It is funny how you do the same things over and over again but you don’t really pay attention.  When I get into the elevators here on the ship, I have been frustrated because on one side the LEDs are dim and one side they are very bright.  I usually walk in the elevator and turn right, which is the dim side.  Sometimes I think the floor button is pushed and sometimes I have to look to the other side.  I have even missed our floor because of this several times.  One day I turned left into the elevator and everything was better.  It is crazy how you get into a habit and don’t change…….. Now I turn left when I get into the elevator, I can see the bright LED buttons and I don’t miss floors.  The other funny habit was making sure you get on the right elevator that is going your direction…. up or down.  So many people get in and then say…. oh I wanted to go the other way and get out.  I would always have to look at the arrow to see if it was going up or down.  I just figured out this week (after being on 25 cruises) that the bell beeps twice when going up and only once when going down.  I don’t have to even look at the arrow, I just need to listen.   Enough on the minutiae

We have enjoyed the string trio and they are very talented and it is amazing how many songs they can play.  We listen to them most nights after dinner.  Nana and Papa are still enjoying playing basketball each morning.  Nana is getting better and periodically beats Papa but Papa is improving too !  We play duplicate bridge every afternoon for sea days.  Duplicate bridge is where you play the same hands and then you scored against how you did for each hand.  The better you do the higher your score.  If you score in the top third then you get special points.   It is a great way to compete and see how you are doing.  Nana is very very good at this and helping Papa to learn as he has never really done this before.

 Today we stopped at Darwin, the capital of Australia’s Northern Territory, has a rich and diverse history.  In 1839, the HMS Beagle, a British survey ship, visited the area and named the harbor “Port Darwin” after Charles Darwin. Permanent European settlement began in 1869 with the establishment of Palmerston, later renamed Darwin in 1911. The discovery of gold in the late 19th century boosted Darwin’s population and economy.  Darwin played a key role in World War II, serving as an important military base. In 1942, the city was bombed by Japanese forces, marking the largest attack on Australia in history.  In 1974, Cyclone Tracy devastated Darwin, destroying most of the city and requiring extensive rebuilding.

Nana and I decided to cancel our excursion to the National Park which would have been a long bus drive there and back.  Instead we found the Hop On Hop Off bus….. a favorite of ours….. and took that around the town.  We stopped at a museum that showcased Darwin’s war efforts and the impact of Cyclone Tracey.  We saw a lot of the city and ended our tour at the oil storage tunnels, which were used to store oil in tunnels to protect them from Japanese bombers. 

Nana then went off on her own and visited the cathedral in town and did some shopping for some local shirts and dresses.  It is very very hot and muggy here today but we capped off the day with a gorgeous sunset.

We now have two sea days and then we stop at Komodo Island, Indonesia where Papa will hopefully see some dragons !