Cruising

Ah, am I glad to be home! June is probably not the best month of the year to visit Florida and take a cruise to the Bahamas but I had a family gathering which I felt obligated to attend. My parent's who now live in Florida were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary (congratulations Mom and Dad!) and they wanted our family and several of their friends to join them on a cruise. I am not a big fan of heat and even find summers in Vermont too hot. Along with my Siberians winter is my favorite time of the year. My first day in Florida it was 110 degrees and the next morning before the sun even came up it was already 90.

I had never been on a cruise ship before so it was a big learning experience for me. I have to admit it's not really my cup-O-Tea and it was likely a once in a life time trip for me. I'm much more comfortable with one or two people in the back woods of New England paddling my canoe than on a ship with 3,000 people on board.

This is a shot from the Nassau Harbor when we were coming back from our snorkel outing. There were four to five ships docked while we were there making for some very crowded streets.



Other than the heat, crowds and noise the cruise wasn't all bad. It was really nice to spend some quality time with my family who I don't get to see very often. The food was good with many choices at each meal. We spent one afternoon at a quiet beach in Freeport and went snorkeling one afternoon in Nassau. I enjoyed snorkeling other than the crowd and leaky snorkel mask. I had never seen a live coral reef and tropical fish in person before and it really was beautiful. I could have stayed there all afternoon watching the fish. I did get flippered in the head several times since there were so many people in the water. With five or six boats at the same location and each boat having forty or so people on it there wasn't a lot of room to move.



I really missed the dogs, especially our puppy Pacem. They were all very happy to see me when I got home but were well cared for by Lise while I was away. I did get some small doggy fixes at my brothers. He has a Black Labrador who loves to have her ears rubbed and I was happy to oblige.

Now I am back at home and working on my page long to do list as we count down the days to fall training. It was 55 degrees yesterday morning and I'm loving it. I'd be happy if it didn't get above 70 all summer but I don't say that too loud around here. Often coming home is the best part of going away; it really makes me appreciate how wonderful life here in Vermont is.