Killer Heat...

Wednesday, February 18. Clear. 30 C.

We are anchored about a kilometer from shore off a tiny town called Exmouth on the extreme west of Australia. This place is known for its snorkeling. I guess it would be nice to be in and under the water, but on the ship on deck and on dry land it is like a Dry Kiln. Actually unpleasant.

While the ship was anchoring I was getting these old toe nails of mine trimmed so I don't shred my socks when putting them on. I also paid a little more and had my legs defoliated. I thought that she was going to scrub the meat off my bones but did it feel good!!! I sat there for near an hour with my feet in a warm tub of water, it felt so decadent but so good.

As you can tell, we did not go ashore again today. Firstly because Fellette did not want to go and secondly, I did not want to go! I guess you folks must wonder what we came on this trip for. We came on this cruise to do exactly what we are doing, Relaxing! Plus, to see my good friend Keith, a friend of 66 years when we were zipping  around Europe on Motor Scooters, before either of us had met our future brides and a whole lifetime was ahead of us. Wow, those were the days! 

It seems odd to me that today, we are exactly 50% of the way through this cruise, as far of number of days is concerned and that when we pulled up anchor and headed toward, Fremantle/Perth, we started to head South by East for the first time on this trip. Interesting I thought.

I have learned a bit more about my wife of 63 1/2 years on this trip. Fellette was an only child as her mother died when Fellette was three years old. So Fellette has been able to entertain herself, all her life. Unlike me and many/most families whose kids have siblings and they of course play together. It was interesting that Fellette had to tell me that herself yesterday, while I was having difficulty fussing and was trying to find something to do. It is also amazing that I am still learning some basic information because of this enforced time spent together in the last 47 days of closeness.

A Good Day. 

Coffee on the deck at 5:30 this morning.

My feet in the foot bath at 8:00 am.

There sits the town of Exmouth, a 20 minute tender ride away. There was a heat haze above the town all day. Imagine spending your whole life there. It really looks like it requires a tough set of people to live there. I suppose we have isolated towns in Canada as well, but not with weather like this.

Back to Good Weather Again...

Tuesday, February 17. Blue sky. Calm sea. 28 C.

Well, we are back to sunny days again. We are now just about the furthest West that we will be on the entire trip. That fact plus the fact that we will soon be having clock changes that take away an hour's sleep means that this lazical journey is beginning to wind down and a real world awaits us out there. I think you all know my feeling about being ready to come home before the trip is over. 

Today I finally got rid of this annoying feature on my phone and Laptop that happened some time ago when there was an update and 'They' slipped some AI, [artificial intelligence] into the operating system that purports to know what you are going to type and fills in that, instead of what you want to type. I have not described that very well but it is such a relief to know that I am not the only one who has been driven crazy by that feature. No doubt there are millions of people who that works for them very nicely. Not this dude!

Fellette went for a longish swim after breakfast this morning and I went for a long walk, alone, something I have not done before, as usual, I overdid it, as well I climbed too many stairs and paid for that  by being confined to a very relaxing pre lunch nap, without guilt.

The captain, on his noon report, warned us of the heat tomorrow when we are anchored off of the tiny town of Exmouth. Tomorrow morning as we are anchoring I intend to be in a chair in the Spa getting a Pedicure! That is my Toe Nails trimmed. Over these 90 years I have lost a few toenails for various reasons and they are difficult to trim. I usually have them trimmed every couple of months and it is now time! It does not sound very Manly I confess!

We hope to get ashore tomorrow, we will see how things go. We are two days in Fremantle, or Perth in two days, and there we will have more than ample time to get a haircut and sight see. The heat is something that Fellette and I are not lovers of, my skin is a mess at the best of times and I go to great lengths NOT to get it 'Tanned' as we used say. We still see people laying in the hot sun on deck. I just don't understand some people. We see the evidence on board here of people who were Sun Lovers in their youth. Some rough looking skin on board I will tell you.

Good Day.

Just to have a photo here today and in case you forgot what our Great Grandson looks like, here is Miles!

Broome Got Cancelled...

Monday, February 16. Rain, wind. 27 C.

We awoke to a nasty wind and rain combination and that continued all the time until we were finally docked and tied up. However the gangways were never laid out.

Eventually, the captain announced that he was cancelling the day in port and getting out to sea where it was safer. He was concerned that the conditions were too hard on the mooring lines and if one snapped we would be in trouble, so, that was our day.

We intended to go ashore and get some needed supplies and I was going to grab a haircut. So non of that happened. We now have two sea days and that puts us in Exmouth, a smaller still town. I think that most people will be pleased with that as the rain in Darwin and now Broome are making people a little tired of disappointing weather and there is some expectation of once we get out of the Top End of Oz things will improve, or should improve.

After we pulled out of Broome we had some excitement as a Rescue Helicopter was soon hovering almost outside our cabin. The very noisy machine looked like it was getting to lower a line and hoist a Passenger/Patient up. A visit to the Neptune Lounge explained that it was a Coast Guard training exercise, using our ship as a training prop. Kind of fun for a few minutes.

We went to dinner in The Canaletto, a high end Italian Restaurant with a Canadian Couple that we met. Oddly, they both worked for GM where in Oshawa, they make the Chevrolet Silverado that we will be getting when we get home, Lord Willing.

An OK Day...

A first for us, seeing a Tug Boat actually pushing us to turn around in a strong wind as we were attempting to dock. Another tug was pulling the front end end, it looked rather difficult and dangerous.

This guy sure earned his money today

This thing added to our early morning excitement!

Restful Day at Sea...

Sunday, February 15. Cloudy, some rain. 28 C.

Where did all the clear blue skies go?  We are no longer in the middle of a very large Ocean, we are now always within a few hundred miles of a continent, and that seems to make a big difference.

Interestingly, we should not have a Time Change for about 10 days, at which time we will start Losing Sleep on a regular basis as we start the journey to the east. Then one day we will cross the dateline and lose that  whole day we gained some time ago. The dateline causes more issues than the difference in hours, I find.

We had breakfast in the dining room this morning, a first for us. We were with a Canadian Couple who we met up with on a Shore Excursion and sort of hit it off. We just happened to bump into him on our way to breakfast so we went together. Gad, I did not know that you could spend that much time at breakfast. But it was very nice to have a meaningful conversation for a change. We are having dinner together tomorrow in a private specialty Italian restaurant. Looking forward to it.

Today I did something that I should have done 44 days ago, and that is get my photos in an orderly fashion so when I go to make a book of this trip, it will be much, much, much simpler than it otherwise would be. I needed Fellette's assistance and that saved me a couple of hours work. I think I can now get it into a workable way after another few hours work. So, I am happy, I now have a project to help while away the hours/days as we trundle along our way. This is how I relax, by doing something!

Tomorrow we are in Broome, and we are going to take the provided shuttle into the town. Hopefully it is still as nice a place as it was when we ended our coach tour there some many years ago. With a population of around 18,000, that sounds like a place we can feel comfortable in. Darwin, has a population of 150,000, that is why it was a bit of a disappointment  yesterday, too big for us Country Folk!

Unfortunately this is the 'Wet' season and the captain was not too optimistic on the prospects of a good day tomorrow. So be it.

A Relaxing Day!

This is how our bed was when we got back from dinner last night. The room stewards are like ghosts. They are in and out of our room twice a day. After breakfast and during dinner. This is why gentlemen, a Cruise is a real holiday for a woman!

Fellette, this afternoon, the only work she did today is give all the Valentine's Day flowers an Aspirin to extend their life!