DAYS AT SEA MELDED TOGETHER as we cruised towards San Francisco, the slowly (but steadily) dropping temperature and the every-other-day time change were the only indicators we were heading northeast. We scanned the night skies looking for the changing position of the stars but it was generally too hazy to see much.
Stretching her sea legs
Connie’s routine began at dawn with a 24-lap, six mile walk around the deck. I waited for the day to develop a bit before heading up for breakfast. We would usually meet around 8AM in the library, giving Aziz a chance to straighten up our room. Lunch around noon then usually some time on deck reading . . . or dozing off and maybe some yoga and stretching at the gym. Dinner was sixish for us followed by DVDs in our stateroom. Holland American ships have extensive video libraries and DVD players in the room. Repeat and repeat. Ad finitum.
Poolside dolphins A long walk to our cabin
Like with so many before us who crossed the Pacific, the Golden Gate Bridge was a welcome sight. Very welcome, and we were among the first to set foot on American soil. We avoided the cruise line’s final attempt to extract whatever money the passengers hadn’t dropped at the casino or squandered at the shops or drank at the bar. Shunning the $40 per head airport transfer, we took a trolley to the station and a BART train to the airport for $13 each.
