SECOND OF TWO DAYS AT SEA ON OUR WAY TO LAUTOKA Gilly, we enjoyed your comments about going the reverse direction of the international dateline. Emily, thank you very much for your very thoughtful comments. Tammy Vig, we appreciate your comments and wish you a wonderful time on your first Crystal Cruise. We are fortunate that we sail on a cruise line that we truly love. Kevin, thank you for your comments. On-Board Serenity and Symphony we used indoor cycles that have the knobs and no computers. I will use my iWatch to keep track of heart rate and the total workout. At home I teach indoor cycling where we use a lever and have a display of all the key items. The ones on ship are the traditional bikes so you teach it differently. An example is speed, at home we can say go at x RPM but on the ship it might be go fast at 50% of your capacity, 80% and all out. We wanted to note how calm the seas have been since leaving Pago Pago. Anne Marie sat out on the verandah for one of the first times of this cruise reading a book. Keith sat out on the back deck of one of the passenger decks with good friend Bob. You couldn't see a white cap. For us there is something very special about the sea. We think back to the quote from President John Fitzgerald Kennedy. "I really don't know why it is that all of us are so committed to the sea, except I think it's because in addition to the fact that the sea changes, and the light changes, and ships change, it's because we all came from the sea. And it is interesting an interesting biological fact that all of us have in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and, therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to sea - whether it is to sail or to watch it - we are going back from whence we came." - Remarks at the Dinner for America's Cup - September 14, 1962. The world is indeed special and we are humbled to have the opportunity to see so many places through our own eyes. We began last evening at the Avenue Saloon for a pre-dinner drink with friends John & Linda. John and Keith had a Samuel Adams Lager Beer. Keith asked the bartender about the $350.00 Samuel Adams Beer he had remember hearing about and he went next door where it is stored and brought one out. He explained that it is similar to a port wine in terms of its life after the bottle is opened. It can last up to one year and is served in a port glass. The ship does sell the beer by the shot. The alcohol content is 27% and we thought a beer such as La Fin Du Monde was high in alcohol. We certainly got an education on it but it won't be one we will have in this lifetime. LOL. We are sorry we are unable to post the dinner menus from Waterside as they were not available on line. We dined at the Prego Italian Specialty Restaurant by ourselves. We enjoyed three courses; an appetizer portion of the additional item of Ravioli, Caesar Salad and Veal for Anne Marie and Rack of Lamb for Keith. Keith also had a side order of Grilled Vegetables which looks like a work of art. We didn't get a photo of the Veal. The evening entertainment included two shows by Danny Elliott on Piano and singing. He was accompanied by the Crystal Showband. The good news is after losing the day of Monday, January 28 before going to bed we moved the clocks back one hour as we sail into a new time zone. We believe before this segment ends we will be moving the clocks forward one hour. With the turn back of the clock Keith was up early and back at the Fitness Center for his early morning workout. He really appreciates the Fitness Center being open 7x24. The only exception is in extremely rough seas where it might temporarily close. We enjoyed coffee in our room followed by breakfast. While Anne Marie went to Personal Training Keith did a combo run and walk outside the ship on the Promenade Deck. The weather was terrific and with ear buds in place and listening to upbeat music and enjoying views of the South Pacific Ocean the time went by quickly. Keith played Paddle Tennis in the morning. Enjoyed a great game with Bill Toone's wife Sunny as his partner against Hubert the Jeweler and fellow guest Cindy. Later Keith played singles against the guest who won gold last week. It was HOT HOT HOT. In between games Bill Toone pointed out an Albatroz who was flying back and forth. He gave us a great lesson and we learned that when it is young it will stay out at sea for six years. It sleeps in the air as it turns off one side of the brain for 30 seconds and turns off the other side for 30 seconds as it alternates going back and forth. Amazing. We have been very fortunate to have on-board the sailing Bill and Sunny and to have sailed with them several times in the past. They are truly wonderful people. Bill Toone is a conservation biologist who is recognized around the world. Anne Marie also took Yoga taught by instructors Joe and Maria Kita. Today is the second of two sea days as we sail to our next port-of-call of Lautoka, Fiji. The program included three lectures: Destination Lecturer Ken Rees spoke about Fiji. World Affairs Lecturer Ambassador Scott DeList spoke about war, terror and crime in the Cybersphere. Marine Biology Lecturer Jay Christofferson spoke about Oceanic Life. On top of this there was a Cooking Demonstration by Guest Chef Alex Patourt. We returned to Waterside for Lunch. These are photos from yesterday of some of the buffet items. We also included a photo of the Salad Entree that Keith. The only item that is not visible is chicken which we added to the plate after eating some of the salad. One of the photos is of Anne Marie with Senior Waiter Fabio. Fabio is assigned to the section where we eat and brings beverages and clears tables. Fabio works at Marketplace during breakfast and lunch. At dinnertime he works at Churrascaria dining venue which is a Brazilian Steakhouse in the evening. This afternoon had some special World Cruise Events. One of them was the Crew Tug o’ War with representatives from several departments. We enjoyed the rest of the day as we always do. Paddle Tennis for Keith and a walk for Anne Marie. Met up with friends and also watched the Tug O' War. Below is the daily Reflections Program from today. Anne Marie & Keith
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