• Day 106: Richard’s Bay Cancelled

    6 de abril de 2024, Indian Ocean ⋅ ☁️ 73 °F

    8:10 am Captain Richard just announced due to unsafe weather conditions we will not be docking at Richard’s Bay.

    One picture shows the current route and position of the Neptune. You can see we headed in then turned out.

    At noontime we got an announcement that we will be docking in Durban, South Africa at 4:00pm

    Opps. Bad weather in Durban. Not docking here today either.

    The Neptune staff has done a great job calling an audible.

    I feel for the responsibility Captain Richard has. Clearly safety of passengers, crew, and the ship have to take priority.
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  • Day 105: Sea Day Sailing Indian Ocean

    5 de abril de 2024, Indian Ocean ⋅ ☀️ 77 °F

    Up at 8:30 - Breakfast at 9:00 - Felting at 10:00 - Lunch at 12:15 - American Wine Tasting at 1:00 - Craft project at 2:00 - Going through my photos at 3:30 - Russel Lee lecture at 6:30 - Special Family Style Italian Dinner at The Restaurant at 7:15 put on by the Staff - Back to the room at 9:00 to watch the Port Talk and go to bed.

    I thought when I retired I wouldn’t need to use Microsoft Outlook anymore.

    Meet Tom the Penguin. Tom is named after one of my past managers at Yale and is an avid follower of my Find Penguins post. Tom also loves to make his own wine every year. His wife is from Italy and he gets the best Italian food for dinner.

    We are doing a day Safari in South Africa tomorrow.
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  • Day 104: Sea Day, Indian Ocean

    4 de abril de 2024, Indian Ocean ⋅ 🌬 77 °F

    After Mixology class and closing down Torshavn last night we were a bit slow in getting up.

    10:00 Breakfast at Mamsen’s, then some time at the Glass Table of Deck 8 to get some posting done. 1:00 Lunch at the World Cafe, 2:00 finished my jewelry project - Maybe I can get them displayed at the “Juveler” on Deck 2?

    Over our bed in our stateroom Donna has been collecting magnets on a world map of all of the stops we have made so far. We still pinch ourselves everyday not believing we are doing this and have been to places around the world we never even knew existed.

    It’s about 4:00pm Donna and I are relaxing at the Glass Table in the Explorer’s Lounge on Deck 8. We listen to peaceful background music, we lookup to a panoramic view of the Indian Ocean. Karmila brings me a hot chocolate. Life is good.

    Dinner with Josh and Robin.

    Then attended a magic show at 9:00

    A low key relaxing day.
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  • Day 103: “Steve Steals the Show”

    3 de abril de 2024, Indian Ocean ⋅ 🌬 77 °F

    While Lois Brooks is giving her premier performance on the Viking Neptune - she loving invites the crowd to “join in” this next number. This may have been a mistake on her part.

    Steve saw this opportunity ,to show Viking just what he has - in hopes of securing his first dream contract on the Neptune as an entertainer. There is the saying - “What happens on Viking Neptune, stays on Viking Neptune” — Well, not is this case. I think this one might go viral.

    It was great watching the interplay with Steve and Lois. It is these spontaneous moments which we will aways remember. We are a big family and this is our home. This one might haunt Steve in his dreams for a long time. Hahahahaha.

    Steve you are a great sport … we love you.

    Question, will you be signing 8x10’s for us to take home?
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  • Day 103: Sea Day, Indian Ocean

    3 de abril de 2024, Bay of Bengal ⋅ 🌙 84 °F

    What started out to be a sleep-in, slow, Sea Day - turned into a full day.

    Breakfast - Morning nap - 12:30 Lunch - 2:00 Necklace Craft class - Worked on Find Penguins posts catching up - 6:15 Dinner - 7:30 Academy of Mixology (Today was Brandy: Side Car, Brandy Sour, Black Desire) - Lois Brooks Debut performance in the Star Theater - Then Torshavn to listen to Jinky, Ralph, and the Viking Band. It was fun listening to the music and watching people dance and have a good time.

