Poopy Head

Although I often read the political articles people have provided links for, I try not to look at the comments and replies to comments. Almost always, you only get through about three posts before intelligence is thrown out the window and someone is engaging in name calling. If I've bothered to read the comments at all, this is where I stop.

Remember when you were a kid and a disagreement broke out and the kid who couldn't make a proper argument called the opposition a "poopy head"? Yes? Well now that kid's grown up and he (or she) still can't make a proper argument. So the old behaviors re-emerge - call the opposition a name. The worst name you can think of. Unfortunately, by the time you're in your twenties and thirties you can think of far worse things than "poopy head". 

There was a story that wasn't even overtly political. It was about something that someone had done for a homeless family. One of the comments was from a young lady who remarked that her family had been homeless when she was a teen and how much she would have appreciated such a gesture. And there it was, someone just had to call her a moron. Why?

It NEVER fails. I was reading a post about British politicians and scanning the comments. I got past the first three with no name calling. I thought that perhaps the British people are more intelligent than we Americans, or at least more civil. But then, there it was at the fifth comment. Seems they just take a bit longer to get to it.

To me, calling someone who doesn't share your ideology a moron, a libtard, a repug, or worse says far more about you than it does about them. What it says to me is that you don't have the intelligence to frame a sound argument. So why should I (or anyone else) bother to read what you have to say?

I'm so looking forward to the next presidential campaign. (NOT!!!)

Get Me Out of Here!

The only thing worse than getting on a ship is getting off. People who opted to have their bags checked in by the porters when they arrived often choose to manage them on their own when they leave. Because it's difficult to haul baggage up and down stairs, the elevators are stuffed to overflowing and you will probably have to wait a long time to get one.

But I wasn't worried. Getting on with wheelchair assistance was a breeze. I thought getting off would be just as easy. The people who wanted wheelchair assistance were instructed to wait in the show lounge. It looked promising. After 30 minutes or so of waiting, some wheelchairs were brought in and we were instructed to raise our hand when our tag number was called. This was all well and good until my tag number group was called and there weren't enough wheelchairs to go around. I don't know how long those other people waited, but I waited patiently for about 10 minutes. (Keep in mind that I'd already waited 30 minutes for the process to begin and another 30 minutes waiting for my tag number to be called.) Then I told Mark that I did not intend to be the last person off the boat. I assured him that we could do this and we gathered up our belongings and headed out. My knee may slow me down, but it doesn't stop me. (Okay, there are some activities that it stops me - but this wasn't one of them.)

By that time our bag had been delivered to the baggage claim area and we headed for customs. The twenty minute wait wasn't really any longer than you'd wait in the airport. (Unlike the airport where they constantly change who should be in the line, the cruise terminal lines are clearly marked for people who have passports, non-US passports, and birth certificates. Unless you can't read English, there is no excuse for being in the wrong line.) Based on my last few trips through airport customs, this was significantly faster.

Then we discovered that we had to pay Texas state tax on the "duty free" items we bought. Clearly the Texas state legislature has no concept of "duty free". I'm really not sure what is going on there because I've bought duty free at airports and on airplanes and did not have to pay tax when I landed. Perhaps that has changed - it's been years since I made a duty free purchase on a flight. But it wasn't much and since we had waited so long to disembark, there was no longer a line at that window.

Once we were outside, I waited under cover until Mark could get the car. (It was parked blocks away and he had to fight the traffic and the people who couldn't read English.) I assume they couldn't read English because only people who couldn't read English would park where "No Parking" was clearly marked. Signs in Chinese might be helpful.

I could ramble on for a bit about the mom with the two little boys who wanted her to leave all their stuff and take them to the bathroom. (I volunteered to watch it for her.) Then there was the man who thought that the sound of his daughter squealing was something everyone wanted to hear. (Not!) Or the people who just couldn't manage to get their stuff in their vehicle and move out of the way. But I won't ramble any more. When it was finally our turn, we loaded up and headed out.

