Family Vacation 2013: Excursions

Vodka tonics ward off the malaria

Saturday, our first full day at sea, was sunny with some scattered showers. We were sailing into a head wind, so it was necessary to hold onto your clothes, hats, and wigs if you were planning to sun yourself on the upper decks. I started the day with a nice run, followed by a few Bloody Maries to start the day (BTW, what is the plural of Bloody Mary?). Then found a chair to sun myself and have a few after lunch, afternoon, and before dinner cocktails. It was a lovely day of relaxation.

Wanda, Kristin, Kaitlin, and Glenn

In my pre-cruise planning I intended to avoid excursions. Instead, I thought I would have some quality time on board and maybe have a few spa treatments while all the families were ashore enjoying the sites. But, my sister and nieces needed a fourth person to fill out their kayaking party. I was thrilled to be asked and happy to share the time with three of my favorite people. 

Sunday we awoke off the coast of Florida. We were docked at Cape Canaveral around 10:00 AM and were off the ship shortly afterwards for our Kayaking at Manatee Cove excursion. 

Cheesecake!

The cynic in me thought that we would either be hitting a tourist destination where manatees were held captive for our enjoyment or we would spend two hours in a kayak and never spot a manatee. I was wrong on both counts. 

The spot where we set off in our kayaks is a rather large cove off of the Indian River. Apparently this cove provides the manatees with all the things they love, such as fresh warm water, vegetation, and kayaks to rub up against. As soon as we had everyone in the water, we started seeing manatee noses poking above the surface. Then there were backs and tails and flippers and manatees rubbing against our kayaks. Of course we were warned not to touch, but it was impossible not to sneak a tickle and a rub as they surfaced around our kayaks. My niece, Kaitlin, was so excited she stated that having rubbed a manatee, she could die a happy person. Being much closer to that milestone, I was simply happy to scratch something off my bucket list. 

Kayaking Cuties!

For the "where's Glenn" collection

After floating with the manatees, we headed out for a relaxing nature tour in our kayaks. There were all sorts of birds, fish, and some bottle nose dolphins (in the distance) for us to see. Kaitlin was a great kayaking companion. We had another opportunity to float among the manatees on our return to the boat launch. We had a “road kill” experience with a manatee who surfaced right in front of our kayak as we were heading to shore – we simply skimmed across its back, no harm done, but I guess manatees always have the right-of-way, regardless if they are in the cross walk or not. 

That bump in the water on the left is our road kill victim

A thunderstorm blew up on the way back to the ship. Our tour guide had arranged for us to stop at an Indian River Orange stand where we purchased a few jars of marmalade and some delicious fudge. As we headed out, we discovered that there was a leak directly over Wanda’s seat. Whenever the bus would slow down or speed up in traffic, a bucket’s worth of water would pour down on her. Even fudge could not make that a better experience. 

The "Bates" Orange Grove / Fudge / Taxidermy Stand

Monday, we pulled alongside the cruise line’s private island, Coco Kay in the Bahamas. Wanda and Kristin went para sailing and I took another kayaking trip. The excursion’s description did not mention that all the kayaks were tandems. Luckily I got paired with a nice Economics professor who kept me company as I rowed. He made some effort, but in the end, he was simply moving his paddles in the proper manner. Perhaps he was unaware that the paddles must actually touch the water to have any effect. I consoled myself with thoughts of all the calories I was burning following our dinner at Giovanni’s the previous night. So, no harm done, it was a nice morning on the water. 

Unfortunately, a little after lunch, we were rained out and had to return to the ship. Those darn isolated thunderstorms continued to chase us across the ocean. Must be time for a nap!

Upon reflection, I will have to do a little math, but I think that with this trip, the Bahamas are now the most visited country in all my travels. Hmmm - it may be time to remedy that with another visit to Mexico, Canada, England, Italy.....

Family Vacation 2013: All Aboard!

After our six hour drive to Baltimore followed by a seafood feast we were in bed pretty early Thursday night.

The hotel offered both free breakfast and free parking for our week at sea. We had a 10:00 reservation on the hotel shuttle to take us to the Baltimore docks, so our morning was relaxed and unhurried.

At breakfast, I steered clear of the egg nuggets or whatever those clumps of yellow, chalky clusters were supposed to be. Instead, I had some yogurt, a banana, and some hash brown potatoes to start the day. My youngest niece needed some sandals and sunglasses, so she and I hiked over to the Walmart and did a bit of early morning, last minute cruise shopping. She looked great in her Wayfarers!

The Gang on the Gangway

Linda and Dad

Our shuttle arrived on time, we loaded in, and were heading up the gangway to check in at 10:30 sharp. The previous night, when we were arranging our departure time, I whined and complained more than a little about getting to the docks too early. In my past experience, arriving too early only meant standing in line for an hour to get checked in. My recommendation was to leave around noon to avoid the early crowds. With that in mind, I was pleasantly surprised upon our arrival to see that the check-in lines were quite short.

