Today was Anzac Day, similar to our Veteran's Day in the US we believe. The officers, staff and crew of the Zuiderdam expressed their gratitude for all those that lost their lives in the service of their countries. At 6:30am there was a remembrance service held at the Sea View Poolside. Our buddy Greg, who is an Australian citizen, attended the ceremony and also had a reading for the small group of folks that represented the Commonwealth countries onboard right now.
Well, we are still working on the details of our flight home that was adjusted back in January. A message sent directly from the airline to us indicated our seats had been changed, and we were not even in the same row. Michelle promised to check this out with the air/sea department in Seattle once the company opened for business.
It was surely going to be another warm and sticky day with temperatures in the 80's and the humidity at 75%. The winds were of no help at 11mph. Something we noticed yesterday was that the flying fish are back, jumping when the ship cuts through the waters. It must be due to the fact that the temperature of the water equals the air temps. Lucky for these flying fish there are no birds anywhere to be seen. At least, not yet…..
Unfortunately we missed the display of the hundreds of blankets that were either knitted or crocheted at the Linus Project group that met every sea day for 2 hours in the morning. We understand that this is the largest amount ever created. Nice to see so many busy hands and happy hearts, as the saying goes.
We had our daily visit with Greg and he told us there was a Seafood Symphony in the Lido Market starting at 11:30am. It did seem to be busy when we passed through the restaurant before they opened the curtains. Then Kimberly came on the speakers and invited all seafood lovers to indulge in clams, mussels, scallops, and lobster among other seafood items. By the time we were on our way back to our room, we had to wiggle through the lines at every station….it was so crowded. Many of the officers and staff were among those indulging as well.
Michelle, our girl Friday, followed through with a phone call late this afternoon with the news that our original airline seats were still on file and all was correct with the flight. Good news, as long as nothing changes in the meantime. In a few days, we will need to start packing….yuck. It used to be easy with no size or weight restrictions, but now we have a limit of 50# in an airline size piece of luggage. We did bring less, but will be wishing we brought a lot less. We will be sending 9 pieces of luggage back home, only keeping our hand carrys to go to the hotel for one night, then fly home Sunday the 12th. It will be here before we know it.
Dinner had the best chicken tenders with a honey mustard drizzle. They went well on top of a Caesar salad. The soup was split pea, full of diced ham and sausage. One of us ordered the pork tenderloin without the bean smear (sounds awful – looked awful), and one of us had the every day lasagna. Totally full, there was no room for dessert. We had inquired as to when the veal chop might show up on the Club Orange menu. Hazel, our head waiter, said they would have it tomorrow. But we have reservations in the Pinnacle Grill tomorrow evening, so she said she will ask if they can serve it to us the following day. Of course, that will be great…hope they remember.
There was an interesting activity at 8:30pm, which turned out to be star gazing on deck 10 in the Retreat area. Astronomer Ted Blank, a guest speaker, would conduct the session (weather permitting). We did see a full moon after we left the dining room, so the skies were clear enough for this event to happen.
Another option was going to see the Afro Poper Trio perform their classically trained songs in the World Stage.
One more sea day, and we will be in Ghana….docked in the city of Takoradi to be precise. We need to catch up on Kimberly's talk of this African country tomorrow on TV.
Bill & Mary Ann
