February 22, 2023 – At Sea – Partly Cloudy – 81F

The swells continued all night rocking the ship in all directions (even though the stabilizers were engaged).  I could see what was going on through the porthole cam - also watched a very nice sunrise.

I can usually sleep through most of it, but sleep has been a challenge on Onward (not the ship’s fault).  The Sunset Veranda was beautiful this morning for breakfast – shade and not too warm.  I had waffles and the usual this morning – however, the cottage cheese is now ricotta, I believe.  Still, it was good – the scrambled eggs have trended to the thin side in recent days, so I only tried a taste.  Still the air was clear and clean, and the hot coffee kept on coming.  Best of all, Ellen and I both went back up to the Veranda, and she had a very nice fresh breakfast, and I had more coffee and a chocolate donut (only the second time this cruise).

I had my computer with me, so I had a chance to go through my talk for today.  

A little tropical rain shower did not force us off the Veranda.

However, when it got too warm, we went to the Living Room, where it was still a bit shaky.

My talk today, “Forensic Detectives: The Search for Jack the Ripper”, is scheduled for 1 PM (the new headliner will come in after me for a rehearsal).  This talk was given on the first cruise, so I am only expecting second cruise folks and a smaller crowd.  I grabbed an iced Mocha Decaf and headed to the theater.  Bingo with Roy was in progress, and they were playing for a free cruise.  No one won the cruise, but someone did come away with $200 and two Azamara T shirts.  Bingo ran late and I only had about five minutes to set up and go.  The theater was very warm today and so the sleeves were rolled up and I looked like a college prof.  The audience was much bigger that I had anticipated with over 170 in attendance.  

The talk went well – the audience participated again – and ran for 50 minutes.  As we were leaving, we saw the guitarist come in to start his rehearsal.

I changed clothes and we went to the Windows Café for lunch.  I couldn’t resist another freshly made pasta with veggies and Marinara Sauce.  It was great.  Ellen, most likely, had some tuna salad.

The rest of the afternoon was spent moving around the Living Room to find the coolest location. I am about 30 percent through my novel, so I renewed it as it only had two more days to go. 

We stayed for trivia – “Literature” – and I got more than half of them (that's good for me).  We also stayed for Music Trivia, and I only got maybe three or four of the songs.  Never heard of most of them even after getting the answers. 

We stayed for East Pearl’s afternoon set and I got another Amaretto Disaronno Sour, but it was different this time around and I only finished a little bit of it – different bartenders make different drinks. 

Tonight is “Taste of South America” and while a lot of the items on the buffet were from Mexico, there really wasn’t much for us. We went to our default condition and had the salmon and fixings on the Patio.  Good as always but becoming a bit too routine.

We are passing on Nestor Santurio, the guitarist, and instead went back to Sunset Veranda, where it was now smooth sailing and nice and cool. 

We went to the room earlier than usual.

Seas are now smooth.