We’re back!
Finally back from the 3-week vacation… I am unpacking and unwinding.
I’d rather not type anything today, but I will leave you with a link to all the pictures from the vacation and a nice image.
This is our view from the verandah in our stateroom for the last week…
Today we hit Cozumel. For some reason the ports all have little shopping areas right where you get off that _suck_. They are expensive and there is really no reason to visit them. However, if you do not know that downtown is 5 minutes away and things are much cheaper there, you would think this is the only way to go. Luckily, my Spanish came in handy and we were able to go downtown for only $6 dollars and we visited “Carlos and Charlies”. I will post pictures later. Now, it is nap time before dinner at 8:15.
We are floating off the coast of Belize, Central America, approximately 7 miles from shore. The water looks perfect and I am just happy to be here. Heather and I took a trip into the city today and enjoyed a tour around Belize City. Tomorrow is Cozumel and Thursday is Progreso.
I have another picture or two that I will post. I’m getting offline now because it is a little expensive to get on.
(Saturday)We’re now aboard the Carnival Pride, and yes, there is a certain amount of geekiness to my being online, but hey, I accept that. The ship is very, very nice; had a bit of lamb tonight for dinner and we met a nice couple from Tennessee with whom we will share the week’s dinners.
Tomorrow, we hit Key West for the whole day and then leave at night for our next stop.
(Today)
Now we are on the ocean cruising along at a leisurely 17 knots on our way down to Progreso, Mx, for our first foreign port of call. In Key West yesterday, Heather and I checked out Duval street and just had a good time in general. I hadn’t been to Key West; it seems like the little sun-soaked town would be a fun place to kick back and retire. The boat is fun to be on and there’s so much food it’s crazy. I am going to get off the internet now and save my money.
Slashdot today pointed me to The Office Hours Habits of the North American Professor, which I found quite funny and true. Hopefully, updates from the cruise ship are upcoming.
Our latest vacation pics…
It seems like it’s an inevitability that if you buy ponchos, it will not rain very much.
Today , 36 hours from our embarkation time on the cruise Saturday, I sit here, relatively full of curry beef, spicy tuna roll, a few Heinekens, and repeated handfuls of Lays Dill Pickle Potato Chips. I am still slightly perturbed by an ONDCP commercial that made no sense to me.
The commercial began with some guy complaining to a politician (I think) that drugs aren’t the issue to focus on because they aren’t a major problem. “The environment, now there’s an issue!” was the gist of it.
The announcer (or someone onscreen, I was listening instead to of watching most of the spot) said, basically, “Why, that’s not true! Drugs affect the environment more than you know.” It went on to quote statistics whereby producing drugs is incredibly toxic and the byproducts could kill you and so on and so forth. All of this information is great to have. Producing drugs apparently isn’t a very clean operation and the manufacturers of illegal drugs apparently don’t obey many laws against pollution.
Wow. Seriously, that’s just an amazing breakthrough.
Honestly, though, I wish more people understood that legalizing something bad doesn’t mean you agree with it. Does anyone believe that heavy pollution from the legitimate pharmaceutical companies out there is a problem these days? And if it were, would legislation and enforcement not be counted upon to make sure it is not a problem for long? But we can’t do that for illegal drugs, and the only reason is that they are illegal.
This is officially our last full day at the beach house in Destin. We’ve had a great 10 days and we’re very excited to be moving on to Orlando and then the cruise. I’ve updated the photo album (http://public.fotki.com/gvonk/vacations/2003/2003-05-summer_flor/) for the trip with a few more photos and I will continue to do so as long as I can. Now I’m off to the beach and/or the pool before the rain comes this afternoon!
Heather and I are gearing up for our cruise, which leaves this Saturday 5/24 for 7 days. We will hit Key West, Cozumel, Progreso, and Belize. We are likely to have a great time and will be sure to post pictures if we take any.
Today, basically everyone left and now it is Heather, Me, Brian, and Patricia. We’re just being lazy and rented a movie. I have a strange outbreak of itchy redness on my neck that I don’t think is sun-induced, but cortizone should take care of it.
Now, the crowd down here is waning (Paul and Skippy left a few hours ago), and I think most other people are leaving tomorrow. We ended up having several people here, and had a great time. Thursday night, after some of us hit up the local theater to catch the opening night of The Matrix: Reloaded, we ended up down on the beach with some fireworks and some *cough* beverages. After only minor run-ins (runs-in?) with the local law, we returned to the beach house after a few hours and ended the night there.
Yesterday, we piled into the cars and drove over to Grayton Beach to visit the Red Bar for some good seafood (I had eggplant stuffed with scallops, shrimp, and fish). Down the road in Seaside, we enjoyed an awesome sunset on a beachside bar (complete with $6 beers and $10 drinks) and made our way back to Sandestin for an early bedtime (11).
Today, I have been sitting here in bed watching the E! True Hollywood Story about Cheers, and we are about to go play tennis. Tomorrow, Heather’s sister and her boyfriend are coming down and all of the UGA people are leaving.
