Tuesday, February 18, 2014

About my vacation

(Originally written on February 18, 2014)

As many of you know, Sarah and I recently returned from a Caribbean cruise.  We were celebrating three different things: our honeymoon (even though we have been married for over three months), plus Sarah's birthday and Valentine's Day.  I had never been on a cruise before and it ended up being really fun and interesting.

We started off on February 7 by making a two-day drive to Tampa, FL.  On the way, I listened to an audiobook, One Summer by Bill Bryson.  The drive itself was also interesting; my favorite thing to see on such trips are the sports stadiums.  Among the teams' stadiums that I saw were the University of Louisville, Tennessee Titans, Atlanta Braves, and Georgia Tech University.  We stayed in a hotel about an hour north of Atlanta after the first day, then got up and drove the rest of the way.  I didn't get to see where the Tampa Bay Rays or Buccaneers play, though we weren't too far from either.

We stayed in a hotel in Tampa on Saturday night.  We went to church in St. Petersburg on Sunday morning, then boarded the ship.  The ship slowly departed from the port in Tampa; once we got away from there it was nothing but water as far as the eye can see in all directions.  Just hours upon hours of nothing but water.  It really puts in perspective how big this world is and how majestic is God's creation.  Unfortunately, we didn't spot any sharks or whales during the trip.

My biggest concern was motion sickness, as I have always had big problems with this.  I took three different kinds of medication and never got sick or even had any major headaches or dizziness.  I could always feel the boat move a little.  The worst day by far was our final full day, Saturday, when the boat was rocking so much that I had trouble even standing still.  It was very windy that night, and the sea was a little rough.  The weather, for the most part, was sunny and warm during the entire trip.  We had good fortune on that front.

Monday and Saturday were spent at sea in the Gulf of Mexico.  Sarah and I spent a lot of the time on the deck just relaxing.  We would talk, read, listen to music, or just take in the serenity and beautiful weather.  The food was excellent overall.  There are several restaurants; one was buffet style and open virtually all day, while a few others were sit down places with menus, each having a different atmosphere.  Many of them were free; others had a cover charge.  We had a credit on our key cards, so we went to a romantic French restaurant with a cover charge on the night of Sarah's birthday.  There also was great entertainment.  We went to a couple of comedy shows (one of which I got called up on stage to help act out a scene), and we also went to a couple of improv shows featuring performers from The Second City.  I am a big fan of improv comedy, having spent numerous hours watching Whose Line is it Anyway, so I really enjoyed those two shows.

On each of the four days in between, we stopped at a different location for shopping and sightseeing for the day.  The first stop was the island of Roatan in Honduras.  We went to a "butterfly farm" where we interacted with several different types of animals, before having lunch at a restaurant right on the ocean.  There was a lot of beautiful scenery, and the ocean was clear and really nice to look at, but the area was pretty run down, at least compared to back home.  The port featured several stores that featured some local souvenirs but were clearly intended to appeal to Americans.  The island relies very heavily on tourism for revenue.

The next stop was Belize City, again a poor location.  We had to anchor the ship in the ocean, about a 15 minute boat ride away from land.  The boat ride over was pretty fun, though once it was parked the rocking of the boat did give me a little bit of a headache.  Compared to Honduras, the shopkeepers were very aggressive in trying to sell items.  It's hard to avoid them, but part of me does feel bad because some of them have to work very hard to support themselves and their families and rely heavily on American tourism.  We did not go far beyond the ports, as we were advised that it could be a dangerous location.

The next two days were in Mexico.  The first stop was at Costa Maya, where we walked around the city for a while.  Again, the climate is very pleasant, but outside the port shopping area it is pretty run down.  Business owners were again very aggressive towards passers-by in selling souvenirs.  There was a pool in the middle of the shopping area, and I sat by the pool and put my feet in the water for a while.

Cozumel was the final stop.  We got off the boat before 8 AM and took a taxi to Paradise Beach.  We spent time laying on the beach, and Sarah and I brought our mitts and a baseball and played catch in the sand.  I don't swim that much, but I did get into the ocean for a while.  I have to say, it was pretty cool.  Besides the shore, they had another swimming pool, and we hung out there for a while.  We ordered some authentic Mexican food for lunch, which I really enjoyed.  Afterwards, we took a taxi back, walked around the port a little, then got back on the ship to sail for home.  Because of predicted snow, we made the drive home in one straight shot.  Two days later, I'm still trying to catch up from being on the road all day and night!  I listened to The Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard, though I still have about an hour left to go on that book.

I would recommend taking a cruise if you ever get the chance.  It's a unique experience, and depending on where you go, you can experience other cultures.  In fact, I am interested in doing another one in a different location someday.  But the best and most important part of the trip was getting to spend some quality time with my wonderful and very beautiful wife