Arriving Seattle

               Home away from home - the MS Amsterdam is ready to sail

We were both up quite early this morning to take care of some last-minute household chores. All water was turned off, hot water heater set on low, AC set to 85, & final trash collection throughout the house. The most important was setting out 3 months of canned cat food for Martin. He has his own door and comes and goes as he pleases. More often than not, he's not alone when he comes home. No, he doesn't bring home female companionship. He prefers the company of either the feathered variety or garden lizards - perhaps because we had him neutered? Along with his food supply, we also left the vacuum out as we hired the services of a great neighbor boy, Jackson Paris. He'll be checking on & feeding Martin daily, along with removing any feathers & remaining body parts from the house.

Our cab picked us up at 8:30 for our 10:30 flight. We landed in sunny Seattle at 1:30 pm. Yes, SUNNY! Seattle experiences near cloudless, sunny days only a few days each year, and today, it was 78 and absolutely beautiful. After a short cab ride to the hotel, we were within walking distance of the pier so we strolled over only to find our ship in port, already loading fuel & food preserves nearly 24 hours before she sets sail. It's been 15 months since we've been on the Amsterdam, and we've missed her. Over the course of the past 3 years, we've lived on this ship for over 8 months, circumnavigating the world twice. She's a beautiful mid-size vessel with a capacity for only 1100 passengers - so it's small enough to be intimate and meet lots of wonderful people, but large enough to safely navigate some of the most potentially dangerous waters on the planet. We still have vivid memories of our rounding the tip of South America two years ago having worked our way up from Antarctica. Known as Cape Horn, we battled a raging storm for nearly 3 days & nights as we headed northwest toward Easter Island.  As we emerged from the Straights of Magellan and as the Captain warned us, there was quite an angry ocean waiting for us. The ship had been prepared for a rough journey but unfortunately, I left a few things unattended in our room. We were awakened at 2:00am by the sound of crashing wine glasses I’d left sitting on the counter after the Super Bowl game. The ship was rocking violently and it was difficult just getting out of bed to clean the mess. Hmmm…was it because of high seas or the wine??!! The Captain (Jonathan Mercer) is a 40-year mariner and we had (and have) utmost confidence in his judgment – he warned all of us it would be rough for the first 32 hours after leaving Chile but that we would be safe as long as we followed appropriate safety measures – like not walking anywhere!! Seriously, incredible sea conditions and we continued to roll 32 hours later. All of the pools & hot tubs were drained – the entertainment shows were canceled – we all did the best we could to stay safe & humor each other. What memories! It will be interesting over the next few days as we sail into Dutch Harbor, home of the reality TV show, Deadliest Catch. Will we experience the same raging sea conditions?

Captain Mercer won't be commanding this particular voyage which is disappointing. As I've written elsewhere in our blog, he's a fine man - a true gentlemen & professional in every respect. We were fortunate to be able to spend some time with him and his wife on a few shore excursions, and during the Captain's Dinner last year (and only by chance) we were seated next to him. It's fascinating to ask him questions about sailing and hear about some of his most memorable trips, particularly the story when one of his cargo vessels (in his early years) sank and he spent 3 days & nights in the Atlantic Ocean off Africa bobbing in a small life boat before he and his crew were rescued!

We spent the balance of the afternoon walking the streets of downtown Seattle and since our hotel was only 6 blocks from the Space Needle, we decided to take an elevator to the top - but easier said than done. With uncharacteristic sunshine, two cruise ships in port, and a Super Bowl re-match here tomorrow between the Seahawks & Broncos, the city was crawling with people. We stood in line for 30 minutes just to buy Space Needle tickets - then - a 2 hour wait before we were allowed to get in the actual elevator line. Once admitted, it was another 45 minutes before we were able to get on one of only two elevators. The ride to the top took only 40 seconds. As you would expect, it was crowded and by then, the sun had set. The view was nice - we stayed about 15 minutes and got in a long line for the ride back down. I lived here for two years back in the early 80's (before we were married) when we (Circle K) purchased a small chain of local stores and during my time here, never once visited the Needle. It's an impressive structure with very nice surroundings (parks, museums, etc) but wouldn't spend the money to do it again. The Needle is roughly 500 feet tall. The foundation spans 120 feet across and 30 feet deep, anchored with 72 bolts - each bolt measures 30 feet...I'd like to see the wrench they used! Again, impressive, but the Needle in downtown Auckland (New Zealand) is nearly twice as high (tallest in the world) and people actually parachute from the top! We didn't jump ourselves (are you kidding) but enjoyed listening to the screams from those who did!
        

 

We skipped dinner tonight as earlier this afternoon, we stumbled upon a restaurant called The Hurricane...a very old, rustic facility - the booth seating material was obviously some of the original from decades ago, visibly held together with large patches of duct tape. The people were very friendly and the food was great - would highly recommend if you have the opportunity!

I begin this journey nearly 30 pounds lighter than our last - our first world cruise saw me gain 21 pounds (which I subsequently lost) and 17 pounds on our second. Great improvement! I'm somewhat determined to try and strike a healthy balance this trip - notice I say SOMEWHAT. It's so difficult to do with excellent food (& snacks) available 'round the clock, not to mention my willpower can be so weak with certain things. Cheryl, on the other hand, is so strong & disciplined - she hasn't changed weight in several years...plus or minus a pound or two. I don't know how she does it - I'm a very bad influence.

So...we get back to our hotel around 9:30 pm and displayed on the reception desk are a few dozen freshly baked chocolate chip cookies...my infinite willpower says, "why thank you, I believe I will"...and so it begins!

The embarkation process is scheduled tomorrow at 1:00. Our luggage was picked up at the house by FedX back on September 15th and shipped to the pier (compliments of Holland America) so beyond a couple small duffel bags, we have very little to contend with until we get to our stateroom and start unpacking. We sail at 4pm.

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