Over the course of a month my Mom and I spent a lot of time on the phone and Internet researching where we wanted to go and what we wanted to do on our cruise. At first we didn't think we wanted to go on a cruise and then we decided that it would be fun to go to different ports so that meant a cruise. I'd get on the forums and read about first time cruisers, what to bring, what to expect, how to tip, etc. We'd then get on the phone and chat about information I had and the information she had. At first we wanted to leave from New Orleans but the cruises didn't go where we wanted to go so that left Miami. After a day in Miami, we took a shuttle to the port where we checked in our luggage, went through the port and our luggage through the x-ray (for alcohol).
Next we checked in to receive our sign and sale card. Our sign and sale card is like an ID and credit card. You can't purchase anything on the ship with cash or credit card. You have to use your sign and sale card. It makes it easy to purchase anything. After boarding and eating we found a deck chair to relax. Our boat was to leave around 4pm but there was a mechanical problem and we didn't leave until well after dark. We found our rooms, our suitcases were at the door so we brought them in and unpacked. We met our room Steward. He was so nice. He provided our towels daily, made up our beds (but my Mom and I did that), and resupplied the toiletries. He also left chocolates with our towel animals everyday and dropped off the daily news letter.
We came to find out that the crew worked very hard. They tended to put in 14 hour days with 5 hours a week off for 6 to 9 months. I know that we expect a couple of days off not a couple of hours off. What I thought was exemplary was their attitudes. No matter who you talked to, they had a smile on their face. They had attitudes that put us to shame. They worked hard and were courteous and caring.
On top of that there was the restaurant that served classy dinners. We were assigned to a certain dinning room that allowed us to have a flexible dining time.We were assigned a certain area to sit in and were able to get to know our waiter, our server, and our barman. After two nights they knew our names and what we liked to order. Out of all the people on the ship we just thought that was amazing. Every night they had two dinning options, the everyday option which was the same thing every day and the specials of the day. They each included appetizers/salads, main course, side dishes, and desserts. On the daily specials I tended to chose the "Dija ever" appetizers. Dija ever try ... and we tried to guess what the offering for the next day. They had alligator, escargot (snails), frog legs, salmon (I thought that was strange) and sushi. I tried all but the salmon and sushi. That stuff is readily available here in the Northwest so it was so different. The food was excellent. The dining staff would also put on a little show every night and they would dance, sometimes on the tables, sometimes around the room with guests. We had fun and our Maitre D was cute.
Over the course of a month my Mom and I spent a lot of time on the phone and Internet researching where we wanted to go and what we wanted to do on our cruise. At first we didn't think we wanted to go on a cruise and then we decided that it would be fun to go to different ports so that meant a cruise. I'd get on the forums and read about first time cruisers, what to bring, what to expect, how to tip, etc. We'd then get on the phone and chat about information I had and the information she had. At first we wanted to leave from New Orleans but the cruises didn't go where we wanted to go so that left Miami. After a day in Miami, we took a shuttle to the port where we checked in our luggage, went through the port and our luggage through the x-ray (for alcohol).
 |
| Note: There are to be no photos in this area, oops! |
We came to find out that the crew worked very hard. They tended to put in 14 hour days with 5 hours a week off for 6 to 9 months. I know that we expect a couple of days off not a couple of hours off. What I thought was exemplary was their attitudes. No matter who you talked to, they had a smile on their face. They had attitudes that put us to shame. They worked hard and were courteous and caring.
The food was good. You could eat whenever you wanted to, literally. The pizza bar was open 24 hours a day. There was a buffet with different food every day, a hamburger bar, a taco/nacho bar, and a Chinese buffet. There was self serve ice cream and yogurt.
 |
| The water in the pool was sloshig out due to the storm we were having. |
 |
| We had a formal night in the dining room. Larent was our server and in Nassau he went clubbing to shake it Mambo style. We just laughed. |
Recently my mother and I went on vacation together. We really haven't spent this much time together since we took too many high schoolers to Europe. That was nothing like this trip. We met up in Houston and flew into Miami together. We had decided to arrive a day early for our cruise. That gave us some leeway to make sure we had our luggage and anything else we may need to purchase before getting on the boat. We quickly found our shuttle to the hotel, checked in and I promptly crashed. Exhaustion had set in at that point. The day before I was up at 6am and packing our belongings up to head home from the Firs Chalet. Upon arriving at home I quickly started laundry, went grocery shopping, visited a little with John's brother who was in town, and finished packing for Miami. I took the shuttle to Seattle but it left at 1:40am to arrive at 4:40am. My plane left at 7:40. Continental and United had merged that night at midnight and all boarding passes that were issued on line had to be reissued. Some people were having major problems and were waiting over 1 hour. I just walked up, scanned my passport, they called for my luggage, I checked it walked through security without waiting and was at the terminal. I think it took me all of 30 minutes. Piece of cake. 
South Beach Miami is home to the largest neighborhood in the Art Deco Style. But like anything else, Miami changed it to be more like Miami - they added color and lots of it. The Art Deco Style originally was introduced in Paris but it caught on in Miami South Beach like nowhere else. The rounded corners, geometric lines, glass blocks, and decorative symbols are all indications of Art Deco. As with the bright and pastel colors that Miami added they added something else to many of the buildings. Since there wasn't any air conditioning in the 1920s when the Deco Art building were constructed they created these "eyebrows" over the windows to produce shade and decrease the amount of heat inside. Art Deco isn't really my style but I do appreciate the style now that I know more about it.
This year we had the opportunity to stay at the Firs Chalet at Mount Baker. We arrived Monday afternoon and settled in. This was interesting for us in that we had to bring sleeping bags, pillows, blankets, and towels. Essentially it was like camping without cooking. The food was good and I loved not having to cook or think about cooking. Most of the other families had been attending this little gathering for years; like 15 to 20 years. The kids all knew each other and my kids had a hard time breaking into the group. It was a different situation for them. At one point Lona was in tears. I don't think that the others really thought about what they were doing but we discussed that only she was in charge of her happiness, others couldn't dictate how she felt. Often times that is harder to carry out in reality. During the days we skied and that was great. I think they received a foot of snow each night. I love to ski in powder. I just wish I wasn't such a chicken. We placed Job in a lesson, there was just some fine tuning for him to do on his snowboard. Everything just came together for him with the lesson and now he boards pretty much anything we ask him to. Isaac has been up to the hill the most out of all of us this year. He loves it and each day he pushed himself more. We rented poles for Lona the last day and it took 30 seconds of John showing her how to use her poles. She would follow right behind John, turning in the tracks he turned in. The last day she skied with a friend and followed her no matter what the run. Lona skis black diamond and I didn't even try. We have this little run that has some steep parts with tight corners and moguls. We all call it "Lona's Happiness". Although it isn't my happiness. I borrowed a friends GoPro and now want one. It is one amazing camera! The highlight of the trip was the days spend skiing and the last night at the Firs, the kids built a snow cave. I think it held 10 kids. John and our friend Charlie were out with the kids. John came in, grabbed a thermos full of hot chocolate and a bunch of little cups. There they are all huddled in the cave drinking hot cocoa until 11:00 at night.
