Chillin' on the deck. Quite literally.
As I mentioned in my last post, I went on a cruise with some old friends over the Memorial Day weekend. It was my first time on a cruise, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I hoped it was going to be G-L-A-M-O-R-O-U-S-yeah like the Titanic (and Fergie), minus the sinking, but because it was Carnival Cruises, it was like being in Reno, but on a boat. I think Peter said it best, when he said at the end of 3 days of boat/Titanic/pirate jokes, “I’m going to miss the decor. It’s tacky, but it’s growing on me… like a fungus.” Aforementioned decor garnished the cheesy dance shows that must have originated from the 70’s, the dance club with middle-aged people, and a casino. The food and table service, however, far exceeded my expectations of sloppy buffet food. On our first night, we ordered 15 appetizers, 8 entrees, and 17 dessert items, and with each subsequent dinner we tried to out-do the last. Oh, the gluttony!
The ship was originally to set sail for Ensenada, but due to the recent swine flu scare, we stopped at Catalina Island instead. There we did a lot of touristy stuff, like having lunch at the country clubhouse, where the Chicago Cubs held their spring training, and walking past the world’s first theater for talking films. The highlight, of course, was ocean kayaking in the clear, shallow waters amongst kelp forests and bright orange fish. Amy and I tag-teamed the kayak and even paddled around trying to pick up what litter we spotted floating in the water. Yay, we’re Green! I risked taking my camera onto the kayak with me and was consequently rewarded with this money shot:
MONEY.
Island excursion aside, there is really limited entertainment on a boat. For lack of better things to do, somebody lay out in the sun, expecting to be there for only an hour—thus forgoing the sunscreen—and ended up falling asleep for 4 hours, resulting in a very large, unmistakable bikini bowtie tan line. Observe:
HAHA, poor Nance!
The real highlight of the entire mini-vacation, however, was simply reconnecting with old friends, some of whom I had not seen or spoken to in 10 years. We ordered drinks and toasted to ships instead of friendships, explaining that we would need much more to tolerate each other for 3 days. Clearly we needed a few more:
The recreation of the subsequent picture.
Circa 1996---when we liked each other.
Amy, Judy, Nancy, Jon, Josh, and Peter: Here’s to hot tubs, Moscato, T-pain, A Whole New World, climbing palm trees, homosexual elephants, sunburns, 4 boats in 3 days, and Journey. Let’s do it again (maybe not a cruise) and don’t stop.. beliiiievin’!
Aww, corny and cheesey photo ftw.