2009-10-05 16:03![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
digitaldiscipline
digitaldisciplinePix:
- http://bit.ly/13twWp
- http://bit.ly/HC8XC
- http://bit.ly/oEVtE
- http://bit.ly/tEmZu
Sorry that most of those are on FB. I'll see about stealing the good ones of me and/or![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
aishlynn and putting 'em up somewhere else.
There'll probably be more, but there ya go.
Saturday, the day before setting out, I got new tires, since my previous set were various levels of fucked, varying from half-worn to bulging ominously and flashing the occasional bit of steel belting.
Sunday, we got on the road, and about 75 miles down the road, not one, but two of the brand-new tires suddenly lost pressure. The rear driver's side one was utterly flat, the driver's side front was down halfway. Fortunately, I can change a tire with a quickness, as can Kim, so we did, putting the donut on the rear, and soft-shoeing it to the next exit, where fix-a-flat was procured. Drove the rest of the way down that way, and ended up having to put more air in both the FaF'ed tire and the donut before heading to dinner.
Google Maps might as well just fucking give up on getting from anywhere in Ft. Lauderdale to anywhere else in Ft. Lauderdale, as my frequent exclamations of "FUCK(ING) MIAMI" became more and more numerous as we tried to find our way first to Tessa & Mike's hotel (by way of a secure-access checkpoint and a road that no longer exists), then to the pirate bar for dinner and drinks. To say it was circuitous would be a rather breathtaking understatement. Nice to see folks, but I was so fried and pissed off that I stuck with Sprite and seafood in lieu of beer, not to mention that I was driving.
Monday, we had a nice breakfast and got on the boat, where socializing and shenanigans ensued. Lots of familiar folks, and a few new ones, too. Our waiter at dinner was freaking awesome, and the food was pretty tasty. One of the things I've learned is not to be shy about asking for two appetizers, or even two entrees; I probably had two appetizers every meal, and stole vegetables from everyone at the table on more than one occasion.
This was the only night I made it to Goth Broth; for the remainder of the week, with one exception, the combination of late dinner seating and good food tended to shepherd us to bed shortly thereafter (of course, getting woken up at 4am every night by some kind of incredibly loud furniture moving in the casino, which was right above our room, didn't help; nor did my penchant for waking up between 630 and 730 every day, which was only exacerbated by us cruising into the Central time zone).
Tuesday was Key West, and the longest I spent off the boat. We wandered around, since Kim had coupons from a coworker who had done a similar cruise, which made for inexpensive gift-getting. Our real score was at a jewelry store, where I snagged some very nice cufflinks for $10 a pair, since they weren't selling, and the proprietor had to dig out a paper bag full of 'em from under the counter. I don't know fuck-all about fashion, but I figure the folks at Bvgari probably don't expect their shit to go that cheap (full disclosure here: I grabbed those b/c they were a really nice royal blue, and I though they said "Jaguar" initially).
Lunch was an excellent seared tuna tataki and some fine hooch at a rum bar with Pete, Geekers, Keith, and Kendra -- the bartender is to rum what P&K are to scotch as far as being terrifyingly well-versed in the nuances of the beverage.
Wednesday was Cozumel, and I ended up not even getting off the boat, which, when I mentioned it to some random other cruiser not with the group, was apparently some kind of personal affront. There was also a brief bit of fitness shenanigans with Xany, Serge, Keith, Nicole, and a couple other folks; I, unfortunately, twinged something in my neck, which put the kibosh on doing as much as I wanted, and blunted my going back more frequently.
Look, buddy, I go on the cruise to relax. Doing excursions and/or running some sort of retail gauntlet aren't my idea of a good or relaxing time; I spent the afternoon in the no-kids-allowed pool area with some music, a book, and Android & Laurie, just chilling out.
This was also where we had the small bit of excitement of a minor maritime collision... or at least, as minor as 150,000 tons (combined mass) of ships swap some paint. I barely noticed it, sitting on my bed and reading while K grabbed a pre-dinner shower. "Hey, the boat moved. I think we just disembarked." Er, not so much. Honestly, I was more interested in getting on deck for the 50-knot winds and rain than in seeing the other ship, but they weren't letting anyone do that, nor get on any of the interior or exterior balconies. Oh well.
Dinner, rather than at the dining room, was done at the smaller upscale onboard restaurant, Chops, and it was ridiculously fabulous. Essentially, for about a hundred dollars (including wine), we had what would have been a $300 meal at a good steak house on dry land. Everything was impeccable, and it's definitely a must-do for future iterations.
Thursday was Belize. I was talked into running the retail gauntlet this time, with the intent of finding a beach along which to walk. EPIC FAIL. We were ashore so briefly that we got on the same tender that had brought us over for the return trip. I'm sorry, but I don't need touristy crap or overpriced jewelry, and I don't feel like spending time and money on bar drinks in some vaguely festive hole. Yeah, I'm a grouchy fuck when something gets in the way of my having a nice time.
Friday was our sea day, which meant my full sloth was only intruded upon by the fact that all the other passengers were milling around, making our usual haunts more crowded than they were while folks were ashore. That said, I did get to do the one must-try thing I had on my agenda: the rock climbing wall.
In short, I kind of suck at it. I made it up the noob course, and the noob-point-five one, but got stuck about halfway up the next more challenging one. I also did the giant bungee on a trampoline jumping thing, which was lots of fun (just very breezy, and I could have done with more water).
The scheduled events that Bob set up were very much fun - hanging out, chatting with everybody, and doing a bit of dancing (or perhaps more than a bit - my calves are just now recovering from a four or five minute session of pogo-ing during the "they're coming to take me away" remix).
There is apparently video of this, as well as the impromptu choreography between myself and Droid for "Panzermensch."
