10/7/10 – Day 12 – Shimizu, Japan and Mt. Fuji

     Today, I got out of bed shortly after sunrise because I wanted to see the view of Mt. Fuji (Japan’s tallest mountain) as we cruised into the port of Shimizu.  Although quite hazy, from our balcony, I watched the mountain pass by in all her majesty.  I then finished getting ready for the day and headed up to breakfast.  As we were arriving into port, there was a high school band on the pier playing to welcome us.  In fact, it seemed like all of the dignitaries of the town and many of the citizens came out to welcome us into their town.  This was Holland America’s first time into this port and they wanted us to feel welcome so that we would surely return.  The town mayor presented our captain and his staff with ceremony and gifts. 

     We got off of the boat and walked to the train station.  By this time, the mountain was covered in clouds.  We had decided to get as close as we could to the mountain, which meant taking the train to the Fujinomiya Station.  So, we bought tickets and went for a 40-minute train ride up the coast, and then a little ways inland.  Unfortunately, the mountain was still covered with clouds.  In fact, it pretty much stayed out of sight for the rest of the day.  This mad me happy that it wasn’t in vain that I arose early this morning. 

     We did, however, have a nice day of shopping in the town where we went to on the train and in our port town of Shimizu.  It was interesting because this wasn’t touristy shopping.  It was going in and out of the everyday shops where Japanese people shop.  We saw everything from office products to toys to clothes.  It was a good day of going out and seeing how the people live.  We even popped into a 7-11 convenience store for a soda and snack.

     When we returned to the ship, they were having more activities going on in the terminal area.  These included a Japanese Geisha performance and a Mt. Fuji photography exhibit that captured the mountain in all four seasons.  The town also had booths set up for both the locals and us to browse and spend our Japanese Yen.  It was a much-needed relaxing day after our full day in Tokyo yesterday.  Tomorrow we have our last port in Japan in the town of Kobe.

The welcome ceremony put on by the town of Shimizu

Me standing by our “welcome” sign.  I love the Mt. Fuji cartoon characters on the bottom left.

My folks outside the train station

Normal Japanese life…people standing at a noodle stand, eating their lunch

Our train coming into the station

A pedestrian shopping street in Shimizu

My only view of Mt. Fuji…look real close and you will find the larger cone-shaped mountain in the back of the picture.  I will come back and climb this mountain someday when I have a few more days to spend.

Even though we got quite a bit closer to Mt. Fuji, we had no better luck at viewing the mountain.  As you can see, clouds were set in for the day covering the mountain’s peak.

Rice being harvested...we saw quite a bit of this on our train ride.  It seems out in the more rural areas almost all the houses have their little rice field to tend.

Traditional Kimonos for sale in a store window

Matching shoes and purses to accessorize a kimono on formal occasions

The Mt. Fuji Cartoon Character  

10/6/10 – Day 11 – Tokyo (Yokohama, Japan)

     Today was a full day!  We arrived at the port of Yokohama, Japan at 9:00 am and were cleared to get off at the ship shortly after 9:30.  Upon disembarking the ship, we boarded a shuttle bus to the train station, and then caught a JR (Japanese Railway) commuter train into downtown Tokyo.  This was a 45-minute ride into the city and our first stop was at a Tourist Information Center.  The bilingual ladies there were extremely helpful and assisted us in planning our day.

     Their office was situated adjacent to the Ginza shopping district.  So, after we left their office, we proceeded to walk through this area, on our way to the Sony building.  The Sony building houses a huge store exclusively housing Sony’s new products, some of which have yet to hit the market.  This was any exciting stop.  We saw and played with items such as Sony’s new MP3 Walkman, 3D TVs, and their yet to be released SLR digital camera.