While it was raining (which seems to be the rule rather than the exception these days) it wasn't torrential, and we managed to get home well before dinner.

A Day in Nassau

We were in Nassau a few years ago and enjoyed it. We enjoyed trying some of the Bahamian food and we especially liked watching the local police directing traffic. (Yes, we are easily entertained.) Even though it was June, it wasn't too hot and we were the only ship in port.

This time, we were one of six ships in port. (Consider that each ship is carrying between 1,000 and 3,000 passengers. Even if only half of them got off... More math than I want to do.) We did get off the boat and venture out to look for a fish plate. (We found one, but it had "Bahamas" written on it - and we don't buy that type of souvenir.) We didn't stay out too long because it was just so hot and crowded - especially the straw market. Not to mention that my knee just wasn't quite ready for a long hike. The town, which is fairly small, was absolutely teeming with people and crowding always makes anyplace seem hotter. The other thing that made it hotter was the humidity. It had rained in the morning leaving the place feeling like a sauna.

But it was really just too many people. After a little research I've come up with this site that lists the ships that are scheduled to be in any port on any given day. I think I'll be looking at this before booking any cruises in the future.

Here are some pictures of Atlantis as viewed from the deck and one of another ship leaving Nassau. I had lots of pictures last time. Maybe next time I'll do better.

Rain, Rain Go Away

Neither of us had been to Freeport before so we were looking forward to checking it out. As it turns out, there was torrential rain that day and we didn't get off the boat.

I'm glad that none of the shore excursions appealed to us, so we didn't have to worry about cancellations or refunds. Apparently the snorkeling and diving excursions went ahead as planned. I guess if you're in the water a bit of rain doesn't matter. But it did keep people out of the pool for a while.

We also learned that the town was about a 30-minute cab ride away. We wouldn't have been able to disembark and just walk around. It's been our experience that the shops on the docks (built by and for the cruise lines) are not teeming with bargains, so unless we are absolutely desperate for a souvenir, we typically avoid those shops. It's not the same as visiting the town.

By the time we were ready to head out, it had cleared just a bit. But as you can see, there's no town and not even a nice beach anywhere near the dock.

On the bright side - we now have a reason to return to Freeport.

A Day in Key West

We were having breakfast with some young ladies the day before we docked in Key West. They inquired as to whether we'd been to Key West before (we had) and what to do while there.

Easy answer. Go to Sloppy Joe's and have a burger or a drink. Then go to the "southernmost point" marker and take some pictures. Apparently this was the answer they got from their dinner companions the night before.

While that's not all there is to Key West, when all you've got is an afternoon, it hits the high spots (at least for us). It was what we intended to do.

We rented an electric car because we didn't think my knee could withstand the walk into town. (Really, I'm not sure I could have walked the distance into town in the heat, anyway.)

We drove to the southernmost point marker and there was a line of people waiting for photos. I must have been so lucky the last time I was there. That time, no one was around and there was absolutely no waiting. We decided to go have lunch to see if the line would be shorter when we came back.

As we approached Sloppy Joe's, we could see the line of people that went out the door and around the block. I wonder how many of them know who Ernest Hemingway was. But that's the big draw because while the food is good, it isn't great. I'd wanted to get a T-shirt but I didn't want it badly enough to stand in line for half the afternoon.

So we had ice cream instead. We found a place that provided free parking for the electric car, which was really more of a noisy golf cart with a little back seat. I don't remember paying to park the last time I was in Key West. Anyway, Key West is supposed to be "laid back". Laid back places are not obsessed with parking fees. It was a bit inconvenient and there were places we might have stopped if we hadn't had to figure out where to park. Next time we're in Key West we'll either get there via car or if we go on a cruise, we'll take one of the hop-on/off trolleys.

