Best laid plans. We disembarked shortly after 9 AM, and we were to drive all day and be snug in our own beds by now. This is all well and good for people with no kids, but as it went it was twelve hours later and we were both road-blind and weary. Time to pull over and risk a roadside retreat. Unlike the decent Comfort Inn in Mercer on our way to NJ, this one is of the Motor Lodge variety and the doorway faintly smells of piss. However, all three of my traveling companions are asleep and I am being dragged down to join them.
Maybe I will have time to reflect upon the feelings that welled up in me this morning as I strode down the 5th Deck "Promenade" (seriously - it's a mall on a boat, without the listing you would have no clue you were at sea) passing hangover people with suitcases ... this trip was a blind spot for me the past, I don't know, two years, but I was deeply looking forward to it. To spend nearly every waking morning concentrating on my children, doing whatever they wanted to do and nothing else. And that's more or less what happened. And now it's over. While that makes me sad there are just too many other responsibilities weighing me down and I just have to sigh, make prints of the 300+ photos I took, and suck it down.
Tomorrow: The Bell House + Penn's Cave
Showing posts with label Bermuda 09. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bermuda 09. Show all posts
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
All at Sea
Distance: 3.2 miles
Final run on the big boat. I might try to get one in tomrrow, but we disembark early and that would mean having a smelly, sopping kit in my carry-on bag.
Water fountains do funny things in high winds.
Stepped into the exercise room after the run, and I noticed the hot tub in the middle of the room. Do I have time to go sit in a hot tub and watch other people exercise? I wish I had thought of that days ago.
Today is one of mad desperation. It's a full day at sea, but everyone knows they need to spend some part of the day packing - we need to have our suitcases out in the hall by 11 PM. Get that last piece of cheesecake, take one final dip in the pool, get the portraits ordered, drink that big froofy drink, do it, get it, eat it, eat it, eat it.
For my part, I will be fretting about the show. Harris got the postcards to SpinCycle on time, 250 to New York area press organizations, 500 to their list of FringeNYC ticket buyers. I am trying to come up with pithy email responses to questions for a potential story on next week's free Cleveland performance. I had an actor's nightmare about doing the Vitruvian Man scene at the corner of West 14th and Starkweather.
Final run on the big boat. I might try to get one in tomrrow, but we disembark early and that would mean having a smelly, sopping kit in my carry-on bag.
Water fountains do funny things in high winds.
Stepped into the exercise room after the run, and I noticed the hot tub in the middle of the room. Do I have time to go sit in a hot tub and watch other people exercise? I wish I had thought of that days ago.
Today is one of mad desperation. It's a full day at sea, but everyone knows they need to spend some part of the day packing - we need to have our suitcases out in the hall by 11 PM. Get that last piece of cheesecake, take one final dip in the pool, get the portraits ordered, drink that big froofy drink, do it, get it, eat it, eat it, eat it.
For my part, I will be fretting about the show. Harris got the postcards to SpinCycle on time, 250 to New York area press organizations, 500 to their list of FringeNYC ticket buyers. I am trying to come up with pithy email responses to questions for a potential story on next week's free Cleveland performance. I had an actor's nightmare about doing the Vitruvian Man scene at the corner of West 14th and Starkweather.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
CruiseLife
No run this morning. The girl has a bit of a cold and a side-effect of this is that in addition to a runny nose, she was grinding her teeth non-stop. She's been doing this since her new teeth came in, trying to "find her bite" the dentist says, but not all the time. Not like last last night. We were awake, a lot.
In any unusual circumstance, I try to make myself comfortable, acclimated. Two decks up is the 24-hour coffee & snack cafe. That's where I get coffee after a run and bring it down to the room for the wife and myself. Even though I am not having it there, in the cafe, I eschew using a disposable cup with lid for a plastic cup. That's not just "green" it's because I like it that way, a minor attempt to feel at home and not like I am "on the road." The wife has been fastidious about keeping everything in the place she sorted it in the stateroom, and fascistic about our doing the same (which can be difficult as I haven't yet figured out her logic, so mostly I memorize.)
