Bahamas, Day Three: Overheard on the Sovereign of the Seas

“But my face is not going to get tan if I sit here.”


Okay, out of context, this does not seem bad. But these words were uttered by a lady who looked like she has a private tanning bed at her house that she uses three times a day.


That said, I think cruises will be well served to having a sun safety lecture on every cruise. I get that some people equate relaxing to sun worshipping. And that’s fine! But skin cancer is a very real, very scary thing people!!!! Slather on some SPF, please!

Okay, so maybe I take it to an extreme.



I wore a hat that would provide coverage to a small country, huge sunglasses and the Badger SPF 30 sunscreen. This is mother of all sunscreens. It is super thick so I do not wear it on an everyday basis (I am Neutrogena girl in everyday life), I do wear it when I will be out for long periods of time (like on a walk) or when I am on vacation. Just a note, if you do wear it, be sure to scrub it all off or you will have some seriously clogged pores.)

Bahamas, Day Three

Everyone the ship was woken up early this morning to sound of the Captain’s voice in our rooms (Okay, my favorite part about the Captain is that any time he told us to do something like have fun, enjoy ourselves, etc., he told us to "take it to max." For whatever reason, that cracked me up!!!). We were supposed to drop anchor by Royal Caribbean’s private island, Cococay, and then they would tender us to shore in giant rowboats (?). But Hurricane Gustav was causing some crazy waves and they were afraid the tender boats would capsize. Oddly enough given the proximity of Tropical Storm Hanna, we ended up being more impacted by Gustav. While I was disappointed that I would not get to do some sea-kayaking, yesterday’s boating adventure was enough excitement for me!

So we were going to spend the day at sea. After the gym and breakfast, I plopped myself down on the pool deck (in the shade, shellacked in sunscreen) and read. I made my way through Autobiography of a Wardrobe (very cute and an interesting way of looking at how wardrobes reflect our life) and started reading Zen of Business Administration and quickly realized that I am the least Zen person on the planet. But a fruity beverage called a Coco-Loco made for a nice day of relaxing.

I was definitely getting used to the food situation on the ship. Whatever the craving, whatever the time, you could have it. Craving a iced coffee confection? Have a Caribbean Celebration! (Note to my Seattle readers: Seattle’s coffee is best, even at sea!)


Craving pickles and French fries? Then pickles and French fries you shall have. Um, not that I craved that or anything, LOL!

And later in the afternoon, Tropical Storm Hanna made her presence known. The ship was rocking and rolling. The swimming pools became wave pools. Scattered throughout the ocean were freight ships hoping to gain safe harbor in Freeport, Bahamas ahead of Hanna.

But my favorite meals (okay, after the tuna fish sandwiches) were the formal dining room meals. Sunday night was a casual dining night but the meals were still nice and fancy. I had strawberry bisque (loving the fruit soups!), a fancy vegetarian chili with jalapeno corn bread, and a tiramisu. YUM!

After dinner, I headed up to Deck 11 and relaxed while looking over the stormy ocean. What the Atlantic Ocean looks like when there is a Hurricane on the left and a Tropical Storm to the right.

Bahamas, Day Two: Overheard on the Sovereign of the Seas

I am a HUGE fan of the Overheard in D.C. column on DCist. (And the Overheard in the Office website.) So I thought I would do my own little version of it on this trip.

“Well, if they had mozzarella sticks or nachos, I would know what to order.” Overheard in the dining room during the Formal Captain’s dinner. Completely cracked me up. Not that I am a foodie by any stretch of the imagination, but even I couldn’t figure out what some of the things on the menu were.

Bahamas, Day Two, Part Two

Okay, the one thing I was super nervous about on the cruise was the evening dining situation. The whole eating with complete strangers thing. And it was awkward at first. I was seated with a younger couple at a table for eight, LOL. So I broke the ice by stating the obvious “Um, so this eating with strangers is weird, right?" And we all laughed. And it turned out that they were on their honeymoon and were from…..Green Bay, Wisconsin. LOL!!!! I immediately asked them if they were excited about the Panera opening on Oneida Street. They had no idea what I was talking about. So I taught them the wonders of Panera. They promised to check it out. I had a lot of fun dining with them!!!!

