~ the Equinox Adventures ~
2/26/2010
On the road again... (Said like Willie did in his song). Well, it has been an interesting trip so far. Not so much interesting, as colder than I expected, I suppose. When we got up this morning, loaded the car (actually a rather comfy Honda Odyssey), and headed out, it was a brisque 32F. Now, I had checked the weather back home, and there it also was 32F. Of course, back at home, it is raining, which wll turn to snow later today, so I am happy with a bright, sunny 32F. And while it is cool, it is not cold, if that makes sense. To my mother, though, it is freezing!!! She's all bundled up, and I am running around oging "its not too bad out." The high today in Ft Lauderdale is going to be 68F, which they think is cold, and I think is a pretty nice way to get underway.
Hey, just for keeping up tradition, here is the morning view: Okay, not the same as the views off the balcony that will be coming in the upcoming days, but traditions are traditions after all. And I want to let you experience things in some small way the same way I get to - for which I do need to apologize at times. Oh, I do need to apologize to the people I tried to email yesterday. For some reason, I could receive emails on the plane, but the emails I sent from there couldn't go - they kept timing out. I thought no problem, I'll just send them when I get to my mother's. But when I got there and plugged her Cat 5 cable into my computer, it wouldn't let me connect to the internet via her cable modem (they have only the one computer, so it needs to authorize - I vaguely remember having this problem with the first computer , but once that was set up, and a switch was used, every other computer was just plug it in and go. Oh well). So email, contacts, and blog entries won't actually get updated until we are on the ship, and I can log on there. For those wondering, the profit on the position that I was trying to trade was not enough, so I ended up holding the position. But it could have been awesome! The trip from the Villages to Ft Lauderdale will take about 4 1/2 hours, according to Mapquest. I seem to recall making the trip in a little less than that, so I offered to help with the drive. The offer was soundly rejected - Joe (and my mom) don't like to speed, it seems. But at least he has the cruise control set to 72. So, here I am, in the back of a van, listening to XM radio and typing away merrily. Maybe merrily is a little bit of a stretch, but I can't complain. But I am sitting here happy and feeling quite content. Probably because I rather enjoy these adventures (obviously) - I mean, who wouldn't? Of course, I can't wait for 11am to get here, so I can change the radio station to Margaritaville, and listen to the Buffett Buffet - that should get the mood right! Talk to you all whne we get to our floating hotel!
1130 - Still on the Florida Turnpike I have come to a definite conclusion - My mother's taste in music and my own are quite divergent. Not that her's are terrible or anything, but I have been locked out of the music control system in the car (I wasn't even changing stations prior to this r anything!). All I can say is thank god for iTunes and a laptop! I am making my own Buffett Buffet! "....working vacation in a third world nation, back to school........" Happiness is going to a cruise ship listening to Buffet Live in Anguila!
2235 - Aboard the Equinox
Well, we actually got here - made decent time, too. The weather was gorgeous and sunny, no real traffic, and Jimmy had me in a good mood. Here is our first view of the ship as we came off the highway. There were shockingly few people at the cruise ship terminal when we got there, hooked up with a porter easily enough, got the bags checked in, and parked the van at an open air lot right next to the terminal building. We pretty much zipped thru security (as much as anyone zips thru security), checked in with the cruiseline (you always have to sign some stupid paper saying you are not sick), and walked up the gangway. Probably the easiest embarkation I have ever done.
It was a little after 1pm at this point, so we decided to try and see if the rooms were made up and we could throw our carryon bags in the room. They were ready! So here was the view from the room as we walked in.
The room is pretty nice - very elegant, but it is smaller I think than the rooms on the Noordam - I think the whole thing is narrower. It is hard to tell, but it feels that way. Definitely laid out a little differently. It is definitely a cruise ship room, and not a suite! Here are a couple of views.
Looking back from the balcony door.
They have a really nice TV/Interactive information system in the flatscreen (definitely bigger than the TV on the Noordam - or any ship we've been on). There is a desk located on the right side (where I am typing now). The safe, fridge, and the drawers are also located here. The lifeboat drill is pretty neat. It is the first one I have ever been to that *didn't* require you to wear the lifevest to the drill! Not sure if that is really a good thing (because of this, I have yet to look for the lifevest in the room), but it makes the drill nicer. Also, our muster station is in the theater, as opposed to being out on the boat deck. Makes you wonder if you are the people that they leave behind when they figure out they don't have enough lifeboats.... We also met a really nice Scottish couple at the boat drill. Hopefully we'll run into them again at some point in the cruise.
We went and made some dinner reservations (we don't have assigned seating for meals this cruise) - a rather tedious preocess, but I am sure we will get the hang of it. Then we went to look at a couple of the specialized restaurants. They are gorgeous - really, the deor on the ship is fabulous and incredibly impressive. Here is one with a great view (I think it is called Blu)
This one is the steak house - the pictures don't do it justice.
The artwork on the walls are amazing, as well (I might have to get a thesaurus out for superlatives for my descriptions!).
It was getting to be time to depart land, so we were heading up to the Fly Bridge. On the way, I found a couple of inspirational locations for the Oasis, and how I can improve it. Great fountains!
Carol found some inspiration of her own as we headed forward!
Getting underway is always a beautiful evolution, that reminds one that they are leaving one enviornment, and going to a new one - in the process leaving all the hassles and cares of that world behind. It never hurts if it is a sunny day, the seas are pretty calm, and you are on a cruiseship! Here we are heading out the channel.
Looking down the beach as we head out.
Saying goodbye to Ft Lauderdale, as seen from our balcony.
And looking seaward from the balcony - and seeing the HUGE bridge wing (usually they are 10 or so feet out from the ship - this one is easily 30 feet or more).
We had a fabulous meal of lamb shank (we all ordered it, and all loved it) - I have to learn to make that - and then went to the theater for our first show. The theater is very elegant, and not gaudy like most I have seen - land or sea - are. The show was okay, but I hope it will get better. My mother and Joe loved it, so maybe it is just me. Here is the theater. It is getting a little late, and I am beat. So I will pick this up tomorrow. We have yet to see really all that much of the ship, so tomorrow will be a good day for exploration. In the meantime, I hope you are all doing well, and staying warm!
Keep Smiling!!!
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