     After the Sony building, we walked to a huge “green space” in the middle of the city where the Emperor’s Palace (Japan’s White House) is located.  While the area around the palace is beautiful, it was a little disappointing that the public can only view one little corner of one of the outlying buildings.  Next we took the subway to Ueno.  This part of Tokyo is one big park.  In fact, it was China’s first park.  We met up with a tour guide here that gave free walking tours of the area.  Mr. Fuiji first gave us a Japanese history lesson, and then we began walking.  He pointed out many sites, including museums, memorials, and places of famous battles.  It was nice to have a guide for a short period of time.  He then escorted us to the subway and refused to take any compensation for his guide services.

     We took the subway to Asakusa, an area of Tokyo located on the Sumida River, where we purchased tickets and boarded a 45-minute river cruise through the city.  This was also a good choice as it was a different way to view the city.  Our boat passed under 14 of Tokyo’s city bridges, for which we had an English commentary explained the sights.  This also avoided traveling the subway during afternoon rush hour. 

     After the boat trip, it was getting dark and we headed over to the Shinjuka area, where a visitor can ride up to the 45^th floor of Tokyo Metropolitan Government building for a spectacular view of the city below.  This attraction did not disappoint; by the time we arrived, the sun had set and the city lights were aglow.  After taking in the view, we made our way back to Yokohama.  We did make a slight error and ended up on the Express train…while much faster than the local train that we took into Tokyo, this particular train blew right past where we wanted to get off without ever stopping.  So, got off at the first possible stop and took a local train back to the station in Yokohama.  I guess if that was our only mistake all day long, then we didn’t do too bad.  We took the subway back toward the ship and re-boarded just a little after 10:00 p.m.  It was, indeed, a good full day in the metropolis of Tokyo; one that I surely won’t soon forget. 

 

The Japanese are very orderly people.  They vigilantly use crosswalks at the appropriate time, including ones that go across the intersection diagonally.  When it’s time to walk, every goes!  This is an intersection in the Ginza shopping district of Tokyo

The Sony Walkman debut at the Sony Building

The crowded subway going into Tokyo

Me by in the gardens of the Imperial Palace, with what little bit of the palace that can be seen by the public in the background

Origami cranes folded and strung into colorful paper chains

A group of school children gathering for their fieldtrip to the Tokyo Zoo

The Japanese have some high-tech toilets including such amenities at a seat warmer, a bum spray, a “powerful” deodorizer, and a fake flushing noise.  I was especially intrigued by the fake flushing noise when depressing the music note button.  I was hoping for some nice music, but I guess the function of this button is to create “normal” and  “appropriate” noise for when your bathroom business might entail some bodily noises that could be embarrassing when heard by your neighbor in the next stall.  The fake flushing noise is eco-friendly as it saves water by providing an imitation flush sound instead of the real flush usually used by people. 

This spire is only one-third finished, but will one day be the tallest building in the world.

In Japan, everything can be found in a nearby vending machine, including hot chicken nuggets or French fries.

10/5/10 – Day 10 – WELCOME TO JAPAN: Zao Mountains & My Birthday

     Today was indeed a wonderful day.  We had our first stop in Japan at the port of Sendai.  I was awaken this morning as we were pulling into the dock by drum beating and chanting.  I went out on our balcony in my PJ’s and sure enough, it was the Japanese welcome crew.  There were about 20 people in traditional Japanese dress; the men were dancing and beating on drums while the women were dancing with fans.  All were chanting a beautiful harmony.  I then went back into my cabin and got dressed and ready for our first day in Japan.  The Japanese officials boarded our boat.  We each had to be seen by them for a passport check, fingerprinting, and photograph.  It was quite an operation, but went smoothly.  My parents and I got off of the ship about 8:30 this morning, were greeted by our tour guides, and boarded a bus for Mt. Zao. 

     We were quickly taught how to say “good morning” in Japanese, which is quite easy to remember.  I’m not sure how to spell it, but it’s pronounced just like the state of “Ohio” with emphasis on the 2^nd syllable.  We also learned that our port city of Sendai was on the same latitude as Washington D.C, which gave us an understanding of the time of year in relation to the weather.  As we snaked our way up to the top of the mountain in the bus, the autumn colors shown more and more vibrantly.  It was a beautiful two-hour drive.  Our tour guide, “Itsy”, was very kind, knowledgeable, and fluent in English. 

