Month: January 2010

  • The Grandeur of the Seas

    We sailed on one of Royal Caribbean’s smaller ships, The Grandeur of the Seas. It seems funny calling a ship which holds 2,500 passengers and 750 crew a “smaller ship,” but their newest has room for 5,400 passengers and 2,000 crew! Anyhow, it seemed HUGE! Here it is with a ferry boat parked in front of it. The ferry held over 100. Can you see the roundish/square windows near the bottom? Those were where our room was. And if that window was about 4 feet across (as I think it was), then you can estimate some of the size of the ship. (Or you can just go to http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/ships/class/ship/home.do?shipCode=GR and read all about it! It says it is 916 feet long. Wow.)

    The ship had 11 decks, or more, perhaps, or less. There was a Deck 0, and the 10th and 11th floors were not a whole deck, so make your own assessment. We were on Deck 2.  When we first got there, I said that we should always take the stairs. (There were two staircases, one at 1/3 of the ship, the other at 2/3 of the ship if you cut the ship in half long-ways.)  I almost always took the stairs, just riding the elevator a few times. Peep did not. Cheater pants. She used the excuse of having just got out of the infirmary and having an IV (more later), but I know better! (tee hee)  But, we did enjoy riding for fun in the glass elevator.

    The place I went most was on Deck 9. 123 stair steps. One hundred and twenty three stair steps. Many times a day. Over and over. 

    One lovely thing about the stairs was that on each landing, there was artwork: murals, statues, framed thingies. So, when I would get out of breath (which was pretty easy to do), I would just pretend I was examining the pictures. Ha ha. Unfortunately, the art work on Deck 7 (where I usually wanted a break) was not the best. My favorite was on Deck 5.

    I think it reminded me a lot of Cinderella, and anything Cinderella makes me happy!
    Here’s a closer-up picture.

    When I first saw how elegant the ship was, I thought of all the old movies where going on an ocean liner was incredibly posh. “Oh, my! I feel like I’m on the Titanic!” I thought. “This is so elegant!” And then I thought, “Um, I hope I’m not on the Titanic. I’m on some other elegant ship that does not sink.”

    Here’s another painting I liked. They were not all of ball gown women. There were many other subjects, like an odd one that must have been based on the Musicians of Bremen, as it was three animal heads.

    And there were other types of art on the ship. This fellow and two of his buddies guarded the Viking Lounge. He looks more Anglo-Saxon to me, but, hey.

    And this guy watched out over some other room.

    But, I said this entry was going to be about the ship, not about artwork. I feel like this entry is how we found our way around the ship, with little twists and turns and bits of “Oh, look at that!” Thankfully, there was a map. And there were always helpful people to ask where to go when you were stumbling about looking for things.   

    I mentioned Deck 9. Here are two photos from the pool, which was smack-dab in the middle of the deck.

    The front of the ship (a.k.a “the pointy end” as they liked to call it)

    The back of the ship

     

    It was pretty chilly on the pool deck with the wind blowing. But, it was perversely interesting to watch the water slosh out of the pool and have them drain the hot tubs because the waves were so nasty. Take a plastic box and fill half full with water. Slosh it around like mad. You will have the image.

    And in the middle of the ship inside (which is where the glass elevator was), you’d see this view. That is not a giant ceiling fan. It was a hanging sculpture.

    I think that another entry will be needed to tell you about specific places on the ship like the card room, the casino, and my favorite, the solarium!

      

  • Friday, the First Day

    With much anticipation and happy glee, Peep (who is my mom) and Teacherperson (who is yours truly) headed to the massive State College airport. I think my favorite part of checking in was the baggage handler. “Is my suitcase okay for weight?”  (Baggage man lifts it with one hand, looks pensive) “Yep, feels about right to me!”  Or perhaps my other favorite part of the SC airport is the black and white, computer-printed sign right outside the entrance to the loading area which says, “No guns in the terminal.” Someone had written in red marker above it, “No ammo.”  You have to be careful in central PA!

