Day 04 2/14 - Valentine's Day
Day Four of my cruise was Valentines Day. I brought a special vest on the trip – hearts and Dalmatians – that I had acquired in ten years of teaching. I have cute vests for every holiday; as a fifth-grade teacher I always wore pants. You don’t want to be sitting cross legged on the floor in a dress, getting up and down from sitting cross legged on the floor in a dress . . . and you especially don’t want to be crouched down and bent over reaching into a cabinet to get green construction paper with your big American butt waving about, possibly revealing your underwear, whilst wearing a dress . . . so I made my pants outfits look professional with vests. Therefore, I have vests for all occasions. But I digress . . .
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As I walked to breakfast, the crew were decorating the ship, hauling giant balloon displays and placing them in the public spaces. It was delightful. I came upon a photography team setting up camera angles for people to get their pictures taken on the stairs in front of the atrium decorations. When the team leader saw me taking the photos of him working with the photographer, he broke into a big smile and started posing for me. That was fun. Many of the crew seemed to be in an extra cheerful mood. And that’s saying something, because 99.5% of the crew are cheerful. Always a pleasant greeting, a smile, and often further friendly communication.
I had a lovely breakfast in the Main Dining Room. After trying several of the breakfast options, I settled in on oatmeal and fruit cup. I fell in love with the raisin bread, which seemed like a challah in texture and taste. It tasted freshly baked, but that seemed unlikely. The bread on the cruise was divine.
I took a walk outside on Deck Five. The wind was becoming warm, especially when compared to the bitter cold of the day we left Baltimore. Churning along at a rapid rate, we were heading south. The waves against the side of the ship tossed little splashes of water up on my face. Life was good.
I had the pedicure that my girls bought for me. I have generally given up on getting my nails done because my nails are fragile these days. Did I mention that at this point I was 71 years old? (I’m 72 as I write this, having passed the March 10 marker day.)
Anywho, nail polish and especially nail polish remover are too harsh for my aging nails. I also have some special oil I use to strengthen my nails, plus taking vitamins and minerals. I figured out that if I just did not ever use nail polish remover, I should be able to get my nails painted. So, that is how I rationalized the whole thing. I had my toenails painted a color that would not look ugly when the paint chipped off and my toenails grew out. My feet felt so much better and look pretty as well. What a treat. Foot massages are the best!
Anywho, nail polish and especially nail polish remover are too harsh for my aging nails. I also have some special oil I use to strengthen my nails, plus taking vitamins and minerals. I figured out that if I just did not ever use nail polish remover, I should be able to get my nails painted. So, that is how I rationalized the whole thing. I had my toenails painted a color that would not look ugly when the paint chipped off and my toenails grew out. My feet felt so much better and look pretty as well. What a treat. Foot massages are the best!
After the pedicure, I sat in the “relaxation room” for a long time letting my toenails dry. I had a view of the world out the back of a cruise ship – the twin trails of waves spreading out behind us and endless blue sea with sunlight sparkling on the water.
I had a lovely conversation with a woman who had just had a hot stone massage and I decided to get one. My daughters had been encouraging me to get a massage on the cruise, even offering to pay for it, but for some reason that is now fuzzy, I had declined. But now, I changed up my mind.
An old man came in and sat down, followed by a staff member, male, Asian, young. Dr. Chenghua, (chen-gee), as he turned out to be, announced that he was going to start a “seminar” on acupuncture and acupressure. Even though the old man who came in was the only actual customer in the room, the hot stone massage woman dominated the conversation and had Dr. Chenghua do acupressure on her first. I asked if he would help with the right side of my neck where my mouse shoulder gives me some grief. He found a pressure point on my left arm and two minutes later, the pain was gone. It is still gone today – a month later.
Even though I had thus been introduced to the magic healing of this acupuncturist, on my way out of the spa, I still scheduled a hot stone massage and not an acupuncture session. Then I had a salad at the Park Café. It was custom made to my specifications and was, therefore, delicious.
I had a lovely conversation with a woman who had just had a hot stone massage and I decided to get one. My daughters had been encouraging me to get a massage on the cruise, even offering to pay for it, but for some reason that is now fuzzy, I had declined. But now, I changed up my mind.
An old man came in and sat down, followed by a staff member, male, Asian, young. Dr. Chenghua, (chen-gee), as he turned out to be, announced that he was going to start a “seminar” on acupuncture and acupressure. Even though the old man who came in was the only actual customer in the room, the hot stone massage woman dominated the conversation and had Dr. Chenghua do acupressure on her first. I asked if he would help with the right side of my neck where my mouse shoulder gives me some grief. He found a pressure point on my left arm and two minutes later, the pain was gone. It is still gone today – a month later.
Even though I had thus been introduced to the magic healing of this acupuncturist, on my way out of the spa, I still scheduled a hot stone massage and not an acupuncture session. Then I had a salad at the Park Café. It was custom made to my specifications and was, therefore, delicious.
Later in the day, after dinner (the first of two formal nights – I wore my black fancy jacket) but before Karaoke, I wandered into one of the two jewelry stores. The store featured Swarovski jewelry so of course I tried on a tennis bracelet. I have tried on tennis bracelets all over the country. The best one I ever tried on was in a Tiffany’s in the Roseville Mall near Sacramento. It cost $25,000! It was fabulous.
