Back from vacation first day of work survived, 200 plus emails, read, sorted, deleted or generally ignored, staff meeting was generally uneventful, and today I was awarded by 15 year certificate at work... (I've worked for the same company for 15 years... not the same job but the same company) and for that I get to pick a prize... lucky me.
Now the trip.... was FAB-U-LOUS. Getting to the boat was generally painless, parking was pricey to say the least the boat was large, packed and headed South. Worst day was the day we left port... after that sunny and 80 plus degrees the entire trip - oh you betcha Aunt Ing is tanned and happy. (and now peeling)
Bubba is tired and broke. ;-)
Generally I spent my time in the sun with my nose in a book, I ate too much, drank too much, partied hard and didn't sleep enough. All the signs that the vacation was super fab. Bubba spent his seaboard time at the casino and apparently made many friends, most of whom inquired at dinner if he would be returning to the tables that evening. I think he closed down the casino almost every night... hey - it's his vacation too.
We only did one shore thing as the deep sea dolphin swim was canceled - troubles with the equipment we were told.. no worries we went shopping! We snorkeled the blue waters of Freeport Bahamas... saw coral and fish and other butts and drank in the waves of seawater and really enjoyed it (the snorkeling not the drinking of seawater). It was warm, it was sunny, the ocean was rocking and the rum punch was free flowing - after the snorkeling had completed. We had a downer moment when a woman on our boat was having heart trouble, they off loaded her and sped another boat away - and we quietly partied... we still drank - to her health and safe trips home and a nice day. I didn't hear the outcome of her but I will say she is fine.
So with trip number 2 canceled we when shopping, I thought I would like a black diamond ring on this trip but couldn't find anything I liked... then we found sapphires! On my finger is the honey-I-am-a-butt-head-but-I-still-love-you anniversary gift. 1.90 point sapphire and 2 smaller diamonds... must see to believe. It's very nice. :-)
Another minor bummer was our traveling companions (our neighbors) were GREAT! But the Mr. neighbor caught a bug and was a downer the last couple of days... I felt really bad for him, he was so sick.... I also threatened him with bodily harm if he shared a germ... he really looked bad. Only one case of rocking-boat-ities... and not me or Bubba Mrs. Neighbor spent a night suffering. But she was back to her own bubbly self the next day.
The house and the puppies are fine, the cleaning lady broke my espresso machine pot don't ask me how - but she did. I will find the replacement - order and bill her. Things happen.
Bubba was not a butthead on this trip - only once when I had to find him in the casino because I wore a dress to dinner I couldn't unzip myself... hey it looked nice - but he was cranky about leaving his game... 2 freaking minutes (plus the stone got larger that night) ;-)
The shopping "guy" on ship gave us a great tip the bar where the crew drinks -which then cleared up a few other questions, I digress, but we found it - and enjoyed out $2.50 beers and something Mrs. Neighbor and I enjoyed called a Miami Vice... half Pina Colata and half strawberry daiquiri... the 2.5 inches of liquors on the bottom of a to-go 15 ounce cup probably were what made it so good.... I was a very smooth ride out of Nassau that day.
The other fun thing was the extra 3 hours we "enjoyed" in port at Port Canaveral Florida... apparently the crew had a life boat drill and when one of the boats didn't go back to it's holding place on the ship it had be fixed before the US Coast Guard would let us leave port. I found myself not terribly unhappy about that little bit of safety stuff - as my fanny would be the one standing at my mustard* station going - "what do you mean its broke? FIX IT!"
*yeah yeah muster station but it's more fun to stay mustard... folks who's first language is not English did not get the joke. Post drill of course. OH and on the upside, bravo to the rule change that does not make me put on that smelly life vest and stand outside like an idiot during the drill. Thank you I can find my ketchup station, I know how and where to stand and all will be well - don't run my boat into anything and we'll be just fine.
Oh and to my Italian ship's captain who apparently was a race car driver in a former life... 23 knots on rough seas with 30 plus mile an hour winds... no wonder the medical staff was out of seasick pills... the man was hauling ship - and this was before the 3 hour delay... (hey that could almost be a theme song) .. after the delay - the numbers were even more fun... let me put it this way... we left port 3 hours late and arrived at our next port a mere 45 minutes after the scheduled arrival time... go figure.
I want to thank my beloved Steelers for keeping the game yesterday interesting after I napped through the 2nd and 3rd quarters... the 4th kept me up and awake... yeesh. Again - boys note the people in the area in which you live this kind of weekly stress is going to kill off a number of season ticket holders... on the other hand... opens up spots for those of us still waiting... that would be bad...
I also have to say there were a large number of yinzers on that boat out of Baltimore - it was fun check in day to see the various purples and blacks mixed with all that black and gold... a fun time was had by all... even better when Baltimore lost last week and the Steelers beat the hapless Cleveland Brownies.... what a great way to start one's vacation no?
Well I've got a meeting tonight, and dogs to feed so for now I will sign off... more during the week as I will need these 30 minutes of quiet meditation for the purpose of not being brought up on murder charges... coworkers are the current target - as I haven't spoken to Bubba since we left for work this morning... stay tuned...
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