All in all, a lovely time. Big props to Bob & Co. for making it happen yet again. :-)
- http://bit.ly/13twWp
- http://bit.ly/HC8XC
- http://bit.ly/oEVtE
- http://bit.ly/tEmZu
Sorry that most of those are on FB. I'll see about stealing the good ones of me and/or
aishlynn and putting 'em up somewhere else.There'll probably be more, but there ya go.
Saturday, the day before setting out, I got new tires, since my previous set were various levels of fucked, varying from half-worn to bulging ominously and flashing the occasional bit of steel belting.
Sunday, we got on the road, and about 75 miles down the road, not one, but two of the brand-new tires suddenly lost pressure. The rear driver's side one was utterly flat, the driver's side front was down halfway. Fortunately, I can change a tire with a quickness, as can Kim, so we did, putting the donut on the rear, and soft-shoeing it to the next exit, where fix-a-flat was procured. Drove the rest of the way down that way, and ended up having to put more air in both the FaF'ed tire and the donut before heading to dinner.
Google Maps might as well just fucking give up on getting from anywhere in Ft. Lauderdale to anywhere else in Ft. Lauderdale, as my frequent exclamations of "FUCK(ING) MIAMI" became more and more numerous as we tried to find our way first to Tessa & Mike's hotel (by way of a secure-access checkpoint and a road that no longer exists), then to the pirate bar for dinner and drinks. To say it was circuitous would be a rather breathtaking understatement. Nice to see folks, but I was so fried and pissed off that I stuck with Sprite and seafood in lieu of beer, not to mention that I was driving.
Monday, we had a nice breakfast and got on the boat, where socializing and shenanigans ensued. Lots of familiar folks, and a few new ones, too. Our waiter at dinner was freaking awesome, and the food was pretty tasty. One of the things I've learned is not to be shy about asking for two appetizers, or even two entrees; I probably had two appetizers every meal, and stole vegetables from everyone at the table on more than one occasion.
This was the only night I made it to Goth Broth; for the remainder of the week, with one exception, the combination of late dinner seating and good food tended to shepherd us to bed shortly thereafter (of course, getting woken up at 4am every night by some kind of incredibly loud furniture moving in the casino, which was right above our room, didn't help; nor did my penchant for waking up between 630 and 730 every day, which was only exacerbated by us cruising into the Central time zone).
Tuesday was Key West, and the longest I spent off the boat. We wandered around, since Kim had coupons from a coworker who had done a similar cruise, which made for inexpensive gift-getting. Our real score was at a jewelry store, where I snagged some very nice cufflinks for $10 a pair, since they weren't selling, and the proprietor had to dig out a paper bag full of 'em from under the counter. I don't know fuck-all about fashion, but I figure the folks at Bvgari probably don't expect their shit to go that cheap (full disclosure here: I grabbed those b/c they were a really nice royal blue, and I though they said "Jaguar" initially).
Lunch was an excellent seared tuna tataki and some fine hooch at a rum bar with Pete, Geekers, Keith, and Kendra -- the bartender is to rum what P&K are to scotch as far as being terrifyingly well-versed in the nuances of the beverage.
Wednesday was Cozumel, and I ended up not even getting off the boat, which, when I mentioned it to some random other cruiser not with the group, was apparently some kind of personal affront. There was also a brief bit of fitness shenanigans with Xany, Serge, Keith, Nicole, and a couple other folks; I, unfortunately, twinged something in my neck, which put the kibosh on doing as much as I wanted, and blunted my going back more frequently.
Look, buddy, I go on the cruise to relax. Doing excursions and/or running some sort of retail gauntlet aren't my idea of a good or relaxing time; I spent the afternoon in the no-kids-allowed pool area with some music, a book, and Android & Laurie, just chilling out.
This was also where we had the small bit of excitement of a minor maritime collision... or at least, as minor as 150,000 tons (combined mass) of ships swap some paint. I barely noticed it, sitting on my bed and reading while K grabbed a pre-dinner shower. "Hey, the boat moved. I think we just disembarked." Er, not so much. Honestly, I was more interested in getting on deck for the 50-knot winds and rain than in seeing the other ship, but they weren't letting anyone do that, nor get on any of the interior or exterior balconies. Oh well.
Dinner, rather than at the dining room, was done at the smaller upscale onboard restaurant, Chops, and it was ridiculously fabulous. Essentially, for about a hundred dollars (including wine), we had what would have been a $300 meal at a good steak house on dry land. Everything was impeccable, and it's definitely a must-do for future iterations.
Thursday was Belize. I was talked into running the retail gauntlet this time, with the intent of finding a beach along which to walk. EPIC FAIL. We were ashore so briefly that we got on the same tender that had brought us over for the return trip. I'm sorry, but I don't need touristy crap or overpriced jewelry, and I don't feel like spending time and money on bar drinks in some vaguely festive hole. Yeah, I'm a grouchy fuck when something gets in the way of my having a nice time.
Friday was our sea day, which meant my full sloth was only intruded upon by the fact that all the other passengers were milling around, making our usual haunts more crowded than they were while folks were ashore. That said, I did get to do the one must-try thing I had on my agenda: the rock climbing wall.
In short, I kind of suck at it. I made it up the noob course, and the noob-point-five one, but got stuck about halfway up the next more challenging one. I also did the giant bungee on a trampoline jumping thing, which was lots of fun (just very breezy, and I could have done with more water).
The scheduled events that Bob set up were very much fun - hanging out, chatting with everybody, and doing a bit of dancing (or perhaps more than a bit - my calves are just now recovering from a four or five minute session of pogo-ing during the "they're coming to take me away" remix).
There is apparently video of this, as well as the impromptu choreography between myself and Droid for "Panzermensch."
All in all, a lovely time. Big props to Bob & Co. for making it happen yet again. :-)
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