We drove past the southernmost point again. The line was still too long so we set off in search of lunch. We found a great little spot with an upstairs balcony overlooking a marina. We had blackened fish tacos (wonderful) with our view.

After lunch, we decided to bite the bullet and get in the photo opportunity line.

Mark said that he would rather go to Key West on our July road trip than to the mountains. (See what happens when you forget to buy sunscreen?)

Special Assistance

In my younger years I was a bit of a rebel. I liked breaking the rules. But these days I’m a bit more compliant. I read and follow the instructions. So in the past, when the instructions on my cruise boarding pass indicated that I should arrive for boarding between 2 and 4 PM, that’s the time I showed up. And then I had to wait in line for several hours to board the ship.

I didn’t want to do that this time. My knee was just not ready for several hours of standing. I had spoken to the customer service folks at Carnival weeks prior to cruising and they indicated that I should just tell one of the porters that I needed special assistance and they could direct me to the right place.

 Because I needed special assistance to board, we decided to go to the dock early rather than wait until 2. As expected, the porter had no idea where I needed to go. He only knew that it was someplace inside the terminal. So going early was a great idea. We avoided the line that usually snakes outside the terminal where you stand for an hour or more before going inside to stand for another hour or more. (Because you don't really think anyone can just stroll up to the front of that line and butt in front of people who have been waiting for an hour, do you?) But at 11 AM the line was inside.

I asked the first official looking person I came to where I needed to go to get special assistance. “Up that ramp past security” was the reply.  After clearing security, we went up the ramp and asked the next official looking person. She took us over to a short line of two or three people, then she snapped her fingers and a young man with a wheelchair appeared out of nowhere. I sat down and we waited behind the two or three people in front of us. When it was our turn, I was wheeled up to the counter and we completed all the necessary forms, had our photos taken for the card keys and we were off. He wheeled me right onto the main deck and told us that our stateroom would be ready around 1 or 2. When I said I didn’t need the chair on board, I thanked him and he took the chair and went off to help someone else.

It must have been 11:30 and we were on board. Granted, we couldn’t go to our stateroom, but we were on board. Hassle free. Hours before we would normally have turned up at the dock. Time to have lunch. Time to relax. Pull up a deck chair and let the holiday begin.

From now on, I’ll be turning up at the dock around 11 AM no matter what the instructions say - even when I no longer need special assistance.

Shopportunities

You'd think that I would have packing down to a science, or at least an art. Sadly, it seems that every time I unpack, something is missing.

I've forgotten to pack underwear. (I've done this twice. You'd think forgetting once would be enough to make you remember for the rest of your life, but apparently not.) I've forgotten to take a scarf, which is only important in England. I've forgotten my toothbrush. Most frequently I forget cotton pads - those little round or square things you use to take off your makeup. Sometimes I forget bits of my makeup - like mascara.

Mark isn't really any better. He forgot to pack his underwear once. He forgot to pack pants (like Dockers) two times. He's also forgotten his formal shirt and cuff links. He's forgotten his toothbrush, too.

Most of these forgotten items, especially pants and underwear, require a shopping trip - also known as a shopportunity. Over the years I've come to accept the fact that I've forgotten something and look forward to the shopping trip. It seems there's always a Macy's or a Marks and Spencer nearby for clothes or a CVS or Boots when I need toiletries.

When I got up in Galveston the morning of our cruise, I wasn't surprised to realize that I'd forgotten to pack

• Eye liner
• Foundation brush
• Razors
• Cotton pads
• Sunscreen

Little things. But so necessary. And since we were going to CVS we thought we'd get a night light just for our stateroom in case either of us needed to get up during the night.

Apparently these are things that are commonly forgotten because after we'd paid the CVS clerk and he bagged up our stuff he said "Thank you. Enjoy your cruise." Or maybe we just had that "cruiser" look about us. 

What did surprise me was that I managed to get out of CVS without buying the cotton pads or the sunscreen. No problem. There would be a CVS in Key West.