     Upon arriving on the mountain, we learned that Zao really wasn’t the name of the mountain.  Instead, it was the name of the whole mountain range.  The actual name of the mountain was Okama, which literally means cauldron or crater.  This was appropriate because of the large crater lake that was on top of the mountain.  It was beautiful.  Also atop this mountain was a religious shrine, which are located all throughout the country.  Everywhere you see a “torii gate” there will be a shrine present somewhere close by.  The main religions of Japan are Shinto (worship of nature) and Buddhism.  These are not competing religions.  Instead, most practice both in unison and harmony together.  Upon crossing through the “torii gate” an individual is said to be blessed.  Then they go forth to the shrine to leave their prayers.  At the top of Mt. Okama, there was a small store in which to purchase a variety of items that were said to provide you with certain protection, healing, or blessings.

     After leaving the mountain, we went to a restaurant for a traditional Japanese box lunch.  This was a wooden box, split into four sections.  Each section contained different types of traditional foods.  Of course there was Sashimi, or raw fish, in one section.  Another section contained sliced vegetables and a shrimp that were fried in a tempura batter.  A third section contained some other vegetables that were unique.  And, the last section had a piece of cooked breaded fish with two other random things.  Accompanying our box meal was a bowl of soup, another bowl with rice, a cup of tea and a dessert of cut pears and pineapple.  I ate it all except the pieces of raw tuna and salmon, and a small chunk of vegetable that I didn’t care much for. 

    After lunch, we headed to a Kokeshi doll museum.  These dolls are individually handmade and are decorated with paint patterns unique to the given city or prefecture (their country divisions similar to “states”).  The many dolls on display were pretty remarkable.  And, even more impressive was watching individuals hand craft and/or paint these dolls.  Also at the doll factory, we were able to walk around a bit on the adjacent trails, which strolled through gardens and by a beautiful river.

     During the two hour bus ride back home, the tour guide presented me with a birthday gift, a pack of origami paper, and had the group sing “Happy Birthday” to me.  It was very nice.  Earlier in the day, my parents had given me a birthday card with some Japanese Yen to have as spending money (100 Yen is equal to $1.20).  After arriving back to the ship, we set sail.  The dancers and drummers were there, once again, to give us a nice send off.  At dinner this evening, some of the wait staff brought me a cake for desert and sang “Happy Birthday” as well as an Indonesian “happy song”.  Now, it’s time for bed.  Overall, it was a pretty incredible day.  The Japanese people are very kind, proper, and exact.  I’m rather excited to spend 3 more days in the country.  Tomorrow, we take the train into Tokyo and will venture out on our own using public transportation to see the sights.  I’m sure it will prove to be quite an adventure as Tokyo is a massive metropolitan area, of which I’ve heard can be quite overwhelming to the visitor.  But, I’m sure all will go well, and I’ll have lots to blog about.

Me on top of Mt. Okama with the beautiful crater lake in the background

Happy Birthday to me!

The Shinto shrine at the top of the mountain

My parents with a "torii gate" in the background

The Zao Mountains - What amazing beauty

Our traditional Japanese box lunch

Brings a whole new meaning to a lunch box. And, yes I did eat using the chopsticks.

A Kokeshi doll

A lady painting the face on a Kokeshi doll

A man making a Kokeshi doll

A beautiful river with the Zao mountains in the background

An origami bird that I made with one of the pieces of my birthday present

I learned to make this in 7th grade and still remember how...when you pull the tail, its wings flap.

