Docking at the port of Portland, we hopped on a free shuttle that delivered us to the nearby town of Weymouth in the Brewers Quay area. With no tours booked and nothing in particular on our list to see, we simply enjoyed wandering around the town, crossing the bridge into the old town area, walking along the boardwalk at the beach, and then circling back around the enclosed harbor. 

Walls painted uplifting colors

Nice long and clean beach where families played in the sand

Comfortable chairs lined the boardwalk for anyone that wanted to sit and watch the surf

The Royal Hotel held center position along the water front

How long has it been since you have seen hair dryers like this, ladies?

This was a pretty uneventful day with overcast skies and nothing spectacular to report.

Tonight is our first formal evening on The Brilliance of the Seas. With only carry on luggage, we did not bring much in the way of fancy attire.  None of the last three cruises we have taken were booked before we left home, so we are rather unprepared for formal nights. It is slightly uncomfortable to attend dinner in the dining room without being “dressed to the nines”.  Thankfully we are sitting with a lovely group and no one seems to mind.  Or if they do, their good manners prevent them from saying so.

L to R: Colleen, Dennis, Joanne, Tim, Gaye, Daryl

Tim is off to the casino this evening trying to make his winnings from the previous night grow while I relax in the cabin and type up my recollections from the day. I have already sorted through todays pictures, edited and cropped and now just have to wait until we have strong enough Internet to post again.

I struggle a bit when I am forced to be offline.  I have become so accustomed to having great Internet service to research something, send off a quick email, check Yahoo to see the latest news, post a note on Facebook or look to see what my friends are up to today. I don’t like feeling out of touch and cut off from everyone.

The up side of being cut loose from my electronic tether, is perhaps now I will tackle the first of several books that I downloaded to my Kindle.  My friend Karen recommended several for me to read when she and Dick met up with us in Edinburgh.  I guess now is as good as any time to get started on “A Long Way Home” by Saroo Brierley.  If you have already read it, let me know what you think.

Gratitude Moment: Today I am grateful for the staff on board our ship who work so hard to provide us with an amazing vacation. Our cabin steward is from a small island off the coast of India.  I could not pronounce his name after several tries, so he is sweetly allowing me to call him by the first part of his last name “Joy”, and he does give us that by keeping our small stateroom and bathroom clean, providing fresh towels, and always a friendly greeting as we pass him in the narrow hallway. Our waiter in the dining room, “Sommy” is from the Philippines. Sommy calls us by name, always makes recommendations from the menu and serves the meal with a warm smile.