Look out Coral!

October 29, 2013

This will be the last blog entry until we dock in Baltimore on Friday.  I am going off ship in a few minutes, purchase a cup of Bermudian coffee and secure 30 minutes of free internet time.  My onboard package is almost gone, and I won’t renew it (at 75 cents a minute), so after today, tune in Friday to catch up before we sail out again.

As Ray Charles sang, or could have sang if he were here instead of there, “When it’s a rainy night in Bermuda, it’s raining all over the world.” Actually, it was a rainy morning, and instead of going to St. George’s to catch some sights we missed in September, we went to Hamilton to the National Aquarium, wanting to stay in out of the rain as much as possible.  Funny thing – the roof of the aquarium leaks.  They had buckets out all over the place.

As luck would have it, her luck at least, we weren’t off the ship 100 yards, and Bonnie’s umbrella turned inside out, making it an interesting walk.  At least it covered her head and shoulders, although not fashionably so, but when it’s raining, dry is a bigger concern.  Yes, I know, we could have stayed on the ship, but why?  What’s a few raindrops among friends.  And it even allowed me the chance to break into song, offering an old standard from “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” – “Rain drops keep falling on my head, and just like a guy whose feet are too big for his bed ... dooby dooby do.”

To the person who just said, “Why didn’t he give her his umbrella?” you don’t know my bride very well, do you?  “I’m fine!

After the aquarium, we ate lunch in Hamilton.  And I bought three bottles of full-strength Mountain
Dew.  I don’t think they release Mello Yello outside of Augusta!   Bonnie got a bag of salt and vinegar potato chips, and I made the mistake of sampling the proffered chip.  They should be labeled vinegar and salt, or maybe vinegar and vinegar.  Nasty!

Well, I’m off to post this, then dress for formal night as we sail for Baltimore.  Hopefully I can get the pictures to post properly.  If you click on them, they do enlarge.

More on Friday.

TTFN!

Able-Bodied Seaman

Royal Naval Cemetery

Black Bay Beach

I know it's a rock!

Granny's first cannon pose for the Big Guy

Early weather stone

Instructioins

At the World''s Smallest Drawbridge

Small, really small.

October 28, 2013

Yes, I know the pictures are first, and you'll have to scroll up and down. Local WiFi and my fingers didn't work well.

After a breakfast of a bowl of oatmeal (covered in butter and brown sugar), accompanied by a Chi-wow-wow casedilla (speelling does not count in a blog) for me, and a blue berry muffin and a cup of hot chocolate for Bonnie, we set out.  First stop was the transportation center to buy a two day pass, and then we boarded Old # 7 for Hamilton, with frequent stops along the way.

First stop was the Royal Naval Cemetery.  The first marker was set up in 1819.  The cemetery holds the bodies of naval personnel and their families.  You know that my sense of humor will not stand close inspection, so I was taken in by one tombstone of an “Able Bodied Seaman” erected by his fellows on the occasion of his death by drowning.

Able bodied seaman drowned – never mind! 

But if you are rude, you will get the hub cap joke.  Our table almost got it last night when I was served sliced pork with crab meat covered in hollandaise sauce.  Oh, there’s no plate like chrome for the hollandaise!

Next we walked up the road to Black Bay Beach which is “famous” for sea glass.  Bottles, glasses, jars, and what-nots wash overboard or are thrown overboard, break on the rocks and are worn smooth by the action of the waves.  Everyone describes it as a do not miss place.  Well, we didn’t miss it, but if we had, we wouldn’t have missed much.  We’ve heard warnings that if you gather large quantities, security will seize your collection and you’ll return to the ship empty-handed.  Bonnie searched diligently and found 11 worthwhile pieces.  And one seashell.  And one rock (all together now – “I know it’s a rock!  Work with me on this!”).

I wanted to see the Convict Cemetery, but it was off the main road a fair hike, so we did not go.  I thought it was in the area where we were, and I asked a passing postman, but unsure of what time we had dismounted from our last pink chariot, we decided to wait for the next one, and not explore further.  Of the 2,000 convicts buried there, only 12 graves still have markers, and only 4 of those have readable names.  One has the interesting epitaph: “Killed yesterday.  Died today.”

Then we caught the bus to Fort Scaur, erected in the mid-19th century at a time when relations were not good between the United States and Great Britain.  Beautiful views, including one photograph for the Big Guy.

Another photograph this day was of an Early Bermuda Weather Stone.  Read the accompanying photograph.  It’s right more often than the meterologists on Channel 12!

Next it was off to Somerset Draw Bridge, the smallest draw bridge in the world, built in 1620.  The bottom is 18 inches, the top is 21 inches.  It guards a lagoon filled with personal luxury craft.  When we got off the bus I asked the driver where the bridge was.  She said, “We just drove over it.  Walk back to the post office, and there it is.”  Small, indeed.

From there we caught our fourth bus of the day.  This one was driven by a lady who would have been right at home in NASCAR or on the European Grand Prix circuit.  Hold on, this may be a roller coaster and not a bus!  Arriving safely in Hamilton, and there were moments of uncertainty, we took the water taxi back to the Dock Yard and scrambled aboard the Grandeur of the Seas for lunch in the Solarium (if you can call a meal consumed at 3:30 lunch).

And now I am going back off the ship, secure a connection to the local WiFi and post this blog, check emails, and then go to the Pittsburgh Trib Review to see if the Steelers really are 2-5 as one of my shipmates told me.  How long is it until pitchers and catchers report?  Let’s go Bucs!

TTFN!

October 27, 2013

A great crowd this morning for "Flight 19 and the Legend of the Bermuda Triangle"– 150 folks just about filled the South Pacific Lounge.

