This morning began with a bit of relaxing. Thom and I woke up and watched a little tv before heading to breakfast. We decided to go to the Horizon Buffet again. Thom didn't eat, he just had a latte, but I had french toast and sausage.
Then we headed to the culinary performance and galley tour. It was put on by the Executive Head Chef, Head Materi d' and the pastry chef. They made a smoked salmon pasta, a "Devil's Shrimp", and a Black Forest sponge cake. They were quite goofy with it so I found it quite enjoyable. Thom was a little less enthused, but I loved it. We also got to take home the "Devil's Shrimp" and Black Forest cake recipe. On the pice of paper with the recipes it also gave facts about the food service on the ship. There are 52 dish washers, 70 waiters, 33 bartenders, and many more positions. Over 250 of the 800 crew work in dining. After that, we got to go to the galley. I was amazed at the size of it! They had special sections for vegetable preparation, meat preparation, bread preparation, and pasta preparation. There was even an elevator in the galley to help transport from one level to the next. Of course, all the machines were huge. Large mixers, pots, pans, and appliances.
After looking at the at the galley we went to the 75% off sale, but didn't purchase anything. We then headed up to the pizza restaurant so Thom could eat some lunch. While up there we met up with Mom, Dad, and Drew who were headed to the Horizon Buffet for lunch.
Once we finished lunch we went to the atrium because there was going to be a big balloon drop at 12:30. So we placed ourselves under the balloon drop. What made it more fun was that there were prizes in the balloons. We got two! We won an Alaskan photo album and a $5 match card for the casino. We gave our match card to Dad, who won with it and gave $5 to Thom. Then Thom lost his single hand of black jack. Oh well! Drew on the other hand was more lucky! He also had a $5 match card and had it in his pocket. At the exact right hand (thanks to the reminder of his lovely sister) he got a black jack! It was by pure chance, but made me laugh that it worked out that way. Drew and Dad also entered the slot tournament, but did not do as well this time. They are now both out of the tournament.
After that fun I headed to the art auction. It wasn't with the intent of purchasing any art, but I had a couple raffle tickets to put into a drawing that I needed to be present to win. So, I put in my raffle tickets, enjoyed a glass of champagne, and watched an art auction. I have now found a new artist who I think is wonderful- Peter Max. He uses beautiful bright colors and has a very American theme. Unfortunately his works go for in the upwards of $16,000. Anyway, part of the week's fun was to guess a cost of his print. Thom and Drew sweet talked the girl working and she slipped the cost. So, Drew and I both wrote down correct guesses and so we both won TWO pieces of artwork! Oh yeah, remember the raffle tickets I mentioned? I won on a raffle drawing too so we get an additional piece of artwork! The auction was quite successful for us! We have an appointment tonight to pick out our pieces.
Once we finished with that auction Mom, Drew, and I decided to play Bingo. I thought with my good luck at the art auction I should try it at Bingo. I had no such luck.
At 5:00 I turned in our papers for the scavenger hunt that we did in the ports. If we win we get an Alaskan themed treasure trove! I'm just hoping not many other people did it!
Now I am sitting out on Deck 7 as we are now in College Fjord. As I type, I am looking at some of the most majestic mountains I have seen. It amazes me how a glacier can go down a mountain, and then all the sudden it turns to green trees. The Naturalist just came on the speaker and said that we are now closer to Harvard Glacier than they have gotten all year. Apparently the ice as thinned out so we are able to get close to the glacier. The glacier is absolutely beautiful. We were able to see a big chunk of it fall into the water. There were also seals close to the glacier. The glaciers seem so small until you have something to put it in perspective. There were a couple kayakers next to the glacier. They were just tiny little specks.
We then had to get ready for our art consultation and dinner. Drew got to pick out one piece of art, and Thom and I got two. Drew got a bright piece with instruments on it. Thom and I got an abstract piece of art. The artist is from Germany and is ambidextrous. The second piece is a beautiful scene of boats by a French artist.
Then we went to our last dinner on the ship. For appetizers we had a seafood trio (I ordered it, but didn't care for it- everyone else liked it), a vegetable soup, salad, a clam linguine, and mushroom and chicken biscuit. For dinner we had New York strip steak, mussels, and turkey. For dessert they did the parade of Baked Alaska. The waiters and junior waiters came in with the Baked Alaska. We all twirled our napkins and clapped.
After dinner we had to head up to the room to pack because our suitcases needed to be out by 11:00. Once we packed up, we headed to the karaoke finals. Thee were six contestants. Some were definitely better than others, but it was enjoyable to watch. After the contest we headed to the Explorer's Lounge. Once that closed we headed back to the room, watched part of Frozen, and went to bed.
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