Tues. Dec 10th Rocking Mermaids
Up at 7 am, coffee, muffins and toast – room service again. We walked the track, several circuits, over a mile. I took a swim before lunch, while Joe soaked up some rays. We enjoyed just lounging on deck near the pool. Lots of kids and crazy music. Non-stop videos of people doing stupid stuff playing on the Jumbo-Tron.
We did some exploring and ended up on Deck 3 at the art exhibit. A presentation was starting on famous artist Peter Max; so we decided to stay. We learned a lot about this famous New Yorker who gave birth to the colorful psychedelic 60s pop art and who is well known for his series of distinct and colorful Liberty Head paintings and the Umbrella Man, who continues to morph and change, but never manifests a face. You could say Peter Max is Andy Warhol using paint, not photos. Max was also instrumental in garnering wide spread private funding along with Lee Iacocca for the refurbishing of the Statue of Liberty in the 1980s, which he could see from his Manhattan apartment. Max was smuggled out of Nazi Germany when he was an infant and he never took freedom for granted. He loved this country and especially New York, where he still lives.
Lunch was again a great experience at the Windjammer. This time we watched ourselves and did not overeat. We ran into JR and Jackie there. We went our separate ways, exploring the ship. We tried to exit the elevator on Deck 1, but were told that unless we had a medical need, we’d be escorted off Deck 1 by security. Only crew were allowed to roam the basement of the boat. We ended up on Deck 12, the rear or stern of the ship, opposite of our state room, which is in the bow. There was a crazy water park, spanning Decks 12 and 13. A dual water tunnel slide, a surfing wave pool and a boomerang style slide. We made our way up to Deck 14 where there was some kind of court for sports, and then the very pinnacle, Deck 15 into the Skylight Chapel, a small room with church pews, a candle and stained glass skylight. No religious images or symbols, just color and light. A woman was sitting on the other side, but when she bent her head and we heard her weeping, we quietly left so she could be alone with her God.
Then we headed to Deck 5 Star Lounge with JR and Jackie to play bingo. All day the boat has been rocking. As I sat trying to concentrate on the cards in front of me I felt drunk and when I wasn’t paying attention I noticed that my body was actually swaying, back and forth. I felt so dizzy at one point I thought I might fall out of my chair. Back in our room I took a Meclizine (prescription Dramamine). I did feel better outside on deck in the breeze. We headed down to the Promenade on Deck 5, to browse the shops. I was feeling loopy again while standing in line to pay for a Liberty of the Seas travel cup, when I noticed a row of mermaid dolls hanging along the wall whose tails were all swinging right then left, in unison. At first I thought there must be a breeze moving them, but then I realized these fish-women dolls were like me. They were swinging to the rocking of the boat. Another person in line said they felt drunk, so it’s not just me, everyone on the boat is swaying like drunken sailors to keep from keeling over.
We had dinner at Giovanni’s Table with JR and Jackie, compliments of the chef, whom Jackie and JR ran into and struck up a conversation with. We dressed up for the evening and later we headed back to the Star Lounge Deck 3 to watch a live country music band starting at 8:45. I can’t recall the band’s name, but they had one male lead singer who started out performing classic country. Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, George Strait. The audience was mixed, mostly older white couples. Some were dressed in western attire complete with cowboy boots and hats. It was fun watching them dance. Several couples were pretty good at the Texas Two Step. I think most of them were Texans and it was obvious that these couples had been dancing together for years. We watched in amusement as an elderly gentleman began trolling for a dance partner. A woman about our age, did a round on the floor with him, but took her seat and shook her head as he made gestures to get her back on the floor. When he moved around the room, in his bent back shuffle, Jackie and I tried to become invisible. Neither of us wanted to do the geriatric shuffle. The woman who came in with him did not seem to be interested in anything he was doing. She was reading a book while he danced or prowled for partners. Jackie said she was probably his paid caregiver, not his wife.
When the band did Achy Breaky Heart, a line dance ensued and Boot Scootin Boogie kept the synchronized show going. The spell was broken when the lead singer asked if we wanted to hear some CCR. Most of us cheered heartedly. So when the guitars started blaring out Green River, we noticed that many of the Texas dancers got up and left.
After the show we came back here. I went to the top Deck 13, where there are rows of lounging chairs and less light. I lay down flat on my back on a chair and looked straight up at the full moon. It was so bright that it was visible through the clouds that wafted over it. What a great way to end the day.
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