After naptime we went ashore in Bermuda. The Norwegian Dawn is also docked here in King’s Wharf. The NCL Dawn was the first ship on which we did cruise talks. It was also the ship that had engine trouble one morning as we were at breakfast – we just drifted until Scotty got his wee bairns up and running again.

Last night’s headliner was comedian Gary Mule Deer. Very funny (unlike any production on TBS so advertised). My favorite joke was: Do you put a picture of a run away transvestite on a carton of half and half? He also did a great imitation of Johnny Cash.

As you can see from the photographs, your intrepid cruisers went to the beach – the first beach we have ever walked on during any cruise, and the first ocean water we have stepped into since the beach at Waikiki in 2002. We stayed long enough for a photograph – the water was brrrr cold (the pool at 233 was warmer the day we opened it in May than the Atlantic Ocean in October). Okay. Check that one off the list. Been there. Done that.

Next door to Snorkel Beach is Bermuda Fun Golf. We qualified for senior rate and played 18 holes on a very unusual, and very enjoyable course (it’s uniqueness put us in mind of the course in Pittsburgh that we have played along with the Bro, CJ, and Michael). The course is divided into three sections, Bermuda, the United States, and Scotland, with holes mimicking famous holes in each location. Number 12 is #12 at the Augusta National. I shot par or under on every hole (it is a par 65) except for #12 where I carded a 7 and ended up 2 shots over par (my score was less than my companion’s – Bonnie vows revenge). We may play it again before we leave. We will definitely attack the course next week.

Tomorrow we are going to buy a transportation pass and go exploring.

TTFN.

October 26, 2013

Getting on board the Grandeur of the Seas was the easiest ever. We went to the Pier Coordinator, showed our boarding letter, she scanned our credit card, took our photos and gave us our Sea Passes. Five minutes later we were on Deck 4, and walking up to Deck 9 and the Windjammer Marketplace for lunch – hamburgers and fries. With temperatures a wee bit brisk, the sailaway party was not well attended, at least there weren’t a lot of folks out by the pool. We stayed under cover until we had sailed under the Francis Scott Key Bridge, and then went below decks for warmer quarters.

This cruise has more folk on than our sailing in September. We knew that when we boarded because instead of being assigned to first seating as then, we are at the second seating – 8:00 p.m. After having such a great table last time, we were wondering what kind of folk we would break bread with, but Table 206 – also by a window – is filled with companionable cruisers. Three couples are from Boone, NC, and the men, and one woman, are all policemen. Freeze Dirtbag! The other couple is from NC and MD – he is a construction worker assigned to a job in Maryland and she flew up to join him (and boy are her arms tired!). Once again your humble scribe sampled the Bay Scallops Appetizer, and sopped up the juice with several hard rolls. Yum! My entre was a Mojo porkchop, almost 2 inches thick and very good indeed. Creme Brulee for dessert and several cups of good coffee topped off the meal and a good evening.

My first talk, "King’s Wharf: the Gibraltar of the Atlantic" was once again in the South Pacific Lounge, Deck 6, aft, at 9 a.m. It was actually 8 a.m., because the Captain directed us all to set our clocks ahead one hour so we would be on Bermuda time. 60-some brave souls gathered, and only 2 went to sleep. I introduced the Crew at 2042, the Matt Family (told them there was more there than meets the eye), the Herringbones (told them to watch Wheel on February 17) and the East People, and the smiling faces were met with appropriate responses of appreciation.

At lunch today I introduced myself as the Destination Lecturer for this cruise, and two ladies started asking me questions about King’s Wharf. I showed them a bunch of pictures, gave some directions, and they thanked me kindly. Chatting with them, we were late for the first scrap booking class of the cruise, but got there in time for Bonnie to pick up a couple of good ideas – no freebies were passed out as opposed to several on our last cruise.

The folks who frequently hang out at 233 will be interested to know the name of one of our fellow cruisers. I was walking up the stairs from Deck 4, having spoken to Chris, the activities director, when a woman followed me half way up, hollered, "Sir!" and when I turned around said, "You don’t recognize me, I’ll bet." I studied her face for several seconds and agreed with her. From our days at Maranatha – Julie Bracket. One for the small world department.

We have seen a number of the crew that we recognized from last time, and who also recognized us. Sandeep, our stateroom attendant was glad to see us back, as were several of the folks who served us in the dining room. The people in the cruise director’s office with whom I am working are all new this time, no old faces there, except for the cruise director himself.

Tonight is the first formal night of the cruise, and we will be dressing soon in our best bib and tucker, and I will try tonight, not to spill my supper on myself as I did the time I wore my tuxedo. The Slobo-Bobo award for this trip, so far, goes to my bride and traveling companion who poured breakfast down the front of her front.

As you can tell from the accompanying photograph, I once again wore the colors on board, and

engaged in several conversations about the great season the Buccos had. We all agreed, 9 more wins next year! One woman asked me where my Red Sox shirt was, and I told her – with a smile – she should wash her mouth out. Her name is Cindy, and her husband’s name – true story – is Ted Williams. Not "the" Ted Williams (he’s dead, Jim) but Ted Williams none the less. I guess we know who they are rooting for. I did see one man on board sporting dreds, but it was not Cutch, nor was his name even Andrew.

One last note before posting this entry. This is the only cruise we’ve ever been on, including the Atlantic Crossing, that we’ve had to turn the heat on in our stateroom, and heat is on throughout the ship. Hopefully, the weather will warm up tomorrow. The Captain said the six hour forecast was for a high of 75. He said the weather there is changing frequently this time a year, and six hours is all they will broadcast. And we brought our swimming suits!

Well, TTFN!