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Published: April 29th 2008
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You know you need a vacation when you cant even get away from work in your dreams. Last night my roommate told me I was regulating the teenagers in my sleep, I was saying out loud “Hey, I need to see your card, what’s your name? Yeah I’ll be right there.”
Am I jaded if I am tired of the places people crave to visit? I guess that’s what happens after over a year of twice-weekly visits to the same places. But luckily my family came out to visit and having guests in town is always sure to get me excited all over again and remind me of the things that are gorgeous and exciting. Seeing the places through their fresh eyes gives me the chance to remember why these places are incredible in the first place, and I had an amazing time guiding them around.
Last week my mom, dad and brother came to cruise the Carnival Inspiration and I planned a full 5 days of showing them the insider’s view of Cozumel, Grand Cayman, and cruising life.
Cruising involves a combination of having a full schedule organized for you, and also having nothing to do at
all with plenty of space to wander. I still had to work a full schedule so my mom had time to lie out by the pool and my dad ravaged the casino, while my brother joined me for most of my activities with the teens.
In Grand Cayman we swam with the stingrays and fed them pieces of squid while they gently brushed up against us with velvet skin and scary stingers. They say it feels just like petting a wet mushroom and that is completely accurate. They hoover the squid out of your fist with enough strength to pull your fingers out of a grip and into their tiny mouths.
In Cozumel dad went to snuba (a 30-foot dive using special equipment that doesn’t require the skills of a scuba dive), while my brother and I got to swim with dolphins and mom came to watch. They had the dolphins give us kisses, handshakes and belly rides, and then we had some free time to float while they swam around us. Afterwards, because my mom’s foot was still bothering her from a break back in Feb, we rented a jeep for a driving tour of the island.
I guided them around to the east side of the island where the waters are incredible gradients of blues and greens, studded with silver from reefs only a few feet deep. We stopped to drink coconut milk straight from the source and enjoy ice tea on a deck extending out over the sand to the waters.
We were all disappointed that Emily couldn’t be there to share it with us, as we had a fantastic time and we know she would have loved everything. Having her there was the only thing that could have made this trip better. We did think of her often though and maybe I’ll photoshop her face into the group portraits we had done. Hehe.
I especially enjoyed the extra priveledges that come with having family cruise - such as eating in the nice dining room on Formal night - between dad and I we ordered 7 lobster tails (Hey! It’s all you can eat, ok?!). Unfortunately I was also supposed to fly home with the family but they extended my contract by a few weeks to help train a newby who will be taking over my job while I am on vacation. Thankfully
mom and dad took home some of my stuff so I wont have hundred-pound suitcases to schlep home.
My time off will be packed with visits long overdue, so if you are in the area please get in touch. I will finally have a cell phone, though whether it’s the same number remains to be seen - I promise to send out an update if the number changes. I will be home May 5-13 and June 10-21. I will be in NYC and Boston May 13-21. I will be in San Diego sometime between May 24-June 2. I will be in Michigan June 5-10. Austin will be a definite stop in December when I finally finish with ships and will need stuff from my storage unit.
June 22 I head to the Carnival Legend for a very brief stint before heading to the Carnival Freedom in Europe August 14. This ship runs 12 day cruises through France, Italy, Spain, Croatia, Turkey and Greece, so if you are in need of a unique long vacation come cruise with me! After that I plan on settling down in the Bay Area for a while, as my wanderlust will be partially
satiated, and I am finally ready for some stability and dry land.
I am also posting the last of my pictures from the Carnival Inspiration. I will definitely miss my friends, but the beauty of shiplife is we often see eachother again - the world of wanderlusters is a small one. Sabrina is working on getting on the Freedom and Morgana is from Australia, which I plan on visiting in the upcoming years. I turned 25 this contract and know it's time to put my roots down, but shiplife can be addictive. I am not attracted to going back to an 8-5 office job when I could be playing video games and DJing parties and spending my free time on the beach. But the most important thing missing for me is stability, though I never thought I would crave it when chaos felt so good. Everyone on ships always swears it's our last contract but it's hard to let go. I know I thought I would only be here a year but who turns down the opportunity to be paid to hang out in Europe? Not me. There's always time for reality later.
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Emily
non-member comment
You so look so gorgeous! I'm so sorry I missed your birthday : ( I can't make you a cake when you're on a ship. I'm so excited to see you for wedding adventures! Love you