    Anyhow, a double dose of Bonine did the trick for me, and both the flight to Detroit and the one to Tampa were without misery. Awfully tired, but not sick at all!

    In Detroit, we had a goodly layover, so we went to Max and Erma’s for a leisurely meal.  We played cards, and Peep soundly trounced me in Golf (card game) time after time.  It was fun, and there were fries and Diet Coke.

      

    And there was a cool tram in the airport. We did not ride it, but it was fun to see it! (Yes, we are easily impressed and entertained, apparently.)

    We got into Tampa around some time in the evening (um…I could look, but I don’t feel like it, and really, do you care?).  Taxi to hotel which was in the middle of downtown, nice, bank building-surrounded Tampa. I think it was the Hyatt Regency.  Guys took our bags to the room! I’ve never had that happen before. (Please remove the hayseeds from my hair, someone.) 



    Anyhow, I was craving salad like MAD, so we went in search of one. I asked the gift shop woman where we might be able to find a salad at 9:30 in this part of town. She looked up from her newspaper with an expression akin to one who had just been asked if babies were ritually slaughtered on her spinning stand of sunglasses. “Salad? Here?”  She gave us sketchy directions to a sports bar. We set out. The lure of lettuce was making me wilt. (HAHAHAHA!!)


    It was a mild and lovely night, and the two country girls enjoyed the business district. We saw a Subway and a police station and then I saw it–a Brother’s Pizza-like hole in the wall which had exactly what I wanted. And for not too much money! Nom.

     

    After supper, I decided to go to the exercise room to start working off the calories I was going to eat on the cruise. I wound up texting a lot, too.

    Next morning, we split a nine gazillion calorie Starbuck’s muffin and lounged around the hotel taking advantage of the hot tub and elliptical machine. We had to wait a bit to leave because the zipper on Peep’s BRAND NEW suitcase separated and broke. She had to sew it shut. Thankfully, we both had packed sewing kits!

    Got a taxi to the boat at noon and started checking in.

    Peep was so excited when we got there that she had goosebumps!

    We went through all the luggage checks, boarding things, and got our Sea Pass cards, which were our ID and way of being charged for all those “extras” on the ship.

     
          

    We were allowed to go to our rooms around 1:00. We soon discovered that all the ship doors open IN, not out.

     

    Our room was quite nice. It was bigger than a London hotel room, but not super huge. I liked it a lot. The beds and pillows were quite cozy. (I am sitting on what became Peep’s bed.)  We had a bathroom and a shower–small but all our own.

     

    One of my suitcases was delivered to the room and both of my mom’s, but one of mine was not. I waited and waited, and it never came. Finally, at 7:00, I was allowed to go looking. It was in security. Why? I had a pair of scissors.

    Me: Hi, I’m here for my suitcase. (notices suitcase with green sticker which has “Scissors” written on it)
    Worker guy for whom English was very obviously a second language: Oh, you have scissors. You have liquor?
    Me: No, no liquor.
    Worker Guy: You have mfljdsfljdl?
    Me: Uh…
    Worker Guy: You have rrremvmvlvvlvr?
    Me: Uh…
    Worker Guy: (makes a gun with his finger)
    Other worker guy: REVOLVER
    Me: OH! No, no revolver
    Worker guy: Can we look through your suitcase?
    Me: Sure! I’ll show you the scissors. (removes them from suitcase and holds them up)
    Worker Woman: What do you use them for?
    Me: For sewing (holds up spool of thread with a needle in it)
    Worker guy to other worker guy: Is she okay?
    Other worker guy: Yeah
    Worker Guy: You are okay. You can go.

    Next…we look at the ship! 

  • The Cruise, In Brief

    Day One–Peep and Teacherperson, so eager to be off!

    Day Two–Peep discovers an alternate dining option aboard the ship for the terminally seasick.