    Donna enjoyed a new drink - “Black Desire” - She might have enjoyed them a bit much. That is why we are - here to have a fun time.

    As time passed, everyone left the Torshavn with only Donna and I left to enjoy the last four numbers of their set. We haven’t done the late night “wild” scene at Torshavn up until last night - last night we had a private performance as we closed the place down.

    Thank you to Jinky, Ralph, and the band for making the day special.

    #myvikingstory
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  • Day 103: Lois Brooks Debut, #1:2

    3 de abril de 2024, Indian Ocean ⋅ 🌙 70 °F

    This evening was Lois Brook’s turn to take the stage. She took it, she owned it, it was hers.

    We have all fallen in love with our Neptune Entertainers (Emily, Lois, Luis, Joe, and the band). Show after show they provide excellent performances. We especially enjoy the times they get to put together their own personal show.

    Lois was “born and raised in the beautiful countryside of Yorkshire.” She has been on the stage since age 8 and is professionally trained. At age 22, this is her first contact with Viking and her first professional job upon graduating Musical Theatre at Leeds Conservatoire.

    Last night Donna, and I along with my Sony got a front row seat to her debut solo performance. Here is a small handful (in two posts) of some of the over 400 pictures my Sony captured. If this is the start of her future, we are all excited to watch this young woman grow.

    Please enjoy this photos. Also, if you were there please add a supporting kudos for Lois.
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  • Day 102: Port Louis, Mauritius #4

    2 de abril de 2024, Mauricio ⋅ 🌬 79 °F

    Mauritius, an island, a country we never even heard about is now a place we have travelled to and visited. The scenery is lovely even though the day was overcast. The mountains are majestic.

    You can clearly see the disparity in the economic classes. The ocean waves were so powerful. Our guide has been doing the guide thing for 26 years, and was spot on one of the best guides we have had on this cruise.

    It was a long day - fulfilling - but long.

    We were happy to get back to the Neptune, our home. People who were on the multi-day overnight in India have returned to the ship. So, the World Cafe is busy as usual.

    Watch the two videos as Captain Richard basically does a donut with the Neptune to head us on our way. Three sea days and then we are in South Africa.

    The adventure continues.
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  • Day 102: Port Louis, Mauritius #2

    2 de abril de 2024, Mauricio ⋅ 🌬 73 °F

    10:00 to 11:30 We visited Hindu statues and temples. The two tall statues were built in 2014 & 2016.

    The river which the temple is built around is called the Little Ganga [sic] which is believed to have healing powers. I walked into to the river for a bit.

    What was really funny the guide tossed some bread into the water, and a bunch of tiny fish came. Than a cat jumped in and grabbed a fish to run away with it in its mouth.

    11:30 lunch at a hotel golf resort. The provided lunch was at a luxury golf resort the meal was excellent.

    1:00pm back on the bus
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  • Day 102: Port Louis, Mauritius #1

    2 de abril de 2024, Mauricio ⋅ 🌬 77 °F

    6:00am Wake up call
    6:30am Got out of bed
    7:00am At Mamsen’s for breakfast
    8:00am At Star Theatre for our excursion

    Looks like rain all day. We have an 8 hour South Side Excursion. Turned out to be mainly overcast very little rain.

    Our first stop was a long precarious drive up a mountain to view a dormant volcano. We
    Couldn’t see much, plus it being a rainy day we didn’t stay too long at the site. It’s 9:20 am this will be a long day.

    9:30 to 10:00 Visited a model ship building facility. The work is amazing and very detailed. I am sure if we bought one it would end up as a kit to rebuild when we got home.
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  • Day 101: April Fools Day Indian Ocean

    1 de abril de 2024, Indian Ocean ⋅ ⛅ 82 °F

    I did it! I am so happy to report, I have updated ALL my Find Penguins posts for the entire World Cruise Since December. 23, 2023. Here are some metrics:

    - 101 Days, 23-Dec-2023 to 01-APR-2024
    - 16 Countries
    - 228 Foot Prints (Blog posts)
    - 2,600+ Photos
    - 84 Followers

    First thank you (the 84 - and others) for supporting me along the this adventure. I am pretty much a what you see is what you get kinda of person. I’ll will always have your back if you need me. I hope you have enjoyed the ride. We have 39 more days to go.

