LAUNDRY DAY

January 25, 2016

I went up to the Lido deck and got breakfast for Bonnie while she did our laundry.  Two loads. $3 per wash. $3 per dry.  Bonnie reports that it took the two washers took 30 minutes just to fill, with water running in as though it were coming through a straw.  But we are clean and ready for more cruising.  Shoot, we’d be ready for more cruising if we were dirty – have anchor, will travel!

I went back up and had my two eggs over easy with toast and sausage, and shared a table with a fellow my age, or a touch older.  He would have been the definition of a curmudgeon, but then, me, too.

We reminisced about the Good Old Days.  Regular telephones with a dial on the face.  Cameras that took black and white pictures and were developed at the local drug store.  Kids spoke when spoken to and didn’t interrupt adults unless called upon.  Football players didn’t do end zone dances.  No 24 hour news cycles.  No Facebook.  As Archie Bunker sang, “Those were the days!”  Of course cruise ships lacked the amenities we enjoy today.  Beds, food, and lifeboats, and that was about it.

Your favorite cruisers spent 2 hours rumbling around Kralendijk, the capital of Bonaire.  Our first stop was a fort that has never fired a shot, and has never been fired upon – may all forts be so fortunate! 

Then we cruised down souvenir row where we bought a deck of cards, a small notebook, and a bottle of hot sauce.  We eschewed the Pandora-like beads that said “Bonaire” because they were $50 each – sorry girls.

Our main adventure of the day was walking out to San Bernardo Catholic Church.  It is a beautiful building, and it was open for visitors to come in and spend some quiet time.  One man was inside praying.  We spent a few reflective moments and captured the beauty of the building on camera. 

On the way back we stopped in the supermarket which is alleged to be the first such business on the island.  We’ve shopped there before, but this time just walked up and down the aisles and left empty handed.

Tonight we met Katie, the Entertainment Director, and Jordan, the Journeys Ambassador for dinner in the ship’s premier restaurant, David’s Steakhouse.  And with a name like that, it offered an incredible rib eye steak.  Actually it had at least two of them because Bonnie and I had one each – the smallest in the house at 18 ounces.  Katie chose lobster tail, and Jordan a lasagne speciality.  No molten chocolate cake for dessert, but Bonnie had green apples in a caramel sauce and I had black walnut ice cream that was the smoothest, creamiest ice cream I’ve had in a long, long time.  And a great cup of coffee to finish – Jordan says it comes from Italy.

Tonight’s entertainer has an incredible voice, but she needs to work on her act.  It will be a long time until she transforms from a singer to an entertainer.  But that’s my two cents worth.

Tomorrow is a day at sea and my last talks for this section of the cruise (oh, a guest stopped me today and said he put my photography talk to use and got some great shots).  We dock Wednesday in St. Croix and Thursday in San Juan.

Until tomorrow night, then.

TTFN