    Day Three–Teacherperson only digests half of her formal dinner. The other half, well…

    Day Four–SO HAPPY TO BE OFF THE BOAT! Oh, yes, Mayan ruins, too.

    Day Five–Seven foot swells not so swell

    Day Six–”Oh, I’m so glad to be off that boat. Oh, I’m so glad to be off that boat. OhImsogladtobeoffthatboat. OhImsogladtobeoffthatboat!!!!”

     

    Actually, we did have a lot of fun, despite the fact that we were sick a lot. And tired a lot from all the motion sickness medicine.  I’ll be sure to share lots more later! 

  • Tomorrow!

    Tomorrow, my mom and I fly from State College at 12:25 to Detroit and then to Tampa, FL.  Saturday at noon or so, we can board our Royal Caribbean cruise ship, the SS Better Not Make Me Nauseous, for our five night cruise to Key West and Cozumel, Mexico!

    Everyone is saying that they are jealous of me, but if you happen to be one of those who say, “Hey, how can I pray for you,” I wanted to let you know.

    1. I get motion sick very easily: backseats of cars, planes, IMAX movies, pool rafts… I am not sure how I will do on a big, ol’ boat. I’ve got lots of Bonine (which is like Dramamine, but it usually works for me).  Let’s just pray I’m fine!

    2. I had not thought much about the weather–rain and all. I pray that it will be nice! Weather.com says it will be, although cool in FL (50′s) and 75 in Key West. (poor me? NOT!)

    3. You can remember the family at home without mommy. Well, they might miss me. Surely someone will! 

    4. I suppose the main thing to pray that my mom and I would have a fabulous time and enjoy each other and not gain 6 pounds from just the desserts alone and all those other things. Also, may I be a witness to those around me on the cruise!   Be ready in season and out of season…

    This is actually a picture of Key West. Ooooh.

     

  • Sunday Treats

    Sunday was a good day. In addition to an excellent sermon, TGD came home from a week-long math conference in California!  It was great to see him again. To celebrate, we went out to Olive Garden, where we discovered our dear friends, the Bournes, were having lunch. (Well, a subset of them!) After finishing a delicious meal (new chicken manicotti for me), the waiter came over with two orders of these!

    The menu calls them Zeppoli, which are described as “Soft, traditional Italian doughnuts dusted with powdered sugar, served with chocolate sauce for dipping.” It seems the Bournes paid for two orders of them before they left as a surprise treat for us. What a wonderful surprise! I was touched and thankful. Yay for friends!

    Today was also a day of treats. The kids and PSU had the day off from school.  I took Wit and Gockle to Subway for lunch and LibbyK and I went shopping (first time ever to go in Abercrombie and Fitch!).  Then, I finished a set of AP essays and got to watch an episode of Chuck.

    What treats did you get today and Sunday?

     

  • Saturday with a Gun

    I don’t know what you did on Saturday, but at my house, we had quite a day. I’d say it was not typical, but things like this happen often enough.

    We had a few guys sleep over, so they were there. Soon, EthG arrived to continue the process of putting Hunter’s car back together after they ripped it apart to replace the heater core. As of now, there is no antifreeze in it, but oh well. This is the dashboard. Yeah.

    Then, EthG pulled out his gun. He just got an airsoft bolt-action sniper rifle. And the weather was in the middle of a January thaw, so it was wonderful! 

    Here is the sniper with his trusty spotter, MarkJ.

    And now the spotter takes a turn.

    They made a big cardboard target.

    And they shared. I put this picture on Facebook and got a lot of Sarah Palin comments. I really had fun with it. I shot the target man, and then they played a new game. One of the boys would dress up with a hooded sweatshirt with a face protector and goggles on and run through the yard.

    SurferDude took a turn being the target. But, he’s not running in this picture.  EthG was my target. He didn’t run very fast, sort of a slow walk so I could hit him. It is such a guy thing. “Oh, shoot ME with an airsoft gun! Shoot me!”