    Today’s agenda:

    - Got caught up on all my blog posts
    - Craft class - Made a bracelet
    - Laid out on the pool deck for a bit - we normally don’t do that.
    - Laundry
    - Oh, yes, we did eat at least once or twice.

    I still have countless number of photos to go through. I know I missed a bunch, and there are all the Sony pics (at least 3K worth to purge and edit)

    But the goal of 1 post for every day - I am happy to cross that finish line. Just need to keep it up.

    Enjoy the day tomorrow we are import Louis, Mauritius.
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  • Day 100: Still Sailing the Indian Ocean

    31 de marzo de 2024, Indian Ocean ⋅ ☀️ 86 °F

    Hard to believe it’s been 100 days at sea. We have 39 days left in our adventure. This morning we set our clock back 30 minutes. I was up before 9:00 headed to the World Cafe for breakfast. Donna still in bed.

    10:00 haircut: Enjoy the before, during , and after head shots. It always grows back.

    Watch the video to see how much the ship rocks. This was taken has I walked on deck 7 towards the Explorer’s Lounge.

    Noontime: Head to the World Cafe for some lunch to go with our wine.

    2:00 the craft for the session today we learned how to make those little cute boxes out of paper. Just folding and a couple of cuts.

    Not much else going on today/tonight. Not sure if we will go to the show at 9:00 pm. We have one more sea day than on April 2nd, we land at Port Louis, Mauritius. I was told by my hairdresser who is from South Africa that this is where people from Africa go for their holidays.

    So, I am going to call this post for today done. Will update it if anything exciting happens.

    Happy Easter to everyone.

    To my Lutheran family (and Others). “He has Risen. He has Risen Indeed!”
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  • Day 99: Sailing the Indian Ocean

    30 de marzo de 2024, Indian Ocean ⋅ ☀️ 84 °F

    We continue our trek towards Port Louis, Mauritius. Honestly, the sea days are going by very quickly.

    I am still working on back blog posts, did an arts/craft Tote bag project (See photo). It was a pretty cool project. They provided a fabric tote bag, fabric colored pens, and stencils. You made your own design. I finished it today.

    Last night Donna and I hit the Spa - steam, snow room, and I did 15 minutes in the cold plunge Brrrrrrrr - it really helps my back pain.

    About noontime it was time to eat again. Donna and I headed to the World Cafe and sat with Bob & Patty from Oregon. I think I have finally remembered their names.

    Wine Tasting at 1:00 at Manfredi’s we sat with Bob & Patty - Cabernet Sauvignon from California was today’s topic.

    - Rombauer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley

    - Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma County

    - Black Stallion Limited Release Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley

    Were the three wines featured at today’s tasting. Donna and I don’t drink a lot of red wine - heck Donna still claims she doesn’t drink! - We both like the smooth velvet texture and taste of the Black Stallion.

    We were invited to Captain’s Table at 6:00 this evening. A good group of people was there - some we knew others we met for the first time. As always the meal was excellent.

    When we got back to the room a little Easter treat was there for us. Overall a nice mellow day at sea. It is hard to believe we have been on this adventure for 99 days,
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  • Day 98: Sailing the Arabian Sea

    29 de marzo de 2024, Indian Ocean ⋅ ⛅ 84 °F

    The Neptune sailing the Indian Ocean is about 250 miles away from any land, the ocean is 11,800 feet deep, we are traveling 20 mph. At 1:40pm we will be crossing the equator. You can always find our exact location on CruiseMapper.com just pull up the Cruise Ship “Viking Neptune”. What is really cool is you can see the entire route we have travelled since Florida on December 23, 2023

    Okay I have found a positive outcome with all of the people being off the ship. The internet is WAAAAY faster. Downloading stuff is much better. You are still missed.

