Los Angeles

Dale, Jenni and I chose the excursion: Santa Monica On Your Own. We chose this excursion because the Pritchetts needed some prescriptions and I needed some additional over the counter medicines. There is a Target within a couple of blocks of where the bus dropped us off. It was an interesting experience because several other people from the bus had the same idea. We descended on the Target enmasse. This was a very small Target which had almost everything locked up. The poor employee who was working in the OTC area got overwhelmed with all of us asking to have cabinets unlocked so we could reach toothpaste, cold medicines, and various other sundries.
After shopping, we stopped by the Tesla store and then proceeded to The Cheesecake Factory for lunch.
We then caught the bus back to the ship and I unpacked my purchases.
There was a welcome reception on the pool deck at 5:30. So I changed and headed up for the festivities wishing that Bob was joining me because he helps ameliorate my social awkwardness. Surprisingly, I met several people who were on the 2019 WC.
The CEO of Viking Cruises, Torstein Hagen, and his daughter, Karine, were at the reception. Mr. Hagen spoke but I was in the back of the room so did not hear much of his speech. I did hear when he spoke about the conflict in the middle east. He wished a speedy resolution to the conflict for those most effected. He did mention that he also hopes that we will be able to sail through the Suez Canal and not have to sail around Africa. I was disappointed to hear that this was the optional route being considered because I would have preferred a route up to Japan, over to Alaska and back through the Panama Canal. We continue to hope that the conflict will be resolved.
We have been unable to listen to the news as the live TV broadcast on ship has been non-existent. This has been a real struggle for Bob as he has been confined to the stateroom. There are only so many TED talks a person can listen to.
After the reception, Dale, Jenni and I met Krystal and Henry at the Chef's table for the "California" menu which featured an outstanding halibut dish as the main course.Read more