I got up around 8:00 AM, at about the time Jay went up to the Lido for breakfast. I followed about twenty minutes later. There was not a lot on the agenda. At 10:00 AM, we did attend a talk by Andy, the cruise director, in the Vista Lounge. He went over the procedures those staying onboard the MS Noordam for the Australia sector. We are to disembark at a particular time with our paperwork to enter the Australian border. We are in transit for three ports and six days.
We'd received an invitation to a Mariner's brunch in the Dining Hall at 11:30. The Mariner's Club is the Holland America Line loyalty program. We are currently two-star members but will zoom up a level after these 6 weeks on the Pacific. We were seated at the very back windows on Deck 2. That really afforded a superb view of the ship's wake through the turbulent waters. (The forecast still shows sunny skies for Sydney tomorrow.)
At brunch, an odd thing happened. I was talking to the tablemates and I dropped my fork. It landed handle down on my seat or lap and I jerked my arm to catch it. I speared myself with a tine, one going a good inch into my arm. I had to pull it out. At first, there was no blood, but I did lose several drops. The waiter had a band-aid in his pocket. There's no discomfort from the minor mishap. It was mighty weird, though. I'd never seen a fork stuck in anyone till today.
Presently, I am in the library which has large 5' x 5' windows overlooking the walking area around Deck 5. It's still raining at 4:30 PM. The swells are several feet high which toss even a ship of this size a bit. The temperature is only 17C and the next two weeks of the trip are going to be cooler than the previous two. At the equator the weather was warm. We're still going south to where spring is just starting.
I cannot even consider eating at the moment, but I know today will be our last formal dinner with Louise and Charles. They've been evening tablemates since Vancouver, but are leaving in Sydney. It's nice to have new friends in Richmond, Virginia. As we've spent so much time with them, we're beyond those 50 or so things one openly shares about oneself with strangers'. We're going to get out tomorrow just to venture on our own. I've become super annoyed with silly selfie-stick owners. However, we will probably ask someone to snap a photo of us in front of the Sydney Opera House.