Happy 50th Birthday to Me!! - Saturday, Sept. 10 - 11 pm

I’ve had a great birthday today starting with a champagne breakfast. It was originally supposed to be on the balcony, but inclement weather and high winds kind of inhibited the potential enjoyment of it, so we opted to squeeze into the corner of the room. Still made for a pleasant way to start the day. Being a "sea day" meant lots of opportunity to do things on board the ship, so we took full advantage. We attended a presentation on the next 2 ports of call coming up in the next few days (Airlie Beach and Port Douglas), took Texas Hold’Em lessons, walked a couple of miles around the Promenade Deck, had a pedicure, and played Bingo (yes, you read that right....hey, it’s a chance to win $$$...but no, I didn’t). It was formal night in the dining room (I’m convinced it was in honour of my birthday), and the waiters sang "Happy Birthday" to me...but had to ask me my name...oh well, it was the thought that counts. We really shot the wad and went to see a comedian perform at the early show followed by a musical and dancing late show...first night we’ve been up past 9:30 pm. I’m a year older now...I can stay up later!!

WHAT I LEARNED TODAY: I’ve always said that when I get to the point that I’m not mobile, you’ll not see me traveling anymore and today I learned that this is non-negotiable...a deal breaker. You’ll never see some poor cruise ship employees having to bust their humps pushing my wheelchair up the gangway on embarkation day. Yup, it’s "soap box" time again...here goes!! I don’t dislike old people. I know and like lots of them. And with today being my 50th birthday, some would say I’m on the road to becoming one myself. And I’m not saying that all old people should be barred from travel, or cruising...but what I am saying is that if you have mobility issues, why not go to the main dining room for your meals? If you can’t carry your own plate through the buffet line, why not choose the option where they wait on you?? I’ve been avoiding going to the buffet for several reasons...which include: 1) the temptation to overeat and 2) the difficulty in finding a table. And now I’ve added a third reason....old people who have mobility and indecision issues holding up the buffet line, and then having to get someone from the buffet staff to carry their plate to find a table while they inch along on their walker/wheelchair/cane all while trying to make someone younger and more mobile feel guilty enough to relinquish the table that has taken them 15 minutes to finally locate.... Anyway, we’ll not be electing the buffet again anytime soon, a person could age just waiting to pick out their pasta dish...