Saturday night was the Formal Captain’s Dinner. (And sorry, I forgot to take pictures of the food.) I had a chilled pear soup with dried cranberries, broiled salmon with polenta, and Cherries Jubilee for dessert. I was stuffed!!!

Bahamas, Day Two: One Nassau, Four Thunderstorms

I woke up early on Saturday and got in a workout at the gym. I had always heard about the massive amounts of foods on cruise but you really have to see it to believe it. There was so much food everywhere that I think I acquired contact calories just by walking by the food.

The gym was so nice. I mean working out to the view of the open ocean, how could it not be? My gym in D.C. has views of Starbucks and the Cheesecake Factory, I am not kidding. And while I have bought a coffee at Starbucks after a workout, I have NOT gotten Cheesecake Factory. ..though I may have been tempted once.

I set off to have breakfast at the Windjammer Café where I had what became my “usual” breakfast and my favorite way to have oatmeal, Oatmeal at Sea. I mixed my oatmeal with raisins, hot milk, brown sugar, and toasted almonds. YUM!

We docked in Nassau, Bahamas at noon in the middle of thunderstorm (thunderstorm #1).


After the Port Authority cleared the ship for docking, we all set off to meet our excursion groups. I had signed up for the Glass Bottomed Boat tour. The dock area was kind of chaotic as five cruise ships were docked at the same time. I finally found my group and we walked to the boat where we got caught in thunderstorm #2.


We all loaded the boat, which was two stories plus a “basement” with a glass bottom. The boat looked stable so I was not super nervous. The first part of the tour was of the sights of Nassau. Some the sights:

The market area right outside the cruise ship docks. It is very hectic!



Senor Frogs…you almost have to resist the urge to shout “Spring Break….Woohoo!!!!”



A home on Paradise Island…my future retirement home. LOL. Homes on this Island cost between $100,000 and $300,000. Does this make any other D.C. resident just plain sad?!?!



The famous Atlantis resort. The “bridge” suite costs $25,000 per night! Crazy right?!?!



Some more houses on Paradise Island, mainly celebrity homes. There are no taxes in the Bahamas so a lot of celebs, athletes, etc. live there.




A view of the cruise ships through the bridge to Paradise Island.

The boat then docked in a protected part of the water and we all headed down to glass bottom basement. We were able to see fish (shocking, right) and some the reef. It was pretty cool.





Ever the worrier, all I could think was “what if this glass bottom shatters?” So I immediately created my escape plan.

Okay, let’s face it, while the tour was nice, the real reason I signed up for this tour was that I saw “complimentary rum punch served on the ship” on the brochure. Yum!



About two seconds after I took the picture of the rum punch, a thunderstorm (thunderstorm #3) really seemed to come out of nowhere. And I happened to be on the top deck of the boat. For a moment, I thought I was going to die. It was pouring, super windy, just NOT somewhere you want to be. Of the top five places I would not want to be when it was storming, top of boat would be right up there.

But then I, along with the four other people on the top deck made our down safely and really I just had to laugh. Because things like this just seem to happen to me. LOL. The four other people on the top deck were a family from South Carolina. The mom happened to snap this picture of a completely drenched me when I initially busted out laughing at the situation. (You can see that it is still storming in the background.)



Just a little bit later, we headed back to Nassau. A pic of a slightly dryer, slightly less terrified me. (The Atlantis hotel is over my left shoulder.)


Once back on land, I set off exploring Nassau and got caught in thunderstorm #4. The famous Straw Market. But maybe not so much a straw market as a “Knock-off Designer Purse” market.