10/4/10 – Day 9 – Sailing toward Japan

     Today, we continued cruising southwest from the Kamchatka Peninsula on our way toward Japan.  We kept the chain of Russian islands on our Starboard side as we sailed.  Some had some quite large mountains, many which are volcanoes, that were visible from the ship.  Mid-afternoon, the weather turned quite foggy, which triggered the need for our ship’s foghorn to sound every 2 minutes.  I did, in fact, time the horn because of I wanted to figure out if it was being run manually or automatically.  Its exactness gave me the assurance that the foghorn was set on an automatic timer. 

     Anyway, after dinner, we had our first show by the ship’s cast of dancers and singers.  It was very well done.  It was an added bonus that I have gotten a few of the cast members over the last week making it more entertaining to watch those that I know personally. 

     Tomorrow, we will arrive at our first port in Japan, the town of Sendai.  We have booked an all day excursion to Mt. Zao, which is a two and a half hour drive from the port.  Once we are there, we will be taking a one-hour hike around the crater lake at the top of the mountain.  We have been assured that the scenery at the mountain and on the drive there will be beautiful and unique.  This is a short stop as we’re only in port from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm.  So, our tour to the mountain will take our entire day, which is okay with me. 

     Also, for your information, the ship will not have internet or cell service while were are in Japanese waters…it is illegal.  So, I’ll be limited to posting while we’re an hour or more out from our ports over the next four days.

10/3/10 – Day 8 – The Lord’s Day

     Being Sunday, we began the day with a morning church service, lead by our ship’s Protestant chaplain.  It was nice a nice time of fellowship, worship and communion.  However, I do miss my church back home.  After the service, I went back to bed, as I was quite tired from our previous day ashore.  When I woke up, I looked out our balcony window and saw a beautiful rainbow.  This was a nice reminder of the Lord’s presence.  In the afternoon, I researched an discussed some of our plans for our upcoming ports with my folks and, of course, got in another family game of Scrabble (my mother won this time).  We have decided to do an overnight tour in Beijing, China that includes the city and the Great Wall. This should be a nice cultural immersion experience. We also booked a night tour in Shanghai, and decided to explore most of the other ports in China on our own, including a day at Disney Asia in Hong Kong. 

     This evening was our second formal night on the ship.  This meant getting dressed up in evening wear and having an extra classy dinner.  I had the “surf and turf” for dinner, which included lobster tail and filet mignon.  It was delicious.  Later in the evening was the Black and Silver Ball.  This was a time when many of the staff and officers got all dressed up and joined the guests for an evening of ballroom dancing.  It was quite a nice social gathering.

10/2/10 – Day 7 – Petropavlavsk, Russia

     Today was definitely an interesting day.  We got into port at 8:00 am.  This was a tender port, meaning our ship was not able to dock in town.  Instead, we anchored and took some of our lifeboats back and forth from the ship to the pier.  The Russian officials were quite strict.  They had to board the boat and see everyone face to face for a passport check before going ashore.  And, once we got there, only the people on pre-organized tours were allowed to venture outside of the city’s downtown area.  We were booked on a 1:30 tour and I was hoping to ashore in the morning and peruse the city in the morning…no such luck.  Passengers not on morning tours were not release to go ashore until noon, which left very little time and I wasn’t going to risk missing the tour for a few minutes in town.  We were completely at the mercy of the Russian government, and they seemingly weren’t very kind individuals.  Lots of fear and gruffness left over from the communist rule.  It was quite an eerie feeling.

     We met for our tour at 1:30 and were delayed an hour leaving.  We did finally get ashore and met our guide, Natalia.  A very nice lady who teaches at the local university and enjoys the opportunity to lead tours when English-speaking groups come to town so that she can practice her English.  Even though we didn’t go very many places, it was a nice day and we were able to gain a small understanding of the Russian culture.  We had stops at the older Russian Orthodox Church, the new church which is under construction, a native cultural museum, an overlook of the city, and their city market.  It was nice to finally step foot on solid ground after a week at sea.  And, even though I was frustrated that our tour wasn’t until afternoon, it ended up working out better because it was rainy and foggy in the morning, but cleared in the afternoon.  It was classic fall weather with autumn colored leaves and temperatures in the high 50s.  Overall, it was a nice day after the Russian officials allowed us to go ashore.

