Day 52 - San DIego to Dallas

 I got up at 5, dressed and went to breakfast at 6. After breakfast, I returned to the cabin since my approximate departure time is 9:15. At 7:45, I went up to deck 5 to wait for my tag color to be called and it turned out that due to a late bus, we were not called until 9:50.  I got to the airport, checked my bags and got to my gate 10.55 and settled down for a 4 hour wait. Just got notice of a gate change from 23 to 32 at 11:20. Thirty minutes later the gate was changed back to 23. The flight was uneventful and our pilot became a Captain during this flight. Ron from A Rated Limousine was waiting at the baggage claim and I got home at 9. 

 

Day 51 - At Sea - Last Day

 I got up at 6, dressed and went to breakfast at 7. After breakfast, I picked up the paper and crossword and returned to the cabin and read the paper and worked the crossword. I read and watched TV until lunch at 11:30. I took a video of the Cake Me Away! at the Lido before I ate my lunch. After lunch, I returned to the cabin to read and watch TV. At 3, I checked in for my flight and paid for my second bag. Added my boarding pass to my Samsung wallet. My TV quit working at 3:30 so I showered and got dressed for dinner at 4 and finished packing the last minute stuff and read until 5 when I went to the Main Dining Room for dinner. After dinner, the staff did a parade and marched through the dinning room. I returned to the cabin and Eddie fixed the TV while he and Yan were servicing the room. I read and watched TV until I went to bed at 9:30. 

Day 50 - At Sea - Crew Show

 I got  up at 6, dressed and went to breakfast at 7. After breakfast, I picked up the paper and crossword and returned to the cabin where I read the paper and worked the crossword. Then I started packing and finished the first bag. At 10, I went up for the On Deck for a Cause. I only managed 3 laps out of the 11 but I participated. Next, I returned to the cabin to start on the second bag. I got a lot done and went to lunch at 11:30. After lunch, I continued packing and managed to not leave anything out for tomorrow. I got out something for tomorrow during the day and am about 97% packed. I cleaned up for the dressy evening with a Philippine barong and slacks. At 2:20 I went to the World Stage to get a seat for the 3 pm crew talent show. It was a good show though it seemed to be most the Indonesian crew with a few exceptions. It lasted until 4:40. I took mostly videos but here are a couple of still shots. The Cowboy - Raiders game came on at 5:15, so I waited until halftime to go to dinner in the Lido. After dinner, I stopped by the Ocean Bar for a drink before returning to the cabin to watch the end of the Cowboy game. I got my disembarkation letter and tags and read until I went to bed at 9:30. 

 

 

Day 49 - At Sea

 I got up at 6:05, dressed and went to breakfast at 7. After breakfast, I picked up the paper and crossword and returned to the cabin where I watched the Washington - Miami game from Madrid and read the paper. I attempted the Sunday crossword but could not even get a good start. At 9, I went to walk a mile before returning to the cabin to watch the overtime of the Washington - Miami game and the watched the Tampa Bay - Buffalo game. I went to lunch at halftime and then returned to the cabin for the rest of that game and then watched the KC - Denver game. I lost the TV feed for the game just before halftime and cleaned up for dinner. The feed came back later and I  got to watch the second half. I went to dinner at 5. After dinner, I returned to the cabin to watch the Detroit - Philly game. After the game, I read until I went to bed at 9:30.

Day 48 - At Sea

 I got up at 5:55, dressed and went to breakfast at 7. After breakfast, I picked up the paper and crossword and returned to the cabin. I read the paper and worked on the crossword while waiting for college football to begin. I got to see the Michigan - Northwestern game and then got ready for the Mariner Recognition Event at 11:30 which was also the start of the Oklahoma - Alabama game. After the Mariner event, I went to the Lido for some mixed fruit. After lunch, I returned to the cabin to watch the UCF - Texas Tech game. My laundry came back and I put it away and then cleaned up and dressed for dinner. l had to keep up with the OU - Bama game and the Texas - UGA games on my phone. I went to the Dive-In for a burger at 5. After the burger, I went to the Crow's Nest for a drink and then returned to the cabin to keep an eye on the Texas game which did not turn out so good. The same for the TCU - BYU game. We set our clocks forward 1 hour tonight so I went to bed at 9:30.

Day 47 - At Sea

 I got up at 6, dressed and went to breakfast at 7. After breakfast, I picked up the paper and crossword, went back to the cabin and read the paper and worked the crossword. I read until 9 when I went up for the Walk-a-Mile with Dario. After the walk, I returned to the cabin to read until lunch. I went up and registered for the second On Deck For a Cause on the 17th. I went to lunch at 11:30. After lunch, I returned to the cabin and read until time to clean up and dress for the cocktail party at 4 and dinner following that at 5. I ate at the Dive In again and had a hot dog and fries. I returned to the cabin to watch the Minnesota - Oregon game. I went to bed at 9:30.