One of the little shopping alleys. (I love the colors of the buildings!)

Can anyone explain to me why jewelry and perfume is so big in the Bahamas? I get the no-tax thing but even that does make me think, “Oh I am in the Bahamas, I must buy a Cartier watch.” In fact, I did not buy much (Shocking!!!).

Look Mom, NASCAR in the Bahamas! (Fun fact: My mom is like a NASCAR savant. Seriously, ask her anything.)

It was super hot and humid and I was getting hungry so I headed back to the ship around 4 p.m.

Bahamas, Day One, Part 2!

Check in was super easy and well organized! I will say that arriving on a cruise ship is a lot like freshman orientation at college. Everyone is trying to get you involved in everything. Everyone is trying to sell you something that you NEED to have to survive. Except in this case it’s not a mini fridge, it’s a soda mug.

Rooms on the ship were not ready for us yet. So the staff sent us up to Deck 11 for a buffet lunch. And I had delicious tuna sandwich followed by a relaxing sit on a deck chair by the pool.

At 1 p.m., my room was ready!!!! Okay, I heard my “neighbors” exclaim how tiny their rooms were. But I think it is a matter of perspective. If you live your everyday life in 450 square feet, then a 120 square foot stateroom is fine. In fact, it was bigger than I expected!



I would like to say at this point that I set off to explore the ship, to meet new people, to sit by the pool. But I didn’t. I took a nap. I was WIPED OUT! I slept until I heard the announcement that the ship was getting ready to set sail.

I dashed up to Deck 11 to wave farewell to Port Canaveral.


And there was a party going on up there! Now that the ship was out to sea, a cruise is no longer like freshman orientation. Nope, it’s now Vegas on water.

I pulled up a deck chair ordered my first fruity beverage of the trip (I was allowing myself one per day): a Miami Vice. Yum.



And yes, the bottom of glass lights up and blinks. And yes, I got to keep it. And yes, it became the most annoying night light EVER. I had to lock it in the bathroom in order to get some sleep.

I sat by the deck for a long time staring at the ocean. I love the ocean. It's sooo peaceful.



After people-watching for a long time and then eating dinner, I am exhausted so off to bed I go. Quite the party animal am I!

But first, I am going to eat the mint left on my pillow!

Bahamas, Day 1: Getting There

Greetings from somewhere in the middle of Atlantic Ocean!

It was a VERY early start to the day. I was up at 2:30 a.m. finishing packing to be ready for the taxi to pick me up at 4 a.m. so that I could make my 6 a.m. flight at DCA. Even for a perpetual early bird like myself, it was early. I needed some caffeine reinforcements ASAP. Thank goodness for Dunkin Donuts.

And I think I am officially old. While I was waiting in the security line, the kid (16 years oldish) behind me was playing one of those handheld video games at annoying loud volume especially at 5 a.m . Finally, I had to turn around and ask, "Can you please turn the volume on that down?" He obliged and actually apologized. And then the five elderly people in line behind him thanked me.

I have always been told that cruises are a lesson in overpacking and I am very proud to report that I, the perpetual overpacker, managed to not have to check any luggage. I carried on one suitcase. GO ME!!!

My flights to Atlanta and Orlando were on time and actually early. So not long after leaving rainy, chilly D.C., I was in humid, sunny Orlando. Since I am completely incapable of sleeping on planes, trains, or automobiles, I was entirely grateful for the travel care package from my parents that included the Season 1 DVD of Gossip Girl (who else is super excited for the Season 2 premiere on Monday!?!?!)

A rep for Royal Caribbean met me by the escalator by baggage claim. It was actually kind of weird because she walked up to me, holding a sign that said "Royal Caribbean" and asked if I was Rebecca. LOL, I have no idea how she knew. Shockingly enough, I do not travel with a sign that says "Hi! I am Rebecca!"