     I’ll give a little more detail about our tour.  The operative Russian Orthodox Church, complete with gold onions atop the building, was truly beautiful inside.  We didn’t have much time to spend there, but I enjoyed watching as locals came in to go through their ritual prayers and candle lightings.  The church sat in a neighborhood that was lower income housing and quite dilapidated.  This is one of the reasons for erecting a new church at a better location.  We were not able to go in the newer church as it was still under construction.  Our next stop at the cultural museum was an interesting experience.  The stop was too long and the guide overly detailed and not so interesting.  However, we did learn a bit about the aboriginal people and the history of this distant area the country.  Our next stop was up one of the surrounding mountains at a scenic overlook of the city.  This was a nice stop, even though there were power lines in the way no matter which direction we took pictures (I guess that’s what Photoshop is for).  Our last stop was at the local market, which was quite a bit less busy than usual due to the earlier rain.  No souvenirs or English spoken at this market.  This is where the locals shop for fresh meat and produce, as well as cheap necessities, mostly imported from China. We arrived back to the ship at about 6:30 pm and set sail shortly after that.  It was about that time when the skies finally cleared enough for us to sneak a peak at the 3 volcanoes standing boldly behind the city in the distance, which was a very nice way to say “farewell” to Petropavlovsk, Russia.

My Parents on the Tour Bus

This was at the begining of the tour.  Notice all of the people with umbrellas waiting to get back to the ship.  It was so nice that it cleared up for us as the afternoon progressed,

a luxury that the morning tour groups didn't have.

The golden onion domes of the Russian Orthodox Church

The people really were nice.  These guys are waving at us as our tour bus passes.

The New church under contruction

Me and my folks outside of the church being constructed.

Make sure to notice the local construction workers photobombing our picture.

Our ship and the distant mountains from the scenic overlook

Some smoked fish for sale at the local market

Home sweet home!  Holland America's M.S. Amsterdam

A Russian Official on our tender boat...doesn't he look kind and welcoming?

The three volcanoes that showed themselves as we were departing.



9/30/10 & 10/1/10 – Day 6 – Crossing the International Date Line

     At some point in the wee hours of the morning our ship crossed over the International Date Line.  We are now 16 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time, instead of 8 hours behind.  I believe this happened around 4:00 a.m. on September 30^th; when it instantaneously became 4:00 a.m. on October 1^st.  Yep, we skipped an entire day.  Don’t worry though; we’ll pick that day back up when we head back east later in our journey.  I even looked for the line in the water and never even saw it; maybe on the way back.   

     I’ve learned a little about the date line over the past couple of days, and thought I’d pass some knowledge along to those of you who are reading my blog.  The International Date Line is an imaginary line that separates two consecutive calendar days, which is used as a convenience. The International Dateline could be anywhere on the globe, but was found to be most convenient to follow the 180^th meridian of longitude as it mostly passes through empty ocean.  However, the line does deviate in some places to keep the same date on certain islands, states, or countries.  Without the International Date Line, travelers going westward around the globe would discover that when they returned home, one more day than they thought had passed.  This first happened to Magellan’s crew after the first circumnavigation of the globe.  Likewise, those traveling east would find that a day fewer had elapsed than recorded.  People in Eastern Russia and New Zealand are some of the first to usher in each and every new day (and year).

     Tomorrow is our first port of call, Petropavlovsk on Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula.  It will be nice to step foot on land after be at sea for a week.  I am excited, mostly because I have never been to Russia before.  As part of the Pacific “ring of fire”, this is supposed to be a very beautiful place with 3 magnificent volcanoes encircling this port city.  I will be sure to share all about it after tomorrow’s visit and maybe include some pictures, as well.  The currency in Russia is the Ruble, with one dollar equaling approximately 30 rubles.

