Thursday, February 18, 2010

Ship mates



Although I went on the recent Atlantis cruise with my friend Roland, I ended up spending a great deal of time with Matthew (center) and Derek (right), two cousins who decided to take the cruise together.

We all met on the first night and, since we seemed to share the same twisted sense of humor and perverse view of the world, they were stuck with me for the next six days/nights.







Matthew recently sent me copies of the photos he took, which was nice because there were actually some of me in the mix. Since I spend so much time taking photos of scenery and other people on trips, I often get home to find very few photos of me actually in any particular location.

Thankfully, my painfully white skin tone didn't break his camera, so that was a plus for all of us.







We had a lot of fun over the course of the week, whether it was trips to the buffet, sneaking onto the "restricted" front deck of the ship, or attending the various parties that seemed to go on non-stop each night.





I don't know how my large hat got up there...



And, of course, we had "one or two drinks" along the way...



Matthew's camera took photos underwater, so he was able to capture this shot as they attempted to drown me in the pool so they could have a few minutes of peace and quiet during the trip.



But, their plan didn't work and I eventually made it back to the surface again and found them "waiting for me" five floors down and crouched behind a bulkhead on the far end of the ship. It takes more than a few taps on the head with a mallet and a pair of concrete flippers to get rid of me...

But, I admired their sense of adventure.



While I took only one excursion, a casual stroll through Mayan ruins, they focused on activities that would likely give me the trots, but would almost guarantee them a spot on "The Amazing Race" (which I think they'd probably win). They did things like ride a rickety roller coaster down the side of a mountain...



Rent a water Ski-doo and skidoodle all around Labadee...



And... rode all-terrain vehicles over the rivers and through the woods.



So, our excursions were almost identical. Mine included a lunch and theirs always came with the risk of losing theirs.

I also thought I'd post a couple of random photos that Matthew took that I didn't, like this one...



This guy got three stars, so he must really be good at...something.

Also, here is another photo of our friend Joey from the night of the "Enchanted Evening" themed party...



I got several nice comments about his photo when I posted it a few weeks ago...so I thought his fans might enjoy one more.

It's always good to keep the fans happy.





One of the best things about traveling through this life is meeting people and making new friends along the way. It really does enhance the experience and creates some wonderful memories that you will carry with you for the rest of your days.



So, I want to thank Matthew and Derek for helping to make my cruise so much more fun than I ever expected it to be.

You guys are great and I look forward to seeing you both again someday soon.

No comments: