Day 2 According to Meridith

I woke up before sunrise this morning after only a few hours of sleep. I didn't feel rested at all, and when I sat up I felt nauseated. I always get like this when traveling, and in the past couple of days I've crossed half the country and left land behind.

When the worst of it passed, I got up and drank some water, then went into the bathroom so that I could rest my forehead against the cool porcelain of the sink. That helped a lot, actually, but I was still awake...wide awake in the wee hours of the morning. With Clara and Amber still sleeping nearby, I didn't want to turn on the TV or make any other noise. I called room service and ordered a cup of coffee, then slipped on my robe and slippers. By the time I made it to the door of the suite (I was going to wait outside so they wouldn't have to knock and disturb my sleeping roommates), the coffee was already here! I literally opened the door just as the man with my coffee was about to knock, and after we gave each other a little scare, we laughed softly and I took a sip of some of the best coffee I have ever had. After our business was concluded, I shut the door, crossed the room to the balcony, and slipped out.

It has been very chilly outside fo rthe past several days, and the ocean breeze didn't help matters much, but I was able to get pretty cozy with my coffee in a corner of the balcony with my robe wrapped around me like a blanket. Our balcony looks over the bow of the ship, so if you, like me, press your face to the guardrail and look up a little bit, it looks just like you're alone over the water, flying.

I sat there for over an hour, watching the sky slowly lighten, eventually turning into a sunrise. I could hear some people walking around and talking somewhere below me, but by and far the morning was the first truly peaceful one I've had in months. Later in the day I found that I wasn't the only one of our group who had trouble staying asleep. Over brunch, Connor was all agog about what he saw early this morning while taking a self-guided tour of the ship, and one thing in particular caught my attention- he had passed the library! I'm terrible with directions, but I asked Connor to point me in the right direction. Eventually (and with the help of one or two friendly crew members), I found it, and spent most of the afternoon browsing their collection. The proud librarian made sure that I knew that this was one of the most extensive sea borne libraries in existence. I gave her a distant smile and nodded, just enought to be polite but also ensuring that I would be left alone for the duration of my visit. I picked up a few volumnes, and got a good bit of reading done before we had dinner, lounging in one of the overstuffed chairs in our suite while sipping on an amaretto sour.

We're getting pretty far south now, but it's still pretty chilly outside. I'd been hoping that it would be a little warmer by now, but que sera. I'm thinking about spending this evening exploring the decks, like Connor did earlier. I hope the stars come out!