9/29/10 – Day 5 – Perfect day for Cruising

     Today was a beautiful day as we traveled just to north of Alaska’s Aleutian Islands.  Once again, the seas were calmed.  The sun came out and was shining bright.  The temperature rose to the upper 60s.  And, more importantly, we had some really nice times with both family and friends.  My folks and I discussed our plans for some of our upcoming ports of call, as well as had the opportunity to play some board games together.  Should I mention that I won our game of Scrabble by 80 points?  Well, I guess I just did.  Beating my father in Scrabble is not an easy task. 

     So my father mentioned something to the cruise staff about the need for the younger passengers to get together.  And, as a result, there was a 40s and under gathering this evening at 9:30, which I attended.  For a while, I was the only paying passenger there.  Adel, the assistant cruise director hosted the event.  For the first half hour, it was just her, I, and two other gals (one who works as a fitness instructor on the ship and the other whose husband works as an engineer on the boat).  Eventually, we were joined by a couple who just barely met the criteria, Mark and Robyn from San Diego, who were both 49.  Later another guy joined us that was in his mid 50s, whom we welcomed him even though he was above the age requirement for the event.  Finally, the two female singers from the ship’s entertainment cast joined us.  Overall, it ended up being a rather nice gathering, even though all of those who were 48 or under, besides myself, were ship staff.  About 11:00 pm, Robyn (from San Diego) led us all over to another area of the room where there were Birthday decorations and a cake...at midnight, it would be her husband, Mark’s, 50^th birthday and this was a little thing she had planned to help celebrate with whomever happened to be there at the time.  So, the group all stuck around until after midnight to celebrate Mark’s birthday.  It was a lot of fun, and as I mentioned earlier, a very nice evening with new friends.

9/28/10 – Day 4 – Fog and Choppy Water

     Well, the captain was correct in predicting that the weather might prevent us from sightseeing.  It has been foggy and drizzling ever since I woke up this morning.  However, we did see land about 7:00 a.m. as we crossed into the Bearing Sea.  And, I saw another boat (a fishing vessel) about 8:30 this morning.  So, there is other life out there.  Also, the birds flying and the seaweed floating in the water were much more plentiful.  My folks even saw a couple of whales this morning while eating breakfast. 

     The seas have once again gotten much rougher as we the day as progressed.  As we go along the boat goes up and then crashes down on the water.  Many of the crew are even commenting on the magnitude of the motion, as the ship has been sailing the inside passage of Alaska for the past few months and hasn’t seen seas like this.  However, our captain does, once again, assure us that the seas will be calming as we sleep this evening and tomorrow will be much better.  I actually don’t mind the high seas much, but for the sake of the older guests I am happy that things will be calming.  To me, God’s vastness and power has been brilliantly displayed as we travel the ocean.

     A new lady joined us for dinner tonight, Sophie, originally from Russia, but been living in Winnipeg, Canada for 30+ years.  She was very enjoyable to chat with, and a nice addition to our table.  She’s been assigned to our table all along, but prefers to eat in the Lido buffet style restaurant. I hope she joins us more often.  The entertainment acts on the ship has been good.  Tonight we have a comedian and then I’ll go to the nightly movie, as has been my habit.

9/27/10 – Day 3 – Sailing, Sailing…

     So, I know that over half of the earth is covered by water, but I’m beginning to wonder if we’ll ever see land again…not really, but all I’ve seen out of windows or off the decks for the past few days is water meeting sky.  I hope our captain knows where he’s going.  It’s actually quite beautiful.  We’ve been heading west through the large bay located south of the state of Alaska.  The captain says that we should be seeing land as we cut through the Aleutian Islands about 6 a.m. tomorrow just to the north of Unalaska. Weather permitting, we might even get to do some scenic cruising along the coast of the islands.  However, he also mentioned that it’s not looking too good at the moment.  Although the seas have calmed, he says they are going to kick up again as we head into the Bearing Sea.

