2010 - Day Thirty Five...

There are too many photos to post tonight, so some of them may not be placed along with an appropriate narrative, but I will try my best to explain all of them so you don’t get too lost. We shall see how that works out. OOPSS! MY BAD! I just figured out I can only upload five photos, so disregard that last comment!

Today was a GREAT day, although I am certain that most of you will decide that it was rather unorthodox for someone on a cruise! Our lucky ‘where’s the tiara’ recipient of the day is Bertina seen here with her husband David. We hooked up together late this morning on the dock, waiting for the shuttle to take us back to the ship. The three of us got off the ship early, and got back on the ship early. It is kind of fun having MOST of the ship to yourself, although I was somewhat pre-occupied, and did not really take advantage of the solitude. Bertina and David had been out visiting real estate offices, and brought back real estate guides to review. The prices of homes on Grand Cayman are surprisingly high. House Hunter’s International (I believe) has not been here recently!

So, last night at dinner was a lot of fun. I had to retell the story of my adventures during the day, and everyone was quite amused with my adventures. We are in a group of about eighty REALTORS®, and many of my colleagues had very interesting stories to tell of their adventures. One of my strong points is my ability to keep a good secret, and believe me, there have been many secrets learned on this voyage. Just remember this; what happens on this ship (or at dinner even) stays on this ship! I am very lucky to be at a fun table for dinner. Tonight is our last ‘dress up’ night, and so that will be fun too.

Last night’s towel animal was more recognizable that the one from the night before. I am pretty darn sure this one was/is supposed to be a puppy; at least that is what it looks like to me. I had a good night’s rest, and did not wake up until after 6 o’clock. I took a shower, went to breakfast (where I joined Jana, Steve, Ben and Sam) for just a little while. It was nice to sit with them and kind of tease their kids (particularly Sam) but I may have pushed my luck a little bit. I am not certain that young men understand my sense of humor, so I think I will need to temper it a little bit. But, they are nice young men, and they are fun to hang with for a little while.

There was kind of a traffic jam of ships when I looked outside my cabin this morning. It took me a while to understand that we were ‘berthing’ and not docking. Someone counted, and there were six or seven different ships all around. This must be a really busy place. There are (I heard) 2,700 passengers on this shop, and I had no idea there were that many. That is a couple of towns in central Texas! Lots of people! This photo was actually taken from the dock (or maybe I was already on the shuttle) waiting for a ride back to the ship. Really a pretty sight!

I Cayman (get it?), I saw, I bought the rum cakes and the t-shirts. Then I got back on the ship. Since I had not signed up for any excursions, and I was not really interested in filling my day up with adventures, I got right to my mission. Carrie had told me where the rum cakes were, so I checked that spot out first, then walked up and down a few of the streets for a while. I scoped out possible t-shirt places, and finally made my choices. I had thought about having the rum cakes shipped home, but that was prohibitively expensive. I expect I will be able to get everything in my baggage, but I am still trying to condense stuff and be smarter with my packing. We shall see…

During my escapades, I spotted a Dairy Queen, and the place was hopping, but I did not go in. A spoiler was not on my mission list, so I just took a photo of the sign and walked on past. I got back on the ship pretty quickly, and got down to the rest of my mission for the day.

I got a lot of work done reviewing for my class that I will teach in February. I am very pleased with the amount of work I got done. Between working, Randy (the steward for my cabin) came in to make the room and I left. When I got back, someone came and removed the shower head from the shower, then, a couple hours later, they brought it back. Then I went and had lunch. After lunch, I washed a load of clothes, and then I watched to NetFlix movies that I had brought with me. VERY, VERY HAPPY with all the stuff I got accomplished. In between times, I was able to go walking along the decks for a while, and people watching on the ship is always fun.

Unfortunately, eating on this ship (and I expect most other cruise ships) is kind of like an Olympic Sport. There are some folks that just cannot get enough, and there are some really large people on this ship. I could stand next to AT LEAST 50% of the passengers and look under nourished. That is CRAZY! This ship has a water slide, and I would really like to have played on it for a while, but I did not. LOTS of mature folks are taking advantage of it though; it seems like everyone is getting just a little bit looser as the trip progresses.

If you know me at all, you know I am really a fan of flags. I think flags and flying the flags are really interesting things to do, and I always like looking at flags and flagpoles. These were the flags flying at the stern (thanks Cliff) of the ship today. We are underway to Cozumel right now, and we will dock (I think) there tomorrow morning. After a day in Cozumel, we will head back to Galveston, and Saturday will be a full day of sailing, no stops. I have not yet decided whether I will do anything in Cozumel or not, right now I am planning to just kind of play it by ear. I would like to be disciplined and get more work done. I will be taking another class on the ship on Saturday morning, and maybe I can get some more work done after that on Saturday as well.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!