Before we left Philadelphia for New York yesterday morning, I saw on the Weather Channel that there was a tropical depression off the coast of Georgia, but the Weather Channel folks didn't seem that concerned about it. Apparently it's now Tropical Storm Alex, and we're going to drive (float? sail? cruise?) right by it. I'm wondering if Alex is the reason for the choppy ocean, though it seems like we're too far away from it now for it to have much of an impact. In any case, making our way down the lovely starboard hallway on Deck 9, which is decorated with cool Sandra Knuyt prints, is like walking on an airplane when there's turbulence.

We just finished our second breakfast (yes, we're turning into Hobbits, it seems, thanks to the almost-round-the-clock offerings at the Garden Cafe buffet), and we're enjoying the unhurried pace of our vacation. In between breakfasts we toured the ship, scouting out the main pool (which is filled with salt water drawn from the ocean, as my sister predicted; I was surprised to hear that the ocean temperature is 82°, same as the air), the casino, and the Galleria duty-free shop. There was a strange sense of frenzy in the latter, kinda of like people pawing through the gift shop at Independence Hall after taking one of the tours.