RALLY TO THE SEA

RALLY TO THE SEA

Left the starting gate at noon.
Called back by the starter
on our way out of town --
    attempting travel without a camera.
Infraction remedied,
start two was clean.

First order, head for the border
and easy going through Ohio
until sleet  greeted us
near

    Checkpoint One,

West Virginia’s foothills.

Family rally, day one -- no glory. 
Point tallies showed penalties
for late arrival --
    Restaurants and pools, closed.
    Kids needing exercise had to do supper,
    takeout, late.

Day two, 
late start warning.
Veered right
on 77 bearing south.

Appalachia’s scenic views
sent us through
the Blue Ridge Mountains,
Virginia and North Carolina.
Tamarack Tourist Center, underrated;
scenic West Virginia encapsulated.

Down the other side
spring emerged
and served
redbuds, wisteria and daffodils
with the warm gentle  
coastal lowland air at



    Checkpoint Two,

Orangeburg, South Carolina.

Again, late penalties
at check-in.

Hannah and Alyssa,
heroically patient
with travel confinement
and unmet
promises of vacation play,

were rewarded finally
at

    Checkpoint Three,

a short dogwood drive down 95
to our embarkation eve
at Cocoa Beach.

Motel Three, not Western’s Best,

but arrived on time
to get ocean wet
and do a poolside
snorkel test. 

Morning,

    Checkpoint Four,

Port Canaveral and
The Monarch of the Sea.

Again, fined --
    eager early,
    long slow lines.

First, the rig-a-ma-roll --
parking, passports and luggage tags, health forms, security scans and passes.
Then a few gangplank steps 
to a welcome aboard lunch,
search for rooms and initial explore.

Late afternoon, setting sail, arms on a rail,
watching
    pelicans dive,
        the port and anxieties drift away
            with the sea change in our lives.

From the Viking Lounge
up top
a relaxed overview of the sail away party
    live music
    and buckets of beer.
The young,

    presumably soon
    on their way up,

were now content
with their first spring break
chance to dance.

Later, traffic delays
on our way
to

    Checkpoint Five,

Coco Cay.

Overworked equipment and crew
created a long tender line
snaking through
ship stairwells and decks
awaiting boats to a Bahamian tenderloin --
beached bodies uncovered and oiled.

Alyssa’s eyes -- we knew them as blue --
now showed something new --
the first to see a Bahama Iguana,
she had a knack for
seeing complex venues.
We learned to follow her everywhere.

Rules about fins, vests and safety
led to false starts getting snorkel-ready.
But the glorious sun
made waiting part of the fun.

Beach rocks raised more concern.
Footwear advised,
    but our young snorkelers never touched down, 
snorkeling to a shipwreck.
Outa sight!

But not out of mind.
It made wrecks of Meme and me.
Hannah, an adept swimmer, now finned,
was halfway to Nassau before we could say
“buddy system.”

Lunch was an outdoor cruise line food buffet.
Then on to an off shore park for water play.
Slides, climbers, rockers and jumpers --
ballooned giants, large muscle exercisers,
exhaustion and fun.

Then a return tender trip to the ship
and an overnight cruise
to

Checkpoint Six,

Nassau.

Morning light showed us docked
five ships abreast.
One, The Majesty of the Sea,
provided a breakfast show,
    rotated in the harbor
    and backed in next door.
Evening entertainment continued
when we waved it back to sea --
with The Norwegian Gem,
and The Carnival Fantasy.

We chose to see Nassau
touring to Rainbow Reef,
there to snorkel over coral
and colorful fish.

On the trip out, chatted with a Georgia girl.
She had just received a birthday gift chicken hatching kit.
I couldn’t quite picture that
but it seemed like a good Gainesville fit.

Anticipated snorkeling “for real”,
    like you see on TV,
but this would not be
Jacques Cousteau.
One hundred spring breakers bobbed in the water
a mile or two from Nassau’s shore
-- with other tour boaters and bobbers.
Meme took our pictures
when she could sort us out.

There were colorful underwater
views of flora and fauna
and while we didn’t see Nemo
Hannah did see an anemone.

On the way back through the bay
more scenic views,
celebrity houses,
Tiger’s, Oprah’s and M. J.’s on display.

A sunny travel day at sea
eased us back toward reality.

Here’s what you do if you’re ten
on a ship with a rock climb.

    Send grandma to get her camera.

Reach high with your arms
the higher the better.
For a challenge go up on all blues.
Continue all day.
Unfortunately the wall became too popular.

Older than ten,
my rewards were found
at the coffee bar -- conversing
with a couple from Ireland
whose wee baby
was visiting grandmother
from Kissimmee.


Some of the things you and I missed . . .

a men’s belly flop contest, adult ping pong, last chance karaoke,TV tune trivia,
black jack, win-a-cruise Bahama bingo, and the world’s sexiest man competition.

Not my idea of heaven.

Next stop,


Checkpoint Seven,


Return to port.

The finish line?  States away.

Trip back strategy,
race, don’t rally.
Replace “Arrive on time”
with
“Arrive home early.”

The kids’ verdict: 
They would have liked it better
had we brought the whole family,
especially their dog, Rabi.

And a larger car would have allowed
shopping for baubles
larger than thimbles. 

DRK
4/1/11 -- 4/9/11
8/1/11