However, the bathroom is now like a Hobo Jungle, with odd bits of clothing - running kit, bathing suit, underpants, towels, etc. - hanging from every available horizontal space.
Last night grandma sat with the kids while the three sibling couples went out into the Dockyard to look around and have a drink. Not really far enough from the boat to feel like "Bermuda" and besides, it kept raining on and off. All the servers were British. Still, nice company. Had a "shandy" at The Onion & Frog ... we'd spent a good part of the day coming up with new, horrible sounding names for pubs. The Boil & Lance. The Shallot & Phlegm. The Lamprey & Dougnut. The Destestable Bishop.
We spent the day in Hamilton. No major shopping spree or historical explorations for us, and one day at the beach was enough for most. We visited the aquarium, that was just right for a six and four year-old. Strange, now I have been to Bermuda. But what is it? Like most touristy places we have been its stacked with shops from somewhere else (in this case, Britain) staffed by people from somewhere else. The aquarium was brighter, lusher, the fish and animals lively and active unlike in certain zoos I could mention.
The most personal interaction we had was in the cab ride back to the Dockyard. I had pointed out the roofs on the bus yesterday, they are all the same, stone terraces, with one cross rivulet running at an angle down every side. Those cross bits distinguish one roof from another. My wife asked the cab driver how they are built, and he excitedly told us they were made from the limestone, whitewashed with lime, and they purify the rainwater, which collects below each house for use. They do not add anything to their water, just purification by limestone.
We are back at sea now, heading home. Thought I would dress up a little for dinner, slacks and a nice shirt. These pants ... are a little snug. Oops.
In any unusual circumstance, I try to make myself comfortable, acclimated. Two decks up is the 24-hour coffee & snack cafe. That's where I get coffee after a run and bring it down to the room for the wife and myself. Even though I am not having it there, in the cafe, I eschew using a disposable cup with lid for a plastic cup. That's not just "green" it's because I like it that way, a minor attempt to feel at home and not like I am "on the road." The wife has been fastidious about keeping everything in the place she sorted it in the stateroom, and fascistic about our doing the same (which can be difficult as I haven't yet figured out her logic, so mostly I memorize.)
However, the bathroom is now like a Hobo Jungle, with odd bits of clothing - running kit, bathing suit, underpants, towels, etc. - hanging from every available horizontal space.
Last night grandma sat with the kids while the three sibling couples went out into the Dockyard to look around and have a drink. Not really far enough from the boat to feel like "Bermuda" and besides, it kept raining on and off. All the servers were British. Still, nice company. Had a "shandy" at The Onion & Frog ... we'd spent a good part of the day coming up with new, horrible sounding names for pubs. The Boil & Lance. The Shallot & Phlegm. The Lamprey & Dougnut. The Destestable Bishop.
We spent the day in Hamilton. No major shopping spree or historical explorations for us, and one day at the beach was enough for most. We visited the aquarium, that was just right for a six and four year-old. Strange, now I have been to Bermuda. But what is it? Like most touristy places we have been its stacked with shops from somewhere else (in this case, Britain) staffed by people from somewhere else. The aquarium was brighter, lusher, the fish and animals lively and active unlike in certain zoos I could mention.
The most personal interaction we had was in the cab ride back to the Dockyard. I had pointed out the roofs on the bus yesterday, they are all the same, stone terraces, with one cross rivulet running at an angle down every side. Those cross bits distinguish one roof from another. My wife asked the cab driver how they are built, and he excitedly told us they were made from the limestone, whitewashed with lime, and they purify the rainwater, which collects below each house for use. They do not add anything to their water, just purification by limestone.
We are back at sea now, heading home. Thought I would dress up a little for dinner, slacks and a nice shirt. These pants ... are a little snug. Oops.