Note to self – relax, give up control, let others make decisions, just be where you are supposed to be when you are supposed to be there, have fun.

Obligatory Boarding Picture

 

Delicious Vodka Soup

Upon boarding, we learned that our rooms would not be ready until 1:00, so we headed to the pool area, had a few adult breakfast drinks, and watched our shipmates arrive. The day went smoothly from there on out.

A Room with a View

There were bottles of champagne awaiting us in our rooms. Our luggage arrived quickly and our unpacking went smoothly. The sail away party and sunset were lovely and dinner in the dining room was better than expected.

We have a great week ahead of us!

Sail Away Party

Sunset from the Veranda Room 7524

Family Vacation 2013: To the Caribbean via Baltimore

It has been a while since I vacationed with the family. The next several blog posts are dedicated to capturing the good, bad, and tasty experiences of a week at sea with my father, his girlfriend, my sister and nieces.

"I never get to go anywhere," said Roxy, petulantly.

On the first day of vacation, everything went smoothly. Our people and their luggage all fit into the van. I won the largest suitcase competition, but in my defense a guy needs an adequate supply of costume changes to get through a week at sea. There were a few traffic slowdowns and one road construction detour in Washington DC that confused the GPS, but other than that it was a smooth trip from Raleigh to Baltimore. 

Seaside Crabhouse, which is surprisingly nowhere near the seaside

After freshening up, we met in the lobby and the desk clerk gave us directions to a local crab house for dinner.  For the most part, I am a bit averse to interacting too forcefully with my food. In the case of seafood, however, I am a beast. I am happy to rip a mollusk’s flesh from its shell, to crack the leg of a succulent crap and dredge the slightly salty flesh through some warm drawn butter, and peel a pound of sweet steamed shrimp for dipping in a spicy cocktail sauce. I love seafood, particularly in the summer, so I was more than delighted to split a seafood steamer pot with Linda. We each had plenty of our favorites and at the end of the night we had the dirty fingers to prove we had enjoyed the spread. 

Upon returning to the hotel, my niece Kaitlyn and I immediately curled into our beds and went to sleep.  All was well in the world, but I was a bit concerned about sharing a room with a light sleeper. According to those in the know, I am not a snore-all-night sort of guy, but I was a bit nervous that my intermittent snoring would ruin this princess’s sleep. I did not want to be the pea under her mattress preventing her from enjoying our week at sea.

At breakfast the next morning she proclaimed that I was very considerate in my snoring except for the one time I reached a crescendo and actually woke myself up. I blame the pillows. 

I am sticking to that story. 

From the Lists: #30 The Good Soldier

Anticipation and Dread

Having recently completed a Edwardian romance that progressed at the pace of a glacier in winter, I was not terribly thrilled when I saw the book cover for #30, Ford Madox Ford's The Good Soldier (1915). Then I read the blurb on the back cover stating that this book "has established itself as a masterpiece of literary modernism, taking its place alongside Ulysses and The Waste Land as a ground breaking experimental work."

Having read both the book by James Joyce (#1 on the List of 100 Best Novels of the 20th Century) and studied the poem by T. S. Elliot in college, I began thinking this could be a challenging summer reading project. This edition weighed in at a whopping 400 pages. I began dreading the 10-page-a-day slog through stream of consciousness rambling, but like my journey through Finnegans Wake (#77), I could mark is as a hard-won merit badge for my literary sash, a literary purple heart, if you will.

So, I was not disappointed to discover the book is more William Faulkner than James Joyce and is only 170 pages, with the rest of the edition dedicated to notes about the text and commentary.

Synopsis:

Imagine someone telling you a story. They really only want to tell you the highlights, omitting the particularly tawdry bits, but the longer they talk and the more caught up in the story they become, the more background they must provide for the story to make sense. In some ways this novel reads like a grandparent telling a story. Sometimes the plot moves forward, sometimes it digresses into the background of a character, sometimes the subtlety of the story is eventually revealed after the fact.

For example, in the first chapter you learn there are five main characters and three of them are now dead. The remainder of the novel deals with the events that lead to their deaths and the consequences for the living.

While we modern folks think that the Edwardians were an uptight bunch with their over weaning public displays of morality, it would appear that, like us, they had some difficulty with honesty, faithfulness, lust, love, and money. But, since divorce was expensive, shameful, and public (i.e. the proceedings and testimony were published in the papers), "good" people chose to remain married and simply pretended to be happy in public. Or so our narrator would have us believe.

