October 29 - Is that Cape Hatteras light I see in the distance?

At noon today the captain gave his midday report and told us we were about 15 miles off Cape Hatteras and if we looked really hard we might see the lighthouse there.  I looked and I just saw a calm ocean.

So, what have I been doing for the last two days?  We sailed from New York at noon yesterday.  I stood on my veranda and took way too many pictures but that’s what makes taking photos with an iPhone so great; you can delete, delete, delete. Once again I thought how beautiful the New York City skyline is.  I hadn’t been there in many, many years and I must say that I understand how people find it exciting, intriguing, and exhilarating. I confess that for me it’s just too overwhelming, noisy and crowded.  A short visit was fine for me.  I also have to say that I didn’t see some of the bad stuff I’ve seen on the news or read about in the paper with only one exception.  There were a few panhandlers, but I can see them at home too.  There was a lot more trash on the streets than in many cities I’ve visited but it wasn’t overflowing.  Our guide Darrell did shout to someone in another group when we were near Ground Zero to warn her that a pickpocket was trying to take something from her bag.  That wasn't unique to NYC.  A friend of ours was robbed going up in an elevator in the local hospital; it can happen anywhere.  

I’m going to add a few more New York photos here because I thought some of the buildings were interesting.

I thought the triangular building looked neat.

I liked the Grand Dame of New York skyscrapers peeking out between her more modern competition

This one intrigued me because it looked like a little nudge might tip it over.

After we sailed I intended to load my photos to my laptop and write something, but I got sidetracked.  I’ve met some lovely and interesting people and had some good conversations.  Last night I dined at a table hosted by a guest entertainer who came on in NYC.  She’s an expatriate of Ukraine, her family having emigrated years before the war began.  What I found interesting after talking to her was that her family are all ethnic Russians who lived in an eastern, majority ethnic Russian part of the country.  As a result her perspective is a little different from some other Ukrainians I’ve met. Regardless, she too expressed her fervent hope that the war comes to an end.

Today the temperature has risen enough that for the first time it was really pleasant sitting outside.  They turned the heaters off in the outdoor dining venues and I had breakfast outside in the Colonnade.  I’m hopeful that we’ve left cold weather behind for the duration.  At noon we played trivia and once again Miss Kitty didn’t bring us luck.  The officers’ team, No Clue, won.  Since they can’t win prizes, a team was picked at random to get the Seabourn swag today.  It wasn’t us.  Later this evening we have one of my favorite events, Liars Club.  Four staff or entertainers will try to persuade the audience that their totally ridiculous and outrageous definition of four obscure words is the real meaning.  It’s always good for a lot of laughs because some of the Liars are very, very good.

Tomorrow we’ll be in Charleston for most of the day and I’m taking a tour to a plantation that is supposed to have some nice gardens.  I’ve been to Charleston before so I decided to go out of the city instead. 

I'll leave with a trivia question and it's no fair googling or asking Siri.  In which country can you take the shortest commercial airline flight?