Monday, July 20, 2009
6 AM is for Runners
Distance: 3.2 miles
Rolled out early this morning. As usual, when an alarm clock is actually set, I don't need it. I got up five minutes before my wake-up call. I had rinsed my running kit and set it out to dry but I was still a bit whiffy, I think I will be showering in it this morning. Just can't pay $10 to have three pieces of nylon washed.
Sunrise over the Mid-Atlantic. Great, whipped piles of cloud whirling into the air, all pink and sherbety. Many fewer people on deck at six in the morning, mostly runners and only a few of us at that. Later, when I checked out the weight room, I found half a dozen spinners, all their machines facing the water. I don't know, it just doesn't make sense, moving inside when there's Paradise on the other side of the glass.
On the other hand ... it was very windy. And my left shin is bothering me, I believe thanks to all of those tight left turns.
We are in dock at King's Wharf, Bermuda. The day was spent in company of my pasty white family at Horseshoe Bay Beach. Clear water, rented sand chairs and umbrellas, tiny scuttling rock crabs, bobbing in the waves with a delighted infant, surprisingly good hot dogs and hamburgers, there was digging in the sand, tons of witty banter, and thickly applied sunscreen. By an hour or so past noon, the girl was baked, and I mean her brain.
Carrying her up the steep hill back to the bus in the mid-day sun she told me, "Dad? I like it better on the boat." And I said, "don't tell you mother, but I do, too."
Rolled out early this morning. As usual, when an alarm clock is actually set, I don't need it. I got up five minutes before my wake-up call. I had rinsed my running kit and set it out to dry but I was still a bit whiffy, I think I will be showering in it this morning. Just can't pay $10 to have three pieces of nylon washed.
Sunrise over the Mid-Atlantic. Great, whipped piles of cloud whirling into the air, all pink and sherbety. Many fewer people on deck at six in the morning, mostly runners and only a few of us at that. Later, when I checked out the weight room, I found half a dozen spinners, all their machines facing the water. I don't know, it just doesn't make sense, moving inside when there's Paradise on the other side of the glass.
On the other hand ... it was very windy. And my left shin is bothering me, I believe thanks to all of those tight left turns.
We are in dock at King's Wharf, Bermuda. The day was spent in company of my pasty white family at Horseshoe Bay Beach. Clear water, rented sand chairs and umbrellas, tiny scuttling rock crabs, bobbing in the waves with a delighted infant, surprisingly good hot dogs and hamburgers, there was digging in the sand, tons of witty banter, and thickly applied sunscreen. By an hour or so past noon, the girl was baked, and I mean her brain.
Carrying her up the steep hill back to the bus in the mid-day sun she told me, "Dad? I like it better on the boat." And I said, "don't tell you mother, but I do, too."
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Flight of the Axiom
Distance: 3.2 milesBoarding, getting acclimated to CruiseLife, took up a good part of the day yesterday. It is very fun, and remarkably stress-free to be in the bosom of my family this weekend. It was not always so. We are having a lovely time together, we had a great meal last night, some of us took breakfast and lunch together today ... I am spending the lion's share of my time following the kids around, doing whatever it is they want to do. For some of them (okay, the boy) everything is never enough.
Unlike my one previous cruise experience (Honeymoon to Alaska, 1999) it is not this crew's responsibility to shovel food down your throat. But it is easy to overindulge. And the problem is, going for the gold can often mean missing out on something better. Yes, I was tempted to have prime rib last night, but they also featured Aloo Ghobi on the menu and so I took that, and was extremely glad I did.
After dinner and putting the kids down, the wife gave me the opportunity to sit around with my brothers - and Mom! - in a lounge to talk as late as we liked. After striking a distance as far from any lounge performer as any other (how many of them knew "Piano Man"? Or was that the same guy playing it every hour?) he had drinks and talked about movies until eleven before turning in. I instigated turning in, because we were turning our clocks forward ... and I wanted to run.
