Bermuda Cruise: Day 4

Woke up and was ready for a run. We ate our room service early-breakfast and Jen dozed off while I hopped off the boat and ran to Somerset Bridge. Somerset Bridge is the world’s smallest draw bridge - they say don’t blink as you drive over it or you’ll miss it. Rest assured after dodging traffic, dealing with the heat, eating road dust and a few miles up and down hills on the way out, I was very prepared when I saw it. I was welcoming the break and looking forward (read: dreading) the run back. I finished the round trip in about 1.5 hours. A quick shower, wake Jen and it was off to a real breakfast.

We lounged by the pool and read until we headed off at 2:00 PM for our 2:15 PM snorkeling adventure. Our trip left from the pier so not much walking and easy to find. We took a nice leisurely cruise out of Dockyard, under a bridge (not Somerset) to the west side of the island near the wreck of the HMS Vixen where we did some barrier reef snorkeling.

This is certainly my element, but for Jen, it’s not quite her milieu. After donning her mask, fins and snorkel and fully inflating her buoyancy compensating vest, she did a cannonball towards my head rather than the proper diver entry. After a few minutes of sheer terror and panic and the requisition of additional flotation tubes, we eased to the shallower waters of the reef where fish actually came into view. At this point, she mellowed out and started to quite enjoy the experience.

She returned to the boat after about a half an hour in the water and I stayed out for another half an hour. We fed the fish at the HMS Vixen on the boat trip home.

We did dinner on the ship that night at the Raffles buffet to get in and out quick so we could catch the Richard Burr magic show. We bumped into our cruise buddies so we ordered a bucket of beers and took front row seating. After show one, we headed to the Battle of the Sexes game show for show two (and bucket of beer two, too). We decided to participate and under dubious officiating and protest, the girls won. We adjourned to Raffles for the late night chocolate buffet before heading off to bed.

Bermuda Cruise: Day 3

Awake to land ho! I sped up to the promenade deck (7) to get a glimpse and some pictures of us arriving in Bermuda. We passed by Fort St. Catherine in St. George's first. Bermuda is very holy.

I woke Jen, we ate breakfast and then headed to the "Galaxy of the Stars" room deck 12 forward to watch us dock at the Royal Navy Dockyard. We killed some time and then went ashore to browse the few overpriced shops that were open on Sunday. A quick return to the boat for lunch and a quiet afternoon.

Around 3:30, we decided to go to the beach - Snorkel Park - a short walk from the boat. I took my snorkel gear and Jen just enjoyed the sand and sun. Her lower legs enjoyed the warm water, but nothing more - we turned and headed back to the boat for dinner.

The show tonight was the Second City improv comedy troupe.

Bermuda Cruise: Day 2

We woke up promptly at 5:30 – Jen swears she heard Misty barking. I finally let her in on the secret that it was me. We woke up promptly (for real) at 7:30 AM as room service delivered our first breakfast. We went for a run on the Deck 13 track at 8AM. Jen did a mile. I did about 7.5. Who’s counting? It was quite difficult as the track was only 1 lane, people were walking, there were walls and rails really restricting space at some points and I am an explosive runner. In any case, we finished, showered and ate breakfast … again … at 9:30 AM.

At 10 AM, we attended the Shore Excursion Presentation to find out which snorkeling trip I was going to drag Jen on. We quickly booked, exited and made it up 4 floors forward and sat for Bingo. This was not your Foxwoods Bingo. Only 4 games at a reasonable cost of $69. Jen insisted it was a good deal until she didn’t win anything, save for the $1 pull tab. She did redeem herself with the matching $10/$10 Casino slot machine coupon she got with the Bingo purchase. A few spins on the one-arm bandit and she spun the “Wheel of Fortune” collecting a cool $87 dollars. Screw you Bingo!

Loads of excitement, still no whales or land sighted, we ate lunch.

At 1:30 PM, we became art connoisseurs again – and alcoholics, although that didn’t actually kick in until around 3 PM after we downed about 6 champagne’s each, won free art and a free bottle of champagne for our room. We also bumped into our nursery rhyme friends who had a great idea for the rest of the afternoon.

After art overload, we four headed to the atrium bar for a $15 per person Grey Goose martini tasting. We each got 5 full martinis for $15 – that’s a great deal at any bar! First was the cosmo, followed by an apple martini. Next was the French Kiss – Gran Marnier and Chambourd. Fourth was a Lemonciello martini, which Jill taught us to do as a tequila shot, but with sugar instead of salt (she’s my hero). All followed nicely by a chocolate martini.

With bellies full of liquor, it was time to add some absorption; dinner it was for the four of us. We realized we had some time to kill before the Newlywed Game Show, so we watched a tribute to Broadway shows in the theatre. Aside from singing along with Abba tunes, it was a non-event.

Finally, the Newlywed Game didn’t disappoint. Bed time on another fine day.

Bermuda Cruise: Day 1

Friday morning went mostly according to plan. We left the house on time forgetting nothing. Erika and the kids had us to the Black Falcon Pier with aid of Garmin by high noon. Jen got out of the car, put her water bottle in “my carry-on backpack” and we took our luggage to the porters.

While waiting in line, Jen suddenly realized that the water bottle was missing – I must have dropped it when I picked up the backpack. So I dutifully went to look for it while she called Erika just to make sure it still wasn’t in the car. Luck with neither option – someone must have seen our coveted water bottle and stole it and its precious contents. Jen was incensed. The vacation was ruined.

Nevertheless, we boarded around 1PM, drank some free champagne and went to lunch. We walked around a bit killing time before we could go to our stateroom when Jen realized she had a message on her voicemail. Erika had phoned to thank her for putting the water bottle in Erika’s backpack and she had been hydrating her kids as they walked around Boston for the afternoon eventually realizing that she didn’t actually own the water bottle which was providing such nourishing contents. Disaster averted – the trip could go on.

We read the schedule to find out where our next best bet for drinks was. The casino was offering free Rum Swizzles for the first 30 minutes after opening (5:30 – 6PM). After drinking about 5 apiece, we walked through the lobby where a “try before you buy” Duty Free alcohol presentation was happening. We pretended to be highly interested in each beverage they were peddling thus allowing us free samples of each spirit. Thoroughly liquored, we headed to Trivia in “Henry’s Pub” only about 5 minutes late.

We did fairly well – 14/20, the winner had 17 right, but alas, they cheated (they must have to beat us). We met and chatted with a nice couple – Jack and Jill (no, we were not drunk, this was real) and then adjourned to dinner.

At 8:30PM, we went to the Art Gallery to admire the Monet’s, view the Van Gogh’s and of course, drink the free champagne. Finally, the 9PM welcome show with the cruise director was a laugh riot and we were ready for bed.

Our Kitchen is PINK!

Pig Poetry

I am so excited,
All my wildest wishes come true,
The other night on the news,
I heard "the swine flew"!

Massasoit State Park Trail Run

This is one of my favorite trail runs. Albeit short, I can loop it 2 or 3 times for the desired mileage.