Houston to New Orleans to Norfolk

Houston to New Orleans to Norfolk

(After this week, I don’t intend to write as much detail about our days at sea but we’re still settling into our life on the ship and would like to record what’s it’s like adjusting to this new lifestyle.)

Friday, August 24: It’s great to be underway! We went to sleep last night to the gentle motion of the ship and the hum of the engine. It’s the best possible conditions for sleeping and I awoke refreshed. Martha and I had our first Yoga and stretching class this morning and I spent the rest of the morning painting. Later in the afternoon, we learned that the pool had been filled, so I went for a swim. It’s so easy to float in salt water and the water was quite warm as well. It’s a small pool but a nice way to cool off and do some water exercise. After dinner, we played Farkel (more commonly called “the dice game”) and retired early.

Saturday: I awoke to find Doug already up and overseeing our maneuvering to tie up to the Harmony Street Dock in New Orleans. I watched from our stateroom window and after breakfast went to the upper deck to watch the unloading procedures. It’s fascinating watching the workers operate the huge cranes and other machinery. It always seems as though they’re not doing much but little by little everything gets done. It’s a lot like observing highway or building construction workers. We’d let know Doug’s nephew, Todd, know that we were going to be here so he, Susan (pregnant with their third daughter) and their two girls (Helen 6 and Eva 2) came to pick us up for lunch in the French Quarter. It’s been two years since the disaster of Hurricane Katrina and the city is slowly rebuilding but they don’t anticipate that it will ever return to the way it was and, according to Todd, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The “Quarter” still looks the same but for a Saturday it was not very busy. We enjoyed a traditional lunch of such things as jambalaya, red beans & rice, and muffalata at La Maspara restaurant. The girls were very well behaved and I particularly enjoyed a very mature conversation with Helen. We stopped at WalMart to pick up a few items, including a memory stick for the computer and a “floatie” for the pool. Back at the ship, Todd and family were able to come aboard for a tour and Gani served the girls ice cream and grapes which were a big hit.

Sunday: We were scheduled to depart at midnight last night but I stayed up until two and learned this morning that we finally got underway a little after 4 am. It took us half the day to make our way down the Mississippi, back into the Gulf and head across to Florida. The weather is great, no longer as humid, and a delightful breeze - about 30 knots, including the 20 knots that we’re making. Martha and I did our first Pilates session following the dvd that she found at WalMart. She has now made up a tracking sheet for our exercise program, called “Captain’s Challenge.” Each day we put a hash mark for the “units” of exercise we’ve done. One unit equals: ten minutes of walking, stair-stepping, elliptical or pilates; and/or one session of swimming, dancing, basketball or ping-pong. We haven’t yet learned what these units earn you - that will be announced later - but we’re all motivated to accumulate as many units per day as we can. Of course there can be only winners in this program as we all hope to lose weight and become more fit. Tonight we watched two more episodes of the first season of “Boston Legal” which everyone really gets into and enjoys.

Monday: Why do I feel Monday is the day to do laundry? My mother, and probably my grandmother, always washed on Monday and ironed on Tuesday. Anyway, today I spent a couple of hours at the task and also washed and ironed the six scarves I’ve painted thus far. It still left the rest of the day to do three units (Pilates, elliptical and swimming) and finish “Amateur Marriage” by Ann Tyler (very good). I’d hoped to listen to the iPod while exercising (except in the pool of course) but for some unknown reason the headphones are not working. Will need to find an Apple store in Norfolk and see if they can be repaired.

We’ve now made our way around the Florida Keys and are passing Miami and heading up the East coast.

Tuesday: A very pleasant day at sea - the weather is warm and sunny with low humidity and a nice breeze and the seas are fairly calm. Jack hasn’t been feeling well and either doesn’t show up for meals or just has tea and some bread and soup or maybe a piece of fruit. In addition to an apparent upset stomach, he’s been coughing and sneezing so we’ve been keeping a bit of a distance. He’s been very quiet and either stays in his cabin or occasionally is seen in a lounge chair on the pilot deck. When I ask, he says he’s getting gradually better but it’s not obvious. Tonight Doug, Martha and I played several fun games of “Bananagrams” which is a modification on the game of scrabble but faster paced.

Wednesday:
The harbor pilot came aboard about 8 am and we pulled into Pier 1 of the Norfolk International Terminal about 10:00. The three of us had a cab pick us up and take us downtown for some errands and lunch. After calling the Bowes company, it was determined that our headset is defective and we shipped it back in order to get a replacement. We found an Apple store and purchased a small portable speaker system for the iPod which is great. Martha and I were able to check and send email and we stopped at a bank for some money for the trip. U.S. currency is the currency used on the ship and we need to pay cash for anything purchased aboard (like alcoholic beverages, cokes, postcards, snacks, toiletries, etc.) and tips for the steward and cook. We had a nice seafood lunch at Joe’s Crab Shack on the waterfront. After lunch we strolled along The Elizabeth River and enjoyed the various mermaid sculptures that have been uniquely decorated by various artists. (Sailors’ imaginations were best personified by the mermaid, so it’s become the city’s symbol.) Norfolk is home to the world’s largest naval base, Naval Station Norfolk, and is most remembered for its rich nautical history and lore. Water is a central element to life here - from the Chesapeake Bay and the Elizabeth and Lafayette Rivers, to the many inlets and rivulets that wind through the city. We had hoped to visit the recently built Nauticus at the National Maritime Center but we needed to be back aboard by 5:00 for an expected 6:00 departure. We did enjoy seeing the USS Wisconsin, the last and one of the largest battleships built by the U.S. Navy, that is permanently moored here as a museum. We watched the top-sail schooner “American Rover” get underway for a tour of the harbor and did a little shopping at the MacArthur Center, a new 140-store mall. The Chrysler Museum of Art, which houses the world’s greatest collection of glass artwork, is on my list of places to visit when we get back this way one day. We were back aboard the ship by 4:30 but didn’t get underway until 8:00 tonight. We were on the pilot deck as we steamed north and watched the moon rising like a huge orange ball in the early night sky. As it popped above the horizon, it looked like a big beach ball sitting on a string of lights. I don’t know why but we only seem to see the moon rising when we’re at sea.

So, we’re at sea again - this time making our way up the east coast. We thought we’d go on the inside, through the Chesapeake Bay, to Baltimore, but we’re going up the outside are will come in at the Delaware-Maryland Canal and arrive in Baltimore some time tomorrow (Thursday) morning. We’ll be in Baltimore overnight and leave Friday evening. We’re hoping our friends, Dan & Sondra, from Virginia will be able to come by and have dinner with us Thursday night. Other friends, Charlie and Ricki, have a cottage on the canal and want to come out in their whaler and do a “Green Peace” pass of our ship, if we make that passage during daylight hours.