Sea days come with two doses of bingo. The morning game is only one card, but you have to fill the entire card. And, of course, there are raffles, drinks, and contests to see who has the most great-grandchildren. There are also surprises for those who are adventurous enough to wakeup before eleven while on vacation. For Day 5, everyone in attendance received a pass to visit the navigation bridge later in the cruise. For Day 6, everyone received a free bingo card for the afternoon. I also won a beach tote bag in a raffle, though I am more excited about getting to see the navigation bridge. I'd prefer the battle bridge, but, hey, maybe I'll get to steer!

Aside from bingo, Day 5 was mostly spent reading. Matt had this crazy idea that he should buy another book online, as he had already finished two books. I nearly fell over laughing, but he went to the wireless area to try his luck. He was gone for awhile, so I thought he had succeeded in his mission. Nope! Apparently the nook store let him make a purchase and download, just to taunt him with a licensing issue when he opened the book. Gee, I'm shocked.

Day 6 was a bit more interesting, as the weather cleared up we finally made it to the pools. Matt wore his sandals, but I didn't want to get my new ones wet. By the time we found a single empty deck chair, the soles of my feet had moved past lightly seared. I dropped my towel and sprinted to the pool, while Matt looked bewildered at my sudden departure. I was too busy yelling "OWWWIIIEEEEE," to properly explain my singed epidermis.

After Matt's slightly more poised arrival, I discovered that the pool was filled with salt water! How did I discover this? With my very own eyes. And what does one need to wipe salt water out of ones eyes? Why, the dry towel that can only be accessed via ten meters of the scorching hot deck!

Having decided that we've been tortured enough by the supposed amenities, we soon went inside to get dressed for tea. Champagne high tea, that is. In other words, we had pastries for lunch.

Since I had no intention of going anywhere near the evil pool and its cohorts, we went straight to $5 blackjack. I have never seen so many people stand on soft seventeen in my life, and it was by no means the worst thing we saw. My favorite part was a lecture on splitting from a guy who  later hit on his 15 versus dealer 6. He quickly lost his money. We, on the other hand, walked away with over $200 profit.