This tennis bracelet was not that grand, but it was pretty darned nice. I practiced putting it on and taking it off all by myself. It was easy-peasy. It was so sparkly. Rainbows!
So I took this photo,
This tennis bracelet was not that grand, but it was pretty darned nice. I practiced putting it on and taking it off all by myself. It was easy-peasy. It was so sparkly. Rainbows!
So I took this photo,
which I sent to “La Familia” – our family text group of me, Mike, Rocky, Libby, and Taylor-Rey (Libby’s wife). The bracelet was very pricey, it cost $195(!) and I wanted to buy it. Mike and I had budgeted $300 for possible extra expenses on the cruise, including souvenirs. I hadn’t even gotten off the ship at a port and I was ready to blow 2/3 of my spendy on this one purchase . . .
Mike was encouraging me to get it but Rocky sent me a private text telling me to hold off on the decision. She wisely pointed out that when she and I go to Disney World (she takes me at least once a year!) we have a “wait and see” attitude about big purchases. A few hours later, when we walk by that same store on the way out, we pause to reflect on if we really want that item . . . and most of the time, the thrill has worn off and we do not purchase some item that seemed so wonderful earlier in the day. This was sound advice, which I shared with Mike in separate private message.
She also said this, “Dad would buy you the moon, Mom.” Which is also true. I’m the tightwad in this family. Mike and I discovered early on in the relationship when we looked in the Sear’s Catalogue (that was how you figured stuff out in the olden days), he would always look at the most expensive version of an item and decide it was good enough and I would always look at the cheapest version I decide if it was affordable at all. Our first Christmas together I got him socks. He got me Black Hills Gold jewelry. Yin yang or opposites attract.
Mike texted back that he wanted me to have the bracelet for Valentine’s Day. He knows, better than anyone, my desire for a tennis bracelet, which cropped up when I was teaching, back in the day. I’ve purchased several cheap versions - five bucks here on an “antique” one, twenty-five bucks there on Swarovski Crystal on an elastic band. (Tennis bracelets for children, anyone?) Mike said, “Buy it now and don’t tell Rocky.” ROFL. And that is exactly what I did.
Mike was encouraging me to get it but Rocky sent me a private text telling me to hold off on the decision. She wisely pointed out that when she and I go to Disney World (she takes me at least once a year!) we have a “wait and see” attitude about big purchases. A few hours later, when we walk by that same store on the way out, we pause to reflect on if we really want that item . . . and most of the time, the thrill has worn off and we do not purchase some item that seemed so wonderful earlier in the day. This was sound advice, which I shared with Mike in separate private message.
She also said this, “Dad would buy you the moon, Mom.” Which is also true. I’m the tightwad in this family. Mike and I discovered early on in the relationship when we looked in the Sear’s Catalogue (that was how you figured stuff out in the olden days), he would always look at the most expensive version of an item and decide it was good enough and I would always look at the cheapest version I decide if it was affordable at all. Our first Christmas together I got him socks. He got me Black Hills Gold jewelry. Yin yang or opposites attract.
Mike texted back that he wanted me to have the bracelet for Valentine’s Day. He knows, better than anyone, my desire for a tennis bracelet, which cropped up when I was teaching, back in the day. I’ve purchased several cheap versions - five bucks here on an “antique” one, twenty-five bucks there on Swarovski Crystal on an elastic band. (Tennis bracelets for children, anyone?) Mike said, “Buy it now and don’t tell Rocky.” ROFL. And that is exactly what I did.
I was going to surprise Rocky by having her read here about our love-bird deception, but I ended up telling her much sooner than this point in time. A couple of days later she texted, asking if I ever got the bracelet so she found out then, and then more recently, when I visited her for my birthday, I told her the whole story. Anything for a laugh.
In case you wondered, I wear my bracelet all day ever day. It reminds me of my cruise and of the love of my life, Mike Jensen.
Another thing I saw was in the Centrum, which is a seven story atrium with a small stage, a grand piano, and nearby bars. There is an exercise class there in the morning, and various live musical performances on and off all day. A woman was dancing with a small child, and boy did that kid have some moves. I took movies.
In case you wondered, I wear my bracelet all day ever day. It reminds me of my cruise and of the love of my life, Mike Jensen.
Another thing I saw was in the Centrum, which is a seven story atrium with a small stage, a grand piano, and nearby bars. There is an exercise class there in the morning, and various live musical performances on and off all day. A woman was dancing with a small child, and boy did that kid have some moves. I took movies.
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After Karaoke, which was fun even though I didn’t do nearly as well as I did before, it was late so I headed back to my room for a shower with amazingly strong water pressure. Loved that. This is what I found on the bed of my cabin:
Fun on a cruise is when your room attendant makes your towels up into an elephant, like an Amuse-bouche for sleeping.
I checked the “find your husband” app on my phone, because it’s a quick way to find my location. We were nearing our first destination, Saint Croix. Life is good.
I checked the “find your husband” app on my phone, because it’s a quick way to find my location. We were nearing our first destination, Saint Croix. Life is good.
