly quiet in the spa area which is a nice break from the gazillion children and loud adults about.  I'm reading a great book - a real, live paper book - enjoying every minute and savoring each page.

We had a tea service at 4PM (part of our Romance Package) and then canapes at 6 (also part of the romance package).  The date for the canapes was pre-booked and today just worked out to be the better day for our tea service.

Tomorrow is our first land day - Puerto Vallarta.  We are heading to Las Caletas for the day - 6.5 hours of being at this retreat where we can do as much (or as little) as we'd like.  We will be back on board in plenty of time for our departure tomorrow evening.

We booked an excursion for every land day and I think we both sort of regret that now, especially since we purchased the spa package - but oh well.  Thankfully, Th & Fri's excursions are just a few hours leaving plenty of time to return to the ship and relax.

Time changed again and we lost another hour - it's 9PM though the computer and our phones says 8PM.  Need to wind down and get some sleep - have to actually set an alarm tomorrow (crap!) but oh well.

We're already looking ahead to a 10 to 14 day cruise to the Caribbean in a year or so.  I think cruising just might be my new happy place - we think it's less expensive than Cancun (on a per day basis) and once I get the hang of the newness, it is very relaxing.  No shopping or cooking; no expensive dinners out - tons of 'help' here - a great room steward; wait staff; casino team - all ready to do anything they can to make your trip fun and memorable.