I never made it to the Bermuda Triangle, but I did take a cruise to the island with family to celebrate my parents' 50th wedding anniversary and some milestone birthdays. It’s not often that we all get together, so this was a treat. The destination was beside the point -- we had 4 kids to keep happy on a ship. Fortunately, there were plenty of options and between mini golf, a life-size chess board, ping pong, an arcade, a never-ending buffet, pools, and water slides, 7 adults managed to keep them entertained.
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| This was my high score |
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| The score on the right is Zach's, my 7-year-old nephew. Is there a college scholarship for skee-ball? |
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| There's no such thing as too much ice cream |
Yes, Aunt Abby played a game of chess with each kid (I achieved Rock Star Aunt status). While they all “won,” I could see the wheels moving and a couple of them have Bobby Fischer potential.
The ship had 2 waterslides – one for the kids and one for the adults. The adult waterslide started with a near vertical drop and then pretzeled around, at one point going over the side of the ship. After jumping off a bridge in Costa Rica, this seemed like no big deal. Until I got to the top and stood in a capsule waiting for the bottom to drop out underneath. I panicked. But my brother did it, so I was really left with no choice.
I gathered the courage and gave them the bat signal. Flying down, I suddenly found myself going backwards and thought I had flipped over. Until I started going feet first again. Folks, I didn’t make it up the first slope in an enclosed slide. Luckily, this is a known hazard, and an attendant opened the capsule fairly quickly exactly where I landed. Except now I had to try again. This time the drop was a little less terrifying and I kept my form, yet, I still didn’t make it up the slope. I gave up after failing a third time, but at least I conquered the drop!
The motorboat was a delight. We drove close to a glass beach, where my mom, niece, and I swam to shore and looked for beautiful pieces. Once back aboard, my niece and nephew used their lunch bread to feed the fish.
Unfortunately, they dropped the baggie into the water. There was no way we were contributing to the Great Garbage Patch, and I was cheered on as I jumped into the water, fought my way through the fish feeding frenzy, and retrieved the plastic. Phew.
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| My trophy |
The ice cream was plentiful and tears were minimal. I only lost $30 in Blackjack. In all, it was a successful voyage.
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