On the Seas

Oh how I love cruising. Ever since I was first introduced; I've been hooked. So when the chance came for us to take a cruise with some dear friends, we couldn't get there fast enough. This time around we ventured to Port Everglades, FL for a 5 night cruise in the Caribbean waters. And what a delightful trip it was.

I couldn't possibly write about the entire trip here - but I'll mention a few highlights:

Fort Lauderdale: after arriving at 6am - we were certainly hoping our hotel would have an open room for us to at least shower and rest up a bit. Sadly, this was not the case and we found ourselves living our of our rental van. (which should have been a Swagger Wagon - but wasn't; you can imagine my disappointment). And it must be said we make four really attractive people who haven't slept for 2 days.

• Sir, how many bags do you have? Is he trying to get us to change cars? Nope, we really did forget our bag.
• 84 Thai Food vs McDonald's. Is there a competition? If you only knew.
• Swimming in the ocean. Perhaps a bad idea when there is no shower to clean up.
• How many gas stations do we have to visit to get the right snack? Three.
• Sawgrass Recreation Park. Those are real crocodiles. And Real Close! Then we got to hold one...I think my hesitation is justified.
• Third time to the hotel - yet the lady didn't recognize Mark. Weird.

We make pretty good "Homeless" tourists if you ask me. With naps on the beach and fast food restaurants to wash up in, how could you go wrong?
Key West: First stop on the boat. We walked, and walked, and walked all around this southern most part of the US. Theron challenged the landmark to find something a little more "south". And the ladies found all the free jewelry our friend Ben told us about the day before. The Butterfly garden was incredible and it turns out all our men are "lucky" since the butterflies landed on them. Not real effective as none of us won the emerald and diamond necklace raffle just a few hours later. Boo.

• "Twenty!" , "Twenty?" "Fifty!" , "FIFTY?"
• Ugly shirt contest? I don't want to spend the money!

The vibrant and diversity of the butterflies here was so intense. It was such a sight to see such unique and fragile animals.
If this picture had a sound - it would be a deep sigh straight from the gut. Cuz that is the sound each of us made as our seats found this comfortable break from our day long walk.
Cozumel: Second Stop found us in the depths of tourist country. We didn't waste any time finding a large grocery store where we could stock up on some cheap snacks before our ATV tour began. (because we could NOT stop eating) And I must say - kudos to the HUGE Walmart-like store that tickled my fancy. Very nice. We then met up with our tour guide - and were surprised to be the only ones on the tour! Fancy! An adventure in ATV's around the Mexican jungle, followed by a snorkel trip on the beaches of Cozumel resulted in a very tiring day.

• Fertility Rock anyone?
• Huge Mud Puddles!
• Rrrrroberto - 5 R's
• Pee your pants fun

Day at Sea: Agenda - rest, eat, rest, eat, rest, play games, climb rock wall, eat. Done and done.

• Andi - bless his heart. and Jose, and George Albert. Yes 5 stars to George Albert.
• Strawberry Bisque = Dessert to start. Just how I like it.
• I'll have one of everything.
• Is the ice cream open yet?
• Sexy leg competition
• Karaoke till dawn.

Cococay: We decided last minute to forgo the Aquapark and spent the entire day snorkeling. To our delight, we came across three huge stingray, jellyfish, a sunken airplane, and mighty sunburns. Perfect. All too soon, the captain called for an Evacuation of the island; which sounds a bit too dramatic. As the wall of rain came in, it didn't take but a moment to have us all soaked to the bone. The ride on the top of the ferry back to the boat was a memorable adventure I wouldn't have missed. Nothing beats a hot shower after a rain like that.
An absolutely perfect trip with absolutely perfect company. We are already talking about our next trip together. I was a little nervous having never met Mark's friends before, but we all got along splendidly. Is it too soon to already start counting down until our next one? I. think. not.

The Man with a Stick

Every morning as we drive out to work, we pass the man with a stick on his morning walk. He is an older gentleman, nothing out of the ordinary really. The great thing about this man is his wave. He waves his stick, as a friendly hello, to EVERY CAR passing by. Today we caught him at the stoplight. While waiting for our light to change, we watched as he waved at each and every car. He would raise his stick high in the air, wave it back and forth a few times, and then point the stick at the car to let them know that wave was for them.

I love this man. I love how he cheered my morning as I accepted my hello. I love how he does this every morning. His little act of kindness makes me want to give a little something back as well. I ride the elevator at work with strangers every morning and I am always grateful I get off at the second floor so I don't feel obligated to make conversation. And so, dear man with a stick, thank you for your kind hello which brightened my day enough to wish a good day to the people in the elevator this morning.

Monterey PIE show

This is what I spent my weekend looking at

As a part of the company training program, Wright's Pools Service attends the annual Pool Industries Expo held in Monterey, California. Although not entirely relaxing, it was great to enjoy a bit of the seaside. Mark attended most of the classes from Basic Chemistry to Automated Pool equipment. Whew - more then I could possibly know. While he was in classes, I spent the days walking around downtown Monterey. I spent a little over an hour in the city's cemetery. Weird that I like these places, but I really do. Some had death dates as far back as 1870. Others still had fresh floral arrangements near their stones. This little row reminded me of the cemetery we passed through in Paris. Weird to see so many graves above ground.

And I think this one was by far my favorite. Nothing like a good ol' RIP and cross bones to say what is needed. Way to go Filyau.
After meandering the cemetery, I headed down a little further to an Antique Mall. 2 stories of old stuff; my kind of past time. Secretly looking for items similar to those we got from Grandpa's farm in Utah so I could see a price tag, I enjoyed looking at a few great items and a lot of junk.

All in all, it was a fabulous weekend. Most of the day was cloudy and overcast, but usually by about 1pm; the clouds burned off and the temperature warmed up making for a beautiful day. And when I wasn't walking around the city, the view wasn't too bad all on its own. So cheers to a delightful city, delightful weather, and a delightful hotel room.