This is certainly a tawdry tale for such a prudish time. Unlike The Golden Bowl, Ford's narrator does not hesitate to name the dirty deeds these characters characters commit. Although the narrator is probably the best of the bunch, it is difficult to believe that so much could be happening right under his nose without him having some idea that things were not as they seemed. Also, since the story is told in hindsight, it is quite possible that this narrator is shading the story to make himself more the innocent victim. I feel there is more to the story than the narrator states.

Ford Madox Ford: Playboy!

Note About the Author

Ford, himself had some marriage and divorce difficulties of his own.  Apparently he was quite the Byronic figure of his day, having been through a notoriously difficult divorce from his first wife. Some critics suggest that the book is partly autobiographical. Many of the settings in The Good Soldier are locations Ford and his first mistress lived in while he attempted to obtain a German divorce from an English wife who refused to sign the divorce papers dissolving the marriage.




Recommendation: I enjoyed both the narrative and the style. Easy to read, but kept me turning the pages.

Next up: #29 The Studs Lonigan Trilogy by James T. Farrell

Milestone Moment: Not to toot my own horn, but with yesterday's post, this blog has surpassed the 10,000 page views milestone. If I monetized that, I would have made about $1.  Heck Yeah! 

Tomato Pie? For Dessert?

Some of my favorite emails come from the Empire Eats mailing list - particularly when they are announcing a new menu or chef's dinner.

With the abundance of fresh produce available this time of year, chefs can expand their creativity beyond the protein and make the veggies shine. And what vegetable is more representative of summer's bounty than the tomato?

So, I was overjoyed to see that Gravy's next chef's dinner would be dedicated to the celebration of this quintessential summer treat. Even better, the dinner was to served outdoors on the patio. I immediately forwarded the email to my foodie friends, Cathy and Arjay, who immediately accepted the invitation.

The Starter: Gazpacho with Lump Blue Crab Meat.

Tomato and Pole Bean Salad with Pimento Cheese Fritter

Slow Roasted, Glazed Pork Belly with Queen Corn and Heirloom Tomatoes

Herb Roasted Chicken Leg with Tomato Panzanella Salad

Tomato Pie - Yep Tomato Pie

Thoughts on Dinner:
Once again, we lucked out by having friendly table companions with similarly dark senses of humor. No topic was off limits, including roosters, mating dances, and boudoir photo books.

Dinner was slightly delayed by the need to relocate the tables from the patio to the banquet area, but that was a minor inconvenience. The food was all quite tasty. For me, the standout items were the gazpacho, the pimento cheese fritter, the pork belly and the chicken leg, which would suggest that the proteins were still the stars of the show.

We were somewhat surprised by the wine pairings which consisted of 4 whites and a red. The white wines ranged from very sweet to turpentine and yet, when consumed with each dish, the wines took on different characteristics complementing the dishes. Even though we are all fans of red wines, I think that we would give at least 5 thumbs up for these pairings.

Our server seemed a little overwhelmed or intimidated by the sommelier at our table (who brought his own collection of wines). On each course she seemed to miss/forget/overlook at least one of our party for either the wine or food course. I think this was due to the efforts of serving the ladies first, which I think unnecessarily complicates service when there are 20-25 people at a table. On the other hand, we were all having the same thing, so it should have been obvious who did not have what.

Other than the inconsistent service, the dinner was great fun. We are looking forward to our next dining adventure.

For more information:
Gravy Italian-American Kitchen
135 Wilmington Street
Raleigh, NC 27601
(919) 896-8513

Sunshine, Roses, and Rude People

I freely admit that I have a relatively comfortable life, but it is not always sunshine, roses, and classic literature. Occasionally, a rude person will pierce my contented bubble of existence and throw me off balance.

Don't get me wrong, I am no pillar of politeness. I often make jokes about things that may still have an emotional sting (too soon?). I sometimes take a joke too far or make a biting comment that crosses the line of inappropriateness. In the right company, I will gladly join in the race to the lowest common denominator in search of a chuckle. I am also guilty of being coldly polite and a bit dismissive towards talkative servers, salespeople, and chatty neighbors on long flights.

Although I am sure there are other behaviors and instances of impoliteness friends can point out, my point is that I consciously make an effort to impose on other people as little as possible.

With all that said, last week I had two experiences with people who were just plain rude and insensitive.

The first affront to my delicate sensibilities was from a biker who was riding in the middle of a traffic lane during morning rush hour. Since I was not in a hurry and there was a traffic light ahead, I slowed down and followed at an adequate distance. When he moved to the right side of the lane, I passed him on the left - once again providing plenty of space between him and my car. While stopped at the traffic light, someone started yelling in my passenger side car window, "By law, you have to give me two feet!!!!!" I had no idea what he was talking about. I had remained much more than two feet away from him when following and passing him. This outburst sort of bothered me for the rest of the day. After all, if I had done something wrong, the more effective approach would have been to educate me about what I did wrong, not to yell at me inside my car.

