tedwords

"Our most important baggage on our journeys is wisdom." Viking saying

I am convinced there is something of an order to how cruise lines configure their stops for excursions. The first stop is usually the tamest of them all, so you can allow for a nice progression of locations. The best locations are reserved for the later stops.

Such was certainly the case for our first stop in Norway, which was Stavanger. It was a lovely location, known for its wooden houses, and we spent quite a bit of time at the Utstein Monastary, which is apparently one of Stavanger’s main landmarks, as it dates back to the 9th century. So, there is a lot of history here and a beautiful old church, just…not a lot of truly exciting history.

Except for this lady, who was the second wife of the former owners of the monastery. She fascinates!

One of the things we could not get over was the lack of daylight. Sunset was progressively later and later in Norway, the latest being 11:40 on Sunday night, with a sunrise of 3:30 in the morning. And during those four hours, it wasn't exactly dark outside. You could still see a lot of daylight, so it was a good things we always close our curtains before we go to bed.

Corb’s mom didn’t. She likes to see the sunrise in the morning, and refused to close them. So, she had a few tired nights.

One thing Corb's mom has been really good about is giving us some alone time on the cruise. As long as the excursions weren’t too early in the morning (and most weren’t), she has allowed to sleep, usually nine, sometimes until ten. And each day after an excursion, she has gone to her room and we have had a couple of hours until dinner to relax by ourselves. After dinner and the show, we bring her to her cabin, usually around ten, to give us the rest of the night together.

So, things are working well. I think part of the problem, now that I have observed her for a few days, is her delivery, and I think part of it is based on her life experience. She always says a lot of things as if she is going to get you angry for saying it, and that is because Jim and a lot of the other men she has been with (Corb’s dad, who was abusive) would lose their temper. She also is extremely bright and kind of obsesses on little things, such as the weather in the States or her phone not having wifi.

It can be a lot, but so far, no eggs have been broken so far in the making of this cruise. We simply walk softly and carry a big sword.