Haven't run since Tuesday. I wanted to get up at six, but just let myself go until an unconscionable 7.30. That was almost a little late, and I will tell you why. By 7.30, the "Jogging Track" on Deck 12 is already people by a great many walkers. Not, like, mall walkers, not seniors, but people who walk. Who walk and talk. Who walk and talk in pairs, on this narrow, .2 mile track (5 laps = 1 mile.) Every one of my 16 laps, I had to say "excuse me" a couple of times. Bad enough the track is, nu, .2 miles, and that it winds in and out of the deck chairs, but I have to be the noodge on the jogging track actually jogging.
Having said that, it was wonderful. I felt great. The air was ... well, let's face it, it's open Atlantic sea air in utterly gorgeous, cloudless weather.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Split Level
Facebook, we love you!
My wife reconnected just recently with Brian, one of her high school friends, whom she hadn't seen since maybe 1988. One conversation led to another, and as part of our journey to the big boat (which departs from Bayonne) we have spent the night in Brian and his partner Marco's beautiful 70s-era split level ranch house in West Orange, NJ.
Yesterday afternoon we pull off he Interstate for lunch in Clearfield, PA. As a tradition, when we are on a "real" road trip (i.e. not just going to Athens) we will not stop at chain restaurants. So we pressed on past the throng of business conveniently located by the exit, and took the 3-mile excursion into Clearfield proper.
In short order we found a place called Moena, an Italian restaurant with a rather fancy looking dinner menu but a great, varied lunch menu.
Almost instantly, however, my wife began feeling like we knew this place and swiftly realized we had enjoyed New Year's Even dinner here to ring in 1999 with a couple we were staying at a B&B in State College with for a weekend. Bizarre. Could have stopped one exit before or after and entirely missed that.
Good God, weight gain is going to be an issue.
My wife reconnected just recently with Brian, one of her high school friends, whom she hadn't seen since maybe 1988. One conversation led to another, and as part of our journey to the big boat (which departs from Bayonne) we have spent the night in Brian and his partner Marco's beautiful 70s-era split level ranch house in West Orange, NJ.
Yesterday afternoon we pull off he Interstate for lunch in Clearfield, PA. As a tradition, when we are on a "real" road trip (i.e. not just going to Athens) we will not stop at chain restaurants. So we pressed on past the throng of business conveniently located by the exit, and took the 3-mile excursion into Clearfield proper.
In short order we found a place called Moena, an Italian restaurant with a rather fancy looking dinner menu but a great, varied lunch menu.
Almost instantly, however, my wife began feeling like we knew this place and swiftly realized we had enjoyed New Year's Even dinner here to ring in 1999 with a couple we were staying at a B&B in State College with for a weekend. Bizarre. Could have stopped one exit before or after and entirely missed that.
Good God, weight gain is going to be an issue.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Mercy
2009 FringeNYC Program Guide
How bizarre. Just like five years ago, a major part of my preparation for the NY Fringe is taking a vacation. This is one is a little special, my folks are having their 50th wedding anniversary (it was in May, ackshodry) and my brothers, their wives and kids are all taking a big boat for Bermuda.
And why not? The promo is in place, Kelly (SM) & Sabrina (ACR) are tag-teaming the technical elements of the production, Josh has completed the new trailer and designed and published the postcard (which I am schlepping to NYC to drop before we disembark) and I have a paperback murder mystery. Time to put my feet up. And take laps around the deck of a really large boat.
Comfort Inn in Mercer, PA. Wow. No wonder Trent is so bitter.
How bizarre. Just like five years ago, a major part of my preparation for the NY Fringe is taking a vacation. This is one is a little special, my folks are having their 50th wedding anniversary (it was in May, ackshodry) and my brothers, their wives and kids are all taking a big boat for Bermuda.
And why not? The promo is in place, Kelly (SM) & Sabrina (ACR) are tag-teaming the technical elements of the production, Josh has completed the new trailer and designed and published the postcard (which I am schlepping to NYC to drop before we disembark) and I have a paperback murder mystery. Time to put my feet up. And take laps around the deck of a really large boat.
Comfort Inn in Mercer, PA. Wow. No wonder Trent is so bitter.
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