After pondering this event for most of the day, it occurred to me that perhaps he was not yelling at me about a moving violation. It is possible that I did not leave him enough room between the left side of my car and the cars parked on that side of the road to continue forward while all the cars were stopped at the traffic light. Since he had been cycling in the middle of the lane and there was no bike lane on this street, it did not occur to me to allow him extra room to make his own lane between the stopped cars.

I later chatted about this incident with an experienced cyclist. He remarked that in this case the cyclist was breaking the rules. They should not be maneuvering through cars stopped in traffic. He suggested that next time something similar occurs, I should simply suggest the cyclist move to Portland.

The second incident has most likely been experienced by everyone - people talking during a movie. I am so averse to this behavior, that I often brave opening weekend crowds to avoid it. My reasoning is that fans who have been anticipating a movie's release are much less likely to stand in line and pay full ticket price only to engage in conversation, chats, arguments,  or provide a running film commentary.  Also, the IMAX theater two blocks from my home charges $14 per ticket. My experience has been that the high ticket price is a great disincentive to being disruptive during a movie.

I had some extra time last Sunday afternoon, so I popped over to the IMAX to catch Pacific Rim. I am a big fan of Guillermo Del Toro's movies, but I was out of town for opening weekend. Based on the running commentary, the couple sitting next to me thought they were enjoying this movie from their own living room. At first, based on the comments, I thought that perhaps one of them was blind and the other was providing descriptions. I was wrong.  They were just enjoying the movie using their outside voices. No matter how many times I glared at them through my 3-D glasses, they continued their conversation. My only choices were to move to a front row or sit with a finger in my ear. I chose the latter.  GRRRRR!   Perhaps the IMAX needs to hire some movie ninjas....

According to Buddhist teachings, it is our reaction to the thoughtlessness of other people that matters. I should thank these people for allowing me to practice patience and compassion. Practice makes perfect, but I am a long, long way from thanking people for their rudeness.

Namaste

From the Lists: #31 Animal Farm

When I initially perused the list of 100 Best English Novels of the 20th Century, I highlighted the books I had previously read. This being one of them. When I completed The Golden Bowl, I was in great need for something a more modern and less introspective (i.e.- an easy read). Therefore I thought why not? Since I originally read this book as teenager, who knows what I will think of it from the other side of my lifeline. I am happy I gave it another go.

George Orwell's Animal Farm (1946) is an allegorical story satirizing the Russian Revolution and the rise of Stalinism. The story begins with the animals complaining of their treatment by humans who use the animals' labor only to enrich themselves. This discontent eventually leads to a revolution against Mr Jones, who owns the farm. Once he and his hired hands are chased off the farm, the animals, led by a prize boar named Napoleon, set up a communal society where ostensibly all animals are equal and will share equally in the work and the harvest. As the years go by, the pigs assume more and more power, segregating themselves from the other animals, ruling by decree, blaming outside forces for bad harvests, and executing all who dissent. By the end of the story, the pigs, like Mr Jones, are enriching themselves by exploiting the labor of the other animals - so much so that they begin taking on the characteristics and behaviors of humans.

Orwell had some difficulty getting this short novel published in the UK and the USA. Mainly because no one wanted to upset our former allies in the fight against Hitler. As the cold war heated up immediately following World War II, there was more of an appetite for this type of satire.

Although written specifically as a satire about the USSR, Animal Farm could just as easily be applied to any of the existing dictatorships around the world. I often thought of North Korea with its food and fuel shortages and impotent saber rattling at the rest of the world. Other dictators who popped to mind: Gaddafi, Hussein, Ahmadinejad,  and Chavez - all cults of personality and bellicosity.

Oddly, I also thought of the extremes of capitalism. We are often told that our free-market economy is the best economic model for ensuring that everyone has an opportunity to make a living and share in the wealth. However, the final scene in the novel, where the pigs are feasting while the underfed animals (under paid workers) peer in through the windows, seemed to hit very close to home. As we all work harder and harder to keep jobs that we are grateful to have, the rich exhort us to work harder to further increase profits. And, like the animals on the farm, very little of those profits go to reward the worker. Instead, they go to enrich the CEO, the board of directors, and share holders who are all feeding at the trough, just like Napoleon and his cadre of pigs.

Don't get me wrong, I love my country and the opportunities it provides. I do, however, find myself looking around and wondering what happened? How did we get to a place where the rules can be changed to benefit one group or business over all others and no one notices? Why are people not paying attention to what our governments and businesses are doing? What will make us lift our heads from our daily grind to see that the promises written on the wall are no longer what we believed them to be? Will we one day wake to see that all the laws have been rewritten, just as all the Animal Farm's commandments were erased and replaced with "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others"?

  Next up: #30 The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford