NORWEGIAN SUN (part five, if you’re reading it in order) (prev. published)

Well it was quite a day today, I want to start with what we did this morning but neither of us can remember what the heck we did, geeze. Must be the hypnotist thing cutting in or the sangria (three big glasses for 15.00) oh ya, we played two for one bingo this morning. This only cost us 39.00 for three cards but we shared and we won 120.00 but then had to share with three other people darn! So I guess we are even. We are at sea today and wanted to stay out of the sun for awhile, I know, but we have been hitting it pretty hard.
Hypnotist was a mass hypnotizing and I think I fell asleep. All I know is that I haven’t had a cigarette at all today, nor do I crave one. I feel like if I golfed my game would be much improved and I am not the least bit stressed. I’m taking the stairs more (sure it is all going down but it is much easier I swear) I feel so good! I have quit biting my nails, hmmmmm, I can’t remember if I was a nail biter. I also know if I went into sports I would surely excel at whatever I try, all this is happening to me and it only cost me 135.00 but I saved 700.00 off the full price. This is the package I bought from the hypnotist to listen too while I sleep. Quitting smoking will pay for it, except I don’t think I smoke either.. ah well.
We went to the twelfth floor tapas lounge for supper and  they happened to have Karaoke hour. That is where we tied into the three big sangria drinks, and no I did not sing. But Gladys Cherryblossom decided to take a stab at it and after much cajoling by the three people in the lounge. She belted out a Lady Ga Ga tune, yep Poker Face, omg! But there is a god, gf did not have her camera. Gladys received a standing ovation from all three people and the staff (who were desperate for anyone to participate). My girlfriend said Gladys wasn’t that bad, not good either. I am definitely not a singer. My stripper name is Gladys Cherryblossom, btw, its what I tell everyone.
The weather has been exceptional this whole trip and we are more than happy with the ship, the broom closet is not that bad either. Some of the challenges are, to shave or not to shave, our legs are getting a little prickly, but we are sleeping solo so we won’t hurt anyone lol. The shower is one of those corner deals with a round metal rod jutting out. This almost reminds me of the showers over the toilet, remember those in the RVs?  If we keep our stuff put away that helps. The ‘ride’ is unbelievably smooth being near the waterline has its advantages, insert smiley face here !
Our next day finds us in St Marten, (Dutch side, the other side is the French side St Maarten, it has a nude beach and one of the most beautiful beaches in the world) population 80,000 and what a beautiful place this is! Education here is similar to Aruba except kids only need three mandatory languages and two optional, healthcare and education are free. We decide to take some money and our credit cards into to town,  subconsciously we are preparing ourselves to make up for a lost opportunity in Curacao. We almost bought an emerald ring but realized that we didn’t have enough time and then we had left our credit cards on the ship, not going make that mistake today. The beach on this side is at the end of the Airport runway and yes they fly right over your head.
Well we don’t have any problem finding stuff we can’t live with out, did I mention that my suitcase weighs 51.4 lbs on the trip over? United Airlines charged us 25.00 extra to check it in. We need to be careful here because it is another checked bag if I can’t wear everything,.lol (it’s really not funny and we don’t like this one bit). This place has everything, even leather coats and jackets from Turkey, we know this because we were there this time last year. We mention this and owner tells us he is from Istanbul and there is the same coat I  bought there. (at 300.00 more) We buy a fashion leather jacket that will probly get very little wear and we leave with a smile on our face.
I remember my resolve to only pack three pair of shoes, well I did wean it down to five which included my winter boots. Turns out I need a new pair of sandals but I have to buy two pair to get a deal. How the heck am I going to wear two pairs of sandals over my boots? We have two more cruises to figure that one out. The emeralds are still calling our name so we check out the Diamonds International jewelry stores. Every port has these “cruise ship approved” jewelry stores, I think the ships get a kick-back for promoting them. We head back to the ship and into the pool, then the hot tub and the steam room (we found that little gem last night). Oh yes and we have the rings. A wise man once told me “money is only stuff you haven’t bought yet” well that stuff is money we don’t have to worry about anymore and we are enjoying the piss outta this holiday, insert smiley face here :  )
We meet up with the professor and his wife for supper, they are quite the eccentric couple. Seems they had a cat that talked regularly on the phone to her mom and her sister. They also had a dog named Wendal that had his own life. When the cat passed away her sister called and when informed of the ‘passing’ she couldn’t believe it cause she had just ‘talked’ to her the day before. I don’t make this shit up, we still didn’t get his name, damn. We walked so much while shopping we decide we deserve to have the bread pudding dessert, life is good. Banjo player on steroids is playing in the showroom tonite so we take a pass and turn in early.
to be continued…