Xanga

Arriving in Nassau, Bahamas

Wednesday, February 1

I was up early on Wednesday and in the dark noticed another cruise ship following us into the harbor. Because of the shape of the top lights, I thought it resembled Noah’s Ark.

I enjoyed pastry and coffee while waiting for other family members and the sunrise.

It was supposed to be a cloudy day and the sun was rising behind cloudy skies.

Jere and Diane soon arrived, but Jeff and Deb slept in a bit later today.

Arriving in Nassau harbor

Docking

Before long we were surrounded by seagulls.

I missed it, but when I walked away to get coffee, a gull stole a piece of Nathaniel’s bacon. (That would have been a fun photo.)

This multicolored building is where we would be showing our passports to enter the city of Nassau.

We met at ‘our’ elevator (the one close to our rooms) to discuss our morning plans. We decided to go shopping, then come back on the ship to deposit our goodies, have lunch, and discuss afternoon plans.

Touching land for the first time in four days.

Some of our children wanted family pictures here.

Jere & Kristen’s family

Jeff & Chris’ family

Mark & Diane’s family

Us

~~~

More about Nassau tomorrow

~~~

God is rock-firm and faithful.

Psalm 73:26 (The Message)

Teppanyaki

Tuesday Evening, January 31

Part 2 of 2

(Continued from yesterday’s post)

Our chef did all kinds of fancy things with eggs – frying them on the oil that had been a smiley face in last night’s blog.

Now we have an egg dragon!

After showing us the dragon, he put it back on the grill and cut it into small pieces, then tried to flip some of the pieces into the mouths of those who were willing to try catching it.

Whoops! The first one landed on Nathaniel’s shirt. The next one landed on Jeff’s shirt – see bottom left.

The girls (Jana and Abby) caught theirs.

Garlic Fried Rice

That large pile of rice (yesterday’s entry) is beginning to look good.

Shaping it into a heart.

At one point he put his spatula under the center of the heart and made it look like it was beating.

My serving of Japanese Teppanyaki Vegetables.

This looks like Hibachi Chicken, Udon Noodles.

I liked the metal “pocket” they attached to their slacks.

My Lobster, Sea Scallops, Calamari

Cerwin chose Green Tea Cake for dessert

I chose the Fresh Fruit Sashimi.

Then our children surprised us with another anniversary cake. Again the staff sang Let Me Call You Sweetheart.

After the meal we went to Star Dust Theater to see the acrobatics of Duo Elegia, a husband/wife team who were excellent. We were not allowed to photograph them.

We liked to arrive early so we could sit near the center front.

I think this silly momemt was between Duo Elegia and Deal No Deal.

Mark and Diane chose to sit on the balcony so he would not have to go up and down the steps. (He is planning to have hip replacement surgery in the near future.)

Nate, Josh, and Jordan sat on a lower balcony and always made lots of noise during Deal No Deal.

That night we had a mouse in our bed – created by our very attentive steward, Dewa.

Christ’s love is greater than anyone can ever know, but I pray that you will be able to know that love.

Then you can be filled with everything God has for you.

Ephesians 3:19 (Easy-to-Read Version)

Happy Birthday

To Our Favorite Abigail

We Love You

Grandpa & Grandma

Teppanyaki

Tuesday Evening, January 31

Part 1 of 2

On the fourth evening of the cruise Jere made reservations for those who wanted to pay for and experience the Japanese style of cooking called teppanyaki.

The food will be prepared right in front of us – notice the grills.

Mark and Diane walking toward the restaurant area.

Abby and Nathaniel were waiting comfortably in one of the window seats of the Chin Chin dining area.

Oh, my! What would we have done without these three?

A waiter explaining what will be happening, and taking meal orders. You will notice that our group was divided into two sections. We each had a different chef.

Our menu

Waiting for our complimentary appetizer

The cooked soybeans were delicious.

Everyone tried using their chopsticks.

Miso Soup

Seaweed Salad with Ginger Dressing

The chefs began with their “tool show.”

Then it was time to begin our meals.

A smiley face in oil.

You will have to wait until tomorrow night to see what he did with it.

This large pile of cooked rice was the beginning of a delicious mixture – which I will show you in Part 2 tomorrow night.

All of us who look forward to his Coming stay ready, with the glistening purity of Jesus’ life as a model for our own.

1 John 3:3 (The Message)

A Few Colorful Pictures

We just got home from an interesting afternoon and evening of taking a promotional chapel to a church in a neighboring county. After supper with the paster and a few TFC friends, Cerwin and I, and various staff and volunteers were part of their midweek service. What an amazing evening!

~~~

The following four photos from Tuesday on the cruise don’t fit in with any of the others for that day, so I thought this would be a good time to post them.

A view of steps that led to a row of elevators.

Photos on a wall leading to Blue Lagoon restaurant.

Chairs in one of the lounges.

It was always a nice visual when seeing these hearts at the bottom of a set of steps.

~~~

More about Tuesday evening tomorrow night.

~~~

It always gives me the greatest joy when I hear that my children are following the way of truth.

3 John 1:4 (Easy-to-Read Version)

No Great Stirrup Cay

Tuesday, January 31

This was the sunrise on Tuesday morning.

My choice of breakfast: Eggs Benedict.

When you get only one is it Egg Benedict?

Ian was continually looking for ways to earn cash for our stop in Nassau on Wednesday. This morning Roy offered him a dollar for each family member he could find who needed a drink. Then he had to get the drink and serve it to the person. We all drank more cranberry juice, milk, orange juice, and water than usual that morning.

We were disappointed when the captain announced that we would not be able to go to Great Stirrup Cay because the sea was too rough for using tender boats. This is a private island owned by Norwegian. There is no dock, so everyone had to get in tender boats to get to shore. We quickly adjusted our disappointment to thinking of ways to enjoy the ship, and saved deck chairs at the pool.

I had some “fun” money, so scheduled a Lime and Ginger Massage in Bora Bora Spa. Oh, what a delight. She spent a lot of time working on my upper back – between my shoulders – where I have some lingering whiplash pain from the accident.

After that I joined the others who were already settled in at the pool and hot tub. (There were several hot tubs.) Oh, what a relaxing morning. I could get used to this.

This is about as close as Cerwin got to the pool. He was usually at one of the tables behind the chairs talking with one of the other men, or playing Scum or Rook.

It was a beautiful day and by mid-afternoon it felt good that the movement of the sun had placed our chairs in the shade.

The little boys LOVED the pool and often attached themselves to any older cousin who entered.

We were treated like royalty, with a barbecue in the swimming pool area…

…and beautiful Bahamian music.

Because we could not be on the island, extra activities were added to the itinerary of the ship. Gloria chose to go to a gecko-making-class and was pleased with her results.

She returned to the pool area about the time the captain walked through and was happy to pose with him.

Jesse never tired of swimming and going down the slide.

Ian

By the end of the afternoon, most of us were happily exhausted, including Jared.

Oh, look! Jesse is still going strong.  Maybe he had a nap earlier.