November 11 and 12—On the Sea heading North

Leaving Puerto Vallarta was bittersweet.  It was so beautiful there and we wished we had a few more days instead of having to go home.  But we woke up and were steaming north.  After coffee on the balcony and wandering the boat a little bit, we got on swimsuits and headed for the pool.  We wanted to take advantage of the sun before we got too far north.  We found our spots at the aft end again, but it was really too hot at mid-day to stay there.  We looked for somewhere in the shade.

Jeff had bought a cigar while we were in P.V. and as we were looking for a place to settle, he came across some men with lit stogies.  So he sat down to join them.  I found my place in the shade one level up and with book in hand found peace and tranquility.  And took a lap around the top deck.  About 2 hours later, I went back to where Jeff was sitting and was introduced to the whole crowd of smokers/spouses.  They were really nice people and so funny and friendly.  Jeff had a great time getting to know them.  Something about sitting with a group of guys puffing on stogies and looking out over a deck filled with females sweating in two pieces can bring out the raunch - in a funny sort of way.

The top of the ship looking "aft"

In the evening, we dressed up again for dinner.  We really enjoyed having a table to  ourselves, and not having to try and make conversation with M and A.  Then we gambled a little, and went to the comedy club for two comics.  They were both pretty good, but very raunchy…….no kids allowed.  We laughed and laughed and then headed for the balcony and bed.

In the middle of the night, I was awakened by the sound of the boat slapping the waves.   We were in the middle of an ocean full of swells.  The boat went up and down like a drunken merry-go-round.  At breakfast there were more than a few folks turning green. The weather had turned cold and cloudy.  A few brave souls were still trying to sunbathe, but it was foolhardy.  When it began to rain, even the 20-something hard-bodies were covering up and coming inside. 

The big event of the day was the Chocolate Buffet.  It was all chocolate desserts of every kind including a chocolate fountain and lots of fruit and cakes for dipping.  It started at 12 and long before that, a line formed that seemed to go all around the ship.  J.  and I got in line and eventually got two platefuls of goodies, cups of coffee and proceeded to stuff our faces.  Amazing!  But I had to have some protein to counteract all that sugar.

Rough seas viewed from  the lounge window

Jeff and I were both concerned that we wouldn’t be able to watch the Ducks/Stanford game.  So we checked in the sports bar to see if they were going to show the game.  There were a bunch of guys in there watching soccer.  It didn’t seem like the sports bar would be the place to catch the game.  After more inquiries, we were excited to find that we could see the game on ABC in our room.  So we watched the end of the Michigan game and waited eagerly to see our team in action.  Jeff’s Oregon hat had drawn lots of attention and there were quite a few people wearing the green.  I’m sure our shouts of joy could be heard throughout the 6^th floor as the Ducks showed their strength against Stanford.  Towards the end of the game when the Ducks were up and moving towards a rout, Jeff took his Ducks flag and adorned head to toe in green and yellow, went to the Sports bar where he made his presence known - all in good fun with more then a few guffaws.

Jeff roots for his Ducks

.  

We enjoyed our last dinner at Herman’s station, and went to the casino for one last try at riches.  Then back to room 6207 to finish packing and prepare to disembark on Sunday.  We could only hope that getting off the boat would be easier than getting on. 

FYI, After some discussion, J and K have decided that we will leave the blog open.  We have nothing to hide, and everyone is welcome to read about our adventures.......even those whose motives are suspect.