Crossing the Pacific...Sea Day 4 of 5

 Saturday, February 3, 2024

It was still dark when I woke up. Sea spray had made the chairs on the balcony damp and salt covered but I grabbed a beach towel and sat outside watching as the sky slowly became light.

I would have preferred to have breakfast in the main dining room, but Bob always complains it takes too long (and he is correct) so we went to the buffet. I had my usual poached eggs on an English muffin and added a couple of sausage links. The gal at the poached egg station has gotten to know me and my regular order. Some days I like to shake things up a bit and have her put some hollandaise sauce on one of the eggs. I was on the hunt for some fresh berries but all I could find were berries in a sugary syrup.

Bob was in and out of the cabin throughout the morning. It was too windy (gale force winds according to the captain) to play decent pickleball so he tried ping pong and walking. The promenade deck (3) was closed because of the wind but the jogging track on deck 12 was open. That seemed crazy when it is so exposed.

I called the medical center when they opened at 9 am and inquired about getting a knee brace. They had one that was available over the counter so no doctor visit was needed. Bob went with me down to Deck A...my first ever visit to the medical center. A nurse was nice enough to show me how to wear the brace (those things are SNUG!) While we were there an older couple came in. The nurse was encouraging the man to get a Covid test, but he refused. I was glad we could get in and out quickly and hopefully I only picked up the knee brace and not some type of bug along with it. 😉 I was pleasantly surprised to find the brace was only $32. We were trying to find ways to use up our onboard credit but I had envisioned something a little more fun.

At 11:00 I went down to the Main Stage for the future cruise presentation with plans to meet Bob at the Dutch Cafe afterwards for lunch. The cruise director's lecture on whales had not yet finished when I arrived and the theater was packed. To kill a little time, I watched the hula dance practice at BB Kings. I sent a short video to our kids which they thought was hilarious.

Hula practice.

Future cruise presentation.

Afterwards, as I was walking to the Dutch Cafe, a lady on a scooter spoke to me in passing. She looked very familiar to me so I asked her if she was active on Cruise Critic (thinking maybe I had seen her photo.) She replied that she was an actress and used to be the housekeeper on the TV show Diff'rent Strokes! She is also currently doing voice-overs on Sponge Bob Square Pants as Mrs. Puff! I had seen neither of those shows but after a little Googling I found out her name is Mary Jo Catlett and she has been in many shows and commercials. It was then I realized that I remembered her from appearances on the TV show MASH which we were big fans of! Another piece of trivia...she was also featured in the old commercials for Black Flag insect repellent with the famous line "It is like a roach motel. Roaches check in but they don't check out!" That was her!!

Mary Jo Catlett, actress on Diff'rent Strokes
Photo Credit: IMBd.com

Bob and I were lucky and found a table in the Dutch Cafe overlooking the promenade deck. We both ordered the split pea soup and I also got the vegetable quiche and Bob got a hot ham and cheese sandwich. 

While we were sitting in the Dutch Cafe, a lady walked by with a small dog in a stroller. Hard to believe a dog in a stroller could qualify as a service dog and I doubted it even more when the dog started yipping.

At the captain's noon report he said we are still experiencing gale force winds and swells about 3 to 4 meters which would be growing larger by evening.

The small lunch wasn't enough to satisfy Bob so he made a trip to the buffet for some dessert while I headed back to the cabin.

In the afternoon I attended a class in the art center on brush lettering. I have done calligraphy and a little bit of brush lettering so when I noticed the class listed in the Navigator app prior to the cruise I packed some of my own pens. I was glad I had since the ones available in the class were pretty mashed on the tips. This beginning class only covered some of the basic strokes. Subsequent classes will teach the alphabet and then there will be a final project such as a greeting card. I prefer calligraphy so not sure if I will go back for more of the brush lettering classes. 

A first for us, we had dinner reservations at the Pinnacle Grill at 7:00 pm. The steak house is one of the specialty restaurants on Holland America ships and comes with an upcharge. We were dressed and ready early so went to the Crows Nest at 5:00 for the "Aloha Music Hour." The Hawaiian ambassadors, Auntie Nonnie and Uncle Keith, played ukuleles while the two sisters did the hula. The place was totally packed!

An interesting piece of artwork near the elevators.

Crow's Nest.

Normally we would go to the later show in the main theater but because we were dining later, we went to the 6:00 show for comedian Steven Scott. His comedy was totally different than Lamont's but by the end I thought his show was pretty good. A lot of his humor centered around the sound effects he made with his mouth and the microphone which he excelled at! 

The show ended just in time for us to make our 7 pm reservation at the Pinnacle Grill. Bob ordered the beef tenderloin with lobster dumplings and side dishes of mashed potatoes and beets with blue cheese. I chose the filet mignon along with a baked potato, mushrooms and asparagus with hollandaise sauce. For dessert we both ordered the key lime pie. By the time dessert arrived I was so full I could only take a couple of bites and brought the rest of it back to the cabin and put it in the fridge.

Appetizer of Clothesline Candied Bacon. Yummmm.

Beef tenderloin.

Filet mignon.

Key Lime Pie.

We were able to get to Billboard Onboard early for the 9 pm set so finding a seat wasn't a problem. When the Rolling Stone Rock Room finishes up everyone migrates over to the pianos and then it becomes quite crowded. Clara and James last set each evening is all requests. Their show was good as always even though some of the songs requested didn't showcase their talents as well.

A couple from down the hallway stopped to visit with us as we were headed back to our cabin. They were quite interested in how we book our cruises and were looking for some money saving hints. As the self-proclaimed "Queen of Cheap" I always love sharing some of my tips!

Once again we had to endure the bass and drums from BB Kings but once the bad finished at 11 pm we both fell right asleep!