At Home on the Ryndam

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G at his best…..luging in the library with his computer game book.

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Sunday: By the beach, the grey crept away a bit here and a bit there into sunshine. We continued to throw our diets away with a breakfast of chocolate muffins and lunch at Perry’s Breakfast café. We argued before lunch, waving our menus in the wind finally seeing, once again, the cyclical nature of ourselves. He worry’s and stops communicating, I caretake, he treats me like scum, I caretake even more, and he withdraws into depression. We are both afraid and untrusting. No faith here. Fear briefly wins again. Himself: Has reached the stage of anger about his job. He’s also very much not a people person and isn’t good at networking….the new way of getting a job. Herself: Caretaking. Letting go. Et al. Taking it back. Et al. Reading: Number three in the Dresden Series with a stack of Crais waiting downstairs. Balance: Making the time for quiet, not thinking.

Every morning, we would wake and stagger up to the Lido buffet for breakfast. If we were too early, we would just have to suffer with a Continental Breakfast or coffee until they opened the buffet line. Yes, they had an excellent pastry chef, and I would pick up a croissant and see pastry flakes fall gently like golden snow onto the plate.

Oh, we delighted in too much bacon. We laughed at cholesterol, fat and salts. I wallowed in real sugar in my coffee. We broadened our horizons, and within a week, not all my dress pants fit me with ease nor did G’s warmest coat.

They made a huge effort, but tho I loved the scrambled eggs and bacon, G didn’t. He did like the eggs over easy, and ate them for the last 3/4ths of the trip. The toast didn’t always toast, but the juice was chilled and the coffee hot. They had five kinds of fruit, fresh meats and cheeses, two hot cereals, two kinds of sausage, six kinds of toast, two kinds of bacon every day plus an omelet station, poached egg station, and fried egg station…….oh, breakfast could so easily be endless. Sometimes it was only warm. That bothered G a lot.

I often had English Muffins with real butter, bacon, V8 juice, and coffee. Only the bacon nabbed at my guilt and twisted it.









The Lido with it’s interior buffet line and seating also with a pool and outside seating under a magradome with a regular bar, salad bar, and hamburger stop.. A casual place in any weather.

We ate lunch on the Lido also as it was easier than getting clean then sitting and being waited on. Once my cold appeared and my stomach quieted, I discovered the sandwich bar where I could have an open-faced sandwich just like at home. To compound the felonies, there was a giant desert bar. I’m afraid we partook…….every day.

Dinner was earlier than the earliest seating every night. This suited us fine. Though we often had different dinner table partners, we actually got reservations for the five fifteen seating. The grey haired bunch and us with the Chihuly glass ceiling floating over our heads and the damask tablecloth under our fingers.

Our food was consistently good as was our service in the Rotterdam Dining room. Our wait person went out of his way to make us smile, or he went the extra yard to add to our meals. Only one steak was inedible for G. This same waiter would often forget what a table mate ordered, not bring her full order, or he would misconstrue her order. It was odd.







The Rotterdam Dining Room with a Chihuly glass ceiling and wonderful views. Me in my second best dress….no picture of me in the best-of-best’s darn it, dining room carpet.

Once a big slice of chocolate mousse cake arrived with a crew to sing happy anniversary. We hadn’t expected that. Both G and I told no one….but did we say something to the travel agent? Twenty six years. Thank you Cindy with AAA in the San Diego Clairemont Mesa office. Extra whipped cream with the deserts…no problem about that. The calories flowed on like water.

If we were at sea, or if we had an hour or so extra either in the morning or at night, I could be found in the Library. I liked the library. Comfy chairs, handy tables, plugs here or there for the aged laptop. G found the Ames chairs a perfect fit, and he could be found watching the world go by the big windows while I typed.

Both the Librarian and the Internet person helped make our trips better through their assistances. Their computers didn’t work well in one of the three rooms? I just hauled up the laptop. When it too didn’t work, the Tech got me online with little fuss. The Librarian knew her books, and the onboard assortment added depth to our travels.







Top: Overview of the main Library area….three rooms in a suite. Bottom two images: the computer area.