I’m writing this from my lounge chair in the Vibe. Think of it as the Observation Lounge, outdoors, at the very top of the ship. With everything going on and the temperature not being truly warm until today, it’s the first time we’ve been up here.
It’s actually the first time we’ve spent extended time on the deck of any ship. We don’t do crowds well, so the only times we typically use the pool deck are when we need it to get from place to place. The limited availability and extra cost of the Vibe take away the negatives, as there’s never a crowd.
There’s just a little wind today and the sky in LA is actually blue for once.
This morning we hung out with my coworker Elizabeth, one of the cofounders of Convesio. We went over to a great coffee shop in Long Beach and talked about a lot of things — Roxan’s Dad, the company’s growth trajectory, family and remote work bonuses & challenges…just a great conversation. Elizabeth is an excellent conversationalist…that always helps ?. Unfortunately no one remembered to grab someone to take a photo, so we don’t have a shot like we do with Daryl. If we’re able to complete the cruise, we’ll meet up with Tom, the Convesio CEO and cofounder, and his wife Jen in Miami. They’ll drive down from Fort Meyers.
We’re sitting at the World Cruise Center near the Diamond Princess. You’d recognize where they are docked if you’ve ever watched The Love Boat.
When Roxan went to our room after we got back this morning, she found this surprise:
Our 30th anniversary was last June (2021). We intended when we looked at booking this trip for it to be a 30th anniversary trip. But a year ago Encore was making this sailing crew-only, due to CDC rules at the time allowing no more than seven-day passenger trips from US ports. We booked in November 2020, and thought at the time the world would probably not be to post-COVID normality by Oct 2021. We turned out to be correct. So it’s a 31st anniversary trip, and much more enjoyable because of the additional year to save up.
We saw Kinky Boots last night; this post is getting long so I’ll do a short, dedicated review post on it soon. Here is a quick shot as the actors were taking their bows. Copyright restrictions do not allow photos during the scripted performance.
and then