Feb 14th, 2023 Day 42 of 128

Sea Day “Happy Valentine’s Day”

Good morning and a Happy Valentine’s Day to all you back in the states. I am loving life on this lovely lovey holiday but I am still hating my back. Another rough night of sleep last night and I am frustrated with the slow go in getting back to normal. Last night we received a lovely box of See’s candy compliments of our amazing representative Dan from Cruise Specialists. It was a nice “piece of home” from across the miles. We slept in a little this morning and skipped breakfast. We got to spend a little time at Project Linus and the I went and got another 30 minute massage at 10:15 am this morning. After a session with her she recommended I get a consultation with the acupuncturist. So I grabbed a quick lunch and then headed back for a consultation. I scheduled an appointment for my first treatment with him for 8:00am tomorrow morning. I am still on gym restriction and have been encouraged to try and take it easy. He wanted to fit me in this evening, but tonight was our second gala/formal night. I have a lovely red dress that I had been waiting to wear and I am not missing out on tonight festivities. I did relax this afternoon and rested my back. When we got back to our room this afternoon we found two long stem roses and two boxes of chocolates on our bed compliments of Holland America. A lovely gift on this special day. We were all dressed up and ready to go to dinner at 4:45pm so we could go and have photos taken. Everyone was dressed in their finest tonight. It was quite lovely to see all the couples celebrating together. We did have a guest for dinner at our table this evening, as we had requested to have officers and staff to join us on special occasions. Staff member Spencer, the Sport and Athletic Director, joined us at our table for dinner tonight. He was on the 2020 WC and we had such a nice time talking to him and catching up on everything he has accomplished in the last few years. After dinner we took a gazillion photos and then went to Crow’s nest. On our previous world cruise the Crow’s nest was the center of events in the evening. Live band, dancing, a bar and where everyone went. On this ship there are 3 smaller areas that people distribute around to at night. But tonight they moved the band to the Crow’s nest and it was wonderful. A large place for the beautifully dressed guests and crew to relax, laugh, drink, talk and dance the night away. We actually stayed up till 11:00pm. We loved people watching and spent our time visiting with Freddy and Bob and Marty and Gail. When we got back to our cabin our bi-weekly flowers I ordered for Megan and I had been delivered, a dozen red roses and a bonus Happy Valentine’s Day bear from the florist on the ship. We also had a towel swan on our bed. We definitely feel spoiled and pampered and loved on this Valentine’s Day. E-cards have been sent to all our loved ones back at home where it is just now Valentine’s Day. We are ready to sleep fast and to enjoy a mostly sea day tomorrow. We will arrive into our Port in Adelaide around 2:00pm. We had scheduled a private tour to go hold a koala bear, but sadly, the weather is forecasted to be 90 degrees and due to the stress of the heat on the animals our excursion got cancelled. We have a few more ports in Australia and hopefully the opportunity will afford itself to us before we leave this beautful country. Sweet Dreams everyone and Happy Valentine’s Day!!