When we cruise, one of the things I look forward to is the dining room experience. I like the time spent together as we get to hear what everyone has done during the day, plan what we are gong to do that evening and the next day and taste food we have never eaten before or would like to try again.
Walter is by far the most adventurous eater. He sampled escargot, lobster, alligator and frog legs. Not all on the same evening of course!
We all fell in love with the chocolate molten cake. It was so delicious. In fact, some of us ate it more than once.
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| Our Group on the Second Night |
Gathered around the table are Walter, Mick, Gloria, Brandon, Austin, Tracy, Chris and me. We alternated the seating each evening. Eight people is the perfect number of people for traveling.
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| Brandon Smiles Before His Chicken Tenders Arrived |
The grandsons tried several different entrees. Austin liked the Bacon Mac & Cheese. They were good sports about the food.
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| Austin Liked Sitting Next to the Window |
Austin is twelve years old. He did a good job of fitting in with the grownups. In the picture above he looks so mature to me. He is not a little boy any longer. He wanted to try the midnight buffet so we said we would take him. He was the model gentleman. He stayed with us and seemed happy to do so even though some kids would want to run off with older children and possibly get into trouble. He watched the poolside dancing from a distance but never showed any signs that he wanted to join in. I was so proud of him. Walter and I shared some great one-on-one time with him that magical midnight evening.
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| Mick and Gloria Strike a Happy Pose |
Chris' parents, Mick & Gloria, were first time cruisers. We hoped they would enjoy the adventure. The above picture shows them smiling and having a good time. Mick had always said he would never go on a cruise. Sometime in March, I believe, he had a moment when he told Gloria that he would go. Bang! The starting gun went off! Walter and Chris acted fast and got the cruise booked and the airline flights locked in. Almost as soon as the payment was made, the news started filling with one cruise line disaster after another. We hoped they would not hear the news.
They did hear but did not let it pressure them. If anything, they probably thought the cruise would be safer now with all the media coverage insuring the liner would be maintained in tip top condition. And indeed, we did not have any trouble at all.
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| Tracy and Chris Smile for the Camera |
Tracy came to the table with braided hair that she had done on the private island. We all thought it was very becoming to her. She said it didn't hurt even though the braids looked tight.
Chris gave us the biggest laugh of all one evening. He became curious to try wasabi. Apparently he had not understood that it is hot. I mean really hot. Instead of putting a small amount on his tongue to sample it, he tried a good spoonful of it all at once. Oh! Oh! He made the most painful face and spat it all out. He coughed and coughed, obviously in great pain. It took glasses of water before he got any relief. After he was able to talk again, he was in on the joke too.
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| Walter & I Enjoy a Cake for Our 25th Anniversary |
Although our anniversary is on August 27, we were encouraged to celebrate it on this trip. We were sung to and a small cake was presented to us. We were told to kiss, which we did. Then we held a napkin up in front of our faces for a long kiss. Brandon is still asking us what we did behind the napkin. If he reads this blog, he will know.
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| Family Formal Night at the Table |
We had one glitch on the cruise. Over the phone we had been told that formal night was on Friday but the day was actually on Tuesday. On Tuesday we missed out on the portraits because we had missed the formal night announcement in the daily paper we received of the days' functions. I felt responsible for this error. I knew a lot of thought had gone into clothing selection and preparations for portraits. Devastated about this mess up, I asked Walter to tell the bad news to everyone at the next night's dining table.
Now this is where I have to express my love and gratitude to my wonderful family. When they heard the news, no one blamed me or held judgement over me. Immediately Chris said we would have our own formal night. So on Thursday we all dressed up and had our own family formal night. Fortunately, the cruise ship still had photographers and back drops set up each evening and the family was able to have many terrific pictures made in their dress-up clothes. The above picture shows us on our own special formal night.
I will probably show some of the formal shots in another post.
Thank God for the love and generosity of a forgiving family.
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