December 27, 2025

MERRY CHRISTMAS ALL ! Hope you all had lots of Family time and got to spend time doing the traditions you love! 

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I had lots of fun with my ship family! Above is Christmas morning PJ Breakfast party! Here's some other favorites! We had a whole Month of Fun with Elfie! Love how creative people were with their turns. We keep him contained to 5th floor public areas.

Who doesn't love a good Holiday Craft ?!?  This year I made some shell art, courteous of great clam shells in Las Pas, Mexico and an excellent partner in crime, who helped me smuggle them off an excursion ( THANKS Doc!). I also collected toilet paper rolls for weeks and made these cool snow flakes to make my room a winter wonderland! Was going to paint them, but liked better au natural!

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Christmas Eve at 11 pm we did an open Liturgy, complete with hymns and blessed host to share with 52 Residents in the Observatory - it's really nice to be part of such a supportive,  generous community. I did a reading

Another night, 30 of us surprised a good friend with a night of recognition for all his time, efforts and talent in organizing excursions for us! Ben, a retired Harvard lawyer whose career was notable as an AIDS activist and then later as an outspoken drag queen, is one of my favorites on board. Of course, he grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia! We each printed a photo of ourself with Ben, on an outing and wrote him a note about why we appreciate him so much. His 99 year old mom was there and it was so touching and deserved!

My memory with Ben - he is always cracking me up with his zingers and quick whit!

TIOMAN ISLAND, MALAYSIA

By Pat Patrick • July 6, 2026
Fun day in the waters of Tioman Island, Malaysia snorkeling with friends. Life is good! It was nothing fancy, a boat & captain, who spoke minimal English and barely interacted with us, for roughly 7 hours. We started the outing spotting a group of dolphins and was quickly at anchor drop 1 of 6. The distances between the 6 snorkel spots was minimal, which gave us lots of time in the water (at least 45 minutes, at each spot) with an added stop for a lunch break at local restaurants. Even the restaurants were fast and efficient, definitely used to catering to the boat crowd.

HAPPY 4th of JULY from SE ASIA SEA!

By Pat Patrick • July 4, 2026
Wishing everyone a Happy 4th of July! Here on the Odyssey we celebrated in the SE Asia Sea on our way to Tioman Island, Malaysia . We have such a talented and dedicated group of residents here, they put together a fun hour of things to celebrate and embrace a lot of what we collectively love about the USA. Even our residents from other countries - Canada, England, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Germany , etc. joined in the fun! ( I lent my flag below for decorations)

BINTAN, INDONESIA - BUDDHIST TEMPLE

By Pat Patrick • July 2, 2026
Vihara Avalokiteshvara Graha or Guan Yin Temple is near 500 Lohan, so we also toured the grounds of this large Temple complex. It's dedicated to the Goddess of Mercy and is one the tallest brass statues of her in SE Asia. She is just over 55' tall, coated in 22 carat gold and is surrounded by scenic dragon fruit plantations. The tile work is intricate and textured with great details. The whole place is very tranquil and calming for meditation and prayer.