May 8th, 2023 Day 125 of 128

Sea Day 3 of 6

It is another relaxing Sea Day on the MS Zuiderdam. As we sail west and head towards warmer weather we are hoping for a couple more opportunities to lay out in the sun around the pool. We slept in a little this morning. We skipped breakfast because we had a Mariner luncheon today. We spent our morning packing and organizing some more. It is like packing up an apartment you lived in for four months. The mariner luncheon was at 11:00 in the Main dining room. Ian and the Captain each gave a little speech and thanked us for our loyalty to the company. We had a really nice lunch with a couple and a gentleman that was on the 2020 WC with us. I pulled up photos from an excursion we both talked about during lunch and there he was in the group photos with us. What a coincidence. They presented each of us with a tile commemorating Holland America’s 150th anniversary. It was a nice gift and it went right into the suitcases. I had my last acupuncture appointment this afternoon as well. I give much thanks to Dr. Kim for taking care of me and helping me over the last couple of months. He and I are researching a good acupuncturist in my area for when I get home. I am feeling almost 100% and look forward to continuing my health improvement journey when I get home as well. We spent a chunk of today collating and wrapping up all of Megan’s work and lesson plans. I am happy to say we are 100% ready to submit all her completed work and lesson plans when we return to Templeton Home School program. Megan will be returning to her traditional school in Cayucos on Monday May 15th, so she can conclude her middle school years in the school she has attended since first grade. It will give her a chance to reconnect with her peers and participate with the 8th grade activities and graduation. She misses her friends tremendously and is so excited to return. Megan had tutoring this afternoon as well She is wrapping up a couple more lessons of the work the class is currently doing at home. They had advanced past where we had brought the work for her Algebra class and her teacher was kind enough to get us the additional work so she is exactly where she needs to be when she goes back to school. While we are on the subject, this week is teacher appreciation week, so make sure you show your appreciation to any amazing educators or support staff that you know and love. We had dinner this evening in the Canaletto with our new friends Denny, Melanie and Jody. We have enjoyed our time getting to know this amazing family. A great part of cruise life and world cruising in particular. Lots of time to form deeper relationship and friendships. After dinner we headed home and popped on a movie. I didn’t sleep very well last night and I am hoping for a good nights rest. Have a dull migraine pestering me. It has been a rest filled two days and I am very happy to be mostly packed up. We can start sending our suitcase out of cabin starting the morning of May 10th so they can get a jump on the luggage shuffle on board and we can say goodbye to the ones that are being shipped. I didn’t take any photos to share with you today. We set the clocks back another hour tonight. We will be five hours ahead of CA tomorrow as we tick our way back in time to where we began this journey.

I will bid you all a good night and a wonderful nights rest. Hugs.