Romance at Sea
30 Jul 2011 Leave a Comment
The Obstacle Course on the Sports Deck
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
It’s another full day at sea as we continue along the Italian coastline and back towards Spain. Tracey had another late night partying at the nightclub, so she slept in while Mom and I had breakfast. Today, we’re feeling adventurous and we want to check out the Sports Deck. Our first stop: the obstacle course, suspended several feet above the deck. Two strapping young Latvian men secured our harnesses and tried to ease our fears as we examined the series of tightropes, balance beams and other contraptions ahead of us. I went first with Mom following close behind. There’s an “easier” side and a “harder” side, but I failed to see the difference. Very carefully, we made our way around the course without falling. We were so excited that we went around again just to be sure we had really completed it. With both of us being afraid of heights, this was a major personal milestone.
Miniature Golf and the Obstacle Course above it
After conquering our fears, we were unstoppable. Mom and I played a round of miniature golf and I was astounded when she got a hole-in-one on the toughest hole! Then, we played foosball and a giant game of Connect Four. After mastering the Sports Deck, we made our way to Lido Deck to play movie trivia. Tracey joined us at lunch time for cheeseburgers on deck. From there, we attended an art auction for the next two hours, which was my first auction experience ever. It turned out to be super fun and addictive. We enjoyed learning about the artists and the various pieces. We participated in afternoon tea at 3 p.m. and spent some time looking at jewelry in the ship’s store.
Tonight is another formal evening, but none of us have any motivation to get dressed up. We’re very relaxed and feeling quite lazy. So, while everyone else returned to their cabins to primp for dinner, Mom and Tracey and I found some bar stools at the ship’s lobby bar and settled in for a few rounds of wine and cocktails. We were slightly self-conscious of our “resort wear” looks while everyone surrounding us wore sparkly gowns and tuxes, but that feeling soon wore off as we enjoyed our drinks.
Turns out, we were at the right place at the right time. A few drinks in, a gentleman named Kenny from Florida approached Mom and they started talking. Turns out he’s single, no kids and cruising alone. He bought Mom a drink. Two hours later, he asked her out on a date for the following evening! Go Mom!! 
A great birthday present, indeed…
Since we weren’t dressed up for the dining room, we went to the Lido Deck for a casual buffet-style dinner. During dinner, we sailed past the island of Stromboli. It was pitch black as we looked out to sea. You could barely see any difference between sea, land and sky. But, then it happened. Every eight minutes or so, the active volcano on Stromboli spewed red lava against the night sky. Everyone “ooh-ed and aww-ed” as we sailed past. Unfortunately, my photo is completely black with one tiny sliver of red light at the bottom. Not worth posting here.
Tracey and returned to our stateroom to put dresses on, while mom turned in for the night. We met our friend Gail and her husband at the Piano Bar. We enjoyed a few more drinks and then ventured over to the Vibe nightclub. We talked with a few guys and then, out of nowhere, the ship’s Hotel Director Donato Becce, one of the top four highest ranking officers onboard, approached me and asked me to dance. Naturally, I said yes and we spent the next half a dozen songs spinning on the dance floor, much to the delight of his watchful staff. For the first time on this vacation, I stayed out late… until 2 a.m.