     Today was a nice lazy, “I’m on vacation”, kind of day.  I did some reading and finally made it up to the gym this afternoon to workout.  My dad hasn’t missed a workout day yet, but personally I’d rather be snuggled in my bed at 6:30 in the morning.  I really do enjoy looking out at God’s creation, and that’s just what I did for 30 minutes from the bike and the elliptical machines.  It brings a nice sense of motivation to try to get up to the gym each sea day.

     My dad inquired at the front desk today and found out that I am not the youngest guest on the ship.  Supposedly, there is a 17 year-old as well as 3 in their 20’s, and a handful more in their 30’s.  The lady at the desk said that there are a grand total of 10 guests under 40.  However, I have yet to meet any of them.  Maybe I’ll suggest to the cruise director that we have an under 50 gathering sometime soon so we can find each other. 

9/26/10 – Day 2 – The Calming of the Seas

     We began this Sunday morning with an interdenominational worship service.  It was nice to fellowship with other believers, as well as share in communion together.  We will be studying the book of Luke with our chaplain, Rev. Bryce Little, during the daily devotional times and Sunday worship services as we sail.  The seas are much calmer today, which is a welcome change.  This allowed me to finally be able to completely unpack, which I found to be quite difficult yesterday with the boat rocking as much as it was.  We gained another hour while we slept last night, which puts us 5 hours behind Florida’s Eastern Time zone.

     I have officially come to the conclusion that I am probably the youngest of the 1,100 guests on this cruise, which isn’t overly different than I had imagined, but I will definitely miss the same-age peer interaction over the next couple of months.  I guess for my younger adult interactions, I’ll have to focus on getting to know the crew and interacting with the locals while in port.  And, in the mean time, with my fellow passengers, enjoy the wisdom and experience of my elders (It’s a good thing I like old people).  As an added bonus, due to the lack of children and youth on the cruise, I have found a nice quiet personal refuge in the “teen only” sections of the boat, including a couple of hammocks on a top deck that I’m pretty sure have yet to be discovered by any other passengers on the ship. 

     Tonight was our first formal night.  We had a reception before dinner where we had the opportunity to meet our captain and the heads of each department on the ship.  Dinner was amazing…I had salmon with a kiwi-mango salsa that was delicious. (Kenneth, we thought of you as Escargot was one of the appetizers).

9/25/10 – Day 1 – The Motion of the Ocean

     Last night, while we slept, we continued north along the west coast of Canada’s Victoria Island.  The motion of the ocean was undeniable as we’re in some pretty high seas.  Not only is the Pacific Ocean noted for much more active seas than that of the Atlantic, but it’s my understanding that we are running into higher seas due to some weather out there somewhere.  Our captain assures us that he is and will continue to do his best to choose a route that assures the calmest seas possible (which as present isn’t very calm at all).  About 1:30 a.m. last night, it felt and sounded like we hit an iceberg, whale, or other large object.  There was a loud bump, which turned over our flower vase, as well as the various drinking glasses in our room.  I went out on our balcony…I didn’t see any object that we would have hit, other than the ginormous waves crashing on all sides of the ship.  Thankfully, neither I nor my parents are effected much by motion of the ship…other than it makes walking a bit more exciting than usual. We ended the day with a more westward course of the vessel off the coast near Ketchikan, Alaska.

9/24/10 – Day 0 – Bon Voyage

     After sleeping in and having a nice complimentary breakfast at our hotel in Seattle, we took a bus to a grocery store for some American snacks and amenities that we thought would be nice to have over the next two months.  We then took a shuttle to the port in Seattle, checked in, and boarded the vessel that will be “home” for the next 68 days, Holland America’s M.S. Amsterdam.  The ship is not huge as far as cruise ships go, but it is plenty large enough for our voyage.

