Recap of Week 2

Leaving New York we were able to see the view of the city and the Statue of Liberty, which we had missed the week before because we had been at a safety tour of the boat (where we learned how to deploy the fire and water doors, which are powerful enough to snap a person's arm off, fyi). Sue and Paul had told us they normally play “Proud to Be an American” as we sail by the Statue, but I couldn't hear it. I played it much cooler this week, and didn't get suckered into buying the $6.95 Banana Daiquiris that the wait staff offers on the pool deck.

On Monday night we went to see the song and dance extravaganza in the theatre. We had watched it last week, so the repeat viewing really helped me appreciate my favorite parts (“Let's Get Loud” and “Roxanne”) and try to figure out which of the dance or gymnastic moves I would want to learn if the dance company ever offered tutorials.

Monday night represented a major breakthrough for the new members of the cast. We went to the crew bar for the first time. This had been a place that had been described in larger than life terms to us, much like America was probably described to 19th century European immigrants. Beer for only $1! A hotbed of international intrigue, with fights between the Indonesian and Philippine mafias! In actuality it was a very nice cafeteria where you can get beer for the aforementioned price. We met a lot of the dancers (or at least the English-speaking ones) and felt like major inroads had been made in intracrew relations.

Tuesday we went to the mall in Port Canaveral and saw the Star Wars movie. I enjoyed it much more than the other two prequels, but I was also deeply grateful just for the chance to see a movie in an actual movie theater. The movies selected for the ship's channels are either edited for content (a lot of “gosh damns” and other awkward swear substitutions) or recent films targeted at the preteen girl audience (“Cheaper By the Dozen,” “Princess Diaries 2,” “Just Married,” “Raise Your Voice,” “A Cinderella Story” -if you're not a Hillary Duff fan at the beginning of the cruise, you will be by the end). I have seen most of the movies all the way through, mostly with the sound off at the gym. They work really well as silent films, but I was ready for the full movie theatre experience. Afterwards, we talked about the parts we liked (the fights, especially the last one between Anakin and Obi-Wan) and the parts we didn't (Natalie Portman brushing her hair).

The shows Wednesday went really well. I felt more confident doing them but the audiences weren't as responsive as last week. I don't know why that is, except maybe the passengers this cruise might be a little older on average. Afterwards, we went out to the bar and later the disco, where I noticed a demographic change. The younger passengers from the last cruise were mostly from New Jersey, but those from this cruise (or at least the socially dominant ones) were mostly from Southeastern Massachusetts. There isn't a lot of difference in the fashion, the skirts are still short and the polo shorts are still worn with the collars up. But I grew up 45 minutes south of Boston, and when one of the guys told us we were “wicked funny,” it was like I was home again.

Thursday Randall and I went to the private island, where I managed to avoid stepping on any anemones (or whatever caused the foot misfortune from last week). We walked down the nature walk to the lighthouse, which took about a half hour. The term “nature walk” is misleading, since it's mostly a wide dirt path cut through a grove of palm trees, and looks more like a tribute to deforestation than nature appreciation. After a while you get to a field with some concrete embankments, an overgrown airplane landing strip, and a rusted lawn mower. Undeterred, we moved on to the signs leading to the lighthouse. The lighthouse was equally disappointing and looked like the kind of place you'd go to get tetanus or store the skins of your victims. We walked up the staircase, which was missing several steps and required you to maneuver past an abandoned generator on one of the landings. The windows of the lookout were covered with grime or boarded up, but if you stood on your tiptoes, you got a pretty good view of the island.

We went swimming by the dock. There is a pretty beach a short swim from the dock, but we decided to leave that for another time. A few stray passengers walked up, equally disappointed in the lighthouse and walk. Most of them were middle-aged and weren't wearing swimsuits, so they'd take a picture of themselves with one of the islands in the background and then leave. On our walk back we encountered a lot of people who asked us how much farther to the lighthouse. We did our civic duty and told them to turn around.

That night we ate at the sushi bar. I made it an early night because I was feeling sick and also because I had to wake up early to fly home for my grandfather's funeral. I woke up at 3:45 and disembarked the boat fifteen minutes later. I realized I had not taken into account catching a cab at four in the morning in Nassau. There was a line of cabs outside the security gate, but they were all off duty, the drivers sleeping in the back seat of their minivan taxis. One of them was awake and I asked him if he would take me to the airport. He said that he was off duty, whereupon I offered to pay double. I thought for sure this would grease the wheels, but the driver remained unfazed and sent me on my way. I woke up another driver who also refused to take me, but he sent me to the main street and told me I could catch a cab there. Surprisingly, I did. The driver who stopped had a passenger in the back seat, a blond woman in a sundress and floppy hat. She was in her late forties and, as I later found out, from South Carolina.

I wasn't entirely sure about what her story was, but I think she had just left her boyfriend or spouse. At one point, she said, “I woke up at two in the morning and realized I did it. I finally left him.” When I told them I was going home for a funeral, they were appropriately sympathetic, and she talked about how death was difficult, and how her own brother had died of an aneurism while driving home several years ago. She said, “Ah would give up all Ah own, all of mah houses, just to have five moah minutes with him.” The driver and I nodded and reflected on that, and then I was dropped off at the airport.

The wake and funeral were both great tributes to my grandfather, and it was fantastic to see my family and sleep in a bed that didn't move for two days. I flew back on Sunday and met Beth in Times Square. It's Fleet Week in New York so the docks were crowded with sailors and tourists. On the way down, we saw Rip Taylor walking by a line of high school students waiting to see Hal Holbrook as Mark Twain. Since this was the second celebrity sighting I've had in New York in as many weeks, I saw it as a sign that this cruise would be something special.

If I needed further proof, who should I run into at the buffet when I get back on board but the Tri's and Bi's guy? He had mentioned in his conversation with me and Jason that he was trying to work a deal with the ship to stay on for an extra week, but since I hadn't seen him last week I assumed it didn't happen. But there he was, in the flesh, wearing a Nevada t-shirt and standing with another guy I recognized from the previous cruise. Tri's and Bi's seemed a little taken aback that I remembered his first name. I introduced myself to his friend, who asked if I was the “Chicago guy.” He said he had spent some time in the city and it was a good time. I told them I would see them around, and since then we've been on a state of high alert, pointing him out whenever he's in the vicinity.