And then I joined my fellow Sovereign of Sea-ers on a coach bus to head off to Port Canaveral. The joy of having crazy patterned luggage is that you can always spot it. And for once, my bright blue tropical luggage was actually destination appropriate.

My sister and her family used to live in Cocoa Beach so it was fun to ride by sites familiar from previous visits. My favorite site of course being the signs in the rivers that read "Manatee Zone." I love manatees.

As the bus drew near the Port, I had my first glimpse of my "home" for the next four days, the Sovereign of the Seas!

So exciting!!!

Packing my hurricane repellant

I am a chronic overscheduler. As I was telling some colleagues earlier today, I am nearly incapable of down time. I have been this way since I was, oh, five years old. I think I was the only kid in the first grade with a day planner.

But I like to stay busy. It is a rare for me to have an entire weekend, let alone an entire holiday weekend, free. So when I glanced at my day planner (slightly more grown-up than the one I carried in the first grade) and saw that my Labor Day weekend was 100 percent, completely open, it was almost hard for me to comprehend.

So I decided that I was going to take a vacation.

I know that “stay-cations” are very trendy right now. But a stay-cation for me would result in me overscheduling myself, an extra shift at Whole Foods here, a make-up Pilates class there, 27 errands to run. It would end up being the least relaxing period of time off ever.

So I am taking a “me-cation.” To the Bahamas. I found a ridiculously cheap cruise that docks in Cococay and Nassau. I am VERY excited! To sit on the beach with a fruity beverage and a bevy of books that have been sitting on my coffee table waiting to be read.



Now the ridiculously cheap nature of the trip might due to the fact that I am travelling smack in the middle of hurricane season. And as I type, the Bahamas is smack in the middle of two tropical storms. But all of the tracking maps and forecasts assure me that I am safe. And the cruise line has assured me that the ship can move faster than the hurricane.

I am almost finished packing…four cute sundresses, three books (Autobiography of a Wardrobe, Animal Vegetable Miracle, and Zen of Business Administration), two tubes of SPF 975 sunscreen…and a partridge in a bikini in a palm tree.

I will be back on Monday with pictures and stories. Here’s hoping that you take some time for a “me-cation” this weekend. Because if I can do it, you totally can too!!!

I am pretty sure heaven is found in a paper liner with sprinkles on top

I love when people visit me in D.C. I love showing off my favorite parts of the city! Cindy, a good friend from high school, was in town this weekend for a wedding so we were able to get together on Friday. She is pretty into politics and I am, um, NOT so I was a little afraid that we would have to do politic-y things but instead I suggested shopping in Georgetown and she was up for it, so whew!

We had a lunch at La Madeline. Which is actually pretty funny. Ten years ago, I came to D.C. on a senior trip of sorts with Cindy and some other high school friends, Brandon, Brad, and another Rebecca. Yeah, I know most kids go somewhere beach-y for their senior trips but we are just that nerdy that we decided on D.C. It was a blast and one place that we ate was La Madeline. While I was there then, I filled out some sort of customer survey. As a result, every year around my birthday since then, I have a received a coupon for free bread from the restaurant. I laugh about that every time I eat there.

Then we headed off to shop with the requisite stop at Anthropologie.

And then it was off to someplace new! Georgetown Cupcake. It is rather odd that given how much I shop in Georgetown and how much I love cupcakes that I have never been. But a coworker mentioned the place to me last week so I added it to my must-do list.

Georgetown Cupcake is tucked into a cute building near the corner of Potomac and M Street.



There was line out the door, ready and willing to pay for the cupcakey deliciousness.


I would say that the line was due to the popularity of the place but the building is very small and no more than 3 or 4 customers can be in there at a time.

The cupcakes looked soooo pretty!!!!


I settled on a coconut cupcake. I love coconut. Cindy also ordered the coconut one and a chocolate lava cupcake.

We set off to have a cupcake picnic!

The Georgetown Cupcake packaging was not nearly as cute as that of Seattle Trophy Cupcakes.


