Ok, so last Thursday, my sister Bippy, our friend Lisa and I boarded a ship up in Seattle for a 4 night cruise to Vancouver and Victoria Island with a "Day At Sea" thrown in. I'm just now getting a chance to enthrall you with our Travel Stories.
Here's our ship, the Royal Princess:
Not a big ship by any means but perfect for cruising through the Puget Sound and the various islands between Seattle and Vancouver. I tried to keep a journal but didn't get very far as I'm pretty lousy at journaling. So then I just jotted down notes as I remembered them.
Day 1: It's frickin' cold in Seattle. Good thing I didn't bother to bring a bathing suit in anticipation of bagging some rays poolside.
But my ankle length down coat would have been welcome. The sun did make an appearance as we left port and we lounged on deck chairs and swilled beverages, beer for me and diet Cokes for Bippy and Lisa. 2 hours later we were still in Puget Sound but I wasn't complaining because it was relatively calm waters and I like calm waters because I get motion sickness even on a backyard swing. Which is why a cruise is the perfect vacation for me. However, I brought both ginger pills and Dramamine so I figured I was well armed against motion sickness.
Our cabin is tiny with the 3 of us. 2 twin beds and a loveseat that converted to a bed.
The view from the cabin outside the balcony looked totally fake, like those scenery-on-a-roller things they use in soap opera "outdoor" scenes. After the mandatory lifeboat drill where I look absolutely deranged, photogenic I am not:
we spent our time exploring the ship until dinner. The spa/salon was holding a drawing for spa services so we trooped into the fitness room for the drawing because Winners Must Be Present. I was really hoping to win the 1 hour foot treatment service because I loves me a good foot rub. So much that I would let Kim Jong Il rub my feet. I have no shame. Don't you judge me. Sadly, I did not win the foot treatment or the full body massage or the teeth whitening or the use of the little private pool overlooking the bow of the ship. But I did win a free Body Composition test. Oh. Joy. Just what I wanted, to know my Body Mass Index while on a cruise with lots of eats involved. Woo. Hoo. And I bitch that I never win anything. My bad.
We had the 2nd seating for dinner so we made our way to the dining room. I had a Vodka Martini (straight up, with a twist) and we were shown to our table. About this time, our previously calm seas decided to kick it up a notch or 2 and somehow, food just didn't seem all that appetizing any longer. Lisa and I both were turning a little green (Bippy, who was famous for getting carsick when we were kids, was completely oblivious to the rolling) so we decided to skip dessert and head back to our cabin. We popped some Dramamine and crawled into bed.
So ended Day One on our Cruise. Tomorrow, Vancouver!
Yeah, I've been slacking a bit in the blogging department but I have a really good excuse. I've been out of the country. Yeah, yeah, Vancouver isn't exactly Phnom Penh (and I had to look that up for proper spelling) but since a passport was required to go there, it's "furrin" dammit!
I'll fill you in later on my cruise out of Seattle to Vancouver, Victoria Island and the meander through the inlets and stuff but for now I've got so much to catch up on. I've got a week's worth of blogs to peruse and comment, numerous e-mails to answer, piles of paperwork to attend to. And I still have yet to watch the final LOST.
When I returned home from my journey on Monday afternoon, I discovered that in my absence, my family was completely incapable of the following:
Using the dishwasher to wash dishes.
Washing dishes by hand.
Going to the supermarket for food.
Vacuuming the knee-deep piles of white fluffy fur that Gracie Lou sheds like she gets paid by the bale.
Using the newfangled clothes washing machine.
Using the newfangled clothes drying machine.
And yes, as soon as I walked in the door, my son, my lovely son, immediately demanded to know what was for dinner because "I'm hungry and there's no food in the house!"
And since I've been home, I have felt like hammered shit. I feel more seasick on land than I did on the ship and yes, I did get seasick. Did you know that if you take Dramamine AFTER you get seasick it really doesn't do much? Found that out the hard way, I did.
I shall return.
