Day Two � Key West, FLA
morning on the boat & my first contact with the insanity that is the breakfast buffet. lots of so-so food spread over lots of serving areas in such a way as to promote congestion & weary travelers try to eat their money�s worth in muffins & bacon. head is still sore from the night before so i opt for comfort food (coffee & fruit loops) as we discuss the day ahead. we are in port until 5:00pm, then sail for mexico. not having anything in mind, we head into town with the boy to see what there is to see.
the day is sunny & hot already, so first is a search for sunglasses. this is a stop for many different cruse ships, so the shops are targeted at that market. (read: expensive) $20 later for two pair of cheep sunglasses we wander the shops just to see what there is. what we find are over-priced tee shirts & tourist kitsch with a few theme restaurants scattered in between. here for less than half an hour & the boy is B-O-A-R-D. i can�t say as i blame him. to a four-year-old this place is dull. thirty-plus years older & i can�t say i�m doing much better. we are momentarily amused by the wild chickens that roam the island, but still are not wowed by the splendor of key west. we run into my brother-in-law & his friend on the street & they look about as interested in this place as we are. wander a bit longer & head back to the ship.
lunch is just like breakfast, except there are sandwiches instead of muffins. the boy wants to go swimming in the pool, so we eat & head deck side for a swim. the ship has two pools� one is out in the open, the other is covered & for 16+ only. we head to the deck & get in the pool. only after dipping under the water do i find out that the ship�s pools are filled with salt water, leading to a swim that fills like bathing in sweat. the water also has the effect of bleaching black shorts (we find out later). the boy is happy, though & so we swim & splash for a while. each pool also has two jacuzzis, so we head into one for a soak. they are fresh water, but have something in them that causes a nasty reaction to sou�s neck. (it will clear a few hours later) back to the pool & then downstairs to shower & relax before dinner.
dinners are done by set sittings� one at 6:00 & one at 8:00. everyone has the same time, table & servers for the week. having missed the first dinner, i dress in the requested �formal� clothing & head up to eat. half of the people on the ship fill two floors as the wait staff does a well-rehearsed dance of water to orders to salad to meal to coffee to desert. the food is better than what we have been eating, but still nothing to write home about. they treat us well & the boy is cared for with a special kids menu. by this point we are on our way to mexico & for the first time we are hitting open water. the first day we stuck close to the coast so the trip was fairly smooth. now we feel the waves & all of us are looking a bit pale. everyone is reaching for his or her own personal cures for seasickness. (except the boy, who will remain unaffected by this the whole week) the most popular cures are wrist units that hit pressure points that ease seasickness. sou has an electric on that my mom lent her. it seems to work, but has the side effect of turning her finger bruise-blue. i get a strechband from my brother-in-law (BIL) with a plastic bead in it, place it the way they tell you & am surprised when it helps. (sometimes the magic works)
we return to the room to put the boy to bed, and i relax a bit while sou wanders. when she returns i head up to the casino to meet my BIL. he is already playing blackjack when i show up. we wander between the cards & the slots. after an hour i am down $5 & he is down somewhere around $50. we call it a night & head to our suits. a last smoke & i head to bed, try to not think about the movement of the ship & have a night of fitful sleep.
end of day two.
i�ll write more tonight.
hope you all have a good evening.
be well.
& just for the heck of it�
