We can see the Captain and his assistant as they talk on the phones or radios to people on shore, and as they make adjustments to the movement of the ship.
That part is really amazing because the ship is over 900 ft long and it turns faster than our 30 ft boat. The bow and stern thrusters do that very well! The Captain seems to know what he is doing; and we are feeling very confident about the crew. By the way, we had an emercency evacuation/life boat drill right away, making us all sure we could get on lifeboats and escape to safety. The fact that the life boats didn't all work when we were in Cabo made us insecure again!
So far we have had to take off 5 passengers for serious illness, and the last one was last night during dinner when a Coast Guard helicopter flew out to get someone. It's been a topic of discussion on the ship everywhere. The seas are gentle and there is no real wind to speak of, so it isn't sea sickness. We do look like the Senior Citizen group, with lots of white hair, canes, wheelchairs and ev
en a motorized chair on board. Jim and I feel quite young and spry! The Coast Guard has done a really remarkable job. The rescue off Tillamook, Or was watched by the entire shipload of passengers, leaning over the railings as the small cutter came alongside to pick up a heart attack victim. They put him in a basket and slipped him over onto the rocking and pitching boat, and then they helped his companion and a nurse from the ship onboard, too. Those Coast Guard guys really know what they are doing. After we got to the LA dock, two ambulances arrived to take off two more people!Every day we are at sea we have two Culinary Arts lessons. I've been to two so far and plan to go home and share all the great secrets I learned. The chefs come down (or up) to the display kitchen and show us how to do it, and they bring along samples, so we get treated all the time. The food is truly amazing. The only thing that helps is the portions are small, and that keeps me from getting too full. It doesn't matter if I tell myself I am only having a salad and an entree, I end up with an appetiser, salad, entree and dessert. We've had wonderful lamb, amazing fish, delightful beef steaks, and fresh vegies and salads each night. The treat is the soup. Every night we have a cold soup on the menu. Blueberry and cranberry have been fun. They always have French Onion and they always have steak and baked potatoes, so we can't go hungry. These are all on the menu in the dining room; that doesn't include the buffet lines which stay open day and night and serve a great variety of food. For new cruisers this was overwhelming.
We have met some very interesting and funny people here on the trip. The majority of the passengers are Canadian, and they are fun. We've had dinner with the same two couples from Vancouver on two different nights. They keep us laughing. Last night during the rescue by helicopter, Barb suggested the delay in a message from the Captain about a successful rescue was because they dropped her overboard. Somebody mentioned attaching a rescue signal and light to her so she could be picked up later. Black humor, but funny anyway. It was interesting when the Captain announced we had to turn around againnnnnn. We also learned some Canadians are not that fond of their beautiful geese. Barb says she plays golf and they make an awful mess of the golf course. She couldn't believe they had a Mama Goose with 10 goslings on the course, and all of them lived!! She suggested we might like Canadian goose for Thanksgiving: they'll donate as many as we need!!
Tomorrow we begin speaking Spanish and I get to delight everyone with my knowledge of the four or five words I know and how much I can get out of them. Adios, muchachos! Jim and Virginia
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