Making Memories: Afternoon Delights on the Vela
After a long morning of touring, it was time to enjoy the luxuries afforded us aboard Viking’s Vela, one of their ocean-going ships. We’ve got a lot to enjoy by bedtime, so come along!
A Smorgasbord of Delight
Our first stop after the Athenian shore excursion was the World Cafe. We were already getting a little tired of the buffet, but at that time of the day, it was pretty much the only choice we knew about. Before our time aboard was over, we’d find lots of places to eat, but we were just hours into our cruise.
While I’d had no trouble being gluten free at dinner the night before or during our breakfast that morning, lunch was more sandwichy and therefore not as gf-friendly as the other meals had been. I got by, but my choices were more limited.
Next up, we enjoyed a tour of the ship, led by one of the crew. We were shown lots of nooks and crannies we would not have found on our own. We learned a lot about Viking, even though we were already big fans. The gym was very nice and the spa – oh my! That we loved!!
Upsetting News from Home
After the tour, we went back to our cabin to relax a little and get ready for an evening of fun. I posted a few photos from our day in Athens and one of the comments was a request by our next door neighbor to give her a call when we could.
Now Sherry is just about the best neighbor anyone could hope for. As a bonus she loves all cats and especially our Rascal, so she actually thought is was a treat to be his caretaker while we were gone. We were enjoying our Sunday afternoon, but in Dallas, it was time for Sherry to head to church. Instead she was in our house, distraught, because Rascal was missing.
He hadn’t shown up for his Saturday evening feeding, but she saw he’d scarfed up his lunch and he is a cat, so while Sherry was sorry she didn’t get the opportunity to play with the little fellow, she assumed he was fine. When she came to feed him breakfast, he hadn’t touched his food all night long. So something was wrong.
Now we love our cat, but Sherry was inconsolable. We kept assuring her that he was most likely somewhere in the house and whatever had happened good or bad, we knew it wasn’t her fault. Rascal is named Rascal for a reason. Another cat loving friend was going to join her after church and they were going to go through the house we a fine tooth comb. I kept assuring her we were concerned, but not upset and that whatever it was, we trusted her to handle it.
What do you do when you’re on the other side of the world and your cat is missing. I prayed and Bill took a look at all the security footage to be sure Rascal had not slipped out behind Sherry. I texted a few friends to get a little more prayer support. Bill and I acknowledged that there was nothing else we could do and we weren’t going to let this ruin our evening. Since we had proof Rascal had not slipped out of the house, he was somewhere and they’d find him.
Putting on a Brave Front
After resolving to enjoy our evening the best we could, we went to the historical lecture offered by Viking covering Scientific and Technological innovations by the Greeks. Somehow the lecturer managed to make this otherwise interesting subject a real bore. Bill enjoyed it though, while I snoozed.
Next up was dinner. Somehow Bill managed to get into The Restaurant, even though he had on jeans, probably his dinner jacket saved him. The meal was fun and delicious. At the next table was a couple from Tulsa and we chatted with them a bit about our recent visit to their fair city. We also shared some vacation conversation. They obviously travel a whole lot more than we do and on a much grander scale, but they were perfectly delightful dinner companions.
From dinner we made our way back to the Theater, and this time the show was much more entertaining. The ship’s troupe performed the ABBA songbook with marvelous costumes and choreography. Their voices were great and we sang along with every word. What a great way to kick off the cruise!
Even better, as we stood for the final ovation, my silenced phone buzzed in my hand and Rascal had been found. He’d somehow managed to get into the upstairs guestroom and while he was there, the door closed behind him. Our doors have handles instead of knobs, so we’re not surprised he figured out how to get in. We’d wondered how long it would take for him to discover he could do this. The experience was a tough lesson for him though and we have had no repeat incidents.
That night, the Vela made its way to Crete while we slept the sleep of very relieved cat parents. Crete came with its own set of problems. Join us next week as we navigate them.
jane sadek 