Day 46 - At Sea

 I got up at 6:40, dressed and went to breakfast at 7:05. After breakfast, I picked up the paper and crossword and returned to the cabin. I read the  paper and worked on the crossword. At 9, I went to Coffee with Clare featuring the Security Officer. After the talk, I returned to the cabin and read until 10 when I went to pick up my passport which was surrendered on October 30 while we were in French Polynesia. I returned to the cabin and read until lunch at 11:35. After lunch, I returned to the cabin to read and nap until 2:45 when I went to play bingo. I played with a I-pad and paper for $82 and got close but no win. I probably will not play again. I cleaned up for dinner and dressed in my orange shirt, vest and bow-tie. Tonight is a Dutch dinner and at 9, the  Orange Party around the Lido pool. I went to dinner at 5. After dinner, I went to the Mix bar to watch the second half of the Jets - Patriots game. I gave  up on the game with a little over 2 minutes left and the Pats leading 27-14. I ran into Tom Mullen and he took a picture of my Orange Party outfit on my phone and had someone take a picture of the two of us together on his phone. I returned to the cabin where I found an invitation to the Mariner Recognition Event on Saturday. At 8:30, I went to the Lido pool for the party. I lasted until 9:30 but the music, especially the drummer got to me. I went to bed at 10. 

 

Day 45 - Taiohae, Nuku Hiva, Marquesas, French Polynesia

 I got up at 5:50, dressed and went to breakfast at 6:30. After breakfast, I picked up the paper and crossword and returned to the cabin. I read the paper and worked on the crossword until time to go get my tour sticker at 7:30. There was only one tour and when we got to the cars, a guy from North Carolina and me were placed in the lead Toyota Hi-Lux with air conditioning. Other were in the back of theirs or inside with no air. Our driver was also the guide and her English was excellent and so we arrived at each stop first and waited for the other vehicles to unload and then she gave very good information about each stop. I took lots of photos. I got back to the ship at 12:15 where I found an invitation to a Cruise Specialists cocktail party for November 14. I changed clothes and went to lunch at 1:15. After lunch, I returned to the cabin and uploaded my photos and updated the blog entry. I cleaned up for dinner and added comments to the photos. I went to dinner at 5. After dinner, I returned to the cabin to read and watch TV. We set the clocks forward 30 minutes again tonight and  I went to bed at 9:30.

 

Entrance to the Catholic Church grounds

Statue of a bishop that taught the mass in Marquesas language

Entrance to the Notre Dame Cathedral 

Our guide explaining the statues

Inside the cathedral

A scenic stop

Taipivai Valley where Melville deserted his ship and captured by indigenous natives and  lived there  for 3 weeks during which he observed their way of life enabling him to write the novel called Typee.

A stop at the sacred Te A'utya temple where we had refreshments

Another scenic stop along a river inlet

Tohua Temehea Ancient ceremonial site

Day 44 - At Sea

 i got up at 6, dressed for the day and went to breakfast at 6:40 but they don't open until 7 today so I picked up the crossword and paper and returned to the cabin. I read the paper and started the crossword but went to breakfast at 7. After breakfast, I returned to the cabin and completed the crossword and read until the Walk-a-Mile at 9. After the walk, I returned to the cabin and read until lunch at 11:30. After lunch, I returned to the cabin and read until time to get ready for a dressy night. My laundry came back and I put it away and went to dinner at 5. We got to see the green flash during the sunset at dinner. After dinner, I returned to the cabin and read a disembarkation letter which did not apply to me before going to the Mentalist Santiago Michel show at 7. I have seen better mentalist on AGT than he was. After the show, I returned to the cabin and updated the blog and went to bed at  9:30.

Day 43 - Fakarava, Tuamotu, French Polynesia

 I got up at 6, dressed for the day and went to breakfast at 6:35. After breakfast, I picked up the crossword and paper and returned to the cabin to work the crossword and read the paper. Tendering began at 8 but I waited until 8:25 to go up for my tender ticket. We were called at 8:35 and got to shore at 8:45. I walked for about 20 minutes, but only saw houses and coconut groves along the road. I took a few pictures and returned to the dock since it was very hot again. I got the tender back and got to my cabin at 9:35. I uploaded my photos and updated the blog. Then I read until 11:45 when I went to lunch and had some fruit. I went to the lower promenade deck and took a couple of photos. I returned to the cabin and watched TV and read until the Eagles - Packers game came on. I watched the game and at halftime, I went to the Dive-In for my first burger of the cruise. After my burger, I returned to the cabin to watch the second half of the game and then I went to the World Stage to see Andrew Grose, a Canadian comedian and he was hilarious. I returned to the cabin and updated the blog entry and went to bed at 9:30. We set the clocks forward 30 minutes tonight.

Our welcoming band

Fishing floats used as decoration

Lighthouse

View from the ship