     Realizing exactly how much luggage we brought (14 pieces) by seeing it all piled onto our beds and couches in the stateroom left us the daunting task of unpacking. Even though we were so kindly upgrade to a Veranda Suite two days ago, our stateroom is still quite small to have 3 of us trying to move about organizing our belongings all at the same time.  I finally gave up and decided I will be fine unpacking another day.  Our upgrade really didn’t give us much more room inside the stateroom, but it did give us our own private balcony which we are sure to enjoy throughout our trip.

      We had a beautiful, clear view of Mount Rainer around 5 p.m. as we headed west out of Seattle through the Straight of Juan de Fuca.  Travel has been nice, as well as our fellow guests.  Antong is our head waiter and Widi is our assistant, both hailing from Indonesia (which we will visit later in our trip).  I will be eating dinner at a table with my folks, along with an Marsha and Michael, a brother and sister traveling together who winter in Kissimmee, FL and summer in the mountains of Pennsylvania where they grew up.  They are seemingly very kind and I’m sure will prove to be nice company with whom to enjoy our dinner mealtimes.

     Concerning time difference from home, we started our voyage in Seattle’s Pacific Time zone, 3 hours behind Florida’s Eastern Time zone.  As we travel west, we will continue to fall behind an hour at a time until crossing the International dateline, when we will be skipping an entire day and jumping ahead of you by almost 20 hours.  I’ll try to keep you updated on our time difference as I go. Obviously, my posts will correlate with my days and times and not necessarily yours.

Holland America's MS Amsterdam...home sweet home for the next two months.

Tomorrow's the day!

     We are on our way.  We flew out of Tampa earlier this afternoon, had a two-hour layover in Chicago before heading on to Seattle.  We arrived late this evening and will take a shuttle to the cruise ship port about noon tomorrow.  So far things have gone smoothly.  However, I really did not feel like a savoy traveler today with the abundance of luggage we were hauling around.  We each have our two checked bags maxed out to the 50 allotted pounds and sported our two carry-ons each as well.  The good news is, once we get to the ship, we don't have change hotel rooms.  So, no more bag lugging for a couple months.
     There is a definite chill in the air, here in Seattle, this evening.  It's quite nice.  I think our first two countries (Russia and Japan) will be on cooler side, and the we'll have fairly moderate temperatures for the rest of the trip.  The boat pulls out at 5 p.m. tomorrow (local time) and then it's a week of sea days before arriving at our first port, Petropavlovsk, Russia.  That ought to be plenty of time to get settled in, become familiar with the ship, and establish a routine of normalcy.  I'm excited to meet some of the ship's staff and fellow guests as we get to know those with whom we'll be traveling with for the next couple of months.

Introduction

     A little over two years ago, my folks booked a 68-day Asia and Australia Grand Voyage cruise.  Shortly after doing so, my dad asked me if there was any possibility of me being able to go with them.  With my rather spontaneous, take life as it comes, personality, a commitment that was over two years out wasn't something that I was willing to do at the time.  A few months later, my dad mentioned it again, and used the words "Karen, I'd really like for you to go with us."  So, as a decent, respectful daughter, what was I to do, but agree to go along.  I have often been asked what one needs to do to apply for the "daughter" position within my family.  Sorry to inform everyone, but the position has already been filled and my folks are not taking any more applications at this time.
     We are now 2 days out from embarking on what could be seen as a "trip of a lifetime".  We set sail from Seattle, Washington at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, Sept 23 and will not step foot on U.S. soil again until we arrive in Honolulu, Hawaii on the day after Thanksgiving.  And, we won't return home until a week later on December 3rd.  When it's all said and done, we will have spent a little over two months on a cruise ship, visiting 25 ports and a grand total of 13 countries (none of which I have ever before visited, besides the U.S.).  Needless to say, I am quite excited.  The plethora of unique cultures and people that we will see is what I look the most forward to, along with spending some quality time with my folks.  Your prayers are coveted as we embark on this adventure, specifically that our eyes and hearts are open to experience the people and places that the Lord brings across our path.  Thank you!