    There isn’t much to tell about today. We got an extra hour of sleep. Had breakfast at the World Cafe, got set up on Deck 8 at the glass table with the hope of seeing how many days I can catch up on with my Find Penguin’s posting. Wish me luck, I have a checklist and I am going to go backwards - and see where we have been.

    Since I am on Deck 8 of the Explorer Lounge right now I will be able to hear the Trivia contest going on. It is pretty brutal - these folks are serious.

    If anything else happens today - I will add it to this post.

    Lunch with a view.
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  • Day 97: Academy of Mixology: Whiskey

    28 de marzo de 2024, Jamaica ⋅ ⛅ 81 °F

    Today is a Sea Day - We are Sailing the Arabian Sea. The sky is blue, the seas are calm. The ship is quieter with so many folks on the India overnight or have left the cruise entirely. The World Cafe isn’t the rush hour traffic that we are used to.

    Today was a catch up on sleep and no noise day for me. Donna attended a workshop and made a tote bag that came out very nice. I spent time organizing photos, emails, and other stuff you do to just get organized. Pretty sure a nap was in there as well. For me it was nice to not attend a lecture or workshop and get organized and centered again.

    We were very happy to continuing our life-long learning in the area of Mixology. This evening’s chapter was “Whiskey” - Rust Nail, Whiskey Sour, and Old Fashion were the assignments for the night.

    Many of our Mixology friends are on over-land adventures or have headed home. We missed you tons, it wasn’t the same. We had to drink your drinks in your honor. As always a fun time was had by all. There are three more sessions before we graduate.

    As always the display they create for the class is beautiful- please watch the short video.
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  • Day 96: Cochin, India (Part 4) Birds

    27 de marzo de 2024, India ⋅ ⛅ 84 °F

    My main camera back home is a Canon 90D with a full array of “L” Red line professional glass. Prior to going on this cruise I asked previous cruisers/photographers what camera are they using? Several mentioned the Sony RX10 IV - It’s about $1,600 and has an attached 24 - 600mm Carl Zeiss optical zoom lens.

    I am very happy I am not lugging the Canon equipment. If I smashed or lost a lense It would make me sick. Between my IPhone 14 Pro Max and the Sony I have been able to take just about any picture I want or need. And my Canon equipment is safe at home. My back thanks me for the choice.

    One person asked, “How do people take good bird photos?”

    The key is Shutter Speed priority (The faster your shutter speed the better - 600 or faster) and make sure the bird’s eye is in focus.

    Here are some more bird and river pictures of our time in Cochin, India.
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  • Day 96: Cochin, India (Part 3)

    27 de marzo de 2024, India ⋅ ☀️ 88 °F

    Lunch, Tuk Tuk, Fabric store, Spice & Perfumes, The fishing nets.

    So at the fishing nets the invited us on to their dock and went through a whole routine and show which was fun and interesting, They never told us there was a cost. At the end of their bit. They asked for money - “To help my family etc”. So, I knew it was coming - but, I was a bit taken back.When I gave the $10 they wanted more. He wanted $20 —- I gave them $12.

    One of the things I have noticed throughout this cruise is all the people swarming in on us to sell us something, a cab ride, magnets, shirts, dresses - at time it gets over-whelming. I reflect on my life and know I am very fortunate to not have to depend on this type of lifestyle to make a living.

    At one end of the spectrum I feel empathy for them and when they are swarming me I get just plain mad. - and try to keep my cool.

    Our lunch was very nice traditional Indian food - Donna got a couple of cashmere scarfs - I was very happy with the photos I took with both the iPhone and the Sony.
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  • Day 96: Cochin, India (Part 1 The River)

    27 de marzo de 2024, India ⋅ ⛅ 81 °F

    The Neptune docked at 7:00 AM we had ready planned on going on the included excursion at 1:00PM. We went through immigration and walked out of the terminal. Immediately I felt like a piece of roadkill on an Arizona highway with vultures diving down on me for a bite of my carcass. I didn’t even have a chance to look at the area and get my bearings.