And the package did not include the paper cupcake holder that keeps the mini cake standing. My cupcake withstood the commute;



Cindy's, notsomuch.

The cupcake was DELICIOUS. The frosting was not super rich and the cake portion had a banana essence. YUM!!!!

I had some the Chocolate Lava cupcake as well (thanks, Cindy!). And I am not a very big fan of chocolate cake, but this was really good!!!!

I will DEFINITELY be adding Georgetown Cupcake to my list of Georgetown faves!!!

Reunited....

So class reunions are….weird, right?

I flew home last weekend for my ten-year high school reunion. I admit that I have been a bad classmate and have not kept in touch with anyone really. (Facebook has reconnected me with a few classmates in recent months which is nice!)

What’s really weird is that I graduated with a very small class, just 72 of us. The bulk of us started kindergarten together and grew up together. And then high school graduation rolled around, and everyone went on to become grown-ups. It is weird that for thirteen years we were such integral parts of each other’s lives and then just completely separated from each other. Good or bad, who we grew up with impacted who we became.

And then I went ten years without seeing most of them. It was fun to see the grown-up versions of my classmates. And it was SOOO good to see some of my classmates.

And for one night, it was fun to put on a pretty dress, some cute purple slingbacks, and relive some fun memories with the Class of ’98.

Some photos of my classmates and me. (Mainly because I want to show off my pretty, pretty Anthropologie dress.)

Me, My Mom, and a 5K

My hometown is rather small (700 people). But it is rather mighty. And when money needs to be raised for a good cause, everyone pitches in . I can think of no better example of this than what transpired last weekend. One of our residents, Matt Lesprance, was named to the Paralympic Wheelchair Basketball Team and will travel to 2008 games in Beijing. If I remember correctly, he came down with meningitis when he was a kid and it left him paralyzed. And now he is an Olympian! How awesome is that! I get goosebumps thinking about how awesome it is.

His family is planning to attend the Games but the cost of the trip is high. So my hometown and the surrounding areas jumped into action. The Cougar Country Business Association organized a 5K/10K run/walk and Family Fun night. The turnout was fantastic!!!!

I love the way everyone rallies around this types of fundraisers. It makes me so proud of my roots. And for a moment, it makes me want to move home. But then I remember that the nearest Starbucks is an hour away. And the nearest Anthropologie is three-and-a-half hours away. And both of those thoughts make me hyperventilate.

But what was more exciting is that my mom agreed to do the 5K with me!!! I have been trying for years to get her to do one and she finally gave in. So when Friday night rolled around, we were ready in our super cute team shirts. Because we all know the key element of 5Ks is having cute matching team shirts.

My mom picked the shirts out (they are from the Life is Good line) and I think her 5K philosophy shone through the shirt selection.

After a whole lot of rule announcing and whatnot, we were off. Okay, sometimes course planners have a sick sense of humor and put a hill right at the beginner of the race. Which is exactly what happened this time. We were halfway up the hill, when I looked over at my mom and she said, "Oh, we had to have walked a mile, right?" "Um, Mom, I think we have gone about 500 feet." LOL!

At this point, my mom exclaimed, "Go on! Leave me! Just go on without me." It was all very dramatic. LOL! (Okay, I exaggerated a little.) But we were doing this thing together.

I get a little spoiled doing 5Ks in D.C. because the sights include the Washington, Lincoln, and Roosevelt memorials and the Capitol. Here in Coleman/Pound, the sights included um, corn fields.

And more corn fields.

As I was taking the picture, my mom was yelling, "Rebecca, don’t take a picture of my backside." So it’s more of an upper backside shot.

Since I was walking at a leisurely pace, I was able to take in the sights. How cute are these yard decorations?!?! What a great way to "reuse" bowling balls!!!

And finally, we finished and received our certificates of completion!!! In one hour and ten minutes! I was sooo proud of my mom!!!

Good luck in Beijing, Matt!!!