    And what was the rest of the family doing? Well, Gockle and Wit played guitar hero. I think Gockle played Scream, Aim, and Fire close to 20 times. It is in my head. Over and over and over.

    LittleMiss was at a friend’s house. TGD was in California at a math conference. Hunter left around lunchtime to meet another friend. Libby taught MarkD a piano song.

    And Ransom was ripping apart my computer to fix it for me. Wait, he’s not one of my kids. He’s just a superhero.

       

    What a great day! And today was another winner, but I’ll tell you about that tomorrow, Lord willing.  What’s the most redneck thing you’ve done lately?

       

  • I Got a Camera!

    Just got it today. Like it very well so far. It’s a Canon PowerShot AS2000 IS. YAY!!!

  • Blog Girl Returns

    I skipped a few days, and I know that the more days I skip, the more likely I will be to say, “Eh, I don’t wanna.”  So, here I am, Blog Girl! (please cue stirring music and wind machine to make my hair and cape flutter attractively)

    I have two funny video links to share.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYnsfV5N2n8&feature=channel
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKB4h9gvmm0&feature=channel

    They are two short, black and white cartoon drawing movies of total randomness that make me laugh a lot.   One contains a swear word. Both have a reference to being gay. (Just warning you!) Those aren’t the parts I like. No, llama, noooo!

    Anyhow, back to life.

    This Friday, we should be skiing again. I am hoping for a big, ol’ snowstorm first! (checks weather)  Drat, no snow and a bit warmer Thursday and Friday. Hope it is not icy. Boo. I will wear my helmet.

    Speaking of snow, I found out something very interesting. You know how snowflakes make beautiful, unique crystals? Well, with man-made snow, you only get pellets, not crystals at all.  “But only God can make a tree snowflake.”  At least, that is what our video in Sunday school said.  I mean, I said the cute tree poem knockoff. The video said the bit about not making crystals.

    Want some pictures? So do I. I’ve not taken any in a while.

    Gockle auditions for the middle school musical this afternoon. I know he’d love prayer! 

    Were you ever in a musical? How about just a play?

  • Yeah, It Was a Good Day

    I did buy a helmet today. I wore it and always intend to wear it.  Well, at least when I am skiing!  But, today, I was back to my usual level of skiing proficiency and had an EXCELLENT day. It was windy and cold cold, but such a delightful day.  I never fell once.

    I’m in a fine humor tonight.

    After I got home, TGD took me out to my favorite restaurant, The Tavern, for supper. And now, I am off to celebrate National Bubble Bath Day, which is today. Which scent? Warm Vanilla Sugar? Butterfly Flower? Enchanted Orchid? Such CHOICES!

    What’s filling you with bubbly joy?

  • Heading Off a Fall

    Today, I went ice skating. I did not fall and crack my head open. (although I fell twice, klutzy me)

    Tomorrow, I will probably go roller skating. I hope I do not fall and hit my head.

    Friday, I go skiing. Guess what I hope I do not do?

    Why all the fuss about my head? Well, on 12/30, I went skiing. I am not a bad skier, and some have even told me that I’m a good skier.  We will just say that I’m an average skier.  Anyhow, something was up with me. I kept falling. At first, they were just silly things–clunk over and laugh. But, then, on the expert slope, I somehow wrecked. I still do not quite know how. And I wound up facing uphill and smashed the back of my head into the snow. Ow. Ow.

    I got up, laughed, and skied down. Then, I went down a different slope and wrecked, but I did not hit my head. At that point, it was time to go in.  We all sat in the lodge for a while, and then I drove home.  When I was almost home, the middle went out of my vision. By the time I got home, I was seeing incredibly beautiful, pulsing circles of silver, blue, and white trapezoids. I put myself to bed for the night.

    Now, a week later, my head still aches in the back. My neck is stiff, and I have a few weird, little things going on. So, I am a bit paranoid now.  Yes, I’m planning to buy a helmet before Friday. This little girl learned her lesson.