Oh Bahamas

Today is a philosophical day. I have learned great truths that I want to share. First, it is not wise to say that you missed a storm when there is still a possibility that the storm has not passed. On Saturday night we were awaken to the loud and constant heavy rainfall on our roof, off and on all night. It was the tail end of the storm that passed through Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia, and a few other states. We only get New York and L.A. news and neither of them cared about the fact that it might be headed towards us in Florida. You would think that at least New York might have said something since half of them move down here every winter! We survived the night and on Sunday afternoon we decided to go due east to the beach on Fort Lauderdale to get our obligatory Atlantic swim in. It was overcast, and the water was warm, so we got wet and sandy and then remembered why the ocean wasn't as big of an attraction as it was when we were young. We did discover a organism on the beach that we haven't identified yet, so anyone can help if the know what this is. We went home after several hours with great anticipation for our one day trip to the Bahamas.

We booked a one day adventure to the Bahamas that included all you can eat buffets at at brunch and dinner. It also provided all the house beverages you can drink. That makes for a very interesting day on the boat. We also included a "cabin" for the day. We wanted to get the "cruise experience". We participated in some of the activities, and even won the TV Theme song contest naming 13 of the fourteen songs (missing Mannix). Sue got an official Cruise visor, with three coins to spare. The food was good, and plenty. We watched karaoke which reminded me why they give free drinks. The port we landed at was 6 miles from the nearest town so we took a cab (van) with 7 others and arrived at a touristy shopping area. As it had almost all the way across, it was still raining. The ship had the foresight to bring ponchos and sold them as we left the ship.
I am not sharing who bought one and who didn't, but we needed one for our emergency kit. We did find a cute shop and met the mother and daughter who made most of the things. Steve bought a shirt and Sue got a magnet, both of which were hand crafted by the mother and daughter.

The sun came out just as we left the Port of Freeport, and the trip back was great. We left for home at about 11:30 pm, only about 20 minutes from our Campsite.

My second observation is that a one day trip on a cruise ship is not a good way to compare a week or longer cruise. The ship will be smaller, the passengers had different agendas, and the time to sight see will be limited. A suite on a smaller boat is not what you should expect when on a longer cruise. We still had fun, and even the rain added to the adventure. I actually had time to recreationally read.

My last observation occured this morning. Unknowingly it started yesterday morning while we waited to depart. I saw a series of boats/ships pass by us. It occurred to me the a "big boat" was relative to each person perspective. I have provided a series of pictures that I saw with in a ten minute period of time, each initially appearing to be a "big boat". As the time passed, "big" became a relative term.

I share this as this morning I found that during the deluge we had On Sunday night and all day Monday a window had been left open. It was next to most of the computer equipment. After cleaning up most of this morning, I found that only the keyboard and mouse had been damaged and needed replacement. Everything else was salvaged. What seemed like a big problem was reduced to a minor incident when compared to what might have occurred. I think that I need to remember to gauge the reaction to the real size of the problem. And to shut the windows before the rain.

We pack and leave tomorrow for a trip up the coast to pick up mail and stay a day or two before leaving Florida for South Carolina.

























Steve