Summer Recap pt. 2

So after my two long hikes to the store, we loaded up our (heavy) cokes and bags into yet another Town Car and head for the docks!  The Rhapsody of the Seas isn't the biggest ship in RC's fleet, but it still holds around 2200 passengers, give or take.  It's a curious thing, watching all these people get in line for the same long trip.  You can tell the rookies from the veterans, for sure.  My lovely wife took special care to see we were included in the later group, not the former.  We'd pre-checked our bags rather quickly, not taking the time to stand and stare at the "big boat" like so many others.  The urge to correct that misnomer was strong throughout the trip.  Afterall, my wife's grandmother has a boat.  It's a nice tri-toon with plenty of seating, great for a relaxing day out on Cedar Creek Lake with family.  The 78,000 ton, "boat", we were taking to Alaska was a floating city with a casino, hospital, bars, dining halls, shops, theater... There's a fire department, armed security.  The captain is technically mayor and minister all in one!  Yes, it's a "boat" like I'm a petite, little girl.

We met some nice Canadians from Victoria while standing in line.  They were excited about some drug they were taking to help them quit smoking.  I've been through the pain of quitting that bad habit, I guess whatever helps ease that pain is good.  But I've heard some pretty bad things about those drugs too.  Scary things!  We wished them the best as they got into the Diamond Club members' line.  There are no special lines for Gold Club members.  Thirty minutes of people watching later, we were on board!  It should be noted that we did try to play the honeymooner card with the lady behind the check-in counter; it didn't work.  I should have showed her some leg.

The view in Seattle is stunning, especially from the ninth deck of an ocean liner!  It's magnified with the one you love beside you.  She and I were able to hang out on the deck for awhile in the cool mid-60's temp while the crew prepared our room and delivered our luggage.  One word of advice to any guys reading this, if your wife wants to go sign up for excursions during this waiting period which is a part of any cruise, let her.  While I was letting the tension roll off me with each sea breeze (I'd been working two jobs at the time), Bevin was getting more and more nervous about the prospect of not getting some of the off shore activities we'd planned to have since March.  It's not as much fun having fun when the one you love isn't having fun too.  That's not a profound statement, but it's true nonetheless.  They eventually got things right for us though, and once that happened, we prepared to lose track of time for the next nine days.

(to be continued...)