    Donna saw the look on my face, she jumped in next to me as I tried to push back away from the taxi drivers. We were able to secure a newer Tuk-Tuk (Auto rickshaw) driver for $30 for the day to show us around Chochin.

    I am sure the driver gets a cut of each of the places he took us. But, that’s part of the game. We had an option of an air conditioned car - but the Tuk -Tuk was way more fun. The feeling you get as a scooter, car, bus, and even trucks head right for you and then weave away in an instant can’t be reproduced from the back seat of a Toyota. At first we asked our driver to be sure to get us back to the Neptune by 4:00pm - That request changed to please get us back alive.

    The first place the driver took us was for a river boat right. It was here I was really able to take advantage of the Sony RX10 with 600mm zoom lens. I don’t consider myself a good bird photographer, I am happy with these. The river was nice, there was trash along side many sections. The river was peaceful, our skipper gave me the time I needed to take the photos I wanted. We went through a very peaceful canal. It was nice to be away from the noise and the hustle and bustle of the city life. Donna enjoyed the peacefulness of our river cruise along with the excitement of our Tuk Tuk experience.
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  • Day 95: Sleeping in on the Laccadive Sea

    26 de marzo de 2024, Laccadive Sea ⋅ ☀️ 84 °F

    Hello Everyone - It’s been a while since I have posted. Easily I have missed 20 days of blogging on Find Penguin’s. Today March 27th (Day 96) we are in Cochin, India and for the first time in two weeks I woke up refreshed. I will do a Cochin post once we experience it.

    We then have 5 sea days as we travel to Port Louis, Mauritius. Many people are doing a multi-day overnight in India and will catch up with the ship in Mauritius or Cape Town. Here is hoping to some free time to fill in the gaps on my blogging and get you all caught up.

    Days 93 & 94 in Sri Lanka, we did an overnight at Yala National Park Long bus rides and an early morning Jeep safari - more to come on that. This sets the stage for Day 95 - “Sleeping in on Laccadive Sea”

    After the Yala National Park Donna and I were exhausted. She was in bed before 8:00PM and I followed here around 9:00PM.

    I woke up about 9:00AM. Donna was still out for the count - Not wanting to disturb her sleep and not having to be anywhere - I darken the drapes and went back to bed.

    We got up at noontime - took showers - had lunch went back to the room and pretty much just chilled out for the afternoon.

    From Singapore to Phuket, Thailand we had seven days of back-to-back-to back etc ports, excursions, high heat & humidity - We hit the wall, tourism fatigue hit-in strong. Then a couple of Sea Days - then two very long days in Sri Lanka - It was nice to 15 to 16 hours of sleep in a dark space with no overwhelming new information for my brain to process. We needed our bodies and minds to get refueled. We needed quiet. Around 5:30 we got ready to share a special dinner with new friends.

    Robin & Josh invited a great group of people to celebrate their 44.4 Wedding Anniversary at the Captain’s Table. Their anniversary is December 23 - the day we all boarded the Neptune to start this adventure. It worked out for them to work with Guest services, The Restaurant staff and have this wonderful celebration for them. The food, cake, wine, people everything was wonderful. Thank you Josh & Robin for inviting us.

    It’s after 9:00 PM Donna headed to the room. Morris and I headed to the Explorer’s Lounge to finish up a couple of conversations we had started days earlier. Morris & Susan have become good friends. They are getting off the ship today (Day 96) and heading in other directions. We will miss you both.

    People think we are crazy for doing a World Cruise 139 days as our first cruise. Less than six months ago Morris & Susan retired, sold their home, live out of their CRV or a Cruise Ship and are nomads traveling the world. I think Rome is next for them. They are doing the things many of us dream about. I look forward to watching their travels. Hopefully our paths will cross again - I guess we just need to pick a country to meet up in.

    Somewhere around 11:00PM Morris & I had our “Man Hug” and headed back to our rooms. Donna was still up. We got ready for bed.

