Holiday Travels

Hey everyone! Sorry that I haven't had an article in a few weeks. Time is a slippery substance that has a way of flowing away if you don't keep careful track of it! If we aren't careful, we can just hop into our little boats that we've built for ourselves and just flow right on through life without really noticing! How scary is that?

It has been a wild couple of months for the wife and I. Not ones to let moss grow under our feet, we have been busy traveling to different places in the world. Over Thanksgiving, we took a Carnival Cruise down to Key West, FL and to the Bahamas. If you have been reading this little article of mine in years past, you know that Lisa and I love to travel during Thanksgiving. It is a great time to travel because we are off from school and travel is surprisingly cheap during this time. This year, we didn't fly anywhere because airfare prices suddenly went sky high...pardon the pun! A cruise was an affordable alternative. Plus...we had never gone on a cruise, so it was a new experience for us.

Arriving at the port, we were so excited to see our ship, the Carnival Fascination. I was surprised at the amount of security that we had to go through to get onboard the ship. It was almost as tight as the security at the airports! After about an hour in line, we got our Sign and Sail cards and boarded the ship. In case you have never cruised before, the ship is a totally cash free environment. Almost everything (meals, most drinks, entertainment, room, etc.) is included in the cost of the cruise. However, if you want to purchase anything extra (massages, specialty drinks, bingo tickets, etc.) then you don't use cash. Instead, you use your Sign and Sail card which is tied electronically to a credit or debit card. This same card is also the key to your room and can also be used to open and lock the safe that is in your room. It is a truly amazing thing. I never had to worry about packing any cash on me while I was on the ship.

Our room on the ship was very nice. I was picturing a small, cramped space. However, our room was a lot larger than I expected. It was an outside room, meaning we had a window that looked out onto the ocean while we were cruising. That was very nice. It had a king sized bed, flat panel television, small table, chair, dresser with large mirror, lots of closet and drawer space, and a small bathroom with shower. I was very impressed with the large size of the room. I read somewhere that the rooms on the Carnival ships were a little larger than on other ships. I haven't sailed on any other ships, so I can't personally make a judgment on that. However, I can say the rooms on the ship were nice.

Speaking of size, the Carnival Fascination was HUGE! This 12-story ship had just about everything that one could imagine. It was like a floating resort. In addition to rooms for over 2,0000 guests, it had several amenities such as a mini-golf park, walking track, two swimming pools, three hot tubs, water slide, casino, dance clubs, lounges, piano bar, coffee shops, sushi bar, theater for live shows, two dining rooms, pool grill, and informal buffet. The grand atrium in the middle of the ship was breathtaking! Several stories of open space was filled with twinkling lights and glass elevators that whisked you to different floors on the ship. Piano music filled the air with joyous sounds as Lisa and I marveled at the true beauty and splendor of this space.

If you have ever heard people talk about cruising before, you have probably heard them talk about the food! And I have to say...the food was simply amazing! An overeater's dream, the ship featured food that was available 24 hours a day. There was the informal buffet that was open from morning to night, a 24 hour pizzeria, 24 hour ice cream machine, 24 hour deli, sushi bar, coffee shops, and a pool grill that served food all day long. There were also two formal dining rooms were you could be waited on hand and foot. They would bring you anything on the menu...and as much of it as you wanted. For example, one night I ordered the lobster and prime rib. It was so good that I ordered another one. I know....I know....I shouldn't have. But it was vacation. Of course, I'm paying for all that now! Back to the old diet! LOL! I can't leave this little talk about food though without mentioning that there was also 24 hour room service available. They would literally bring the food to you if you didn't want to go to the food. I'm surprised that they didn't offer to chew it for you!

We were never bored on the ship. There were so many things to do. We played bingo, exercised in the gym, watched great live shows, went to comedy clubs and discos, and just lounged by the pool. It was a great way to spend the days on the ship. On one day, we stopped off at Key West, Florida and spent the day in the shops there. The next day was spent in the hot sunshine of the Bahamas. Like all travel, this trip was a truly educational experience. I love to experience different cultures and just exist in the moment. It was great.

Of course, we weren't done with our holiday travels. Over Christmas break, we traveled back to Florida with our friends, Rod and Corrinna Middleton who live in Morehead, KY. Now, we love their 5 year old daughter Hailey just like she was our own. With that said, sometimes it is nice to get away and have a nice "adults only" vacation.

We traveled further south on this trip...all the way to the Fort Lauderdale/ Hollywood Beach area of Florida. We were just 20 minutes north of Miami. The weather was a little chilly a couple of mornings, but nothing like the cold snap that we are experiencing now! One day, it was a nice, hot 87 degrees! That was a great day to lay in the sand on the beach and listen to the ocean waves.

One event that I will never forget during this trip was an airboat ride into the Everglades. I had only seen airboats on television before, so I had visions of fat, sweaty men swirling us around in a gator-filled swamp while swarms of mosquitoes sucked the life from my body. However, it wasn't anything like that...except for the gators. And they were actually quite passive. The captain of our little excursion pulled us up right alongside a sleeping gator and let us get "up close and personal" with the creature. It was so cool to be able to almost reach out and touch the scaly skin of this amazing reptile. Of course, I may be dumb...but momma didn't raise any fools! LOL!

Now that we are back at home, it is nice to enjoy the comforts of domestic life once again. There is nothing like traveling around the world to make you appreciate just what you already have. I always say that we live in the best place on earth right here in Eastern Kentucky...and I am right! I have seen many places in this world, and I have seen where a lot of people call home! Believe me...home is where you make it!!! And I will always be happy to call Breathitt County, Kentucky my home.

Until next week, class dismissed!