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.