    Tuesday, March 26, 2024 - Day 95 “Sleeping the Laccadive Sea” Was a great Sea Day. Today (Day 96) we explore Cochin, India - We only have one day in India due to the itinerary change avoiding the Red Sea, etc. One day is not enough. So, be prepared as I will be playing catch-up on past blog posts. In the next few days.

    Time for breakfast and a new adventure,
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  • Day 94: Colombo, Sri Lanka, #3

    25 de marzo de 2024, Sri Lanka ⋅ ☀️ 86 °F

    On the way back to the ship (a four hour ride) after our busy morning at Yala National Park - to break up the ride we stop in the Town of Galle. Visited the remnants of the old Dutch fort. You can look over most of the town and see how huge this structure was. Looking at the model you can see how the whole city was protected.

    One of the items I get at each port is a sticker for my carry-on. The little booths by the ship had magnets and patches, but no stickers. See the photo of a gentleman and young lady. They run a travel agency organizing tours etc. She found a small Sri Lanka flag and gave it to me. So, this might be the most special sticker on the carry-on so far.

    We were happy to get back to the ship (back home) with a little bit of time to spare. I am pretty sure we went to bed early. It was a VERY long, but exciting couple of days.
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  • Day 94: Yala National Park, Sri Lanka #2

    25 de marzo de 2024, Sri Lanka ⋅ ⛅ 82 °F

    Here’s are more iPhone photos of Yala National Park. Most of my photos in Yala were shot with the Sony. This will take me a bit of time to post them.

    Here are some pics of more animals, our hotel room, breakfast , our first Tuk Tuk ride. The Tuk Tuk picked us up to take us to the van to connect with the others on the Yala excursion.

    You will also see some nice pictures of the Sri Lanka seaside view. From here we had our very long four hour ride back to the ship. We did make one stop at an old Dutch fort.

    It was a busy day.
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  • Day 93: Colombo, Sri Lanka

    24 de marzo de 2024, Sri Lanka ⋅ ☁️ 86 °F

    We had an overnight in Columbia, Sri Lanka. Patsy & Ken a couple of days earlier told us they were doing an over night stay to visit the Yala National Park for an early morning safari. Patsy sent me the information and I was able to secure a spot for Donna and I to go as well.

    The ship docked around 2:00 pm and nine of us crammed into a passenger van and headed off towards Yala National Park. FOUR HOURS. Need I say more?

    The group was staying at three different hotels. We got dropped off first. We had dinner, fish & chips and some Indian beer near the pool. And they had a bonfire.

    The room was nice - and sleeping in a new bed for the first time is always a challenge. We set our alarms for 5:00AM to be ready to head out for the National park by 5:30.

    So, a pretty long - non-eventful day. We were beat by the end of the day.
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  • Day 92: Sailing the Bay of Bengal

    23 de marzo de 2024, Bay of Bengal ⋅ ☁️ 84 °F

    Today we continued our journey for days traveling from Phuket, Thailand towards Colombo, Sri Lanka. Just typing that I am in awe that we are here in the middle of ocean on the other side of our planet. Our earth is becoming smaller with each port we visit. Traveling to distance places isn’t
    T as scary as it was before this trip

    So, what do you do on a sea day - You eat anywhere between three and seven meals a day. You can visit the Spa & Gym. - Today - I walked by them.

    In the morning I sat with Gail (The Grand Master Felt Maestro) you guided me to finish my dolphin. Than at 1:00pm we attended a champagne tasting session. The guys always do a great job teaching us about the different wines and teaching us how to examine and taste wines. Things to look for in color, linger, and palate. It’s educational and fun!

    We met the other “Paul & Donna” at the wine tasting. It’s been 92 days since we boarded Neptune and it is almost daily we meet someone new.

    In the afternoon Paul attended Jennifer Eremeere’s lecture “Time to Write that Book.” She does an amazing job leading her workshops. I love that there is always a practical exercise we do right then and there to support the lesson of the day.

    It was time for dinner - and I don’t think we attended the show in the Star Theater (I don’t have any photos). So, it must have been an early to bed night.
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